Coffee has always been synonymous with meetings, whether it’s meeting new people or old friends; it’s synonymous with thought. Think of any significant thinker (besides the Pre-Socratics), you can see them now, sipping a cup of coffee and talking about who we are.

Who couldn’t see Rene Descartes drinking coffee while saying, “I think, therefore I am,” and then ordering another latte?

Back in the Ottoman Empire in the 17th-century, drinking coffee was a crime, since coffee shops were usually where people mingled and chatted and talked about revolutionary ideas. The Sultan didn’t like coffee or ideas very much. He didn’t want a revolution. And so, at night, cloaked in a robe and the shadows, he’d stalk about catching the lawbreakers.

Luckily, drinking coffee nowadays is not as dangerous; it’s just dangerous for your wallet. Since then, coffee shops have provided the comfort for many a great artist, thinker, and blogger.

Coffee and free thought, those two things go hand-in-hand.

Teddy Roosevelt used to drink a gallon of coffee a day! I am nearly there. Not to say I am anything like Teddy Roosevelt, though I do have the eyesight and the coffee going for me.

It is with coffee, then, that ideas hatch, people, mingle, and you can learn a thing or two about someone and something. Which is why, once a month, a member of the SSCo. team will grab coffee with someone who inspires them and conduct a Q+A. I kick off our third installment with Rachel Hoyle, marketing manager of Orlando Weekly.

Jamie Steidle: What do your daily marketing tasks entail?

Rachel Hoyle: Daily marketing tasks vary from day-to-day, but my main tasks consist of executing strategies that will result in ticket sales for our upcoming events, such as United We Brunch. This includes using platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, MailChimp, WordPress, and working with my ad operations team to ensure that our ads are running on all house channels.

I also maintain strong relationships with local marketing companies and influencers in order to promote on more platforms than just Orlando Weekly’s.

JS: How do you reach out to the community?

RH: I reach out to the community through Orlando Weekly’s channels (print, digital and social), considering we have one of the largest audiences in Orlando.

JS: Have you always had a passion for marketing?

RH: I have always had a love and appreciation for the media and the influence it has on our culture since I was very young, and always dreamed of working for a media company; I just didn’t know what my role would be.

As I got older, I found myself to have a natural understanding of marketing and promotions and knew I would be able to tie my love for the media with my marketing knowledge, and so far it has worked out well!

JS: Besides work, what do you enjoy doing in your own time?

RH: I love to travel. Any chance I can get to hop on a plane and visit a new place, I take. I also love Disney.

JS: What is your favorite thing about marketing?

RH: I’m very results-oriented, so seeing results from implementing marketing strategies that I developed gives me great satisfaction.

JS: What new avenues of outreach have you been exploring for Orlando Weekly?

RH: It’s not necessarily new, but I have been using Instagram stories more frequently. It’s an easy way to get people on Instagram to open links, since, at this time, people can only click links in bios.

JS: What upcoming events do you have?

RH: This past Saturday we had United We Brunch, which is an awesome showcase of brunch bites from local restaurants, plus bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys. After United We Brunch we’ll be getting ready for Whiskey Business on April 27, which gives guests the opportunity to sample scotches, bourbons, and whiskeys from home and abroad.

JS: What is your goal and mission for Orlando Weekly?

RH: My personal goal and mission for Orlando Weekly is to continue to provide the community with extraordinary event experiences and showcase local businesses and restaurants.

I am all about supporting local, so being able to cross-promote local businesses with our events and giving people the opportunities to discover new places they may not have found on any other day means a lot to me.

Check out Orlando Weekly, and the Whiskey Business event on April 27th.

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