As the Fleet Marketing Manager at RaceTrac, Nick LaFalce manages marketing campaigns for professional truck drivers and commercial fleets. He says understanding the online user experience and succinctly communicating business messaging is critical to success.
1. What do you do?
I manage strategic marketing campaigns and initiatives for professional truck drivers and commercial vehicle fleets for RaceTrac and its franchisee brand, RaceWay. My work involves partnering with external marketing agencies and internal marketing teams to drive professional truck drivers to our sites through billboard advertising, loyalty promotions, digital media, and B2B marketing campaigns.
2. What's the coolest part of your job?
The coolest part of my job is working for such a large brand in the Southeast. RaceTrac has over 800 sites across 13 states, including Florida, Georgia, and Texas, meaning all marketing campaigns we run are promoted near or at those sites. It's really neat to be driving down a major interstate highway or local road and seeing the efforts of my marketing campaigns come to life. I get to see advertisements I've created on my commute to work!
3. Why are you passionate about it?
Since graduating college, I have worked for two other companies in trucking and logistics. This industry has always been my passion since transportation is the core of nearly every other industry in the U.S. This also means I get to collaborate with a number of people from varying industries in my work.
4. Which skills from your IAC degree have helped you be successful in this career?
I chose Interaction Design and Communications as my two threads. From those courses, I was able to build up a solid digital marketing (graphic design and UX) and copywriting skill set for my professional work. Being able to both understand the online user experience and succinctly communicate your business messaging is critical to any marketer.
5. What's your #1 tip for students and alumni interested in your field?
I would say don't be afraid to take a chance and understand that failure is a part of the process. I would also say that as long as you are growing in your professional skillset, any position is valuable, even if it is not as prestigious as you might have hoped it to be. Everyone has to start somewhere.
