Sonja Silva 2.0?

This post might sound arrogant and might offend some colleagues in the business.

I always feel there are two kinds of people in this marketing business. There is the one group which is passionate about the art of marketing, about its cause and sees it as a true specialty. Than there’s the group of people that might as well have been an executive assistant, a bartender or a sales rep. The people in this group see marketing as a fun gig that is not that difficult to master and takes a lot of smiles and social skills. They are helped by the fact that being a marketer is not like being a heart surgeon: the first steps in marketing take common sense and it’s therefore quite a small step from nobody to the label of marketer. However, the next steps take a lot of hard work, passion and a feel for the craft. Not that many people can call themselves master of marketing.

I thought about this notion when I read this months Emerce and was stunned by the part Movers & Shakers: Sonja Silva, famous in Holland for her VJ days on TMF and her Playboy shoots, is now a Senior Account Manager at Adlink Internet Media…….

I don’t know Sonja. I know she was famous for quite a while and then nobody heard from her for some time. Now she rises to be a Senior Account Manager at an Internet company. I can’t find any credentials or even the smallest link in her personal history to the art of marketing or the internet for that matter. Is this a publicity stunt? A way for Adlink to get a foot in the door with corporate marketers who dream of talking to Sonja?

Maybe I’m wrong about her specifically, but my point stands. I for one know I won’t be discussing my marketing plans with Sonja Silva anytime soon. It’s time we get our house in order.