Today we’d like to introduce you to Russell Sails.
Hi Russell, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a pre-teenager, my mother invested in my first business venture by taking my older brother and I to the wholesale market on Chicago’s Southside to purchase candy, pickles, cookies and all sorts of goodies. By the end of the summer, our little candy store provided us with enough money to purchase our own back to school clothes while planting the entrepreneurial seed firmly in my psyche. That seed would sprout throughout my life’s journey, such as it did while completing my undergraduate studies at Andrews University, where I majored in Public Relations.
A few like-minded friends and I launched D2S Productions, a video production company, while still enrolled in school, and continued to produce advertising and corporate communications content for institutional clients after we graduated. Seeing first hand that our clients’ needs were multidimensional, I sought to learn more strategic ways of addressing their business challenges. “Bootstrapping” a business was difficult so my career often took me back into internal roles with global enterprises and Fortune 500 corporations in the Pharmaceutical, market research and health care industries. Along the way, I obtained a Master of Science degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL. My longtime friend and business partner, George Cartwright, co-founded OTBMG, LLC, the parent company of On the Brink Media Group and On the Brink Marketing Group in 2009 to bridge the gap in digital marketing and video content creation for local clients nationally.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve been blessed to have a circle of support that encourages me through all of the ups and downs life brings. This life brings its own set of challenges but I continue to find the reward in the journey, not necessarily the destination. While I have been fortunate to have been raised in a two-parent household, I have also experienced the pain of living in a broken home through a divorce which made my adolescent years financially challenging. Yet, it was through observing my mother’s work ethic to put me through college that continued to fuel my creativity and my quest to be the best that I could be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
On the Brink Marketing Group is a digital marketing agency specializing in “Inception” marketing primarily for multi-location medical enterprises, law firms, faith-based organizations, schools and churches. We partner with our clients to provide a comprehensive strategy to guide their prospective customers through every phase of their digital journey which is critical to high customer conversion and retention. Our Brand Asylum & Social Amplification Engine methodology leverages the power of the client’s digital ecosystem (website, social media, listing sites, search engines, etc.) to amplify and then optimize their content. Our strategic and fulfillment teams are grateful to be in a position to add value to our client partnerships, engaging with outstanding servant leaders who continually impact the communities they serve.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Business associates who usually connect with me through the marketing services side of our business may not initially know about the creative side of the house where George, my business partner and I produce digital film content. We also recently produced over 50 episodes of a daily Vodcast/Podcast entitled – “The BRINK.” It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Those who knew me “back in the day” knew this creative side of me that started before the digital era where I produced “McBeth,” my first project in high school and moonlighted during my time in undergrad producing our very own realty show before there was such a thing in mainstream media. Many years later, my wife, Dr. Erica Sails and three daughters got in the act by taking roles in a faith-based short film we produced entitled “Ho” (contemporary depiction of the prophet Hosea’s life).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mymedicalmarketing.agency/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otbmarketinggroup/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OTB-Marketing-Group-LLC-105840597696523
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarketingOtb
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLRRcrOSW8LOhjVI4PmrAg
- Other: https://www.xnosolutions.com/
Image Credits
The BRINK logo animated characters designed by Jada Sails
