How AdvertiseMint CEO Brian Meert Found His Path to Business
For someone who’s had extensive experience in marketing — 15 years, to be exact — AdvertiseMint CEO Brian Meert didn’t always plan to be in marketing, much less become the chief executive officer of his Facebook advertising agency. How did Meert go from paperboy to Theology major to CEO of a growing business? We spoke with Meert himself about his journey.
Did you know early on that you wanted to pursue marketing?
To be honest, I didn’t think I would end up in marketing. In fact, I went to college to be a teacher, not a marketer and earned a degree in Theology. In 2001, I took a year off from college to volunteer as a teacher and medical assistant in Fiji at the Vatuvonu Elementary School. I was prepared and trained to teach. It didn’t occur to me to pursue marketing until after I graduated from college when I found out that a friend of mine was working on an MBA. I decided to pursue it as well, thinking it would offer more job opportunities. That’s how I got started in the world of business.
Did a lightbulb moment finally happen in MBA school when you realized you wanted to become a marketer?
Once I got to La Sierra University in Riverside, where I got my MBA, I discovered that I really enjoyed marketing. I found learning about it to be a fun process, and I very much enjoyed building my persuasive skills. In fact, I was so eager to learn that I quickly devoured all of my marketing books, reading them cover to cover. I also discovered that I had a very natural talent at marketing. I was good at selling products to people. I just never had someone who mentored me in business when I was younger, never knew anyone who was a marketer. I had a natural gift for marketing and eventually won the Rising Star Award from the School of Business at La Sierra for the marketing work I did with Handbago, a start-up marketplace for designer handbags.
Was there anyone in your childhood who prepared you for the hard work it took to start your own agency?
My parents. They taught me responsibility at a very young age. In fact, I got my first job at ten years old as a paperboy, and they would also push me to work harder, to challenge myself. For example, once I finished one route, they signed me up for two more. I worked in rain or shine. If it rained or if it was cold, they would drive me to my routes to ensure the job was done.
Did you enjoy working at a young age?
I was thrilled to get my first paycheck, and the experience was even better because my parents let me use the money however I wanted. (Most of it went to baseball cards and video games.) I did other jobs on top of being a paperboy. I did yard work and car washes for neighbors. I don’t regret working at a young age. It taught me the value of hard work, independence, and the importance of doing the job right the first time.
What inspired you to launch your own Facebook advertising agency? Why did you start with Facebook ads, specifically?
At the time when I decided to create my own company, I was the VP of marketing at American Bullion, where I managed seven-figure monthly ad budgets. When Facebook launched its advertising platform, and after seeing its power and potential, I was blown away. The amount of data it had on consumers and the millions of ad targeting options it provided was revolutionary. I knew it was going to be huge, so after I resigned, I started AdvertiseMint. I focused my agency on Facebook advertising because I saw an untapped market for it. When I first started, there were few classes, experts, and resources to learn more about Facebook ads. I knew I could fill that gap.
You seem to believe in online platforms at a time when they were still fairly new to the industry. Can you tell us a time when you believed in something that no one else believed in?
After receiving my MBA, I interned at Allied Entertainment, where I promoted advanced movie screenings. Much of my work included mailing printed tickets to targeted groups and companies. During my time there, I noticed a problem: We couldn’t predict event turnouts. It was often a surprise to see our event being overbooked or having low attendance. I thought it would be more efficient to make electronic tickets that provided data on attendance. I presented my idea to the president of the company, but he ignored it. So, I partnered with a college friend to bring it to life. Two years later, we sold the business to Terry Hines and Associates, which later merged the project with Allied Entertainment and renamed it Gofobo.com.
Did you face any obstacles while building your business?
Building the agency had its normal challenges. You need paying clients. You need money for the team to complete the work. My advantage was that I always kept the business lean and eliminated any frivolous expenses. If it led to our core purpose of growth or expansion, we would spend the money. If not, then we would pass on it.
What sets AdvertisMint apart from other Facebook advertising agencies?
My team stays on top of changes in the industry, especially since our industry changes often. Each week, we have meetings where we get to share what we discovered and what we learned in our respective departments. Our Amazon team will share what they learned. Our Facebook ads team will share any new tools that popped up on the platform. I also require that our account managers have their certifications from any platforms they are actively working on, including Google Certification and Facebook Blueprint Certification. This ensures they are up to date on the latest recommendations, advice, and tools by each platform.
Your agency has expanded since its launch in 2014. What other services do you offer clients?
I started AdvertiseMint as an agency that specializes in Facebook advertising. Over the years, we have evolved to now offer a full-service digital advertising team with experts in areas such as Google ads, Amazon ads, TikTok ads, and more. We also offer a full creative team of video editors and video creators who are consistently creating new videos for our clients. This is one of the areas that help our clients see tremendous results over what they are currently running on their own as many of the modern advertising platforms reward advertisers that bring new and engaging content over traditional ads that are dull and boring.
What advice do you have for people who are still early in the process of building their careers?
In your journey, you will find two separate paths you need to face. For me, it was my time in college, when I was training to teach religion. I was faced with two paths: pursue a degree in Religion or a degree in Theology. Although both took the same amount of time to complete, Theology was more difficult, required more work, and included two years of Greek and one year of Hebrew. I opted for Theology, the more difficult degree because I knew it would open more opportunities. Taking the harder road always seemed like the right choice and has always led to bigger and better things in life and business. My advice is to avoid the easy road and pick the road that will challenge you to grow and become stronger.
Brian Meert is the CEO of AdvertiseMint, the #1 Hollywood-based digital advertising agency that specializes in helping successful companies advertise on Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Tiktok. AdvertiseMint has managed millions of dollars in digital ad spends in entertainment, fashion, finance, and software industries. Brian is the author of the best selling, The Complete Guide to Facebook Advertising, a member of the Forbes Agency Council, and a thought leader and speaker.
