Salukis in Business — Nathan Colombo
CEO, Brand Advocacy Group — B.A. 2014 Speech Communications (Rhetoric and Political Science focus); College of Liberal Arts
When asked what he does for a living, Nathan Colombo is fond of saying “I play on Facebook,” but the truth is, he’s not playing.
Colombo is the owner of Brand Advocacy Group, a digital marketing company that focuses on strategic planning to help business owners bring more value to how they express themselves in the public sphere.
At 29 years old, he’s a millennial, part of a generation who grew up in a world of constant change, and one that is interconnected though an increased use in, and familiarity with, communications, media and digital technologies.
He’s also at the forefront of a trend — rather than moving to a big city to pursue his dreams, Colombo is making his mark in rural southern Illinois, and has chosen to stay in his hometown of Carbondale, to help transition it into its next incarnation.
Colombo got into the digital media field professionally as a result of an internship — he worked with Quatro’s Pizza while earning his B.A. in Communications at SIU Carbondale.
“I responded to an advertisement in the Daily Egyptian. Some people may downplay the fact that I was working for this small-town pizza place, but that opportunity put me in the driver’s seat in a way working for a corporation would not have,” Colombo said.
Colombo said his internship allowed him to take the “soft” communication components of his degree and apply them to the real world. It gave him the opportunity to build a digital brand from scratch — it would fly, or not, based on his efforts and abilities. The fact that Quatro’s is still one of his clients speaks to his success.
“People are waking up to the potential of digital media. They are beginning to understand the power of developing their own brand through the use of social media and the use of data to micro-target audiences to deliver their message,” Colombo said.
According to Colombo, billboards reach a wide audience, as do traditional methods of print advertising, but the base they reach is broad, and doesn’t necessarily get to the heart of who a business is trying to reach.
“Digital media allow us to directly appeal to a segment of the population based on age, location, income, and a bunch of attributes,” Colombo said.
Politics is another field strongly influenced by the use of digital marketing, and one with which Colombo has a lot of experience. In 2017, he filed to campaign for Congress as a Democrat in Illinois’ 12th District, but ultimately decided not to run.
This year, he ran for Mayor of Carbondale, Illinois, and while he did not win, his campaign garnered 45 percent of the vote. His platform was progressive, and included issues of environmental sustainability, and social and economic justice, among other things.
Like many millennials, Colombo sees his world as interrelated in a way past generations may not have. His business affects not only his life, but the lives of others, and you can see that in his career choices.
He has served on the board of directors for several non-profits in the Southern Illinois region, including the Varsity Center, the United Way of Southern Illinois, and the Autism Society of Southern Illinois.
Colombo says his work for the Varsity Center is particularly rewarding because it allows him to take his communications degree to a whole new level.
“I get to apply my degree to contract negotiation, customer service, marketing, branding, and just about anything else you can think of, in one fell swoop. A lot of folks get burned out in their business or their job because they only get to use a single vertical in their skill set. I use five or six in a week to accomplish a project goal. It keep me on my toes,” Colombo said.
Colombo said one of the inspirations for his drive to connect was Bryan Kelso Crow, an associate professor of communications at SIU Carbondale.
“Bryan leads by example. I find the fact that he stewards a nationally syndicated NPR show, while managing all the facets that being a professor of communications study brings with it, and raising a family, inspiring. He really got me to examine myself and my work and challenged me to be a better person,” Colombo said.
Recently, Colombo took a position as the development director for the United Way of Southern Illinois, after recognizing that in order to help rebuild their fundraising presence in southern Illinois, he needed to take a position within the organization.
“In a region that has limited resources, and tight competition for them, non-profits are often the way things get done. Ultimately, I became involved in all that I do because the need is there, someone asked me to help, and I have a hard time saying no,” Colombo laughed.
But Colombo’s Brand Advocacy Group is not going anywhere. Colombo is in the process of developing a Carbondale-centric web series tied to social media distribution channels, and will continue his work as a digital and strategic marketing consultant.
He will also definitely run for office in the future.
Colombo and his wife and their blended family live in Carbondale.
“Salukis in Business” celebrates the our Saluki Alumni who have taken the risk to go into business for themselves.
If you’d like to be the focus of this weekly feature, or nominate someone you think we should feature, please email us at alumni-socialmedia@alumni.siu.edu.
