What happens when a marketing guy cleans out his closet?

Random Guy:  Hey what do you do?Adrian Parker:  Oh, I'm in the marketing field.RG:  Oh! You make TV commercials?AP:  Kind of... I set the strategy and then manage the creative process with...RG:  You shoot the commercials? You come up with the ideas, right?AP:  No, I don't shoot them myself. We hire people...RG:  Wait... so what do you do? Who actually does the marketing?AP:  Well, it's a collaboration.RG: [walking away] Yeah right...Good ol' marketing. From the 4 P's and cognitive dissonance to junk mail and Super Bowl ads... it's arguably the most overused and least understood term in business today.  At its lowest denominator, to many it's fliers, coupons and branded golf balls.  But for those of us who know, we realize it's the art and science of driving action and delivering results. Disagree? Don't take my word for it, hear it from an "expert."I was literally going thru my closet when I uncovered  2 of my old leather portfolio books. One was from my days interning at a PR firm in Florida. In addition to quickly remembering how much slave labor they got out of me, I actually realized I had some darn good work - even by today's standards. The 2nd folder was from my 5 years in athletic retail managing media, advertising & brand development for Foot Locker & Footaction USA. Wow! Good times. Of course, then I started looking for ALL the programs I had managed... from fashion shows for 50-year old women to Danity Kane's CD release party."Why is all this stuff just sitting here?" I had to ask myself.Well, as you may have guessed, I didn't have any excuse for keeping yesterday's marketing heat to myself. The leftovers are looking pretty good so I hope you enjoy.Some folks call it a portfolio... and I guess it is.  Truth be told, it's a Thank You card.Thanks to all the great clients who let me touch their brands and the agencies that made me look like a rock star.Thanks to the 16-hour days, weekend conference calls, crack of dawn Starbucks runs, media turf wars & GRP spreadsheets that  pale in comparsion to the excitement of doing a good job for your brand, your team and your customers.Good times indeed.