Britt Carter has been a trusted advisor, colleague, and friend since 1994.

I learned the art of public relations and reputation management from this calm and thoughtful human being. His superpower revolves around crisis management and the subtle art of earned media.

But most of all, Britt was always available to listen, laugh, and counsel me through the marketing challenges during our time working together.

For almost a decade, Britt was the executive in charge of public relations for GoodMark Foods, where I was EVP of Marketing. My team and I managed a portfolio of large food brands like Slim Jim, Pemmican, Andy Capp, and more. At the time, Britt worked for French/West/Vaughn, a Raleigh based agency. I never made a distinction between him and our internal team. He was always part of the GoodMark gang.

Britt and I got to have both fun and success as we practiced the art of collaboration, connection, and caring.

Bringing People Together

We shared an attitude and approach toward business that when you can pull together all your human resources in one place, magic happens.

It requires a steady hand and a group of colleagues who all want to succeed together. It demands patience, kindness, and a willingness to say, look at all these smart people who have so much to teach me.

Through so many crazy marketing activities from our work with WCW wrestling star Macho Man Randy Savage to a genuinely absurd music event called Rebelliache, we let our authentic selves on full view for all. And, we fed off each other’s energy to guide many marketing activities.

Witty, talented, and supportive are three words that describe my friend Britt Carter.

I remember watching Britt come into a conference room, shaking hands with each person – looking them in the eye and connecting with everyone. He brought a calm and upbeat approach to work and life that helped me find my footing as a newly anointed marketing leader.

While resourceful, strategic, and creative, Britt was the poster child for being steady and even and help me learn many valuable lessons as a marketing professional. We seemed to draw energy from each other as if we were of a kindred spirit.

Life in New Mexico

As a young boy growing up in New Mexico, Britt often felt like an outlier. He loved the outdoors but was also an emotional and sensitive kid where the natural world spoke to him. Britt had an appreciation for the beauty in nature. But he wasn’t interested in the typical macho activities that many in his family enjoyed. He loved to hike outdoors but repulsed by the idea of shooting at animals for sport. The word hunting was anathema to his being.

Being the last in birth order, he just felt different from others and estranged from many around him. Those feelings left Britt with an urgent need to be seen for his true self.

Like my connection to my Grandfather George Ginsberg, Britt shared a warm and generous relationship with his grandfather Wade V. Carter.

His grandfather saw Britt for precisely who he was and celebrated his authenticity, quirkiness, and childlike wonder with the world. He’d sit with him during any of Britt’s creative exploits from puppet shows to his musical exploration.

Britt’s paternal grandfather Wade was the person who made Britt feel okay to be himself.

Wade was a refrigerator repairman, who dropped out of school at thirteen. He was a proud and joyful blue-collar tradesman through and through. Hard-working and exceptionally intelligent, his grandfather was that guy who could fix anything. Remarkably, he whistled as he worked. How many people do you know who is that happy?

Gifted with a fantastic, almost soulful laugh, Wade always put people at ease without a stroke of judgment.  This thread from Britt’s childhood, helped him connect his ability to handle crises for businesses and manage complex marketing situations.

WWWD – What Would Wade Do?

In observing his grandfather, Britt recognized that seeing people as they are, staying calm, and being creative could help get anyone through an unexpected and disruptive challenge. I remember Britt proudly showing me his grandfather’s 1963 Ford Fairlane that was a gift to him. It was white with red trim and glossy red vinyl interior. Britt and his wife Patty rode in the backseat of the Fairlane as they left their wedding.

That car represented a homegrown authenticity that became a cornerstone of how Britt saw the world and his connection to his future ride channeling his grandfather’s joy of life and ability to see things through an authentic lens.

College

After studying at the University of New Mexico for a year and a half, Britt knew he wasn’t quite ready for college. He left school and came back to NC to live with his maternal grandmother. After working as a bartender at Greenshields, a bar started by a former Anheuser-Busch executive, and he went to NC State studying Poly Sci – and English.

He thought about becoming a lawyer because so many people he admired were lawyers who had such diverse interests from music, ballet, the arts – that they freely celebrated. But Law School was expensive, and not in the cards, so he started working after he married his college sweetheart Patty on the first of January 1994.

The Name Game

With a college degree in hand, he got his first real-world job with a marketing firm called Addison Whitney. They came up with names for new products and other brand identity work.

Although he often felt like he was working in a sweatshop,(100 outgoing phone calls a day), he did learn the basics of branding and naming new products. To his credit are products like Chicken Twister from KFC, FLIPZ now owned by Star Brands, a yogurt covered pretzel, and he worked on the team that named Viagra. Did you know that the name came from mashing up vitality and the power of Niagara Falls?

After leaving Addison Whitney, Britt wrote to Rick French, who owned a growing PR firm in Raleigh. As luck would have it, Rick’s team was pitching a new client, Canandaigua Wines, who was launching a new alcoholic beverage/spritzer called Arbor Mist. Since Britt had some food and beverage experience, he helped Rick land this new account.

One thing about Britt – no one and I mean no one can do a better Macho Man Randy Savage imitation than Britt. It is part of his signature. I remember so many phone calls from Britt that were in Randy’s voice, that when Macho Man did call me, I always thought it was Britt.

“Brother, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about that new business pitch! Oh yeah.”

How ironic, that one of the major connections in our lives was a character named Macho Man. It was precisely the archetype personality we both abhorred. But we both adored Randy Savage.

Britt, Meet Meat Snacks

And that’s when Britt and I first met.

One of my team members, Amy, invited the French PR agency to discuss working with one of our brands that I managed for GoodMark. Britt came and met with the marketing team for Big Mama and Penrose Sausage. Yes, the pickled sausage was one of our brands and a first cousin to Slim Jim.

What Britt bought to the table was a chance to use experiential marketing – a term that was new to the team and me. We participate in events that fit with the ethos of the brand and allowed us to sample, sponsor, and become connected to the community we served. Britt helped us with sponsorship for our Pemmican brand on The George Strait Tour. (see the tattoo).

The work helped grow the brand and build a reputation among those who savored these tangy treats.

Over time, we pulled Britt and the French team into working on other brands, and we partnered together on some of the best times I ever had in my career. From PR events with Macho Man, the notorious Rebelliache Music Concert to our involvement with the X Games, NASCAR, and beyond, we worked together to bring our brand to life. Britt worked closely with Macho Man Randy Savage since Randy was an integral part of our event and PR strategy.

I credit Britt with always being a part of that success and contributing his enormously creative, and expansive ideas to every situation. He was the ultimate team player who helped me realize the vision of harnessing the brainpower of others who could all play together.

Fleishman Calling

The world’s largest PR firm contacted Britt to help start two new offices in North Carolina. Fleishman Hilliard hired Britt to open and manage their North Carolina presence around 2004. It was at this time ConAgra acquired GoodMark and moved the offices to Minneapolis.

From 2004 to 2017, Britt grew its team to dozens of reliable PR pros, and he got to enjoy the pleasure of mentoring so many young marketing professionals. He left that work in 2017 to move on to the next chapter in his career.

Today Britt works as a crisis management expert consulting with corporations, universities and other large institutions. He also does work with marketing agencies helping them with new strategies for organic growth.

I asked Britt for the top three pieces of advice he could offer as they relate to managing in a crisis.

Britt’s Three Lessons in Crisis Communications

• Take a Breath. Don’t panic. Create a calm and reasoned environment to process through the challenge. Thinking in crisis can be scattered and clouded and laced with uncertainty. So, job number one is to establish a drama and panic free environment to have the necessary conversation. Don’t create a false or unrealistic expectation. Come to the table to be as productive as possible.

• Focus on people, not numbers. Always remember there are real people involved in most crises. It can be easy to focus on getting the numbers back and manage the bottom line. But you can’t lose sight of the humans at every level. People’s lives and livelihoods are at stake. Focus first on the people.

• Authenticity and transparency. If we screwed up, say so. Admit the mistake. Support the reputation of the brand by being bone dry honest. Own up to the error, don’t flinch, or obfuscate the truth. Get the info out. When Britt managed the plant explosion and fire in Garner, NC, for ConAgra’s Slim Jim facility, he established hourly press briefings. In the absence of information, it can create fear and anxiety. Structure help and never be afraid to say, “I don’t know but I’ll try and find out.”

Friends

For twenty-five years, we have remained friends. We both learned a lot about marketing from each other. But it is in the shared connections with our grandfathers, that sealed a more profound bond.

It is funny how the actual work we did together slowly slips into the past, I always think of the brilliant quote from Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Britt always made me feel seen.

I never had to pretend to be anything. I just had to show up as me.

In hearing Britt’s story about his grandfather, It is as if Wade (Britt’s grandfather) and George (my grandfather), helped to connect us. Our grandfathers saw their grandsons without judgment. They taught us the importance of the dignity of work. We learned how much connection and humility matter every day.

I wish Wade and George could have met. They, too, would have been friends.

But I’m so fortunate that Britt and I are forever connected.

Oh yeah.

You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com  Let’s explore working together today.

Photos by Jeffrey Slater and Britt Carter