OXFORD, MISS-- A bright young girl with a passion for friendship and carpe diem, Taylor Yeomans came to Oxford not knowing what exactly she would find, or aspire to become. She began to find her passions for friendship, writing and live music as more time was spent in Oxford. Before taking the road more frequently traveled, Yeomans knew she wanted to stick to her tradition of finding her own path. She found her attentions drawn to the nightlife and entertainment that Oxford is well known for.
Many students work while enrolled in classes to pay rent, for school or various other expenses, and she was no exception. Students have on campus jobs, work in restaurants, and pretty much anything found around town. Little did the student workforce know, we were all missing out. It was her wild side, the all-go, no-stop, 'girls just wanna have fun' attitude that got Yeomans the job she is currently having a love affair with. Her title is "Brand Activation Team Specialist." She works for TEAM Enterprises, a leading national experiential marketing firm. That means they are "connecting and engaging consumers where they live, work and play," Yeomans said is the formal quote their company uses a lot. They market buzz- worthy, creative, personalized touch points that operate through a plethora of media platforms. TEAM's website says, "We work, we recruit, we blog." Especially with the emerging prominence of social media like Twitter, Facebook, and blog sites like Tumblr and Foursquare, they've been able to reach people in many ways.
She first spiked her interest in nightlife and entertainment while interning at the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council located in The Powerhouse on the Square. Meeting new interesting people and finding a niche that suited her began coming into view. They gave her some responsibility and let her plan her own event last spring, Best Bartender in Oxford. A competition rating all the bartenders in Oxford, the proceeds went to the Oxford Food Pantry and the Arts Council. A prize went to the lucky barkeep with the most votes. "It was an "overnight success that lasted all week," as Yeomans put it.
Finding it to be very rewarding and a feeling of accomplishment, it sat well in her stomach. She began building confidence in herself and also building relationships and acquaintances that would soon become connections and start to get her foot through that metaphorical door. She works for TEAM, which operates nationally with numerous brands and products. Though her specific target area is nightlife and beverage management and promotion. Bacardi Rum is the main brand she markets using promotions, a team of Bacardi Girls, freebies, and events catered to the college age consumers found around the bars of Oxford.
"I want a career doing something like this, although I want to stray away from the alcohol part of it. I'm looking toward the music industry and I'd like to do something like promoting for music festivals." Yeomans said.
Being a journalism student, she's had great opportunities to find stories and interview unique people. Her beat hasalways been geared towards music, trends, human life, and "things that matter, stuff that changes lives," she said. Now a senior journalism major and english minor, she knows she doesn't want a desk job at a newspaper, but instead, to write for the holy grail of alternative journalism, Rolling Stone Magazine.
"I want to use journalism as an outlet for developing my writing talent," she said.
Working as a waitress fueled her drive to not be like everyone else in the humdrum working environment that is the food industry. "It gave me the skill to talk to anybody, which has really helped. It drove me to want to go further than just serving pizzas for seven dollars an hour." She certainly collects more than that working in this environment. "I'm a party animal, not until I started meeting these people and figuring out the 'nightlife' of this town did I come out of my shell."
Just being your average student who likes to frequent The Library Sportsbar on a Friday night doesn't mean you can take on an opportunity like this. You have to immerse yourself in the drinking culture and surround yourself with people that can connect on that level. You have to find yourself in the bars that still have pool tables, the ones without lines of frat boys pouring in the front door. You have to get to know your barkeeps, bouncers, managers, musicians, and people that seemingly live in these places. Taylor Yeomans has done just that. Strutting down the alleys and back and forth around the Square parading her very own crew of Bacardi Girls, they would be hard to miss. Take for example Kayla Canfield, of Jackson, MS, a Bacardi Girl recruited by Yeomans for her undisputed talents, both in the looks and inebriation categories while still keeping it classy of course. "So this is what it's like to be famous." said Canfield. She knows what she's talking about. People see a crew of good looking women with Bacardi gear on and it's like a tractor beam.
"Oxford has been a breeding ground for people looking to have a good time, and I think that's why this has come so naturally to me," Yeomans said nostalgically. "Who wouldn't want to party with babes serving free alcohol?"
As she nears graduation she keeps her eyes and ears peeled for any opportunity to gain advantages toward the ultimate goal, not money, but being happy. "It's not a job if you love what your doing," she smiled. She wanted to leave readers with this advice, "We're trying to amp up the party. Be real, make friends, have a great time. Break up these Oxford cliques and let's unite as a community of happy people." A tall order, but if there's Bacardi involved, who knows what’s going to happen?
