Rick Fromet, Senior Content Creator of Agency Marketing, takes us behind the scenes to discuss his unique role at Progressive
Photo Courtesy of Rick Fromet
Work is anything but boring when you’re never sure exactly what your day will entail. On a daily basis, Rick Fromet never knows exactly what his day is going to look like. He loves the element of surprise, as he could be creating marketing campaigns, new product videos, or communicating with sales representatives for new innovative ways to increase sales on insurance bundles.
Fromet is a Senior Content Creator of Agency Marketing for Progressive Insurance. He is currently the only employee at Progressive with this title. Typically, his job description features many tasks, mainly all project based. He stated nearly 25% of his time is spent communicating with insurance agents, 25% is creating external videos for sales and promotions, 25% of his time is spent creating videos promoting new products, and 25% of his time is spent managing internal communication. Each day often brings a new deadline, as well. Fromet states that he typically has multiple projects up his sleeve at once. The deadlines may be within four hours, four days, or even four months. He also mentions how he often has meetings with the CEO of Progressive to seek approval for his content ideas and feedback on his projects. As of 2020, the world has mainly focused on staying remote and working from home, due to the pandemic. Yet, the pandemic hasn’t influenced the ability to still meet with the CEO, co-workers, and even clients. Fromet does admit to missing work, as he doesn’t get to engage in the face-to-face communication he thoroughly enjoys. Whether working from home or in the office, he doesn’t let the outside world cloud his creative flow. The sort of uncertainty work brings, keeps Fromet on his toes. He loves the thrill of new projects and tasks. He believes they keep him occupied, rather than being accompanied by boredom, especially during a pandemic. Fromet is a Senior Content Creator of Agency Marketing for Progressive Insurance. He is currently the only employee at Progressive with this title. Typically, his job description features many tasks, mainly all project based. He stated nearly 25% of his time is spent communicating with insurance agents, 25% is creating external videos for sales and promotions, 25% of his time is spent creating videos promoting new products, and 25% of his time is spent managing internal communication. Each day often brings a new deadline, as well. Fromet states that he typically has multiple projects up his sleeve at once. The deadlines may be within four hours, four days, or even four months. He also mentions how he often has meetings with the CEO of Progressive to seek approval for his content ideas and feedback on his projects. As of 2020, the world has mainly focused on staying remote and working from home, due to the pandemic. Yet, the pandemic hasn’t influenced the ability to still meet with the CEO, co-workers, and even clients. Fromet does admit to missing work, as he doesn’t get to engage in the face-to-face communication he thoroughly enjoys. Whether working from home or in the office, he doesn’t let the outside world cloud his creative flow. The sort of uncertainty work brings, keeps Fromet on his toes. He loves the thrill of new projects and tasks. He believes they keep him occupied, rather than being accompanied by boredom, especially during a pandemic.
Fromet may seem to have a glorious career, but did it always start out that way? He takes a trip down memory lane, as he discusses his education and early employment history. As a young adult, Fromet attended Cleveland State University. He knew as soon as he started his college experience, he wanted to pursue a degree in communications. He earned a Bachelor’s in Arts and Science, with a focus in mass media and journalism. He recalls the degree programs were a bit different back in the day. Back then, mass media and journalism weren’t their own majors, which is why Fromet received his Bachelor’s in Arts and Science. Fromet may seem to have a glorious career, but did it always start out that way? He takes a trip down memory lane, as he discusses his education and early employment history. As a young adult, Fromet attended Cleveland State University. He knew as soon as he started his college experience, he wanted to pursue a degree in communications. He earned a Bachelor’s in Arts and Science, with a focus in mass media and journalism. He recalls the degree programs were a bit different back in the day. Back then, mass media and journalism weren’t their own majors, which is why Fromet received his Bachelor’s in Arts and Science.
After graduation, he started his own business, 5Front. 5Front was a company focused on broadcasting and television production. Fromet referenced his time spent with 5Front as, “I was living the dream, doing whatever I felt would take my company in the right direction. I loved being my own boss, but it did come with many complications.” These complications came as a surprise and Rick knew he was going to be faced with a challenge. As the years went on, he noticed broadcasting wasn’t doing well and keeping up with the current media trends. Fromet discusses how the industry is very different now than it was nearly 20 years ago. He stated, “TV and radio are not viable sources anymore.” Television and radio used to be the only source for marketing, according to Rick. Within the past few years, he had to completely shift gears and learn how to use Snapchat, Instagram, and even Facebook. Fromet also mentioned, “TV and radio used to be all formula based. They still are, but it’s much stronger now. It’s almost as if it’s an art not a science.” With this all being said, Fromet took a giant leap of faith and decided this wasn’t the career for him anymore. He sold 5Front to an upcoming marketing company and went on to pursue a career in marketing.
Photos Courtesy of Rick Fromet
Fast forward through many, many long interviews, Fromet knew he found the “perfect” company. Shortly after being hired, he started his new career path with Progressive Insurance. He has been with Progressive for six years out of the 30 years he’s been in the field. Fromet mentions his favorite part about working for Progressive are his co-workers. It’s a positive, energetic environment with the perfect mix of fun and work. So far, his favorite project has to be working with the CEO to discuss communication strategies, specifically how to reach their targeted audience. He enjoys being able to communicate directly to the top.
It’s quite easy to wonder how Fromet learned all of the tips and tricks in the field, as he has mastered many tasks throughout his different careers. Fromet believes that one key skill necessary for his job is the ability to listen and communicate with others. He states, “I can teach someone how to use Adobe, but I can’t teach someone how to communicate and become a people-person. He also encourages anyone entering the communication and marketing field to learn how to truly listen to what people want. He specifies that many people can tell you what they want, but the key is using that information and turn it into a solution.
Although Fromet does excel in nearly everything he does, he is not shy to admit he does get frustrated on occasion and let his weaknesses get the best of him. He tends to get frustrated by “The Red Tape,” meaning the constant asking for approval. He enjoyed being his own boss, as he made the executive decisions and didn’t need permission from anyone else. Yet, he understands why it’s necessary even though it does slow his innovation down. He also mentions that his weakness is jumping into too many things at once. Fromet states, “I love to start new projects, but I have a bad habit of saying yes to too many at once.” He often gets too excited, forgets to slow down and concentrate his focus on one specific task at a time. However, everyone in the world has a weakness. It’s always best to acknowledge the weakness and try to change it into a strength, through constant work.
Rick Fromet is a man of many talents and excels in all, which is very hard to find in the field. He continues to offer new creative content to Progressive and finds joy learning new tasks that will help further his knowledge in the field. Fromet believes one of the greatest blessings in life is “finding a job you’re passionate about because you’ll never grow tired of trying to achieve new things.”
For more information about Rick and his career, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-fromet-042b473/.
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