Heroes of ICAST: Andrew Marks

One thing I wanted to do at ICAST this year is profile some of the behind-the-scenes heroes. The folks who really make it happen, but perhaps don’t get star billing. Andrew Marks fits that description.

One thing I wanted to do at ICAST this year is profile some of the behind-the-scenes heroes. The folks who really make it happen, but perhaps don’t get star billing. Andrew Marks, marketing director at Pure Fishing, fits that description. 

Marks is responsible for setting up Pure Fishing’s 8,000 square foot booth space at ICAST, the single largest booth in the show. It houses 12 brand showcases, featuring new products from bass biggies like Berkley, Abu Garcia and more. He also set up 500 square feet of booth space right around the corner at the trout show, or IFTD.

When I asked Marks to describe his job he said, “I work on all the spaces where one-on-one interactions take place for our brands.” More specifically, he works with the brand managers from concept through execution on the booths for trade shows like ICAST, as well was consumer events like The Bassmaster Classic and Elite Series tournaments. His job also includes events for many other species, such as walleye, trout and crappie. This means Marks travels about two and a half weeks every month. And, in case you’re wondering, he has a wife, Sherry, in Dallas. They’ve been married for 35 years and have a 29 year-old son who is working on a PhD in microbiology at the University of Oklahoma. 

What does Marks like best about his job?

“I love meeting different people. And, it’s a fun industry we work in. We’re selling fun. If people don’t walk away from our booth smiling then we haven’t done our job. I love the challenge of marketing at different events—BASSfest, College tournaments, High School, team tournaments—the audience is different at all of them.” 

What are the challenges of his job?

“So many of our events happen on the weekends. I wish we could do them all during the week,” he said with a smile.

I can report that all the Pure Fishing brand exhibits looked terrific here at ICAST. Well done, Andrew!