Rob Peoni likes to rock ‘n’ roll. And although that’s led many astray, it’s what brought him to Well Done Marketing as our newest writer/producer.
Here’s how:
Rob started a blog highlighting the local music scene in 2011 and, simultaneously, his ability to turn a phrase. The site, called “Thought on Tracks,” got him an internship doing roughly the same thing for Musical Family Tree, an Indianapolis nonprofit set up to preserve and promote local music. All of that, in turn, helped pave his way to becoming a committee member for Tonic Ball—an Indianapolis rock ‘n’ roll fundraiser benefiting Second Helpings—where he met Tonic’s founder Ken Honeywell, who is also Well Done’s founder.
And the music mojo just kept going. In 2016, Rob’s work on Tonic landed him the communications and marketing manager position at Second Helpings, the recipient of all funds raised through the ball. After a successful run there, he’s finishing up his first weeks at Well Done.
Want to know more? We did, too.
Here’s (most of) the rest of the story:
Q: What led you to writing as a career choice?
A: I’ve always been a news junkie. My earliest memories of my parents involve cups of coffee while reading The Indianapolis Star (They still start their day that way). Then, when I was in first grade, I got the opportunity to interview Olympic Gold Medalists Summer Sanders & Pablo Morales for one of Delta’s in-flight magazines. I was floored when they gave me the time of day and I was also hooked. I went to journalism school and planned to be the kind of newspaperman my parents could read every morning. Then, I graduated college in 2008 and the newspaper crisis seemed to happen overnight (even though it was a long time in the making). While I never made it to a news desk, I realized my passion was telling stories.
Q: Your career path is actually cool—something a lot of people can’t say. Until now, of course, what has been your favorite job?
A: No question, my internship with Musical Family Tree. Second Helpings is my favorite real job, but if someone could pay me $13 an hour to sit around and write about local music all day again, I’d consider it.
Q: Speaking of Second Helpings, how did you turn your volunteer job with Tonic Ball into a full-time position?
A: When the communications and marketing manager position opened up, I told them I was going to beat the door down until they kicked me off their doorstep. I was there for three and a half years.
Q: What brings you to Well Done and what do you hope to accomplish?
A: I wanted to get back to writing as more of a central part of my job. I want to learn new skills and I know, from working with Well Done on a few projects with Second Helpings, this is the perfect team for that.
Q: What are you most proud of, so far, in your career?
A: What we were able to accomplish at Second Helpings is pretty awesome. We grew their social media audience around twenty percent annually, refreshed nearly every facet of their branding and marketing materials, and created a new website that launched in 2019.
I’m also pretty proud to have been involved with Musical Family Tree and on the ground floor of the Chreece hip-hop festival (in 2015).
Q: And you’re an Indianapolis native?
A: Yes. I went to Cathedral High School and Indiana University in Bloomington. I was that kid who said, “I’m getting out of Indiana the first chance I get.” And then I graduated and fell in love with the local arts and culture scene. And my wife owns Hello Hair Studio, just around the corner here in Fountain Square. She says we’re never leaving because she’s not starting her client base from scratch again.
Q: I’d ask you what you do in your spare time, but I think I know: listen to music.
A: I’m a total music junkie. Most of my time outside of work is spent with dusty fingertips, shuffling through the 1,200ish records in my collection.
Q: This begs the question, what are your favorite local bands right now?
A: S.M. Wolf is one of them. It’s kind of an Indie Pop band, the brainchild of their lead singer, Adam Gross. They played our wedding.
Local jazz is really strong, too. Charlie Ballantine and his wife, Amanda Gardier, are two of my favorites.
Q: Favorite song lyrics?
A: I have been listening to a TON of Silver Jews/Purple Mountains/David Berman since he committed suicide last year. His lyrics are genius. If I were going to pick an all-time favorite, it would almost certainly be something from Bob Dylan. But let’s just do a simple, hilarious one-liner from Berman:
“In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection”
Q: Well, we strive for perfection here. So far, no one has been hospitalized for it.
A: Good to know.
Q: Separate from this string of music questions, what’s your favorite ad campaign?
A: I have to go with a modern classic, Volkswagen’s “Milky Way” ad that introduced the world to Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon.” Why? It introduced me to Nick Drake!
Q: I guess we’re just not getting too far away from talking about music—ever—with you.
A: I haven’t really tried very hard, but I doubt it.