Daily Inspiration: Meet Don & Rebecca Thompson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Don & Rebecca Thompson.

Hi Don & Rebecca, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story. 
Poster Posse started out as a collective of artists who enjoyed creating alternative movie posters. The group came together when Don emailed a dozen or so artists asking if they’d be interested in creating an alternative movie poster for “World War Z” since the teaser poster released by the studio was so minimalistic. Eight artists responded creating their own posters from inspiration of other marketing and info online about the film. Don wrote up an article on his blog, shared all over social media, and a few days later received a call from a VP of marketing at Paramount, who Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B Entertainment, was working with on the film. They advised that they’d like to purchase all of the art. Needless to say, Don and the artists were over the moon. The art was used for social media/digital marketing, licensed products sold at some retail stores, and the artists got paid for their work. 

The main objective from the beginning was to try to obtain opportunities for these artists who Don had become fans of and grown to have relationships with. A few weeks later, the group had grown, and many of them created alternative movie posters for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” In the same process, Don wrote up a great article on his blog and posted it all over social media, whereas writer/director James Gunn re-shared several pieces, and the art caught the eye of marketing folks at Marvel, who called a few days later. 

It was at this point that we realized we could make something of this and get more opportunities for artists to create official marketing assets for the studios and be compensated. Therefore, we incorporated as MEOKCA, Inc. and took a leap of faith. We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary last year, and we couldn’t be more grateful for all of the client relationships and artists who’ve shared this journey with us. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think starting any business is a smooth road. As with most things in life, there are ups and downs and challenges to overcome, but they’re all a part of the process, and even failures have their learnings to take away and use for the future. We have a unique business model, so there has been a learning curve with that, of course, but we love what we do, we’re passionate about art, our artists, our clients and the poster community at large. We focus on keeping our main objective in mind and make decisions towards that end goal. 

The pandemic was our biggest difficulty so far. Obviously, movie theaters closed, films and tv series stopped filming, etc. Fortunately, we applied for and received some of the SBA benefits that were available then, and that, along with some savings we had, allowed us to remain in business through such a slow couple of years. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Don and I both come from several years in the action sports industry. Don worked at DC Shoes in their early years and later at Sole Technology (Etnies etc.). I worked for H-Street Skateboards in my early 20s and then later for Innes Clothing and Osiris Shoes, all skateboard and snowboard-related brands. Don was customer service manager and has the gift of gab. He doesn’t know a stranger and can pick up a conversation with just about anyone. He’s also has been a comic book and pop-culture geek his entire life. He was able to steer his past professional experience and personal interests into his original blog (blurppy.com) and later, handling all of Poster Posse’s social media, client acquisition and retention, finding new artists, etc. 

My background is in product and production management, so I am crazy detail-oriented and organized. I’ve been able to utilize those skills to handle the project management of the commissions we do, tackle things like contracts and customer service. I’ve also ran two small businesses, so I have the accounting and business know-how. 

Being that our roles are so different, it really worked out great. We can cover a lot of ground, and we truly enjoy working together. 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
We have always wanted to be successful enough at the business that it can be our livelihood and so that we can continue our main objective, obtaining opportunities for artists. We’ve never wanted to be a huge business where the personal relationships get lost. Our artists are like family to us and everything we do is based on what we think will best benefit them, as well as be good for the business, so we can continue. It’s a balance, and we don’t always get it right, but our hearts are always in the right place. Success to us with Poster Posse is providing the most work possible for the amazing talent we have in our group of artists and keeping it going for as long as possible. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.posterposse.com
• Instagram: @theposterposse
• Facebook: @posterposse
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/poster-posse/
• Twitter: @posterposse
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@posterposse
• Other: meokca.com

Image Credits
Vincent Aseo