Phans have long suggested strongly that Frew Publications needed to hire a social media manager to take control of their accounts and promote the character and their products better.
It is unfair for Dudley Hogarth and Glenn Ford to do that on top of producing comics and merchandise for us to buy.
Finally something has happened and Frew have now hired someone who can help them. This is a quick interview with Trenton Ryder the social media manager hired to take Frew into the next century. We plan on getting Trent to join us in our next comics and news X-Band: The Phantom Podcast. In the meantime, read on to learn about him plus his strategy for Frew.
ChronicleChamber: Hello, welcome and thanks for your time. First of all, what is your name and how old are you?
Trent Ryder: Trenton Ryder and I’m 19, turning 20 in February.
CC: Did / do you ever read the Phantom?
TR: I do. the first issue I ever read/owned was Frew #1722 "A Plague in Venice", I saw it in a store back in 2015 and was captivated by the cover artwork which led me to buy it and begin my Phantom comic reading journey.
CC: How did you get the role at Frew?
TR: I’ve spent the last two years working in the film industry, I did 2 movies for Vertical Entertainment and then managed the digital marketing for Bret Easton Ellis’ Smiley Face Killers which was a big deal to me, I loved Bret’s novel and film American Psycho and it was such an honour to work alongside Lionsgate to get the film out there, i was so stoked to be apart of that project.
I’m so proud of the work I did on those movies but I didn’t want to be known in my career field for only working on film campaigns, I wanted to do something more hands on and branch myself out and test my creativity.
I’m currently at University full time getting my Bachelors Degree in Marketing & Communications, which means I’m unable to work for a company in person due to the scheduling not working well for me. but I also didn’t want to halt my career entirely given how good things have been going for me the last couple months.
That’s when me and Rene White from Frew got into contact, Frew were looking to dabble into the digital space and I was looking to direct social campaigns in a way that fits my schedule, after bouncing some ideas to each other we agreed to test the water on giving the publisher a social media presence for up to 12 months to see how things turn out.
CC: What is your aim for the Frew role?
TR: I think The Phantom is such an amazing character, but he’s not really remembered that well following the influx of superhero’s that spawned from the DC and Marvel brand over the decades.
I was chatting with my friend Michael who is the Associate Editor at this massive Superhero / Comic Book news website called Bam Smack Pow the other night about it, we both agreed that this character deserved to be represented in the comic book community based off how big of a part he played in evolving the masked crusader character type we see everywhere in pop culture today.
My main goal for my year at Frew is to push the character as much as I possibly can in the social space to try and boost his relevance and get him the attention he deserves amongst comic book fans. If I’m too move onto a new job in a years time I hope I can leave knowing I helped give this character the hype he deserves.
CC: What do you look to bring to the table?
TR: I love my career field, I have such a great time doing what I get to do; but a big part of that for me is creating stuff that isn’t usually seen from other Social Media Managers and other Digital Campaigns, for example the SFK campaign earlier this year I was chatting with the lead actor, Ronen Rubinstein, about what sort of approach we wanted to take towards the films social marketing, because the marketing plan the studio had invented wasn’t boding well amongst fans and critics - I might get in trouble for this but what the studios marketing team was doing was just straight up awful.
Around January we completely revamped the accounts and essentially made the account less of a Professional Work account and more of a friend-like presence amongst Ronen and his fandom.
The movie gained a lot more popularity following the change of social media and it was just genuinely such a fun thing to execute for me creatively. So to answer the question, I hope I can bring something new to the table that hasn’t been done before from other brands like DC or Marvel, something that’s less on the professional side and more on the creative side; cause there’s nothing I enjoy more than giving the social pages I run their own voice that is outside the normal of what people expect.
I haven’t exactly figured out what I want that special thing to be when it comes to this character and this campaign, but when I eventually figure it out you bet it’s going to be something you wouldn’t expect. stay tuned, it’s only the beginning for PhantomComicsAU ;)
CC: We see a new Twitter account @PhantomComicsAU. What's your plan for twitter?
TR: I chose to launch the Twitter first because in my opinion it’s the best social platforms out there and it’s a great place to handle fan engagement; The twitter is going to be a great place to showcase fans, fan art, fan projects as well as the talent artists who work for Frew Publications and bring these comics to life.. and obviously on top of all that It’ll be the best place to find out information on all upcoming Phantom related releases and projects.
CC: What about Facebook?
TR: Frew currently have an existing Facebook Page they’ve used over the last couple of years and we’re currently in the process of transferring ownership of the account to me so I can begin Facebook campaigning.
CC: Any other social media platforms you are looking at using?
TR: I just launched the Instagram account yesterday and I’m also interested in bringing Phantom Comics to TikTok. Also, I’m developing plans to extend Kid Phantom on social media, but that will come into effect a little later down the line once I’ve established the Phantom socials first.
CC: Thank you so much for your time and look forward to chatting with you on our next X-Band: The Phantom Podcast!
TR: Thank you and it will be a pleasure to joining you guys on a podcast!
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