Tools of the Trade: Brandy Alexander from Icon Commerce

This story was originally published by AgencySpy and can be found here.

Tools of the Trade is an AgencySpy feature to help highlight the many tools that help make advertising and marketing folks successful. The tools can be anything that helps you perform at your top form, from your favorite drafting table to your best software program to a lucky pen, a vintage typewriter or a pair of headphones.

Next up is Brandy Alexander, senior director of strategy at Icon Commerce.

What is the name of the one tool you use all the time at work, and how does it inspire your work?

A 1991 US West Cellular, Motorola Ultra Classic cell phone. It serves multiple purposes. I have it in my office to remind me that technology never stops, and I use it as an ice breaker.

Why is it your favorite?

I take it to conferences and events and bring it out during cocktail hours and inevitably draw a little crowd of seasoned tech executives who “used to have that phone” and younger people that recognize it as the “Zack Morris phone” (from Saved by the Bell). I also love telling people that I signed the worst plan ever. People see it behind my desk during Zoom calls too and usually mention it.

How did you acquire your tool or hear about it for the first time?

I bought it as a joke years ago. Overall, it’s the best $75 eBay purchase ever.

How does it help you be successful?

It’s a great ice breaker and a piece of technology history. It’s a fun prop for networking events and a statement to how far we have come in the digital world in a relatively short amount of time.

Does it have sentimental value?

My dad had this phone back in the day and it reminds me of that pre-digital era, before tech took our lives.

Do you think your tool could go TikTok viral?

Hot tip for a TikTok influencer—call Motorola and tell them you’re going to make the brick phone famous again with a “TikTok made me buy it” video. EBay merchants can thank me later.