Alumni Profile: Jody Peterson
Columbia, Mo. (Nov. 5, 2016) — In future interviews, Jody Peterson will be able to say that she traveled the country in a giant peanut. How cool is that?
Jody is a Peanutter. You know…one of those awesome, cool and outgoing people that drive across the country in the 26-foot long Nutmobile. Jody along with eight other “nutty Peanutters” are in charge of promoting the Planters brand to cities that they visit every week. The ability to travel, meet new people and experience new things intrigued Jody to apply to the one-year Kraft Heinz position. She has fallen in love with the brand and the cool adventures that she has experienced so far.
“It is more than what I expected,” Jody said. “I did not realize the amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes into driving a large food-shaped vehicle. We truly are a traveling public relations firm for a billion-dollar corporation so with that comes a lot of responsibility. We are constantly pitching to media and posting social media for a huge company. I love talking to people about what we do and why we are in their town that week. It has been a true blessing.”
Jody’s job is to connect to the public and create lasting memories with the Planters brand. She and the other Peanutters drive to a new market on Mondays while also pitching events to the media and posting on Instagram and Twitter. The group has attended fun festivals, planned cool events and were even in New York City for the Macy’s fireworks, which are held on the fourth of July.
During Jody’s interview process, she said that she was asked a lot why she wanted to be a Peanutter. She says it is important to know why you want to do something in order to stand out. She also said that you have to have a love for the brand, you need to show that you have a connection. It is also a plus that Planters welcomes humor, which Jody happens to have a lot of.
Jody’s next adventure when her internship wraps up is to move to Colorado where she will look into account management positions to gain more experience before hopefully coming back to Kraft Heinz. Jody encourages students and everyone to enjoy life while you can because you never know where it will lead you.
“Smile, it is that easy,” Jody said. “The more excited and happy you are the more it will rub off on other people. No one should wake up dreading the day ahead of them. If you find something you are passionate about or something that makes you smile go for it and don’t let go. Enjoy life because it is one nutty adventure.”
Updated: January 7, 2020