This Video is part of a marketing campaign I helped develop for the association of equipment manufacturers during my tenure at craft media/digital

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) represents the voice of the equipment manufacturing industry, amplifying the stories of the 2.2 million men and women who build, power, and feed the world. A large part of those efforts are through their grassroots advocacy program called I Make America. That program seeks to inform workers in the industry about policy that affects the industry and have them engage in advocacy through activities such as signing petitions or telling their stories online.

I Make America recently turned 15 years old, having originally launched in 2010 with the help of Dirty Jobs star Mike Rowe. To celebrate this anniversary, Rowe was brought back to film promotional videos for the program at the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas. This video would both honor the legacy of the program, and use Mike Rowe’s reputation as an advocate for careers in the trade to highlight the programs thematic shift in focus to workforce development and fostering the next generation of equipment manufacturers.

This video specifically was designed to be played on screens at events on the Manufacturing Express, a traveling bus tour that visited member facilities in-person all over the country. Client data and years of experience demonstrated that in-person activations, such as trade shows and facility visits, generated signatures at a significantly lower cost per acquisition (CPA) than targeted digital campaigns. By offering workers a free hat in exchange for signing up at events, the bus tour helped AEM grow its email database by tens of thousands of contacts each year. Mike Rowe’s involvement helped to get people’s attention and gain their trust in the campaigns motivations. By associating ourselves with one of America’s leading advocates for blue collar workers, they knew that we were on their side.

I was on set in Las Vegas when this was originally filmed, and wrote the treatment that our video editing team used when putting the final cut together. I personally managed all feedback both internally and from the client with the editor, leading to this final cut that was an enormous success for the Manufacturing Express event. Mike Rowe’s presence drew engagement from attendees, who wanted to learn more about the campaign and how they could get involved. Since this video debuted, I Make America has gained tens of thousands of new participants from the Manufacturing Express events where it played.