In essence, Cameo Marketing’s forte is creating eye-catching presentations for its clients at large public events.

Bob’s first career was in radio, and he based Cameo on a radio concept: Marketers would identify the best stations across the country for specific audiences and tailor promotions for their companies on those networks. Bob thought to do the same thing for events.

Cameo identifies festivals, sports events and other attractions that will give companies direct contact with their target audiences. Then Cameo creates interactive displays or shows to take on the road to those venues. Cameo also does a range of more traditional marketing services.

For example, when Hasbro Toys was gearing up to promote the 30th anniversary of the G.I. Joe brand, Cameo Marketing proposed a skydiving team that would drop in at airshows, children’s hospitals and retail stores such as Target. Hasbro, Bill recalled, didn’t think to ask whether Cameo had done such a promotion before. They got the contract. Bob was the pilot and jump coordinator, as they tried to keep costs down.

“We try to create experiences that give consumers a memorable and lasting bond with the brand,” Bob said.

While the Tiernans expected success, they never predicted the company would grow so steadily. In fact, the odds were against Cameo Marketing to begin with.

The couple met in Denver in the early 1980s. Bob was at the pinnacle of his radio career; at 34 he was one of the youngest vice presidents in the storied history of Westinghouse. Bonnie was well-known in the Colorado marketing community. In time, they had two children and moved to Connecticut, where Bob had grown up. The pace and restrictions of their corporate lives, though, were wearing on them.

“I was becoming very disenchanted with the broadcasting business,” Bob said.

They wanted simplicity. They also wanted to live in the country, where they could raise horses, grow gardens and enjoy the outdoors. Bob, a pilot, also wanted to eventually have time to fly.

“We were looking for a feeling of what we had back in Colorado,” Bonnie said. “Really a beautiful place, with open spaces.”

They saw those kind of places every time they visited Bob’s parents’ camp in Maine. They wanted to move here, but they would have to develop a business of their own to do that. Bob kept his job for a while, as Bonnie tested the waters with Cameo Marketing. In 1991 they cut ties and moved to Oxford. It was a radical lifestyle change, and their old farmhouse was the first priority.

“I don’t think anything had been done to it since the 1950s,” Bonnie said.

The first year was spent trying to make the house livable. They had to restore the barn, and they knew nothing about timber framing. They were raising chickens, sheep and pigs, despite having nearly zero experience with animals. They relied on their own hard work, and the kindness of neighbors and local craftspeople. Bob remembers their children lugging firewood in the winter on orange sleds.

Their savings were vanishing fast, so they sold their snowmobiles and the extra car. They lived on $27,000 the first year. Their white-collar acquaintances said they had lost their minds.

Cameo Marketing operated out of a bedroom. It didn’t take long, though, to land the first big deal – The Hasbro promo, in 1992.

Bulls and barn storming

“That was the beginning of Cameo Marketing, nationally,” Bob said. “It just started to grow and mushroom.”

By 1997, they needed people and space, so they rented an office in Bridgton and hired a small staff. A few years later, when they learned about the opportunity at Pineland, they jumped at the chance. The progressive atmosphere of the campus suits the image of the company, the Tiernans said. Pineland has organic gardens, horse stables, trails for hiking and skiing, and a commissary. They moved here in April, again expanding their workforce.

“We want to continue to grow the company,” Bonnie said. As in the past, though, growth will be well-planned and steady. And the Tiernans do not want to grow so large that they lose their relationships with the employees. They also have strong bonds with vendors in the region.

Bancroft Contracting in South Paris is a partner. Its heavy-duty fabricators build the Cameo designs, which usually travel by trucks and trailers. Cameo handles the whole process, from construction to hiring the truck drivers.

The Red Baron frozen pizza flight club is a good example of Cameo’s creativity: It’s a 53-foot-trailer that carries a 3-D show and a virtual reality simulator. In the trailer’s custom-made theater, visitors experience the illusion of flying with the Red Baron, from farm fields to a volcano to a whirling tornado. Box fans, strobe lights and fog machine stand in for wind, lightning and fog. Or visitors can “fly” using the virtual reality simulator, in which a person sits in a chair wearing a virtual reality helmet and can change the view of the flight by looking in different directions.

Cameo also recently built a “Western Legends” truck for U.S. Smokeless Tobacco. It carries memorabilia from the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Museum of the American Cowboy. It features wood floors and barn siding, plus video and audio components highlighting the sport and the brand. Outside there are interactive rope and cowboy hat shows, a mechanical bull for riding and a barbecue.

“There’s a separate VIP lounge in the front,” Bob said, “for special guests and dignitaries.”

The Tiernans do not believe in the one-size-fits-all approach; each new client receives a tailored package of services.

For years, the couple often assumed their location in Maine put them at a disadvantage. Other firms doing similar work were in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Cameo Marketing had a rural route address. Over time, they changed their minds.

“We put our view on our promotional materials,” Bob said, motioning out the window toward the forested hills. “We say, ‘With a view like this, how can we not have a different perspective?'”

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