Earlier this month, a Cleveland woman answered a job listing ad she found on Craigslist for an event planner for Media Giant. She was subsequently interviewed at a local restaurant by Rod Marshall. During the interview, Marshall told the applicant that she was a good candidate, but gave her three tasks to complete before the second interview so she could “prove her worth.” First, Marshall said, she had to sell tickets to a May 23rd fashion show event that Media Giant is holding at the Cleveland Hyatt Regency to benefit a local charity. She also needed to collect donated items for the silent auction to be conducted during the event; the more items collected, the better her prospects. The third task – to visit the space at the Cleveland Hyatt Regency and give him ideas for arranging and setting up the event.
“As soon as I could tell people, they thought it was really strange that he would have me do work and not pay,” said Willms. “But he had a contract from the Hyatt; he had tickets printed up. He had a business card, a Web site. He presented himself as very professional.”
BBB has confirmed that Media Giant was incorporated by Rod Bowling in October, 2009. Bowling first came to the attention of BBB when he operated Tiger Media. An unanswered complaint filed by a Cleveland woman in 2005 alleged he had failed to refund money for tickets that had been sold to a talent contest that did not take place.
Bowling is also identified in BBB files as the former owner of Big Planet Media which operated from the same address now used by Media Giant. Big Planet Media has an “F” BBB rating due, in part, to several unanswered complaints and is believed to be out of business.
A Cleveland woman told BBB, “Big Planet Media sponsored a contest I joined. The One Mic Contest, didn’t cost anything to join, but a person could have ten friends or family members attend, but they had to purchase a ticket for $20. I sold ten tickets, and handed over $200.” The day before the contest was scheduled to take place, she was notified that the event had been canceled. What happened to the $200.00? Bowling made repeated promises to return the money to her, but Big Planet Media ceased operations and she never received the $200.00.
Some business owners also complained to BBB when Bowling failed to provide promised sales leads after receiving advance payments. An insurance office in Independence paid Bowling $1,000 for leads. “The leads were to be delivered to our staff along with the necessary marketing materials to follow up on those leads with a 7 day period of time. I issued Big Planet Media a check. Our office hired an appointment setter for the day that the leads were to be delivered only to find the leads never came. This additional staff cost us $350.” A refund was never provided and the complaint went unanswered.
A Euclid Subway paid Bowling $350.00 to conduct parties at the sandwich shop. The parties never happened and Bowling did not respond to the complainant’s request for a refund.
Media Giant has not responded to BBB’s requests for information.
As for the May 23rd fundraising event, BBB has confirmed with Hyatt Regency that the event is not going to happen on that date and Media Giant has made no attempt to reschedule.