While many of his University of Oregon colleagues are busy serving sandwiches or making copies to pay rent, he works on behalf of a Hollywood movie studio, and his unofficial offices are campus bars.
As the UO representative for Fox Atomic - a division of 21st Century Fox that makes movies aimed at teens and twenty-somethings - Fishman hits watering holes, Duck games and the student center, handing out promotional items and talking up future releases.
Trying to tap into the fickle college demographic, Fox Atomic bolstered traditional marketing techniques such as using TV ads by hiring students - as independent contractors - to promote films at major campuses nationwide.
Students are constantly in contact with one another through text messaging and social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, so "buzz" is much more important than top-down advertising, said Fishman, a 22-year-old senior who studies advertising.
"There's a shift in advertising and marketing from a push to a pull," he said. "They're attempting to kind of get this grass-roots movement through campus."
Weeks before a movie hits theaters, Fishman's off-campus apartment fills with boxes of T-shirts, stickers, hats and other items, which he then arranges to distribute by setting up theme nights at bars, house parties and other student spots.
Not all of his plans involve drinking, however. To build local hype for Fox Atomic's next release, "28 Weeks Later," his softball team plays in promotional shirts.
"(Campus representatives) know what's going on," said Jenn Ottele of Janet Wainwright Public Relations Inc., a Seattle firm that manages the campus representatives in the Pacific Northwest. "They know the right person to call, and the best ways to reach certain a group. They're their own university's specialist."
Fishman, a Portland native, is paid enough to cover his rent, and works between five and 15 hours a week.
Having a campus representative also makes Fox Atomic more credible with students, Ottele said. "Sometimes college students can be snobby," she said, referring to their taste for all things "indie."
"With the major studios, sometimes they don't want their logo on (promotions), because they're trying to avoid the whole mainstream feel of it," Ottele said.
Fishman's year of experience promoting movies has taught him what builds the best buzz: anything free. Students who spot him handing things out will often flock to him before they know what he's giving away.
"College kids definitely love free stuff," Fishman said. "It doesn't matter what is is; they love free stuff."
Edgier items, such as a plastic syringe that could be filled with shots of alcohol and a sticker that used an expletive to bash Valentine's Day, are the most popular, he said.
Though the studio is not limited to the genre, its first three ventures were horror films - including its initial release last November, "Touristas" - and Fishman said he's beginning to get a reputation. "I was at a party and this girl comes up and says, `You're that really creepy guy with the syringes,' " he said. "People think of me as this horror movie guy, and I'm really not."
But the perks are better.
The name of a major studio is a welcome addition to his resume, he said. He also hasn't had to buy a new T-shirt for months.
"It's cool to say I work for a movie company out of Hollywood," Fishman said. "And it's been a lot of good experience talking to people."
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