MMNPL Post Contest

As you know, I used to intern at Schneider Associates and one of the biggest programs I worked on has recently finished – The Most Memorable New Product Launch 2008. To have a little more fun with the list, SA has decided to create a post contest, for bloggers or Tweeters. The rest of this post is dedicated to my response to the MMNPL Blog Contest.

I was first thinking about writing about technology, but I realized I do not use any of the technology items that made the list (MacBook Air, iPod Touch, Rock Band, Wii Fit). Is this bad? As a young, social, tech-loving college student, shouldn’t I use at least one of these?!?! The only time I’ve used any of them is when I’m at Best Buy looking at things I can’t afford.

The third choice caught my eye pretty quickly, and a story came to mind, but is it appropriate enough? You be the judge… it is pretty quick. Actually, there isn’t much to it, so I’ll give you the quick explanation. One of my roommates (will remain unnamed for my personal safety) could have used the “K-Y Yours + Mine Couples Lubricant,” but didn’t have any, so he decided to use something else – shampoo. Moral of the story is: Always have this product available, you never know who might need it (We personally bought him a bottle after hearing the shampoo incident).

So, since I’m not going to count that, I’m going to write about the second option. Do I think that males are more influenced by social media than females? Yes, women are smarter than men, therefore less influenced by advertisements or funny YouTube Videos. Also, I think a lot of men might be opposed to trying something new, but if they see another man is using a product and recommends it, then he will be more likely to buy that item.

Everyone check out www.mmnpl.com, and participate in the contest.

Mid-November

It’s the middle of November and so far this school year has gone much differently then expected. AMP has been fun, classes are the same as they always are, the parties are the same, but for some reason it still feels different. I’ll keep you updated if I figure out why. 

I had an intern evaluation the other day at AMP and it went very well. I was told that I “get it.” This came as a great compliment to me, because so much has changed since my first two internships. When I was interviewing for summer internships, I didn’t know much about the functions within an agency, but now, only a few months later, I finally get it. AMP has been great and I would love to go back for second semester, but the economy will play the biggest part in the decision. There will be less interns next semester, so I will have to re-interview, along with 5 other interns, for one of the 3 available positions. Of course, I am confident in my chances, but I am contacting a few agencies (including Gearon Hoffman) to talk about a possible spring position.

As far as my own agency, a lot has slowed. Our main client has decided to work with a friend on advertising, which I don’t blame her, she will be receiving professional work from an experienced agency. In my entrepreneurship class, I have been doing well on the assignments and my idea continues to evolve. I want to transform the agency into a social media consulting group, which could make it easier for me to find clients and prove my skills. Now, all I have to do is study up on social media… this could take a while.

Quick, Quick, Quick

Check out my agencies blog about 5 Facebook Rule for young professionals!! http://agencyatlarge.wordpress.com/ 

Emerson College has sunk to a new low by not allowing me to attend the annual Montreal Trip because of a on-campus incident from last year. Advice to Emerson students that live on-campus – MOVE OFF!

 

My day did not start well, let’s hope it turns out better. Have a good Tuesday everybody!

E3

I am sitting in my E3 (entrepreneurship) class and we are talking about financing our businesses. Right now, my business is estimated to cost me about $260,000 in the first year (including salaries, rent,computers, etc…). I certainly don’t have $260,000 or any amount of money close to that, but I don’t feel worried and still feel confident in my business’s abilities.  Maybe I’m being overconfident, or I’m not truly taking everything into account, but I really feel that there will be some way to fund my business in the opening years.

November is upon us, in what seems to be record time, and I am loving it. Fall is the best season in New England, no questions asked.

I know I have been slacking with posts, I will attempt to get back into it, but no promises.

I got a call from Small Army a couple weeks ago, asking that I come in for an interview, and I told them that I had taken a position with AMP, but I would love to come in to talk and go over the possibility of a possible spring internship. The woman that I was talking to sounded pleased with the idea, so I gave her my e-mail address so she could send me a date to come in… it has been about three weeks since that conversation and still no e-mail… this seemed strange to me. I even called back and left her a voicemail, still no call.

Check out www.agencyatlarge.wordpress.com if you get the chance.

@ Large & Red Sox vs Rays

So, it is Columbus Day weekend, and the Red Sox are playing the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of the ALCS, tonight. First of all, who expected this? I have hated the Rays since they became a team, and I definitely never thought I’d see them win 97 games in a season, and be poised to take on my Red Sox in the ALCS. Honestly, I’m nervous. I have tickets to game 3 & 4… enough said.

 

So, I have realized that I am way more professional than I thought I would  be at this point in my life, and the biggest slap in the face was last Sunday, when I met with the first client for MY OWN AGENCY. Well, I guess it’s not my own, but I am a co-founder, with my roommate Max. Check out our Web site (www.agencyatlarge.com), our blog (www.agencyatlarge.wordpress.com) and add us on twitter (LargeAgency). Our first client is DRE Designs, hopefully the first of many.

 

I am currently at work, so I can’t say much, but look for Agency @ Large to grow!

 

 

Wow… it’s September 22

Ok, so I haven’t posted since I moved in to my new apartment, but for good reason – IT HAS BEEN INSANE. Apartment life, like most things, is not what I expected. Besides the hectic move in, I have had new classes, started at a new internship and this past weekend was my birthday. I have been a terrible blogger lately, but I will try my best to post more often

Right now, I am watching “House of 1000 Corpses” with my roommate, while trying to write a 3 page paper (single spaced). It is always difficult to transition from summer to school, because making your mind focus on a paper is a lot harder than sitting on the beach.

So, I FINALLY turned 21. It was good, I am legal. This allows me to write posts about a crazy night drinking, without seeming too unprofessional.

My roommates and I have started our own marketing/advertising agency called Agency At Large, so keep that name in mind, it is going places. I will have a blog set-up for us soon, so get excited.

My new Entrepreneurship class is unbelievable (Known as E3). If you are an Emerson student and have a chance to take this, definitely do it.

Summer Winds Down

So, summer is coming to an end, and it is about time to move into my apartment. The past week has flown by, and it already seems like forever since I worked at Schneider. It’s strange being an intern, because you know you are immediately replaced, but you hope you are remembered for the work you did.

As far as AMP and Gearon Hoffman, both interviews went very well, and I ended up being offered both positions. I have to say that my interview skills have definitely gotten a lot stronger since my first go at it. Gearon Hoffman is much smaller than AMP, which I liked because Schneider was small too, but a close friend of mine works at AMP, and she loves it. So, I decided to take the internship at AMP for the fall semester, due to the fact that I will be paid and it seems like an exciting opportunity. Money is not as thin for me as a lot of college students might claim, but it never hurts to get a little support for those late nights out (To celebrate I bought myself season tickets to BC football – I am extremely excited). I told Gearon Hoffman that I will be able to work with them in the spring if the position is still opened, and they said that would be fine, so I have this school years internships all wrapped up.

Now, I need to start focusing on getting into the L.A. Program at Emerson for senior year, as well as working on my resume/application for the summer internship at Hill Holliday (I don’t know why, but this has been my dream internship for the past two years, last year I didn’t get it, but this year I am much more confident)

6 days until I move in to the apartment, I can’t believe it. My next post will be reflecting back on the past year, and what to expect from this coming year.

Interviews, Nike and Schneider

Today was my last day at Schneider Associates and it had a little bit of everything. When I woke up this morning I felt kind of sick, and a lot tired, but this isn’t new. My day quickly turned from bad to good, when the train I got on ran express from Harvard Ave to BU East (Saving me about 5 stops). After a nice, quick train ride, I walked out of the Government Center station and was quickly handed two free iced coffee cans from Cinnabon (I only tried one – Cinnamon Vanilla – I do not recommend it). Then, I went into Dunkin Donuts and my coffee & bagel combo was 10 cents cheaper than usual, which is always nice when your living life as an unpaid intern. The rest of my day was pretty much average, except for the manual labor that had me building a book shelf and side table… if you know me, building things is not my strong point, so it was quite interesting. The end of the day went well, and once again I would like to thank all of my co-workers for providing me with such a positive experience.

Ok, so to talk a little about advertising, since I haven’t completely covered that yet. I found out the other day that the Nike advertisements featuring the tagline “My better is better than your better,” were for the Nike Sparq Training System. Did you know this? I thought the commercials were just promoting Nike as a brand, since they did not say a single thing about the Sparq system. This amazes me, only brands like Nike can pull something like this off. They run a gigantic ad campaign, that becomes part of pop culture, and people don’t even know exactly what they are promoting – amazing. I really like the line, “My strong apologizes for making your strong look like cottage cheese.” Who thinks of that?

Tomorrow I have interviews with Gearon Hoffman and AMP. I am pretty confident in my interviewing abilities, but you never really know. Wish me luck!

Suit or No Suit?

So, I have a couple of interviews coming up in the next few days, and I am wondering whether it is necessary to wear a suit. I have googled the question, and society seems to be as confused as I am. Of course I want to be as professional as possible for the person interviewing me, or at least appear so, but is a suit necessary?

First off, it’s summer. Even though it rains every day lately, it is still hot and humid. A suit will induce sweating and such, and nobody wants that. For my interview with AMP, I am not planning on wearing a suit, but may bring a jacket along – no tie.

Secondly, these will be jobs in the advertising field. Advertising is known for being somewhat more laid back than other business atmospheres (this being one of the reasons that I like it so much), but not all agencies are the same. One agency might expect a suit, while others would think it silly to wear one. People say it is better to over dress than under dress, right? So, going by this, I should be fully dressed in a suit and tie over the coming days.

After much deliberating, I think I am going to stick with my no suit idea, due to the summer season and some helpful advice from a friend. What do you think?

Day 3: Last Week

Today is the first day in my last week at Schneider Associates. It has been a lot of fun, with a few ups and downs along the way. I have asked to continue working on the Most Memorable New Products Blog (mmnpl.wordpress.com), so we will see if I will be allowed to. One thing I am very thankful for in coming to Schneider, is that I have learned a lot about social media/blogging, and that I have learned a lot about being an intern. You definitely can coast your way through an internship, but doing so is 100% counter productive. If you are going to do an internship, always work your hardest and do your best, don’t take the easy road. Your hard work will be noticed, and your lack of work will be remembered. I started off a little slow, and definitely think I could have done better, but all internships are a learning experience, and this has definitely prepared me for future opportunities.

I have an interview on Friday at AMP Agency near Haymarket. My friend Meredith helped me get an interview, and I am very thankful for that. It is a paid internship, which I have yet to have, so if I am offered the position, I am interested to see if the fact that I am getting paid influences my work ethic. We will see.

I am thinking about buying BC Football season tickets, good idea? With Notre Dame home this year, I can’t really see why not.

3 Weeks from today is the move in.