Wow, this week had a whole lot going on!
As a junior, I'm a little floaty. This is good because I have touched every brand in the agency, including all new business projects since I've been here. I may have worked on one tiny, minuscule part, but I have had a chance to get introduced to every single brand.
But as I transition to doing a little more for a specific client (my account), I have less time to work on the randomness that gets flown by me. Up until now, it's been fairly smooth and I've been able to juggle it all but it's getting a bit harder.
So this week was: new business focus groups, another set of focus groups, taking my first brief and trying to get it through the different levels of approval, working on various projects for my brands, an impromptu appearance at a student visit today, and juggling some randomness thrown on top of all that.
Traveling forecast is getting a bit thicker too and I'll either be in New York or DC on March 10-11. (Okay, that part's pretty cool...yes, please fight over which awesome city I will be going to!)
Anywho, there was some big stuff going on this week and I was just trying to process it, do it, and learn from it.
Oh, and did I mention we have a new planner? All ladies up until now so the dynamic is going to change a bit. We'll see in the coming weeks how our flow alters with the new arrival.
Whew, I gotta recover over the weekend!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
By Wednesday, I Had Worked Enough For The Whole Week
This week turned out to be so very very busy.
Groups on Monday until 8, groups on Wednesday until 8, and lots of stuff in between!!
I don't know if the running around over the weekend added to my feeling that I have already done enough work for this week to be over...but it should be!
I'm tired.
Groups on Monday until 8, groups on Wednesday until 8, and lots of stuff in between!!
I don't know if the running around over the weekend added to my feeling that I have already done enough work for this week to be over...but it should be!
I'm tired.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Pure GOLD!
Domenico is back!
If you saw anything about "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila" then you'll know what I'm talking about...this guy is hilarious! And now with his own show "That's Amore" I'm sure it will be a bunch of dramatic crap, but he's such a baffling and sweet Italian that I'm sure I'll want to catch a few episodes. Yes, it's dumb...
Haha! ;)
TAP Project
I went out today to help with my agency's participation in the TAP Project - Dallas. Check it out: http://tapproject.org/.
Here's a basic break-down: We sign up restaurants. During World Water Week (March 16-22), participating restaurants ask their patrons if they will pay just $1 for the tap water that they usually get for free. All of that money goes to UNICEF to help children in countries where there isn't safe drinking water.
The effort last year was a 1-day event in New York and with 300 participating restaurants they were able to raise $100,000 for UNICEF. Now it has rolled out in select cities across the nation and will be going on for a week...so imagine the amount of money that UNICEF will get! The project will continue to grow in the future to be a worldwide event.
The best ideas are simple yet have enormous impact. I think this is the best fundraising program I have ever heard of and I'm so proud to be a part of it.
So yesterday and today I went to the restaurants that are in my neighborhood and tried to sign them up. Usually I was only able to drop off a flier and my business card because the decision will have to come from a general manager. Most people understood immediately and seemed interested in participating, so I hope to hear back and sign up some restaurants!
If you're reading this in Dallas and just happen to know a restaurant that would like to participate, leave me a message and I'll help sign you up.
...
So it felt really good to get out in my neighborhood and talk to some people. I have to tell you, I have some pretty swank restaurants around me so I think it would be really helpful to sign them up. I hit everywhere I could, and apparently there's someone else from my agency that lives around here too because they hit a strip center I was trying to talk to yesterday...that's okay, hopefully it will give it some validity if several people mention the same thing.
I was at one restaurant and the manager had stepped out for a moment. It's always iffy about when people will actually be available, so I went ahead and started talking to one of the waitresses there so she could pass on the information.
As soon as I said the advertising agency that I work for, she got really excited. She talked about being a communications major and trying to crack into the industry. She asked me if she could e-mail me with questions so I gave her an extra business card.
You know, I'm more than happy to help because I remember trying to talk to as many people as possible as I was trying to crack into advertising. But it still strikes me as funny when they're so enthusiastic about me being in advertising and want to pick my brain - don't get me wrong, it's really, really good...it's exactly what they should be doing. I guess I'm just really flattered when it happens.
The thing I think is most glaringly obvious is that people are really nervous about trying to get into the industry...I know I was told it would be very difficult and that put a lot of pressure on me while I was in school. I guess I just want to tell anyone out there who's trying to get in to keep at it. It is possible!! :) Yes, hard work is involved but that's true for anything worth working towards.
And again, message me and ask me questions - I will respond. In fact, big thanks to Katy (shout out!) for being the first one to do so...I'm glad if I can help in any way.
This industry will not cease to amaze you.
Here's a basic break-down: We sign up restaurants. During World Water Week (March 16-22), participating restaurants ask their patrons if they will pay just $1 for the tap water that they usually get for free. All of that money goes to UNICEF to help children in countries where there isn't safe drinking water.
The effort last year was a 1-day event in New York and with 300 participating restaurants they were able to raise $100,000 for UNICEF. Now it has rolled out in select cities across the nation and will be going on for a week...so imagine the amount of money that UNICEF will get! The project will continue to grow in the future to be a worldwide event.
The best ideas are simple yet have enormous impact. I think this is the best fundraising program I have ever heard of and I'm so proud to be a part of it.
So yesterday and today I went to the restaurants that are in my neighborhood and tried to sign them up. Usually I was only able to drop off a flier and my business card because the decision will have to come from a general manager. Most people understood immediately and seemed interested in participating, so I hope to hear back and sign up some restaurants!
If you're reading this in Dallas and just happen to know a restaurant that would like to participate, leave me a message and I'll help sign you up.
...
So it felt really good to get out in my neighborhood and talk to some people. I have to tell you, I have some pretty swank restaurants around me so I think it would be really helpful to sign them up. I hit everywhere I could, and apparently there's someone else from my agency that lives around here too because they hit a strip center I was trying to talk to yesterday...that's okay, hopefully it will give it some validity if several people mention the same thing.
I was at one restaurant and the manager had stepped out for a moment. It's always iffy about when people will actually be available, so I went ahead and started talking to one of the waitresses there so she could pass on the information.
As soon as I said the advertising agency that I work for, she got really excited. She talked about being a communications major and trying to crack into the industry. She asked me if she could e-mail me with questions so I gave her an extra business card.
You know, I'm more than happy to help because I remember trying to talk to as many people as possible as I was trying to crack into advertising. But it still strikes me as funny when they're so enthusiastic about me being in advertising and want to pick my brain - don't get me wrong, it's really, really good...it's exactly what they should be doing. I guess I'm just really flattered when it happens.
The thing I think is most glaringly obvious is that people are really nervous about trying to get into the industry...I know I was told it would be very difficult and that put a lot of pressure on me while I was in school. I guess I just want to tell anyone out there who's trying to get in to keep at it. It is possible!! :) Yes, hard work is involved but that's true for anything worth working towards.
And again, message me and ask me questions - I will respond. In fact, big thanks to Katy (shout out!) for being the first one to do so...I'm glad if I can help in any way.
This industry will not cease to amaze you.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Cube World
My friend Katie has this fun new blog - Katie^3 over there on the side bar.
I just think it's fun and funny that office stuff is so new to us that we're actually pretty excited about it!
She talks about decorating her cube, where to find funky supplies, what to do if you're having a slow day, and how to deal with various office issues...these things just never came up in school. There's no Decorating Your Cube 101, not that I think there should be.
I really enjoy the fact that starting work doesn't mean the fun has to end. I'm afraid that that is how it's portrayed - the real world is no fun. Sure, it has its ups and downs but that's no reason to throw your personality out the door. Why can't you infuse your "real world" life with all the fun you've always had?
I think it's just a new phase - decorating your "grown-up" apartment, figuring out office politics, and navigating new destinations. It's a challenge, it's the next step after school, and most profoundly it's a signal that you have met a goal.
I started to think about all of the time I put into school and what was that for? It's for what I'm doing right now - my job. And what is my goal for the future? Building my career.
But I also like that in the real world you can focus a bit more on your life. Living your "normal" life takes up more of your time because you're not going home to do homework during the week...you can do whatever you like!
It's all about learning and growing and all that jazz...I really like it. :)
I just think it's fun and funny that office stuff is so new to us that we're actually pretty excited about it!
She talks about decorating her cube, where to find funky supplies, what to do if you're having a slow day, and how to deal with various office issues...these things just never came up in school. There's no Decorating Your Cube 101, not that I think there should be.
I really enjoy the fact that starting work doesn't mean the fun has to end. I'm afraid that that is how it's portrayed - the real world is no fun. Sure, it has its ups and downs but that's no reason to throw your personality out the door. Why can't you infuse your "real world" life with all the fun you've always had?
I think it's just a new phase - decorating your "grown-up" apartment, figuring out office politics, and navigating new destinations. It's a challenge, it's the next step after school, and most profoundly it's a signal that you have met a goal.
I started to think about all of the time I put into school and what was that for? It's for what I'm doing right now - my job. And what is my goal for the future? Building my career.
But I also like that in the real world you can focus a bit more on your life. Living your "normal" life takes up more of your time because you're not going home to do homework during the week...you can do whatever you like!
It's all about learning and growing and all that jazz...I really like it. :)
My First Brief!
Quite a milestone this week - I wrote my first brief! :) That's right, all on my own.
I am successfully taking over my account - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK for short) - and I needed to write a creative brief for one of the brands (one of four that I will be responsible for). It's Beano. Haha, that's right - "Take Beano before and there'll be no gas." Seems like just the amount of cheesiness that is perfect for me. Ba dum dum...
I really felt proud as I sent it off to the team today for approval.
This one was pretty straightforward: I reviewed several research decks that talked about the product and the consumer, and crafted the brief based on that knowledge.
I'm not sure if I've discussed this before, but an interesting thing about a brand you work on over time is that you're knowledge of the consumer grows and changes. In school, there's really no way to simulate this as the continuity is hard to replicate while still giving you lots of different experiences in how to market different products. But this is different because now I will simply continue to add on to my base knowledge of the consumer, industry, and product.
I have been introduced to the Beano customer. Now I'll start building a relationship with them. :D
It's pretty cool...
I am successfully taking over my account - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK for short) - and I needed to write a creative brief for one of the brands (one of four that I will be responsible for). It's Beano. Haha, that's right - "Take Beano before and there'll be no gas." Seems like just the amount of cheesiness that is perfect for me. Ba dum dum...
I really felt proud as I sent it off to the team today for approval.
This one was pretty straightforward: I reviewed several research decks that talked about the product and the consumer, and crafted the brief based on that knowledge.
I'm not sure if I've discussed this before, but an interesting thing about a brand you work on over time is that you're knowledge of the consumer grows and changes. In school, there's really no way to simulate this as the continuity is hard to replicate while still giving you lots of different experiences in how to market different products. But this is different because now I will simply continue to add on to my base knowledge of the consumer, industry, and product.
I have been introduced to the Beano customer. Now I'll start building a relationship with them. :D
It's pretty cool...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Little Victories
Man, it has been some time since I talked about my job and specific examples of what has been going on...sorry, life is stepping in and taking over my mental space while I'm not at work. Apartment life is obviously not great right now but that is for other posts. And work has been pretty crazy busy so I haven't had much time to stop and reflect during the day.
I wanted to talk about how sometimes I can't always do a blog post on some of the fun things that happen at work - they're just not a whole blog post worth of stuff. I like to call these happenings "little victories". I'm not sure if I've used that terminology on the blog before, but it's just little moments in my day that make me smile or make me stop and think, "hey, I'm a planner." Yeah...those are the best. :)
A quick example is learning about a new research tool. Have you ever heard of BzzAgent? If not, go look them up because it is an awesome thing - for both marketers and BzzAgents. We might be doing some stuff with them and I just thought that would be a really cool, cutting edge thing to do with some of our brands.
Some other stuff that has been building up and mashing together is my journey towards becoming a real live planner and taking over my own account. My supervisor wanted me to do some things specifically in order to give me essential experience, so I wrote a topline report for some recent focus groups we had. Not the biggest thing in the world, but it's something I should know how to do. (Btw, frequently we have moderators and the toplines are provided.)
I have some other stuff in the pipeline that I hope to talk about soon. In the meantime, I'd like to focus on those little victories that make me smile and try to savor them for a moment.
I wanted to talk about how sometimes I can't always do a blog post on some of the fun things that happen at work - they're just not a whole blog post worth of stuff. I like to call these happenings "little victories". I'm not sure if I've used that terminology on the blog before, but it's just little moments in my day that make me smile or make me stop and think, "hey, I'm a planner." Yeah...those are the best. :)
A quick example is learning about a new research tool. Have you ever heard of BzzAgent? If not, go look them up because it is an awesome thing - for both marketers and BzzAgents. We might be doing some stuff with them and I just thought that would be a really cool, cutting edge thing to do with some of our brands.
Some other stuff that has been building up and mashing together is my journey towards becoming a real live planner and taking over my own account. My supervisor wanted me to do some things specifically in order to give me essential experience, so I wrote a topline report for some recent focus groups we had. Not the biggest thing in the world, but it's something I should know how to do. (Btw, frequently we have moderators and the toplines are provided.)
I have some other stuff in the pipeline that I hope to talk about soon. In the meantime, I'd like to focus on those little victories that make me smile and try to savor them for a moment.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Taking It To The Mattresses!!!
Yes, I am usually a fairly reserved person. Yes, I am courteous and respectful. And as a tenant, I always pay my rent on time and keep a tidy apartment.
But DO NOT f*** with me - I can be pushed to a certain point (because I don't believe in immediate retaliation, but would rather try to work through things) but will not tolerate mistreatment.
My apartment complex has gone too far. So far this evening, I have written directly to the management company that owns my apartment complex, wrote a scathing review on ApartmentRatings.com, and looked up information on how to move forward with my complaints.
I will potentially be suing my apartment and might be moving.
I ask for your support and encouragement during this time...I intend on fighting quite a battle.
But DO NOT f*** with me - I can be pushed to a certain point (because I don't believe in immediate retaliation, but would rather try to work through things) but will not tolerate mistreatment.
My apartment complex has gone too far. So far this evening, I have written directly to the management company that owns my apartment complex, wrote a scathing review on ApartmentRatings.com, and looked up information on how to move forward with my complaints.
I will potentially be suing my apartment and might be moving.
I ask for your support and encouragement during this time...I intend on fighting quite a battle.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I'm Taking The Reigns Again!
...and it feels pretty good.
I'm going to do what I can every day.
This is at the job and at home.
I feel more in control, I feel empowered.
Example #1: I have had all of these piles of mail all over my apartment for months now. I get a new stack when I go home (Austin) and it's overwhelming! With it all surrounding me and never getting any better, I felt like I would never want to get to it but knew that I needed to. So yesterday when I got back from Austin, I took my new stack of mail and all of the other stacks that were all over the place (I even found one downstairs afterwards) and just opened it all.
You cannot believe what a load off it was! I must have opened 5 months worth of mail.
And that's what I want to continue to do - not all at once but take steps every day to do something. It's so very easy to get behind, and once you're behind you get even more behind, but I'm hoping this is a turn in motivation and it will make me strive to get ahead or at least to a manageable state. Maintenance is so much easier.
Example #2: My apartment complex will no longer dictate my mood. I'm taking control and I will make my situation better. I've come to the point where I want to take legal action but I just had to get there mentally - it's time.
More on this I'm sure...
I'm going to do what I can every day.
This is at the job and at home.
I feel more in control, I feel empowered.
Example #1: I have had all of these piles of mail all over my apartment for months now. I get a new stack when I go home (Austin) and it's overwhelming! With it all surrounding me and never getting any better, I felt like I would never want to get to it but knew that I needed to. So yesterday when I got back from Austin, I took my new stack of mail and all of the other stacks that were all over the place (I even found one downstairs afterwards) and just opened it all.
You cannot believe what a load off it was! I must have opened 5 months worth of mail.
And that's what I want to continue to do - not all at once but take steps every day to do something. It's so very easy to get behind, and once you're behind you get even more behind, but I'm hoping this is a turn in motivation and it will make me strive to get ahead or at least to a manageable state. Maintenance is so much easier.
Example #2: My apartment complex will no longer dictate my mood. I'm taking control and I will make my situation better. I've come to the point where I want to take legal action but I just had to get there mentally - it's time.
More on this I'm sure...
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
No Mexican Food For A Week?!
Believe me, this was hard...I was kind of in a rut of eating Mexican food and I wasn't enjoying it as much (shocking!)...so I decided that I needed to take a little break.
No Mexican food - not from a restaurant, not fast food, and not even from a Lean Cuisine - for one week. And especially not on the weekend which is the hardest time to avoid Mexican food.
But I did it! I'm hoping this will help me appreciate the Mexican food that I have this week! ;) Plus, I'm heading to Austin this weekend so I know I'll want to hit up El Rancho and enjoy every minute of it!! (yum!)
No Mexican food - not from a restaurant, not fast food, and not even from a Lean Cuisine - for one week. And especially not on the weekend which is the hardest time to avoid Mexican food.
But I did it! I'm hoping this will help me appreciate the Mexican food that I have this week! ;) Plus, I'm heading to Austin this weekend so I know I'll want to hit up El Rancho and enjoy every minute of it!! (yum!)
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