You know, I got this a couple of weeks ago and wanted to do something with it...so this is a little fun motivation for those of you that like to move to some music. :)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
This Day Was Rockin'!
Well, I admit it didn't start out that way but it got pretty rockin'! :p
I was handed some research that didn't really look that fun and I didn't really want to do it. I spent the first half of the day figuring out the best way to attack it, pulling up several different resources, asking questions, and then starting to pull the information.
I was happy to get an offer to go out to lunch as I badly needed it and enjoyed some time away from work blabbing with some really fun coworkers. By the time I got back, I had a smile on my face and got down to work to try to get the rest of my research done. It's amazing what a small attitude adjustment can do to help you - I soon found a way to better find all of the information I needed and just rocked it for the rest of the afternoon. I felt much better about it and wasn't worried about having to stay later or jump back into it after the weekend.
During my search, I was looking up an article about one of our campaigns and came across a quote from my supervisor...yeah, in Adweek!! Sorry if that's not something new to you, but I thought it was pretty freakin' cool. :)
The last hour or so was spent catching up, getting odds and ends done, and looking forward to next week's work...I think a lot more is being put on my plate, and I like it! But this afternoon was pretty chill and another planner and I chuckled over this:
Find more videos like this on Plannersphere
My coworker says: "While there are certainly productive and purposeful uses of consumer discussion groups, following consumers blindly is a bad idea. It takes a good moderator and courageous planner (often one in the same) to understand what's resonating with consumers or not (and why)."
Finally, I got back to my desk and had a groovy CD that a friend had burned me waiting - such a fun way to end the day.
I was handed some research that didn't really look that fun and I didn't really want to do it. I spent the first half of the day figuring out the best way to attack it, pulling up several different resources, asking questions, and then starting to pull the information.
I was happy to get an offer to go out to lunch as I badly needed it and enjoyed some time away from work blabbing with some really fun coworkers. By the time I got back, I had a smile on my face and got down to work to try to get the rest of my research done. It's amazing what a small attitude adjustment can do to help you - I soon found a way to better find all of the information I needed and just rocked it for the rest of the afternoon. I felt much better about it and wasn't worried about having to stay later or jump back into it after the weekend.
During my search, I was looking up an article about one of our campaigns and came across a quote from my supervisor...yeah, in Adweek!! Sorry if that's not something new to you, but I thought it was pretty freakin' cool. :)
The last hour or so was spent catching up, getting odds and ends done, and looking forward to next week's work...I think a lot more is being put on my plate, and I like it! But this afternoon was pretty chill and another planner and I chuckled over this:
Find more videos like this on Plannersphere
My coworker says: "While there are certainly productive and purposeful uses of consumer discussion groups, following consumers blindly is a bad idea. It takes a good moderator and courageous planner (often one in the same) to understand what's resonating with consumers or not (and why)."
Finally, I got back to my desk and had a groovy CD that a friend had burned me waiting - such a fun way to end the day.
The Windy City
Alright, it's about time I blog about my business trip from this week to Chicago.
Sooo, Chicago is pretty darn cold. My flight got delayed and as soon as I looked at the news I knew why - the first big snowstorm of '08! A little daunting for this cold-natured Texas girl. ;)
But all was well and I only got in about an hour and a half after I was supposed to. I made my way to the swank Park Hyatt and was soon out on the cold and windy streets to find food and friends. It feels so awesome to know people all over the place! I spent some time catching up with a few undergrad and grad friends who have moved to Chicago to work at big important ad and media agencies...
The whole time I just felt like we had all made it - we worked toward this goal and we were finally there.
Monday night, I slept in probably the most comfortable bed I have ever been in and all day Tuesday was devoted to my seminar.
I was able to go to the AAAA Quantitative Research Seminar conducted by two Hall & Partners researchers. We went over the basics of the research process, different types of research, and we did activities related to writing and responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) - basically, a request for research answered by a research proposal.
The thing I enjoyed the most about this trip was that I knew I would start to meet other junior planners. I got to talk to several people and was really impressed by the passion and attention everyone was giving to, forgive me, a seemingly very boring topic. However, the quant stuff really is quite interesting. As much as a person can tell you a story, numbers can reveal a story of their own based on people's behavior.
Copy testing is one of the most notorious types of research but even that needs its place. Yes ads get tested in unrealistic situations but clients need the reassurance that their ads will do what they were intended to do. Does everyone use this tool correctly? Absolutely not - that's why it's so important to get a base knowledge in order to know how it is done right and how it is done well and if it's not done well how to explain the findings. It all comes back to human nature and that's what planners are out to understand.
After a long day of absorbing lots and lots of information, I headed home with a feeling that this is another level - I have grown up again. Ever have that realization? I know I had it a couple of times in college. This one felt really good because I knew I was really entering the adult world and doing it pretty well. I still have a lot to learn but I am more confident in my abilities.
This industry just keeps amazing me.
Sooo, Chicago is pretty darn cold. My flight got delayed and as soon as I looked at the news I knew why - the first big snowstorm of '08! A little daunting for this cold-natured Texas girl. ;)
But all was well and I only got in about an hour and a half after I was supposed to. I made my way to the swank Park Hyatt and was soon out on the cold and windy streets to find food and friends. It feels so awesome to know people all over the place! I spent some time catching up with a few undergrad and grad friends who have moved to Chicago to work at big important ad and media agencies...
The whole time I just felt like we had all made it - we worked toward this goal and we were finally there.
Monday night, I slept in probably the most comfortable bed I have ever been in and all day Tuesday was devoted to my seminar.
I was able to go to the AAAA Quantitative Research Seminar conducted by two Hall & Partners researchers. We went over the basics of the research process, different types of research, and we did activities related to writing and responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) - basically, a request for research answered by a research proposal.
The thing I enjoyed the most about this trip was that I knew I would start to meet other junior planners. I got to talk to several people and was really impressed by the passion and attention everyone was giving to, forgive me, a seemingly very boring topic. However, the quant stuff really is quite interesting. As much as a person can tell you a story, numbers can reveal a story of their own based on people's behavior.
Copy testing is one of the most notorious types of research but even that needs its place. Yes ads get tested in unrealistic situations but clients need the reassurance that their ads will do what they were intended to do. Does everyone use this tool correctly? Absolutely not - that's why it's so important to get a base knowledge in order to know how it is done right and how it is done well and if it's not done well how to explain the findings. It all comes back to human nature and that's what planners are out to understand.
After a long day of absorbing lots and lots of information, I headed home with a feeling that this is another level - I have grown up again. Ever have that realization? I know I had it a couple of times in college. This one felt really good because I knew I was really entering the adult world and doing it pretty well. I still have a lot to learn but I am more confident in my abilities.
This industry just keeps amazing me.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Major Kudos
I will blog about my Chicago trip a little later but I just had to mention this morning...
An entire brand team was assembled this morning to hear a presentation...a presentation given by me. This is not the most important thing I have done at my job but it was the most exposure I have received with the agency so far - as in, it was great to get to show my talents to other agency people and there were several head people in this meeting.
I was put in charge of understanding a new website/research tool and was trying to communicate by e-mail my findings. Upon discussing this with another planner, I mentioned that the best way to get people acquainted (and to get them to pay attention) was to just do a quick tutorial.
So I took people through the tool this morning and it was received really well. People were interested in what it had to offer and asked me lots of questions. I was able to clearly and concisely explain everything I had found out.
And the best part...my supervisor gave me great feedback - kudos to me! :)
It's so exciting to know that I got in front of some important people, gave a well thought-out presentation, and was commended for my efforts. I hope to continue in this great direction for future presentations!
An entire brand team was assembled this morning to hear a presentation...a presentation given by me. This is not the most important thing I have done at my job but it was the most exposure I have received with the agency so far - as in, it was great to get to show my talents to other agency people and there were several head people in this meeting.
I was put in charge of understanding a new website/research tool and was trying to communicate by e-mail my findings. Upon discussing this with another planner, I mentioned that the best way to get people acquainted (and to get them to pay attention) was to just do a quick tutorial.
So I took people through the tool this morning and it was received really well. People were interested in what it had to offer and asked me lots of questions. I was able to clearly and concisely explain everything I had found out.
And the best part...my supervisor gave me great feedback - kudos to me! :)
It's so exciting to know that I got in front of some important people, gave a well thought-out presentation, and was commended for my efforts. I hope to continue in this great direction for future presentations!
Friday, January 11, 2008
It Unfortunately Happens
I was actually going to write about this already, but an example of something very unfortunate happened again today - our admin was let go.
First of all, I'm really sad about her leaving as she is just a very sweet and fun person. She got back from maternity leave not too long ago and has a precious baby boy. Taking care of her entire family is probably on her mind today and I just feel so sorry that it had to happen.
Unfortunately, advertising is full of uncertainty and high job turnover. When you're dealing with minds as a resource, the mind must be in a nurturing environment in order to be capable of doing work. Some people find their perfect fit but I can also see where some just don't align with the attitude and way of working in a particular agency.
What really sucks about it though is that sometimes there is absolutely nothing you can do. You can do your best job every day, giving 110%, but for business reasons you just have to be let go. There is no rhyme or reason at that point. I guess all you can do then is pick yourself up, dust it off, and get out there again.
A sad day and an eye-opener. But I guess all you can do is your best.
First of all, I'm really sad about her leaving as she is just a very sweet and fun person. She got back from maternity leave not too long ago and has a precious baby boy. Taking care of her entire family is probably on her mind today and I just feel so sorry that it had to happen.
Unfortunately, advertising is full of uncertainty and high job turnover. When you're dealing with minds as a resource, the mind must be in a nurturing environment in order to be capable of doing work. Some people find their perfect fit but I can also see where some just don't align with the attitude and way of working in a particular agency.
What really sucks about it though is that sometimes there is absolutely nothing you can do. You can do your best job every day, giving 110%, but for business reasons you just have to be let go. There is no rhyme or reason at that point. I guess all you can do then is pick yourself up, dust it off, and get out there again.
A sad day and an eye-opener. But I guess all you can do is your best.
Great Learning
Wow, this week has really been a great one for me to jump in and do some great planning work and learn a lot in the process.
First, I was working with data tables this week to analyze the results of a research study. Though numbers aren't my strongest area, I do have a basic understanding of them and it really gets interesting when those numbers turn into a story. By understanding what makes good research, how numbers relate to each other, and what your findings can mean for your brand, I have just had a great time digging into something that could be considered very dry.
Along those lines, I head off to Chicago early next week for the AAAA Quantitative Workshop for Junior Planners. I'm really excited about refreshing my quant knowledge from grad school and having a deeper understanding of how best to use numbers to the advantage of my brands. [Once again, a note on becoming a resource in and of myself, these quant skills will only better serve me and our Planning department.]
Another fun exercise happened today when I worked through an entire brief with a fellow planner. Something interesting that popped up while working on it was my comparison with doing planning work in grad school.
Whenever I was writing a brief in grad school, I felt like I really didn't know the consumer very well so though I tried to keep them in mind it was difficult to relay what they believed. I finally realized that this was not some sort of lack of competence on my part but simply an absence of true knowledge about the consumer that is gained over time. You see, in grad school we had several projects throughout the semester and always had new clients. That meant that you had anywhere from 1 to 3 months to get to know not only your consumer, but the entire business environment in which you were trying to advertise. On top of that, deliverables were not just a brief and consumer knowledge but a full marketing plan. No wonder I didn't feel like I knew my target well enough - there was no time for learning!
This was completely different and such a refreshing experience. I have product knowledge, category knowledge, and most importantly consumer knowledge. Not only was I briefed on information that had already been gathered about the consumer, but I also helped put together information from a few pieces of research and also did trend work around this target. Slowly these small pieces of information that didn't seem to stand out at the time came together beautifully to paint a bigger picture of who this target is. I felt secure in making my recommendations and the hardest part was trying to evolve ideas into inspiring words in the brief. This was so much better than feeling like I really didn't know what was going on with my consumer.
Consumer knowledge...I look forward to building it over time for all of my brands.
And in general, I like to think about and study Baby Boomers because they're just so darn fascinating! ;)
I feel inspired by the work I did this week and the steps I'm taking to fill those big planner shoes.
First, I was working with data tables this week to analyze the results of a research study. Though numbers aren't my strongest area, I do have a basic understanding of them and it really gets interesting when those numbers turn into a story. By understanding what makes good research, how numbers relate to each other, and what your findings can mean for your brand, I have just had a great time digging into something that could be considered very dry.
Along those lines, I head off to Chicago early next week for the AAAA Quantitative Workshop for Junior Planners. I'm really excited about refreshing my quant knowledge from grad school and having a deeper understanding of how best to use numbers to the advantage of my brands. [Once again, a note on becoming a resource in and of myself, these quant skills will only better serve me and our Planning department.]
Another fun exercise happened today when I worked through an entire brief with a fellow planner. Something interesting that popped up while working on it was my comparison with doing planning work in grad school.
Whenever I was writing a brief in grad school, I felt like I really didn't know the consumer very well so though I tried to keep them in mind it was difficult to relay what they believed. I finally realized that this was not some sort of lack of competence on my part but simply an absence of true knowledge about the consumer that is gained over time. You see, in grad school we had several projects throughout the semester and always had new clients. That meant that you had anywhere from 1 to 3 months to get to know not only your consumer, but the entire business environment in which you were trying to advertise. On top of that, deliverables were not just a brief and consumer knowledge but a full marketing plan. No wonder I didn't feel like I knew my target well enough - there was no time for learning!
This was completely different and such a refreshing experience. I have product knowledge, category knowledge, and most importantly consumer knowledge. Not only was I briefed on information that had already been gathered about the consumer, but I also helped put together information from a few pieces of research and also did trend work around this target. Slowly these small pieces of information that didn't seem to stand out at the time came together beautifully to paint a bigger picture of who this target is. I felt secure in making my recommendations and the hardest part was trying to evolve ideas into inspiring words in the brief. This was so much better than feeling like I really didn't know what was going on with my consumer.
Consumer knowledge...I look forward to building it over time for all of my brands.
And in general, I like to think about and study Baby Boomers because they're just so darn fascinating! ;)
I feel inspired by the work I did this week and the steps I'm taking to fill those big planner shoes.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Zero and Slow Time
Spend no more time doing things that you don't enjoy.
Spend more time doing the things that make you happy.
Spend more time doing the things that make you happy.
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