Back At It

This week marked the start of the Fall Semester and for some crazy reason I decided to take 3 classes again (actually, it’s not a crazy reason – I want to graduate ASAP!). I survived taking 3 classes in the summer, but that was just 8 weeks. Luckily, this is the last semester I have to take 3 classes…only 13 weeks to go.

I’m really excited about this semester. What am I taking? Well, I’m glad you asked!  

Marketing Management

Did someone say marketing plans? I do this for a living…if I fail the class, I’m in trouble :)

Consumer Behavior

Individual consumer? I shop all. of. the. time. I wonder if we can get extra credit for shopping? That would be a really good excuse to shop every day now through December…

Public Affairs Management

I don't have a witty comment for this one...help me out people!

I have a few goals for Fall Semester, outside of the classroom.

The first goal is to keep up with my workouts. Since I started grad school in January, it’s been a struggle to fit in runs between work, class, and sleep. This semester I have a plan. It’s in writing – in pen, even – so I have to stick to it. I only have class 3 days a week, which means I should definitely be running or doing some workout on the other 4 days. I’ll do my best to post recaps on the blog (see goal 2) so that you all can keep me accountable!

The second goal is to keep up with the blog. I barely blogged at all during the spring and summer semesters. I’m going to blame it on the whole “move to a new city, attempt to survive 14 hour work/class days” thing. Blogging is a good outlet/stress reliever for me so I am going to try to make time to write during the week.

The third goal is to keep my apartment from looking like it is constantly in battle with a tornado. Last semester it was shoes, clothes, books, papers EVERYWHERE. This is the least likely of the three goals that I will actually achieve because, let’s be honest, if I have to pick, running and blogging trump cleaning any day. 

Now, for all of my readers: YOUR GOAL is to help meet achieve all of my goals! Hold me responsible when I skip workouts, calm me down when I get stressed out, and remind me to do laundry every once in a while....seriously...that last one is important!

Any readers out there working on their MBA or other graduate degree?

What's your best tip for staying organized? 

Weird Things Wednesday

Working in marketing is fun. One of the fun parts is keeping up with all of the ridiculous interesting things other companies are testing to try to win our (the consumers'!) business. Here are a few weird things I found this week………….

First up: DVD’s that smell like Pizza.

Seriously – Brazil has got it goin’ on. Remember the Tweet Pee? The latest to come out of the country that is now on my must visit list is rented DVDs that smell like Domino’s Pizza. The company uses thermal ink to make the DVD look like a pizza and flavored varnish to make your living room smell like pizza when the DVD is ejected from your DVD player!

Check this out:

Numero Dos: You’re Dentist KNOWS 

There’s this new toothbrush, the beam brush,  that syncs with your smartphone and notifies not only your dentist that you didn’t brush for the whole two minutes (or whatever), but your insurance company too! I think I’ll stick to my awesome $1 toothbrush Thank. You. Very. Much.

PS – I’m cool with Coke tracking my every move through their magic machine. I don’t know how much data they get from my random Poweraid mixes though…

They're Watching You!

Last up: I wish I was cool enough to get paid to drink

If someone paid me for every margarita I've consumed in the last four years, I could retire tomorrow. I could retire today if I was also paid for every bud light I drank. After taking this quiz, I want to be friends with Jay-Z and Kenny Chesney in the hopes that I might get to enjoy some free beverages. I also want to be friends with JT because, well, who doesn't?

Well hello to you too :)

How many celeb/beverage matches did you get right?

What’s your favorite combo at the magic Coke machine?

What weird things have you discovered this week?

Marketing Is...

Here’s how Dictionary.com defines it – the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling.

Here’s how my college Intro to Marketing Professor defines it – Satisfying customer requirements using the 6 P’s (Price, Place, Promotion, Product, Presentation, People) - which by the way will be the focus of a future post.

Here’s how my boss defines it – Any point of contact with a potential customer, including but not limited to promotions, sponsorships, events, point-of-sale material, and media

Here’s how the ‘average person’ defines it – Ya know, like, commercials and signs and stuff.

I’m a marketer. It’s what I do. I’m one of the very lucky people. I knew my senior year of high school that I wanted to be a business major. I knew my first semester of college that I wanted to be a marketing major. I was fortunate to land a job in my field four months after graduating. I’m of the lucky ones who loves going to work in the morning (ok - not every day, but definitely 9 out of 10) and actually feels like I’m making a difference. One thing I have discovered is that marketing is a broad topic. Everyone has a different idea about what it entails and how it should be executed. I’ve been collecting my favorite marketing articles and ideas for a little over four years now. I still haven’t come up with my own definition, but maybe that’s because there isn’t an official definition.  One thing I’ve discovered in this field is that every day is different, every project is different. I love it, I really can’t get enough!  I’m going to dedicate my Thursday posts to business topics. They’ll mostly be marketing-centric, but I’ll do my best to include other topics as well.

For more information on my career choice, Click Here
For more info on Butler's marketing program, Click Here
Check it out – Over the next 8 years, there are going to be lots of opportunities for people who have a marketing degree: Click Here