My Weekend in The Wonder City: NYC Digital

While most of my fellow dawgs spent the weekend watching UGA stomp on Kentucky at a bar in downtown Athens, GA, I spent my weekend immersed in the magic of  New York City.  However, this wasn't a normal 'touristy' trip, I didn't spend it being awed by the bright lights of Times Square or eating the famous quisines of the city.  I spent it with a group of 20 total UGA Marketing students touring several digital and advertising agencies! I've always dreamed of moving and living in the big city, and it was always just that to me, a dream. It never seemed like something that was capable of being real until last weekend.

We toured several agencies, both big and small.  The weekend started early as I departed for the Big Apple on Thursday morning.  The touring began Thursday afternoon as the group toured Ignition, an experiential agency, and 5 Loom, a full-service advertising agency.  I remember walking into Ignition and feeling my jaw drop a little.  It was all open with a big staircase off to the side.  Bright colors of red and an industrial feel with varying sized conference rooms throughout.  After Ignition, we made the trek to 5Loom which was one of my favorite stops on the trip.  5Loom was on the smaller side, but it was a really laid-back and informational environment, everyone was really friendly and not as intimidating as I initially thought they would be.   After our tour, we raced off to a cocktail party at Bourbon Street Grille, where we gathered with UGA alumni who are currently living and working in NYC in the marketing field.  This was a really great opportunity to network and also get an idea of what it might be like to make the move from the peach state to the big apple.  Friday was the busiest day of the trip and included a trip to JWT, Nielson, Media Kitchen, and Macy's Merchandising Group.  After absorbing my quick weekend trip, I find myself really gravitating toward the smaller agencies.  I fell in love with Media Kitchen. I've found that company culture is a quality that weighs heavy in my mind when it comes to choosing a company to work for, and boy does The Media Kitchen have it.  During our tour and Q&A I felt like I was hanging out with my friends, some of the employees even met us for drinks afterwards.  These people were so smart, yet so relatable and FUN. Below is Media Kitchen's variation of E=mc2 (via their website http://www.mediakitchen.tv) which is tailored to creating the best 'Brand Experience.'

 Every company we visited had and employee that graduated from UGA.  It was so cool not only to see alumni working and living where I see myself after I graduate, but also to be able to get their opinions, advice and to hear their story about how they made it to New York.  Throughout the trip I took notes on each company and jotted down pertinant points that seemed vital in order to break into a career in digital in general.  So, I've compiled a list of 5 takeaways from my trip to the city that never sleeps.

Takeaways from The Wonder City 

1: How you Write:

 This point was a reoccurring theme throughout my trip. Derek Lu, a Senior Strategist from The Media Kitchen, emphasized how necessary it is to continuously improve your writing skills because let's face it, communication skills are imperative in any career, especially digital. Someone who possesses the ability to carry themselves well when they speak and write will ALWAYS be a relevant asset to any professional career setting no matter what trends may come and go.

2: Network, Network, Network: 

Underline, make a note, and put a star next to this one!  If I learned ANYTHING while picking these superstar analyst's, creative's, strategist's, and account manager's minds it would be to network.  Patrick Murphy, a UGA Alum put it best for me, he said (and this is loosely based) if an executive has two resume's in front of him/her (one of them being yours) and he has some relative idea of who you are, you have the upper-hand in being hired.  This is where it clicked for me.  I think I'm sometimes weary to reach out to people, but everyone I talked to genuinely WANTED to help, they were excited about connecting and hearing about my job search or welcomed me if I had questions about anything.  I also found it surprising that many of the people we talked to found their jobs through a friend of a friend of a friend, which really stresses the importance of networking and attempting to keep your name at the top or near the top of someone's mind.

3: Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions:

I've heard both sides of this coin.  One being that you should always ask questions, always try to expand on things that you haven't yet mastered, and the second being you should ask some questions, but don't ask too many questions because you should figure some things out by yourself. I agree with both, but I lean more towards the first scenario.  Bob Cavosi, Senior Vice President of Financial Services for 5Loom, highlighted this point really well.  He said don't be afraid to ask questions.  It shows initiative, passion, and the fact that you're constantly trying to learn, learn, and learn some more.

4: Be Passionate, Continue Learning Always, and BE HUNGRY:

 I feel like this should be an understood characteristic when searching for your first 'grown-up' job, but these qualities will set  you apart from the normal, basic applicant in my opinion.  Someone who is always willing to go the extra mile, whether it be stay late, take on an extra task, someone who has that fire within them for their said career path, is the person who will go the farthest.  After my trip to New York, I feel the need for my thoughts and opinions to be heard in this industry, I'm constantly thinking about it, and am motivated and inspired through it constantly.  Once you find that one thing that really interests you, IMMERSE yourself in it fearlessly.

5: "Put yourself out there, be fearless":

 This was my favorite quote that my ears had the pleasure of hearing this past weekend which was said by Kate Reaves, an Account Manager at JWT.  What great advice for someone who is just starting to break the surface when it comes to a career in digital. It's becoming more and more apparent to me that you HAVE to take the leap and truly be fearless when it comes to doing something that you're passionate about, and if you work hard enough you will be rewarded within your career path.

All of the agencies offered valuable insight to breaking into a career in an ad agency and into a career in general, and while some companies were both big and small it was awesome to get a glimpse into both options of an ad agency.  I had the best time while I was in the city, and most importantly I feel like I was able to learn so much about what it takes to make it in digital and possibly even living in the city that will swallow you whole all while making you feel like there's no place other than NYC that will suffice. So, I will leave you with this quote that I refer to often when my mind wander's off to what it would be like to live in the most beloved city in America, if not the world.

"Fat Girl Costumes" Available Only at Walmart!

For me, the week before Halloween is usually the time where I begin brainstorming what I should dress up as.  This years ideas consist either a witch or Dexter's victim. The decision has yet to be made, so I'll get back to you on that one.  On October 21, Walmart had a social media/website hiccup when they described their plus-size women's halloween costumes as "Fat Girl Costumes."

Once this was pointed out on Twitter by a customer, it went viral.  People took to social media, more specifically, Twitter in order to relive their thoughts on the sticky situation.  The insulting title was taken down by 10:30 am.  However, Walmart failed to completely take down and fix the issue on their website until about 1:30 pm.  The title was changed to "Women's Plus-Size Halloween Costumes" but the page was blank when customers went to visit it.

In the past, we've seen companies make mistakes on their websites or via social media.  Whether it was a disgruntled employee or an honest mistake (not sure how this would be an 'honest mistake') the most important step for Wal-mart to take would be resolve the problem as fast as possible and then apologize.  For example, I previously posted about Urban Outfitters 'blood-stained' sweatshirt, or Zara's striped 'holocaust' children's sweatshirt.  Time and time again we've learned that a companies best approach to damage control is to fix the situation immediately, and to RESPOND to consumers with an apology of some sort.  In this specific case, Wal-mart did just that by issuing an apology via twitter which can be seen below.

So, the issue was cleared up by Monday around 1:30, but Wal-mart was far from in the clear.  They spent the rest of the day, and probably the rest of the week replying to angry tweets from customers.  The moments after a company faces a conflict will define how successful they will be in the future, to an extent.  Keeping customers satisfied, loyal, and happy will keep your brand in the forefront of their mind at all times.  Customers are the root of the business, or they should be.  Social media is where consumers are, it is IMPERATIVE that companies recognize this, attempt to genuinely connect with their consumers on a one-to-one basis, and social media is the key to doing so.

Swift's "Welcome to New York" ain't no Sinatra

If you know me personally, you know that I am an insanely BIG super-fan of Taylor Swift (take this moment to judge me now, I don't care).  With that being said, you probably also know that I 'friendly' and 'casually' stalk everything New York City.  However, my all-time favorite playlist on Spotify is "Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits," (you should probably stop reading this right now, find that playlist, and play it while continuing to read this in order to get the full effect).  Now, Taylor Swift's highly anticipated album, titled '1989' comes out October 27, 2014.  Taylor  has been posting to Instagram daily with small snippets of lyrics of different songs from her new album in order to continue building anticipation.

Last Tuesday, she released news via Instagram that another single would be released around midnight called "Welcome to New York."  As you can imagine, when I saw this post I was excited to say the least.  For the past few months my roommate and I have been casually and imaginatively planning how we would be living in NYC after college graduation (a cute place in Brooklyn with a stoop, or maybe in the FlatIron District, close to Eataly & The Chelsea Market preferably- hey I said imaginatively, a girl can dream, right?).  Recently,  I have even been searching for a full-time position there too, that's another blog post for another day though.  The point of that rambling was 1- I love Frank Sinatra, a lot. 2- I also really love New York, and 3- I've always been a fan of Taylor's.  So, this "Welcome to New York" track on her new album really had high expectations for me.

So, after about an hour of HIGH anticipation, "Welcome to New York" was posted to Youtube. Go watch it here.  Needless to say, I was surprisingly disappointed (and I feel bad typing that, for the record).  What's one to do when their icon has a new song that doesn't quite drive me wild? Go to social media, of course.  In a heated frenzy, I posted the following on my Facebook after about an hour of watching and reading articles about Taylor and why she was 'inspired' so much by NYC.

I read several articles that criticized Taylor about her new single, the one above in particular insisted that "Welcome to New York" would be the 'next New York anthem.'  "Welcome to New York" by Swift just doesn't have the sparkle, the pizzaz, the depth,  it doesn't make me feel anything.  Now, "New York, New York" by Frank, of course is a completely different story, listening to it makes me feel like i'm already in the streets of New York, you can hear the passion in Sinatra's voice, it's not the same four words being repeated throughout the majority of the song like Swift's version.  Maybe Taylor's rendition will grow on me, but I was expecting something better, especially from an artist like her.  I also stumbled upon this video, where Swift explains why she wrote "Welcome to New York."  She says "I dreamt about moving to New York, I obsessed over moving to New York, and then I did it," which is something i'm sure young women or even some men can relate to, I know I can.  There's not a day where I don't think about what moving to New York would be like, it's what a lot of people think about when they graduate college, to go somewhere they've always dreamed of living.  She goes on to talk about how she was "wide-eyed" and "optimistic" but she's Taylor Swift, she bought a $19 million dollar penthouse in NYC, she has nothing to worry about as far as living in a closet-sized space, dealing with subways or directions, or living on a budget.  So can I relate to her after all? Maybe not so much.  If anything her new song about the wonder city has disheartened me and damaged her credibility more than anything else, in my eyes at least.  That's not to say I won't be buying her album when it comes out next Monday.  I just think she's got some BIG shoes to fill if she's trying to compete with Frank, or even Jay-Z on a New York Anthem.

Twitter vs. United States

On Tuesday, October 7 2014, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the United States Government on the notion that the government is violating Twitters first amendment right by imposing strict regulations against Twitter and what they can and cannot post when it comes to “national security related surveillance requests.”  Last spring Twitter, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and LinkedIn went in on a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice that stated “the tech companies are allowed to publish the number of data requests related to national security (such as National Security Letters or FISA Court orders) — but cannot divulge the precise number of requests,” according to Mashable.com.  Twitter mentioned that something like this may happen back in February when they first published a transparency report, which outlined why they were being prohibited from posting certain content.

  

When Twitter announced the lawsuit on Tuesday afternoon, Twitter’s lawyer took to their blog and said, “"It’s our belief that we are entitled under the First Amendment to respond to our users’ concerns and to the statements of U.S. government officials by providing information about the scope of U.S. government surveillance — including what types of legal process have not been received."  According to Mashable.com, Twitter and the U.S Government have been negotiating for months about what the outcome should be, and resorting to litigation was the last thing Twitter wanted to do, but the two companies couldn’t come to a sensible agreement.  This incident can be compared with the NSA surveillance programs leaking in correlation with Edward Snowden.  While the dust is still settling with that incident, I think it was a smart move to take litigation with the U.S. government in order to protect their reputation and themselves as a company.  The last thing Twitter wants to be seen as is collaborating with the government against their users.  I also thought this article was interesting because of what is  happening  currently with the Republic of Turkey and how they were intervening with social media sites in order to stop people from connecting with each other about the on-going situation.  I think it’s interesting that Twitter doesn’t have anything to say to the Republic of Turkey about them cutting off ways for citizens to talk to each other.  Regarding Twitter’s lawsuit against the United States government, several advocacy groups have come into the spotlight in support of Twitter by saying; “Twitter is doing the right thing by challenging this tangled web of secrecy rules and gag orders.”  I think it will be interesting to see how this plays out.  While I agree that people have a right to say what they want, I find it interesting that Twitter is taking such a big stand on the issue. Below is the actual tweet Twitter sent out affirming their official lawsuit against the U.S. Government.

Crushing on the Pub, My Lovemark

Oh how I love the Pub.  No, I'm not talking about your local beer joint, I'm talking about Publix Supermarkets.  Didn't see that one coming did you? Yeah, I get it, loving a grocery store might come off sounding a little psychotic, but you can relate i'm sure.  Everyone has their favorite brands, a brand that you're loyal to no matter what.  It can be compared to as a soul-mate or a best friend, something you never want to see go, something you will defend even if you know there's a chance they're in the wrong, something you get excited to see, or in marketing terms, a Lovemark.  Publix is my Lovemark.  I love Publix for many reasons that may be similar to the reasons why you are infatuated with your lovemark.  It's where my mom's always shopped, it's where i'm comfortable going.  I will drive the extra few miles it takes to get to Publix instead of going to a closer competitor.  The experience is just worth it to me, i've never had a negative experience at any Publix. Their customer service is top-notch, their 'Buy One Get One Free' weekly specials rock my world, and who am I kidding their subs, chocolate chip cookies and sweet tea can't be beat.  I can tell you a lot about Publix that the average grocery shopper wouldn't know including when their weekly ad changes, their mascots name (yes, Publix has a mascot, Plato the Publixsaurus), and what a rain check times 10 means.  Throwing the line, hooking the fish, and reeling in the catch is a marketers job, in short.  I'll be honest in saying Publix has me hooked.  How do companies lure consumers in and eventually capture their brand loyalty?  It's all about evoking emotion out of the consumer, making them feel as if they're part of the family.  From the family-oriented BBQ or birthday party commercials to the fourth of July weekly ad, Publix screams emotion and the importance of family to their customers.  If you share an infatuation with Publix like I do, you probably remember the Thanksgiving commercial that featured the 'pilgrim pair' salt and pepper shakers.  If you haven't seen this cute and clever commercial, watch it here.

 The premise of the commercial is family, the commercial ends with the quote "there's nothing like being together for the holidays," which is the only audio in the commercial, besides the fast-paced music.  In fact,  after my mom saw that commercial, she went out and bought the exact salt and pepper shakers, which we still have and use every Thanksgiving holiday.  You're probably still pondering over what the nickname 'the pub' has anything to do with this.  My mom has always called Publix, "the pub." So, in short that's what my family has come to call it.  Publix has taken advantage of getting on social media platforms in order to reach the customer better.  Most of their tweets interact with their customer by asking questions like "what food could you eat everyday for the rest of your life?"  Responding to consumers feedback, both positive and negative comments, on social media sites is HUGE. Publix actively responds to customers and takes action to fix the said issue or hand out appropriate praise when neccesary.  Publix also boasts a strong record of being a company with excellent company culture, as it has been ranked as Fortune's "Best Companies to work for" every year since 1998.  What allows a company to become a lovemark for a consumer?  In my opinion, a company that is able to relate and interact with consumers on a human level, a company that invokes emotion and feelings from a consumer, and a company that evolves throughout time in order to be where there consumers are (social media, for example) is a company that will have the upper-hand in cultivating a life-long relationship with consumers.

UO Sells 'Blood Stained' Kent State Sweatshirt, Responds via Twitter

Before social media, how did companies make up with their customers after their company or products are seen in a negative light?  Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow companies to respond directly to consumers as a group or individually when something goes wrong.  Disaster Control.  What should be the first step that companies should take when they've made a mistake?  Take responsibility, and be upfront about the issue.  The short window after the incident occurred and  when disparaging comments start rolling in is a crucial point in how a company chooses to handle a negative situation.  Because of social media consumers now have a loud and prominent voice when it comes to telling companies and other consumers how they feel about a said company or a particular product. Consumers are always watching, always updating and always sharing on social media sites, and companies are finally catching on.  Recently Urban Outfitters came out with a so-called "Vintage Kent State Sweatshirt."  Retailing for a hefty price of $129.00, Urban Outfitters described the sweatshirt as "washed soft and perfectly broken in, this vintage Kent State sweatshirt is cut in a loose, slouchy fit.  Excellent vintage condition.  We only have one, so get it or regret it!"  This sounds all well and good, except for when consumers actually got a look at the sweatshirt. Take a look below.

Now, if you aren't familiar with the actions that took place at Kent State in 1970 then here's what happened in a nutshell:  the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed college students and in the process shot and killed four students and injured nine others on the Kent State University's campus.  consumers argue the sweatshirt that Urban Outfitters is advertising has what looks like blood stains on it, which correlates with the Kent State shootings.

Above is a tweet that was sent out showing pictures of the sweatshirt on the Urban Outfitter's website.  Consumers blew up social media sites, especially Twitter to put blame on Urban Outfitters. 

The "vintage" sweatshirt sold out quickly online and even popped up on Ebay with a 'Buy it now' price of $2,500.  In the following days of the sweatshirt release, Urban Outfitters took to their Twitter page in order to relieve some of the damage they had created  among consumers.  Below is an apology that Urban Outfitters released on their official twitter page promptly after receiving backlash on the sweatshirt.

While this type of situation is tough to deal with for any company it raises several questions dealing with the company.  How could an employee of Urban Outfitters not make the connection between Kent State and little red drops on a sweatshirt before putting it live for customers to see?  It almost seems like Urban Outfitters pulled this stunt on purpose, though I'm not sure of their motivations if that is the case.  In any case, Urban Outfitters played their cards correctly by issuing an apology for the world to see.  The most pressing takeaway from Urban Outfitters hiccup is that social media sites are where consumers are.  It's where they complain, give praise, and in most cases it's where they look first for any new source of information they might be looking for.  Social media platforms cut out the middleman (news reporter, etc.).  It allows the consumer and the company to talk directly with one another, which has shown to be really powerful for consumers and companies alike.  Companies and major brands have caught on to all of this and realize (most of them) that it is imperative to communicate and keep up with their customers through means of social media.

How to Fake it, Cuddy Style

Have you ever read, watched, heard, or seen something that just seems to stick in your mind for some amount of time?  It might be a new insight, a catchy phrase, or a meaningful quote that has some connection to your life.  For me, this epiphany came sometime during my junior year of college when I was sitting in a 300 plus person lecture hall in a required business leadership class.  On this particular day in class we paused from our regular, monotonous lecture to watch a Ted Talks video.  This may have been the first time I came to know what a Ted Talks video was now that I'm thinking about it.  If you aren't familiar with the Ted Talks series or the Ted organization, below is a description of their mission, via Ted.com.

The twenty-minute and something second video we watched in class feautures a social psychologist by the name of Amy Cuddy. According to the New York Times,  Cuddy's Ted Talk is ranked number two  on the list of "Most viewed Ted Talks of all time" with just over twenty million views. Throughout the video, Cuddy harps on body language and how it is perceived not only by those around us but how we notice and take in our own body language. Cuddy touches on the natural human and animal characteristics of body language such as opening our arms up when we're feeling powerful, or sinking down when we feel inferior.  While this is interesting Cuddy really hooked me around the seven minute marker when she mentions the commonly heard phrase "fake it until you make it."  She explains this thought by saying that even if you don't feel powerful or happy, if you pretend to be a certain way then you will think and embrace that feeling.  Cuddy then goes on to discuss "power posing." Cuddy argues that standing in a power pose, such as standing with your hands on your hips for just two minutes while looking into the mirror can significantly increase your confidence due to varying levels of cortisol and testosterone in the brain.  Below are the pictures of the high-power and low-power poses Cuddy shared during her presentation.

With roughly four minutes left in the video Cuddy flips the script and tells a personal story of how she got to be who she is today.  She tells a traumatic story of her battle to recuperate from a horrific car accident, and in doing so she mentions how she got into Princeton and felt like she was a wasn't meant to be there. Cuddy discusses feeling paralyzed, and filled with anxiety when it came to giving speeches and living up to high expectations.  The main message Cuddy stresses towards the end of the video is "Fake it 'till you become it."  She says give presentations over and over again or whatever your hurdle may be, until you realize that it is a part of who you are.  Be bold and just do it is the takeaway I got from this video.  Feeling like you don't belong or you aren't good enough is a common feeling the majority of people feel at some point in their life.  The message that Cuddy is sending out is a powerful one.  I can't tell you the amount of times I've felt that "I'm not good enough for this," "I don't deserve this," or "I can't do this."  After watching this video that day in class I've probably watched it ten times over.  Amy Cuddy and her message of "fake it 'till you become it" has stuck in my head and comes forth in my mind when I'm having doubts or when i'm feeling unsure about an obstacle that i'm facing. 

 I challenge you to watch Amy Cuddy's Ted Talk (here's the link), and to live through this motto.  Even if you don't receive the same message from the video that I did, try the power posing before your next big presentation or interview and see what you get out of it.   Remember, don't "fake it 'till you make it," "fake it 'till you become it."

CoverGirl's "Get Your Game Face On" Campaign Packs a Protest Punch

According to Mashable.com, CoverGirl recently launched a new campaign entitled "Get Your Game Face On" as a way to market their cosmetics to savvy NFL-watching consumers.  CoverGirl's "Get Your Game Face On" make-up line features products that coordinate with different NFL teams colors.  Recently, the NFL has been in the public eye in relation to the Ray Rice scandal.  If you aren't familiar with what happened here's the 410:  TMZ got ahold of a video that allegedley shows Rice physically abusing his then-fiancé in an elevator. What happens next, you ask?  People took to social media, of course.  In the days following the video surfacing, photoshopped pictures started popping up of CoverGirl's campaign images.  These images were changed to show off a big, bruised, black eye on the model (while still showing off the Baltimore Raven's purple and gold colors, I might add). Below is a few images and tweets of the photoshopped image.

  Most of the backlashed received was targeted towards Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner.  Attached to the doctored image was the hashtag, #GoodellMustGo.  Several Women's advocacy groups have taken the center stage in boycotting the NFL until action is taken against Goodell.  Once again, social media, and in this case, Twitter has proven to be an excellent way for consumers to band together in order to have a voice against large, powerful organization/corporation.  While no action has been taken against Goodell to date, there's a better chance of Goodell facing some sort of punishment when consumer's are stirring the pot on the issue via social media platforms.  Let's hope for some form of a response from the NFL or Goodell himself.  In the past, we've seen large, profitable companies make the wrong choices when it comes to handling their social media accounts correctly.  Take Kit-Kat and GreenPeace for example.  When GreenPeace publicly confronted Kit-Kat about where their ingredients were coming from, Kit-Kat went as far as to delete consumer's negative comments and also didn't respond to the situation (via their social media sites) in order to defend themselves.  I think a social media post of some kind, or lack thereof  regarding an apology or statement of remorse from Goodell or the NFL  could be a game-changer in the way people perceive the NFL as a dominate, and credible organization.

Meet & Seat: Dutch Airline Uses Social Media to Connect Passengers

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines came out with an innovative campaign in 2012, which they called "Meet &  Seat."  Meet & Seat was designed as a networking tool and involves connecting passengers through social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Through Meet & Seat, passengers are able to pick their own seat next to other passengers who share the same interests.  Over 50,000 people have used Meet & Seat since it launched.  However, KLM airlines has serviced over 52 million customers in the past two years.  In my opinion, Meet & Seat is a smart idea when it comes to connecting and networking with others who happen to be on the same flight as you, but there are some issues that come along with it that need to be addressed.  Some argue that flights are for taking a break from doing business with others since many passengers who fly are those who are doing so on business related trips.  Other people argue that there isn't enough time to give a full pitch to another interested businessman. Another issue is competition, Delta introduced a similar campaign called Innovation Class.  While I do think this is an interesting way for people to connect with others, I think the idea is a bit much considering after a long day from traveling and meeting with clients the last thing I would want to do is sit on a long flight and network with a possible new client.  There is an obvious trade-off here though, if your business trip wasn't as successful or as busy as you expected it to be, then this could be a great opportunity to gain a new acquaintance or a new client.  In other words, programs like "Meet & Seat" could make up for a business trip that didn't fulfill your expectations.  There are pros and cons to "Meet & Seat" as there to everything in life.  Personally, I don't think this idea has gained enough interest or traction when I compare amount of passengers that have taken advantage of this service and the amount of passengers who fly on a yearly basis.

Chipotle's "The Scarecrow" Campaign: Why it Worked

If you haven't watched Chipotle's "The Scarecrow" video do so now here.  This is the epitome of a marketing campaign gone viral.  Within 2 days the scarecrow video had people talking.  This video made people feel many different emotions from angry to awed.  There's no mention of the brand until the last 30 seconds of the video.  There's also no people or no talking in the video. "The Scarecrow" tells an emotional, dramatic story about a scarecrow who lives a monotonous life in which he works for the evil, robot crows who are the owners of a large processed food industry, CrowFoods.  It seems as if the robotic crows are controlling the scarecrows and how they think and live their lives.  The scarecrow has an epiphany one day, quits his job and realizes he can make his own fresh, unprocessed food and eventually opens up his own small restaurant in order to "cultivate a better world."  The video got mostly praise, but also some backlash too. This video has reached more than 13 million consumers to date, an enormous accomplishment in itself.  At the end of the video, it prompts watchers to download and play the scarecrow game available in the app store.  Why was this video so popular among consumers? It made people think and feel.  It made some people question what they were putting into their bodies.  It made other people question Chipotle and their motives, citing that some of the information that was posed in the video wasn't the full truth.  The arguments for and against "The Scarecrow" video are appealing on both sides but Chipotle has done what it set out to do: get you, the consumer, talking, thinking, and sharing your thoughts and ideas about their brand.  In my opinion, it's a genius marketing campaign.

Finding The Perfect Piece

Wahoo! Hi friends!  I've spent a lot of time pondering what the focus of my blog would be, and I've decided that I can't have one specific theme because there is so much I want to share. So here goes nothing.  I would consider myself a relatively crafty person.  I love finding an old piece in order to make it new again.  This past summer, I searched garage sale after garage sale, and thrift store after thrift store in hopes of finding my version of a perfect dresser for my room.  The checklist for a "perfect dresser" in my book includes solid wood, a fixer-upper, and it had to have some kind of personality to it.  It took me almost all summer to find one that I got excited about.  I finally found it at a garage sale.  It was just what I was looking for, it was a solid wood, light-cherry stained dresser.  It needed work, it was missing half of the drawer pulls and it had a few dings on it.  The asking price was $75. After some negotiation, I paid $50.  I spent a few hours in my garage staring at my new-old garage sale find, contemplating how I would make it my own.  After a lot of thinking, I rounded up all of the supplies I needed: stain stripper, brushes, gloves, a tarp, mineral spirits, sandpaper, and stain.  I chose a dark stain called Espresso.  My grandma had just moved in with my parents over the summer and she is basically a design/DIY/antique guru, so her pointers were really helpful throughout the whole process.  If you're ever considering sprucing up a nice wooden piece of furniture, don't paint over it, take the time to strip it and refinish it.  Don't believe someone who says stripping furniture is hard.  Stripping furniture isn't hard; it just takes some time, effort, and a little bit of elbow grease.  Plus, it's well worth it in the end.  The entire process took about two and a half weeks.  I re-used most of the drawer pulls that came with the dresser.  For the empty drawer pull holes, I went to Hobby Lobby (when the drawer pulls were half-off, of course) and took roughly three hours (I'm not exaggerating) figuring out which pulls would complement the dresser the best.  I'm ecstatic with the end result. I know I will have this piece for a long time to come, and the satisfaction of refinishing a big piece on my own is most rewarding.