April 2013

A look inside the TV World

My name is Shannon King. I’m a junior at Temple studying advertising, in the management track. I was a sales intern for PHL17. At my internship I was able to take a look inside the TV World, specifically through the eye of sales.

#TornadoWeek Targets Interns

As the semester is winding down, a lot of use are finishing up our internships or on the search for one for the summer. We’ve all been in the position where we’ve had to work tireless hours and drain our brains in hopes of impressing our bosses. Well, what if you were going about your normal day, but periodically blasted with tornado winds that are controlled by public mentions of #TornadoWeek on Twitter? This week, during Tornado Week, The Weather Channel has a group of excited interns who came up with the idea to have their office blasted by Twitter powered tornado winds. If you tweet @TornadoWeek, the interns will receive your message, so go ahead and send some winds their way! They’ve even set a goal at 1,000,000 mentions to blast the office with a full-blown EF-5 tornado. Good luck to the world’s most dedicated interns.

Graduation is Around the Corner!

The day we all thought would never come is almost upon us…. GRADUATION! Even though this is what we have been looking forward to for the past 4+ years, now that its finally approaching, some of us might not feel ready. What is hands-down the biggest concern cluttering most of our minds? Jobs of corse! Well there is no time to waste, the job hunt is on.

Wrapping up my Internship at Skai Blue Media

Only 2 days left as a graphic design intern at Skai Blue Media and only a few weeks until graduation. Things are starting to get a little scary and a little sad but mostly hopeful. One of our interns left Wednesday and it sunk in for all of us that we have gotten pretty close and are going to be sad when it’s over. But the other senior interns and I have been talking about our plans after graduation for months now and all of us are finally starting to formulate plans that we are extremely excited about. So, next week on my last day I know I am going to be sad to say goodbye to the other interns and to the people at Skai Blue who I’ve gotten close to, but I know it’s all just another step in the journey and I have met some great people there.

Intern Life: One Year Later

I have had the unusual privilege to transition my summer internship at PNC Bank, into a fall internship and finishing up with a spring internship. As I now come upon one year in the same job, I have seen a glimpse of the dedication and persistence it takes as a professional. We as college student interns see a snapshot of what a working business model is and how it feels to work in a ‘real world’ setting. However, we capture our interpretation of that, generally, in three to five short months. I have learned that the key to being a good employee, in any profession, is maintaining interest and revitalizing your excitement towards your job. With that, it is easier said than done, jobs can become monotonous and stale after you have been doing them for a long period of time. I’m sure that there is not a single person who has ever loved their job every day, every year for their entire career but staying positive curbs the bad days.
As prospective advertising and marketing professionals we are granted a luxury many other professions are not. Our jobs are constantly changing, which makes maintaining longevity at a particular company easier. I have learned in my year at PNC that, even though it’s a more entertaining field of work, making copies and filing paperwork is never, ever exciting, but it is part of the job. Additionally, I have learned that after a few months, the excitement of the new internship wears off; however, it is at that point as an intern you need to dedicate yourself that much more. Being on time to work and finishing projects by the set deadline sets apart interns who are there for the credit, and those who actively want to be considered for full-time positions.

140 Characters to 6 Seconds of Branding

Vine, released just a few short months ago, has already made a big impact in the social and mobile advertising world. Vine has already been employed by various brands to promote their products. Advertisers now have 6 second spots to fill as opposed to the 140 character limit found on Twitter. Brands can now engage with consumers in a conversation via 6 second video clips, much life gifs.

Evian’s “Baby & Me”

Evian strikes gold with another spot focusing on their “Live Young” branding and providing us with yet again a video featuring adorable babies, Evian’s signature. This time, instead of just showing the inner child that Evian’s water brings out in drinkers because of the pure quality, the brand decided to take the story a step further and have the adults actually meet their inner child. The casting for this campaign was spot on in both the commercial and print applications. Above you can see the dancing, youthful, children as they meet and below you can catch a glimpse of how the campaign is shown through print. Overall I think it’s a cheerful attitude that stick’s true to Evian’s previous advertising. And the use of cute adorable babies in ads is always a winner in my books.

Read more on Evian’s “Baby & Me”…

3rd Annual Portfolio Review: EXPOSED

As the Spring semester is coming to a close, portfolios are becoming finalized for many ad students. Now is the time to see how you really measure up. Join us at the Art Directors Club of Philadelphia’s 3rd Annual Portfolio Review, EXPOSED. Get unbiased feedback about your work from the best creative minds in Philadelphia.

Happy Earth Day, Google!

Happy Earth Day 2013! While you’re all being especially green today, do yourself a favor and head over to Google‘s homepage to see their interactive logo for the day. Google has presented us with a beautiful landscape that goes through the changing of the seasons. As the sun moves westward and the moon goes through it’s phases, the seasons pass, showing us different days starting with spring going slowly into summer, fall, and winter.

Read more on Happy Earth Day, Google!…

Branding Yourself on LinkedIn

Throughout many of my classes, the majority of the teachers have been strong in pushing the professional use of social media. Facebook and Twitter are easy for us to use because they cross with our personal social lives. We know how to use them because we are on them all the time any way. One tool that I think slips a lot of our minds is LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. The purpose of LinkedIn is for us to broadcast our professional experience to connect with colleagues, teachers, mentors, and potential employers. If used correctly, LinkedIn can be a great tool for connecting to people in our industries as well as finding and acquiring jobs. So, how can someone use LinkedIn effectively? Here are just a few tips that I’ve found through my own research and experience using the site.

The Free Journal Project

I recently came across an amazing project developed by Kelly Clawson, a fellow advertising student here at Temple and President of the Temple Ad Club. The Free Journal Project is a socially based art project founded in providing free handcrafted journals, for all to use and enjoy. The project focuses on making journal keeping accessible and enjoyable while establishing a space for personal inspiration and creativity.

Read more on The Free Journal Project…

Seeing The Music Business From The View Of A Trade Association

The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) is a trade association for the music industry. NARM and digitalmusic.org, NARM’s sister organization, hold a convention each year. This year’s convention, Music Biz 2013, is being held in Los Angeles. The convention brings together every part of the music business including retailers, record labels, distributors, and start-ups, to discuss issues within the industry, share ideas, and learn about how the industry is evolving.

Interning

My name is Shannon King and I am a sales intern at PHL17. This has been a great opportunity to work for a television station to see how it operates. I have also learned first hand how important advertising is to any business, specifically a television station. I don’t think I expect to work in sales, but I am happy for this learning experience. I’ve also gained experience on how a television station works internally. I learn a lot in the meetings held every Tuesday morning, where they discuss trends in the market, what is going on at the station to then tell advertisers, and inventory updates.

What I love the most about my internship experience is working in an office. This office is very close knit. One would think because the sales people are technically working against each other for accounts and ad space, they would be more competitive. Yet, they all seem to be friends inside and outside of work. They have all been extremely welcoming and willing to help me learn. I don’t expect every office to be like this, but I do hope future offices I work in will be like this one. I am happy for this experience and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me next.

Kings in New York

Back in February, I had the pleasure to accompany my internship, Kings Rule Together, to NYC on a vending trip. It was a natural hair event hosted by Taren Guy, a huge supporter of K.R.T. with over 500 people in attendance. It took me out of my usual role of being behind the scenes doing graphic design to interacting with actual consumers. Instead of portraying the brand through art, I had to speak with consumers about the brand, our message, and the product. In the beginning, my interactions were dull, but over time I became more comfortable and relaxed talking to customers. The experience allowed me to identify what designs and aspects of the brand appealed most to them. I was able to find out what people thought about the brand, what they liked and disliked. Not only did we make a profit at the event but we did research as well to help us with our image and branding for the future. The aspect I found most helpful were the interactions with consumers. I’m not the most outgoing person, so being forced to sell helped me break out of my shell.

Rolling with the PUNCHes at my First Internship

This semester I began my very first internship at PUNCH Media, a very small PR company based in the Mount Airy section of Northwest Philadelphia. It is owned and run by James Zeleniak and Alicia Crawford-Zeleniak, both of whom are Temple alums. PUNCH is food and beverage centric with clients such as South Philly Bar & Grill, McCrossen’s Tavern and MilkBoy, but also represent others, such as the Shops at Liberty Place.

My MOD Journey

My name is Lacy Balistrieri and I have been interning at the March of Dimes Southeastern Pennsylvania Division since August. At first I was thrilled at the opportunity, but confused on what I’d actually be doing. The first couple months were tedious. I’m not sure if my original boss felt it risky to delegate her work to another person, or just gave me menial work because she didn’t recognize my strengths yet. Eventually I started working with various people throughout the office because I was completing tasks too efficiently for my supervisor to keep up with. I grew close to her as we came to know each other better, but unfortunately she left March of Dimes for a different position. It was a blessing in disguise.

Tuning In to PHL-17: My Intern Experience

Hello! My name is Kendall Jackson and I’m a junior at Temple studying Advertising, with a concentration in Art Direction. For the past two months, I have had the pleasure of interning in the sales department at PHL-17, a local television station in Philadelphia, PA near Bala-Cynwyd. Although I am a creative at heart, working as a media sales intern has really allowed me to see advertising from a new perspective.

Relationships are Key

I’ve had the opportunity to intern at PHL17 this semester in the Media Sales Department. As a local television station PHL17 relies on the Media Sales Department to produce most of its revenue. One of the great things about my internship is that I get to go on sales calls with the account executives. These sales calls have given me a chance to watch account executives negotiate deals and interact with clients.

Start-Ups Are The New Black

Interning at NARM, one of my main responsibilities is compiling information for Music Biz 2013‘s Official Guide, a comprehensive list of the convention’s schedule, speakers, programs, attendees, sponsors, and award winners. The convention will consist of over 100 speakers educating attendees on a variety of topics and issues relating to the music industry. These presenters are CEOs, presidents, VPs, founders, and higher-ups from major and indie labels, traditional and digital distributors, music services, and apps along with a plethora of other companies. I receive and edit the bio of every single Music Biz 2013 speaker. Through this task, I am learning about the paths these people have taken to success. As I aggregate information on more and more people, I have seen that a lot of the most successful people in the industry have made their own way instead of climbing the traditional ladder.

The MOD Experience

This is MOD Worldwide, a small design agency in Center City Philadelphia. But don’t let its size fool you! Within this office are some impressively learned minds in the field of advertising and design. Though there are only a dozen or so full-time employees and a few interns at the moment, the high concentration of talent in one room never ceases to impress. Thus far, I have had the pleasure of sitting in on morning staff meetings, contributing to social media and advertisement executions, and running errands to various offices around the city. It is safe to say that I have gained a lot of insight into the realities of the advertising industry and have learned a great deal about how things work. Usually, the account managers will run through the list of tasks to be completed at the daily staff meeting, after which the designers will update on any progress made and continue completing assignments. The account executives are good at staying on top of projects as well as communication with clients, and the designers can produce really beautiful visual executions. If necessary, I will be able to help with any design edits and search for images, video clips or music tracks to be used in production materials. Just seeing it all come together gives me a better sense of my role in the process as well as what my role could be when I enter the industry as a full-time professional. Granted, there are some days when I am not able to help with anything that is necessarily “creative” work, but I still find the experience positive being able to do anything I can. I’m optimistic that this position will continue to be a productive learning experience and that it will help me find the perfect job in the future. One thing I am grateful for is that I’ll always be able to look back on this semester as my introduction to the professional world and know it was the catalyst to what will hopefully be a long and successful career.

My internship

I am currently in the middle of my second semester interning with the Philadelphia Flyers. However this semester has been drastically different than the last because of the end to the NHL lockout. My official internship is with Game Day Presentations. We are in charge of executing all the promotions during the game. Outside of the Flyers, I also work with the Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse and Complex Marketing. This semester one of the projects we’re working on is the marketing and PR plan for the Rugby Seven Collegiate Championships in June.

A very metal internship.

The first day I arrived at the Relapse Records office in Upper Darby, I was sure I was lost. I don’t take the bus often in Philly (there’s too many and I find the subway more convenient) and I like to avoid any stressful situations that involve pulling a chord to alert the driver of my stop. Anyways, when I got off the bus I saw a big warehouse attached to a kung-fu studio. I knew that was the building, but I was unsure of exactly where the entrance was. I called my supervisor, Bob, with whom I had previously communicated with, and he came out to meet me. I’m glad I didn’t attempt to find the door myself, because where Bob emerged from, I never would have guessed to head that way.

Read more on A very metal internship….

Sean’s Non-Profit Adventure

I’ve become disillusioned with the traditional advertising agency route over the past year at Temple. Consequently, I wasn’t looking forward to finding an internship because I felt guilty when I thought about the possibility of taking away an experience from somebody who would appreciate it more than me. I was discussing this with a higher-up of 12+, which I was volunteering for at the time, and he told me that they were always looking for help around the office!

Focus

Hi, my name is Bree Wood and I am an adv art track student. I did my internship with Jump Magazine. It is a small magazine that has been around for about two years now and is ran by George Miller. He is a journalsim Prof at Temple, but the magazine is not part of Temple.

We Run For Boston

The internship that I’ve had this semester has been with City Sports Walnut Street. City Sports is a Boston based running company that certainly felt the impact of the Boston Marathon tragedy on April 15th. It was felt truly and deeply. The running community, like Boston, is formed by strong, hopeful, and resilient people. In the previous week City Sports and Philadelphia’s running community haven’t stopped running, instead they’ve ran in honor of Boston, for Boston.

The Magazine World

As a junior advertising major in the account management and research track, I decided to try an internship that was different from working in an Advertising agency. My interest in magazines brought me to Philadelphia Magazine, where I am currently an Advertising Sales intern. Philadelphia Magazine is a monthly magazine centered on the city and the surrounding area. They also have additional publications including Be Well Philly, GPhilly and Philadelphia Wedding. I have always wanted to work for a magazine, so getting this opportunity opened my eyes to all of the different job opportunities available at a magazine.

Philly Mag Intern: Philly Cooks Event

One of the perks of being an ad sales intern at Philadelphia magazine definitely has to be my involvement with the events the magazine sponsors. My very first one was the February Philly Cooks event, a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House that featured cooks from many of Philadelphia’s most fabulous restaurants. It was held at the Historic Strawbridge Building on Market St.

Crossing Over

As an Advertising major in the copywriting track, I didn’t expect to get a lot of firsthand experience interning at a radio station. Sure, the radio is pretty much run by advertisements, but from the job description I received when I applied for the job, I would have nothing to do with that. Boy, was I wrong. In my experience working for the midday host, Casey, at Wired 96.5 (Philly’s Party Station), I have gained so many tools to carry with me in my pursuit for a career in advertising.

Think Bigger, Learn More Design Software (after effects)

Hike up your pants and put on your rain boots, there is a flood.

None of that is necessary actually because the flood I speak of in regards to design. There has been a huge influx of graphic designers in the past few years, with more schools and online programs popping up, competition is as fierce as ever. A good way to secure a position and beat out a fellow designer for a spot at an Ad Firm, is to KNOW MORE SOFTWARE! One major thing I learned at my internship is that you will get paid double for being able to produce motion graphics, and you will be twice as important!

Finding the Right Fit

Being an intern is not an easy job. You are expected to learn a lot of new skillsets and deliver professional material in a short amount of time. Also, it can be incredibly difficult to balance an internship with a busy schedule filled with school, homework and a job on the side. But as stressful as it may be, the benefits of your hard work are undeniable. You absolutely get what you put into it.

On Figuring It All Out (Or at Least Trying)

Since the start of my college career I have declared four separate majors and have gone to three different schools. The truth is I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life. I never had this practical passion that I thought I could make a career out of. And to be really honest, I am still not sure I know. Currently I am a senior advertising student, a major I declared after my first semester at Temple as a strategic communications student. I have had my ups and downs with the major but my focus right now is graduating. I wish I would have gotten an internship sooner to figure out what I really want to do and where I really want to be but instead I waited until the start of this semester. Now that I’m done being cynical in my blog post, I am here to talk about how rewarding my internship experience has been and even though I’m still trying to figure out my next move, I am definitely gaining the insight I need to get there.

‘Your Ad Here: The Cool Sell of Guerrilla Marketing’ Lecture

The School of Media and Communication will be hosting Dr. Michael Serazio of Fairfield University on Monday, April 22nd. Dr. Serazio will be delivering a presentation on ‘Your Ad Here: The Cool Sell of Guerrilla Marketing.’ Dr. Serazio writes about popular culture, advertising, politics and new media. His work has been featured in journals such as Critical Studies in Media Communication, Culture and Critique.

Dove ‘Real Beauty’ Campaign

Dove, famously known for using real women displaying confidence in their own skin, is continuing to reinvent female-based marketing with its new Real Beauty Sketches Campaign. Dove has hired artists to create two sketches of women. One sketch, the woman describes herself and the artist sketches her from the description. The second sketch, a complete stranger describes her to the artist. The resulting pair of sketches completely differed. The women describing their own looks often focused on the negatives they saw in themselves instead of the natural beauty that the other person described.

Word Press Launches Portfolio Builder Site

As we are all learning, an online portfolio is a must in this industry. And if your anything like me, the idea of building (or coding… AHH!) your own website is a terribly intimidating idea. Well Word Press just made this a little bit easier for us. If you have never worked with WP, it is essentially an easier website building platform that helps you to manage, create, and customize any website to cater to your needs.

Philadelphia Advertising Industry Adjusts to the Times

Contrary to popular belief, Philadelphia Business Journal says that Philly’s Advertising Industry is hiring!

Agencies like LevLane, Machinery and O3 both say they are looking to hire young, new talent in the upcoming year. But the qualities they are looking for have changed, saying that a lot of the positions they are trying to fill didn’t even exist 5 or 6 years ago. Scott Tattar, director of PR at Lev lane said, “Being tech savvy is only part of it — everyone younger is tech savvy now. They grew up with social media in their DNA. There’s a creative surge in Philadelphia — I’m seeing it just in the number of bikes in the racks below the building.”

Kit-Kat White Final Fifty

Kit-Kat’s limited edition white chocolate bars are quickly running out, but the brand has managed to find a way to preserve the last 50 bars. Kit-Kat has saved the last 50 limited edition white chocolate bars and asked how do you make something limited last forever?

The brand came up with quite the interesting answer to this question. Kit-Kat hired Australian illustrator Mike Watt to create 50 original pieces of artwork made out of the 50 remaining white chocolate bars. Watt melted down the last 50 white chocolate bars in order to make hand-made illustrations on blank red canvases. The idea is to keep the last 50 white chocolate bars as a part of Kit-Kat’s history forever.

Read more on Kit-Kat White Final Fifty…

A Few Helpful Recruitment Tips

With summer approaching, more and more students are looking for summer internships. This means that internships are filling up more quickly and the competition is increasing. One of my professors brought this up in class so I figured I would share some tips I learned about the recruitment process in order to help you land a summer internship.

crowdSPRING: Quick Money & Portfolio Pieces

As college students we tend to have thin portfolios and light wallets, so we need to look outside of the classroom. Sure, part time work can help, and internships are key to our success, but there are a few small things that we can be benefit from for cash and experience purposes.

Temple Ad Student Wins Peanut Chews Billboard Contest

A big congratulations to one of Temple’s very own Advertising students, Andrew Arbitell, on winning the Peanut Chews billboard design contest. Contestants were challenged to create ten word billboard slogans. His winning idea “enjoyed when the Rocky Steps were just steps” won over contest judges as the best line, showing their old school original feel and relating that to the city of Philadelphia in such an emotional connection. The billboard can be seen on I-95 near the Peanut Chews factory now through April 28th! Another prize from having his slogan chosen is a year’s supply of Peanut Chews that will be hand delivered througn company spokesman and former Eagles QB Ron Jaworski in “Goldie,” the brand’s vintage 1967 Volkswagen Microbus.

Facebook Home

Facebook has found another way to take over your social life. They have just created a new experience for the HTC First phone that comes preloaded with the Facebook home page. It’s a new feature that takes over the entire home screen on your phone that enables you to view content from your social networking friends and interact right there instead of needing to go to the Facebook app. You can creep, like, and comment on photos right on your main screen. You will also have pop-up notifications, that can luckily be turned off if you find it too invading. Though if you already love the app I’m sure you’ll appreciate the social networking updates.