Where Have I Been?

Hello? Is this thing on?

It has been a while and I don’t have much to say except “Donate Blood!,” but I figured I should crawl out from under the rock that is IMC636 to say hello and see what’s happening in the outside world. Yes indeed, I have made it to the Campaigns class and suddenly find myself past the midterm, with four more weeks and the biggest final of my life staring down at me. I remembered that my predecessor on the IMC blog, Stacy Wise, posted around the same point in her Campaigns experience (after a similarly long absence), so I decided to re-read her post and see how her experience compared.

Turns out that we both got so excited by the prospect of not having to turn in weekly assignments that we both decided to kick back during Week 1, feeling completely assured that we’d just get caught right up in the weeks to come. It also turns out that she warned us, as in all future IMC636 students, not to do this, but clearly I had forgotten her advice in the months from April to October. So, even though you will probably forget my words too, let me go ahead and say it: Don’t Skip Week One! Bad, bad, bad. Unless you enjoy the prospect of not sleeping during weeks 2, 3, and 4.

Like Stacy, though, I do have to say that the class so far is as enjoyable as it is challenging and a fitting close to the IMC program. It really does tie all of your work from earlier classes together and I’ve been surprised at how many times I have referred back to my papers, notes, and research from the past two years.

If you’re a current IMC student, be sure to leave a comment about how your current classes are going or your own thoughts/questions about the campaigns class. Happy Holidays to you all, by the way, because I’m pretty sure you won’t be hearing from me again until December 27 🙂

French Market(ing)

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a homeowner and one of my favorite things is to decorate my house. My mom describes the décor in my house as rustic furniture with a touch of glitter. Luckily, there’s a store in Massillon, Ohio (the next town over from me) called French Market that fits me perfectly. What’s special about French Market is that the owner doesn’t have regular store hours – she prefers to open for themed events once every other month. Typically, each event lasts about three days and her store is packed to the max with finds.

Being open solely for events is a unique concept, but while in (a very long!) line to check-out at her event this past week, I realized it’s quite a successful one. Michelle, the owner, mails out invitations for each event and doesn’t have website or social media presence. For an event a few months back, I took the morning off work to attend. That’s right – I took the morning off work to shop! And who says direct mail isn’t effective?

What makes French Market even more special is the buzz around each event. I would never take off work to visit a store that’s open regular hours, but I knew being one of the first through the door, similar to a Kleinfeld’s Blowout Sale, is the key to finding the best goodies.

I'm a fan of any store with an Eiffel Tower hanging from the ceiling

From a marketing perspective, the owner has customers always looking forward to the next event and sharing event information with their friends along the way. Her items are unique and very affordable, but if the store was open regular hours, that buzz might not be present. Are there businesses near you that operate the same way? If so, do you agree with the concept?

Brand Loyalty & NYC!

Last week was an exciting one! We kicked off Late Fall, and as I mentioned before, I’m taking Brand Equity Management. This course already has me thinking differently when shopping and evaluating brands. During Week 1, we discussed which products we feel it’s necessary to be brand specific with, and why we believe so. It was a great discussion!

I completed my discussion post on Tuesday and by Wednesday, I was on a plane headed to NYC with a good friend from college. We had tickets to see Thursday’s Live with Regis & Kelly. If you’ve never been to a taping of a show you enjoy, I highly recommend it! It was fun to see all the behind-the-scenes happenings on a show I’ve watched many times!

We took Kelly chocolate buckeyes, an Ohio treat that she had mentioned she liked on a prior show. We were able to see Eva Longoria, Snooki, and Katie Couric during our hour-long visit. I can’t think of 3 more different people to all be tied together in 1 episode!

Me, Kelly, and the chocolate buckeyes!

My trip also made me appreciate the IMC Program’s flexibility. Had I been in a traditional Master’s program, much more planning would have had to go into my trip, and perhaps, I couldn’t have gone at all. I knew that I could work ahead in my class to ensure an enjoyable trip and that when I returned, I’d be more refreshed, inspired, and cultured…and what could be better than that?

Check out some other pictures below and post some fun trips you’ve experienced recently!

The view from our seats

Ice skaters in Central Park

Radio City Music Hall