Focusing on the Road Ahead

Even though I’ve been done classes since February, just today it started to actually hit me that I’m finished post secondary education. I think it had to do with the fact that I spent most of the day packing up my room from my student housing and moving out of there. Also, final grades are finally in and I’ve officially passed college (not that I had any doubts!)
I don’t plan for this to be the end of my involvement at Mohawk College though. With all the great improvements, and additions happening it seems like there will always be assistance needed and I hope to help as much as I can.

So what’s next for me? Well, for the past 3 months, I had three great jobs, and after Monday I’ll be down to just one! Finally sounds a bit normal. Sometimes it feels weird working this hard already at only the age of 20 (late birthday) but it’s great knowing I have so many helpful connections that are willing to recommend me for pretty much anything.

After working from home and getting the freedom to set my own hours, I started to enjoy that lifestyle. I want to start my own consulting firm for digital marketing and I really am set to go, since I have a few clients already I just need to work on the hard part first - thinking of a business name. Feel free to send any ideas you may have my way, and if you know of anyone needing marketing assistance, let me know as well. Until then, I’m applying for more jobs and hoping I can find something in the non profit sector but I’ll be happy with just about anything for now. I’m also counting down the days until convocation (June 13!), and dreading the days until I get my wisdom teeth removed.

What’s New At Mohawk?

Mohawk College Shuffle
Have you seen this video yet? So proud of be a Mohawk College Student…or Alumni..I don’t really know what to classify myself yet. But check out this awesome video by second year Broadcast Television students!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSMpYPw5jIU

The Agency
So for a few months (maybe years?) the advertising students and profs always talked about having a section in the school just for us to be able to work on school projects and nonprofit organization assignments. Ever since we got moved out of the F-Wing we didn’t really have a place to be able to call our own. It was difficult to use the Mac lab during the hours that didn’t go until late at night - which is when we were the most productive.

Now that I’m done school, the new space we have been waiting for is finally complete! “The Agency” is a place for advertising, PR, Events students and more can work together on assignments and help out the communities’ organization with requested assignments. Here’s a video introducing the new and awesome space! Congrats for finally making the dream space a reality Mohawk’s business department!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG9d-qQCDkM&feature=related

Another Great Find At Mohawk

Hey Mohawk Students! (and the rest of the Hamilton Community!)

This past week I’ve been heading into the McIntyre Theatre at the college to see some really amazing jazz shows for free. I guess the music students are doing their graduation recitals there at night and there are about 2 one hour shows per night. Open to anyone and everyone! Even if you’re not a big fan of jazz, they have been playing some great fusion too. I’m not sure how long this is going on for but I know it’s at least until the end of this month so attend and support Mohawk College’s Applied Music students. They’ve been doing a great job showing everyone the amazing stuff they’ve been learning during their time at Mohawk.

- Lu Ann

Farewell Mohawk College…

The advertising program is officially over. Majority of my fellow classmates are off on their internships in Toronto, Niagara, Burlington, Hamilton, even California! I never thought I’d be where I am today when I first walked into my Intro to Advertising: Media class first year. It was my first class ever for the program and I recall walking over with two of my fellow classmates I met from living in residence. I didn’t really know what to expect after that class - I remember getting really excited to get right into things and work though. I was fortunate enough to be nominated for MindShare: Excellence in Media award after first year and that’s how I determined that I was going to focus on the business side of advertising for the rest of my time at Mohawk.
Second year, as I expected, was the busiest of them all. From tight deadlines to getting kicked out of the mac lab from security because of staying there past midnight to work on PMB runs, etc. It was all worth it in the end though. At the time, I think there were a few moments I asked myself “Is this really for me?” but looking back, I’m glad I went through it all because it really prepared me for the real world.
Third year, let’s just say I’m really glad I got a chance to do my internship during the summer. I didn’t have to worry and stress about finding one during the fall and winter semesters on top of all the projects we had to complete. IMC (integrated marketing communications) class was a challenge but all the hard work definitely paid off in the end. MCA (the Mohawk College advertising agency) was an unreal experience. It was great to work with real clients, non-profit too!
Today, I’m done college - wooah! It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders but I know I’ll end up missing it sooner than later. I landed a full-time marketing position at a non-profit organization downtown Hamilton at the end of January so I was able to continue my classes online and work. I’m currently still with the same position, and I just keep thinking what a relief it is to not have to worry about completing 245 internship hours before the end of the semester. All that’s left is graduation…..and then I’m officially a Mohawk College Alumni

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

It’s Superbowl day which is probably one of the most exciting days of the year for Advertising professionals. Not so much for the actual game itself but for all the new advertisements to come from huge brands! With over 100 million fans expected to watch the big game, the Super Bowl is an advertiser’s biggest stage. It’s where agencies are willing to pay around $3 million for a 30-second TV spot.
The past few weeks there have been previews of several ads, such as the Honda CR-V featuring Matthew Broderick in a send up of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off created by RPA. Honda states, “Think you’re a true fan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? We hid over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find. #dayoff.” You can watch the extended at here.

Also, last year a top commercial was from Volkswagen, “The Dark Side” with a Darth Vader kid and this year’s “Bark Side” has already generated nearly 12 million views on YouTube. If you haven’t already seen it…grab your pup and take a look at the teaser here. To get the full affect of the ad, make sure you watch their extended one that was uploaded a few days ago too, or just plan to watch the Superbowl tonight to see many more ads - oh, and Madonna and Nicki Minaj at half-time!

**Feel free to follow the Twitter trend #brandbowl or BrandBowl 2012’s website to see live postings and discussions about the ads during the big game.

It’s that time again…

Before my program comes to an end and MCA Advertising comes to an end, we’re holding one last event to raise money for the Welcome Inn in Hamilton.

“Since 1966, the poverty of loneliness and exclusion has been overcome with friendship and compassion. Welcome Inn is making a difference in Hamilton—you can too!”

Wednesday, February 8 from 12-2PM we’ll be doing a charity bake sale to help raise money to buy a grocery card so the Welcome Inn can help individuals with some fresh food, instead of the usual can goods. Throughout the week, more details will be made final and if you’d like to support our last event for the Welcome Inn join the facebook page to stay updated. Look out for the posters around the school and online to come out as well!
Thanks in advance,

Lu Ann

Happy ALMOST New Year!

It’s been a hectic, yet amazing year. For once, I kept a new year resolution! I successfully have not ate any McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s…whatever, for 365 days! (I’m already counting tomorrow haha) Didn’t matter how many coupons came in the mail - I ignored them all . I think I’ll keep at this for 2012, however I’m still pondering on a new resolution for 2012.

But, enough about the future, let’s focus on the present - and yes the past. My boss sent out an email of some questions we should sit and ask ourselves as we reflect on a year passing. (I’ll post them at the end of this post if anyone wants to go through it themselves). This got me thinking quite a bit and I didn’t realize all the things I have accomplished until I started compiling my own list of some of the highlights of 2011 for me. I think this past year was definitely filled with luck for me. Just to narrow it a down a bit:

Three greatest moments of 2011:
1) Getting a PR summer internship with some of the greatest people who have taught me so much. Also, turning that internship into a part time job during school and getting offered a full time position after school is a triple plus.
2) Front row at Britney Spears Femme Fatale concert, autographed tour book and dancing on stage with her in front of 5306767934 people! Plus, meeting and getting a photo with her fiance.

3) Finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life/career. Digital/social media - know of any opportunities, let me know
Three goals for 2012:
1) Graduate debt free and with honours.
2) Land an amazing full-time job in the field I want, and be successful in it. At this point, I’m not picky at where the job is and the salary - I just really want something I’ll enjoy doing and be proud of.

3) TRAVEL! I have to stop putting this off. Especially if I achieve my first goal, I’m definitely at least going to NYC. I think I deserve to live a life like a Mad Men character for at least a weekend….

And here are some questions to help you get started on your own list: 

THE YEAR PAST:

1) What went well?

2) In what ways did you grow and evolve in the ‘evolution of you’?

3) What were some key lessons for you personally in 2011?

4) What do you need to clean-out or let go of right now to be ready to start fresh in 2012?

5) What personal accomplishments are you most proud of from the past year?

6) If there was a theme for 2011 for you personally, what would it be? i.e. “This was the year of ____.”

THE YEAR AHEAD:

7) What do you want for yourself in the year ahead and in what ways can you take responsibility for making that happen?

8 ) What strengths (name at least 3) will you deliberately use more of in the year ahead to realize your goals?

9) In what ways will you take care of yourself to maintain your “Mojo” - resilience, energy, inspiration and sense of wellbeing?

10) What are your learning goals this year? If you had a ‘learning agenda’ what might be on that list?

11) In what ways will you contribute something to the ‘greater good’ of _____ (choose a community or communities of choice)?

12) If the year ahead is to have a personal theme for you, what would that be? i.e. “This will be the year of ____”

Enjoy the last Friday of 2011!  I wonder what Rebecca Black will be doing today……
- Lu Ann

We Are What We Do. We Are Donating.

With Christmas time around the corner, most are in the spirit of giving. This year, my MCA team has started a Hats, Mitts & Scarves drive for the Good Shepherd in Hamilton until December 9th.

You may have noticed our ads already on Facebook, around the school and Mocomotion - but have you’ve been by the tree yet? The tree is set up across from the Arnie under the stairs. Under that tree are several boxes for you to place any hats, mittens, or scarves you may have lying around or want to purchase to help out (the dollar store is great for that!), and if you want to get creative - maybe you can knit something fancy?

Last week the drive began and the donations are already starting to come in. It’s been successful thus far and we would love to have that continue. Please keep the donations coming this week and spread  the news around! Remember, every little bit helps and it would be great to help keep some people in our area warm for the winter season this year.

If you’d like more information, you can join our Facebook page for the drive here and also participate by using one of our photos for your profile pictures to help spread the word even more.

Thanks!
- Lu Ann

Marketing Salaries

Came across this article last week and thought it was an interesting find. I recall my professor talking about it before too. Someone in class asked how much he makes (he works at Ogilvy) and he responded by telling us to look online for the 2011 Marketing Salary Benchmarks Report to get a rough idea.

After looking this over and comparing the starting salaries for many different positions in large agencies in Toronto, I realized I’m really, really, really glad I decided to go into the Digital world of advertising instead of traditional Media Buying or Planning. I love it much more and I can see myself doing it as a career for quite some time; the money is just a bonus.  If you notice the path you wish to go into has a low starting salary, the big thing in advertising that we’re informed often is that within a year or so, your salary can go up drastically. Just keep working hard and don’t give up on what you want to do!

Mock Interviews

The past 3 weeks have been pretty hectic since most third year advertising students are hurrying to get their mock interviews done before the deadline next week. As an assignment for our Ad Realities and Career Planning class, our professor set up mock interviews for each of us with different people in the industry. The positions we had mock interviews for were art directors, copy writers, media buyers and planners, digital strategist, sales coordinator, and so on. This is a great chance to network and try something different. There have been many students in the creative stream interviewing for a business stream position - just in case, and just because you can!

I’ve done two mock interviews thus far and they have been nothing but a huge help in deciding on what I may want to do come February. Astral Media was my first interview as a sales coordinator. Being on the business side of advertising, I’ve slowly turned away from media buying and/or planning, so I wanted to try out my other options. I did very well for my first industry interview! I impressed them with my resume, and letters of recommendations. The only tip they had for me was to take notes during the interview, which I did have a pad of paper and pen ready to do so, but it completely slipped my mind when we got started. Aside from being interviewed for the position, we also sat and chatted for about an hour about life after college and where to live in Toronto/what to expect. This interview was a perfect way to start off the rest of my scheduled mock interviews.

The next day, I went to MEC for a digital strategist position which is basically like media planning and I know, I just stated I didn’t want to do that but I forgot to mention my love for digital. If I was to do media planning I would definitely want to do it for digital as opposed to traditional mediums (TV, Radio, Magazines, etc.)  I absolutely loved MEC! It was really cool to see that one of their clients for the digital team is Paramount Pictures. Planning/buying ad space on websites an dealing with social media 24/7 just sounds like a dream…especially when it’s for soon to be big hit movies too. They were so impressed that I already have a bit of understanding of Social Listening from my internship. Hearing that this alone would be a great asset to their team made my day!

Now, just one more mock interview to go!