Dear Reader,
This past week I have been very hungry. I have consumed copious amounts of food...and it's not because of soccer season. I believe that the reason I have been so ravenous is because of ISM. How?
This past week, we drafted designs for our display boards. These display boards are the standard cardboard tri-fold, which we have creative latitude to design, and we will be using them at Research Showcase and Final Presentation Night.
As a highly creative person, I knew I wanted my board to stand out. As an aspiring marketer, I knew that in order to make my board stand out, I needed to strategize.
I determined that my target audience would be other students, teachers, parents, and professionals. This board would be mainly presented during time where people are floating around, and it would be one of many of display. Not only will it have to be visually pleasing, it will have to make an impression on the viewer.
So, the reason why I was so hungry is because I brainstormed, for a very long time, about what to do with my board. My brainstorming consisted of walking around the room, stretching, and other movements that probably used up as much energy as my brain was.
After spending time in my think tank, I knew that in order for my board to be memorable, it need to be a) interactive, b) personizable, or c) both. Making it personizable would be too hard; multitudes of people would be walking by it, so I chose to make my board interactive.
Thus, the drafted design for my board includes a special part that asks the audience to leave their mark on my board. I won't go into specifics for now, but I will say that this component will definitely be useful--both for me and my audience.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
10/20 Weekly Update #7: Lucky Number Seven
Dear Reader,
Seven is an especially important number to me. Not only is it my favorite number, but it has also been the number on the back of my soccer jersey for the past couple of years. I've always believed that seven really is lucky, and it's been proved once again this week.
Although I only had one interview this week, and didn't have anything major like last week's Business Symposium, I consider this week lucky because it gave me what I needed most: time. With all of the preparation that had gone into Business Symposium and conducting 3-4 research interviews per week for the past two weeks, I haven't really had time to sit down and absorb everything I've learned.
This week, I wrote several assessments over my previous interview and Business Symposium. Not only do these assessments serve as documentation, they're also a tool for me to re-visit what I've learned and to file it permanently in my mental storage. This week has been all about mental growth and planning. Sometimes, the most productive weeks are the least productive weeks on paper.
In other news, I have finally placed the order for the books What Great Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn and Aaker on Branding by David Aaker, which were recommended to me by a very esteemed professor I interviewed. I am ridiculously excited to start reading them. Hopefully, Amazon lives up to its brand promise of fast shipping. Wish me luck.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau (#7)
Seven is an especially important number to me. Not only is it my favorite number, but it has also been the number on the back of my soccer jersey for the past couple of years. I've always believed that seven really is lucky, and it's been proved once again this week.
Although I only had one interview this week, and didn't have anything major like last week's Business Symposium, I consider this week lucky because it gave me what I needed most: time. With all of the preparation that had gone into Business Symposium and conducting 3-4 research interviews per week for the past two weeks, I haven't really had time to sit down and absorb everything I've learned.
This week, I wrote several assessments over my previous interview and Business Symposium. Not only do these assessments serve as documentation, they're also a tool for me to re-visit what I've learned and to file it permanently in my mental storage. This week has been all about mental growth and planning. Sometimes, the most productive weeks are the least productive weeks on paper.
In other news, I have finally placed the order for the books What Great Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn and Aaker on Branding by David Aaker, which were recommended to me by a very esteemed professor I interviewed. I am ridiculously excited to start reading them. Hopefully, Amazon lives up to its brand promise of fast shipping. Wish me luck.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau (#7)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
10/13 Weekly Update #6: Sixth Sense
Dear reader,
Disclaimer: I cannot see dead people. I can, however, see colors. Not anything like van Gogh, or a full-on synesthete, but I associate certain colors with certain moods and certain sounds and certain places and certain ideas and...well, the list goes on.
Colors are an extremely important part of marketing and advertising, because they make up an integral part of the way consumers perceive a product. Especially in the packaging of a product, colors can often make or break a consumer's decision. If you think about it, there has been a billion instances in your life where this has happened. For example, why did you buy the shirt you're wearing right now? How about the car in your garage? The tomatoes in your refrigerator? Of course, color is not the only determinant of purchasing, but it does have bearing on the decision.
For me, this past week has been a purple-gray week. Purple is for the feeling of accomplishment that came with writing a pretty darn good resume, conducting 3 research interviews impressively, and having a ball at Business Symposium (more on this later). Gray (or grey, if you're in England) is for the whirlwind of activity that has passed, and for the oncoming storm (read: Tri-fold Presentation Boards, Interview Assessments, mentor searches... ).
Business Symposium was basically a giant networking event and mock interview opportunity. ISM students took the initiative to introduce themselves to professionals and strike up conversations, and perhaps make a few contacts. Mock interviews consisted of intense 20 minute one-on-one sessions that were meant to simulate a job interview. For me, this was so much fun. I love being able to present my work, and I love having the challenge of impressing strangers. It is thrilling to be able to re-create yourself and tailor your image for every new person you meet, like an adjustable phoenix. Kind of. Honestly, meeting with actual professionals in the field is an enlightening experience and it is so much more memorable than any textbook or article. This week completely blue my mind away.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau
Disclaimer: I cannot see dead people. I can, however, see colors. Not anything like van Gogh, or a full-on synesthete, but I associate certain colors with certain moods and certain sounds and certain places and certain ideas and...well, the list goes on.
Colors are an extremely important part of marketing and advertising, because they make up an integral part of the way consumers perceive a product. Especially in the packaging of a product, colors can often make or break a consumer's decision. If you think about it, there has been a billion instances in your life where this has happened. For example, why did you buy the shirt you're wearing right now? How about the car in your garage? The tomatoes in your refrigerator? Of course, color is not the only determinant of purchasing, but it does have bearing on the decision.
For me, this past week has been a purple-gray week. Purple is for the feeling of accomplishment that came with writing a pretty darn good resume, conducting 3 research interviews impressively, and having a ball at Business Symposium (more on this later). Gray (or grey, if you're in England) is for the whirlwind of activity that has passed, and for the oncoming storm (read: Tri-fold Presentation Boards, Interview Assessments, mentor searches... ).
Business Symposium was basically a giant networking event and mock interview opportunity. ISM students took the initiative to introduce themselves to professionals and strike up conversations, and perhaps make a few contacts. Mock interviews consisted of intense 20 minute one-on-one sessions that were meant to simulate a job interview. For me, this was so much fun. I love being able to present my work, and I love having the challenge of impressing strangers. It is thrilling to be able to re-create yourself and tailor your image for every new person you meet, like an adjustable phoenix. Kind of. Honestly, meeting with actual professionals in the field is an enlightening experience and it is so much more memorable than any textbook or article. This week completely blue my mind away.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau
Sunday, October 5, 2014
10/6 Weekly Update #5: Fifth Dimension
Dear Reader,
We all know that the first dimension is a line, the second dimension is any flat figure, and that the third dimension is an object. The fourth dimension is time itself. But what about the 5th dimension?
It has been said that the 5th dimension is the tesseract. Of course, this is completely theoretical. The tesseract is a funky concept. If you imagine all of time as a string, and you place a tiny person on one end of the string and ask her to walk to the other end, it would take forever (literally). But if you take the string and touch the two ends together, then the tiny person can just hop on over to the end of time. Or to any point in time, wherever you've made the string touch. That's the tesseract: bending time (and probably space).
So what does this have to do with ISM? Well, ISM is sort of like a tesseract. Through my research, I can take little, temporary hops to the future and see what it might be like to work in the marketing field. I don't have a time machine, but I do have research interviews. This past week, I have had the opportunity to interview 2 professors at Southern Methodist University, both very experienced and very skilled in their marketing subdivision. They were able to provide me with invaluable insight and information, not only about marketing, but also about what college courses I should take, what options I have that are related to marketing, and life advice in general.
Because of this experience, I was able to form a clearer picture of what it could look like for future me in the marketing field. Hence, a small time-hop. Mentally, through what I learned from my research interviews, I can place my own tiny person at a future point in time and consider, is this really what I want to do? If I learn nothing at all this year, (which is impossible, since I've already learned so much) at the very least I will know whether or not I want to pursue marketing for real.
Apart from dabbling in theoretical science, which is totally related to marketing, I have still been preparing for Business Symposium. Refining my resume, beginning a portfolio, and improving my professionalism have been the top three things I've done this week. Business Symposium is actually this upcoming Friday, and I will have the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of professionals and go through mock interviews. The upcoming week will probably be the toughest week yet, since it will be my first real experience with professional networking. Let the games begin.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau
We all know that the first dimension is a line, the second dimension is any flat figure, and that the third dimension is an object. The fourth dimension is time itself. But what about the 5th dimension?
It has been said that the 5th dimension is the tesseract. Of course, this is completely theoretical. The tesseract is a funky concept. If you imagine all of time as a string, and you place a tiny person on one end of the string and ask her to walk to the other end, it would take forever (literally). But if you take the string and touch the two ends together, then the tiny person can just hop on over to the end of time. Or to any point in time, wherever you've made the string touch. That's the tesseract: bending time (and probably space).
So what does this have to do with ISM? Well, ISM is sort of like a tesseract. Through my research, I can take little, temporary hops to the future and see what it might be like to work in the marketing field. I don't have a time machine, but I do have research interviews. This past week, I have had the opportunity to interview 2 professors at Southern Methodist University, both very experienced and very skilled in their marketing subdivision. They were able to provide me with invaluable insight and information, not only about marketing, but also about what college courses I should take, what options I have that are related to marketing, and life advice in general.
Because of this experience, I was able to form a clearer picture of what it could look like for future me in the marketing field. Hence, a small time-hop. Mentally, through what I learned from my research interviews, I can place my own tiny person at a future point in time and consider, is this really what I want to do? If I learn nothing at all this year, (which is impossible, since I've already learned so much) at the very least I will know whether or not I want to pursue marketing for real.
Apart from dabbling in theoretical science, which is totally related to marketing, I have still been preparing for Business Symposium. Refining my resume, beginning a portfolio, and improving my professionalism have been the top three things I've done this week. Business Symposium is actually this upcoming Friday, and I will have the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of professionals and go through mock interviews. The upcoming week will probably be the toughest week yet, since it will be my first real experience with professional networking. Let the games begin.
Until next time,
Eileen Bau
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