Busy week, so here's some ads I love!!

Hey,

got plenty of events coming up so will have a detailed blog post coming up, in the meantime- here's some ads I'm absolutely loving at the moment:


some B2B examples for a change! I think they are great

Career Choices

I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer to work at the Bristol University careers fair on Tuesday representing IBM and inspiring students to apply to the internship, placement and graduate schemes that IBM offer. 

 The careers fair looked awesome in the University Great Hall!

As a UWE student I found this quite daunting, the two universities are historically and brutally, rivals. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone I spoke to was extremely friendly and even when asked what I studied and where, there was no judgement! I feel like the two universities are very different in what they offer, the courses people study and the types of backgrounds the students come from- which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! What I did expect (frown upon me for my stereotypical attitude) was for the students to be very career-driven, headstrong and to have done plenty of research and be very sure of what they wanted to do in life.

I was very surprised to find out that most students had no idea what career path they wanted to follow, what opportunities were available to them and what they wanted to do after university.

I would say I have known roughly what career path I wanted to take for about 2 years now. I want to work in Marketing as it is my passion (hopefully you have gathered that by reading this blog) and something I seem to do well in (according to my exam results/coursework/ability to get a job in said field….).

However, this has not always been the case…

When I was doing my GCSE’s I had my heart set on a Journalism and French Degree, I loved English and I knew I wanted to do something creative that involved writing, I also enjoyed French and loved the idea of studying abroad for a year. When it came down to choosing my A-Level options I went for English and Photography for the Journalism aspect, French and Drama (just because I had no idea what else to choose).

Then I decided to visit Sheffield University on an Open Day as I really wanted to go there and I saw they had a Journalism and French Degree course. I liked the University and decided to go to a talk on Journalism… I am so glad I attended that talk, it was one of the biggest eye openers I have ever experienced in my life.

The lecturer explained that if I wanted to apply for the cause then I had to be 100% committed to Journalism and I had to work extremely hard in a competitive job market, where graduates usually start on a salary of £10,000 if that. He said it was extremely hard to find a job in Journalism as it was, never mind one that pays well.

I decided that from that moment on, I had made the wrong choice and I didn’t want to go into Journalism. After my first year in A-Levels I failed French so that was languages out of the window too!

I do remember being stuck at this point and having to seriously consider what Degree I wanted to apply for as if I remember rightly you have to choose your degree discipline quite early in A2.

I knew it still had to be creative and to do with writing, as I was doing really well in English A-Level. I looked at Public Relations and thought that it was something I really found interesting and wasn’t too far from Journalism, but might be too specific.

Then I looked at where the jobs were at the time, and what percentage of each set of graduates from each course got a job in their chosen field after university. Marketing seemed to rank fairly highly and there were lots of Marketing Graduate jobs available when I did a search.

So, that was it! I risked everything and just went for Marketing, without doing an AWFUL lot of research I must admit. I feel like if you ponder over something for too long you might be put off the idea, I’m the kind of person to say yes and then stick to it, whatever the consequences might be.

I’m so lucky the risk paid off as I really do love Marketing and now I’m lucky enough to be working in it, I’m so glad I made the right choice. I was initially so worried, as I had never studied Business or anything similar, and when we arrived at uni a lot of people had done Business A-Level and therefore knew lots about the degree. I also squirmed when I saw the timetable and “Finance”, “Stats” and “Economics” were on the list. I had absolutely hated maths at school and I was certain after I left that I would never have to do it again.

Well Finance turned out to be my favourite module (Admittedly, economics was my worst) but what I’m trying to say is that you should CONSIDER THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED BEFORE. Take a leap of faith in an uncertain direction!

So I would say the same applies after university, take risks, try new things and even if you aren’t sure what you want to, make sure you know what options are available to you.

Sorry about my life story!!
Steph

IBM Business Connect 2013

Hello there! So this week I was lucky enough to get the chance to attend one of IBM's biggest conferences in our events calendar- Business Connect is an all-day event and is held at various locations across the globe! The conference focuses on technology and innovation in IBM's areas of expertise: social, mobile, cloud, analytics, big data etc. The event was held at Twickenham Stadium and due to IBM's partnership with Rugby Football Union, the entire event was rugby themed. As Registrations started at 7:30- I had a very early start and decided to stay with my friend in London- this was my view of Canary Wharf at 5:30am

 

Very early start indeed!

I arrived at Twickenham Stadium and I was interested to see how the entire conference area had been transformed into an IBM event by the use of fantastic branding- the rooms looked great!

 

I was quite lucky to be able to watch the speeches as I was working inside the main auditorium, I was able to meet David Stokes- CEO of IBM UK which was such a great experience! Then I listened to his speech about the future of technology- he said that 25% of future marketing jobs will have the need for a background in technology- and he predicted that the implementation of Cloud will produce a huge amount of jobs in the next few years- something worth thinking about taking an interest in!!

 

David Stokes on stage 

Throughout the day there were lots of smaller debates and workshops for the deligates, business partners and IBMers to attend. I was mainly working behind the scenes. I had a great chance to see how such a large scale event is run- and ultimately how well IBM present themselves at their own events and how great the feedback from attendees is!

I also got a sneaky chance to sit in IBM's corporate hospitality box at Twickenham Stadium and have a look at the stadium!

 Here's a selfie of me in the stadium!!!

After a very long, but interesting and rewarding day, I got to hear a speech by Ben Kay, former Rugby World Cup Champion.

Here's Ben Kay on stage

He spoke about Leadership, Motivation, Determination, Teamwork and Discipline and how these strengths helped his team win the world cup. He also spoke about how these strengths can be applied to Business.

It was a great day and I was very lucky to be able to attend!

Steph

Prankvertising

NEW FAVE MARKETING STRATEGY GUYS!!!

Prankvertising is absolute genius!

Have a watch of this:

This was a stunt performed by the team behind a new release film 'Carrie' in order to promote their movie. The video has over a million hits on youtube- not bad at all!

LG also used prankvertising-  this is the best example I've seen so far!

It's also been used in social marketing too- which personally I think it can make a BIG impact!
Check out this prankvertising video by THINK- a drink driving campaign charity.



Companies are always looking for ways to make their brand go viral- this is a perfect way to do it, so easy for these clips to be shared and reshared!

If companies want to join on the prankvertising bandwagon and stand out they best had do fast!!!

Working 9-5....at the largest IT company on the planet...

Hi,

I haven't really posted much about my Marketing Placement at IBM since I've started as I have just been getting to grips with my role, understanding IBM's strategies and where my team fits into the overall picture.
I think working with a large organisation is not only a rewarding experience which is full of opportunities, but can also be a hindrance in terms of understanding how such a small part of said organisation can actually make an impact.

I think I have been very lucky in getting the role I have though, as liaising with clients coming from the biggest companies in the UK is a unique experience- one which I may never be able to experience for the rest of my career (fingers crossed I do though!)

Today, all of the new marketing IT's (Industrial Trainees) got to visit one of IBM's locations near Winchester. I have visited a couple of times before for meetings, but I never got the full tour....

Today we got to hear how much IBM as an organisation has changed from the organisation it was 100 years ago to what it has become in the 21st Century today. It was phenomenal to realise how amazing the company I work for is. It has evolved from selling huge pieces of hardware, where computers needed entire buildings just to home them, to the microchip and barcode that we use everyday, and more recently to the unbelievable technology we see used for analytics, vast quantities of data and mobile technology. Who knows where we might be in another 100 years! (Not that any of us will be around to see- sad times)

When I tell them where I work, people always ask me "What do IBM actually do?" "Do they just make computers?" "I had an IBM photocopier back in the day". Well simply, IBM has moved away from these kinds of products years ago- to a far more innovative, smarter way of thinking, and rather than serve users who have simple business needs for IT, which IBM still provide- they now use technology, knowledge and data in order to create a "smarter planet" which is a huge initiative at IBM.

Today, we got to see some of these amazing projects which IBM are involved with. IBM Hursley- the location we visited, has a huge laboratory in which most of the IBM products are developed and  is also home to some UBER geeks who have developed life changing/saving/enhancing technologies!

We got to visit the IBM Hursley Innovation Centre where lots of amazing IBM inventions are showcased! (May be sounding a bit geeky at the moment) We saw a piece of technology which translates sign language from a webcam into text and visa versa, with a robot who is fluent in sign language.

We saw a piece of technology used by the military which tracks snipers and can give an exact location...this kind of technology saves lives!! See why I am proud to work here :-)

We also saw an aeroplane chair that measures your heartrate without the use of straps or wires, which helps airlines help passengers adjust to their new time zone and can help reduce stress levels on board. Then we saw a mind controlled car- something which is being used in video games soon!!

But- the most interesting thing for me personally that I saw in the Innovation centre was something which usually I would say I had absolutely no interest in- Analytics. As part of the Smarter Analytics programme, IBM helped an Italian Council reduce it's social security budget by monitoring elderly CO2, methane, smoke levels etc. with a small sensor in their homes- which meant a computer could be alerted immediately whenever one of these levels were dangerously low or high- and immediately send a warden round, rather than constant checks. This piece of technology has saved hundreds of lives- from fires, gas leaks, trips and falls and O.A.Ps who have fallen unconscious etc.

This is obviously a breakthrough piece of technology which has revolutionised care homes in Italy- but has also helped the council save money and time as less human checks are needed. Now, to me this was very interesting, but the way IBM adapts such technology to meet the needs of other clients is the thing that really draws my attention so such an innovative organisations.

Whilst you can monitor the gas and electricity levels used in peoples homes- something gas companies have been able to do for years- they can tell when consumers perform certain activities, for example; cook, shower, boil the kettle etc. and by analysing such data- IBM have worked out a way of determining exactly which TV shows everyone in the nation is watching according to their energy usage.

May not sound that revolutionary- but this type of data, available in vast quantities, could be worth MILLIONS to advertisers. Once an opportunity like this is spotted- IBM act upon it and that is why I am proud to work for such a forward-thinking organisation!!

Some pics from the innovation centre:

Sam's rear end.....not the best snap!

Trying on the brain controlling device

Vicky and Rachel in the Innovation centre

The sniper launcher in it's initial stages

Brain controlled car in action!

Vintage IBM PC!

Beautiful IBM typewriter I fell in love with! Gorgeous vintage- I want one in my house!

After visiting the innovation centre, we had a history lesson on IBM Hursley- a huge Edwardian mansion- and the only property that IBM owns in the UK. The place was stunning and I wish I could work here everyday!!!

The Winter Gardens

Gorgeous features

Client meeting room (who wouldn't buy from us with that view!! Better than staring out over grey concrete buildings in London I reckon)

one of the many beautiful fireplaces

Mine and Rachel's attempted selfie!

Managed one haha

See the servants bells on the walls!

SO stunning- stairs in main hall

another selfie (how sad I am)

The exterior- end to a great day!!

What a lush location and a great day overall!

Going to try and write a bit more about IBM and the stuff I'm getting up to there!

Steph

Sponsored Tweets and ANOTHER bad example of PR

Saw a very interesting article on the Daily Mail website today which you can read here...
The article tells of an angry British Airways customer who has paid for a sponsored tweet in order to express his frustration of losing a bag on the airline:

The tweet below followed which details the impressions and coverage the original sponsored tweet received:

Final Stats pic.twitter.com/adNW4JMTAL
—  (@HVSVN) September 3, 2013

 Clearly his anger at the airline and his desire to gain some notice, sympathy and for the airline to resolve the issue must have been strong for him to pay $1000 for a sponsored tweet, yet the press coverage and extending twitter discussions lead to more than notice from BA.

As a big virgin fan which you may have noticed from previous posts- this thrills me as British Airways dirty tactics have been evident in the past. But reiterating what I have said a million times bad PR can be avoided with the RIGHT RESPONSE to customer complaints (evident in the bodyform blog post).

British Airways took 24 hours to reply to the tweet- and told @HVSVN to contact them through private messaging. Have they not learnt from Tesco's mistake? Instant responses can avert disaster! Clearly the situation did get out of hand and has erupted to world wide media....

With simple planning in place alongside a dedicated customer service social media team who operate constantly- this could have been avoided. Clearly- with the negative publicity of an organisation, the competition steps in, see this tweet from the CMO of Marketing at JetBlue:

Interesting; a disgruntled customer is buying a promoted tweet slamming a brand where they had a bad experience. That's a new trend itself!
— Marty St. George (@martysg) September 3, 2013

 @HVSVN has clearly caused a world of marketing and social media experts to question their own PR strategy and rethink the use of sponsored tweets!

On the other hand-  a fantastic use of PR from my old favourite Virgin Atlantic- when a similar complaint from an airline customer arised in the form of a letter complaining about the food on board which you can read here, Richard Branson the CEO of Virgin actually rang the customer and offered for the customer to come and help design the new menu onboard!

Take note British Airways!!

Clearly the press/customers are going to make a comparison and in the tough world it is as much about how you deal with the aftermath of bad customer service as much as delivering good customer service in the first place.

Steph

Miley's negative publicity

Andrew Loog Oldham said, "there is no such thing as bad publicity" when he was manager of the Rolling Stones in the 60's. He positioned and promoted a "bad boy" image for The Rolling Stones which opposed the clean cut band from Liverpool; The Beatles. His positioning and brand image generated world wide printed headlines such as, "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" The brand has clearly stood the test of time- which poses the question, is bad publicity one of the most clever tactics a marketer can use?

If you haven't seen/heard/received some form of buzz around Miley Cyrus' antics this week- then where have you been? Literally EVERYONE has been talking about her music video/VMA performance. If not then you can read all the drama HERE....

Jonah Berger posted a very interesting Linkedin post on why this may be Miley Cyrus' best career move yet and I totally agree. You may or may not have read my post on Sankeys Manchester and their rejection of Justin Bieber which lead to an uproar in the press....(if not go ahead and read ;-)) well this carries the same theory.

If Miley had just relaunched herself as an 'adult star' with the same attitudes and personality she carried in her Hannah Montana days- then I guarantee there wouldn't be the hype that there is regarding her music, the video wouldn't have had over 175 million views and I wouldn't be writing this blog post!

What I'm getting at- is that whilst people may be saying she's gone mad or she's ruined her career, the fact is- the vast majority of them will watch her music videos, download her tracks and watch her TV appearances.

 “There is only one thing in life that is worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Oscar Wilde