Built Strong to Last Long, or at Least that is what we told Creative

Day 2 of Academy Week was a presentation on working with agencies and creative. It was a really helpful session to help understand the relationship between BMs and creative and how to get the best work out of them. We learned about what makes up a creative brief, and then were put into groups to analyze a print ad and reverse engineer the creative brief. Each team then presented to the academy so we could dissect the brief and see which ad best fit. And as our presenter, Eric Bauchet, was from Whirlpool the day would not have been complete without some Maytag ads and comparison to LG, GE and Electrolux in the space.

After a quick lunch break, we got a preview of Jonlee's M537 Channels class with a discussion of the retail and manufacturer relationship. Going into retail myself this was an incredibly valuable presentation and I learned a lot of things I can apply this summer (GMROI, etc) I am really excited for the full length class in the fall.

After we wrapped up for the day, my team met for 3 hours or so to go over where we stood on our project. We assigned tasks and banged out a lot in the time we allotted then headed home to do the last of our "WHO" research. I grabbed a quick dinner of a salad and a Lean Cuisine (no I am not being healthy, I am stressed and have snacked all night!) and got to work. I read over 20 articles on Japanese consumer behavior before coming up with a one pager for my team tomorrow. Not looking forward to everything we still have to do! Tomorrow will be a busy day!

Target ♥s P&G

CMA Friday this week, has been my favorite session so far. But I do have a bias as my class' "Target Girl" We had representatives from P&G come to campus and discuss some new initiatives to a department in the store. It was great to hear about how collaborative their relationship is and how they can utilize data each has to best serve the guest. And to top it off, we all headed to the Bloomington Target for a personalized store tour. It's days like this that I don't mind being at school at 9 am on a Friday.

New York, NY

I got into the city a little early, at 10:25, and hoped into a cab. It was awesome to see the city all lit up before me and reminded me a little of SATC with me dressed up in the back. I had no problems getting to the Roosevelt and took a quick shower and climbed straight into bed as we had another big day ahead.

First thing in the morning we headed down the block to find a little something for breakfast as we knew we would be getting treats at our first company visit. I settled on a yogurt parfait and a coffee and was ready to hit the town. Up first, Dylan's Candybar, where Kelley alum Maggy Siegel is the COO. She opened up the store for us and gave us a personal tour of the 3 floors of candy. It was a blast! We even got a sneak peek of the back room where all the inventory is kept and then we headed to the cafe for some treats (I got pumpkin ice cream) and some question and answer time with Maggy. It was a great experience and gave us a little different perspective of retail than Target and Wal-Mart who come to campus.

We had a little free time before our next visit and a few of my classmates and I went to Loehmann's nd then to Feline's. I ended up not getting anything but a proscuitto sandwisch from the Bed Bath and Beyond cafe.

Then it was time to head to Macys.com's offices. We were able to meet with HOUR and the merchandise, planning, creative and IT team. It was a really neat perspective on retail, and was great to see the differences between a brick and motar store and an e-tailer.

When we finished up there we were on our own, I headed back to the hotel with some of my classmates and changed into "something more comfortable" and then headed off to get some dinner. We walked to Serendipity, and were greeted with an hour long wait! We found a cute Italian place across the street and had an AMAZING dinner of pasta and salad. We hustled out of there to make our reservation at Serendipity, and proceeded to gorge ourselves on Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and a "Can't Say No" sundae. Everything was good but we needed at least 2-3 other people to help us eat everything. With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel making sure to look at all the holiday windows at Bloomingdale's before calling it a night

So Weds night was capped off by receiving my ACCTG quiz grade (just barely squeaked by so I don’t have to retake !) and then a visit to the Kelley Retail Association panel discussion. While there was some great resources: buyers from AE & Macy’s, product designer from Dick’s and merchandising and store management from Kohl’s the evening was a bust. Tons of undergrads and not many questions being asked. Although I know I could have stepped it up and asked some questions, didn’t feel it was my place as it was their org. Oh well, was an experience to say the least.

Did I really sign up for this? Hard to believe when I am studying for hours straight and then meeting with GCS to have a major overhaul of my resume that I voluntarily decided to do this. I know all the second years say that once you get through the Core it gets better, but it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

I found out today that I am behind in my off-campus search, I need to work on my interview presence, develop my CARs and start taping myself interviewing. Oh and become a student of retail; while I am trying to keep up with 7 classes, leadership and professional development and my academy prep. Not to mention trek planning, eating, sleeping and trying to spend time with the animals. Really feeling the squeeze.

One more full day of class before the Econ midterm. Have to try to crank out an Operations assignment in there too. Next week is hell week, I think we will put the Navy Seals to shame.

Once again, Kristen “the networking machine” was in full effect today. Met with 2 second years. One to talk about their previous work experience, and the other to discuss leadership opportunities in organizations on campus. Then time for homework, studying and another informational interview with a classmate’s sister who works in retail. Busy busy bee. Better get to bed though, got more of the same tomorrow.

After a quick team meeting after class and a scarfed down sandwich, I headed to the Retail & Design Career Fair over in the Union. I knew it would be mostly undergrads but had some hope that I could get someone’s ear to find out about opportunities for MBA internships. While there were a few companies I was interested in, not much for MBAs, unless I wanted to be a store manager. Pretty disappointing, but I did learn that they are having a retail discussion panel tonight (I missed the one last night due to accounting) I am planning on going, if nothing else it will give me something to talk about with Target when they come next week.

Is it really only Tuesday?

It seems like the week has flown by, but I guess when you have “official” class 4 days a week, 2 days down is halfway through. Today was Econ, Finance and Ops and the cases we had weren’t discussion heavy. I think it is the calm before the storm though, I know week 4 (where the *%^$ hits the fan is coming!)

After class I had an informational interview with a second year that interned at Jewel-Osco. He had an amazing intern experience and it was really interesting to hear about what they had him work on. Then I came home to have to deal with the apartment’s maintenance guy painting our ceilings. Then I had another informational interview with a category manager at Jewel to get a little different perspective on their culture and structure. Super informative!

Then it was back to school, for the 2nd session of the Diversity Conference Training. Another informative presentation that once again scared me beyond belief about the conference in October. Hope I am able to prepare and get in gear by then.

Then back home for dinner, some Mad Men, a run and lots and lots of ACCTG and Finance. Watch out Weds here we come!

**In other news…I have made the Student Admissions Council! I am over the moon, really excited to be the point of contact for prospective Kelley students and tell them about what makes us special**

Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make Me a Match

As if we are not busy enough with our classes ramping up, and assignments coming due, we are asked to find a peer coach among the second years. Now you know me, I can’t just pick someone on paper and I want to meet/talk to everyone…so that had me with over 7 appointments to meet with peer coaches over the next 2-3 days. Well, it didn’t take me that long. I met my match with a second year I met over experience weekend that had a previous life in retail. She is as passionate as I am if not more, and has a wealth of contacts she can get me in touch with. I am so amped to work with her, I left practically skipping out of the Godfrey Center.

On the school front yesterday was rough, hard to get sleep at home anhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=994694090181350300d I came to class with a major headache. Had a tough time staying awake in critical thinking, accounting and quant though. Hopefully our place dries out soon so I can get some real rest.

And on another note: I didn’t get my position that I applied for with Kelley Women. While a bummer it should allow me to look into other roles with the organization for next spring. I already put the word out that I want to volunteer for the event that is coming up so we will see. Yesterday I also had an interview with the student advising council to act as a Kelley point of contact for prospectives. Really hope I get it, they were so instrumental to me coming here. So I will keep you posted