After a day with Amanda at Costco and $250 later, I was fully prepared for a tailgate for 10, and then some… these are our leftovers. I hopped in the Expo, picked up Kevin (promptly having him take the helm) and hit the road to LA. One glorious nap, and a lifetime of traffic later, we arrived at my brother’s apartment.

With a four hour reminder of why I will never live in LA, we hit the streets for New Years. A big score of the night were these sweet glasses from the bathroom attendant, minus the lenses. I’d also like to give a shout out the to the DJ who promptly began the NYE countdown at 12:02 am.

New Years Day came bright and early. Once we reached base camp, section J of the UCLA golf course, the real showdown began - between me and my hangover. Luckily I was able to win the battle and had the opportunity to experience a real college football game, tailgate, crowd surfing and all. This experience was previously lost on me during my four years of college hopping, but that’s a story for another time. Ok so this is the first time ever, in my mind at least, that USC wasn’t in the Rose Bowl ;).

Wisconsin lost but I still had a blast. Although I may not be a huge sports fan, or sports fan in general, I love how excited Kevin, and all the Wisconsin fans were. The sea of red says it all.

Going to the Rose Bowl was something I never would’ve done if it wasn’t for Kevin. To me that’s one of the best parts of life, new experiences brought to me by the different influences in my life. When was the last time you experienced something new thanks to a friend?

The highlights were:

• Mullet Bay Beach - where we spent the majority of our vacay enjoying the Carib, Creole and BBQ, and occasional waves. Much preferred over popular Orient Beach which was much too windy for my liking.

• Pain Et Chocoloate - nuff said! This pastry shop on the French side of St. Martin immediately took me back to Paris the only place where enjoying chocolate before 11 am is the norm, almost enough to lure me to stay on the French side if I ever go back.

• Loterie Farm - while it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the perfection that is Mullet Bay we managed to go on an adventure in a tree house known as Loterie Farm. The zip lines were an exhilarating break from a rather lazy holiday and were followed by a delish lunch in the tree house restaurant where I tried my first, and only, Guavaberry cocktail, St. Martin rum.

• Room upgrade, it is my belief to never settle while on vacation. If traveling to St. Maarten do not stay in Phillipsburg! We learned the hard way spending our first night in a mosquito infested room dining on Dominos at Sonesta Great Bay . Luckily we were able to upgrade to the Sonesta Resort on Maho Beach the next day! If this were a work email there would be a sub bullet for grabbing a bottle of red something from the French wine shop and relaxing on our balcony, oh to be able to go outside like normal non-Chicago people.

• Airplanes #nerd alert! While Kevin enjoyed this much more than I did it was still very cool. St. Maarten is home to a world famous airport where planes come in so close to the ground you can touch them. Not so much but it certainly looks close.

TIPS: A few things I wish I would’ve known when planning, the island is bigger than it seems and there’s traffic! Stay on a side and in an area where you can easily get to everything you could want. Despite being next to the airport, the Sonesta at Maho Beach is a fab resort and you can’t even hear the planes. Don’t pay for internet, just go to the cafe next door - they’re everywhere and make great lattes. Most importantly:

Don’t plan, just relax!

What’s your favorite beach getaway?

I only recently became a fan of yoga after getting my $30 unlimited pass to Bikram Yoga a few weeks ago. It was the first time I took a yoga class that challenged me and I LOVED it. The combination of strength building AND relaxation was a perfect combination I didn’t know existed. My adrenaline craving self naturally turns to action sports for that ultimate physical challenge and I always thought that breathing, meditation, relaxation stuff was for, ahem, pansies. Boy was I wrong. I still am not completely sold on that mind-altering-clarity-that’ll-change-your-life-and-simultaneously-cure-all-your-ailments-forever attitude. However, the relaxation and clarity I get is a breath of fresh air in my busy life, pun intended. It may just be the excess oxygen to the brain, I know now why oxygen bars were such a fad, but I love it.

Unfortunately in the class I tried the Core Power Fusion Yoga combines all of the stretching and muscle building of yoga without the relaxation bit. The upbeat music was nice but the instructor with the microphone resulted in way to much noise. I couldn’t focus on my poses and was constantly distracted by the “if your not flexible its fine” encouragement.

In my search for the right combination of exercise to incorporate into my work-life, mental-physical-emotional balance (life is all a balancing act, right?) this one was not for me. It may have just been the wrong instructor for me but are there any core power fusion fans out there? What about it do you love?

• Midpoint Review - Nerded it up and created a PowerPoint detailing my experience and qualifications for an analyst position, was told during my review I had been working at an analyst level and there was the possibility of a full time position. More information was to come early Feb.
• 1 Month Later - Anticipation building, wake up everyday wondering if I will get more information.
• 2 Weeks Later - I was told the paperwork has been submitted but I wouldn’t know anything official for two weeks. The longest week of my life commences.
• 1 Week Later (also known as the best day in my life) - Surprise, the hiring paperwork came through early. The second I was told, I screamed and jumped up and down, literally. Everyone outside of my boss’ office was staring through the window wondering what happened.

I can now say I have officially retired from being a professional intern and instead am an Analyst at Zocalo Group! This is also marks some changes in my blog. I originally created this blog to show potential employers I was polished, professional and social media savvy. Now I will use this blog intermix my interests in social media and career management with my personal life. As is probably noticeable from this post, I will have a much more relaxed writing style. This is in part an effort to get myself to post more (no more of that OMG about to hit post is everything PERFECT feeling) and allow my writing to reflect my personal life. Caution: my laid back attitude stemming from growing up in SoCal and the slang terms that accompany it, most notably stoked, gnarly and chill, will likely appear.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ME!!

]]> http://emilyluiz.com/2010/03/01/announcing-my-retirement-from-professional-interning/feed/ http://emilyluiz.com/2010/01/27/integrated-marketing-it%e2%80%99s-finally-happening-what-does-this-mean-for-your-career/ http://emilyluiz.com/2010/01/27/integrated-marketing-it%e2%80%99s-finally-happening-what-does-this-mean-for-your-career/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:27:26 +0000 Emily http://emilyluiz.com/?p=86 While it’s been tough to find a job graduating in today’s economy, I have had several opportunities to engage with senior leadership during my search ranging from CMO’s, PR and Marketing Directors and CEO’s. These opportunities collectively resulted great career advice but it was somewhat fragmented. Reviewing the past companies I have worked for it’s easy to see why - although they are all under the umbrella of marketing they are in various practices. Paul Rand, CEO & founder of Zocalo Group, was able to bring this advice together as it applies to the current state of the industry and offer his advice based on his projection for the future of the industry.

When I met with Paul, I laid out my career path based on the advice I had received. It looked something along the lines of spend two to three years in a certain practice then jump to another specialization and so on. To my surprise he recommended I focus on one specialty and hone the skills needed for strategy development and execution. He explained the marketing industry is moving towards integrated communications and the silos of traditional PR, social media and word of mouth marketing, advertising etc. are being broken down.  He also gave a great example of this. One of his major CPG clients recently embraced integrated marketing communications through changing their job title from PR Director to Integrated Marketing Director. This may not seem very important but working with clients who can be slower to adapt, for valid reasons, this is a big step forward in our industry. These companies are also looking for their agencies to do the same.

I also mentioned to Paul I had been advised that in the communications world, an MBA isn’t necessary. Paul disagreed highlighting the changing role of senior leadership in marketing as a person who needs to have an understanding of business practices beyond marketing strategy, and an MBA would further this understanding. A Business Week interview with Susanne Lyons, former chief marketing officer of Visa and Charles Schwab, gives a great explanation as to why business understanding is fundamental to the role.

“The CMO needs to be a businessperson first, and a marketer second. They need to demonstrate greater accountability and show how they are having a real impact on the bottom line… the key is for marketers to understand and speak the quantitative and financial language of business.”

As I mentioned, graduating in this economy has been tough but it has allowed me to discover these key learnings and fostered the need to stay ahead of the trend - a few things I may not have picked up otherwise.

Originally I set out to post about my thought, FourSquare is a cool idea but would only work if enough people outside of the tech and marketing industries caught on. It then evolved into asking why it was continuously compared to Twitter. I concluded FourSquare would not reach the popularity Twitter was able to achieve. As an afterthought, I see predications meant FourSquare will be the most popular social media tool of 2010, not explicitly reaching the height of popularity of Twitter. Either way, I knew I was refuting Robert Scoble and Mashable and still assume I will be eating my words.

Blogging is an outlet I use to explore social media, the impact  new technology could have on clients and consumers or something as basic as how to use it. I also blog about my career ambitions and how I plan to meet them or useful tips on how I did that other aspiring marketing professionals might find useful. At the end of the day, it’s about staying on top of industry trends and getting ahead of the competition - not blogging to be an expert.

My first reaction to Foursquare: why would anyone care where I am and if they did they could just tweet, text, call, etc.? I soon got the answer I should have seen in the first place -that was the exact same question many had about Twitter. Today I’m sure anyone who is reading this comprehends the vast impact Twitter has had on the world, breaking news of the plane crash on the Hudson river, the Iran election and the list goes on. So what does this have to do with FourSquare? Jennifer Van Grove, blogger for Mashable, predicts Four Square has the potential to be the Twitter of 2010. Despite reading Mashable religiously, I’m not so quick to agree.

Jennifer highlights the “secret sauce” of Foursquare, the game it allows users to play. This may be the introvert in me, but I could really care less if I am mayor of my favorite restaurant, bar, coffee shop, you name it. To me what could prove useful are the tips people leave on a specific location, especially if I’ve never been. However I would argue Yelp’s augmented reality app, Monocle, blows Four Square’s tip feature out of the water. I do not  believe enough people are equipped with the technology to use augmented reality apps which will prevent them from being a game changer in 2010 but back to the point…

The major game changer Twitter brought to the table that Foursquare hasn’t was technology, making real time information and search available to the masses. Even if Twitter usage continues to drop, the technology it brought will live on. FourSquare simply took this technology and created a location based service with it.

Of course, as Jennifer and Scobleizer believe it will be the popular social site in 2010,  I’m sure I will be eating my words this time next year.

Both companies use CoTweet is a third party application that allows multiple people to communicate through corporate Twitter accounts and has services that allow you to track conversations to determine engagement. Winnie Hsia discusses how Whole Foods uses CoTweet in this video to manage the customer service aspect, track topics she’s discussed before and who she’s been talking with giving her more in-depth knowledge for marketing purposes. The service also allows users to schedule tweets for product launches and promotions and is open to any ideas you for functions you would them to develop resulting in excellent customer service.

The panel also discussed what department of their company Twitter efforts fit into but all had different answers ranging from their interactive marketing, public relations and social media. However, all agreed on having social media training program and plans available to all employees. Some companies even require employees to go through a social media certification program before they can begin tweeting. All of the speakers at the conference weather managing personal branding accounts or corporate accounts agree that Twitter is so new there is no absolute wrong or right way in implementing it, just a few guidelines that ensure authenticity. They all learned from trial and error agreeing that as long as you have add value through your Twitter account the occasional misstep is fine (and even expected).

This week I attended the 140TC (Twitter Conference) in Los Angeles. The Twitter craze has proven itself to be more than just a fad. Instead, Twitter is setting the stage for the future of communication by enabling the world to exchange information on a global level at a frequency and speed like never before. The two day conference brought together speakers ranging from celebrities, developers, comedians, leading corporate marketers and tech experts. One common thread emerged through this unlikely gathering - Twitter can produce real brand power, but that power comes from the people behind it. As Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone eloquently put it, ‘Twitter is about the triumph of humanity not the triumph of technology.’

Biz Stone set the stage for the conference with his key note discussing how in the early stages Twitter was like ice cream, fun but with no real purpose. It wasn’t until South by Southwest, the hybrid interactive conference and festival, that the power of Twitter was realized. A tweet was sent out to meet at a bar and soon hundreds of people ‘flocked’ to that location allowing for the connection and coordination of a large group of previously unorganized people. From that the social alchemy of Twitter was realized. These tiny bits of information in 140 characters began to have a profound impact beyond coordinating the masses, they were fostering global connectivity. According to Biz Stone, ‘This s*** has always been happening just now we can see it.’

The conference theme ‘Taping into the Real Time Web’ was appropriately addressed throughout the conference and speculated on in the final panel The Future of Twitter. The panelists reflected both views that Twitter will evolve and it may not be around forever. Loic Le Meur, founder of seesmic.com, encouraged everyone to look at Twitter outside of our own communities, “Twitter has not grown in many European countries [France]. FB [Facebook] grew so much that Twitter wasn’t important.” While Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, acknowledged that tweeting is an act and Twitter is how we use it. The best way to predict future is to invent it. Both points reiterate the importance, not of Twitter itself, but of technology’s ability to allow the flow of real time global communication.

Stay tuned for part 2: What Twitter Means for Brands

Established as a social media and micro-blogging site in 2006, Twitter is the fastest growing social media tool, with a 343 percent increase in activity in 2008. Users post brief updates limited to 140 characters, known as tweets, on their profile page. Twitter then delivers these tweets to the user’s followers, or people who subscribe to the user’s updates. Tweeters can follow celebrities, political figures, friends, or complete strangers.

According to the Today Show, ‘Twitter mania has swept the nation.” The segment showcases the many celebrities and news sources that are using Twitter to communicate recent happenings and breaking news. The segment featured national correspondent Jamie Gangel on her first Twitter experience as she explains its addictive quality. John Stewart also did a segment on The Daily Show highlighting the use of Twitter in Congress and most recently the Chicago Tribune published their masthead using editors’ Twitter profiles instead of their names. Given all the recent coverage, there is no doubt it is time to tune into Twitter.

Today Show video

John Stewart Twitter Frenzy