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My first marketing lesson

3/29/2010 03:33:00 PM • • 4 comments

In my "Writing for Electronic Media" class, one of our semester projects is a job shadow assignment. We are required to spend between 4 to 8 hours gaining "insight into the expectations and responsibilities of a working communications professional and to make contacts in the media industry". At least that's what my assignment paper says.

I knew who I would choose for my job shadow project right when we were given the assignment since I have a family friend in marketing, which I would say is a communication profession. To keep things confidential we can call her Jen and she has around 25 years in the marketing field. I spoke with Jen last Wednesday, and luckily she had a marketing meeting scheduled for Friday with a popular optometry company here in Amarillo, and I was invited to sit in!

The meeting was scheduled for 10am so I showed up to Jen's house at 9:45. We grabbed a few notes and a portrait picture of some of the higher-ups of the company we were working for then got in the car. On the way to the boardroom, Jen explained to me where she has worked previously and who her current clients are now. I found out she handles one of the largest accounts in Amarillo which happens to be a locally owned bank!

The meeting was much more relaxed than I thought it would be. When we arrived Jen introduced me to her clients as her intern/student, then we began the marketing process. Jen laid out her spreadsheet that listed all her clients objectives and what events needed to promote those objectives. Each tv ad, radio ad, promotional event, everything was compared to yearly sales for the company. Things like if June was a bad month for the company in sales last year, what particular television or radio ad should the company run to counteract lack of sales this year.

Overall I learned a lot! There are waaay more people than I expected involved from top to bottom when it comes to marketing for a company. From the CEO of a parent company, all the way down through Jen in marketing, and even down to the guy running the camera at the commercial shoot, everyone working on the same project.

This job shadowing has really helped me in trying to figure a more solid path for myself career wise. I thought I wanted to go into PR, and I guess marketing is a form of PR, but not really the same. I dont want to come up with the advertising ideas, really just coordinate the ads getting produced for the client. I've been in sales all my life, and I'm a very outgoing person so I really feel like this could be a good position for me! I guess we'll see when I finish school!

-MH

Busy week!

3/20/2010 05:00:00 PM • • 0 comments

Last Saturday my girlfriend B and I woke up early and met with her family who was driving through Amarillo on their way to Durango, Colorado. We followed them there during the 8 hour drive which felt surprisingly shorter than I expected. On arrival, we picked up a few groceries we would need for the weekend and went to possibly the worst Wendy's ever. The staff didnt know how to ring up an order with more that 4 items, then one of the employees spilled a full drink OVER the counter and all over the floor where we were standing waiting for our food. Somehow they got all our order right the first time out though, so I give them credit for that.

After food, we headed up to the condo which was about 25 miles north of Durango itself. When we got there I was surprised to find that there was no wireless internet and no cell phone service! Luckily there was a LAN line that had a 2ft cord, so internet was possible but very inconvenient. I cant believe that some places still dont have decent wireless coverage (*cough* Amarillo College *cough*).

The next morning we woke up to snow pouring down in whiteout conditions! The skiers in our group loaded onto a shuttle and hit the slopes, while B and I decided what to do for the rest of the day. We had planned to visit the town of Durango and do a little shopping and sightseeing, but due to the weather there was actually no way for us to get to the city. We decided to take the shuttle up to the ski lodge and visit the shops there on the mountain. After we arrived we met with the family for lunch, then when they went back up the lifts, we decided to have a few drinks at the bar on the mountain. I was pretty surprised to see a fully stocked bar right next to the ski lifts because drunk skiing sounds like a fairly dangerous activity. After trying a couple of the locally brewed beers, we went to a few of the souvenir/clothing stores and called it an afternoon. I bought a great snow hat that looks like a lemur, and B got a similar hat but with a white tiger pattern and wool moose shaped gloves. Everyone was pooped backed at the condo so we all just ate dinner then went to bed.

The sky was clear the next morning so B and I took our car into the city of Durango itself and hit Main Ave. The street was packed with art, clothes, candy, food, and souvenir shops. Our first order of business was food and we happened to find a fantastic Thai food place at the end of the block. After eating lunch we went to a few outlet stores and candy shops. B found a great pair of shoes at a skate/snowboard shop, and we saw some really great art that was definitely out of our price range. After grabbing a couple beers at a microbrewery right on Main Ave, we headed back to the condo to meet up with the family before dinner. Everyone wanted to eat back in Durango that night, so we showed them the brewery and all decided to eat there since they served food as well.

The next day, B's family woke up and left about an hour before we did since their drive was 13 hours and ours was only 8. We ended up getting an early start anyways because we wanted to stop in Albuquerque and visit their aquarium on the way home. B and I love going to aquariums and visit them pretty much any chance we get. The admission was only $7 each, and although it was a small facility, the variety of marine animals they had there was great! I have to say my favorite exhibit was a dark tunnel that a dimly lit eels swimming on all sides of the walls, some probably over 6ft long! The drive home was fairly uneventful and long feeling. Probably because I was ready to be back on my couch at that point.

Since then I have been working everyday and trying to prepare for the loads of homework and tests I have coming up. I'm about to start my convergence project which I am equally excited and terrified to do haha. Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long between blogs, but hopefully now that I am back on schedule I will be able to post more regularly! hope everyone has had a fun Spring Break!

-MH

My bum knee...

3/09/2010 01:54:00 PM • • 4 comments

This week I finally solidified my spring break plans! On Saturday, my girlfriends family will be driving thru Amarillo from the DFW area, and we will follow them from here to Durango, CO. I have never been there so I'm pretty excited! Brittany's family will be skiing, but she and I will find something else to do because of knee injuries we both have. Hers from skiing on a family trip with me last year in Santa Fe, and mine from a snowboarding accident.

It was my 8th grade year and I was on my church's annual youth ski trip to Aspen, CO. My friend and I had been taking snowboarding lessons all morning and had decided after lunch that it was time to go by ourselves. On our first run down, I started picking up too much speed and fell over. Somehow my leg from the knee down had spun around what felt like 180 degrees. I had to be sledded down by a member of ski patrol and taken to the hospital. The doctors told me that I had a partial tear of my MCL, but luckily it wasn't completely torn and didn't require surgery.

The second time I injured my knee was the more embarrassing of the accidents. It was March 2009 at an art show inside the old house I used to live in in Denton, TX. My friend and I were performing a live DJ show for the people enjoying the art that was hung all over the house. During a set of songs my friend was playing, I went out to dance with some friends and somehow managed to slip on a puddle of something (most likely alcoholic) and dislocated the same knee I injured skiing about 8 years ago. Another trip to the hospital, followed by another annoying knee brace.

Now I am a lot more careful about what I do on this knee since it is definitely weaker due to these injuries. I'm sure this weekend will be just fine though since we'll just be hanging around Durango. Dont forget to set your clocks AHEAD one hour this Sunday at 2am!

-MH

Interviews and Weather

3/02/2010 02:54:00 PM • • 1 comments

Thanks to those of you who made it out to the show this last Saturday! We all had great performances that really made the crowd move. I somehow managed to injure one of my turntables on the drive home, so hopefully I can get that fixed soon. One of my upcoming posts this week will have a link to the recording of my live performance that night so keep checking back!

So who witnessed all the weird weather we had yesterday? I remember leaving class, and it being sunny out, maybe 45-50 degrees outside. I was on the phone with my girlfriend later in the day and saw some flake-like objects land on my windshield as I was driving. I KNEW it was too warm outside for snow, so I figured it just fell off the bridge that I was passing under. As I pulled up to my house though, I could see very light snow was falling through the air, with the sun still poking through the clouds! I ran in to get my camera in hopes to take a good macro shot of a flake, but by the time I got back outside, the snow had already stopped. Amarillo weather never ceases to surprise me.

Today I had a short interview with one of the radio students about writing for the AC blog. The reporter asked some good questions and I gave honest answers. She said it would be aired this afternoon so I am currently listening to FM 90 to hopefully catch the recording.

Tomorrow I have an interview with the AC Ranger for what I believe is about my DJ alias Chiknbiskit. Either that or just being a student/musician at AC I'm not 100% sure. Keep an eye out in future issues of the Ranger for that feature!

Almost to Spring Break!

3/01/2010 12:38:00 AM • • 2 comments

It's a busy and crazy week for me this week. On Friday, I'm leaving town for two weeks for a week-ish in Dallas/Austin and then a week in California. I've never been to Austin or California, so I'm pretty excited. But, I have to be responsible first and get most, if not all of my homework and tests done that I'm missing next week done before I leave on Friday, on top of packing, laundry, that sort of thing.

I have a meeting scheduled with my advisor at UTA on Friday, right after I land, to discuss my schedule for next semester, as well as whatever else a transfer student like me might need to know. It was a time and a half trying to find an email for them, but my best friend (who has some weird knack for navigating and finding almost anything on a college website) found it within minutes, putting me to shame. I also have to finish up my financial aid verification documents this week and bring them with me as well to drop them off at the financial aid office at UTA. I finally got around to applying for the FAFSA, now all that's left is these documents and some more scholarship searching. Does anyone know of any good websites that have scholarship opportunities through different places? Sorry I can't be more specific, but I remember my mom found a few a couple years back, but I can't remember/find them again.

I'll hopefully be able to blog about my trip while on my trip, including my meeting with my advisor. It doesn't get too good until next Monday, when I head off to Austin for night one of John Mayer, then we come back to Dallas the next day and see him at the American Airlines Center. I've seen him four times before, but this is the first time I've seen him twice in the same tour. I could not be more excited. I'm using this vacation as kind of a last hurrah, since I doubt I'll be able to do something like this once I'm on my own in Arlington. Plus, it was part of my new year's resolutions that if I have the opportunity to do something, do it, no matter what.

Kind of bummed the Olympics are over. The last two weeks were amazing in so many ways. Team USA accomplished so much and there's always a feeling of unity during the Olympics. I'm a huge hockey fan, so while today's US vs. Canada matchup ended unfavorably, it was still a great game to watch. I can't wait to see what Russia brings in 2014.

I hope some of you got the opportunity to see Matt at the War Legion this weekend. I'm hoping to make it to one of his shows someday; I'm sure it's a great time.

Big Weekend!

2/26/2010 07:56:00 AM • • 3 comments

This Saturday I will be performing live at The War Legion Underground. The event is called "Digital Styleings 6.0" because the duo I play with is named Digital Style, and it's the sixth consecutive show they've had at the venue. It will be my third time to perform with them as DJ Chiknbiskit.

When I first started playing records in Amarillo, the shows were very small and at the old hookah lounge/coffee bar Namaste. The people who attended mostly consisted of close friends and family, so it was never a large turnout. I guess it didn't help that I had to perform outside in the cold November night wind. Last October one of my friends told me about a DJ duo that plays music of the same style that I play, right in Amarillo. I didn't really believe him at first because most of the people around here haven't heard of many of the artists that I like to play. When I arrived at the concert, I was immediately blown away by what I heard. I recognized a lot of the music and saw a ton of people dancing! Much more than my small shows at Namaste.

After meeting the guys of Digital Style, I got them a demo CD of stuff I had done in the past, and they agreed to put me on Novembers show ticket. My first performance with them on November 14th (Digital Styleings 4.0) was one I wont ever forget. Over 100 people packed into the venue, some friends, but mostly people I didn't know (quite the change from Namaste), and EVERYONE was dancing the whole night! It was great, and the 3 of us decided to perform together monthly.

In January, my 3rd performance with them got cancelled due to the insane snow Amarillo was getting at the time, and we had to reschedule for this weekend, February 27th. This performance will be a little different for me because I am playing a newer style of dance music that I have never performed before live called dubstep. The best way to describe the sound of the genre would be to take a very basic hip hop or rap drum beat, but then add a very heavy electronic bass line, sometimes added to a familiar vocal melody where the words have been cut up and rearranged to make new phrases.

Besides not having played dubstep live before, I'm also a little worried about how the crowd will like the music. I know the core group of friends the DJs have like the style, but most people I have met in Amarillo just haven't heard of it. This is good because I will exposing people to new music and sound they possibly haven't heard before, but it could be bad because if they don't like that sound, then they wont dance, and a clear dance floor is not what you want to see when your playing on stage. I have already decided to split my performance in half. Start off with some good, recognizable, electro dance music, and then I will transition to the dubstep, reading the crowd energy level from there.

Crowd energy, the very best part about being a DJ. Please come to the show if you are interested! It is an all ages show, and there are more details on the flyer I've posted below!

Spring Break is coming up soon for all you students! My plans are still in the works, but as soon as they are set I will post about where I'll be this mid March.

-MH

Austin

2/20/2010 01:20:00 PM • • 4 comments

Today is one of my best friends birthday and I am currenty in Austin helping him celebrate! My girlfriend and a friend of ours left town last around 6:30pm because I couldn't get off work earlier. Normally when we drive to Austin we take 287 down to Fort Worth, then continue on 35 all the way to central Texas. Usually the trip is around eight to eight and a half hours long. I'm not sure why we usually take that way, maybe because there's a part of me that misses the DFW area. Yesterday, my friend told me a way to Austin that he had discovered to save time, going South on 84 almost to Sweetwater, then taking 70 to 183.

We ended up making the whole drive in seven hours and fifteen minutes. This was great becase we worried that since we couldn't leave till 6:30pm, that it would be 3am before we arrived. The best part about the drive, especially at night, is the miles and miles of windfarming that is happening around Sweetwater. Rows and rows of simultaneously blinking lights, one on top of every wind propeller. As far as you can see, blinking red lights. Maybe it's the computer geek in me that wants to know things like how they program the lights to blink at the same time, and what equipment does it take to keep them running and maintained? I guess I could find all this out by talking with one of AC's many Wind Farm students!

Today will be filled with movies, food, and just general catching up with old friends. I'm excited to be in Austin and getting to see people and things that are not normally seen in Amarillo. Hot dog stands run out of Airstreams, delicious grocers like Whole Foods, and a city treeming with college life that is just not apparent in our small West Texas city.

-MH

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]



Olympics and Scholarships

2/17/2010 01:26:00 PM • • 5 comments

It's crazy at how much work is necessary to receive financial aid or scholarships. Within the week, I need to file a Fafsa (something I've never done before) and search for relevant scholarships through the UTA site, at least. The process is so complicated too, especially being an out of state student for most of my college career. I'm not looking forward to this, but it seems like attending a university is pretty near impossible without some kind of aid.

I'm going for a visit to UTA two Saturdays from this weekend. I missed a transfer preview day by a week, I think, but my advisor told me to email my advisor there and see if there's someone I could meet with on the day I'm there. I've never been to UTA before, so I hope I like it. I applied and got into AC without ever visiting and I love it, so I hope the same goes for UTA.

Anyone else as big into the Olympics as I am? I don't really get into the summer ones, but I am OBSESSED with the winter ones. Anytime I'm home, I usually have the TV on. I'm really into curling right now. I don't understand a lick of it, really, but it's still very intense for such a simple looking game. Bobsledding starts soon, and I'm looking forward to the US/Canada hockey game on Sunday at 7. I don't know what could convince someone to start doing the luge/skeleton. It looks SO dangerous, and that was pretty proven this past week with the man from Georgia dying while practicing. I'm proud of the US Olympians who have already brought home medals: Hannah Kearney, JR Celski, Apolo Ohno, etc. Looks like we're behind Germany by a medal as of this afternoon, but I'm sure we'll make a comeback.

Finally, The AC Concert Choir students will present a variety show this Friday night in the Concert Hall, 7:30 pm, to raise money for their spring tour. Admission is free and donations are accepted to help with spring tour expenses. I would love to attend this, but I have to work. Go check it out if you're looking for something to do on Friday!

I can see!

2/12/2010 03:00:00 PM • • 5 comments

Well last Saturday I managed to lose my contacts, so I've been dealing with glasses for the last 5 days. This used to not be a problem for me, but since I have changed my contact prescription in the last few months, my glasses are old and make my vision a bit blurry. Blurry vision does not make taking notes in class very easy. Especially since I'm usually stuck sitting in the back due to my laptop constantly needing power. Yes, my laptop has a fried battery so it always has to be plugged into to wall, COMPLETELY negating the purpose for which I bought the laptop, portability.

I had to miss Cal Ripken's big speech at AC this last Tuesday due to work. My mom and dad both went so I will have to get the review from them sometime soon. According to my dad, mom even got her picture taken with Cal so maybe I can post that the next time I write!

I'm reading Catcher in the Rye right now, and yes it's my first time to read it. Pretty sure it was a required reading in high school, but I was never a fan of required readings. My dad gave me a copy because the author, J.D. Salinger, died last month. It's a pretty easy read so far and I can see my dad was comparing my "angsty about college" emotions to Holden's (the main character) own. Looking forward to continue reading tonight.

Today is my first Friday off of work in a long time, and it's nice to have a day without school or work to worry about (except I just realize I have a writing assignment due today but hopefully that wont take me more than an hour). Tonight we are having a couple friends over to watch The Fountain. If you've never seen this great movie, I highly recommend it as it is very "out-of-the-box" and will make you question yourself personally on a level you might had not questioned before.

Valentines day is only 2 days away! Here is a LIST that Time/CNN published on their website of cheap gift ideas for your significant other. Have a great Valentines!

-MH

Blogger #2!

2/08/2010 08:57:00 PM • • 6 comments

Hey all! I'm Chelsea Hulen, and I'm one of the new AC bloggers for the semester, along with Matt. There's not much to me, but I guess something is better than nothing!

I was born in Amarillo and lived here until I was about four, until I moved to Santa Fe. Stayed there for another four years, and then moved to a tiny-ish town in Tennessee about an hour south of Nashville, where I lived for about 10 years. I graduated high school there and then moved back to Amarillo to start at AC, where I've been living for a little over two years. So, that makes me 19, finishing up my time here at AC, and working for Mr. Payroll in the Toot 'n Totums around town.

After starting as a general studies major, I switched to business management for a semester, until I figured out advertising was the best place for me. I've always been interested in the psychology behind advertising, as well as product placement, so I'm hoping I can find a career in either of those areas. I have one semester (well one and a half, including summer) and then I'm off to Arlington, as I got accepted to UTA this past Saturday, to finish up my bachelors in advertising.

Besides working and school, I don't do much socially, but I'm working on that this semester. I'd much prefer to stay at home, reading or watching a show. I probably watch more television than is healthy. My favorites are Lost, Glee, The Office, and V, but I can probably tell you just about anything about a show. I also enjoying going to Dallas for concerts, as there's not many here that interest me. I've seen John Mayer four times (will be six come March), as well as Joshua Radin, Keith Urban, and Feist.

I hope my blogs will be a nice mix of happenings around AC, as well as what I'm watching/listening to, and maybe the transferring process I'm about to go through. I'm very much looking forward to writing for this, as I've never really publicly blogged before.

I'm open to any and all questions, so don't hesitate to message me.

Chelsea