Brand Session

Today, I got to live out the reason I’ve chosen to look into the marketing industry. When I learned about marketing in my classes, it interested me immediately. I had this vision of sitting on couches (now I envision an orange couch for some reason…) throwing around ideas and getting to use my creativity in a totally different way. Once I started at Bailey Gardiner, I immediately realized that there was WAY more to it than that, but today I found out that it is truly a huge part of this industry. I was invited to attend a Brand Session today for a new client on Friday evening and could hardly contain my excitement over the weekend. I told anyone and everyone who asked about anything relating to work and had my outfit ironed and ready to go by Sunday afternoon. At this point, I wasn’t entirely sure what a Brand Session was (being from Texas, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried…hot metal, anyone?), but I knew it would be an incredible learning experience.

So this morning, determined to be on time or slightly early (Jennifer had explained that we would be leaving promptly at 7:40), I arrived at the front door at 7:25. Problem. I learned the hard way that yes, it’s always good to be a little early, but don’t push it. Especially when you risk the chance of being the first person at the office. With no key. I stood at the door looking confused and lost to all the morning traffic on 6th Avenue. Luckily, Jennifer saved me 5 minutes later - during which time I took the opportunity to buy juice at the 76 on the corner. Essentials.

We left a few minutes later to head to the client’s office (I’m sworn to secrecy at this point, sorry guys), where we were greeted by a lovely spread of Einstein’s bagels, coffee, juice and fruit. I felt like I had made it big time. After the introductions and perusing of the goods, the meeting started. This is when the learning began. Jennifer took charge right away and led thought provoking discussions and activities. From magazine cut-outs to price sensitivity – everything was covered. Not to mention – my new obsession. Super-sized sticky notes. Those of you that know me, know how much I love sticky notes and making lists. Trouble. What I enjoyed the most was the balance between the BG presentation and client interaction. Neither side seemed to be overwhelmed and was able to share their point of view in order to give the Bailey Gardiner team enough information to create a brand that encompasses all of the important details while still being elusive enough that consumers will want to find out more information on their own. A pretty tough task, if you ask me. But this is what they do all day long and have obviously been extremely successful. I’m not worried. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

To sum up, I’m excited to see if anything can top what I was able to experience today during my next 2 months or so of interning. If anything, this just gives me that much more motivation and understanding of what I want to pursue when I finish school in May. I know I won’t always have days like this, but it’s a refreshing change of pace and a huge building block to add to my foundation in this industry.