Had My Cake (and ate it, too!)

Well, it's that time again for me to journey from the beach to the rockies. Honestly, it's not a bad transition. As a San Diego native I have definitely learned that "real" winter has its perks- cool fuzzy hats, lots of hot chocolate, snow days (or should I say school-wide snowball fights), and ridiculously fun sledding opportunities.

However, I must say I am getting pretty sentimental this time. Why? Because I had my cake and ate it, too. I am FULL. Although you could use that term literally, seeing as I made sure I got my fill of California burritos and In N Out this summer (Daniel, you can relate), I mean it figuratively. My summer at i.d.e.a. provided me with the best of both worlds: work and play. Really, in this bunch, they are the same thing. It is easy to wander into a big fancy office as an intern and feel like the odd man out, "that one intern", or the little helpless child. But while walking into this office, I realized it was simply a big room filled with weirdos (the good kind) and people who really are eager to teach me. Never did I feel lost or confused because everyone took actual time going in depth explaining projects to me, answering my questions, teaching me about active clients, and providing words of wisdom.

Along with appreciating the things I was so generously taught, I am grateful for meeting such a hilarious and laid back crew. Who gets to listen to music and sing out loud at work? WE DO. I.d.e.a. is an office where you can step out of your comfort zone, be open and honest, be loud and silly, and do whatever will inspire you. With that said, one of the most important lessons I have taken away from my i.d.e.a. experience is: if it feels like it's work, you are doing it wrong.

SO, what about the work part? Oh, yeah. As Camila said while teaching me Google Analytics, "We don't just sit around all day picking out cool and funny stuff to advertise with." It's very true- I have learned that the world of advertising is much more complex than I thought before. It takes researching, data reports, analyzing, networking, studying, and so much more. The immensity of information fascinated me. Aside from the projects I worked on personally, I often took time out of my day to simply listen to the office, read reports I found laying around, and considered ALL that this industry takes.

Here is a summary of what I have gathered:

1. People who work in advertising don’t just sit around designing cool billboards and creating funny slogans.

2. Communication is the only way to success.

3. Consumers don’t really know what they want until you convince them what they want.

4. Either learn to adapt to the changes that are happening, or just call it quits.

5. It’s all about networking.

6. When you collaborate with people, you grow.

7. Studying from the success or failures of competitors will add to your successes and decrease your failures.

8. Research, research, research.

9. Be good to your clients and they will be good to you.

10. Feed your curiosity. 


Anyways, I would like to say thank you to everyone at i.d.e.a. who provided me with such a fulfilling experience. I will truly miss everyone and I am SO grateful being filled to the brim with knowledge, confidence, (italian food, office cupcakes) and happiness :)


Sincerely,
Jenna

P.S. Love ya, intern corral!

  

(+Daniel, Venice, and Lauren!)

A San Diego Summer

It started with a tweet.

Well, really, it started with me wanting an internship. Preferably, one that would allow me to migrate away from the sweat-stained state of Texas for the summer. So I researched for months, sifting through advertising agencies from coast to coast, looking for the right fit. I read reviews from previous interns online, browsed through work portfolios, studied agency Facebook pages, employee LinkedIn profiles, and, overall, elevated myself to an entirely new breed of stalker. THEN came the tweet. 

Multiple interviews, emails, and phone calls later, I got the position (thankfully) and moved to San Diego for the summer. Once here, it didn't take long for me to realize that this city is truly just as "classy" as the great Ron Burgundy himself asserted. From the beaches, to the food, to actually enjoying the summer weather (a foreign concept to a native Texan), San Diego was perfect for me. So perfect a fit, in fact, that I thought it should be renamed Dan Siego, in honor of its newest fan. Needless to say, that didn't catch on. 

Truthfully though, working with i.d.e.a. for the last 2 months as a Brand Intern has been an all-around awesome experience. I've learned far more than I anticipated and have been surrounded with and mentored by people that I genuinely really like. Here are a few highlights:

Educationally...

• On Day 1, I was given the assignment of creating a web report for one of the agency's many brand partners. Instantly, I realized that Google Analytics is actually extremely useful and a ridiculously relevant tool for monitoring a site's visits, page views, demographics, traffic, content, etc. Learning how to work with Google Analytics is definitely one of my favorite skills that I'll take away from this experience. 
• Working with the Media department and seeing how TV and Radio spots are purchased, organized, and executed has also been very eye-opening. I've enjoyed working with the different software programs and witnessing first-hand the dynamics of the relationship between the station representatives and the agency. 
• Another educational highlight has been catching a glimpse of how the agency and clients interact. By sitting in on meetings, brainstorming sessions, and the like, I've been able to see how my marketing/advertising academic background plays out in the real world work place. 
• Finally, as i.d.e.a. is a highly-integrated agency, I've seen how all the departments collaborate to deliver the end-product. From PR to Accounts to Media to Creative to Traffic, each division has a very unique and critical role in determining the functionality and success of this agency. 

Other...

• The Intern Corral has been good to me. Ever since the interns invited me to lunch on my first day, I've really liked getting to know them both inside and outside the office. They've made a Texan feel welcome. 
• Sam and I spent several days doing street team interviews for a couple of our clients. Wandering the streets of various highly-populated local areas asking total strangers questions is definitely a good bonding experience. Especially considering all the rejection. 
• Several of my supervisors (Michelle, Camila, and Alex) took us out for lunches and were very intent on getting to know us and making sure that we soaked up everything we wanted to out of our internships. I think it's rare to be more than just a nameless face shoved behind the walls of a corner cubicle while being an intern. Here, however, you feel invested in. It's obvious that these people care about our experiences and our overall success--both during the internship and in the future. 
• The candy box. Duh. Any loneliness at the front desk is quickly remedied by that infinite box of sweet goodness. 
• Hope laughing for unknown reasons. (John likes bananas?) 
• Oh, and yeah. THE PIZZA WAGON. It's even more genius than it sounds. Here's the gang:

So that's that. In just a few days, I'll be making the endless trek back to my humid homeland. I'll be forced to re-familiarize myself with this thing called "heat." I'll be buying books for classes. I'll be NOT eating In-N-Out. And I'll be counting down the days until I can come back to this place. Because trust me, interning here was definitely a good i.d.e.a.

Texas Forever,

Daniel 

Spring 2012 Interns!

Another semester means another set of new interns for Bailey Gardiner! We may all come from different schools, different backgrounds, and have different interests but one thing we have in common is that we all rock the intern corral. As of now we are brainstorming ideas to actually make it more "corral"

like...suggestions welcome.

Without any further ado...drum roll please...

Nicole Younger (Ad Intern 1)

Home: Cambria, CA

School: University of San Diego- Communication and Marketing
Favorite Food: Sushi

If you had a super power: Time Travel
3 Fun Facts:

• My first car accident happened when I hit a school bus full of children! I promise I'm a good driver now!
• I've never had braces or a cavity!
• I love musicals!

Life Goal: To work for a national advertising agency as an account executive and to pay it forward to

all those who have helped me reach my goals!

Matt Diez (Ad Intern 2)

Home: Livesmore, CA

School: Art Institute San Diego - Advertising
Favorite Food: Lasagna

If you had a super power: Shape-Shifting
3 Fun Facts:

• Surfing since I was 14
• Hosted a college radio talk show
• Currently learning to speak Greek

Life Goal: Travel to every country.

Kelsey Powell (PR Intern 2)

Home: Dallas, TX

School: SDSU
Favorite Food: Chocolate
If you had a superpower: Reading boys' minds
3 Fun Facts:

• I am the director of special events for PRSSA
• I live for yoga. Namaste.
• I've been stung by a jellyfish. Ouch!

Life goal: To travel to every continent.

Travis Weger (PR Intern 3)

Home: Brownsville, OR (Population 1,285)
School: University of San Diego- Communication and Marketing
Favorite Food: Pizza and beer (beer is a food)
If you had a superpower: Time travel
3 Fun Facts:

• Secret nerd (Shh...Don't tell anyone)
• Just got back from Hong Kong, my 40th country
• Obsessed with stand- up comedy

Life Goal: Be the next Richard Branson

Jennifer Yi (Graphic Intern 2)

Home: Cupertino, CA

School: The Art Institute of California- SD- Advertising
Favorite Food: Bacon
If you had a superpower: The power of flight
3 Fun Facts:

• I am sensitive to some styles of art because it acts up my tryptophobia.
• I went skydiving before my BG interview and it killed the jitterbug.
• I had the Dawson's Creek theme song stuck in my head for over 3 years now. I've never seen an episode.

Life Goal: To live a content life doing what I love.

Get to Know Your Hungry Interns

It's never too late to get to know the intern corral! We may be at the bottom of the hierarchy here at BG, but some might say we are the legs that hold the table up.. so, you're welcome Bailey Gardiner.

Claudia Huizar (PR Intern 1)
Home: Oxnard, CA
School: San Diego State University - Public Relations and Spanish
Favorite Food: Baby Back Ribs
If you had a super power: I would know every language in the world
3 Fun Facts:

• Can't pronounce "minestrone"
• Used to co-direct a non-profit
• Use six packages of Ketchup when I eat a burger

Life Goal: Own my own PR Firm

Sarah MacQueen (PR Intern 2)
Home: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
School: University of California Santa Barbara - Communications and Sociology
Favorite Food: Sushi
If you had a super power: Mind Control
3 fun facts:

• Citizen of New Zealand, England, and USA
• Obsessed with English Bulldogs
• Went backpacking through Europe after College

Life Goal: To be happy (Awe)

Kelly Logan (PR Intern 3)
Home: Morgan Hill, CA
School: San Diego State University - Public Relations
Favorite Food: Sushi or Pizza
if you had a superpower: Teleportation
3 Fun Facts:

• My mom's sister married my dad's brother
• I am family friends with a few MLB players
• Ireland is the coolest place I have ever been

Life Goal: To be part of something extraordinary!

Sarah Allen (Graphic Intern 1)
Home: Temecula, CA
School: Art Institute San Diego - Advertising
Favorite Food: Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi
If you had a super power: To be able to Fly
3 fun facts:

• I had my finger torn off when I was 5.. but they sewed it back on
• I've zip lined over the Hawaiian mountains
• Used to get my exercise by slow dancing to Bob Marley

Life Goal: To be a Creative Director

Kiera Ross (Graphic Intern 2)
Home: Washington DC
School: Art Institute of San Diego - Graphic Design
Favorite Food: Thai
If you had a superpower: Invisibility
3 Fun Facts:

• I used to collect turtles.. 9 of them
  
• I hate tomatoes
  
• I really enjoy the sound of trains
  

Life Goal: To go cage diving with Great White Sharks

Matt Diez (Ad Intern 2)
Home: Livesmore, CA
School: Art Institute San Diego - Advertising
Favorite Food: Lasagna
If you had a superpower: Shape-Shifting
3 Fun Facts:

• Surfing since I was 14
• Hosted a college radio talk show
• Currently learning to speak Greek

Life Goal: Travel to every country.

José Higuera (Ad Intern 1 "aka Me")
Home: Mexico City, Mexico
School: University of San Diego - Marketing and International Business
Favorite Food: Indian Buttered Chicken
If you had a superpower: be Superman.. (lots of superpowers)
3 Fun Facts:

• I've traveled to over 40 countries around the world and even lived in Hong Kong a while
• I've jumped off the worlds tallest Bungy
• I have a twin sister who is a foot shorter than me with red hair and green eyes

Life Goal: Take a Virgin Galactic flight to the Moon

How a Viral Marketing Campaign can Take Over the World

Especially When It Puts You In Gotham City

The most fun that I have ever had taking part in a marketing campaign hands down has to be the 'Why So Serious' campaign done by Alternate Reality Branding company, 42 Entertainment in preparation for Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight. This interactive campaign was so detailed and elaborate that it was impossible not to stay glued to my computer waiting for more.. plus, pretending that I lived in Gotham City for about a year was a fanboy dream on its own.

Why So Serious?
In the months leading up to the release of The Dark Knight, an alternate reality experience attracted more than 10 million viewers to real time Gotham City, a city where the Joker had begun leaving his mark on posters and bills, and started building an army of henchmen all over the world. Whysoserious.com started leaving clues from the Joker, revealing coordinates that would eventually lead players to Comic-Con 2007. Here, players gathered to take their first orders from the Joker, which they found typed up in the sky as a few planes left a cloudy phone number above. Players hit the streets dressed as their leader and Gotham City began to spill into the real world, building excitement and anticipation for The Dark Knight.

The website then left ransom notes for 49 cities and location descriptions for people to look for new clues as to where he would strike next. Their efforts put together yet another piece of the puzzle, which revealed one of the first official images of the Joker. In a request to hit local international landmarks in full Joker get-up, a worldwide community formed. A Gotham City newspaper led made this world even more realistic, a world where nothing was saved from the Joker. The Gotham Times kept players up to date with Gotham news and even a televised news channel was made available starring Anthony Michael Hall as the news anchor, along with Police reports and audio tapes to expose crooked cops. The next clue was a list of specific bakery locations where players had to arrive and introduce themselves as Robin Banks to receive the joker’s special present, a cake, at a first come first serve basis. The hidden package inside of the cake held a Joker phone, card, and press badge to keep in constant contact with this Gotham underground world.

I Believe in Harvey Dent

A campaign to take back Gotham City from criminals like the Joker came into play as well. Prospective D.A. Harvey Dent contacted phone carriers for their support in his campaign with the slogan “I believe in Harvey Dent.” Dent asked for players to show their support. The response was overwhelming as pictures from around the country poured in. Dent-mobiles brought Harvey Dent’s message to 33 cities as citizens took to the streets and marched, protested, rallied, screamed, and chanted “Harvey Dent! Take Back Gotham!”

As the immersive marketing campaign was reaching a critical mass, it even reached bowling allies around the world. The website once again showed a list of cities, but this time with a list of addresses with numbers attached to them. The numbers turned out to be locker numbers and combinations at specific bowling alleys. Inside the locker, the lucky player would find a bag containing a custom Jokerized bowling ball, another Joker phone, and more clues that eventually led to the reveal of an exclusive trailer of the dark knight.. but the Joker got there first. The trailer had been vandalized with smiley faces and “Ha Ha Ha’s” as soon as it became available.

Citizens for Batman

The campaign reached its climactic ending during the week of the Dark Knight’s theatrical release. Hundreds of players gathered, calling themselves ‘Citizens for Batman’ in downtown New York City. At 10pm sharp, the bat signal was projected against one of the nearby buildings. Once again, the Joker had plans of his own. The bat signal was quickly vandalized in front of everyone’s eyes, along with everything else in Gotham City. Every website, every newspaper, every article, every piece of this alternate reality was market by the Joker as his final act of chaos before the events of The Dark Knight.

So just in case anyone thought it was cute but a waste of money, The Dark Knight went on to have the highest opening of all time and was the top grossing film of 2008. Since then, I have yet to see a campaign as immersive as Why So Serious, but with The Dark Knight Rises in theaters next summer.. here's hoping we'll get some of that fun again soon.

Up, Up, and Advertise

So about a year ago, I was recommended a book called 1000 Places to See Before You Die because I love adventures, and therefor I eat that stuff up. The book covers anything from touristy clichés to places off the beaten path around the world, and while looking through the United States section, I stumbled across a little festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico called the International Balloon Fiesta. After a quick Google search, I found out that Oct 1, 2011 launched the 40th anniversary of the festival.. So I decided to book a flight and see what the fuss was all about..

The Fuss
The fuss was that over 600 hot air balloons from across the globe gather once a year in Albuquerque to pretty much block out the sun (but not literally). Impressive was an understatement. If I had to use one word to describe what it was like to see that many balloons in the sky at once, I couldn't. It was amazing, magical, and, not gonna lie, it was nice feeling like a little kid again staring endlessly at all of the pretty balloons for hours. But after I was done drooling, I was able to get myself back into Ad-Man mode and started noticing that a lot of companies do go the extra mile in finding ways to get their names out there; even in quirky hot air balloon festivals.

Care to take a guess as to how companies advertised their brands at this particular festival?



While there are hundreds of normal balloon-shaped hot-air balloons at the festival, a lot of people go to see the crazy shapes that people come up with to make hot air balloons out of. There were Goblins, Witches, Penguins, a Spider-Man Pig, and even a massive Darth Vader head (crowd favorite.. and mine too). Obviously.. a lot of companies showed up to jump on the bandwagon. This friendly lookin' Cow comes courtesy of the New Mexico Dairy company, Creamland. It doesn't stop with the balloon either. They spent the day handing out trading cards of Airbelle (the name of the cow) that displayed the history of both the company and the balloon.



Another company that was all sorts of enthusiastic about their ballooning was Wells Fargo. They actually brought three balloons with them; two normal shaped balloons with Wells Fargo printed along the sides and one shaped like their famous Stagecoach. The wagon was instantly recognizable (they didn't really need the other two in my opinion) and it was refreshing to see that banks can have a fun side too! In fact, the Stagecoach even stuck around for the Twilight Glow; basically about 80 of the balloons returned at dusk to inflate and light up sporadically for about an hour while everyone just watches in awe before the night time fireworks show. Good for you Wells Fargo.

Mind Ninjas
After leaving the festival, I realized that I didn't learn anything about any of the brands that were advertising in Balloons.. BUT, I was able to walk away with warm fuzzy feelings towards them because they were part of the whole experience for me.. and they do it for 8 days! Not only is that commitment, but it's something they don't really have to do at all. Granted, an average of 100,000 people usually show up on any given day of the festival, but in competition with 600 other balloons, no one's attention span will stay on one balloon for too long. Budweiser advertised in a Bottle-shaped balloon, Pepsi in a Can-shaped balloon, and even Farmer's Insurance was there. These are all companies that take part in the balloon festival just to be part of the eye candy for the crowds and, in the process, they plant a little seed for people to remember them. So the crowds walk away liking brands for just that reason... those mind ninjas.


This is me after a day of being attacked by mind ninjas. Enjoy.

Geeks Need Advertising Love Too

We watch, we react, and then we form an impression; this is the whole point of advertising. But in this new age of advertising overload, it seems harder and harder to retain anything you see out there.. point being, how do you stand out from all the clutter these days??

Over across the pond they've recently come up with some pretty awesome ways to stand out and turn advertising into one memorable experience.

The Lightsaber of Zeus
To mark the release of "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" on Blu-ray, the famous London BT Tower was transformed into the World's Largest Lightsaber. Now, coming from someone who watched the original trilogy about 50 times and may or may not still have all of his Star Wars action figures locked away in his closet, this is one of the coolest things I have ever seen as a fan of Star Wars or as a person on this planet. Personally, I think whoever realized that the BT Tower looked like a Lightsaber handle was a complete genius because if there was any way to grab the attention of every person in sight of the London skyline, this was it..



There to kick off the event was Anthony Daniels, otherwise known as C-3PO, who launched the release by pressing a massive power switch that was following with the classic roar of the Lightsaber ignition. Then, the state-of-the-art lighting projected a beam of light 200m into the air from the top of the 189m tower. More than 60 4,500W lights (standing 1.3 m high and each weighing 124kg) combined to produce a parallel blue ray of light.

Off in the distance, platoons of cosplay Stormtroopers and one very convincing Darth Vader gathered with fans for photo ops to keep the celebration going. You've seen the cliché shots of people holding up the Leaning Tower of Piza or pinching the point at the top of the Taj Mahal, but holding a giant Lightsaber from off in the distance has to take the cake on this one; even though Darth Vader's Lightsaber was red.. what's up with that??

The Wizarding World of.. Hong Kong?
Over across the other pond, Hong Kong advertisers transformed the Times Square Mall on Lantau Island into a little taste of the Harry Potter experience as part of the promotion for the summer release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I was actually in Hong Kong to see this exhibit in person (I didn't go just to see it mind you), but it was pretty spectacular nonetheless. The HK Metro stops right under the mall, which was perfectly fitting for the fact that the famous Platform 9 3/4 along with the Hogwarts Express was parked right outside of the Station. Then you walk into the mall, which has a big open area in the center and quite fitting for the replica of the Wizard shopping district of Diagon Alley..



Did you wanna get your own wand? Ollivander's had you covered. Maybe you could pick up a copy of the Daily Prophet to read up on your Magical news stories. Books? Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore, was there too. Even a Pet-shop to buy your own fake pet owl! I'm not much of a Harry Potter reader myself, but this definitely grabbed my interest and I actually felt like a child for the short time I spent exploring this little exhibit. The movie soundtrack was even playing through the corridors and you actually felt like you were in this magical world.

In terms of advertising; this was a home run. I can't think of a better way to attract people to watch the movie than putting the viewer in the movie themselves! I'm sure even non-fans went and bought a ticket after getting a taste of this little wonderland, I know I did..