Advice to the future post-grads at Sheridan

Since this is my final blog post, I wanted to write a couple pieces of advice for the new batch of post-graduates that are starting in September. I truly had no idea what to expect on my first day at Sheridan, so I thought some tidbits of wisdom may help the young whippersnappers of 2015. 

Firstly, learn how to organize yourself. You're gonna get bombarded with assignments and projects (that are so much fun!..), and if you don't have a way to organize everything you may start to slowly lose your mind (trust me, it'll happen). Make sure you have a 'To Do' list with assignments listed by priority and a calendar with all your due dates! You really don't want to have that feeling of blood rushing to your face when a prof asks for an assignment that you completely forgot about..

Secondly, be open-minded. You'll be working on many different projects with many very different people. Being open to other's ideas and perspectives will only help you build great ideas. 

Thirdly, take advantage of every opportunity you can. Whether it's a career development session or an advertising competition, try to immerse yourself as much as possible. You'll make new friends and have experiences that will help you find a job when you're done the program. 

Fourthly, take your studies seriously. You're in this program for a reason... to get a job. If you half-ass your assignments you'll be wasting your time and money, and that is just a silly thing to do now isn't it.

Fifthly(?), sass Colin Robey as much as humanely possible. He'll probably be your program coordinator and he loves it when people make fun of Media or don't laugh at his jokes. Doing these things will secure you as a fanTASTic student in his books. 

Sixthly(?), have a great time! Taking this program was the best decision of my life. The classes are excellent and the profs are super personable and willing to help you in any way possible (not to mention, they know what they're talking about).

That's all the advice I have for now. I hope this post helps you make the decision to come to Sheridan for the Advertising: Account Management program and enjoy it while you're here! 

Cheers!

What Brands Can Learn From Bands

I am currently in the process of interviewing for internship positions so that I can get my foot into the door of the advertising industry. One common question the interviewer may ask is to give them your own unique thoughts about the industry (ie. where it's been, where it's going), which can be really tricky for a post-graduate student without years of experience. So, as I practice for my interviews, I try to come up with that one insightful opinion that will show the interviewer that I can think critically about the field (which is actually really hard). I really didn't want to come up with something that is already well known (ie. the growth of digital) or beat around the bush for 5 minutes and hope that they lose interest and ask me a new question. So, I tried to relate my answer to my own experience and how I perceive the advertising out there today. Since I'm pretty much obsessed with music and music culture, I thought this would be my natural starting point.

I started really paying attention to my favourite band's social media pages and the content they are posting, and it dawned on me-- brands and advertising agencies can learn so much from bands. Have you seen the levels of engagement and interaction between a band and its fans?! It's ridiculous... people don't think of it, and maybe bands don't mean it intentionally, but they are advertising! They're posting content about their tour dates, or new merch they have in store and people eat it up because they are genuinely interested in supporting the band. A band's music is their product, and this product is intertwined so naturally with the band's image and personality that we don't see it as such. A band is a perfect example of a 'pull' strategy, and it happens so naturally that people don't realize that a band is a business.

It's true...

I think that bands are so successful in their interaction with fans because, for example, their social media pages have such an authentic and humanistic quality to them. They are just a group of people playing music for a living, playing wicked shows and having great experiences that we all want to be a part of. Their posts don't sound like a business.. they sound like a person, which is something all brands can take advantage of. We can all recognize when a company makes a post that sounds like Microsoft Sam and Siri's child, and it creates this wall between the company and consumer. If brands want to really reflect a genuine quality, and create content that is meaningful and relatable, they need to look no further than their favourite bands.