Category: Fashion

My Dream Jobs

Posted on Posted in Advertising/PR, Fashion, Social Media, TechnologyTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Social Media Coordinator
Company: Shinola
Link: https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=shinola&l=Detroit%2C%20MI&vjk=f626af5ea84da48c

Skills/Requirements:

  • 2 years Social Media Coordination
  • Writing & editing skills that will engage an audience as well as a creative eye for what works in these channels
  • A strong understanding of Social Media Platforms (FB, IG, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.) and a passion for learning about new platforms as they develop into opportunities to engage with the Shinola Audience

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • I will become very acquainted with social media platforms and how to schedule posts for each website, such as HootSuite
  • Work for the company as an associate for a few years.
  • Get experience using Adobe Creative Suite and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the latter I have experience with already at Shinola but could definitely improve on. I would preferably do this via a class online.

Assistant Marketing Manager, Campaign & Content
Company: Sephora
Link: https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=louis%20vuitton%20social%20media&l=Anywhere&vjk=fe24e0ffdebe471a

Skills/Requirements:

  • 3+ years of marketing experience: agency, retail, or beauty industry. CRM experience preferred
  • Outstanding interpersonal skills: the ability to develop and maintain relationships with business partners at all levels across a variety of functions
  • Passion for creative strategy, creative development and campaign execution

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Become familiar with Sephora and the brands they carry in their stores by going to different stores in the Grand Rapids area.
  • Research CRM and how to become familiar with it. I would also reach out in my current job to see if I could have an opportunity to learn about how Shinola uses CRM.
  • Have experience in marketing in another job, such as Shinola. I could go for a Marketing internship in the Spring of 2020.

PR Manager, Watches & Jewelry
Company: Louis Vuitton
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Louis-Vuitton/jobs?jk=c86802577121d551&l=&q=social%20media#cmp-skip-header-desktop

Skills/Requirements:

  • 7+ years of progressively responsible public relations experience preferably in High End Fashion or Luxury Goods Industry
  • Possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Ad/PR
  •  Experience in Microsoft Office and managing staff are preferred.

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Work my current job at Shinola for a longer period of time to expand my knowledge of what it’s like to work for a luxury goods company.
  • Get a degree in Fashion Merchandising, which I can do in two years after I finish my Ad/PR degree at Grand Valley.
  • Become familiar with LVMH Group (which owns Louis Vuitton). There is extensive resources online.

GUCCI Marketing Manager – Wholesale Timepieces & Jewelry
Company: Gucci
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Gucci/jobs?jk=fce5bd5d9632b301&l=Anywhere&q=marketing#cmp-skip-header-desktop

Skills/Requirements:

  • Minimum of 4 years’ experience in a marketing and advertising related position
  • Highly proficient in Microsoft Word; Excel; PowerPoint: Outlook; Adobe Acrobat
  • Bachelor’s degree

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Try to get a management position within my current job so I get experience what it’s like to manage a team. Ideally I’d like to work at a flagship store since the product is at full retail price, whereas the outlet I work at has discounted rates for discontinued product.
  • Get a degree in Fashion Merchandising to coincide with my Advertising/PR degree. That would take about two years for an associates.
  • Take a class to fully understand Microsoft programs. Microsoft has online classes, or I could take an in-person class.

UO Visual Merchandising Manager
Company: Urban Outfitters
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Urban-Outfitters-Inc./jobs?jk=7b2a56c0761445ec&l=Anywhere&q=marketing&start=12#cmp-skip-header-desktop

Skills/Requirements:

  • No requirements were listed for this position, but I imagine I would need retail experience among visual merchandising experience.

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Try to get experience doing visual merchandising for Shinola through an internship in Spring of 2020.
  • Get a degree in Fashion Merchandising, which would take about two years for an associates.


Digital Performance Marketing Manager
Company: Fendi
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Fendi/jobs?jk=cd4f2719055d15b6&start=12#cmp-skip-header-desktop

Skills/Requirements:

  • 4-6 years of experience in Digital Advertising/Marketing and/or e-Commerce – agency experience preferred.
  • Experience managing and working with 3rd party digital marketing partners.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including ability to present information succinctly to brand team and senior management.

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Increase my knowledge and literacy of digital marketing. I can do this by taking more online classes and obtaining certifications, although that may be expensive – perhaps I could get my job to sponsor them.
  • Take a class to fully understand Microsoft programs.
  • Keep on updating myself on site analytics platforms like Google Analytics. I would want to be well versed in at least two other platforms.

Internal Communications Specialist
Company: H&M
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/H&M/jobs?jk=dbeef4db586bf7ad&l=Anywhere&q=marketing#cmp-skip-header-desktop

Skills/Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s Degree or years equivalent experience in internal communications, strategic planning or branding
  • Proven ability in writing, editing and strategic planning
  • 3+ years’ experience in Communications, Marketing , or PR

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Gain leadership experience whether it be at my current job at Shinola or at another apparel/luxury goods company.
  • Work on my critical thinking skills so I can showcase solutions during my interview. That really comes down to self studying and actively engaging myself to work out problems, whether they be real or in a scenario.
  • Develop strong diplomacy and inter-personal skills to negotiate competing priorities and resolve conflicting points of view.

Material Planner (Leather)
Company: Shinola
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Shinola/jobs?jk=260d39b54997c50b

Skills/Requirements:

  • 2-3 years of experience in Supply Chain (Procurement, Manufacturing, and/or Logistics)
  • Experience with an ERP/MRP (Microsoft Dynamics AX a plus)
  • Proficient with Microsoft Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook)

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Go to school after I finish my degree to get a degree in Supply Chain. Ideally I’d like to get an associates for the shorter time frame.
  • Get an internship/apprenticeship with a local artisan that specializes in leather so I can learn more about the tanning process and what it takes to create leather. There is a place in GR called Gemini, I could check that place out.
  • Keep up with trends in leather on WGSN. That site is extremely expensive for a subscription, but it’s an industry standard and may pay off in the end.

Marketing & Experiences Manager
Company: Filson
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Filson/jobs?jk=0b83277b922aa580

Skills/Requirements:

  • 7+ years’ experience in consumer marketing with progressively larger responsibility
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or related field
  • Experience with multi-channel marketing, as well as making marketing recommendations, setting marketing goals, providing insight on analytics, writing marketing briefs and leading teams through concept and development

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Since Filson is owned by Shinola’s parent company, Bedrock Manufacturing, I could potentially work my way up and transition to Filson.
  • Get a feel and understand the Filson atmosphere: it’s a lifestyle brand, so to become a strong candidate I need to appreciate and be able to “live” in the brand.
  • Keep up with trends (especially for outdoor apparel) and understand what markets Filson appeals to the most, and which markets we can successfully penetrate. Again, I could use WGSN for this.

Digital Marketing Specialist
Company: Saks Fifth Avenue
Link: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Saks-Fifth-Avenue/jobs?jk=16a56f5394bc28c1&l=Anywhere&q=marketing#cmp-skip-header-desktop

Skills/Requirements:

  • A Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year college or university (preferable in Marketing, Economics, or Business Management)
  • Minimum 2 years of full-time experience managing media campaigns (e.g. paid social, display, search) including tracking, planning, and reporting
  • Ability to leverage Excel on a daily basis

Action items to become a stronger candidate:

  • Try to get experience working at Shinola in digital marketing. We use Salesforce, which could be a bonus on my resume.
  • Be familiar with all of the brands that Saks carries. I could do so by visiting their Chicago location, although the associates are extremely judgmental and rude if you don’t have the money to buy their products.
  • Develop time management skills and be comfortable managing multiple projects and dealing with shifting priorities. This really comes down to me working on my procrastination and completing projects to show Sak’s that I am well versed in completing projects.

Inside the Magic and Math of Digital Marketing: Review

Posted on Posted in Advertising/PR, Fashion, Social MediaTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Everyone on the internet has pretty much heard the phrase “Break the Internet”, all thanks to Drew Elliott. He is the mastermind behind Kim Kardashian’s Paper Mag cover that brought in 16 million users to Paper Magazine’s website within two hours. That cover also made up 1% of Google traffic in the United States. He is now the co-owner and chief creative officer of Paper Communications. Business of Fashion, one of my favorite podcasts, brought him on as a guest in their episode called “Inside the Magic and Math of Digital Marketing”.

What I love about this episode is that Drew Elliott is pretty relatable, at least to me. He is a guy from a small town in Indiana obsessed with pop culture. His dream school was NYU – mine, too – and attended when he was 18 at the Gallatin School. He wrote his thesis on the Osbornes, which was a total throwback upon hearing that. When I think of reality families I automatically think about the Kardashians – but really, the Osbornes is the OG.

He began his internship at Paper Magazine while attending NYU. He interned for two years and then worked there for five years. He mentions how slow their dial up internet was when he began working there: the front end of the office was allowed to use the internet in the morning and the back-end of the office could use it in the later day. He then left to work at Ketchum doing experimental marketing, working for big companies like Frito-Lay and IBM, and then came back to Paper to build an agency to contact with big brands and create content. He left again to work for The Audience in Los Angeles and then came back to Paper, once again, with an agenda: to modernize the brand and entertain the consumer.

https://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/kim-kardashian-breaks-the-internet-with-nude-magazine-cover/391881/

He then talks about how Paper’s project with Kim Kardashian “broke the internet”. He says that the element of surprise was a key factor to the success of their cover campaign; there was no build up or teasers. He talks about taking the images from the shoot and using them in different social media platforms, focusing on Kim Kardashian’s status from “celebrity” to “influencer”, and working with different media brands to popularize that concept. He also says that user-generated content (meeemes) from the internet helped popularize the shoot, too.

He defines “influencer” as “someone in the digital world who is an extreme expert in something that they do” and also “just cute”. He also talks about “micro-influencers” as someone who is “able to start a conversation and lend huge credibility” without having a large audience. Elliott says that the days of publishing is gone and creation of content that entertain the audience is the new way of digital marketing, with influencers being a huge part of it.

He then talks about the relationship between “math” and “magic” in digital marketing. By math he refers mostly to data and algorithms, and by “magic” he talks about the content that the audience wants and loves. He says that companies can be too reliant on data and forget how important the actual content is. Companies will lose themselves in the math and paid media trying to reach the consumer instead of putting out attractive content that the consumer will love. He thinks the conversation should be shifted to creating the magic first, then figuring out the math on how to get the content to the consumer. “Break the Internet” was centered around that philosophy.

Overall, I think this podcast was pretty interesting. It was really cool to hear the perspective from the man behind Kim Kardashian’s iconic #BreakTheInternet. What I think the podcast could’ve improved on was a little bit more depth about the relationship between math and magic. I noticed there was no advertising in this podcast. I think it’s because Business of Fashion has an established online presence and isn’t reliant on advertisements to keep its podcasts relevant. However, if they were to bring an advertiser on its podcasts, I think it would be a great idea to partner with Fashion programs to advertise courses, degrees, etc.

Check out Business of Fashion’s podcast with Drew Elliott, titled “Inside the Magic and Math of Digital Marketing” at apple.co/2MKc6LU

Ok, So About the Last Blog Post…

Posted on Posted in Advertising/PR, Fashion, Sustainability, TechnologyTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I did it completely wrong. To be honest, I’ve been doing this whole class wrong and it’s already the fifth week of class. It’s taken me this long to finally catch up and here I am.

My first blog post was supposed to be about something COMPLETELY else than what I wrote about. I’m thinking about scenarios where I delete the blog post entirely but I don’t think that would fit my erratic online personality. I’ll keep it up, being the good sport I am, and continue with the actual assignment:

Technology in Advertising & Public Relations

It’s interesting to be growing into adulthood during this specific point in time. I’m living in the age where a plethora of information can be accessed at my own fingertips; yet, I find that with this gift comes a lot of distractions. It’s so easy to be sucked into kitten videos while studying or researching online — better yet, I found a thread of tweets today of kids using Animojies and saying cute things like “I love you mommy – woof woof!” while using the dog Animoji. I completely forgot I had been doing productive things before falling down that insanely adorable rabbit hole.

I think companies that are smart with internet advertising realize this. They know that today’s generation of Millennials and Zs have short attention spans. They know how to activate the pleasure signals in the brains of relatively attentive minds with smart advertisements, whether they be interactive mini games or funny videos (the spectrum isn’t defined by those two examples; there’s so many attractive advertisements out there). Sometimes I wonder if I’m going to shell out my morals to work for an advertising agency that profits off the inattentiveness of people my age. I can be cynical about technology, which also makes me wonder if this degree is something that suits me.

However, I think majoring in advertising and public relations is a really smart decision. Virtually every company in the world uses advertising and public relations. As technology advances and we culturally shift from floppy disks to iCloud and beyond, companies get more and more creative with advertising their products and services. With the (n)ever(ending)-so-promising future of VR, which will either be the next dominant platform of technology or not, I wonder what advertising will be like under that tech reign. We can already see with some VR/mixed reality programs – such as those that allow you to tour potential homes or ‘try on’ clothes – we are immersing ourselves even deeper into technology, and who honestly knows how companies will use that to their benefit in advertising/PR? What I know, however, is that no matter how complex and interactive technology evolves in my lifetime I will at least be able to get a job doing something with an Ad/PR degree.

Does that sound like a defeatist attitude? Am I succumbing to a degree just because I know I will be able to make a few good dollars with it?

I’m looking on the bright side when it comes to Ad/PR. I hope – and I am hoping so hard – that companies will use Ad/PR in the very near future (aka, now) to bring attention to the dire situation that is climate change. Millennials and Gen Z are already making an impact to impede the damage; look at the meat and dairy industry who are silently struggling to grasp the loyalty of young consumers who are cutting those things out of their diet either partially or entirely. While I do not wish for their comebacks, I do wish for other industries to do their duty to cut their emissions and be as green as possible and also advertise this to consumers.

I desperately want the fashion industry to cut back on using synthetic fibers; even only using poly-blends of natural and synthetic fibers would be a good start. And I want these companies to let us know via Ad/PR that they are consciously making these changes. I want to be part of this movement – I want to work for a fashion firm (I’m looking at you Versace, Zana Bayne, Filson’s, etc.) and reach out to the consumers to let them know that we are making a difference. Whether that’s through quirky Twitter posts, Facebook ads, Snapchat shout-outs, or even a VR app that lets you talk to Donatella Versace herself about saving the turtles from eating microplastics, I want to be part of that.

So yeah – that’s the bright side of my Ad/PR mentality. I don’t want to exploit the inattentiveness of internet users for a cheap buck – I want to be part of a movement to save this planet and be environmentally conscious while helping a company remain profitable. Hopefully this degree will let me do just that.

Photo Source: https://sanfranciscosustainablefashionweek.org/