What I Learned During Class: Number One

When I first signed up for this class, several weeks ago, I assumed the course contents would be applicable to my current internship position with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. {I assumed correctly and am looking forward to utilizing anything and everything I learn this quarter to help out M-A-W!} After yesterday evening's session, I am now confident that what I gain from this class will also be highly relevant to my future career in marketing/advertising.

First Impressions

I enjoyed the format of yesterday's introductory class. The mix of video and PowerPoint was engaging and really held my interest. The brief introduction given on Andy Sernovitz's book gave me a nice preview of some of the concepts we will be covering this quarter. I definitely left the classroom intrigued by the general concept of word of mouth marketing. I've heard of social media marketing and viral marketing, amongst others, but have never formally been introduced to word of mouth marketing.

What I Learned

The most important thing I learned during this first class is conceptually quite simple, but has the potential to completely alter the current marketing environment. "Think as an internet user rather than as a marketer." i.e. Be your own customer! As was pointed out during class, many companies rely on one-way means of communication, often overwhelming consumers with unsolicited, ineffective advertisements. It is to everyone's benefit for a company to connect and converse with its consumers. An example of a company that does an outstanding job of communicating with its consumers is Old Spice. Last year's "Old Spice Man" YouTube videos almost instantly became a viral sensation. But Old Spice didn't just bask in the success of its online campaign; it creatively responded to its consumers comments with humorous, personalized internet responses. view here

...Looking forward to an enjoyable quarter!