In October, I attended Moxie All Access, the Atlanta marketing agency’s open house. During the event, Moxie showcased their stunning Future X Lab and some of its recent innovations. I had a blast networking and learning more about the exciting projects that Moxie is working on. Check out some of my observations and reflections below!

 

Experimentation is Vital

From the moment I stepped inside the open house, it was clear to me that Moxie prioritized innovation and experimentation. Each project was thrilling to behold, as both a consumer and a marketing professional. In some of the most impressive project showcases, it was clear that the innovation came before the application. It was obvious to participants that Moxie not only wasn’t afraid to experiment, but was also actively building innovation into their office culture. For me, seeing these really stunning projects really emphasized the value of both encouraging and budgeting for experimentation.  

Familiar Faces

During the course of the open house, I recognized, and interacted with many marketing professionals that I had met at other networking events like Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AIMA)’s Generation Z panel and American Marketing Association (AMA) Atlanta’s Emerging Martech Solutions panel. It was delightful to touch base with everyone again and to see some people in a different professional context. It felt fantastic to see my hard work networking produce results as these connections remembered me. 

Emerging Trends

Many of the trends and buzzwords of digital marketing that I’ve learned about at AMA Atlanta and AIMA events were central themes of Moxie’s open house. Virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and biometrics dominated the open house, and rightfully so, because these are some of the most up-and-coming technologies. it was exciting to see some of these technologies in action at a marketing agency after learning about them at panels and seminars. 

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me via email

Email Rachel

The post Moxie All Access Open House appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

The post SUMMIT PROGRAM appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

In early October, I attended “Ready for Takeoff: Navigating Today’s Emerging Martech Solutions.” The event was my first American Marketing Association (AMA) Atlanta event as a member. I had a blast  learning more about upcoming digital marketing trends and building my professional network. Hosted by the Association’s Innovation Marketing Special Interest Group, the event featured a panel of three fantastic marketers: Jason Brett of IBM Watson Marketing, Joanie Twersky of AT&T, and Tod Szewczyk of Leo Burnett. Check out my list of five things I learned below!

5 Things I Learned at AMA’s Martech Panel

1. Consumers want brands to stand for something

As all three panelists emphasized, consumers expect brands to take a stand on current events and social issues. This consumer expectation is borne from a recent shift within the last two decades towards increased socially conscious consumerism. More than ever before, consumers want to cast their vote with their dollars. As consumers look to buy from companies that echo their activism, marketers must rise to the challenge of creating brands that are associated with taking action on social issues.

2. Objects populate the internet

More devices than ever before have internet capability. At the same time, the cost of these devices is decreasing, making them more accessible to consumers. Every device with internet capability is linked to an IP address, populating the web with devices ranging from the familiar to the unexpected. Cell phones, artificial intelligence (AI) smart-speakers, smart watches, washing machines, coffee percolators, and light fixtures now populate the internet. Collectively, this Internet of Things (IoT) produces tremendous user data that marketers must sift through. This sudden wealth of usable data poses an overwhelming challenge to marketers as they must evaluate how to use it. 

3. The rate of change for technology is dramatically increasing.

As the above point illustrates, the rate of change for technology is rapidly increasing. As panelist Joanie Twersky of AT&T outlined, AI machine learning and virtual reality (VR) technologies have significantly altered the marketing landscape. With an influx of new technology, marketers are faced with a steeper learning curve for not only themselves, but consumers. Twersky explained that oftentimes marketers find themselves trying to utilize tech for marketing that consumers may not even be familiar with, citing AT&T’s recent augmented reality campaign to promote its 5G data network.  

4. Keeping up with trends is hard work

So with all these technological jumps, how can marketers stay on top of changes?  There is no simple answer. As all three panelists noted, the best strategy is to read as many sources as possible, talk to consumers, and get out of the office. One panelist boldly argued that as marketers we should all live by the acronym NIHITO— Nothing Interesting Happens In The Office. Although there is no singular answer on how to stay abreast of martech trends, avid reading and data-gathering an excellent start. 

5. We must build experimentation into the budget

As one panelist stated, if you’re not experimenting you’ll be left behind. The same panelist argued that marketers should create a core budget for regular, expected expenses as well as an additional budget for experimental projects. The panelist argued that this calculated experimentation was the key to innovation. `

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me via email

Email Rachel

The post AMA’s Emerging Martech Solutions Panel appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

In September, I attended one of Turknett Leadership Group‘s Women in Leadership (WIL) Seminars with Agnes Scott College. The WIL Seminar series is a monthly small group forum that has met for over 16 years. The program features accomplished women speakers who share their leadership experiences through lectures. 

During the event,”How to Spur Creativity, Teamwork and Innovation in Your Organization,” speaker Lisa Fey,  led a series of interactive activities designed to build collaboration and problem-solving skills. Fey is the president of Lisa Fey Speaks LLC and a former Sales & Marketing Leader at The Coca-Cola Company.

Inspiration In Improv

In her talk and corresponding activities, Fey often drew upon improv theories. She explained this inspiration, arguing that improv simulates the conditions of the contemporary workplace. Most of the time, we do not have the luxury of a rehearsal in the workplace and instead must be adaptable. Fey  postulated that improv simulates this everyday time constraint and helps us become more creative thinkers in a crunch. Most importantly, she argues, improv teaches people how to listen and collaborate in group settings. Both the aforementioned pressure to generate creative solutions in a designated time and the pressure to perform collaboratively with a group become motifs in Fey’s talk that permeated each activity. 

Using "And" Instead of "But"

Activity Premise

I volunteered to participated in Fey’s first activity “Yes—And.” During this activity, the other three participants and I had to plan an imaginary event together. Each participant had to generate an idea in response to the idea of the person who spoke prior to them using “Yes—and” as a transition phrase. 

For example, someone might say: “Yes— And we should serve cupcakes at the party.” Then, the next person might say: “Yes— And they should be blue to match the theme.” The activity was fast paced, with each idea coming right after another.

Connections to Improv

The activity built upon the two themes of improv mentioned earlier: working under pressure and working collaboratively. The fast pace of the activity applied pressure for each participant to come up with the next line of the plan in front of a room full of people. Despite this constraint, each participant was able to generate creative, innovative ideas. Additionally, we all also had to work collaboratively to build off the idea that the previous person had said. In order to be successful, we had to listen well to understand the idea before adding to it. I observed first-hand how great communication starts with great listening. This activity illustrated both themes and how improv could help us function better in time crunches where we had to collaborate. 

Opening Dialogue

By using the phrase “Yes—And” in our group activity, we created space for possibility and set the stage for innovation. Using this affirming and open-ended phrase showed that there were no wrong answers and created momentum for generating more ideas. The activity made me realize that just as there are phrases that open dialogue, there are phrases to shut it down. One such example is “Yes—But.” Where “Yes—And” created space for innovation, “Yes—But” would have halted creativity. Phrases like “Yes—But” created a standard of censorship and begin to close off pathways for exploration. This activity emphasized the importance of the  language we use to brainstorm creative solutions. 

The Power of Positive Affirmation

For the next activity, Fey asked for a a singular participant and I volunteered. After asking me to stand at the front of the room, she instructed the audience to join her in giving me a standing ovation. She asked me how it felt and I replied that it felt good. She used my response to illustrate how positive affirmation holds the power to value and motivate people. Fey argued that we must recognize supervisors, employees, and coworkers with this same positive affirmation in order to  give them the recognition they deserve. 

Receiving a Standing Ovation 

Application In My Work

Immediately after this event I started using the “Yes—And” linguistic strategy in my everyday work. I found that it was really effective in collaborative projects with coworkers and classmates, but more interestingly, it was also helpful to use with tutoring clients as well as self-reflexively. 

When I used the “Yes—And” technique with clients I helped tutees in the Center for Writing and Speaking to flesh out their ideas. By using “Yes—And” strategy, I was able to assist writers and presenters with building momentum in their brainstorming, which usually led them to produce a greater number of creative ideas. Additionally, this strategy helped me to assist writers and presenters in taking their ideas further by teaching them how to turn off their own internal editors. By using the “Yes—And” method I was able to help clients take generate new ideas and take their innovation further. 

Once I started applying this linguistic technique with tutees, I tried to apply it to how I thought about myself. I used it as a thought prompting tool for everything from generating new ideas for written content to  maintaining my creative momentum on long-term projects to turning off my own internal editor to overcome creative obstacles.  

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me via email

Email Rachel

The post TLG Women in Leadership appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

Professor Michael Buchanan‘s two Bridge to Business sessions on marketing basics and digital marketing helped me to better understand my own interest in a career in marketing.

Tactics, Strategy, Objectives, Goals

During his lectures, Professor Buchanan outlined how marketing elements come together to create a greater strategy. He explained that the lowest element in marketing is tactics, which include tasks like running social media or generating newsletters. Tactics support marketing strategy, which is the theory behind a target market. In turn, strategy supports objectives, which measure what a firm would like to accomplish. Objectives ultimately support goals, which are the highest level of the marketing strategy. During the course of the lectures, I learned that my first job in marketing may be more focused on tactics, but that ultimately, my promotions will likely follow this chain upwards into the more strategic marketing. 

Marketing Tactics Experience

 During these sessions, I was able to insert my existing marketing experiences from my internship with the Dahlonega Lumpkin Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau into a larger theoretical framework. I realized that my internship had been highly tactical, like many entry-level positions, because it focused primarily on managing social media, graphic design, data analytics, and newsletter campaigns. As a result of these two lecture sessions, I felt even more confident that my internship experience had prepared me for tactical entry-level digital marketing positions.

Strategy Mindset

When Professor Buchanan advised us on the value of critical questioning in marketing, I realized that my critical thinking and analytical skills from my degree in Women’s Studies were incredibly applicable to marketing strategy. Because of this skill set, identifying a firm’s company, customer, collaborator, competition, and context (five C’s) came very naturally to me. My liberal arts background also provided me with the strategic background necessary to feel confident generating customer personas, meaning profiled to represent key attributes that are specific to a target demographic. 

Through these two marketing sesssions I realized that my internhsip experiences had helped me to bolster my tactical marketing skills, while my liberal arts education had helped me to build my strategic marketing skills. 

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me via email

Email Rachel

The post Marketing Basics and Innovations in Bridge to Business appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

During Professor Arn Rubinoff‘s on international business, I realized that my summit global learning specialization his significantly more vale for my business aspirations than I had thought. When Professor Rubinoff discussed folkways, I found that I understood from my own experiences studying abroad with Agnes Scott.

My Travel Experience

At one point during the lecture, he used the example of differing talking spaces between regions of the world. He noted that in the United States, a comfortable speaking space is about five to eight feet, whereas in Latin America, a comfortable distance is closer to three to five feet. This was a really impactful example for me because I remembered noticing this difference when I traveled to Panama on my Summit Journeys trip with Agnes Scott in 2016. After he gave this example, I started generating my own examples, particularly from my recent study abroad visit to Ireland this past summer. I was able to see that my own global travel experience was easily transferrable to the business world. 

Global Learning Specialization

This sessions was really impactful for me because it allowed me to revalue my global learning specialization as something that would really help me in my future career in the marketing industry. Professor Rubinoff spent time discussing the example of the Chevy Nova’s marketing in Mexico failure because the name Nova is too similar to the Spanish command ” No va,” or “do not go.” This example really made me see my global learning as a useful too that I can use in my post-graduate career. I realized that I already approach my work with a detail-oriented sensitivity to international context because of my global specialization. I have already cultivated a lens that looks for potential cultural blunders and mishaps that will be very useful to me in international marketing as I develop logos, slogans, and product names in a multi-cultural context. 

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me via email

Email Rachel

The post International Relations in Bridge to Business appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

Professor Michael Smith’s lecture on project management during the Bridge to Business Program helped me to further understand my leadership goals for the next few years. During Professor Smith’s lecture, I realized that every aspect of my professional life is an unofficial project, which I really enjoy managing. Often, the roles and experiences I have thrived in have been unofficial project management positions. From my internship with the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence to my job as an Agnes Scott College Center for Writing and Speaking tutor, I have worked and thrived in several project management roles.

I was very drawn to the efficiency and structure of project management. Risk register, stakeholder register, and stakeholder management were especially fascinating for me. I realized that I often naturally organize my thoughts using these factors. Therefore, I learned that I want a job where I can manage projects like Professor Smith described and I am even interested in pursuing a project management certification in the future. As I apply for jobs over the next year, I plan to keep an eye out for positions that provide opportunities to lead projects so that I can follow this interest. 

The post Project Management in Bridge to Business appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

As a final project for Agnes Scott College’s Bridge to Business Program (B2B), I worked on a team of six to collaboratively design a strategic marketing plan for B2B. We were tasked with designed B2B Program’s strategy, marketing plan implementation of strategy, and a promotional video. I have included our project below. 

Mission Statement

Bridge to Business (B2B) provides a brief, yet comprehensive, educational opportunity for Agnes Scott students to study the functional areas of business, including international business, project management, finance, strategic management, marketing, and investing. The program uses an interdisciplinary approach to allow students across all majors to study how these different functional areas of business can be used in their career fields. B2B fosters a fast-paced and innovative environment in which students can practice new skills during lectures, site visits, panels, and case studies. Throughout the program, students will develop new tactical business technology skills as well network with Georgia Tech professors and Agnes Scott alumni. 

5 C's of Marketing Strategy

Competitors

B2B must compete with jobs, internships, and college courses during the academic summer. 

Customers

B2B’s customers are solely Agnes Scott College students. 

Collaborators

B2B collaborates with the Agnes Scott College, Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, and Turner Broadcasting Company.

Company

B2B is a part of the greater Agnes Scott College organization, specifically the Business Management department. 

Context

B2B operates in the context of higher level education and summer intensive experience programs. Typically, many college students spend their summers gaining professional experience via work, courses, or intensive hybrid programs.

4 P's of Marketing Strategy

Price

$2,700 course

$546 housing

$3246 total cost

 1,700 potential scholarship 

Promotion

Presence on Agnes Scott College’s Website

Professor Testimonials 

Alumni Testimonials 

Free Program Merchandise

Campus Print Promotional Media

Word-of-Mouth Promotion

Email Marketing

Product

3 Week Program 

6 Credit Interdisciplinary Course

Designed for Agnes Scott College students to study the functional areas of business

Place

Agnes Scott College

Calendar Outline

August 5

Club Fair

A table staffed by B2B alumni volunteers will generate publicity for the program. The program will reach early adapters at Agnes Scott College’s annual fair for student campus life and organizations.

November 27

Newsletter Announcement

There will be a a campus-wide “Save the Date” announcement in Agnes Scott College’s weekly newsletter The Irvine. The message will reach a campus-wide audience via email. 

January 10

Professor Testimonials

Professors who have collaborated with or observed B2B will be asked via email to promote the program. Professors will act as program ambassadors to generate student interest by speaking about the program in the classroom setting. 

February 7

Undergraduate Email

The B2B program director will email the Agnes Scot College undergraduate listserv, providing an overview of the program. This email will provide a concrete program outline, including the official start and end dates. This email will reach all undergraduate students, serving as a reminder for many to begin registering.

February 12

Program Alumni Panel

The program director will moderate a B2B alumni panel hosted on the Agnes Scott campus. Panelists, who will be current undergraduate students, will share their experience and answer questions about the program. This event will targets invested students who are interested in learning more before registering for the program.

March 18

Program Print Media

Print media brochures, posters, and table tents will be posted in key spots on the Agnes Scott campus. High traffic campus locations, including resident halls, academic buildings, and student amenities, will post print media to remind students of the program. The print media wave will reach late adapters to prompt registration action. 

April 1

Deadline Email

The program director will send a final email to the undergraduate listserv prompting students to register for the program before the deadline. This email will prompt late adapters to take action before the registration deadline. 

Promotional Merchandise

Each program participant will receive a complimentary “Agnes Scott purple” water bottle. Alumni will inadvertently promote the program and identify themselves to peers by using their B2B water bottles on campus. This will generate word-of-mouth promotion. 

Promotional Video

Agnes Scott College will feature the following video in its digital marketing activities. The video will be included on the Agnes Scott College Bridge to Business Program webpage. Additionally, it will  be attached to the newsletter announcement as well as promotional emails to the undergraduate listserv. 

Conclusions

Through the course of the project I learned how to design a comprehensive marketing plan from inception to completion. I applied marketing strategy concepts like the 5 C’s and 4 P’s of marketing. Additionally, I practiced creating promotional concept material including the merchandise image and informational video. In short, our final project allowed me to apply theoretical concepts as well as generate marketing materials. 

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me via email

Email Rachel

The post Bridge to Business Marketing Project appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

The post Dahlonega.org Feature Stories appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.

The post 5 Things You Should Know About Retargeting appeared first on Rachel Steinberg.