The Best Time of the Year – for Marketing Majors!

Hello there and happy Super Bowl Sunday!

I'm a Pittsburgh girl, born and raised, and will always be cheering on the Steelers, Penguins and the Pirates no matter who they're playing against. Which makes me a little bummed out that I won't be rooting on my boys in the big game this evening... However, the Penguins did win today so that makes up for it a bit, I guess. 

 Even though my Steelers won't be in the game today, I'll still be watching. The marketing major in me loves, and I mean L-O-V-E-S Super Bowl commercials. At any point in the school year, advertising and branding strategy, consumer behavior and marketing management classes all have students tuning in to the medias around them, and analyzing a variety of advertising materials. 

 However, during the Super Bowl is a special time to be a marketing and communication student because all my classes the following Monday and Tuesday, we get to dissect and grade all the commercials. The Super Bowl is a hot time for marketers to score a commercial spot. Not only does it go for big bucks, it's one of the most watched shows of the year... It's almost as popular as the Victoria Secret's Fashion Show. 

During the Super Bowl, there is a highly specific demographic that marketers are able to segment. Having that information is golden in advertising. We also get to see how marketers appeal to us, whether it be through "slice-of-life" scenarios, serious settings, or America's favorite – humor with a pinch of sex appeal.

Some of my favorite commercials from Super Bowl 2012 are as follows:

 

I truly love my major, I love that the industry follows pop-culture, my major is something that is fresh and always changing. It makes time in the classroom a lot more fun and more hands on. I hope that if you find yourself at the 'Hurst someday, or anywhere else for that matter, that you'll find the area that you're just as passionate about too.

I'll be sure to post my favorites from Super Bowl 2013 next week.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Jenna

Mercyhurst History

So, as I said last week, we were going through a pretty chilly period. And with cold weather sometimes comes water main breaks.

Unfortunately, our campus as well as some neighborhoods around us suffered some water loss. Which for many of our residential buildings, loss of heat as well. So for the first time in a long stretch of Mercyhurst history, campus was closed down Thursday afternoon through Sunday evening.

I took this little surprise as an opportunity to take an extended weekend home. Since the majority of weekend events were postponed to a later date, I thought I would use this post to share some of my favorite Mercyhurst winter pictures that were streamed through Instagram. On the Mercyhurst University Facebook page, as the social media intern, I typically pick one photo each week as the "Insta-fave" to post but there are always too many to choose from... So here are some more! To see more, simply search #Merchurst on Instagram.

Enjoy!

Old Main and Egan – @jgolfer15

Our famous gates – @jgibson0513

Baldwin Hall and the Football Offices – @jbrahim9

Old Main – @fapo92

Audrey Hirt Academic Center – @jaslyne_renee

O'Neill Tower – @milosveres

Endless Events!

A chilly hello from Mercyhurst U. today!

Currently we are under a Lake Effect Winter Weather Advisory and have about 30 inches of snow. So shortly after this, since two of my classes were cancelled for the day, I'll be throwing on some warm gear to play in the snow. Okay, maybe not really, but if you're into sledding, snowboarding and tubing, Erie is the place for you!

Last week MSG had David Coleman, the Dating Doctor in the Performing Arts Center. We had an awesome turn out and David gave a ton of great advice to students mixed with a good amount of comedy. We love having him on campus, and may bring some of his other presenters from his production company in for orientation week next year. So if you decide to become a MU Laker, I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to meet him and listen to him again.

This week is full of fun and exciting things!

This week MSG is hosting a forum on Wednesday to help inform students about all the little details about our change from trimesters to the new 4-1-4 semesters. Since I am a senior, this does not affect my scheduling, however I want the students to be as well informed as possible. So I am encouraging all to come out and ask as many questions as possible.

Also on Wednesday, MSG is holding a self defense workshop. This is something that SAC provided a few years ago, and we thought it was a good thing to bring back. It is always a good idea to be prepared for a variety of scenarios, I really liked the workshop the last time we offered it because it taught me how to help myself stay calm in such a high stress situation. And hopefully, I will never have to put these tips to use, it's nice to know I have some frame of reference to go back on.

On Thursday, I am taking the Ambassador Club snow tubing at a ski resort that is not too far from campus, Peek'n Peak. It's a social event that we are using as a fundraiser and as a way to get off campus and to have some fun.

On Friday, SAC is hosting it's third annual "Are You Smarter than a Professor" event. It's exactly what it sounds like, three Mercyhurst University professors will go head to head against MU students to compete in a battle of wits. Every topic can show up; from math to English, and even some pop-culture questions will appear.

And finally on Saturday, SAC and another club I am involved in PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) will be hosting a Frozen Putt-A-Thon. We are inviting the Mercyhurst and Erie community to the Harbor View Miniature Golf Course to be bold in the cold. Basically, people can come out for a few rounds of mini-golf in the snow to help a good cause. This year, we are fundraising for the Erie City Mission.

I can't wait to post pictures and tell you all about how these events went.

Until then, stay warm! And thanks for reading :)

Dating Doctor

Happy New Year! I hope your Christmas and holiday season was wondeful.
 
The week back from Christmas break is always the hardest. After spending some time at home, it's always a struggle to come back into the swing of classes. But somehow we all managed and here we are.

This week for student government we have the second installment of our Distinguished Speaker Series. The first speaker was MTV's Andrew Jenks, this time we are welcoming the Dating Doctor, David Coleman back to campus for the third time. He's a relationship expert who the movie Hitch was based off of. We always get a full house and are hopeful that we will tomorrow too. The Dating Dr. gives tons of great information for improving relationships, finding love, and just how to live a more fulfilling life. To find out more about the Dating Doctor, check out his website here.

The Doctor on our stage from his last visit.

I'll have to let you all know how it went next time!

Have a wonderful week and thanks for reading.

:)

Christmas Craze

Hello readers!

The famous tree we light!

Christmas is in full swing at the 'Hurst! This past week we finished up MSG's 12 Days of Christmas, held the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, and Miracle on 38th Street (or as we used to call it, Christmas on Campus).

The 12 Days of Christmas wrapped up at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony with a blessing of the seasons by Monsignor Rubino, Dean of the Business Department, and the lighting of one of the largest pine trees located in the center of campus. At the Ceremony, the twelfth gift, and iPad, was given to one lucky Laker – Jacob Griffen. It was great to see someone I know win! Not only is he a fellow Ambassador with me, he was one of the other students who studied abroad in Italy, Greece and Turkey with me.

Diving into some crafts

Also at the Ceremony, we help the RSCO Christmas Decorating Contest. Fifteen trees competed for top prize, money to their organization's budget. And the Ambassadors won, woohoo! We won by a landslide with 150 votes. The Honors Council was second followed by the Outdoor Adventure Club.

On Friday, Miracle on 38th Street was held. Typically children who may not be as privileged as some come to campus for an afternoon of holiday fun including crafts, food, games, and a visit from Santa with some other surprises! Every year MSG lets the children go "shopping" for items in our make-shift store for their parents or guardians. It's a great way to get involved on campus, and it's always so gratifying to see how appreciative most of these children are.

The final Christmas-y thing that ended my week was a part of my work in the PR and Marketing Department, a virtual Ugly Sweater Contest! We're using Instagram and a holiday hash tag, #HurstHoliday to get Lakers to share their most hideous sweaters. We'll be picking a winner before students leave for break this Friday. See the picture below for the graphic I created for the contest.

Thank you for reading, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Hopefully, I'll be able to post at least a little something over break!

But until next time, happy holidays!

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas... All around the 'Hurst

The travel packs, I figured you needed a visual!

As always, this week FLEW by!

This week was full of fun and festive activities. Let me start off with MSG's 12 Days of Christmas. I know in my previous post I told you that we were starting the gift giving last Sunday. But here's a little more detail – every year MSG gives 12 gifts leading up to their annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, we started last Sunday and are still going strong. So far we've given:

1. playing cards
2. Laker shirts
3. winter hats
4. blankets
5. school supply packs
6. gloves
7. t-shirts
8. travel packs (mouth wash, chapstick, hand sanitizer)

And there's more to come! The final gift is given during the Tree Lighting Ceremony, and it will be extra special for one Laker, because it's a raffle for an iPad.

Lindsay, a freshmen senator & leader of the 100 days celebration

Another fun thing to happen this week was the celebration of the freshmen's first 100 days of school. At Mercyhurst, our senior year we celebrate the 100 days to graduation. So, a new tradition as been added to mix. Freshmen were asked to sign a banner in the cafeteria with their favorite memory from their first 100 days, and during their senior year once they hit the 100 days until graduation, they are opening the banner sort of like a time capsule. Traditions are all around the 'Hurst. 

Today was also an annual event for the Ambassador's Club on campus, Christgiving. No, that's not a typo, it's our own holiday after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas where we come together as a club to celebrate the seasons. I; and my co-chair for the social committee, Lisa, planned a wonderful holiday dinner for the year. We fed over 100 hungry Ambassadors and admissions team members, and even had an ugly sweater contest. Though, I'm happy the stress of pulling this event together is off of my shoulders, it's kind of sad at the same time. This was my fourth and last Christgiving, maybe this will be a Mercyhurst tradition that I implement into my family after graduation!

Ambassadors filling the Student Union for Christgiving dinner

Another traditional event that I'm overseeing this year is the RSCO Tree Decorating Contest. RSCO stands for registered student clubs and organizations, we have tons of them on campus... literally, more than 60! New ones are starting every year, that's the cool thing about Mercyhurst, if you have an interest and can find two other people and a club advisor, you can start the club! The Tree Decorating Contest is a good way to get RSCOs recognized and increase club participation, but it's also an easy fundraiser. Students vote on the "best tree" and that club wins $100 for their budget.

Judging for the Tree Decorating Contest takes place at the Tree Lighting Ceremony this Thursday.  I'll keep you posted on the gifts, winners, and all of those other holiday events happening around campus!

Thanks for reading :)

Welcome Winter Term

Hungry Lakers at the Grand Opening!

Hello everyone! This past week was the first back, and the start of Mercyhurst's Winter Term.

This is my last Winter Term, as I'll be graduating in May. I cannot believe that in six short months I will be done with my undergraduate degree at Mercyhurst. This term started off crazy as ever with classes, MSG, residence life, and Ambassadors.

I'm enrolled in four classes this term: Marketing Management, Managerial Economics, Strategic Communication I, and Professional Development. It's a plate-full, but I'm excited to attack them. After these four, there are only three more classes I need for Spring Term. My degree never seemed more in reach!

Last term I completed my internship, and this term on top of my classes, I have accepted a part-time position within Mercyhurst's Marketing and PR Department. It's flattering and an awesome experience that I am blessed to have.

One of the 12 gifts

This past week was also full for MSG. As the event coordinator, I planned a Grand Opening event for our Student Union Great Room. We held it during tonight's Steelers vs. Ravens game and supplied pizza, wings, and more. More than 100 students showed up to cheer on their favorite teams and break in the new student space.

Today was also the start of MSG's 12 Days of Christmas. Each year leading up to the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting, MSG gives out little gifts each day to students. This year gifts include blankets, travel coffee mugs, school supplies, eco-friendly bags, and more. Our final gift is a big one this year, one lucky Laker will walk away with an iPad! I'll have to give you some more details and write a little more in my next post.

Twitter door decs

For residence life, a new term means fresh bulletin boards and door decorations for my residents. I created a Twitter theme this time around. I cut out blue birds and hand-stamped my residents names after an @ sign. I think they turned out pretty good! I was going to make one per resident, but I decided to do the whole room to make it look more like a Twitter feed. And I'm guilty of going the easy way out for my bulletin board for the short time before Christmas break, I did a Christmas-y "let it snow" theme. I promise I'll freshen it up for the new year!!

Finally, for Ambassadors, I have been working on our annual Christgiving dinner. It's happening next Sunday and I'll have to fill you in on it more when I post next week. It's a big dinner that the club hosts between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we all get together with four turkeys, 30lbs of potatoes, and tons of desserts to celebrate the holidays with good friends.

Well, that's all for now! Come back next week for some more Mercyhurst fun :)