Heading Across the World

Yesterday, a friend sent me an email made up of a single quote:

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

It was one of those quotes that you have that brief moment of connection with because it seems as if someone else spoke exactly what was on your mind, but of course, said it more eloquently or with some sort of poignant metaphor. That quote is the reason for the IMC Global Trip heading to India and Singapore this September.

The Global Trip is a way for us put our academic knowledge into a global context as we engage with business leaders from other cultures. Past destinations have included London, Paris, China, Japan, etc. This year, our class decided to head to India and Singapore.

The trip is a way for us to see how the marketing toolbox is being leveraged outside of the U.S. and immerse ourselves in the everyday consumption patterns of a different culture. I think it will be an eye-opening experience, personally and professionally. Our goal is to focus on what is relevant when doing business outside the U.S.

I’m excited to head on this adventure that will be the ultimate juxtaposition of business and pleasure. India is a land where temple elephants exist amicably with data centers. The ancient monuments paint a gorgeous backdrop for the world’s largest democracy, and industrial development has brought the country witin the world’s top ten business nations. Singapore will be quite the transition and learning experience to compare the two countries. Singapore is a dynamic melting pot of culture and business and a leader in marketing communications and innovative technology. Singapore’s strategic location, state-of-the art facilities and fascinating cultural contrasts contribute to its success in the global market.

The trip is currently in the planning stage, but the initial decisions and contacts have shown that it is sure to be the experience of a lifetime – one that many of us will never again get in this capacity outside of IMC. We will travel to Delhi, then Mumbai and end in Singapore between the dates of September 1 -13. Our hope is to visit a breadth of industries with companies headquartered in the U.S., companies that are native to the regions, and companies from other countries doing business in these areas.

I cannot speak for the group, but on a personal level, I have made a list of touristy things I must do while in these countries. India: shop at a bazaar or market in an attempt to find bangles large enough to fit my Czechoslovakian wrists, see a Bollywood movie, visit a temple, and see the the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Singapore: go to the Night Safari, visit Sentosa island, eat unhealthy amounts of the different types food from Singapore’s fusion culture, and compare Little India to the real thing.

……….Carly Kouba

Now I Can Die Happy

There’s a new love in my life. He’s exciting, sleek, and has the smoothest moves. Sure, sometimes he has gas, and at present he’s sort of dirty - but he’s all mine.

He’s also a scooter. Blooter the Scooter, to be exact. I fell in love with scooters on a trip to Asia this past winter. The crowded streets of Shanghai were not ideal for a test ride, however. People had little restraint for stepping right out in front of you, taxi drivers were more like kamikaze pilots, and depending on the time of the day, the air is at times downright unbreathable.

But I was fascinated. Within my sister Julie’s apartment complex was an E-Mart superstore, China’s answer to Wal-Mart. Since Julie’s refrigerator was the size of a shoebox, we frequented the E-Mart nearly every day for fresh food. And every day, when walking through the front door, there was a veritable army of scooters lined up, their headlights as eyes, staring me down. Julie would sigh and roll her eyes as I, like clockwork, stopped to sit on some of them, play with buttons, and scheme about how I could get one of these US$200 beauties back to the US.

Next came Thailand, a scooter haven. In fact, it was the only way to get around, as Bangkok traffic was typically at a standstill, and scooting in between lanes was easy. Although I had a rather unfortunate incident involving some hot pavement and my knees and feet, I came back to the States feeling a sense of loss for having to give up my week-long scooter rental.

Chicago winters clearly aren’t conducive to scooting, so my yearning for a scooter was tabled until Spring Break rolled around. My parents begged me to reconsider: “It’s so dangerous!” “You live in Chicago, it’ll just get stolen!” “How will you get to your residency this summer?” But I was hooked. I spent the next week on Craigslist.com searching in earnest for the precise model and color I wanted. On the last day, my search ended.

The Yamaha Vino 125 in royal blue would be all mine, and I was to name him Blooter (thanks Carly). For the first couple of days, Blooter and I were a shaky pair, but as recently as last week, I drove my 5’11” roommate to Dominick’s and stored about 20 lbs. of groceries in Blooter’s tiny frame.

And so, Blooter and I will live happily ever after - at least until the next Evanston winter.

……….Kara Bogart

Campaigns to Remember

2008 will be remembered as an election year which hosted one of the most closely fought battles for the Democratic candidate nomination. Today the primaries for the final two ‘prized’ states – North Carolina and Indiana - were decided. As Senators Obama and Clinton have continued to garner support of millions of Americans in recent months, we at Medill IMC have been priveleged to be so close to the action. In fact, the races for both the Republican and Democratic nominations have been fascinating due to the increased usage of digital media by both parties. As a result, students at IMC have been able to study what roles traditional and new media are taking in these exhilarating branding campaigns.

One of the exercises we conducted for Prof. Clarke Caywood’s Communities class was to evaluate the various kinds of efforts being made through new media by potential candidates for both the Republican and Democratic parties. We examined how the nominees used outlets like Facebook, Digg, YouTube, etc. to generate mass support and campaign funds. We also made assessments of how the candidates could have improved in this regard. In addition, we were taught how candidates in the past had branded themselves and so we got to analyze how the electioneering landscape has evolved over the years. The activity was another piece of evidence of how the curriculum at Medill IMC exposes students to current practical application of the latest marketing tools.

Try visiting some of the nominees’ Web sites. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much digital media is playing a part in the build-up to the 2008 U.S. elections.

……….Ateeq Abdul Rauf

From Marketing in Morocco to IMC in the U.S.

IMC… I first heard this word at Kraft Morocco in 2004. My boss had just come back from company training  at the Kraft Marketing Academy in Dubai, and she seemed very excited. “Kraft is rolling out a new approach to marketing. We’ll change the way we do things here.” She tried to explain IMC to me, but I didn’t really get it. So of course, I googled the word, and Medill popped up. How I ended up here? That’s another story.

I grew up and spent most of my life in Morocco. I got my bachelor’s degree in marketing and worked for six years before coming to Medill IMC. My first work experience was at the Coca-Cola North & West Africa Division in Casablanca. I started as a trainee and later became marketing project manager on new beverages. At Coke, I worked on the launch of Play, an energy drink targeted to young, trendy consumers, and learned how to “get the basics right,” as my former boss used to say. My second job was in brand management at Kraft Foods Morocco. I worked on powdered beverages and later on coffee, for almost four years.

In 2006, I joined the Bouregreg Agency, a government institution in charge of a large-scale development project in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. As a marketing manager, I launched a communication campaign to build public awareness and attract foreign investors for the project.

Marketing in Morocco is both challenging and exciting. Some quick facts to put things in perspective… Half of the population live in rural areas. More than one-third of consumers are illiterate. And trade is very fragmented – small shops make up 80% of the retail structure. Now imagine the implications for a marketer. Distribution trucks travel across the mountains to reach small shops scattered throughout the country, promotional programs are executed in remote areas where infrastructure is virtually non-existent, and messages are loaded with visual cues to be understood by consumers who cannot read. For a multinational company, it’s even more challenging because on top of everything, marketers need to follow international guidelines and adapt the brand’s global strategy to the local market.

What brought me to IMC? Well, I guess I wanted to learn more about marketing, and I wanted to learn it from the experts. Medill IMC is the #1 program in integrated marketing communications. I wasn’t sure I would be admitted, but I gave it a try, and it worked. When I told my mom that I was going to request an educational leave from the Bouregreg Agency to study in the U.S., she looked at me in a weird way and said, “You are out of your mind. Who wants to go back to school after six years? Plus, you have a good job!” Well, yes, I had a good job. I also had a nice salary and a nice car. But I still had a lot of things to learn in order to be a good marketer. I needed to learn the best practices, and I had to go find them in another country.

Every day at Medill IMC is a new learning experience. I am discovering new concepts and tools. I am also getting familiar with things that were almost rocket science to me. You may find this funny, but I had never heard the words “wiki” and “blog” before coming to Medill. I did not know how to edit a video. And I was terrified by SPSS. Coming to Medill IMC was a difficult decision, but I am glad I made it. I am also glad I gained enough work experience before deciding to complete my master’s. I know now why some of my marketing tactics failed and what I should have done differently.

I will be going back to Morocco in December, and I am already excited about all the ideas that I will be taking home with me. And, you know what? I think the agency should double, triple… No, wait, they should add five zeros to my salary, because I will be bringing tons of revolutionary ideas to the office!

……….Myriam Chemaou

Google CEO: Marketing To Become More Analytical

Marketing is becoming more analytical - nothing new really. That’s what IMC already figured out and that’s what IMC at Medill is all about, developing both our right and left brains, learning how to engage in both storytelling and analytics. It is exciting to receive affirmation from the industry of what we are being taught and to recognize the value that any IMCer will be able to add to his/her future employer by combining both qualitative and quantitative skills to produce integrated marketing.

Click here for the full article.

Or watch the video here:

……….Rachelle Goh