FORE!...a good cause (PART 1)

If you're following this blog, you may wonder why it may have seemed as though we have dropped off the face of the earth the past month or so. Three words: Unitedhealthcare Children's Foundation.

The foundation supports an admirable cause: aiding children whose conditions are not covered by their healthcare plans. Healthcare being the hot topic in the past year, we saw an immense amount of support towards the Foundation as we crafted a fundraiser event. Keating Magee helped The Unitedhealthcare Children's Foundation put on golf tournament fundraiser in both Mississippi and Louisiana.

The responsibility of soliciting donations for the auction fell in my lap. That being said, I have quite literally been eating, breathing and sleeping for this fundraiser event.

My competitive nature caused for a blur to set in over the line of my work hours. This being my senior year, I have learned the ways of effective scheduling and my first class of the day starts at 11 AM. However, during this period of my life--which I like to refer to as my "Donation Addiction"--I was not able to enjoy this privilege of sleeping in. 8:05 AM would hit and suddenly the alarming Irish Fight song ringtone would flood the room and my phone would nearly vibrate off the night stand. I look at my phone and do not recognize the number: it's a potential donor--I'm sure of it. I have 5 seconds to emerge from my drowsy state, answer the phone and be ready to pitch our request.

TIPS FOR MAKING SUCCESSFUL COLD CALLS
-New Orleans businesses truly value supporting local causes and local businesses. I by no means have a New Jersey accent (and thank the forces every day this is so), but it was interesting to see how much warmer the business contacts were once I used the term "ya'll" in our conversations. This gave off the impression that they were dealing with a local and helped me to successfully land certain donation items, such as the generous donation of a $100 gift certificate to any of the Emeril's restaurants.

-Don't be a robot--reciting lines as you go down your cold call list is subtle but apparent to the person on the other line. Immediately they tune out your message and lock into their stance being a firm "No". You want to be familiar with the facts of your request, and still maintain a high level of professionalism while making the call--but make sure you go into each call with a personal touch. Make them feel like it is their business and only their business that you need this donation from. I had a high success rate on the last days of my deadline to collect, and I can attribute this to the sincere hint of desperation that went into my calls.

1,000+ Facebook Fans in 3 hours

There are two lessons to be learned in this: give the people what they want...and don't underestimate the effectiveness of direct email blasts.

The Windsor Court Hotel recently announced the winner of their "Have a Ball" Sweepstakes, Amy Corley-Bergeron, who was awarded with Saints tickets, a stay at the Windsor Court Hotel, as well as pre-game brunch.

I ask you though, who was the real winner in this contest?

As an avid Saints fan myself envious of Amy's great fortune, I must hold back on stating the obvious- the winner being Amy. But from a marketing standpoint, the Windsor Court brings home the trophy.

The fans of the Windsor Court hotel Facebook Page were submitted into a drawing for Saints tickets, hotel stay and pre-grame lunch. The hotel eventually gave Keating Magee the green light to use the list previously drafted and send out an email blast regarding the contest. The results were astounding. Within minutes the Windsor Court's Facebook Fan count rose exponentially. 3 hours passed and 1,000 new fans were garnered. The contest proved to be a major success.

We live in a digital age. With more people owning smart phones, which are at arms length away at all times, emails are almost instantaneously read. Unfortunately, an email blast can easily slip into the same category as spam. We can counter this by getting their attention and offering an enticing prize. After the Saints' Super Bowl win, its almost as if this entire city's blood runs black and gold. An offer to win tickets, as well as fine dining at the Windsor Court, stirs excitement and buzz for the hotel. I applaud the joint efforts of Keating Magee and the Windsor Court and await the next contest where I may be so lucky!
Geaux Saints!

Now Hiring...

With my final year at Tulane University on the horizon, it is no secret that I have made use of the ever popular Craigslist. However, I am no longer looking for a used sofa...but full time employment. A rather daunting task-- it's important to know where to look. Uloop provides a much more professional platform for college students to connect with employers. Companies post job listings both nationwide and at specific universities. Its simple navigation is not as cluttered and, frankly, has a more professional vibe than when one shrugs their shoulders while stating "I got it off Craigslist." I am currently registered and continually check Uloop, more so now with the purpose of boosting my hopes that the economy is turning around and quality companies are in fact hiring!

Commander's

The one word speaks for itself, doesn't it? Fellow intern Erin and I decided to binge on one of my last Friday's in town and do Friday Lunch in true New Orleans style - at Commander's Palace. I had my doubts about Commander's because it's so well known and so often a tourist or visitor's location. But I figured since I was leaving town I had to go at least once.

First of all, whoever invented 25 cent martinis is a genius. The Commander's Signature martini - (see right) - boasts Commander's famous blue awning color in the glass, and later the inside of your mouth. After a round of drinks, Erin and I went on to ordering some fabulously delicious meals. I got mussels and fries, and Erin got crab cakes. Obviously the food was amazing. fantastic. delicious. you get the idea. But I think what really shines about Commander's is the fact that the experience was overall one of the best things I've done in New Orleans. We got free drinks, a little sample at the beginning, fantastic service and the whole meal was full of laughs and was such a great time.

The meal was topped off with a bread pudding souffle that was out-of-this-world good. It was light as air but had all the goodness that bread pudding always has. Would I recommend it? Emphatically. Even for locals. There's just nothing like it.

Love Everything New Orleans...? There's an App for That!

I have discovered the greatest Iphone App on the market as of yet (aside from Angry Birds of course) and it is called the French Quarter Finder! It serves as a mobile guide to French Quarter restaurants, events, activities, bars, live music, tours, shopping and more. No longer will I sit at home, clueless as to what kind of restaurant will fit the mood of the evening; French Quarter Finder has a tab called "Hot Spots" that categorizes key venues... such as restaurants grouped by casual dining, casual fine dining, fine dining, late night food, etc. It also has a built-in GPS system which categorizes options based on those closest to your location. It's free, it's simple, with an extensive list of places and events you'll be eager to try out. As you can see on the Iphone screen shot, there are fun events I didn't even know were going on...and right outside our office for that matter! This city has so much going on at all times, it's a crime not to take advantage of a useful tool such as this.

Satchmo Summerfest Press Conference

This morning I got to tag along with Ann Wills to a Press Conference for the 10th annual Satchmo Summerfest. Ann is on the Board for the festival, so she was asked to say a few words. I thought the event would be stuffy, when in actuality it was very lively; that's New Orleans for you. There was a live jazz band that played Louis' classics and one colorful reporter carried a small chihuahua in her purse...which had gone by unbeknownst to me until the furry creature popped his head up inbetween the purse straps. I also noticed a few anti-BP shirts in the crowd. My morning was complete once they brought out the cake. Cake for breakfast...I may need to hit the gym this afternoon.

Becoming Tech-Savvy

I spend an awful lot of time on my computer these days (both at home and in the office). However, there are some things I enjoy doing more than others. For example, I would rather play around on facebook than enter data in an excel spreadsheet - but who wouldn't?

In the past few days, I've learned how to do some pretty cool things on the computer here at work. Yesterday, I created email templates for various business needs. However, these weren't just your ordinary emails - they involved html code. It can be pretty tricky at first, but it didn't take too long for me to get the hang of it. Once I was done inputting all the different codes, I was suprised to see how professional and organized the email templates looked.

Erin and I have also been working on creating flyers for The House of Blues upcoming July Jingle contest. This was very exciting for me because I love art and getting to express my creativity. I created one part of the flyer's design using microsoft publisher while Erin created the other part using Adobe photoshop. Check out our final product!

Add to Resume: Proficient in Tying Bows

In preparation for the U.S. Launch of Jade Absinthes at the Windsor Court, invitations needed to be made; and 200 bows needed tying. Raquel created the invitation and I had the joy of assembling the parts. The key to maintaining one's sanity with a task such as this, is to ensure you:
-Maintain an athletic and upright posture (slouching most certainly will result in back pains)
-An occasional knuckle crack/finger stretch is needed (to avoid getting carpal tunnel)
-Hydrate
-Keep mind occupied on another subject other than shiny red bows (I thought about my grocery list, an occasional song, and lapsed into some peaceful self reflection)

And In This Corner... Erin vs the Printers

Every now and then you will find yourself on a project that...let's just say lacks any particular flare or excitement. One of my tasks for the day was to print off a large amount of press clippings for one of KM's clients, Tobacco Free Living. Three months worth of news article clippings amounted to a few hundred pages for printing.

In my attempts to accomplish the task quickly, I made the fatal error in assuming the printer could handle such a load all at once. "File; Print" ... next document "File; Print"...and so forth. Once I had successfully sent off the print jobs, I walked over to the printer to collect.

Jammed. And on a day when Keating Magee was pitching to a potential client... even more fantastic. Hours later, the matter was finally resolved with the technician arriving just in time (not). He arrived as we had painfully predicted at 4:45. Luckily, Projects With Purpose (our next door neighbor) had allowed us to print the documents needed for the new business meeting... so my overconfidence didn't result in hampering the company's ability to pitch to a new client.

As my friend Joanna would say "Success is all about the hands you shake" Thank god for friends with functioning printers!

Working for the Weekend

Erin and I started off the weekend early by attending the PRSA New Orleans event at Irvin Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse on Thursday after work. The event featured Tobacco Free Living, the organization that is pushing for smoke-free laws in New Orleans and the state of Louisiana . The venue was really nice and Erin and I met a few other PR people from New Orleans. We also met one of the musicians. (Here's a picture of us at the event).

Another perk of being an intern is having coworkers who hear about different events or local hidden treasures. Luckily, Erin filled me in on this awesome free concert. On Friday, I went to Fat Harry's to see Kermit Ruffins and managed to get only 4 feet away. He was playing at a going away party for a local news anchor who's going to start working in New York at ABC. Kermit had a great set. I got a few blurry pictures on my phone and here's one of them to the left.

After Kermit, I managed to catch yet ANOTHER free concert at Tipitina's as part of their free Friday concert series in the summer. Last Friday featured the New Orleans Bingo Show. The band is not your typical New Orleans group and I definitely got to experience something out of the ordinary.

Our First Event

Our first event of the summer was held at the House of Blues. The International House of Blues Foundation hosted Schoolhouse Rock, featuring The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Percussion Ensemble Concert. Raquel and I wrote up a press release prior to the event and we were also responsible for documenting footage for the concert: Raquel on the Flip, myself on the camera. The band played percussion renditions of Pink Floyd and Radiohead. Being more of a country fan, I didn't know the majority of the songs. I left the singing to Raquel who knew almost every one!

Introducing: Erin

Hey there!
My name is Erin. The start of the summer marked a full year of my interning with Keating Magee. Though my roots are in New Jersey, I have traded in my Jersey for a different kind of "New"...New Orleans. This year I will be a senior at Tulane University and in the following year I will be finishing my double major in Marketing and Legal Studies in Business.

I have friends interning for a variety of companies in all sorts of fields, yet I am the only one experiencing an internship in New Orleans; all I can say is that my experiences have been far more colorful and exciting. Even FILING in New Orleans has a different feel -- okay that's a stretch. Filing sucks anywhere you go.

But through Keating Magee, I have been able to gain all types of hands-on experience. Whether it's creating our own marketing plan for the House of Blues or running around the city conducting interviews, interning in New Orleans- especially in the French Quarter- is a one-of-a-kind experience.

I never realized how important Facebook, Twitter and blogs were as communication tools, but now I do. That's when I decided it would be valuable to share our experiences with the rest of the world. Give everyone a taste of what it's really like to be a marketing intern in this unique city.