The beginning of the end... or is it?

Wow, I didn't realise it had been so long since I last blogged on here!

Well quickly to catch you guys up this is what has happened so far:

- I've been working hard over the summer on my dissertation research
- I started third year of university
- I got a first for my dissertation proposal
- I got a first for my presentation skills exam
- I've submitted two additional assignments in the last two weeks which I will hopefully get the results from soon.
- I have no more assignments in now for 2013!
- I'm currently just working on my dissertation literature review and methodology and also other assignments for additional modules.
-I've also been working on the Bucks First PR team and have helped to organise two conferences (Oct & Nov) at the university for PR, Ads and Marketing students.
- Also, I started my one day a week internship at the beginning of November at Eyes Wide Open, where I interned this summer just gone and summer last year too.

So firstly, I'll start with my internship. I love it! If I'm honest I'm actually a little disappointed every Tuesday morning when I have to go into university rather than back into the EWO office! It's great working on a variety of small projects during my one day a week there, getting to know what sorts of things the clients require, how the work is carried out and even sitting in on meetings and team discussions is all great experience and I feel is helping me to form a more rounded opinion of what my working life could potentially entail! Bottom line= best decision ever and I appreciate the opportunity so so much! My favourite thing at the minute is writing blogs; I love to write as I'm sure I've mentioned in previous posts but I feel like it's such a great thing I have, to be able to write and capture people's attention with my words.

University is also going well- albeit slightly scared I literally have 6-7 months left! With so much work to do I am questioning if 6-7 months is long enough, but feel because I acted upon a very wise person's advise to start my dissertation over the summer, I'm on top of things and it feels great! I won't name and shame that person but if they're reading this, they will know who they are- thank you! I'm on a first streak at the minute with two under my belt for this year- not wanting to jinx it but desperately hoping and trying to keep this trend up!

With regards to my dissertation without giving too much away at this moment, I'm basing it upon the High Street/ shopping destinations and how PR and Marketing can be utilised to help this sector of retail. It's exciting with so much material available it's difficult to know where to draw the line! But I'm confident I will get there! Just must keep on top of it all and that's my primary number one goal this year- plan, plan, plan!!!

Along with all the exciting university/ career news going on, it's my 21st birthday in less than a month now and also Christmas is fast approaching. With the submission of my last 2013 assignment I feel I can finally start to get in the festive mood and start buying Christmas presents!

Watch this space for more updates and news!

Remember- I value your opinion on topics I may blog about within the Marketing & Business sector so feel free to comment on the posts or tweet me @CFlitney. Alternatively you can also find me on LinkedIn!

It all seems to happen at once!

This week has certainly been a good first week back from Easter. Firstly we got two more assignment grades back for previously submitted work before Easter. One was a brand report that I did for Thomson holidays and I got  first for it. And then another was the traffic building magazine I have previously posted up onto here which our group for a 2:1 for, so it's good results all round. 

My university work group also found out on the 17th that the work we submitted to the international Edcom Ad Venture competition was short listed in the final 12 campaigns out of around 80 team applicants across Europe. Also we are the only UK team to be short listed!! 

Our team are so excited that we've come even this far and we can't wait for next Wednesday when the names of the final 3 campaigns will be announced! The final 3 get to present their idea to a panel of judges in Portugal next month!!

And if that isn't enough excitement for one week I just got an email saying that there is a potential two week placement for me over the summer at an advertising and digital marketing agency in Buckinghamshire. I'm super excited for this as I've only really done one placement at the same company and even though EWO are amazing and I love going back and working there, I'm excited for something different; different work, different environment, different clients. It just adds to my CV and the wider the range of experiences I have, the better! I'm still on my mission to attend multiple 1-2 week work placements this summer in order to really build up my CV before my final year!

Also next Wednesday our university group are visiting Arena Media to be fully briefed on our last assignment; a live brief! From research they have such a wide variety of clients- but we've been assured it's not Dominos :) I'm secretly hoping it's either haven or a retail store. I'm in the summer mood as it's only 11 weeks until I go on holiday (and did all my shopping for it yesterday). However, we shall see, being able to work on any live brief and have the chance to impress an agency is an amazing opportunity regardless!

The pace of everything university related is really cranking up right now, but it's so exciting and I'm loving it! My aim is to push through these last few weeks left, get these assignments done, get my exam done, organise work placements and enjoy everything else that is going on!

Possibly the best campaign I've seen in a long time!

It's been out a while now and I've heard a lot of people talking about it but I think the new 2013 Race for Life television advertisement is amazing! It so stands out from the crowd- rather than tugging on the heart strings it motivates you to do something. Cancer is such a widespread illness today that everyone knows someone who has had cancer affect their lives in one way or another. This advert reaches out to everyone and makes you want to be a part of a bigger, more powerful force against something that causes so much devastation. I remember the first time I saw the TV ad I thought it was utterly brilliant! It's actually made me think about running a local 5K Race for Life with some friends this summer to show I support the campaign and the cause completely- and if you knew me, you'd know I'm not a particularly keen runner either!

Careers Fair at BNU

Today was the careers fair at Bucks New University and our digital module lecturer gave us the opportunity to go down there and have a look and ask potential employers about future options or to also possibly gain primary research for any of our assignment projects.

Fortunately, John Lewis had a stall and myself and another member of my group interviewed them about their marketing for our digital module and also found out about careers in marketing for John Lewis. Unfortunately they don't have a graduate programme but they do offer work experience to anyone who applies through head office. Although currently I'm not too sure about working on the marketing for a retail store, I think any experience in any sector right now is valuable to put on my CV and crucial in getting a career after or even just before graduation.

Another stall that particularly caught my attention was Thorpe Park/ Merlin Entertainment. I'd never considered working for a company such as this, I'd always thought of agencies but then again, why not work there? They have to be as creative as possible in order to renew people's enthusiasm to come back to the park every spring/summer and this implies they would be a fun brand to work for. I think this would be an amazing opportunity but unfortunately rather than offer work experience they offer a graduate scheme. I think after more research into it I would definitely consider applying for it, such a shame I'm not graduating this year, but the time will pass quickly enough I'm sure!

So all in all a very productive day and once again an event to help get me thinking about my future and figure out what I really want to do as graduation approaches.

Brilliant!

I just thought I'd share this with you quickly as it's just caught my eye on the evening news... Film director Quentin Tarantino loses his temper during an interview with Channel 4 on his new film Django Unchained.

MSN News story: Quentin Tarantino loses temper
Youtube clip: Quentin Tarantino loses temper


...PR nightmare?!

2013 at University!

It's the second day back and we've been given time to work on our personal website (not forgetting this forms part of our assignment); this is good news as my last post was a while ago. More good news also is that my group got 72% (1st) for the Ad Venture assignment I mentioned in a previous post! So far that's a 1st, 2:1 and 2:2 for the coursework I've handed in, just awaiting the last grade now.

We've also been set new assignments now for each module and this hits home that we're already half way through this course and will be going into work very soon! Scary but worth it...

Happy Holidays!

Happy Christmas Everyone and a Happy New Year!

Well it's been a stressful first term but it's been worth it as mentioned in my previous post. Having a bit of time off has allowed me to reflect on things a bit since starting my second year of university. It's reminded me that nothing is more important than family but if I really want this degree and career, I'm going to have to work extremely hard for it.

2012 has been a turning point for me- it's made me realise my potential at this course and career choice, I've also learnt a lot about myself. I turned 20 on Christmas eve this year and that's also been a bit of a shock to my system and my real Gen Y side of me is coming out! Life isn't forever so make of it what you will and don't let anyone or anything stand in your way!

Oh... and my new years resolutions for 2013:
* Yes- I'm jumping on the "losing weight band wagon"- No big surprise there!
* Settle for nothing less than perfect in my coursework and exams, absolutely pull out all the stops these last 18 months of my course
* And finally, grab opportunities with both hands and make a real good go of things! (This applies to my course and life in general). But of course live by the motto if it doesn't work out it wasn't meant to be because at the end of the day- we're human. And I think a lot of people forget that about themselves and others...

So watch this space for a jam packed year full of fun, exciting experiences and opportunities and updates!!

Oh and being such a good marketing student that I am- it meant that I won the trivia game after Christmas dinner (for once and much to my Dad's dismay!). Have fun everyone!!