CONFERENCE RECAPS

I had the opportunity to attend the Linkedin Education Connect and it was an awesome experience to say the least. With a focus on reaching prospective students and alumni, I was able to not only gain insights on how the world of academia is able to do so, but also insights into what employers are looking for from these student who would one day graduate. My favorite speaker from the day was Suzy Welch. She is a noted journalist, tv commentator, author and speaker. I admired her independence and her outstanding resume. However, what was most valuable to me was the knowledge she shared. She went over five lessons to unlearn once you graduate college.  Assignments in school are direct. There is a specific ask and students deliver on that ask. Whereas in work, the ask is vague and ambiguous. It involves deep thinking and interpretation to even understand what has to be done and how to do it.   School has reset buttons because there are new semesters and new profes...

I had the opportunity to tune into this webinar recently and it was helpful to say the least. In my role at the time, it was imperative to understand social media and the impact it has on acquiring prospective students to colleges and universities so this webinar was beyond useful. Some of the key takeaways I was able to gain were as follows: Content first strategy  Universities are shifting to a content first strategy which essentially means that the focus is predominantly on the type of content and not on how much is created. There had long been this idea that there needed to be a consistent flow of posts on all social media platforms which put a strain on quality. Now, it is imperative to produce high caliber content. Followers engage more when the content is of quality. Response Time It is so important to respond in a timely manner to those asking questions or simply engage with a college platform. If a prospective student reaches out via a social platform and are lef...

On October 23, I had the opportunity to listen to five top CEO's what they think about the future of influencer marketing.  A lot of topics were covered, from how ROI changes from market to market. When thinking about reaching to younger audience it's important to think about the platform that they are using, we know that at NBA TV still works, highlights are most important. One of them mentioned that 64 percent of millennials are on Instagram, Its about thinking about the ecosystem, where and how your target is using its platforms. One of the main topic discussed was that influencer factor, almost all agreed that influencers play a vital role for brands. "You have to be careful when choosing the influencer cause it's your brand against another person that’s not on your payroll. So you got to be really, really careful about that". Global brands absolutely need these influences. Brands  should consider themselves as publishers. So you need content and...

In catching up on my blog posts on the last day to submit, and also before my Graduation, I'm reflecting on the past two years and everything I have learned and become curious about. The two words NRT always mentions: "Stay Curious." What does that mean to me? Stay curious in any industry that you're a part of. I'm a rare breed in this program who works in the interior design field -- a field that is considered too decorative. But the field embodies many other things that I've come to learn by staying curious. Branding exists in every product, including the materials our homes are built with, the chairs we sit on, and the lighting that changes our moods. In thinking about branding in interior design and architecture, I attended the first Innovation Conference for design, hosted by Interior Design Magazine at the Neue House in NYC. It aimed to explore cutting-edge technology, breakthrough ideas, and insights that will drive the interior design into the n...

Creating customer experience by closing the gap I have had the opportunity to attend the Adweek Webinar on Closing the customer gap-  Why Brands Still Have Work To Do To Engage Customers” on May 19, 2019 The speakers of the webinar include Lynne Capozzi Chief Marketing Officer Acquia and Regina Corso, President & Founder Regina Corso Consulting . Both the renowned speakers highlighted about creating a customer experience and how brands can do it better. To help brands clearly navigate today’s customer experience landscape, Acquia commissioned a global survey of more than 5,000 consumers and 500 marketers to understand the disconnects between these audiences when it comes to Customer experience. Today, Acquia provides the world’s most ambitious brands with technology that allows them to embrace innovation and create customer moments that matter. In my blog, I will highlight the gap areas while engaging with customers and what can be done to overcome it. Today...

Race, Myth, Art & Justice Exhibition at CCCADI Where I come from art is a tool for justice and is mostly, if not always, political. As an Afro-Latina designer the topics and medias that I choose are part of my expression and identity. Who I am, my story and my peoples story are always trying to make room in the mainstream world. As I grew up, I understood that art was a lot deeper than just the crafts they would make us do in school, it encompasses whole worlds of cultural expression that is not seen. In my search to find more artist and thought leaders that felt this way, I discovered The Art of Justice Conference. This past month I was able to attend its 9 th session with the community. This event panelist were, Arlene Dávila (A Professor of Anthropology and American Studies) Nitasha Dhillion & Marz Saffore (Members of Decolonize This Place) Shellyne Rodriguez (Community Organizer and Visual Artist) Yamin Ramirez and Debbie Quinoes...

Knowing that Ad week is one of the largest gatherings of some of the most innovative minds in main stream media and advertising, I was definitely excited for my first time attending. Of course, it did not disappoint. Pop-Ups, thought leaders, swag, illuminating conversations and endless passion, was found at every point of that week and I overwhelmed. One of the many conferences that I had attended was a Brand Marketing conversation with Will Smith. Besides the fact that I am a huge fan, he has brilliantly been able to reinvent himself and remain on the current pulse of culture. Here he shares some of his recent lessons in self-branding and personally, I thought his conversation was important because it spoke about how a person’s purpose and story can expand and support each other throughout time. I “When storytelling, lean in...how is inspiring?” Mr. Smith mentioned in his lifetime that the most successful work has been the ones with a great story. Specifically, a s...

Teshelle Bumbry Black Women Talk Tech Conference So, throughout my time at BIC, I have had the opportunity to work a few pretty cool events, but the Black Women Talk Tech Conference DEFINITELY took the cake. The magic happened during Feb 27th - Mar 1 (although I only attended the last two days) was produced by Lauren Washington, CEO KeepUp, a cloud-based platform that uses social listening to help businesses create real-time, hyper-personalized ads, Esosa Ighodaro, president of COSIGN, a platform that allows users to earn money by turning their photos into digital storefronts; and Regina Gwynn, co-founder and CEO of TresseNoire Beauty, the leading on-location beauty booking app designed for women of color.  The first woman that I heard speak was Julia Collins, co-founder of Zume Pizza, technology-enabled food company whose mission is to make healthy food fast and accessible to every single person on earth. I specifically remember her talking about the...

Teshelle Bumbry Here Are All The Black People Conference/Job Fair “Here Are The Black People” was something that I had been wanting to attend since I first learned about it through the BIC program because I thought it would be an awesome way to make great connections with Black industry professionals who I could relate to and build authentic, genuine relationships with. So, when I heard that the 2018 conference was approaching, I was ecstatic! I did a little research and saw all of the amazing agencies that were going to be in attendance and noticed that none other than Mr. Derek “Fonzworth” Bentley would be hosting and thankfully, I arrived just in time to hear him discuss his book, his journey in the music industry and how he continued to flourish. He started out by talking about the three things that helped him survive in NYC, as a man from the South: Confidence, Style and Manners, all of these things not only helped him survive, but helped him stand out against his compe...

It was an interesting afternoon last April 25 th , 2019 at the headquarters of the Advertising Research Foundation in New York City. Advertising professionals once again gathered for an interesting conference entitled “TV killed the Radio Star, But Will Anything Kill Upfronts?”, a discussion which is part of the ARF’s Salon Series. The conversation centered on upfronts and newfronts and how the viewing trends and behaviors have evolved. Carol Hinnant, Executive Vice President for National Television Sales at comScore, served as the moderator of the discussion. She started the program by emphasizing how the media landscape has been changing. “Media is, nowadays, more dynamic, more cross platform; consumers can engage whenever, where ever, however they want, ” she said in her opening statement. She then highlighted the fact that viewing on digital media has tripled in the last few years. Even when this is happening, linear television is said to still be thriving in...