Camp?

I spent today at something called "Brand Camp," sponsored by Jack Morton's Boston Office. Jack Morton isn't exactly an ad agency in the traditional sense; it's a Brand Experience Agency and Brand Camp is their way of spreading their agency ideals to recent grads. While I'm just out of grad school, it has been over 13 years since I finished undergrad... which placed me at about 13 years older than the average Brand Camper. But let me tell you- it was an incredible day. I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about where my career is heading. I don't really fit in within the world of higher education (although there is a chance that could be moving in a positive direction for me right now), I don't necessarily see myself in a traditional ad agency setting either. I have met with several people related to client-side marketing, and enjoyed it, but it wasn't until today that I discovered that a company exists that could tie together so many of my interests and skills. We talked today about how consumers experience a brand from so many touch points, and in order to really impact a consumer's experience, there needs to be buy in at every level, including employees. And there it was - my training experience at Disney, my HR experience, my Communications experience, my geeky love for data & analytics and my Advertising degree all rolled up into one. How cool is that? I never really realized that this sort of thing exists... but man, I felt a sense of excitement I haven't had in a LONG time. I love this kind of stuff!

One of my favorite things about today was that there was a great sell on the Liberal Arts degree. Jack Morton's managing director talked about his History degree, and how they love that there is a diversity of backgrounds within their agency. After YEARS of telling people that an undergraduate major is not important, as long as you learn to write well and think well... it was simply gratifying.

So we'll see what happens after today, but it was great to spend 8 hours thinking about things in a different way, and reminding myself that maybe a place (outside of Walt Disney World) where I feel real passion for the work does exist.