Is it truly over???

So I graduated today and have been thrown head first into the "real world." Great fun... right? Oh well, at least I could always fall back on grad school at some point. I am really happy to be out of that though and currently am looking for a job. I do have a few small prospects that have opened up so we will see what happens with that. 

On a slightly unrelated note, the year is ending and we have had a total of three different ad campaigns from the behemoth Microsoft. I have always heard that they do not listen to their ad agencies often and I feel that this shows that off very well. We started off with the ever-so-clever Seinfeld and Gates super duo. The ads weren't bad but what were they selling? That was never very apparent in the ads. I guess you can say that Microsoft does not need to actually sell anything in their ads, just keep their name in the spotlight, but why did they switch to the third ad I will talk about???

Second off they went to the "I'm a PC" campaign that was made on a Mac. Enough said... OK maybe not. This campaign shows that even a super-company like Microsoft is vulnerable. The PC market in Microsoft's bread and and butter because we as a society (me included) have not tried a Linux based platform. We have options. Apple is just getting better at being customer friendly while Microsoft is going the way of the giants and telling people what they should want. When this happens, David comes along and slays that giant. Happens all the time, look at the Big Three. They really are not so big anymore.

Third campaign and (up til now) is the "Mojave Experiment" campaign. OK Microsoft has finally started to realize that they put a product out there that does not seem to differentiate itself enough from its ancestor. The company believes it is different but the ever important consumer sees no difference. S here comes the "trial" of a "new" operating system. Microsoft then displays top-of-the-line computers with the best-of-the-best equipment on them to display the top Vista system and show everyone what can be done with it. Big problem here is how many people can afford an operating system at a price of over $300 and the computer that will efficiently run that power hog. Honestly I am sure that everything that Vista's Ultimate package does is great but most computers will come loaded with the basic Home version. Mine did and guess what... There is NOTHING mind blowing about Vista. 

I am not trying to complain or pretend that I am a techie. For the average person, Vista is not an improvement over XP and really it takes a little time to get used to. The problem most people are running into is that the cost of learning the new features and the extreme usage of memory do not outweigh the benefits that the basic Vista user receives. That makes for a poor value and the reason consumers are so turned off by Vista.

Sorry, I guess I may have gone over board on that one but business is that simple. On a very related note I do enjoy the ease of use that the new Office suite provides. It as well took some getting used to but I do actually enjoy the setup of it all. I guess Microsoft can still do some things right. Too bad they cannot stick with one coherent ad campaign for more than a couple of months!

It's like a virus!

So I have been enjoying reading about Guerrilla Marketing as of late for a number of reasons. It is a very effective tactic in a campaign. The cost of a Guerrilla campaign can also be minimal when compared to the same reach that a television or radio campaign would be. So why does a stunt like the one that happened in Times Square work? After all we have all seen the pictures of the many neon lights and flashing signs that pack the square with advertisements selling anything and everything. Well really it is because of those same lights and signs that stunts like these work.

The biggest aspect of Guerrilla Marketing is developing a shock value. In this case, what was some guy doing carving pumpkins in Times Square and how many pumpkins did he have sitting next to him? Well the typical New Yorker that works around Times Square is now accustomed to seeing neon telling him what he should buy. When there is someone taking up precious sidewalk space with produce and the fact that he is putting smiles on those squash just makes it even more out of place.

In advertising now there are so many distractions that a marketer needs to find ways around all the mess. This calls for a much more creative campaign. What is going to pop out and call attention to your product or service? Well that is the big question. By developing and implementing a good guerrilla campaign, the buzz that is generated is better than any television spot produced. Getting people talking about an ad around the water cooler as if it was the newest episode of "24" is quite a feat (unless you work on Madison Ave).

Of course you have the failed campaigns like the one for Adult Swim a few years back, but that is the risk you run with any campaign.

Tough Market!

So the job market currently leaves a lot to be desired. Granted I changed what is was I wanted to do for a living. It is difficult to actually get call backs now. I have received emails from different companies saying there has been more responses to a job posting than they thought so the process is taking longer. A sign of the times? Probably. So what is a college grad to do? Well this is what I have been doing.

1. Linkedin.com - Basically a Facebook for the professionals. When I first joined I was expecting something completely different. I quit using it for quite sometime but recently I have been trying to use it more for now as I have realized the power. The job search is a great tool but also being able to network with people with similar interests. Great way to find jobs you may not have thought about.

2. Personal network - So I do not have a very large network currently. It has been tough to try to get those I know or have done business with to keep an eye out for a job. The thing is, the more people you have to be watching the market, the better chance you will actually find something. I am pretty amazing (or so I think) but I am cannot be in every place at once. This way the network of my networks are also working for me. 

3. Job search engines - The W.P. Carey School of Business partners with NACELink to find jobs all over the country. Most of them are for more "experienced" professionals and do not want to give a college grad "with no experience" (although I have done more than most of my peers at school) the chance. I guess the saying, "Keep on Truckin'" works for this as well. Just cannot give up.

So these are just 3 different options. I invite you to share your experiences (Ha ha I am talking as if someone actually reads this!) on how your job hunt is going. Then go to the web and find yourself a job. Check out this BusinessWeek article for more ideas! Or this one for ideas on what NOT to do.