A Day in LA

This past weekend a couple of friends and I drove out to Napa Valley to spend some time enjoying California's wine country. There are actually many wine producing areas of California; Santa Barbara, a mere two hour drive from Los Angeles, is actually filled with vineyards. The critically-acclaimed movie "Sideways" was filmed there.

We got up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, drove six hours to Napa and checked out a few wineries. We went to Chimney Rock, Artessa and Robert Mondavi, my favorite of the three being Artessa. As a vineyard dedicated to chardonnays and sparkling wines, Artessa is on a hill in order to catch the breeze and the winery itself is conveniently built into the same hill. The building is just spectacular with beautiful windows, fountains, and an overall compelling architectural design. Chimney Rock offered the best tastings with 90+ point (rated) wines, but Artessa was just a beautiful site.

That evening we drove around through the little boroughs of Napa and were met with chic yet cutesy restaurants, novelty shops and fun fall decorations. Between the grape leaves changing colors and a huge pumpkin patch, Napa looked the part of Autumn. We stopped by recommendation at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, an upscale burger stand with a couple of locations in the Napa region and one in San Francisco. The food was delicious, I enjoyed a yummy veggie burger, one of their famous "Black and White" shakes, and some garlic fries. This place has the BEST ever sweet potato fries- I made the sad choice of ordering the garlic fries, definitely not as good as the sweet potato and certainly far from a crowd pleaser in the breath department even hours after the meal. Picnic tables outside in a grassy lot provided the "for here" seating.

On Saturday we took the famous Napa Valley Wine Train which takes passengers along the vineyards on Hwy 29 to see it all while enjoying a meal. The gold and red grape plants were beautiful and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Our group of three definitely represented the under 28 age segment. Napa isn't the most popular college get away spot, but it was something that I had really been looking forward to doing. I recommend it completely, although the best way to go about it is probably to join a San Francisco trip with the Napa trip as they are only 45 minutes away from each other.

This week has just been nonstop! If it's not one thing, it is certainly another at an advertising agency. We have a big visitor coming in this upcoming week, which meant that today we had to completely clean the agency from top to bottom. Typically the corridors are lined with presentation boards, but we realized how spacious the passageways could be today after we had to move all of these massive boards into whatever nook or cranny we could find away from the main thoroughfare. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times- my biceps are going to be looking mighty fine by the end of this semester.

What is really terrific after the first couple of months at an internship, is that they begin to trust you with some very cool projects. I've had an opportunity to branch out a bit to dabble in some other brands because there is work to do in those that no one has time to do. Of course my supervisors are always very involved,  but they need us to compile images and data on our own. At the same time, I still retain my responsibilities to Pedigree and have double the work load. It is great, though, because I love running around like crazy...most of the time.

Overall, it was a very solid week of classes and working. We had a really neat presentation at our intern breakfast from an account executive who is originally from Hawaii. She was so sweet and has put in a lot of time at TBWA\Chiat\Day. Everyone looks so young that it is hard to imagine that anyone has been here at the agency for over three years!

I just got back from a weekend in Las Vegas which was extremely interesting! I had been planning to go for quite some time with friends from Texas and finally the weekend came which, by chance, coincided with Fall Break from classes up at the Ithaca College campus in NY. I was talking with my supervisors at my internship about my upcoming trip and I was surprised to find that many Los Angeles residents make frequent trips to Las Vegas due to the close proximity. It seems that everyone has been to Las Vegas around here and has a suggestion or two, or three, of their favorite nightspots or activities. My fellow intern actually wrote out a list for me of things to while I was there. The drive is about four and a half hours, which is close but not that close.

We stayed at Ballys and spent the majority of our time walking around the strip, exploring the different hotels and just taking it all in. Basically, Vegas is an adult amusement park - it is totally sensory overload. I would definitely recommend a trip there for anyone because it really is quite an experience. It is certainly the land of excess- on one street you find the finest stores, the biggest most ornate buildings dedicated to gambling and just being marvels in their own right, colorful shows that take the viewer to different places, all-you-can-eat buffets with rich foods....the whole thing is just a spectacle.

Even though Las Vegas might not 100% be my cup of tea, it was a ton of fun. We took in shows and checked out what the strip had to offer as far as food and drinks. One thing that totally blew my mind was how many hotels are incorporating museum exhibits like the famous "Bodies" exhibit and a traveling Titanic artifacts exhibit. It's a great idea, just totally unexpected for a city that certainly isn't known for educationally-oriented attractions. Go figure!

Anyone who spends a semester in LA should check out this city that is a little piece of American history and cultural flavor!

Last night ICLA returned to the regular class schedule after the Jewish holidays and we met for Government and Media class. On my way home after a particularly long lecture, I was begged by a friend who interns at The Concord Music Group, to go see a concert at The Roxy on Sunset Blvd. He had received the tickets to see a group he is currently working on a promotional project for, The Gabe Dixon Band, just that afternoon and had been absolutely scrambling to try to find someone to go at the last minute. It had already been a long day with class and work and I was extremely tired, but knowing that he really needed to go I went ahead and tagged along.

They were so awesome! The band is based out of Nashville and has a terrific feel - they label themselves "alternative/pop/rock" but they have a very folksy meets bluesy sound (I think it is obvious why I am not in the music industry). Gabe Dixon is an incredible songwriter and pianist who apparently did a few Paul McCartney shows as the keyboardist. The band is very environmentally conscious, using absolutely as few materials as possible for their album that is sans jewel case and basically just a sleeve. 

The Roxy is a very famous venue on Sunset and legends such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Emmylou Harris have performed there. It was a cool opportunity to see a terrific band and to experience a legendary venue! Some students have great music-related internships where they get loads of CDs and concert perks in addition to valuable hands-on experience. Anyone interested in pursuing a career in promotions in the music industry should definitely consider the LA Program!

I can hardly believe that the middle of the semester is here! Each student that participates in the ICLA program fills out an internship log on their internship experience. At the half-way mark, the internship advisors Steve Tropiano and Steve Ginsberg collect the logs in their half completed state to read them over, check your progress and to see what kind of an experience you are having. After the advisors check over the logs, students schedule appointments to come and chat with their advisor about any problems or concerns- basically is just an opportunity to have some face time with your advisor.

In the internship log, each week there are usually a couple of questions or prompts regarding the internship (e.x. "What are your strengths at your internship?"). There is also a calendar for the hours spent at the internship to be logged. Each week is numbered and I was so surprised to see that this was my eighth week of my internship.

This week at TBWA\Chiat day we have been trying to tie up loose ends on Dogs Rule Day (DRD) and just running around like crazy (which I've realized is so completely the norm around here). It has been so much fun to look at videos and photos of people appreciating their dogs on DRD!

This week has been absolute craziness. Today was the first International Dogs Rule Day started by Pedigree and we had a terrific picnic/barbecue to commemorate the day! Everyone form the agency got together to eat, play with their dogs and enjoy some wonderful fall weather. The table cloths were yellow and black (Pedigree colors) and there were balloons, dog treats and dog toys on every table. With bowls of water on the ground for the dogs and plenty of other doggie playmates, our canine friends really enjoyed the party planned especially for them.

All week long we have been preparing for this day; my fellow intern, Maggie, and I ran around the greater Los Angeles area talking to people in dog parks, going to doggie boutiques, buying party supplies, and distributing fliers and posters. It was great to be out of the office for a few days, but at the same time it was so exhausting! I'll still be working on the event after this weekend, trying to compile the footage of community members gushing about their dogs and the picnic.

There's Grandparent's Day, Valentine's Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, and the list just goes on... why shouldn't there be a day when we celebrate man's best friend? Pedigree especially wants to use this day to remember the dogs in shelters, and that we should be doing all that we can to rescue dogs and find good homes for them. Dogs truly enrich our lives and Dogs Rule Day is an opportunity to recognize that.

I have had a blast working on this assignment. Chiat\Day really believes in the message of Pedigree and it shows every day with all of the dogs running around the agency and then on days like today when we have a tremendous showing of dog lovers!

Interning at Chiat\Day is the best ever. End of story. They have the coolest people, the coolest projects and the coolest place.

My roommate Abby had been dying to go see "Eagle Eye" with Shia LeBeouf, so a group of IC students got together to make it happen. We drove to downtown Burbank which is about five minutes from the Oakwood apartments. We purchased our movie tickets with reduced price tickets we ordered from the ICLA program, so a regularly priced $10 movie only cost us $5. I had really never explored downtown Burbank until today and it is pretty happenin'- they have a nice mall, several cute shops and some great restaurants.

Jon and the RAs had planned an Oktoberfest Cookout at 4 p.m., so as soon as we finished up the movie we headed over for another great opportunity for some free food and to check in with fellow ICLAers. The menu was bratwurst, some terrific cabbage and apple salad (homemade by Jon), potato salad, apple pastries and sparkling apple cider! Even though many of the ICLA crew were on vacations or already had plans, there was a good turn out and I know the food was a big hit! These cookouts that Jon and the RAs plan are much much better than the average BBQ, there is always cold sodas, tasty desserts and tons of great food.

One of the major differences between Los Angeles, CA and Ithaca, NY is the weather. While the leaves are changing and the weather is cooling down to the low 50s in NY, Southern California is still sunny with 80 degree temperatures outside. The majority of the students from IC are from the Northeast and are used to distinct seasons, so for many this is an extremely strange experience to effectively not have a Fall! 

However, the weather is changing ever so slightly here; it is just a tad cooler in the evenings and there are a few gray days thrown in the mix. Today was one such gray day, with rain and absolutely no sun. Even though technically the first day of Autumn was September 22, it definitely felt like the true changing of the seasons occurred today. The subtle change in temperature is more like what I am used to experiencing in Texas, so my good friend from San Antonio, who is here with the University of Texas program, and I celebrated what was in our minds the beginning of Autumn.

We baked, watched a football game and hung around all day just catching each other up on how our internships and classes are going. It was a great way to relax after a crazy week at work.  The last two days of the week at my internship I spent running around to pick up food for meetings and also compiling information about some initiatives. I have some big projects coming up next week and I am excited to be resting up before they get started!

One of the "givens" of working at an advertising agency is moving a million big presentation boards. These boards are about 8 feet tall, made of foam and around one inch thick. Anything having to do with anything goes on these boards; competitive analysis, creative work, consumer segment info and branding briefs are among the content considered board worthy. PowerPoint is just not an option! It needs to be tactile and look real; PowerPoint is neither of those things. Clients spend so much money on advertising, they deserve and expect an engaging presentation that shows something finished.  Furthermore, I have come to realize that advertising people just work better off of this format. Thus, for a brainstorming session, a client meeting, an account meeting, or basically any little meeting, we have to haul these massive boards to one of several conference rooms. These seemingly conveniently located conference rooms become instantly inconvenient when the presentation boards get involved. My particular favorites are "Red Planet," located all the way at the end of the building, and "The Pantry," which requires one to go up a flight of stairs and across a catwalk with boards in hand.  I used to only be able to carry one board at a time, but now I can carry two! By the end of my internship my goal is to be able to heft 3! I didn't realize that toned arms came with an agency internship!

My internship has been going great- no complaints! It has been extremely busy and I have continued to do research and play a support role in meetings by assisting with set-up, break down, and typing up notes from the meeting brainstorming sessions. Today we had a great "Intern Breakfast" that focused on the in-depth consumer segmentation and targeting that must be done in order to make a campaign successful. If we don't know the market, then how can we know what they want? If we don't know what they want, how can we sell them anything? Bingo.