My Favorite Campaign

After four years of studying public relations, I have researched my fair share of communications campaigns. My favorite one, though, I stumbled upon while watching TV one night. The commercial is about a young girl and a series of media images designed to create insecurities. The commercial closes by saying, "Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does" followed by a call to action to visit Dove's self-esteem programs on their website. There have only been a handful of commercials that have made me stop and think. In my opinion, the goal of any communications campaign is not only to show your client in the most appealing light but also better our society as a whole. Dove's Real Beauty Campaign was groundbreaking at the time it aired. The campaign was not limited to that particular commercial. The fantastic team at Edelman also created many other innovative ads that created awareness for the significant issue all people have with their self-worth and image. Also, Dove created a fund to partner with multiple organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts, and Girls Inc. to form activities with discussions about online bullying and photography projects capturing the beauty girls see in the world around them. This campaign struck me not only as a consumer but as a female, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. This very reason is why I want to be in the communications field. My goal one day is to take something so simple as a body wash and translate that brand to stand for something good and powerful that will bring value to not only the client but also the consumer. For more information about how to get involved with Dove's self-esteem project, visit their website. 

Why I Love Being a Big Fish in a Small Pond

 I grew up going to a small school in a small city where everyone knows everybody. There was rarely a time our family grocery trips were not extended 30 minutes because my mom ran into someone she knew in the produce aisle, the checkout line and the parking lot. Having the same classmates from kindergarten to my senior year of high school created a bond between us. We basically grew up together. Savannah was and is my comfort zone. With every single one of my friends going to in-state schools, why not follow them? Strangely enough, I felt a need to branch out. The next fall I moved to Tuscaloosa and only knew one other person. It was definitely a culture shock at the beginning but after a few awkward times of introducing myself, I began to make friends and completely forgot about home. People warned me that going from a high school with 400 students to a university with 38,563 would be overwhelming but I found an odd comfort of not knowing every person I saw at every moment. My trips to the store were half as long as the ones back home. My favorite part is that I have been constantly meeting new people from all different backgrounds since my parents dropped me off my freshman year. Moving to New York this summer was another jump to a big pond that I did not know what to expect. Luckily I found myself once again comforted by all the strangers and excited to learn from other people that were not exactly like me. From going to the University of Alabama and interning in New York, I realized that the small fish in a big pond is the life for me. Let’s hope after a few years I grow like one of those state fair goldfishes and make a name for myself while still enjoying the company of millions of strangers every day. 

What New York Taught a Small Town Girl

To be completely honest, I am still in shock I can say that I spent the summer before my senior year working in New York. Being able to have that experience not only taught me a lot about the real world but also about life in general. My mom and I have taken a trip to New York almost annually since I was in the 2nd grade. I found that there are two types of people: people who absolutely can not stand the city and the others who have fallen in love with New York so deeply that they even admire the grungy yet iconic charm it has to offer. Being the later, I always dreamt about living there but knew it was just a figment of my crazy imagination. During my Junior year at Alabama, at the beginning of the internship season, I asked myself “Why the heck not?” and decided to reach far for this dream of mine. Now with this being said, it did not come easy. I spent countless hours in my favorite teacher's office, tweaking my margins and wording on my resume, trying to network as effectively as possible on LinkedIn and researching companies and their clients. Having gone through multiple interviews with zero follow-ups, my patience was wearing thin. Fortunately, I landed an interview with the fabulous fashion and jewelry PR firm IHPR. After the interview I felt okay but definitely not sure what was going to come out of it. I will never forget getting the call on December 9th while I was studying for my statistics final. I  kept it (somewhat) cool and collected on the phone with IHPR. Immediately after happy tears came swelling into my eyes while I gushed with joy telling my mom I got the gig. I learned a million important things this past summer in New York but the greatest lesson was that you are only limited to what you think you can achieve. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” 

Satchel - Savannah’s Personalized Purse helped Me continue the era of the blue purse

We all have that one purse that carries sentimental value. Mine is the blue fringe cross-body purse my mother got me on her trip to Paris. At first, I faked a smile and thanked her for the quirky souvenir, but a few months later I pulled it out of the dark closet and immediately it became my everyday purse. I would rarely be seen without it!  

Fast forward five years, “my purse” is showing all kinds of wear and tear - almost looks like any toddler’s favorite blanket - worn and torn and well loved….but not really fit anymore for public consumption.For month I trolled websites to try and find a similar purse but no luck. Fortunately, my mom understood my purse passion and went immediately to Satchel, Savannah’s premier handbag and leather goods designer,where they were able to take one look at my purse and say with ease, “No problem, we can make you a new version of your favorite purse.” In three weeks, Satchel had found the exact color of blue leather needed, had designed the purse dimensions and even added a more efficient zipper and made the purse just a bit larger so I could put a few more items in my bag and it wouldn’t be bulging! I was beside myself when my mom gave me the exact replica of my purse for Christmas. To have such a one of a kind gift handcrafted locally reminded me why we love items designed and created locally. We can literally see the passion and skill the maker had when they made the purse.

I have told many friends about my personally made purse from Satchel, but they have beautiful standard pieces in their collection available online, at their boutique in historic Savannah and at specialty boutiques. Got to satchel.com to learn more about this great brand.