Unlike many of them, I have not spent my years here majoring in, studying, or even being exposed to (for the most part), the world of advertising, public relations, and graphic design.

Instead, my past seven semesters at WKU have been filled with writing. As a News/Editorial major, I have had one or two classes where we dabbled in Photoshop and Illustrator and other design programs, but the focus has been on interviewing, writing, and research skills.

I know that in many ways, these worlds overlap. But over the past few months as I have begun to decide that I want to pursue a career in graphic design, these differences in education have begun to scare me. I’ve wondered, is it too late for me learn what I need to know about design programs and styles, working with clients, job searches, and everything else involved with entering the advertising world? But it’s never too late, and Imagewest has given me the opportunity to figure this out.

I’ve only been at the agency for two weeks, but my knowledge has already gone far beyond what I expected.

On my second day on the job, I experienced my first client meeting. Here were real clients, people who outside of the office could squash me in a second, asking for my help and my advice for their problems.

On my fourth day, I got my first assignment. All of a sudden I am looking through colors, fonts, designs, buried deep in a book of Pantones, trying to make decisions for an organization that very likely will experience the consequences of my choices for a long time. That’s a lot of responsibility. But it’s also very exciting.

These past two weeks have been a fast introduction into a lot of new things, but I couldn’t be looking forward to the rest of the semester more. It’s a rare thing to get such great, real experience while being surrounded by some of the coolest kids on campus. Who cares what major we come from? We’re all working toward the same goal of learning as much as we can from each other and from the agency while we are here. It’s going to be a blast.

One thing this ninja has already enjoyed is the team building exercises we completed during boot camp week. As any student who has ever worked with a group knows, the chemistry between your team members can make or break the experience and determine the success or failure of your project. It is one thing to meet and talk with your team members, but it is another to observe how you all work together. The team building exercises we went through were designed to test our verbal and nonverbal communication abilities, as well as our willingness to help each other out. As we worked through the exercises, it became clear that we have a solid team filled with caring and devoted individuals who also know how to have a good time! What was most amazing was how developed and efficient our communication skills were. We all worked together in innovative ways to get the job done—the main goal of any good team. A major contributing factor to our success involves trusting the competency of fellow team members. You must trust that your team members will do the job well, and they must trust that you will do the same.

It is typical of Imagewest to be filled with talented students semester after semester and this one will be no different. The team building exercises were fun and a good way to break the ice, but they were also incredibly telling of the kind of team we have this semester. We have already had a few client meetings and are more than ready to hit the ground running. Ninja powers activate!

Working at Imagewest for not only one semester but TWO has probably been one of the best decisions I have ever made.  The amount of focus and passion I have had this time around tops tenfold of what I was doing before.  I have pushed and trained myself to deal with certain challenges that the agency has prepared me for the real world.  Working specifically for the agency and on in-house projects takes a special kind of care, awareness, and understanding; that I am still striving to perfect. Between Imagewest, and life, this semester has been stressful.  How far do you push yourself? When is enough ENOUGH?!  How can I be perfect?  For a long time I have had an extremely critical eye on movies and if you know me you’ll understand.  When I began working at Imagewest my eye turned onto myself and I began to see the things I didn’t like about my work or how I did my work, much in the same way I saw most movies.  With that new perspective that continues everyday a new conflict begins, the conflict with me.  At first this was scary, depressing and it even gave me doubt about the career I have chosen.  Because when you take on a task like Imagewest you’re taking on a challenge.

When you have these new experiences you don’t really know what to do, they’re so fresh and brand new, like salt on a 20 year old open wound.  You realize that you have to meet these challenges head on, without kicking and screaming like a five year old. Another thing that Imagewest taught me was to set those personal feelings aside and focus on the bigger picture.  Working with the criticism not against it, being constructive not destructive, aka constructive criticism.  You learn how to use the constructive criticism, make yourself better and grow for crying out loud.  Too many people are standing in line looking to their left and right waiting for someone to go first.  Not only should you go first, you should run backwards while singing a song and do whatever it takes try something new.  It is after that you have at least begun to accept that and begin to face challenges with that positive attitude can you be perfect.

Aside from all of the great technical knowledge I have gained, the other thing that I have been blessed with is the ability to work with a great team.  From the moment we all met on a hot August Monday we learned how to not shut up.  That’s probably gotten us into a little more trouble than we hoped but it has been a tremendous amount of fun.  For future interns, get along with the people you work with, put yourself aside and just have some fun. You’re going to be seeing them for 16 hours a week, make the most out of it, even if they do throw things at you, change your computer background, write mean snaps about you, quote you on things you didn’t say and even make fun of the food you eat saying it smells like nursing home food.  Work hard, have fun, and be perfect.

A professional bucket list is a great way to set goals and keep yourself continually motivated throughout your career. Continue to add and cross off ideas regularly. Make some easily achievable goals that will give you a sense of value as you mark them off. Of course, make others more challenging. Push yourself to really accomplish what you want in your career.

My Bucket List:

• Get a job after graduation.
• Gain APR certification.
• Serve as a mentor for a PR student.
• Serve as President of a chapter of PRSA.
• Win a Silver Anvil.
• Have a client featured in a major news outlet.
• Work for a non-profit.
• Work in an agency.
• Work somewhere in the fine arts.

 Get started on your professional bucket list now!

Imagewest has proved itself as a strong competitor in the Bowling Green marketing industry once again by winning four awards and an honorable mention at the 2011 Professional Marketing Association (PMA) Markie Awards.

Imagewest entered their work in 14 categories and received the following five awards:

1. Best Marketing Campaign: Barren River Animal Welfare Association (BRAWA)
2. Best Direct Mail Piece: Imagewest seven year anniversary and grand re-opening
3. Best Press Kit/PR Campaign: Imagewest International
4. Best Specialty Item: Imagewest seven year anniversary and grand re-opening
5. Honorable Mention Fundraising Campaign/Special Event: Imagewest seven year anniversary and grand re-opening

The 11th Annual Markie Awards took place on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 at the Holiday Inn University Plaza in Bowling Green. PMA is an organization for networking, professional development and peer recognition. The Markie Awards honor the best examples of marketing by PMA members in Bowling Green throughout the year. The awards are based on creativity and effectiveness derived from the project’s marketing objective, target audience and results. This year PMA recognized the company as well as the designers and vendors associated with the project.

Read more about this story on the WKU News Blog.

What better way to combine advertising, and film together to make interactive beauty! Some of you may be asking yourself, what exactly is a Cinemagraph? Let’s start with the basics.

For all of you Harry Potter fans (myself included) you may recall in the third movie the introduction to the newspapers with Sirius Black all across the front moving around and screaming. Throughout this series, the directors used this same technique many times. This is a cinemagraph. HongKiat.com has a wonderful post that shows more examples of the use of cinemagraphs.

Where exactly am I going with this? With the use of online publications growing, cinemagraphs are a great way to integrate interactive ads into what consumers see.

Fashion has already taken the plunge and the industry is using cinemagraphs to illustrate the overall theme of a designer’s clothing. I think it’s a perfect time to start seeing cinemagraphs more in online magazines.  Cinemagraphs capture a particular moment in life, the beat of a heart, the breath taken by an individual. Imagine a film poster that’s animated or a company logo that tells a story.

Granted, I’m slightly biased to this whole situation having such a strong film background, but if you really think about it, the possibilities are endless.

I’ve spent this semester hitting the snooze button too many times, googling countless recipes for crock pot cookin’ and camouflaging my wacky outfits for agency dress up days. There have been stressful deadlines and frustrating projects, but it’s safe to say I am going to miss each and every one of these things. But not as much as I am going to miss some of the coolest ninjas I have ever met.

We’ve heard our teachers since grade school stress the importance of working as a team. Even in college we still can’t escape those group projects. But it’s not until you work in a setting like Imagewest that you truly appreciate the value of teamwork. No project that comes through the door can be completed by just one ninja. Each person has their own strengths and their own weaknesses, but as a group we cover our bases.  It is amazing to me how our group feeds off the ideas of one another and the work we can turn out as a team is unbelievable. And can I just say, we can make a mean brunch when we pull together our culinary expertise.

I began my venture in the public relations major with a goal in mind, to work in non-profit. I was dead set against working in an agency setting until I started my internship at Imagewest. Working with the team has opened the door for me to add advertising and public relations agencies to my job search.  I don’t think I will find a team to top this one, but if the people at those agencies are half as great as the ninjas at Imagewest are, I think I’ll be ok.

To our last three weeks together ninjas, may there be many inside jokes, as much laughter as we can generate, multitudes of Christmas music and lots and lots of food!

Dress to kill. Dare to scare. Strut your stuff.

In an effort to promote the Advertising and Public Relations (Ad+PR) programs at Western Kentucky University, the School of Journalism and Broadcasting partnered with Imagewest to present a Halloween Costume Contest and Catwalk.The contest took place at DUC courtyard from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31 and was open to all WKU students, faculty and staff. Over 60 participants strutted their stuff down the 24-foot runway as they were judged on the creativity of their costumes, as well as their poise on the catwalk. In addition to the costume contest, there were also games, music and a $50 raffle. The first 100 participants received a goodie bag. Over $500 in prizes, sponsored by Shogun of Bowling Green, were awarded to the following:

1st Place Winner – $100: Amanda “Beehive” Bass

2nd Place Winner – $50: Deborah “Mad Hatter” Cole

3rd Place Winners – $25: Power Rangers Kenn Glenn & Kara Williams

People’s Choice Award – $50: Erin “Progressive’s Flo” Holton

Organization Winner of $250: Adfed

Raffle Winner of $50: Danielle Lawson

 » Read more about this story on the WKU News blog and WKU Herald Online. 

It takes a certain attitude to thrive in this business, and those that possess it have what it takes to succeed. A person must be positive, willing to work (for however long), and be focused on the goals of the assignment, which include, meeting the needs of the client(s), the agency, and your own needs. A person who embodies each of these characteristics is nurturing the relationships that they’ve built, whether they realize it or not. A positive attitude rubs off on co-workers, injecting them with the same optimistic sense that makes the agency run smoothly. Showing that you are willing to work, says that you care about things other than just yourself. The people that see your willingness to work will also understand how important their own role within the agency is, and they’ll work harder. Maintaining focus on your goals will keep everyone within the agency grounded and focused as well. Basically, your attitude does affect others in ways that you might not even realize. That’s why it’s always important to display an attitude that will benefit those around you.

The thing that I’ve taken most away from this newfound understanding about relationships is that everything you do counts. Each interaction, each display of attitude (no matter the kind), is an impression that you’ve made. The people with the most positive impressions and who nurture the relationships they have, are often the most successful. You know how you’ve heard that “attitude is everything”? Well, it really is true in this business. That’s because our job is all about relationships. Whether you’re a creative, an account executive, a PR coordinator, or whatever, the relationships you have with others are a huge factor in determining your success.

Let’s take an advertiser’s main form of communication, the ad, to prove this. An ad contains a message, the goal of which, is to create a positive perception for a brand. Like brands, an agency has a perception as well as a personality that’s all it’s own. Its attitude is everything in determining its success. So why should we, the people in this industry, operate any differently? Simple answer, we shouldn’t. We have to present ourselves in the same way that our ads present themselves to an audience: with an attitude that makes a good impression on our audience and that creates a positive perception of our brand. If we do this everyday with the relationships we have built, we can almost guarantee our success. In a lot of ways, life works the same way.

Each semester I come to a point where I feel have too much to do in too little time. Part of this is because it is in my nature to stress about everything, but the other part is true. Every email I receive about a new club, internship, class, job or study abroad trip looks REALLY cool and I just can’t pass it up (I’m a sucker for good PR and advertising, hence my major). I fill my plate up to the brim and then muddle through it all, feeling utterly exhausted every Friday. Magically, I seem to make it through with good grades, I get a nice break of family time and menial part time jobs for a few weeks, and then it starts all over.

This semester I’ve added a new element to the mix. I’ve become a very reflective individual, constantly thinking about the bigger picture. I’ve still had my monthly breakdowns and still feel exhausted each Friday. Even as I feel overwhelmed, I manage to tell myself that everything will get done one way or another. This could just be a modest form of senioritis, or it could be a sign of maturity. I can’t be sure.

On a weekly basis, I struggle with managing to enjoy the little things—here is where my advice comes in. Enjoy the little things, because they really are the big things. Last week was homecoming at WKU and spirit week at the agency. I spent my nights skipping homework to roll up tissue paper for a homecoming float and spent my mornings pulling things from friends closets to dress up like a hippie. Tomorrow there is a great concert in Nashville. The next day is my friend’s birthday. Next week is Halloween. It’s important to remember to experience life in between school, work, graduate school applications, internships, networking events and more. Finding a balance of work and play is key.

For all the over-achievers and stressed out college students who want to conquer the world in a day, remember to enjoy the little things. Take in all the advice you’ll receive from professors and professionals, but realize that life is a journey. Don’t worry about what you should be doing as much as doing what you love. And hey, if that means living in your parents basement for a few months, so be it. You were always the favorite anyway.