NYC - Meet Jesse Louise

Hello World! If you could describe me in two words, I think most of my friends would call me Fashionably Passionate. Kinda weird right? Well, I think you have to be a little ‘weird’ to make a statement and be an individual in this crazy world we live in. 

Let’s take a look at what makes me….ME, Jesse Louise Whale. First of all, I am from Lindsay, Ontario but quickly moved to Trenton with my mom and brother to begin elementary school. I spent the rest of these years in Trenton, then picked up and headed to Belleville for high school - where my brother decided to move with my dad in Port Hope. Just me and my mama left. I absolutely adored elementary school. In a nutshell, I was a part of every sports team, the drama club, the dance team - and put forth passion into every single class. I was the kid who had their hand up first, the one who wanted to read everything, the spelling bee champ, and the girl who always traded her gushers for someone's fuzzy pencil. And to be honest, high school wasn't any different, so I'll spare you the details. I have a genuine passion for meeting new people, diving into new things, and always striving to make myself a better person. 
 
I have a flare for style and I make it a goal to inspire people through my fashion sense. With this passion for fashion, I wanted to share my insights and secrets with the social media world and thus was born my new ‘baby’, ClosettCandyy.

ClosettCandyy, is an intimate look into my closet and how I visually depict my personality and the brand that is “JESSE LOUISE” through my clothing and styling. Fashion is my muse for everyday life. I'm constantly thinking of new ways to wear things, and breach the gap between what's on trend and what isn't. I tend to have a practical sense of what works and what doesn't, but have always been known as the girl who can wear anything (so I'm told!) I'm currently in the process of creating and launching a blog to share my passion with the world. I've created multiple platforms to highlight the main features on the blog and provide viewers with more than one resource. If you're curious as to why "ClosettCandyy" has double letters, it's simply because GoDaddy has bought the domain name "closetcandy" and is selling it for a ridiculous price. To be honest, I'm really diggin' the doubles. 

What's next for me after school? You ask a very good question, and if you were to see my face right now, you would see how much I light up. I'm eager to obtain an internship at Fashion Magazine in fall of September 2013. What exactly do I want to do? All of it. Every last bit. I want to eat, sleep, breathe, walk, talk FASHION. Deign? Maybe not. But anywhere from styling, organizing, closet keeping, visual merchandising - you name it, I can do it; and well at that. 

Now what would a girl like ME, want to do with New York City? Pshh, can't really think of anything but I mean, a trip is a trip right? HA! Who am I kidding, certainly not you or myself. Let me just start off by saying that I've never been, so my excitement level is WAY off the Richter scale right now. New York is an opportunity for me to explore outside of Kingstons' fashion sense. Yeah, I can get my fix from magazines and such, but I can't imagine the feelings that will overcome me when I stand on the street and just take it all in. New York City itself will enlighten my spirits and bring endless inspiration for blogs on blogs, on blogs. But Pivot is the real magic. I love people. I love talking to people who love talking to people about what they love. I can't wait to hand out that first personalized business card and talk myself up about fashion. I can't wait to meet the people who could potentially change my future. I really could go on and on, but I would hope you've got a slight hunch as to what I am going to take from my experience at Pivot 2012.  

The following is a list of my ClosettCandyy archive, excluding my blog which is currently private:

Twitter: @closettcandyy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClosettCandyy
Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/closettcandyy
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/closettcandyy/

Hey New York City, are you ready to become just a bit more fabulous? I'm on my way. 

Take me to Pivot! - Introducing Jenny Orsatti

Only 5 days now until I have the amazing, one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to New York City with 4 of my friends/colleagues/classmates I have had the amazing opportunity to get to know over the past 2 and a half years. We have learned so much together, and have shared a lot of unforgettable experiences and memories together. This conference will be another experience I can add to memory lane.

My name is Jennifer Orsatti, I was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario - just outside of Toronto - also known as the GTA. After finding out about the IMC program at St. Lawrence College, I knew that this was what I was meant to do. I still can vividly remember the first week of school of being so nervous and literally just diving into the program. Sink or swim right? The professors were there for all of the students - and always have been, allowing us to test the water of Marketing and Advertising. Over the past two and half years, I know that we, as a program, are very lucky to have the professors we have for all of our classes. Each one is always striving to do their best in making sure we are learning the most up-to-date trends in the world of Advertising, and being able to participate and attend events that will benefit us for our future paths and careers.

Luckily, I was able to pick up a Marketing job after completing my first year of the program. Instead of going home and picking up a part-time job back in Mississauga, I chose to take this opportunity and take this Marketing job here in Kingston with The Kingston Economic Development Corporation. Sink or swim, right? After being part of FUSE (a mentoring program in our program), I was able to obtain this job through my mentor - who I can never thank enough for this job opportunity. I was able to learn and mature a huge amount. I was able to develop experience, talent and confidence within the world of Marketing from my first Summer Marketing job.

Another amazing experience I had was with my second year placement. I decided to go out on a limb and cold call a company that was just recently new to Kingston. With that cold call, I was able to communicate through email, and even got an interview with the Account Coordinator. From that, I was able to secure a placement position with this company. This experience was undeniably amazing. The knowledge and experience I gained from this company is unexplainable. I was able to see how an agency worked, and it allowed to see what type of job I want for myself when I graduate - which is exactly what I got to experience at this company. Once my 3-week placement was finished, I carried on a voluntary position with the company because I knew I would continue to learn new things about the field, which I most definitely did!

I then took on another job with the Kingston Economic Development Corporation and the Entrepreneur Centre, where I was the Online Marketing Specialist. I was able to develop and schedule creative content on the different Social Media Platforms of the Entrepreneur Centre, along with other tasks. I have maintained this position through the summer and continue to work part-time during school.

I am looking forward to travelling to New York City and taking in all of the information that will be offered at the conference so that I can prepare myself for the successful future that is awaiting!

Take me to the Pivot!
(like 'Take me to the Riot' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxeIivNDtFU)

Getting to know the team... Lindsey aka the Prof

I am definitely a curious blend of many things. Most of my time is spent in the office or classroom talking about business, some stolen moments are spent either studying, with family or in my art studio.

I am locally known for my creative style; starting with a resume I printed on the side of a coffee cup to get my first marketing job. In 2001 I started Market Me, Kingston's first web marketing consultancy. As Market Me was growing, and I was settling in to my new city, I sought out organizations in the community that I felt passionate about. I quickly became involved in the Kingston Chamber of Commerce and JCI Kingston (the Junior Chamber of Commerce) to name just two. Since 2001 I have sat on over 15 boards for local and national organizations.

Just after my son was born I co-authored a business book called Trucker Management: Driving ANY Small Business to Success. The book offers easy-to-implement routines and provides specific, practical tools to help small business owners "drive" their businesses towards success. These resources are modeled from the long-established tools and proven practices used by truckers to safely and effectively drive their rigs to their destinations. Our book has taken us to Scotland, Ireland, Turkey, British Columbia, and throughout the US; to give keynote presentations and workshops on small business management.

My business style, profile and connections led to a very dynamic and successful contract at the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) during a major transition for the organization. Working first as a business consultant then as the Manager of Small Business I took the centre from one of the lowest performing centres in Ontario to the top performing centre in less than 1 year, all well managing the large team within the organization and balancing challenging stakeholder relationships. We offered more consultations, more workshops and showed a higher economic impact than any other centre.

I have been teaching at St. Lawrence College for nine years. I teach mainly in the School of Business, focusing on courses such as venture development, marketing, advertising and social media. I have even had the opportunity to teach a short course at the Royal Military College of Canada on Web Marketing and presented several lectures on marketing at Queen's University. I love being in the classroom, learning from students, and teaching them little tidbits I have garnished along the way.

Through my current work as the Web Marketing and Social Media Specialist at 14 Theories Web Development I consult on a variety of web marketing, SEO and social media strategies to their clients. I also present regular workshops on social media for small business.

PivotTalk Episode 1: Return on Investment or Return on Ignorance

The first episode of PivotTalk has Cory Firth (@cfirth29), Morgan Davis (@Morgan_KEC) and Lindsey Fair (@lindseyfair) discussing what Return on Investment means in regards to a social media campaign.

Is it really Return on Investment or could it be considered Return on Ignorance?

Life after Pivot:

Slowly returning to our normal routine, the privileged students that were able to attend Pivot are seeing a strong parallel between the content we are being taught in class and the hot discussions during the conference. Every day the topic of ‘conversations’, ‘engagement’ and two way marketing are reinforced but what is really being said?

Google's Definition of Engagement

The word ‘conversation’ almost means nothing to the class of 2011 now but it is essential to future and current marketing. That two-way conversation, customer interaction, brand loyalty and company response is so important to what customers want and expect. The fact is it is not JUST a conversation, the key is listening! Companies need to listen to their customers, understand what the compliments and complaints are and understand how to respond to them. Every complaint on Yelp! can not result in a free meal next time, customers want real responses. If the complaint is that the service was terrible or the food was sub-par then staff and products should be assessed not brushed aside as a one time mishap.

“Engagement” is lost and over used. What is engagement?

According to the Magazine Publishers of America; “Engagement is complex because a variety of exposure and relationship factors affect engagement, making simplified rankings misleading. Typically, engagement with a medium often differs from engagement with advertising.”

So, even they don’t truly understand what engagement is, and that is what we as the future marketers of North America need to know and understand.

How do you define engagement?

Thank you Pivot Con

The St. Lawrence College Pivot wants to thank all of the conference organizers for the amazing experience.

See our video below for why we are so thankful.

Everyone is smiling

The Countdown to Pivot Con is on

As I stay awake, prepping for presentations, reading, editing my web site and finishing up this weeks assignments, the only thing on my mind is Pivot Con. The distraction of spending two days with some of the brightest minds in the marketing industry keeps creeping in.

As a marketing student, understanding the concept of how the role social consumerism plays on todays marketing strategy, makes this conference a dream. With the likes of Brian Solis, Marisa Thalberg and Britta Schell in attendance, we are truly fortunate to be a part of such an innovative event, along with 500 of the most creative individuals in the industry.

Wrapping things up at 2:18am, on Friday, October 7th, finalizing last minute web changes and watching the highlights of the Yankees game (guess I won't be catching a game), all I can think about is where I will be in 10 days. Most likely fast asleep in some New York City hotel room, but the way this year is going, who knows.

Thank you Mike Edelhart and the rest of the Pivot Team for giving our #imcslc class a chance to attend this great event. I am truly honoured to be attending @pivotcon on behalf St. Lawrence College and I look forward to seeing you all on October 17th and 18th, 2011.

See you soon

The Student Presentation to the Student Association for funding to attend Pivot

PivotCon Proposal

View more presentations from Lindsey Fair.

About PivotCon 2011

The Pivot Conference is an exclusive two-day event, October 17-18, 2011, for top brand managers who seek to bridge the gap between their brand and the rising Social Consumer. Directed and hosted by Brian Solis—principal at Altimeter Group and a globally recognized thought leader in social media who has led interactive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, notable celebrities, and influential startups—Pivot 2011 will deliver the context and understanding inddustry executives need to redirect marketing dollars, create authentic interactions, and map a strategy of successful engagement with this powerful new market.

More here >>

How influential are the students that are going to Pivot? Have a look at their Klout..

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