If any post grad felt the downfall of Michigan's economy, it was me. Having graduated two years ago in the Spring of 2008, I had quite a difficult time getting my career going. Fresh out of college, I was ready to show the world what I was made of and to begin my professional career, but the job outlook in Michigan was not looking very bright. My job search focused mainly on available positions in Michigan. I was also seeking out of state, but did not give up on Michigan that easily. After months and months of patience, yet painstakingly searching, I got lucky!
I was hired on as a Marketing Intern with Anchor Bay Entertainment. Anchor Bay Entertainment is one of the leading distributors of independent feature films and home entertainment products, and is the home entertainment division of Starz Media, LLC. While interning, I worked with the Children genre brand manager and director to strategically put together marketing plans, advertising, PR, promotions, artwork, package design, and run sales and POS reports for the Children category of home video product lines. I worked heavily on a brand called Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Wubbzy, a hit show for children that runs daily on NickJr, among several other brands.
My role at Anchor Bay Entertainment switched gears after my internship. I am currently a Marketing Brand Manager, working on the Fitness genre - a position I truly enjoy! There are many roles within this position, which consist of: assisting in the leadership of development and execution of new DVD releases, helping to manage the product life cycle involved in bringing together new Fitness DVDs from concept to delivery, creating consumer and trade marketing materials, putting together presentation decks, industry/category analysis, developing marketing and sales materials, tracking and routing creative development, running sales forecasts and POS reports, and working with several outside vendors and all internal departments (sales, retail marketing, operations, finance) to achieve the highest success of our brands and ensure timely delivery of materials that make up our products. I collaborate with and support the SVP of Brand Marketing, SVP of Creative & Product Development, and the Fitness Brand Manager. We are a great team and together we strive for the success of our brands!
Staying optimistic and being persistent have always been my two keys to success!