Monday, August 27, 2007

Communication via cupcake

Megan, Jess and I are starting a group at the Adcenter called Potluck. I've copied our group summary and action plan below. All Adcenter students are encouraged to join us at meetings, which will start this Thursday at 7:00 PM in the Lecture Hall. Our first advertisement for the group will go out tomorrow in the form of cupcakes. Because if we've learned anything this year, it's that Adcenter students rarely read posters, but always want food.

Exhibit A: Megan holding one of our advertisements.


POTLUCK PLAN:

To Sum It All Up

We aim to enhance our understanding of the world through sharing in the experiences of our classmates.

What We’re Doing

Potluck is a forum for discussion comprised of VCU Adcenter students. Interested students will meet to hear a classmate or panel of classmates speak about some part of their life outside of advertising such as hobbies, specialties and previous careers.

Why We’re Here

In a world that is becoming increasingly segmented, it becomes more and more important to have an in-depth understanding of consumers and of culture. We need to be able to connect with people of all sorts. By acknowledging the following truths, Potluck aims to enlarge its participants’ worldview for the sake of maximizing their communication potential.

• We need to understand the things that drive people and that help them make their day-to-day decisions.
• We need to shed our fear of the unknown by making it familiar.

As a secondary benefit, Potluck will allow us to gain a more in-depth understanding of our own classmates and will give students the chance to present and to lead their peers.

The Specifics

• All Potluck events will be held at the VCU Adcenter in order to provide a neutral space for discussion

• Potluck events will be held once a month

• There will be no membership; students are welcome to join in the discussion at any time as their schedule allows

• Meetings will not take any one set form, but will take whatever format necessary to have the most impact, whether it be lecture, discussion or activity

Example Speaker Ideas

Life in Sales
Improv Comedy Workshop
Coming to America: International students speak about cultural differences and surprises
Living through Hurricanes: New Orleans Before and After the Storm
Collecting model cars
From Arts to Advertising
The Real Richmonders
Interning Internationally
Selling education
Skateboarding
College/Competition level Athletics

A change in the winds

While I've enjoyed Vox for its interesting layouts and novelty, I'm moving my Adcenter / Advertising blog to this new address. Blogger, you've seduced me with you photo capabilities.

Over the next week or so, whitmarsh.vox.com will become caitlinscreativeclutter.blogspot.com

Enjoy!