It was a whirlwind trip commencing with a 7:30 a.m. flight out of Burlington. The group made it into Manhattan from JFK just in time for the first appointment at Madison Square Garden. There, they had the pleasure of meeting UVM alumnus Rob Slocum ('97), V.P. of Marketing. Mr. Slocum and his colleague, Edward Soliman ('96), discussed the sales and internal database marketing aspects of the Garden's sports and live entertainment industry. Students learned a lot about the nature of cold calling, which generates a large portion of the company's profits. After the presentation, Mr. Slocum took the crew on a tour of the Garden.
The afternoon presentation was given by UVM alumni David Perez ('81) and Sara Cherchia ('02). Mr. Perez is the founder and President of Latin Force and the President of Cultural Access Group. Ms. Cherchia is a Business Development Associate with Cultural Access Group. Latin Force is a communications services company that offers its clients an understanding of Hispanic market values. The company provides marketing plans, PR, and on-line media solutions targeting this particular market. Cultural Access Group is a leading multicultural marketing research company with such clients as Pepsi Cola and Kraft. Mr. Perez and Ms. Cherchia spoke with the group about the research of both companies as well as the importance of pursuing the multicultural market in America.
Friday's meetings presented very different aspects of the marketing business. The first visit was with FOX Television Stations, Inc. Chief Operating Officer Robert Murch (UVM, '71) arranged the visit and was with the group throughout the three hours. Dan Carlin, V.P. of Marketing, gave a presentation on the challenges of marketing new programming and maintaining viewers in a competitive industry. UVM students next attended the live broadcast of the 12:00 news, an experience few had had before. They were then treated to a full tour of the station---the first permitted since September, 2001.
The final meeting of this tour was with alumna Liz Paley ('88). Ms. Paley is the V.P. of Marketing for Polo Ralph Lauren. For many years prior to joining the company, Ms. Paley worked in consumer product research and marketing. She spent some time discussing the aspects of that industry. She is now fully submerged in the American clothing industry, and she spent the second half of her presentation addressing the challenges of maintaining a consistent style across her company's different retail groups while still meeting the individual needs of the buyers.
Following this last presentation, students had a few hours to explore the city before catching the 10:30 p.m. flight back to Burlington.
One consistent theme throughout the question and answer sessions of each presentation was the importance of gaining experience through internships. Each presenter stressed that internships are a good way to explore different areas of marketing, make contacts, and gain invaluable work experience to add to the resume. They also each commented that employers are far more likely to hire graduates who have been through internship programs. One other truly remarkable outcome of each presentation was the encouragement the alumni gave to the students to keep in touch, send resumes, and to not hesitate to call or e-mail with questions about the field. The New York City trip was extremely successful in that the participants both enjoyed each visit and learned a lot about the different facets of the marketing field.