Brooke

One word, like Madonna.

[brookehrob]

The best piece of advice I ever got was from my dad...

Well actually it came from my mom first, but I didn’t listen. At least, that’s what she says.

My mom gives really good advice, she’s just not always the best at giving it. She’s an elementary teacher, so she uses a lot of words and likes to explain things thoroughly. But sometimes when you’re faced with a decision, you don’t need a lot of words, you need one sentence. 

My dad is really good at getting his point across quickly. He’s also ridiculously smart and has great ideas. However, he’s not very chatty, so I end up talking to him less than I do with my mom. 

So the best advice I’ve ever received (to date) was from my dad about two and a half years ago.

“Take the job, if you don’t like it you can quit.”

Why did I need this advice? I was fresh out of college and looking for a job. I was applying everywhere I thought I wanted to work, I’m fairly certain every ad agency in the state got an application from me. And I was applying at all the places that I wasn’t sure I wanted to work. Basically I was just needing something that wasn’t in the food and service industry. 

Then I got the email...

Hi Brooke, thanks for applying for the marketing internship. I’d like to set up a phone interview with you. Do you have time on Wednesday or Thursday?

Of course I had the time, but this company wasn’t an ad agency... my whole college career I’d been gearing myself up to work at a world known, powerhouse ad agency. But I am not one to pass up an opportunity, if nothing else it would help my interviewing experience.

So I did my research. Read up on the company, the CEO, and the guy interviewing me. The company provides instant financial insights to accountants for their small business clients. Okay, I don’t know anything about accounting... The CEO has over 30 years helping big name corporations. Okay, well that’s a little intimidating. The guy interviewing me has been with the company for years. Wow, okay well this should be interesting... 

The phone interview went great. I got invited for an in-person interview with the CEO! Wait- what if they ask me about accounting? Cue my panic. Cue me grabbing my roommates finance books and flipping through to the definitions. Cue me actually getting nervous.

Well in the interview I was asked about marketing, obviously, and I know that! I wasn’t asked about accounting or technology or anything I didn’t know. And I must have done something right because they reached out with a job offer following the interview.

But what if I fail? What if I don’t like it? I mean, it’s not an ad agency. It’s not what I thought I wanted to do with my life. I’m only 20, I can’t be making decisions about what to do for the rest of my life yet! Oh my god, I’m not an adult... The internal battle went on for hours. Finally I called my mom. To be honest, I don’t remember what her advice was, but after a long phone call she ended it with “Call your dad. He’s good at these situations.” So I did.

The phone call with him lasted maybe 7 minutes, but probably closer to 5. “Take the job, if you don’t like it you can quit.” So that’s what I did. I took the job.  And I didn’t like it.... I loved it! So I didn’t quit, instead I thrived. I succeeded. I traveled the world. I’m still thriving, succeeding, and traveling the world - I’m just no longer the intern. I’m the Vice President of Global Marketing. Wait, what?!? Yep. While I’ve been working there we’ve expanded globally and taken on whole new markets, adding to the list of my duties that I get to do every day. 

What if I didn’t take this job? What if my panic caused me to miss out on this opportunity? Well, we’ll never know. But I’m sure glad I called my dad.

[brookehrob]

Hint: there are two critical things you should do when submitting your resume for a job...

1) Don't just spell check, proof read. I've had resumes come in saying they played La Crosse and worked at a company until 2103. I didn't know you could play a city or predict your future employment by 89 years.

2) Submit it as a PDF. If you send it to me in a word doc, chances are I'm gonna go in and edit it to say ridiculous things before passing it on to my coworkers, just to see if they notice. Seriously, understand the importance of "Save as PDF".

[brookehrob]

As a man, I’m flesh and blood; I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol… as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.

Batman

[brookehrob]

This is just.... everything.

[brookehrob]

People are gonna talk about you. Especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them, because you affected their lives. They didn't affect yours.

[brookehrob]

Scoggins: A reminder of what high school sports are about

One by one, members of the Hopkins boys’ basketball team stepped forward to receive their second-place medals Saturday night at Target Center

"Grant treats big events and trips to the grocery store with equal exuberance. Any outing almost always ends with him asking the same two questions in the car: What was your favorite part? And, did you have fun?"  We should all probably live a little bit more like this.

[brookehrob]

Tumblr user agreement terms might be the only one i've actually read before clicking "I agree" ever. AND IM SO GLAD I DID.

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I write a post about Justin & Miley and people read it. I post about saving the oceans & sharks & dolphins and nobody cares.

normal.

[brookehrob]

An Angel Captured in The Cove

Last Friday, over 250 dolphins were captured by fishermen off the coast of Taiji, Japan. This small town, made infamous by our film "The Cove," is now known the world over as “a dolphin’s worst nightmare.” A relatively small group of 50-60 fishermen are responsible for the slaughter of thousands of ...

As an obsessed sea-life lover, this honestly made me tear up. How could anyone kill such a beautiful and innocent animal like a dolphin? (Also - Shark Finning upsets me as well). We need to respect the oceans and the world's creatures. Not hunt them and sell them for profit like this.

[brookehrob]

Here's A Fact About Sharks And Humans That'll Stay With You Every Hour On The Hour Today

Jaw-dropping. (Get it?)

Go look at this picture. It will change your world. I love sharks so much. Why can't we all just get along with nature?

[brookehrob]

Justin V. Miley

So as a marketing gal, I see Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber's publicity in a totally different light than most of their fan bases. Because, really, a celebrity is only as good as they advertise. 

Realistically both Miley and Justin are doing essentially the same thing: trying to grow up in the public eye and find themselves and experiment with life choices the same way we all did growing up.

But the problem does not lie in the fact that they are drinking, doing drugs, living life hard, and having too much fun. The problem is in the audience. 

Why Miley is succeeding: Miley Cyrus has a target audience that is 16-25 years old. At 16 you are able to get a (part-time) job and start earning your own money. With your own money, you have more freedom to buy things, like: concert tickets, CDs (or iTunes), posters, movie tickets, clothes, etc. Her younger end of the target audience is not fully limited by parental approval for their actions.

By the time you're 18 and in college, yeah money is tight, but you can make more of your own choices on how to spend your money and time. (Mom can't tell you not to go see Miley twerk in concert, and dad won't be sitting on the couch of your dorm room telling you to stop watching her music videos). 

And once you're 21-22, out of college, entering the real world, making real money... You have more to spend on ridiculously priced tickets to get front row to her performances and to pre-order her album (which, she had a song featuring Britney, and we all know how much us 20-25 year olds LOVE Britney.)

To sum this up: Miley's new reputation is working to her advantage because she is right in line with her target audience. When I was 16, I loved rebelling. Miley is being the ultimate rebel; cutting and bleaching her hair, wearing ridiculous outfits, and generally just not giving a flip about people's opinions. But she's smart. According to the New York Times interview with Miley, she referenced Kurt Cobain and said "I never want to be that person that’s, like, talking to 16- and 17-year-olds and being like, ‘Smoke weed'." While being reckless and wild, she is still maintaining a sense of balance and intelligence. 

Disclosure: I love me some Miley

Why Justin is failing: The recently arrested Bieber is essentially doing the same thing as Miley - growing up in the spotlight, making questionable choices, and experimenting with drugs and alcohol. So why is he so hated?

Take a look at who are the "beliebers" 10-14 year olds. Justin's target audience is much younger. I do not know a single 10 year old who makes money (outside of allowance or mowing lawns) themselves. And even then, it's not enough to save up to buy a concert ticket. Even if a 13 year old had enough babysitting money saved up to go, what are the chances that their parents will allow them to go?

Justin Bieber started out as a role model. His innocent pop songs were catchy, cute, and I admit it, enjoyable. But as he morphs into what he sees as an adult, he is struggling. Driving expensive cars too fast through residential neighborhoods. Drunk driving, no, not only that Drunk Drag Racing. Drug use, underage drinking, alleged "cyber bullying" of Selena Gomez. Walking around in baggy pants and no shirt (ew). Justin in no longer role model material. If I had kids, I wouldn't let them idolize him anymore. He is a classic child-star-gone-wrong. It's sad.

While the "bad" image is working for Miley, it is working against Justin. His fans are not old enough to make their own decisions or make enough money to buy his tickets or CDs. Their parents won't allow them to go see his new movie (the reason why it tanked in comparison to the first one). He is not fitting the image required of his target audience. 

My age demographic (I'm 22) grew up with Miley. We grew with her through Hannah Montana, to the end of Hannah, into The Last Song and LOL, and now into her bad-girl-twerking-phase. Justin's target audience is still in their innocent years. They are not in need of a celebrity to show them how to be bad, defy authority, and live life their own way. And since the Beliebers have already claimed Justin as their pre-teen idol, the older generation wants nothing to do with someone who is corrupting children.

In short: Miley has a better understand of and grasp on her target audience. She is the ultimate marketing machine. People want to know what she's doing all the time. Justin is clueless as to how to utilize his fame to his advantage and is ending up in jail. 

I wish them both the best.

[brookehrob]

Insomnia: The Cruelest Affliction

Insomnia can be caused by stress and anxiety (among other things, according to Mayo Clinic). It is vicious, laying in bed trying to will yourself to sleep to no avail. Finally, sometimes hours later, you feel yourself drifting off to sleep, only to wake up two hours later and start the process all over again. 

It is brutal, savage, inhuman, barbaric, brutish, vicious, sadistic, wicked, evil, diabolical, monstrous, abominable, callous, ruthless, merciless, and unkind.

It doesn't happen all the time, it comes in bouts. And, like now, when it does come, it doesn't matter how early I try to go to bed, how much time I give myself to fall asleep, I get out of bed with dark purple circles under my eyes. All my hopes of being well-rested for work the next day crushed.

Even the people I dislike the most in this world, I would not wish this suffering on them. Insomnia truly is cruel, unfair, and above all: annoying.

[brookehrob]

Reminiscing on London 2013. Can't wait to head back this spring! It'll be my fourth time there :)

[brookehrob]

I Believe a Late Flight is Lucky.

Leaving Chicago today, 90% of flights were cancelled. Somehow, by some sort of magic from somewhere in the universe, my plane was one of the lucky ones that got to depart.

O’Hare Airport’s fuel pumps were frozen and planes were unable to fuel up. One girl I met had been waiting since 11 am to go to Denver. Her flight was cancelled at 8pm.

My flight was delayed for 3 hours and now we’ve been patiently waiting on the Tarmac after landing in Minneapolis for our gate to open. However, I DID make it home.

And due to the delays I met some interesting people. A couple on their way to a tech conference in Las Vegas. A lady coming to Minneapolis to visit her sister and surprise her mom. A man who’s flight had been cancelled four days in a row and he’d run out of clean clothes. And finally, I got to sit in the front of the plane next to an off duty pilot and bullshit with the flight attendants.

All things considered, a late flight is a lucky flight. You’re always exactly where you’re supposed to be. You just have to live the adventure out and take it as it comes.

[brookehrob]

Beauty fades. Develop some inner resources, otherwise, when it goes, those of us with less far to fall will laugh at you. To your aging face.

The most wonderful man I know, Anthony Munger.

[brookehrob]

This is a world class response. Social media can be a good way to get attention of companies that otherwise do not have great customer service (I've done it, too!). Knowing how to respond and when to draw the line is the challenge in social media marketing. This guy has it right. While calling out most customers on their invalid remarks is not something usually supported in marketing, ("the customer is always right") I completely support this co-founder's response. Sometimes you have to fire the customer. 

[brookehrob]

Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

When I was in third grade we had a class project to raise baby chickens. We had eggs and kept them in the incubator. Each class room had their own. And as each classes chicks started hatching, ours remained unmoving. We probably had about 6 eggs in our classroom. And eventually two of them hatched. But much, much later than the rest of the classes. 

I learned this lesson at a young age; Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Even though all the other class rooms had all of their chicks hatch without problems, for some reason 2/3 of ours didn't ever hatch, and the two that did, did so in a slower, unpredictable manner in comparison. 

I've translated this literal lesson into a way of looking at life. Nothing is guaranteed. Even if it is working for someone else, it may not work for you. And even if it does work, it may not be in the same way, or the way that you thought it would happen.

While planning ahead and thinking about the future can be necessary for certain things, I don't see the future as a guarantee. Who knows where I will be in 6 months, a year... And when people ask where I see myself in 5 years, forget it, I have no idea! Life is too changing and unexpected to plan that far ahead. 

I made plans for this upcoming weekend last week, and already I'm not sure if they will work out as planned. So how can you expect me to have the next 5 years of my life figured out? I don't count my chickens before they hatch, and that way it's harder to get disappointed. If there is not set plan, you can't be upset if it doesn't "go according to plan."

Don't count your chickens before they hatch, because then you'll be too busy worrying about making them hatch you'll miss out on the fun of actually watching them hatch and grow.