Perry Ellis International的动态

???Back in the Classroom, But This Time on the Other Side???? Last week, I had the incredible honor of stepping back into a place that holds so many memories for me: Southern Methodist University. But this time, I wasn’t sitting in the seats as a student—I was standing at the front of the classroom, teaching an Advertising Research class. ?????? As an?SMU alumnus?and now the?Principal of Brand Strategy at Lerma/, returning to my alma mater felt like coming full circle. It's a reminder that education doesn’t just end when you leave the classroom—it evolves with every experience, project, and challenge we face in our careers. There’s something truly special about sharing the lessons I’ve learned in the fast-paced world of advertising with the next generation of strategists. Watching their eyes light up when they connect the dots between cultural insight and brand impact is beyond rewarding. ???? Advertising research isn't just about data—it's about?people, culture, and understanding what drives behavior. It’s about uncovering those human truths that turn a message into a movement. And the students here at SMU are hungry to learn how to create meaningful connections that move people and brands forward. Thank you, SMU, for welcoming me back with open arms. To the future strategists in the room: never stop being curious. Your best ideas will come from listening to the world around you and daring to see what others overlook. ???? Here’s to the journey from student to teacher and the endless cycle of learning and sharing. ?? #AdvertisingResearch #BrandStrategy #CultureInFocus #LermaAgency #PonyPride #SMUAlumni #FullCircleMoments

"I can’t tell you how a lot of universities are different, other than their locations, but I can tell you how Trader Joe's and Liquid Death stand out and what they mean to their target audience." It's not often we speak to CMOs who take inspiration from such innovative brands outside the sector. But it's clear that we need more of this unique brand positioning to be channeled into higher education. This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing R. Ethan Braden, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer at Texas A&M University. We discussed: - why universities abandon their brand positioning - the importance of emotional branding in higher education - how Texas A&M is making its unique mark As Ethan states, "you've got to be in the game to win it." Be a stand out university or get left behind. Read the full interview over on our blog: https://lnkd.in/e8ia66Au

Life lately has been jam packed with accomplishments and celebration! ? In March, I got the opportunity to attend the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council Conference and accept FIVE awards on behalf of the STCU marketing team. The conference was filled with inspiration, collaboration, and great memories I'll always cherish. ? It get's even better from there. This week, I was promoted to Brand Marketing Specialist.? ? I started at STCU in 2020 as Brand Marketing Intern. Six months later I was hired full-time as a Brand Marketing Coordinator. The last three years have been filled with hard work, growth, and learning what it's like to be on a team that has your back when you challenge yourself to be better. ? As I reflect on the last few of years, these are my favorite lessons learned: Get out of your own way so you can be successful, advocate for yourself, hard work does not go unnoticed, relationship building is everything; and, one of my favorites: celebrate your accomplishments, don't hide them.???

In the midst of cleaning up my desk drawers after graduation, I threw out many papers, but I stumbled upon one from a certain class, and I'm keeping it forever. The New Product Development & Branding Practicum taught by Therese Wilbur was the single most valuable class I ever took at the University of Southern California. Branding is at the core of any product, and is the foundation of connection with the consumer. Competition is huge and it's only growing, so standing out is imperative just to survive, and getting it right can allow it to flourish and thrive. The Walt Disney Company, Starbucks, and Nike are a few companies that have mastered the art. If done wrong, it can cause damage that's costly and difficult to reverse. Before this class, I had only ever thought of Marketing. But without branding, Marketing does not exist. I feel so lucky that I got to take this class and learn about concepts such as the 3 Factor Model for Brand Extensions and the ATAR Formula. I also collaborated with 4 classmates (Maxwell Trauner, Alyssa Broad, Xin Kou, Andrew Hollomon) on a project in which we took Eggo the brand by Kellanova and developed 3 new brand extension concepts. First, we conducted a brand audit, then created a survey using Qualtrics and facilitated 2 focus groups of 8 to collect data. We used that data to pick the top concept and presented our new product proposal complete with sales projections. It took the entire semester and it was one of the most challenging classes I had ever taken at USC, but it was also the most fun. Dare I say that I would do it all over again! A heartfelt thanks to Professor Wilbur for the biggest impact on my academic career at USC. The skills and insights you've shared have left an indelible mark on me, and I'm eager to apply them throughout my career. Your influence has truly been transformative. #USC #USCMarshall #Branding #NewProductDevelopment #Fighton #Eggo

Since we announced our marketing residency partnership with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee last week, we’ve been deluged with comments and interest about how people can get involved. Taking a look at what people have been saying, it’s possible to draw few important conclusions: 1. Investments in the marketing leaders of the future - like the one we are making in this case - are critical to ensuring that the industry is better at what it does. Those investments will foster the development of new players with big ideas, and challenge incumbents to be more innovative and creative in their work. 2. Cross-generational relationships and mentorships are a vital element of individual growth - on both sides of the equation. All ships rise when we share knowledge and experience, and ask questions about the way things work. 3. Educational institutions should not stand alone in preparing the workforce of tomorrow for their entry into employment. We should all be invested in that process. 4. Fresh-out-of-college hires need - and want - support from people who have trodden the path before, and are sponges eager to soak up as much as they can. 5. We are still in the first moments of public-private partnerships to empower better outcomes for young people, and it will take more businesses putting their hands up to ask to get involved in order to drive meaningful change. If you want any more information on what we are doing, or advice on how your own business might make its own investment in future generations, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of the Boldsquare team.

Introducing our MSc Marketing postgraduate student, Rammal Arif, who has recently joined The Durham Student team ?? Check out her insightful debut blog where she shares the five things she wishes she had known before embarking on her degree journey ?? #FeatureFriday #DurhamUniversityBusinessSchool? #PostgradLife?#MasteringMasters

How much better would you be as a brand leader if you belonged to a community whose only job was to expose you to the edges of branding, strategy and culture? What if that community gave you a deep, year-long education that went far beyond anything you could ever get in a course? What if the brightest minds came to that community to share their ideas and secrets with you, and you got to decode emerging trends among other accomplished strategic thinkers who are as passionate and generous as you are? ... and what if you got to top it all off with immersive, themed dinners? :) You'd have found your place. And it would be Exposure Therapy. If you're ready to spend the next year learning strategy at a whole new level - and dress up for some special parties - come join us: https://lnkd.in/dBxNQk5R Special thanks to our members who joined us for our first LA dinner capping off a month of exploring "Modern Riches", on how our culture is changing its relationship to wealth and how brands should be capitalizing on it right now: Russ Rands who came all the way from Montana, Carina Bhavnani who flew in from Canada, Veeraj Chugh who came from San Francisco, Ti Chang who drove in from Palm Springs, Laura Bernier, Danielle Buerli, Rebecca Johnson, Brandon Noah Kleinman, Margarita Arriagada, as well as Laura Glover, and Eric Thomasian. If I sound proud of what we've created, it's because I am. The members of this community have already turned it into a secret garden for strategists. And there's so much more to come. #strategy #brandstrategy #branding

With my final project submitted, I've successfully completed my master's degree at Bournemouth University!?? ?Final Project: Creating Value: Gen-Z's Preference for Online Brand Communities and Their Impact on Brand Loyalty.? Inspired by Gymshark’s extensive and loyal brand community, my research aimed to explore how brand communities are formed and how they foster long-term relationships with consumers. During my investigation, I identified a gap in existing research—while brand communities have been extensively studied, there was limited focus on Gen-Z's unique relationship with brands. To address this, I conducted a cross-sectional study involving 97 Gen-Z participants. The findings revealed that Gen-Z brand community members form stronger connections with brands and their online communities compared to offline ones. These results aligned with Jonathan Haidt’s concept of the phone-based childhood, which significantly influenced my work. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, as it deepened my understanding of consumer-brand interactions and how individuals within a community influence one another. #marketing #student #brandcommunities #consumers #brands #research #mastersdegree #university #finalproject

Reflecting on a Collaboration with Marketing Undergraduates: Lessons in Branding, Collaboration, and Sustainability ?? Back in January, my colleague Vincent Cheng and I had the privilege of being invited by Mabel Chan, lecturer in Marketing at the College of International Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, to give an assignment to a class of marketing undergrads. It was exciting to interact with final-year students and witness their fresh ideas for our imminent milestone celebration. ?? The assignment was to create an event marketing campaign, and we anticipated innovative perspectives to inject into our planning process. Fast forward to last Monday, Vincent and I were impressed by the abundance of interesting concepts from the assignment's presentations. It was evident that these students possessed potential and many of their proposals were highly campaign-worthy. ?? However, this experience reminds me of some critical aspects of marketing projects. While a good concept serves as a starting point, meticulous planning and excellent execution are essential. Given our limited resources, it is crucial for us to seize every opportunity to bring our ideas to life practically, without sacrificing creativity. ?? While embracing collaboration, we often lose sight of our own brand identity. It's easy to get carried away by exciting ideas and overlook core values and objectives. Striking the right balance and maintaining brand focus is essential to ensure that our initiatives align with our vision. ? Overall, it has been an enriching experience. Amidst the intensity of daily work, I am grateful for the "break" to witness the fresh ideas and dedication of these students. As we contemplate our celebratory campaign, we must remain mindful of our commitment to sustainability and ensure that our campaign reflects this vision. #MarketingInspiration ?? #Collaboration ?? #Education ?? #Branding ?? #Sustainability ??

Summer of transformation (1/2) ?? Guess who can now sing "and when I'm back in Chicago" and actually mean it ;) I love LA, but spending ten days in a city that feels so "city" made me feel alive! This May, I was selected to join a distinguished cohort of students from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism for the Chicago Maymester, an immersive professional experience in the Windy City. From speed walking in the Loop and morning lobby debriefs to family-style pizza and group manifestations, this trip ranged from stimulating to wholesome. What kind of strategist would I be if I didn't summarize the key learnings? ?? How to learn multi-dimensionally: Exploring a breadth of industries including music, sports, news, radio, and PR in a short span can seem overwhelming. We often gravitate towards our core interests and limit our attention elsewhere. I made a conscious effort to give equal attention to every area, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much each one enriched my perspective on my core passions of advertising and entertainment. ?? How to ask good questions: I am certain the formula for good questions is being prepared with context + active listening + predicting white spaces that everyone might benefit from + my own POV + succinct articulation + confidence! ?? How to take up space: Imagine speed-dating, but instead, you're visiting companies, learning about them, listening, and networking! This experience pushed me to make myself be seen and heard in professional settings and realize that space isn't scarce. There is enough room for my colleagues and me to gain value! I'm grateful to the teams at all our company visits at FCB Chicago, Golin, Weber Shandwick, NewsNation, Grubhub, Wasserman, Big Ten Network, Kevin Pang, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, Octagon, Flowers Communications Group, McDonald's, WBEZ Chicago and the Obama Foundation for creating such enriching learning interactions. A big thank you to Fred Cook, Melanie Scherenzel-Cherry, Mike Ploszek, and Katy Kelly for organizing a wealth of insightful company visits. And finally, a big shoutout to the whole group for being superstars—you all shine so bright ? #chicago #uscannenberg #networking #fighton