Branded Sheep

Hey everyone,

Another interesting article update this week. Passerby's in the UK discovered sheep in a field branded with a creepy smiley face. The stunt was owned by Alton Towers, a premier amusement park in the UK, as a publicity stunt for their upcoming new roller coaster. Alton Towers has been at it for months teasing locals and roller coaster enthusiasts alike, promising that the new coast will be like nothing ever seen before and include a never before created future, which many believe is clued to in the eyes of the smiley face. Check out this article on the sheep and Google the Alton Towers SW7 project for more information on what they're doing.

Thanks for reading,
Joe

Weekend Blues

Hello everyone,

The title, "Weekend Blues" may be a bit of a misdirection, but I think it speaks to the awkwardness that was this weekend. Primarily for the first time in 41 years Mercyhurst closed the university at the end of last week. Due to a drastic temperature shift, several water mains broke causing the school to have little to no water (depending on the building). On Thursday school was cancelled and arrangements were made for students to be sent home or moved somewhere safe. Now with water restored, classes are beginning again today.

While typically cancelling classes and creating a unforeseen break would be a blessing, not this weekend. As you have heard me discussing, this weekend was the 2013 Frozen Putt-A-Thon hosted by my student organization. My team and I spent Friday night and Saturday morning uncovering the course and decorating. Then from noon to 5 p.m., we opened the course, provided free hot chocolate and donuts, as well as hired a great DJ to keep the course rocking!

Overall, the event was a huge success. For the second time around, we had more than 60 people attend the event and considering that the majority of our Mercyhurst audience wasn't able to, that was a great success. We had the opportunity to succeed and make some mistakes, so now all there is to do is evaluate everything, compile resources and contacts for next year and move on to the next project.

We had a great day and I am proud to have such an amazing team. Here are some pictures of the crew doing the wobble on the course!

Thanks for reading,
Joe  

Busch Garden's Branding Change

Hello everyone,

Continuing on my assignment for industry news I bring the evolution of logos. After the new year Busch Gardens released designs for a new logo, but this is no small implementation. Logos are a big deal. Think of Coca-Cola, Ford or McDonald's, three iconic brands that the first thing you see in your mind is their logo, which is a representation of their product. Also consider the capital that will be involved in implementing it into the parks. Changing a logo is no small or cheap task.

Ever since I worked for Busch Gardens in 2011 I have received tidbits about the strength of the brand being in question. The company states that they conducted two years of research to determine how to alter and positively influence the brand.  The new logo as seen above is earthly and appeals to both the thrills and environmental identity maintained by Busch Gardens. The icon on the right is the coaster tree, which represents that "Fun Grows Here" at Busch Gardens.

Below, on the left, is the logo they are now transitioning from and, on the right, the original logo of the parks. All three tell a very different story, but considering what the brand is, the new logo is a great step toward better communicating that brand even though I still love the old red logo.

 

Thanks for reading,
Joe 

It's here!

 

Hello everyone!

It's finally here. After just under five months, this is the week for the Frozen Putt-A-Thon. The press release has been pushed out, more than 2,700 fliers have been distributed and every community event calendar in the county has the PRSSA Frozen Putt-A-Thon on it.With a snow storm on the way for the early part of the week, the troops are preparing to dig out the course and add about 4,500 twinkle lights, decorations and tinsel, all before doors open at 12 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. It's a great time for the PRSSA chapter and I'm super excited for the event. If you're interested in coming, please visit us at frozenputt.com.

Harbor View Miniature Golf - Erie, PA

While I have been telling you a lot about my PRSSA adventures, this past week I hosted the "Epic Program" as an event in my freshman hall, though I cannot take all the credit for it. First of all, the idea came from a wise man named Shaun. Shaun is an HR master who is originally from Australia, but now travels the world starting parks and training their management team and team members. I met Shaun as part of my IAAPA Attractions Expo experience over the last two years. This is called "Rock Paper Scissors Warriors," and perhaps is not nearly as good as the IAAPA team, but we had a blast doing it in Warde. Thank you all for participating if you're reading this! Check out the video below.

Have a wonderful week!

Thanks for reading,
Joe

Industry Articles

Hello everyone, 

This week's article is brought to us by the PRSA, the parent organization of the Mercyhurst PRSSA chapter. Interesting enough, the gentleman who was interviewed is David Mandt, the Vice President of Communication for IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions). This is interesting because David was my supervisor during the 2012 IAAPA Attractions Expo during my stint as a social media ambassador. He comes with many years of combined experiences in the amusement and PR worlds, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to learn from him once again. 

While you can find the link to David's article here, I wanted to pull out two things that David said that hit me particularly well. He said that for someone looking to get into the travel and tourism sector they should, "have a passion for this business." He also said why he loves working in the industry, "I love working in an industry that’s all about making people smile." I feel that these two things align closely with my own prospective and I really enjoyed the positive affirmation that I am heading in the right direction.

Thanks for reading, 
Joe

Halfway There

Hello everyone,

This post just reminds me of this song. Listen to this clip while you read below.

When I think of halfway there, this song reverberates through my head, though I don't know if the song provides any more parallels than that. This week represents the halfway point of my senior year, which incorporates a mixture of emotions. I wouldn't say I'm living on a prayer, rather that I'm living the dream. College makes you think, dream and desire more. You aren't asked to settle, but look beyond the average and seek the extraordinary. Oddly enough that leads students to seek life beyond these gates, which is where my emotion lies. Three and a half years at Mercyhurst have changed how I define myself. It's difficult to move away from the place that has created that definition, however because of it it's hard not to seek more. Luckily, it's only halfway there and not graduation day, because I still have four months to enjoy Mercy World (Mercy World - slag term, the world that is Mercyhurst).

The last week threw me on my butt. I'm just finally getting back with the swing as I am recovering from the flu and strep simultaneously. I have been to the doctor twice in the last week and all I can say is that the nurses at the Cohen Health Center are incredible. They are just so caring and sweet. I feel better just thinking about it!

Jan. 26, 2013 | 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. | Harbor View Miniature Golf

Finally, two week countdown until the Frozen Putt-A-Thon. I love this whole learning thing. We have been working on this since our first meeting in August and have seen our fair share of disappointment, but I am proud of our group not letting that get them down! Click the link above for more information and click to join our Facebook event.

That's all I have for you! Enjoy the second half of your January. Remember, the days only get longer from here! :-)

Thanks for reading,
Joe

Industry Articles

Hello everyone,

Happy New Year! I hope your first full week back is going swell. I'm excited to get back into the swing of things as there are many exciting activities ahead. This post is the first in a series that is actually a requirement of my Professional Development class. We have been asked to seek and post articles related to our areas of interest, so for the next several weeks I will be posting them here!

The first article was written by Chad Emerson and aligns perfectly with the book I'm reading, "The Disney Way." Emerson interviewed Vicki Johnson, the Director of Worldwide Sales and Travel Ops PR at Disney Destinations. She talks of her experiences moving to the Disney team and how great leaders inspire her, and all the other employees, to do great things. You can see a copy of the article here.

Thanks for reading, 

Joe