Hello World!

Welcome to Discover the MAC!

Discover the MAC seeks to explore each element

encompassing the “MAC” and illustrate the cross-functional relationships

which exist between them. The “MAC” is an acronym I’ve created which equates to

MILLENNIALS + Marketing ANALYTICS + Multicultural CONSUMERS. Cute right? Honestly it’s just a way 

for me to share my knowledge and explore 3 very important topics I’ll touch on later.

But for now….

Introductions 🙂

Hi, I’m Amanda!

This blog originally started out

as a project for my graduate program,

however,

given my passions I have decided to continue it

in the hopes of educating and connecting with like minded individuals 😀

I am enrolled in the Masters of Science in

International Marketing Management as well as the Database & Business Intelligence

Graduate Certificate Programs. According to Gartner Research, “By 2017, Chief Marketing Officers

will spend more on information technology than their counterpart Chief Information Officers.”

While my passion for marketing and understanding consumer behavior sparked long before the

technology boom, I am hopeful that my education at BU will prepare me for the next wave of

marketing-technology integrated roles as I continue to develop my career.

Plus….have you heard of BIG DATA?! 

The ability to :

* Create Journey Maps

* Harness Voice of the Customer

* Illustrate the Customer Experience

(just to name a few) through use of data

provides a whole new opportunity for marketers alike and

thus the role of Marketing ANALYTICS will continue to evolve in

importance so why not spark the conversation???

Before I Go

I should probably explain

how MILLENNIALS and

Multicultural CONSUMERS

fit into the equation.

Left: Viacom Headquarters in the Heart of Times Square  

Right: My Old Desk with Chris Brown as Inspiration (before the craziness)

Well……

During my sophomore year of undergrad, I interned at Black Entertainment Television Networks

in the consumer insights dept.  For my final project, I built a comprehensive model of the

African American Millennial experience using GFK’s MEMRI proprietary software.

As I analyzed the data I saw my younger self revealed – from media

consumption to personal beliefs/attitudes to brands I’d be

most likely to buy, It fascinated me! During this

time I was also able to dive into research

on the hispanic consumer.

According to Nielsen

African-Americans’

buying power

is

expected to

reach $1.1 trillion by 2015.

Hmm..I wonder what the numbers are now?

Millennials now account for 24% of the U.S. population

and will be increasing entering and altering the

workforce and economy. Just some

food for thought…

Both MILLENNIALS and Multicultural CONSUMERS

will become game changers in the economy over the next few years and

as someone who falls ino both buckets, who better to spark the conversation about it?

Thanks for stopping by.

 I look forward to a great semester with you all 😀

If you desire to Discover the MAC, definitely click subscribe above!

~ Miss AJ

Random Fact….My 1st day as an intern at BET, I saw Chris Brown coming out of an elevator…my boss gave me permission to chase him down…talk about professionalism & making a good first impression!

Girl, Do You Really Need That Masters?

Interesting post on decisions millennials make today in reference to the grad school admissions process.

Check it out and let’s spark the conversation!

Applying While Black

There’s mad hype around getting multiple degrees to complement or supplement a JD or MBA. It’s tempting: Why not apply to all the programs your heart desires? Pile ‘em on! What is there to lose?! Well, actually, a lot.

As someone who’s in the middle of a joint degree program, I can attest to the challenges: money, time, logistics of moving and relocating between programs, scheduling conflict, loss of leadership opportunities. Adding a degree will do nothing for you if you don’t have: (1) a clear vision for its use, (2) degrees that can operationalize into a job/networks/region that the other degree cannot, and (3) a clear understanding of which of the two is the core degree (more on what that means in a second).

I don’t say all of this to discourage anyone from pursuing a joint degree program. Not at all. I can’t talk seeing as how I’m…

View original post 615 more words

Article Review: Embrace Your Inner Millennial

Check out this awesome post on why we should all “Embrace our Inner Millennial“ by one of my co-workers on LinkedIn. Sneak Preview Posted Below:

Even if you are 40, 50 or 60 years old I bet you resemble most, if not all, of Solomon’s 5 Millennial traits.  Think about it – we all use technology to stay connected, pay bills, go on vacation and watch TV shows. We all Google every “how to” question before we read a manual. Our attention spans have shortened – no one watches commercials on TV. We demand everything to be quick, easy, and online. Are you texting yet? Yes, you are. Are you staying connected to family, friends, co-workers, and school mates on social media? Yes! How do you share photos? I bet it’s not in a photo album. How do you listen to music – on a CD player?

Do you find yourself asking “why” a whole lot more?  It’s because you have changed.  Stuff has to make practical sense and it has to be easy or you’re not doing it. Are you sending movie tickets and boarding passes to your i-devices? Yes! And how many i-devices are in your charging in your home every night? Are you Tweeting and Yelping at the sign of any dissatisfaction? Uh-huh. You are a Millennial!

---

Quoted from Jim Bass, LinkedIn Article Location

~ Miss AJ

#SparkTheConversation #MillennialMindset #DiscoverTheMAC

Article Review: Millennials: The Money-Conscious Generation?

Yes! Yes! And again I’ll say Yesssss! Forbes hit the nail on the head with this one and I appreciate the solid representation of my financial habits as a millennial.

If I can take a moment to acknowledge this awesome statement by Emily Pachuta, head of investor insights at UBS:

“They have a Depression-era mindset largely because they experienced market volatility and job security issues very early in their careers, or watched their parents experience them, and it has had a significant impact on their attitudes and behaviors.”

She simply gets it. As a millennial, I need society, companies, family, friends and whoever else to understand that there are so many forces at play influencing how my generation operates – and financial habits are of no exception. While yes we want to live life to the fullest with no regrets, it doesn’t change the reality of massive student loan debt, the pressure to save for retirement (since social security won’t be an option ), and even the basic desire of wanting to live a better life than our parents did.

So yes, at 23 I stick to a strict budget. I save towards my 401K and take advantage of my employer’s awesome match program (because Who doesn’t want free money?!). I’m careful to not make the same financial mistakes my parents made. I hang out with friends and even take vacations to travel when its affordable.

There is a balance between living a purpose-fulfilled life while not digging yourself into a financial hole and we millennials are showing them how it’s done! Kudos Maggie McGrath for sparking the conversation. I’ve posted some highlights from the article but definitely check it out and let me know your thoughts! #MillennialMoney

Highlights:

88% of Gen Y respondents said they are pretty good at living within their means

75% of millennials track their expenses carefully (vs 64% Boomers)

67% of millennials stick to a budget (vs 55% Boomers)

40% of millennials have increased their 401(k) contributions in the past 12 months (vs 21% Boomers)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2015/06/22/millennials-the-money-conscious-generation/

~Miss AJ

Discover the MAC – Overview Section

For those new to the page wanting to understand what is the MAC – this post is for you!

In short description

Discover the MAC seeks to explore each element encompassing the MAC and illustrate the cross-functional relationships which exist between them.

MAC = MILLENNIALS + Marketing ANALYTICS + Multicultural CONSUMERS

In order for all my readers to be on the same page, I have created a section called The MAC that  includes 3

sub-pages – each providing a brief overview of one of the elements of the MAC.  🙂

Me & One of my Best Friends from UPenn….aka…The Quaker, our Mascot 🙂 Fall 2012

Let’s continue to *Spark the Conversation* Together ~ I love to read your comments/thoughts on the topics

being discussed so as always say what’s on your mind and let’s talk about it!

~ Miss AJ

Marketing and Big Data

Personally, when I think of Marketing Analytics, the relationship between marketing and big data comes to mind. A definition for marketing is provided on the marketing analytics overview page under “The MAC”. However, I want to focus on the big data piece here. A consistent sentiment across research is something along the lines of – Yes big data is great! But if no one knows how to manage and interpret it to draw insights, then whats the value?! – Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ve included a slightly humorous cartoon to illustrate my point below 🙂

via eQuest

 

According to SAS (Statistical Analysis System) Institute Inc., “Big data is a popular term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both structured and unstructured”. SAS Institute Inc. further explains the 5 key characteristics used to describe big data which are: 

Do You Know Demographics?

Let’s Spark the Conversation on Millennials!

Think you know the demographics?

Well before I share my knowledge on the subject I want to hear from you!

Choose which you believe to be most accurate.

I would love to hear your reasons for your selections so definitely leave a comment below.

I look forward to sharing the results and getting more in depth on this topic!

~ Miss AJ

A Passion for Consumer Behavior

Since one of the topics we will be discussing focuses on the relationship between marketing and analytics, I thought I would share how I got involved with marketing in the first place. I sort of laugh about it when I look back on it now 😀

The Langhorne Family ❤

As an African-American first generation college student and oldest of three siblings, success was never an option. Education was always viewed as a necessity to create opportunities for a better future in our house. Being the oldest in the family, I instinctively became a role model for my younger brothers and that drove my internal wish for success. As I continued to grow and excel in the classroom my accomplishments and potential served as a beacon of hope for the rest of the family and in what the Langhorne name could one day mean to society. Although I was on the right path in life, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I grow up, but in middle school that all started to change.