For the last couple months, we have been working with Haagen Dazs doing some positioning and strategy work with them. We had all sorts of collaboration from nearly everybody in the lab during Spring term. After weeks of brainstorming, presenting, and reworking different strategies, we were able to narrow our ideas into one solid idea and head to northern California to pitch our ideas to them.
The pitch team along with a few other students met with a few representatives of Haagen Dazs at the Dreyers headquarters in Oakland. Needless to say, the hard work over the past few months payed off and the pitch went great! They loved our ideas. We then spent some time answering questions and talking about the process we went through. Everyone there was incredibly positive and helpful, and they even gave us a few free scoops as a show of hospitality—although some of us were holding out for the free years’ supply. Maybe next time.
Our group of about a dozen or so students then tried to keep up, quite literally, with Jeff as he guided us around the city. The next day, he had set up a few visits with agencies in San Francisco. We first met with DDB and got to ask a lot of questions and find out a lot about their mentality and personality as an agency. Shortly after, we headed a couple blocks away to Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners. It was helpful to talk with different people about their experience in the advertising field and their opinions about agency life. We even got to meet a few former Ad Labbers who were currently employed at Goodby. What was it that the majority of people liked most about working in San Francisco? The big city feel like New York, with the layed back atmosphere of California. I’m sold.
Overall, the trip was a huge success. For almost all of us, it was a first chance to visit a real agency outside of Utah. Simply meeting with HR people, account managers, and a few creatives was a huge help. Pitching to a company like Haagen Dazs is also something that we might not get at any other program. Props to Jeff for setting everything up for us.
-Scott (Copywriter from Salt Lake City)