Three Companies Taking Marketing to a New Level

By: Maureen Corbett

The theme for this semester’s new LACD interns is “Making the Common Uncommon.” Here in the Career Development office, we've been brainstorming ways to turn our everyday services and resources into uncommon tools that will help empower students to grow themselves professionally. A countless number of companies try to do this on a daily basis, but only some succeed at truly standing out among the crowd. Read on to learn about a few that have done it right, and how LACD can apply these techniques to better serve Liberal Arts students:

Sephora

This well-known makeup company recently launched a mobile marketing campaign with the intention of seamlessly integrating their online and offline shopping experience. They've created a groundbreaking mobile app that provides services their customers didn't even know they wanted. They've taken makeup to a whole new level by equipping their staff with iPads, saving their customers' purchases history, and effectively incorporating technology into the shopping experience. LACD can build off this idea by providing services to their students that are innovative and effortless.

                                        Walgreen's

For me, picking up a prescription at the pharmacy has always been an intimidating process. I feel like something always goes wrong, whether I forget when a refill is due or my insurance information isn't up-to-date. This past year Walgreen’s recognized that I am not the only customer of theirs who feels this way, and decided to make a dramatic change. They developed mobile refill technology and created a whole new store layout which brought pharmacists out from behind the counter and made them more accessible to patients. In a similar context, applying for jobs and editing resumes can be a scary and intimidating process for some students. LACD can learn from Walgreen's by becoming more accessible to students and developing ways to more efficiently cater to the needs of those who are nervous about beginning their career paths.

                                                      FedEx

The launch of their We <3 Logistics campaign portrayed FedEx as a behind-the-scenes company that takes care of all the simple business problems to help companies run more smoothly. In the same way, the LACD office conducts behind-the-scenes work for students looking to develop their professional lives. We want to do our job so well that students can easily use our services and resources to go out and be successful and do what they do best.

In summary, great things are in store for next semester in career development! We are all geared up and ready to take our work to a whole new uncommon level.