Archive for May, 2009

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Student causes commotion in Ängelholm!

27 May 2009

Sandra in KM07 at Academedia in Malmö has just finished her intern ship at Comotion in Ängelholm, an advertising agency. One of her projects has been a guerrilla campaign using an unusual approach;

Sandra is also doing her thesis at Comotion and the 3rd of July she is together with 26 other students ready to bring on the world! For more information please visit KM07 website; www.km07.se

For more information regarding Comotion please visit their website; http://www.comotion.se/

Donna

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Creative Marketing KM09 – what can you expect?

17 May 2009

The last date for applying to the class of Creative Marketing 09 was last Friday the 15th of May. As the program manager I receive a lot of emails, several phone calls and requests from people regarding the process, who gets in and who doesn’t. What is our focus?

Well, I can tell you that age has nothing to do with it, grades has nothing to do with it and earlier experience of marketing and advertising has nothing to do with it! It all comes down to the person and him or hers own desires. Why did you apply? What do you want to do with the program Creative Marketing? Where do you see yourself 3 years from now? What is your focus?

You can expect full-time studying; having a job outside of school can be hard but not impossible. You will need great team work ability. Almost everything is in project form. You can expect 20 year old team mates and 45 year old team mates. It will be demanding, intense and require a great deal of self knowledge something that will grow along the way.

The interviews are scheduled for week 23 and 24 and I have assembled a team of co workers with a lot of different backgrounds and experiences. We will work very hard in order to get everyone an answer before midsummer.

Are you ready? Good luck everyone!

Donna

Program manager Academedia

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Never stop learning!

10 May 2009

A popular motto is that we are all pupils of life. True and very cliché at the same time….

Happenings in life today are wireless, transparent and on a constant update mode which makes some people left behind. The need to keep up causes many people stress and creates in some cases a big gap, not only between generations but knowledge wise as well. Many people feel actually stupid because they don’t know or understand the latest trends and that causes a resistance to new things. Not all people have the time for all the online projects in order to brand themselves. Do this, you must be there, can’t live without…..the so called expertise advice on how to create carrier and personal branding is a never ending flow of dos and don’ts. What about me? What about what I want? Do I have to have a blog in order to get my message out and communicate? Do I really need to twitter to be able to get my dream job?

I think we all should have a motto that says never stop learning! Because it is timeless, ageless and the best investment you can ever do! For me it doesn’t mean follow every trend there is, it means that I keep an open mind. You choose whatever you want for yourself and you can create your own path in life. There is a time for everything and listening is one of them, doing is another and creating is crucial. You choose for you.

To be aware is the result of choices and an open mind.

Listen – choose – action = aware!

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Soccer and soul

07 May 2009

I love soccer! I have never played the game myself but my 16 year old son plays in Högaborgs Bollklubb and has done so for the past 8 years. The soul of soccer is the team!

One crucial motto that is used is the team comes first and I kind of like that idea. Not all the time but lot of the time. I have a degree in project management and the first thing they told us when we started was; when a project succeeds it is because of the teams efforts and when a project fails it is the team manager’s fault. True or not that is very often the perception. This is also the result very often seen within soccer, when a team doesn’t measure up they often blame the coach and fires him or her. No mercy. No explanation. You are out!

I have seen coaches that just made all the difference both ways, good and bad. I have seen coaches totally loosing it even when it comes to children as young as 6 years, not a pretty sight I can tell you. I have also seen coaches for adults bringing out the best of a team but what about the team’s own responsibility? How responsible are you as a team member when it comes to the result? What part did you play? Did you even participate or did you just hung up your shoes so to speak?

Leadership, group dynamics and team building are all great interest of mine and I think group sports are a great foundation in life for all of us. Last year I heard about a guy in the Swedish soccer organization, people were talking about him as a great inspiration and mentor. His name is Johan Fallby and he is a Sport Psychologist and behaviourist for all national soccer teams from the age of 15 and up. As it came about I had the pleasure to talk to him and I was truly inspired! Players in HBK told me about him and how he talked about inspiration, motivation and great team responsibility.

So it is my great pleasure to announce that Johan Fallby will be one of the lecturers at Academedias inspiration day the 15th of October this year in Malmö!

More information will follow soon.

Donna

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The 7th generation…

03 May 2009

Ever since I worked at IKEA organizing an event with the theme Sustainability I have gained more knowledge and a better understanding but also a great interest of this special topic. I have had the pleasure to listen to several fantastic lecturers such as Sasja Beslik at Banco Fonder, he talks about Corporate Social Responsibility and ethical investments, Erland Källén who is professor in dynamic metrology at Stockholm University and Thomas Bergmark who is in charge of Sustainability affairs within IKEA Group to just mention a few!

Sustainability is very often misread as just environmental issues but it is so much more! It includes factors and directives on so many levels; social, ethical, economical and environmental. IKEA has something called IWAY which stands for The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products. It is simply code of conduct. The company has also supplemented IWAY with a specific code of conduct for child labour – The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labour. Other code of conducts is The IKEA Way on Distributing Home Furnishing Products and The IKEA Way on Purchasing Food. So Sustainability is here to stay, it is very clear that IKEA has incorporated it with the business idea and vision.

When I first heard the word I remembered a phrase from the Native Americans, the 7th generation. This is a term used when making powerful decisions, to consider how the 7th generation will be impacted of what you are about to do. To actually make a sustainable decision for future generations. Many Native Americans are organized in different groups that target this factor with a spiritual insight as they feel we are all connected.

So, on a personal note, if I consider the 7th generation in my own personal life a lot of things just falls away, not that strange! Health, family and friends are key factors but if I would to apply the 7th generation what would I have to change? Is it even possible? I think so! Because on a personal level it is not the big gestures, it is the conscious decisions that matters and that I make them on a daily basis. For instance my purchase patterns have changed, my view of things has changed and my perceptions have changed. It is a great start!

Academedia is organizing an inspirational event the 15th of October this year and we are so happy to announce that Thomas Bergmark from IKEA is one the lectures! More information is coming up.

Donna

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Draknästet in the house!

01 May 2009

The set up is a place for entrepreneurs and inventors where they can pitch their ideas and products to a panel of financial giants and seek funds in exchange for shares in the company. It is very interesting to hear the discussions, reflections and feedback. What I find very appealing is that they keep it simple, concrete and direct. No way around!

In the premiere episode Solentro – a company from Malmö participated with the idea “make your own book”, a new place on the net where anyone can order and make their own unique product.

I like the idea very much! It might not be new, they might not be first on the market or even the biggest player around but it will still be a great idea no matter how you twist and turn it. I think the challenge for Solentro is three things; marketing, network and target group attraction. And it is no COINCIDENCE that right now there is a student from Creative Marketing at Academedia doing her internship there! I look forward to read her report when she comes back!

I wish the company the best of luck and I look forward to perhaps work with them on my next event in Malmö!

Do you wonder how they did in front of the dragons? Look!

http://svtplay.se/v/1530648/lyckas_broderna_salja_in_sin_boknatide

Donna