Olsen, M, Week 4

Welcome back for Week 4!

This week we had students present on their readings and 3 field trips!

To start off our week, we had 3 students present on their readings from the three books. What I found to be most interesting from this weeks reading is from The Definitive Guide to Entertainment Marketing by Lieberman and Esgate pages 178-192. What was most interesting from this section is how gaming is so popular in today's day and age across all ages and genders. It is stated that “eighty percent of the ten top-grossing iPhone apps in America-and 85% of the top 20- are now free” and that this is because of those individuals making in game purchases which is where they make their money (Lieberman & Esgate, 2014, p. 181). I have a few friends that have spent a significant amount of money on games such as Candy Crush, Pokemon Go, and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood all free to play, but when they get stuck or want something they spend the $.99 or more to get it!

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On Tuesday we went on a field trip to Community Broadcasters, a radio broadcasting company. There we spoke with Mr. Bruce S. who is a local sales manager, CRMP. He gave us a presentation on how they sell commercial spots on the radio, how they market their radio station at events, and how they have converted with the changing technologies; streaming services. We also were given a tour of the building where we were able to see the rooms where the radio hosts control their stations.

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On Wednesday we went on a field trip to WETM, a NBC-affiliated television station in the Elmira area. There we spoke with Lisa S, who is the Integrated Digital Specialist. She gave us a tour of the facilities and told us about the marketing they do. We were told that some companies buy commercial slots at specific times or during specific events while others will buy slots that can be aired any time and date! During the tour of the facilities we were able to see where they film the news, do the weather and sports broadcasts, and do interviews with guests.

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On Thursday we went on our final field trip to Tioga Downs Casino and Resort. There we met with Mr. Jim W. and Ms. Christina L. They spoke to us about the casino, the new hotel, the events they host, and the promoting that goes along with it. Tioga Downs has 942 slot machines, 32 table games, 12 poker tables, 160 hotel rooms, an arcade, a health and fitness center, a full spa, 3 pools, a waterslide, and 8 dining outlets. I think that the events and promotions they are hosting are all great ideas in order to expand their name. They host Winterfest to get families in the doors, they host Senior Day every Wednesday, they hosted a Water Pong contest and have concerts that targeted at all ages and families.

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To wrap up our week, we had the final three students present on their readings. What I found to be most interesting from this set of readings was from Sharara’s Why We Play, pages 47-53. What I found to be most interesting from this section is that Tom Brady, arguably the best player in the NFL was the 199th pick of the 6th round in the NFL Draft. A quote that I really enjoyed from this section is "Tom Brady is not an athlete by success – he worked extremely hard to get where he is today,” (Sharara, 2017, p. 50-51). I feel a sense of connection to this quote because I was arguably the worst flyer on the cheerleading team my freshman year. I had a lot of experience tumbling due to being a gymnast, but very little experience being a flyer, let alone a college level flyer. I worked extremely all of my freshman year and by the end was recognized as “Most Improved” and “Rookie of the Year” which was a huge accomplishment in my eyes. Now fast forward to 2018 and I was recognized as a 2x “Most Outstanding Flyer” award (2017 and 2018) and “Cheerleader of the Year” for the 2018 season. Everyone can do what they set their mind to, they just have to have the drive to do so and I am proud of myself for having the drive to accomplish what I want and set out to do!

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I can't believe that this course is coming to a close! This course has truly been so amazing and I am so grateful for the opportunities that I have had!

~Marissa Olsen