On Wednesday, September 11th, 2019, Donna Wertalik and a dozen PRISMites hit the road for the annual New York City trip. This was PRISM’s ninth year making a visit to the city to check out big time companies and agencies, and each year the attendees come back with a wealth of advice, inspiration, and lasting memories.
Over the course of three days, the team attended two networking events and visited Mastercard, NBA 2k, FutureBrand, Grey, FCB Health, and Cheddar.
Wednesday
The team left bright and early on Wednesday morning to board the train to New York. After arriving in the city and getting settled into the hotel, the weekend’s festivities kicked off with a rooftop alumni event where current members got to network with former PRISMites now working in the industry. “It goes without saying that my favorite part of the NYC trip (aside from the food and sightseeing of course) was our Alumni Social Hour event,” explained junior Laila Houser. “I really valued the opportunity to speak with people about my career goals, and learn from their real-world experience in a city that I someday want to be a part of.“
“One of the big reasons why I wanted to join PRISM was rooted in the fact that our alumni network is so strong. Spanning from coast to coast, I was excited about the idea of learning from such talented, creative, and driven individuals. I felt truly inspired by the determination of our alumni network in the Big Apple, and can’t wait for the day that I can share my own stories with younger PRISMites the way they have for me.” — Laila Houser
Thursday
First on Thursday’s agenda was Mastercard, where the team received valuable professional advice like “Your brand equals your utility” and how to embrace the mentality of “How can I be a valuable use of someone’s time?”
The next stop of the day was 645 Fifth Avenue…also known as the NBA headquarters. PRISM had the opportunity to tour the site and gain insight on NBA 2k and their strategy for success in the market for e-sports.
At FutureBrand, a global brand consultancy, the team enjoyed listening to a case study about a campaign for Nespresso in which the company was marketed as the “Louis Vuitton of coffee.” Their key takeaway was that “agencies are in the business of change” and seek to “spark magic through logic.”
Thursday night ended with a Women in Business event, where attendees got to listen to a panel of guest speakers talk about how they found success in their careers.
Friday
On Friday, the team started their day by visiting Grey, an international ad agency serving clients including Pfizer, AARP, Canon and FitBit to name a few. After learning about some pro-bono work the agency recently did for a non-profit based out of Roanoke, PRISM headed to FCB Health where they got to participate in a fun scavenger hunt activity and learn about available internships and job opportunities.
The last stop of the trip was Cheddar, a digital news broadcasting network run by one of Forbes 30 under 30!
“It was really cool to see people that recently graduated now living in the city with real adult jobs and thriving,” said junior Kendyl Florence. “New York was so fun and it really opened my eyes to which paths in marketing I think I fit best in.”
After a busy and exciting few days, the team got back on the train to return to Blacksburg feeling more inspired than ever about the opportunities ahead in the dynamic world of marketing!