Reflection

= Reflection on CCT 356 =

This course on online advertising and marketing has been a great opportunity to learn more about the new way of communicating information about brands, companies, products and campaigns via the internet. As today's society is becoming more and more based on online activities, marketing online is essential in reaching a desired audience, and is also a great way to get the attention of an audience as more consumers are not responding to traditional methods.

Coming into this class I didn't know very much about online advertising and how it worked. I obviously has been exposed to the different styles such as banner ads, facebook ads, pop-ups and viral marketing, but i was unaware of the attention and detail spent on creating online campaigns. Also what intrigued my attention, was the fact that most companies campaigns are holistic in design, meaning that they integrate offline and online advertisements, and also make sure all online advertisements are unique but sending out the same message or theme.

Learning about mobile marketing at the end of this course is something I found very interesting, as I had not realized the opportunities and advantages it possessed. Realizing that more people have cell phones than internet connections world wide, mobiles are usually always on us and always turned on, and the fact that they have built in payment systems are facts that I have always known about but not considered in terms of their marketing abilities. After learning more about mobile marketing I do see it as a great way to get information out to the public in the future, and has many capabilities of becoming the next big thing, along with viral marketing. I do want to learn more about this topic and hope to have the ability to work on ideas for this field in the future.

I have recently begun to put some of the practices I have learned in this class into action, as I have taken on the role of marketing and communications director of Opportunity International's child organization YAO (young ambassadors of opportunity) Toronto chapter. YAO is an organization for young professionals aged 18-35 who want to get involved in donating their time or money to a non-profit which seeks to fundraise so micro-loans of about $130 can be distributed to small entrepreneurs in third world countries (currently aiding in Colombia). My role includes keeping up to date information on YAO Toronto's Facebook page, along with creating marketing material like event posters, and I will soon be developing a YAO Toronto LinkedIn account, and Facebook advertisements to be run on a small budget.

This course was very beneficial as it taught me something not only about advertising and marketing products and services, but also how marketing techniques can be utilized to market the most important asset we all have, ourselves. As our environment is more technological and information driven than ever before, a persons intelligence and skills are the main selling points at their disposal. Jobs in the communication and media field are becoming more competitive and desired every moment, therefore an individual like myself who is just emerging into the industry must remember to always portray myself in a professional manner and apply the skills I have developed as often as possible. Developing a personal portfolio such as this one is a great technique to allow others to see what I have been doing with my time, and allow them to give me feedback, as we all know social networking and is the key to success in branding oneself.