Merry Christmas...

...and a Happy New Year!

Here is one last post before Christmas to say thank you all for reading my blog and to wish you a lovely Christmas! Time to enjoy the festivities, time with family and indulge in lots of lovely food!

I will be returning with a new post in 2014!

For the time-being you can keep up to date with my goings on here!

xxx

Christmas is just around the corner....!

Right it has been a while but I am back with another post...! It's been a manic couple of weeks with deadlines, Christmas get-togethers and starting to pack for going home for Christmas! I cannot believe how quickly this semester has gone...! And I worked out that there are only 12 weeks timetabled once we are back in January before our exams start! Crumbs!

I wouldn't have got through this semester without my Dad at the end of the phone and my friends (thanks for dealing with my breaking down!). This year is a tough one, but is worth it :) I have loved all the modules (bar one) so far, and cannot wait to continue with them in 2014!

I am just finishing off my last assignment, which is a "Springboard into Work" report on how I plan to look for graduate employment etc. It's been interested to write and look at all the different methods of looking for jobs! I managed to get a big section about #northantshour and #MKHour into my work, which I thought was pretty impressive!

So Christmas is literally just around the corner, and I haven't really started my Christmas shopping (so bad, I know!) All I have got is a few bits and bobs here and there... Meadowhall is getting a visit on Friday..Warning to other shoppers that I will be a woman on a mission so don't get in my way!

What are everyone's plans for Christmas? Going away? Family? FOOD!?

I am going home to spend Christmas with my family (and Cat) - I cannot wait! So excited to see everyone! I also have my boyfriend's family coming over for Christmas Eve (first time in six years!!)

Ciao xx

ASA

This week has been stressful to the max with deadlines etc. so I do apologise that this isn't a very long post!

In my Marketing Communications module this week we were looking at adverts which have been banned by the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency). Each person in the seminar brought in an example and I cannot believe how shocking some of them were! How do they even get produced in the first place?!

The example I took along can be seen here - hilarious, but totally inappropriate! Other examples included Pot Noodle and KFC.

So talking of adverts, Christmas has well and truly taken over the telly! Has anyone seen this advert by Harvey Nichols?

I am really not sure what to think of it! I mean it is good, and I understand it but is the message right for this time of the year? Surely we should be giving to those we love and cherish rather than spending on ourselves?!

I don't know about you but I am thoroughly looking forward to the Christmas break now! Final year is by far the toughest yet and I am ready for some Christmasy food, drink and merriment!

Ciao x

p.s Anyone got their Christmas decorations up yet? We have! :D 

December is coming!

Less than one month to go till Christmas, I cannot quite believe it...! The Christmas decorations will be going up on the 1st December (we want to make the most of them in the flat as we have to take them down before we head home!) and my Christmas shopping is not going well! I feel online shopping will be required for most people!

I spent last weekend at home in Northampton, which included a lovely meal at the Old Red Lion in Litchborough - highly recommend the Halluomi Filo Parcel! Going home for the weekend was lovely as it gave me a chance to relax a little whilst enjoying some home comforts! (Mum made a cake!)

I am currently doing an assignment on Strategic Management which is proving to be more difficult than I first thought! I have to say that this is my least favourite module at the moment, it's a core module which everyone within the Business School has to take. I find it interesting but it seems to be fairly outdated in some approaches! Roll on 6th December when it is hand in day for this!

The next assignment is based on Global Marketing, which I find really interesting! It is great to see how different countries operate and get a wider understanding of differing processes.

Right I best get back to my assignments! (Need to clean the flat too!!!)

Ciao x

A quick update

Oh, hi there.

I had fully intended on writing a post about something else this week but I am struggling to find the right words so that will come later!

The past couple of weeks have been manic with deadlines, reading and general housekeeping! My lovely friends have been graduating, which makes me sad that I am not graduating with them, but has really motivated me to work really hard! A big congratulations to them!

This week I have been to two workshops about graduate employment - some useful tips were given! I have decided to start really looking in March for jobs... but I will keep my eyes peeled for any opportunities! Step provided a guest speaker to provide information on ways of getting into graduate recruitment. 

I am so excited about what is to come over the next 6 months! :)

So I am heading home this weekend for a long-weekend of home comforts! Christmas shopping needs to commence and I am going to use the time to crack on with my next assignment! (Plus celebrate my Dad's birthday!) I am looking forward to catching up with a few people too!

Bit of a short one this week but bare with me because the next post will be longer!

Ciao xx

Feeling Festive...

Right so 2 assignments are complete... only 3 more to go before the C word... Christmas! (Is it too early to mention that?!)

Only 6 weeks left of this semester, where has the time gone?! It's been an emotional rollercoaster so far... The pressure I put on myself with assignments is crazy! But there is light at the end of the tunnel and I am looking forward to the Christmas break! Assignments still to do include looking at the strategies for a company, taking an existing company to a new country, and a report on my job search so far...! No big deal! (haha)

Anyway, enough about that...

.... Have you seen the John Lewis and M&S Christmas ads? Not sure what your feelings are but I am not really a fan of the JL one, although I have to say that it is growing on me! However I LOVE the M&S one!

I also think the Aldi Christmas advert deserves a mention - simple yet so effective! And the Sainsbury's Christmas "film" is worth checking out if you have some spare time!

As you might be able to tell I am feeling festive! I want to start writing my Christmas cards and buying gifts! Might need to wait for a while though! Hopefully Sheffield is going to have a Christmas market... fingers crossed! Christmas films will start soon!

I am writing a cheeky blog about jobs...Coming soon to a blog (well this blog) near you...!

Ciao x

Are companies social enough?

I am a student with very little time to do a lot of research into products and services that I want to buy - I do a lot of online shopping purely for ease, as I can order from my sofa and then go back to my uni work.

If I can't find the answer to my question quickly on a website I will turn to social media and pose my question to the company via Twitter, Facebook etc. It's perfect for me, it means that I can just go back to my work and wait for the answer to my question to come through to my phone/laptop.

But here is the thing that really bugs me... Sometimes I don't get a response! Sounds like I am just having a little rant, but it only bugs me when the company have tweeted since I posed my question. They tweet things about their company etc but are ignoring the questions/comments posed by customers!! WHY?! We live in a fast moving social world now and it seems that some companies are not able to keep up! Time to review your social media plan? I think so!

Don't get me wrong, if a company doesn't get back to me and don't tweet other things in between time then that is fine... and I do give them time to get back to me! But if you ignore me and tweet about other things that only benefit your business, you are likely to lose me as a customer! Harsh but true.

And lastly, another problem is when a company tweets back and then cannot deliver on actual customer service. One example is a well known phone company... Had a nightmare with them!

What are your thoughts? Had any good or bad experiences? I would love to hear about them!

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This next coming week is a crazy one with assignment deadlines - so it is unlikely there will be a blog post! Someone get me back to this place...

Please?