This semester, Marketing and Fashion Marketing Chair Wendy Bendoni has taken her students on an enriching series of field trips throughout Los Angeles. Students have been able to get first-hand experience meeting industry experts and learning about the world of marketing, from branding to digital strategies. Her students have encountered a rich set of opportunities to network within the industry, and have been able to more closely examine company cultures during their visits. Some of these experiences include:
- LEVI STRAUSS & CO, known worldwide for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans, Levi’s believes it’s uniquely primed for growth given its brand recognition.The FMRK field experience class met with an account executive at Levi’s (who was also a previous Fashion Marketing student from Woodbury) who gave the students insight into the world of Levi’s and her career path along the way.
- SONY PICTURES TELEVISION, where students met with marketing and communications expert, Kimberly Truhler, who currently manages marketing for three networks at the company. She also has her own non-profit, GlamAmor, founded with a focus on the history of fashion in film and illustrating the influence of classic cinema on design. The organization has worked with CNN, the Library of Congress/National Film Registry, Turner Classic Movies, the BBC, ARTE European cultural channel, Christie’s Inc., and the American Cinematheque.
- GOD & BEAUTY, an influencer management and creative design firm partnering with the most desired and unique influencers throughout Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Dallas and beyond. GOD &BEAUTY’s diverse team creates visually stunning, imaginative story lines in fashion, travel, food and hospitality with its partners. Students were able to learn about the importance of influence marketing and the role they have on representing the brand.
- TRENDALYTICS is a visual analytics platform that monitors the $483 billion retail industry to measure how consumers engage with a brand and products relative to competitors. Trendalytics’ platform connects the dots between images shared on social media, styles searched online and products shopped on thousands of e-commerce sites. Trendalytics gave students a closer look at how their data scientists are enabling retailers to identify ways to measure social trends and their influence retail trends.
- WWDMAGIC / PROJECT FASHION TRADE SHOW: This major event, held in early February at the Las Vegas Convention Center, enables participating students to meet with buyers, attend fashion forecasting lectures and influencer panels, and be exposed to industry-only content. The students were also able to see Chair Wendy Bendoni speak to the industry about retail insight.
- JASON OF BEVERLY HILLS is a company that has earned a global reputation for creating lavish diamond pieces for an extremely selective clientele. The one of a kind diamond pieces are visually stunning and shatter the boundaries set forth by traditional jewelers. Custom design your own jewelry or browse the brands unique collection of over the top luxury designs. Students met Rachel (Verne) Meiss, a leader in public relations and communications at the company, who shared insight on how brands can earn a strong presentation and how celebrity product placement works today.