Originally published in MSU Today.
Jocelyn Tucker is a senior from Linden, MI majoring in advertising management in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and minoring in entrepreneurship and innovation, leadership in organizations and advertising analytics. Jocelyn is also a media/marketing intern at University Communications at MSU.
On a whim, I decided to apply to be a campus rep for a leading fashion brand geared toward college women. After an extensive application and interview process, I was thrilled to find out that I was hired as one of 230 brand reps (out of a pool of 5,000 applicants) from campuses across the country.
As an MSU campus ambassador, I have found an outlet where I am able to be my unapologetically girly self.
Campus ambassadors assist the brand’s marketing team by bridging the gap between the company and its target audience.
Campus reps are the new, innovative method to market products and conduct market research in a highly cost-effective manner. With the onset of social media, fashion trends are changing faster than ever. Companies need to turn on a dime; therefore, timely feedback is crucial.
By providing insightful information in exchange for the company’s merchandise, a win-win situation for the student and company is created. We reps provide the inside scoop and have direct access to everything the company needs to know about their target market.
I had a notion of what I hoped this position to be; however, I knew little of what it would entail — other than it felt like I had been gifted an incredible opportunity.
And, speaking of gifts… shortly after receiving the notification, a package arrived in the mail, full of clothes and goodies from the company — a dream come true for one who shops fashion for sport.
Fast forward to July of 2019 when all 230 reps from across the country were sent on an all-expenses paid trip to headquarters for an extensive brand training to learn the ins and outs of the position.
The diversity amongst my fellow college reps was inspiring, but my favorite take-away from training was that the company is in the business of empowering women first and a national retailer of women’s fashion, second. That, in itself, has been a powerful realization for me. As an advertising major, it is especially exciting to be part of an initiative that embraces a mission that I fully support.
We learned that a great deal of our endeavors for the year would celebrate this idea of #GRLPWR (girl power) to represent the brand’s true identity.
In the past month in my new role on campus, backed by this mission and gusto from training, I hosted two large scale events to recognize national product launches and to celebrate women.
I have a co-representative who works with me to execute such events; nevertheless, the time, commitment and energy required to effectively reach the MSU campus is demanding.
Seeking corporate partners to participate in these events is also an integral and exciting part of my position. Representing a national brand gives me the credibility to network with other companies, send positive messages and promote products.
The event planning, networking and entrepreneurial aspect of this position allows me to put lessons from my communications, entrepreneurship and social analytics courses at MSU into action.
I have learned to grow a social media presence by analyzing what content people like the most, execute events that will draw an excited crowd of students and manage a group of people through hiring a support team.
As cheesy as it sounds, this position has undoubtedly changed my life. I can now envision my dream job — something I could not do before. I am learning and growing professionally, while having fun and engaging with my fellow Spartans. It doesn’t get much better.