Memorial Day

Memorial Day Installation

Third Week of Summer Semester
(May 21- 28)

Monday I get to do some substantial work on two new Craisins^® packaging initiatives. I have a great meeting with the team where I learn all about new concepts like nuisance fees for slotting at retailers, swapping products on shelves, the Ocean Spray Innovation Leadership Team (ILT) and more.

Halfway through my day I meet with a Marketing Manager to learn about our MRF system (the system we use to request new UPC codes for products and packaging). She shows me the form I need to complete and graciously spends an hour explaining the process, how the organization of 'eaches', 'cases' and 'shippers' works and more. I'm not going to say I'm an expert after the meeting (I think I'll have to practice a few UPC requests first) but the session helped a ton.

The rest of my afternoon is spent at a meeting for a new foods product and working on several projects.

That night in my Marketing in the Service Sector class we discuss a topic that is near and dear to my heart: The Mass Audubon Society. After my Graduate Marketing Club consulting project for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society last year I'm particularly interested in non-profit preservation societies. How funny that this one is in Massachusetts also!

Turtle friend at Ocean Spray - Photo courtesy of Nick Klatte

Tuesday I have my weekly 1:1 session with my boss. We discuss a ton of topics including how Ocean Spray's Pool financial planning works (as an agricultural cooperative we have a fiscal year and a pool year), she handed off some great new projects to me and answered my numerous other questions.

The rest of my afternoon is literally booked from 1:00-4:30 pm with meetings. On the itinerary? A weekly meeting for a new Craisins^® package, a meeting to discuss our Craisins^® challenge (where I actually get to contribute some of the suggestions I made for my Innovation and Enterprise growth project on Six Flags to the conversation!), a conference call with a company that puts on large active events such as 5K runs and a training session for a new MRF system (the day after I learned the old system!).

That night in class my group and I have our article presentation. Fortunately, it's on a an article all of us had already read in our Brand & Advertising Management class last semester called "Getting Brand Communities Right". How convenient! I felt our presentation went quite well but as the first group to go, only our grade will tell.

The baby geese of Fenway are growing up!

Wednesday is a slightly more quite day on the work front. I don't have any meetings, which is shocking, so I get the day to really get down to work.

In class that night, we discuss Starbucks and how it is the 'gold standard' of empowering employees and creating exceptional service environments. In particular, we talk about how the coffee chain actually gives baristas stock in the company, how they require executives to train as baristas and more. While I'm a Dunkin' Donuts girl at heart, I now have a greater appreciation for 'the Bux'.

Thursday is a particularly fun day at work! I start out my morning with a weekly Marketing huddle in the Marketing lounge. I love these half-hour sessions because it allows the team (from assistants to directors) to share what they have been working on in a casual environment.

In between the rest of my work that day I also get to have my buddy lunch. Yay!

In class that night my fellow Northeastern MBAs and I analyze the entry of Cleopatra soaps (a French brand) into Canada. It was actually pretty neat to talk about because they are discussing entering the province of Quebec. Having now become a Montreal expert (well, at least in the realm of poutine) I feel like I can bring some real life experience to the class discussion.

Friday marks the official start of summer hours at Ocean Spray! As part of the amazing perks of working for the company, starting Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day employees get half day Fridays! Woohoo!

However, this means I have to be super efficient because I have half the time to do the work I need. I get in early to try and get as much done as possible while it's still quite in the office.

Because I'm so busy, I don't get to leave at 12:30 pm, but even staying a couple of hours later lets me get a ton  more work done and I still get to shut down the ol' laptop at 2:30 pm (not too shabby). On my way home, I stop by Target to grab some treats for my boyfriend since he's coming to visit from Montreal (included in my haul? Two flavors of Craisins^® and two flavors of Ocean Spray gummie snacks - my new addiction).

I then work really hard to get as much homework done as possible, with a few breaks to clean up my apartment. In particular, I work on my portion of my team's Consumer Behavior project paper and presentation, some reading and more.

Nick arrives in the city around 9:30 pm and we head straight to our ritual New York Pizza run followed by drinks at Parish.

Yup, I work here.

On Saturday Nick and I sleep in embarrassingly late (like noon). I get up and start doing some homework. Once we finally drag ourselves outside we grab some breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts and hop in my car for a drive down to my Lakeville to show Nick the gorgeous setting of my work. Needless to say he is super impressed! He keeps saying how it looks like a country club. Personally, I'm happy to be able to wander some of our nature trails and take in the local wildlife.

After our Ocean Spray visit we decide to make a day adventure of this and drive another 45 minutes south to New Bedford for some authentic Azorean food. New Bedford actually boasts one of the largest Azorean populations in the United States (more than 50% of the city's residents are of Azorean descent!). We get an obscene amount of pork product and chat with some other guests as we all fawn over the serving sizes.

That night Nick and I indulge in an On Demand movie, Young Adult, and then I work on some more homework.

Sunday I wake up and complete a couple of hours of homework so that I can relax for the rest of the day. Nick and I head over to Fenway so that I can show him that there are Mexican Food restaurants in Boston. Our destination? El Pelon Taqueria. We order up some pretty delicious Pescado and Caramelos tacos and we enjoy them in the outside seating area.

All fueled up on the native food of our California homeland, Nick and I walk down to The Boston Public Garden and Boston Common to visit the Memorial Day installation and lounge in the sun. Let's just say, you know you've been a recluse when 15 minutes in the sun gives you a sunburn! Nick and I cool down with some soft serve dipped cones from the Boston Frosty truck and hop on the T back home.

Groupon success at Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen

We pass the next few hours with me doing some homework and Nick lounging until our 7:30 pm reservation at Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen. Despite being located around the corner from my apartment, it took a Groupon deal for me to finally experience this awesome restaurant. For $32, Nick and I share an appetizer of the most amazing wings I've ever had (try sweet peach chile and buffalo flavor), followed by my first ever chicken and waffles (anytime I can put syrup on my dinner entree, it's a win in my book).

Monday is a glorious day off! Nick and I get up and grab breakfast after I get a couple of hours of homework in. We then head to Target for some shopping before he has to leave to make the drive back up to Montreal. As soon as he drives off I head right to Panera for a working lunch/dinner with one of my Consumer Behavior teammates as we work through the paper portion of our presentation for Tuesday.

When I get home I plug away with more homework before crashing after a much-needed relaxing weekend.

* The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern University, Ocean Spray Cranberries, either entity's staff or affiliates.