Lorraine Cruickshank

Bellingham Washington State!

For my final blog I would like to dedicate it to the city of subdued excitement, BELLINGHAM.

B- Blog: This whole experience has been somewhat of a serial journey, everyday brought a new challenge or adventure often difficult to put in words to share with others. It took a while for my blog and I to bond but after a little visit from the blog police, I have enjoyed reflecting on my weekly events and sharing them with others. I hope everyone who has enjoyed the mini low down of the weekly activities and I look forward to sharing more stories on my return.

E- Experience: I dont think the extent of my experience is going to hit me until I am sitting in my flat in Edinburgh and sharing my memories with my friends and family. Words can't describe how mind spinning and unpredictable the last 8 weeks have been.

L- Learning: My project itself may not have been as challenging as I expected but the areas of marketing I was exposed to highlighted some of the key areas in marketing in which I would consider to undertake in the future.

L- Location: For being my first time in the USA the West Coast has definitely created an amazing first impression, opening my eyes to several interesting, fantastic and somewhat fantasy cities including Las Vegas, Seattle and San Francisco. Despite the strong impression the West Coast has made my favourite travel destination has to be Vancouver BC. The buzz surrounding the city has left a longing feeling inside in which I must return to in the future, there is no doubt in my mind I shall be returning to Canada sooner than I expect.

I – Iain: My colleague, flatmate, partner in crime who has become my friend. Arriving in the shack-like building of Bellingham Airport our first words “what have we done” we soon reversed, it only got better each day as we started to unfold our many mini adventures. From keeping me on my toes about bus times, looking out for traffic, daily weather report to making me laugh with the zimmerframe dance, a friendship I would most definitely like to keep for the future.

N- New friends: In 8 weeks I have be so lucky to meet so many interesting, outgoing and fun people whom have made considerable efforts to show me all elements of the US culture and beauty. I would love to mention to make a special mention to everyone but the list would be as long as both my arms put together! I can only but offer an open invitation to return the generosity if such individuals make it over to Scotland in the near future!

G- Guidance: Throughout my life my parents have supported me through along my chosen pathways. In everything I do I appreciate the advice, support and love in which they both provide, having such a strong bond entices me to challenge myself to explore into unfamiliar areas, stepping out of my comfort zone.

H- Honour: I am truly honour to be involved in such a fantastic experience. Sharing the mission of the Saltire Foundation with others made me extremely proud to be part such a unique, inspiring organisation. Alongside the other students I can’t express how grateful I am for all the work in which the Saltire team, SPIE and all sponsors have put in to enable me to have this truly once in a life time opportunity.

A-     Ambition. Referring back to one of my previous blogs, “This is the end of the beginning not

the beginning of the end” I now have the drive and motivation to pursue working at an

international level, emerging myself into unfamiliar surroundings, culture and engaging with

new people will continue to open my eyes and imagination, bringing fresh and new ideas

into all that I may do in the future.

M- Memories- I remember back when being told my destination for the summer was going to be Bellingham Washington I got all excited about seeing the Whitehouse etc presumed I was going to DC, not realising there is also Washington State! After 8 weeks on the West Coast, Bellingham has made a lasting impression, which I will definetly be passing on to others. I found this wee quote “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away” George Carlin, now sitting in a New York cafe, reflecting on my experience all my memories of the past week has certainly taken my breath away!

My Bellingham Journey may be over but my New York adventure has just started, looking forward to sharing my experience with everyone when I get back!

Lorraine x

P.S- Final photo's will be posted soon!

The end of the beginning not the beginning of the end.

Week 7

Nearing the end of my project I can't help feeling a small sense of incompleteness. The work I have been working on is part of a continuous outreach program, SPIE don't require a final report or presentation on my findings therefor my main focus this week is to make sure my data is as clean, accurate and ready to be passed on to assist in the next stage of the marketing activities. I know the work I have done will provide strong foundations for the organisation to progress but the reality of how little time I have now left is now starting to hit!

SPIE carry out exhibitions worldwide, Glasgow is the hot destination next week. SPIE's CEO Eugene Arthur's and Head of Global strategy Andy Brown are heading over to partake in business activities next week, as part of their busy schedules they have planned to squeeze a wee bit of time in to meet with the Saltire Team. Eugene and Andy did not completely fill us in on all the details in which they wished to discuss with the Saltire Team, so for all Iain and I know they could be personally questioning why the team sent a pair like us out to them! In all seriousness it is really inspiring to be involved in what may become a fruitful relationship in the future, possibly opening more doors for students to step through in the future.

Saying our farewells to Eugene and Andy this week brought it home that  my journey is drawing to an end. I definitely feel that it is not the beginning of the end, rather the end of a beginning. Farewells are of the "see you soon" rather than "goodbye" nature as in the future I hope to cross paths again.

As all the other American Interns would have enjoyed it was Labor day this weekend, to fully capture the American culture of Labor day I traveled to Canada for the weekend! Neither the less I certainly embraced a new culture experience. After a nifty Google search "cheap hotel in Vancouver" The Patricia Hotel would be our destination. $40 per night, pictures looked good, close to the city center slight detail they forgot to mention the "specialist street traders" to be found several streets down.

Eye opener is the most appropriate phrase as we passed several ladies of the night at 3pm, still unsure if they were just starting work or hadn't finished from the night before. Thankfully the hotel itself was located in a safer part of the street, the premises were clean and the friendly staff cushioned the initial shock. After several doubts about trying the hotel bar it turned out to be one of the coolest Saturday nights I have had to date. A group of 70s-80s music loving scooter riding guys and girls had organised to leave the bar at 12pm, leading them into a mid night scooter rally. A mixture of new and vintage scooters all lined up to ride into the darkness of the night, Scooters are the future!

Vancouver completely blow me away it had the special buzz I had been searching for in a city. The greenery and cleanliness made it difficult to comprehend that we were actually in the city. The city provides the best of both worlds: shops, bars at the heart of downtown and 15 minutes walk from downtown you can experience complete serenity and tranquility exploring Stanley Park. Stanley Park is never ending with gorgeous open spaces, beaches and creative monuments. To cover the whole of the park, I thought what better way to do it than hire roller-skates! 6hrs if skating with only one major fall built up one large appetite, so we heading to a traditional Korean restaurant. As the 2010 Olympic Games approuch it has provided me with the perfect reason to return to explore more of Canada, people in the office have already offered a resting spot which I am most definitely going to take up!

Going into week 8 I have a variety of mixed feelings, it is sad to be leaving what has become home for the last couple of months but at the same time I am also ready to move on to unwrap the next chapter of this unforgettable journey. Plans to stay on for a wee bit are now confirmed, 4days staying in Greenwich Village in New York with Rory and friends- Couldnt think of a better city to finsh my travels! Looking forward to the final week of farewell gatherings and attending my first ever Weenie Roast!!

Findability, Family, Friendship and Fried eggs!!

Week 6 Throughout my database marketing project I have gathered all available data relevant to organisations with the SPIE industry clusters, this has significantly enriched the central database providing a strong foundation for future statistical techniques to be conducted. The greater amount of information SPIE have regarding the industry enables them to directly communicate to relevant fields within the industry. As I have worked on how to gather the foundations of the mailing lists it was time to learn about the actual message in which is communicated to the target audience. It certainly was a refreshing change to be involved with text content which is sent out during mailings. One of the key lessons I have Learnt by looking at the whole picture of database marketing is that you may have an amazing message to send out but if it is sent to the wrong people it will have little value to the organisations success.

I also had the opportunity to attend a meeting with The Findability Project Committee who are currently working to improve SPIE's level of findability on the web. To assess current on-line positioning an external audit was conducted identifying missed opportunities and guidance where to go next. The majority of the committee members strengths lie in IT driving brain storming discussions into very technical areas of marketing, it was beneficial to be exposed into different areas and often terms I had no prior experience in.

Events outside work this week highlighted on of the main things that I love about working in a small close community such as Bellingham. People truly appreciate the value of family, friendship and fun it helps to keep the child in everyones hearts alive.

Adam one of the marketing PPM's invited the "interns" to join his family for dinner, the offering of a home cooked dinner Iain and I agreed in a flash! Adam's house was something out of the films a very stereotypical neighborhood absolutely gorgeous. To carry on the American theme Adam prepared a typical American meal of nachos, homemade burgers, ice cream sliders and to top it all off homemade cookies. The family were so welcoming and their 18 months old son Oliver was a wee cuttie, couldn't resist a photo of the PJ king! (photo below)

Friendship is strongly recognised throughout the SPIE building. Several of the marketing team organised a baby shower for one of the marketing managers newly born baby girl. It was definitely the best way to bring a new arrival into the world, like the Scots it was any excuse for a drinking spree! It was really good to have the chance to socialise with unfamiliar faces of the organisation within a casual and social atmosphere.

If you haven't already noticed I am a big kid at heart with a small addition to cakes and sweets especially Pic N Mix. Forget Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for sweets, Haggen supermarket has the creme DE la creme of Pic N Mix. The temptation to jump in was huge, but I managed to contain myself to a photo instead (Below). During one of my many productive lunch breaks I discovered a quiz- What Pic N Mix Sweet are you? If you are curious check it out: www.stuarty.co.uk/quiz/PicNMix, I turned out to be a fried egg, soft,fluffy with a ray of sunshine in the middle! Some light entertainment for a Friday afternoon.

Week 6 over already time is passing so fast, this weekend Rory is flying into town to explore the beauty which lies within Bellingham. Iain and I have been offered a car for the weekend to take Rory on a mini road trip, my next blog will definitely have a few stories to tell!

LIittle Oliver.

Fried egg?

West Coast Gathering!!

Thank You or M goi?

Thank you...Rory for all your hospitality, from the moment we arrived he certainly treated us like Royalty. Fresh chocolate cakes and a good cup of tea were waiting for us to tuck into, what more could a girl ask for! Throughout the weekend his tour guide skills were amazing showing us all the hot spots including the world’s most crookest road, maybe all the sharp turns wasn't a good idea after Saturday night, Iain looked a wee bit green shall we say! Even though we didn't manage to have an after party pool party it was a weekend to remember. Looking forward to treating Rory to all the hidden treasures in Bellingham this weekend as he plans to visit Iain and I.

Thank You....Kyle for driving us around the city. A guy with no fear about driving up and down the ridiculously steep hills around the city. I have to say I love his casual and relaxed driving style, lane hopping or sharp turns are definitely part of his finer driving skills! Great day driving over the Golden Gate Bridge to enjoy a well needed Indian lunch. Sitting in the restaurant enjoying great food, spectacular views of the San Francisco and in great company was the perfect end to an unforgettable weekend.

There are several little thank you messages I would like to mention....

Thanks to Simon, Kyle's friend at Sun Microsystems for being our personal driver around the city on Saturday night. Putting up with four Scots singing their hearts out to Estelle "American Boy" deserves a reward in itself! Throughout the night we were treated like VIP's, guest list entry into the 662 bar/club. Queue jump access is the way to get around the clubs in America! Later in the evening Simon definitely knew a way to put an end to our singing on the way home, ordering a round of vodka shots. Kyle's face captures (Next Blog) how good they tasted- singing was the last thing on our minds!

Thanks to China Town for what can be described as an entertaining lunch. The offering of free food on arrival was a selling point for the students in us. Despite the food itself not being up to much, Rory certainly enjoyed his seating arrangement of a window ledge! The views of China Town we were able to capture from the roof top terrace were great: certainly provided the perfect motivation to make a sharp exit to explore the city! The guys might agree it was a lunching experience that money can't buy!

Thanks to Virgin America for what has been the best flight since I left Glasgow (certainly been on a few lately). Virgin have their image down to a tee, the little touches such as fresh flowers at the check in desk, funky lighting as you step onto to the plane and my favourite feature being the chat room feature. You can communicate between people across the plane, if only Continental had this feature on the flight out the interns could have had some serious fun! Maybe the Saltire budget can stretch to Virgin next year!

My final thanks goes out to the Cable Cars in the city centre. On my tick lists to do in my travels was to hang off the platform of the cable cars in San Francisco, travelling up and down the rolling hills, crossing busy roads while only being about a metre away from get hit by passing cars. It was the perfect remedy to get my blood moving after the early morning bus and flight journey! If you have a sneaky peek at Rory's blog you can see me "just hangin".

Another week, another unforgettable weekend, it is hard to believe we only have three weeks left. Not to worry there is still many more memories and stories to be created!

My next blog has a few pic's from the weekend, enjoy!

Lucky in Love....

Walking along the footpath to work on Monday morning I had an urge to look down at a particular area of grass, to my complete astonishment a four-leaf clover caught my eye. As a wee bit of a believer of superstition I knew if such a clover was found accidentally luck would be brought to the individual. With a little help from my friend Wikipedia I discovered the meaning behind the leaves: The First is for Hope, the second for Faith, the third is for Love and the fourth brings Luck. Finding this little gem made me reflect on the activities of week 5.

Hope- My hope leaf definitely represents my feelings towards work this week. SPIE are holding one of their biggest events in San Diego this week requiring a large majority of the marketing team to attend. As the office is of a quiet nature, the plans to expose us to a variety of marketing activities has been put on hold untill next week. The brief we were given prior to undertaking this placement expressed it would be a data collection and analysis based project, I had hoped to experience other areas of marketing to maximise the experience. Hope has been restored as our Marketing Manager is in the process of scheduling a varied schedule of activities for the next couple of weeks.

Faith- The rainy, grey clouds in the sky over the past week or so has finally lifted, to my sheer delight  it has added color to what has to be the most stunning sunsets to shine before my eyes! Little faith can go a long way. Below are the photo's I took while enjoying pizza outside, without a doubt these photo's will be printed onto canvas to take pride of place in my flat- Incredible!

Love- In the words of Shakespeare "Love comforteth like sunshine after rain", wise words, after I put faith back into the weather, my pot of gold appeared at the end of the rainbow-Love. Yes for all the romantics I have found love in Bellingham....... Beer! It has taken five weeks and two days but it is official, Apricot beer is my new found love. Not to worry I have let the old faithful cider down gently!

Luck- The leaf of luck deserved a moment to reflect. Looking back at the fast five weeks I am one of the luckiest people at the moment. To be involved in such an amazing opportunity, living in a beautiful setting and gaining only what can be described as a once in a life time experience. I questioned myself what opportunities will more luck bring, I can only imagine what the next few weeks will bring! At this moment in time I sure am living in Happy Valley!

 

FOUR!!

Stage two of my project has official started. After weeks of data cluster collection and analysis I was able to implement the findings into the future SPIE Industry Engagement Project. Prior to my arrival SPIE database marketing team had identified 140+ organisations within the industry in which I am to build accurate and clean detailed profiles of. SPIE will benefit tremendously from having up to date and relevant information within the organisations database, allowing them to launch the Industry Engagement Project towards the end of this year.

As the saying goes variety is the spice of life, as suggested during my review I had the opportunity to shadow Adam one of the Promotional Project Managers for a couple of days this week. Adam provided a couple of master classes on the stages behind publishing online material within the SPIE newsroom. Such a promotional role involves a great deal of attention to detail, paying particular attention to text formatting, developing eye catching headlines alongside selecting appropriate graphics. Working in this area certainly sparked my interest as I found my imagination running away with itself, possibly an area of marketing I may consider in the future.

On a more informal work note. Everyone in the office has went out of their way to expose me to all elements of the American culture, this week I thought it was my turn to arrange the weekly out of office activities. So I invited members of the marketing department to play a sport that originated from Scotland in the 1100s- Golf!!

Being Scottish several of the staff had high expectations for my golfing skills, one member of staff commented " Isn't your invite asking to a Brazilian suggesting a little game of after work futbol" . After a round of 9 holes on the Lake Padden Golf Course, I questioned myself if I was actually ment to be a Brazilian as my football skills are certainly more desirable than my golfing! Neither the less we enjoyed a few well deserved drinks  and who knows the next time we play the Tiger in me will come out...

Out of office activities did not end there, Sarah who works on HR kindly invited Iain and I to join the HR crew alongside her family for a BBQ at her house on Friday night. Sarah is the hostess with the mostess, she certainly can BBQ a mean steak. Throughout the whole evening the family chihuahua had us in stitches, for being a tiny dog it definitely made up for it's size in energy and comedy value!

The past few weekends have been non stop so this weekend it was time to take it easy and enjoy some of the secret treasures Bellingham has to offer. On Saturday downtown held a food festival called the "Bellingham Bite". All local restaurants set up stalls where you can buy tokens to sample a variety of foods from as little as $1.

Lets just say the chocolate cake I sampled was not just chocolate cake it was Bellingham's best chocolate cake, a treat that could give M&S a run for it's money. The day only got better, after leisurely walking in and out of the quaint shops I found a 1970 deep purple vintage dress for only $15. Couldn't believe my luck I have been dreaming of finding this style of dress for years. Not only did it make my day but also the shop owner was so pleased to have a customer that really appreciated her hand selected collection. It still amazed me that after four weeks this small town still surprises each day, the hidden gems to be had in the area are never ending! 

Just passing half way now cant believe it. To celebrate Iain and I are heading to meet Rory and Kyle for a West Coast gathering in San Fransisco next weekend- keep posted on the Saltire Interns weekend Tour!

   

Vegas had the WoW Factor!

Stripes?

A small sample of photo's from a few of the hotels including The Venetian,Bellagio,Caesars Palace, New York and Paris. 

Honesty, Hummers and Hot dance moves!

Week 4 work update as promised:

SPIE are currently implementing an audience outreach programme, identifying who their key customers are and their life time values are was part of my new task. After a couple of days analysing the waterfall effect of consumers buying trends, performing numerous calculation exercises, I was able to convert my findings into graphical form.

Once perfection of my results was complete I present my findings to the database marketing manager, which we discussed in depth. For the first time in four weeks I really had to put my thinking cap on and overcome some tough mind puzzling hurdles. Solving problems and being completely focused on a task created a sense of stress, an element of work in which keeps me motivated and on my toes.

At the end of this week my mentor and I had an informal mid-term review chat. It provided the perfect opportunity to express my desire to be more actively involved within the marketing team. Simply shadowing individuals throughout several tasks for a couple of hours would add variety and new insights throughout the next couple of weeks. My concerns and suggestions were greatly appreciated as it is proving to be a learning curve for my host company as well.

On a lighter note last weekend I met my family in what has been described as the “Adult Disneyland”- Las Vegas! Fantasy was definitely the name of the game as I quickly discovered at the airport. Coming out of the arrivals gate at the airport I expected to grab a taxi to my hotel but to my amusement only lines of hummer limos were available! (Only in Vegas). Behind the line of limo’s my carriage “Show Case” awaited my arrival, even if it was only the airport bus it still had a little sense of glamour!

The hotels on the strip are like nothing I have ever seen, the size of the buildings are so difficult to actually take in. In one day I was able to visit Egypt, Rome, ride a roller coaster in New York and have lunch in Paris, not ever weekend you can do that! Exploring the casinos you completely loose the sense of time, sunlight is nonexistent. I can safely say that I don’t have a career in gambling, the slot machines were about the extent of my skills!

Saturday night in Vegas was out of this world. In one of many arenas within the MGM, the legends Brian Adams and Rod Stewart performed to 15,000 people, possibly one of the best concerts I have ever been too.  Out of 15,000 fans the couple beside my family only happened to be from Glasgow- small world! Rod Stewart for an older guy certainly still has the moves of a 20 year old, an entertaining show without a doubt. To top of my Vegas weekend I danced the night away at the outdoor Christian Audigier Nightclub, which is known as the hottest corner to experience front row views of the famous Vegas strip, it certainly lived up to the reputation.

After such a mind spinning weekend in Vegas my biggest recommendation would be to have afternoon cakes at the Bellagio Hotel. As a wee bit of a cake connoisseur this hotel has the best cakes, the perfect end to what will be an unforgettable weekend!

Seattle Sensations

One of my main goals to achieve throughout this internship was to gain as much exposure into unfamiliar areas of marketing. The past couple of weeks I have been working on market analysis which has involved a great deal of data gathering, a very repetitive task which truthfully hasn't challenged me out of my comfort zone. Eager to expand my learning I jumped at the chance to work alongside another member of the marketing team on a separate task. The task itself won't start until next week so I will keep you updated on the progress.

Last weekend Iain and I adventured to Seattle, it was good to get out and about to see more of the USA. I would like to share my trip through the five human senses!

Sight- 41 seconds is all it took to be able to step out onto the O deck situated at the peak of the Seattle Space Needle Tower. I was able to capture a 360 degree view of the most spectacular views Seattle has to offer. As darkness fell I was completely mesmerised by the sparkling lights which lit up the night sky. Silence surrounded the whole platform as everyone was taken aback by the breathtaking views.

Hearing- After an hour walking the streets of Seattle a familiar sound of a fire engine siren echoed the busy city center. It felt like I was back on Princess Street! It amazed me how one simple sound can bring back so much emotional attachment to the life I lead back in Scotland.

Touch- On Sunday we took an adventure to explore the famous artistic end of town, Fremont. After a small hour and a bit detour Iain and I finally reached our destination. We certainly walked our "Flip Flops" off, so we treated our feet to a wee bit of pampering. Dipping my toes into the ice cold sea water while the sun shined down was complete heaven! Exploring a vintage store I also found a shoe that was so soft and fluffy, it put my flip flops to shame.

Taste- Since we were in the home land of Starbucks it would have been rude not to have a cheeky coffee! The first ever Starbucks was full of tourists taking pictures, it amused me that the inside looked exactly like the one two streets down! Seattle + food= scrumptious! take a peek below at one of many meals. (The plate certainly didn't need washed after I was done)

Smell- When I was little my parents owned a flower shop, the scent of fresh flower is some what a familiar smell. Pike Street Market located downtown has the most exotic range of never ending flowers, the sweet mix of smells as I walked through the market definitely reminded me of childhood memories. The bouquets themselves cost as little as $15, so Seattle guys have no excuses not to romance the ladies!-

Week 4 approaching, I am looking forward to my new task and a quiet weekend in Las Vegas!

Sense storyboard