Our first day at the University of Maryland started with a 9.30am start at Van Munching Hall.
We had a lovely introductory session that was given by Bob Krapfel. As well as an overview of UMD and the achievements of past alumni, he basically took on any questions that we had. So we got a good overview of the subprime issue here, forecasts for what is going to happen with the economy the way it is and some of the issues facing business today with outsourcing etc. One of the most interesting alumni stories is that of Kevin Plank.
Kevin was a former student at UMD who was on the football team and was working in the equipment department. One issue they were constantly faced with was the sweat soaked uniforms so he set about to develop a fabric that would draw sweat away from the jersey. With that, in 1996 he developed Under Armour. None of us had heard of Under Armour at home but Bob told us to check out any of the shops here that sells anything remotely sporty and you will find Under Armour. He was right – they are everywhere and are now the biggest competitor to Nike, who along with others, have tried to imitate Under Armour. What started out as a line of gear that was aimed at players has now also developed into a clothing brand. It was a great example of someone’s idea becoming a reality and now Kevin Plank is worth millions. Do a search and you will find lots of information on Kevin Plank and Under Armour.
We then had a morning tea where we were faced with boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts. YUMMMMM SUGAR!!! We had a visit from the campus police (yes, the campus has its own ‘real’ police force) Campus safety is taken extremely seriously and around campus there are emergency phones, you can arrange police escorts to your dorm room, they have a serious set of emergency procedures and we got all the ‘If you are under 21…’ cautions they are a fully operational police force. It was then time to set off for a tour of the UMD campus.
The tour was so-so. We walked through miles and miles of carpark to end up at the Union building where we had 25 minutes to each lunch and make the 10 minute walk back to Van Munching Hall for class. Joe and I piked out on lunch in the food court and headed back to Van Munching where there were some healthier options. The UMD campus is absolutely stunning and I hope to post some photos soon.
Class in the afternoon was a three hours class focusing on Social Influences on Consumer Behaviour with Dr Rosellina Ferraro.
The class was extremely interesting and focused on topics such as conformity, social comparison, word-of-mouth marketing, social networks and brand communities. When we covered buzz marketing campaigns, Rosellina used this You Tube video of an example of the ‘pass it on’ kind of marketing that Smirnoff envisioned (and was highly successful) with this ad.
I was so exhausted at the end of the day I couldn’t even face ordering a meal anywhere. So I headed to the CVS drugstore to see what I could create for dinner in a room with no microwave or fridge. Half an hour later after buying a haul of lipsmackers and Sally Hansen nail polishes, I collapsed into bed with an Oscar Meyer Bologna and Cheese snackable. The crackers were so sickly sweet, I ended up just eating these little slices of Bologna with cheese. Ahhh how I love the glamourous side of travel.