GOOGLE: Taking Over the World and Looking Good Doing It

            Normally in my posts I talk about fashion, competitors, logos or other things that pertain to the backpack industry.  This week though I’d like to take a break and talk a little bit about a brand I greatly admire.  As the title of this blog suggests that brand is the ever-growing powerhouse that is Google.

This past week was the Google I/O Keynote meeting.  The 180min presentation covered everything from new technology like Google Glass to the redesign of Google+ to the new Google Maps rollout.  I’ve looked at a few recaps of the meeting from Mashable.com , Time.com, and Wired.com.  These recaps take a look at Google from different perspectives and all generally commenting on the summit being generally uneventful.  However, Lance Ulanoff takes a separate approach from Time and Wired to discuss the Google summit.  Ulanoff talks about the slow takeover of Google and how the company is slowly infiltrating every aspect of its consumers’ lives.

I found this recap most interesting because I thought it shed a lot of light on what Google as a brand is doing.  The company is making minor edits to Google+, Google Maps and its Android devices enough so that we become more accustomed with their programs than others that are available without knowing it.  Google has more resources than its competitors, it has more platforms and tools and it has the foresight to flex these muscles.  It seems that instead of flat out competing with Facebook, iPhone, iPads, Yahoo Maps etc… Google is completely content with making small edits and changes and slowly bleeding their competitors’ dry.

For instance if you use Gmail you most likely have Google+.  As Google+ continues to grow, change and evolve consumers using other platforms such as Google maps or Gmail will find their activity slowly becoming more integrated with the social media platform.  Eventually then it is only a matter of time before they switch over to Google+ completely.  Google is on a quest for world domination, there’s no doubt about it, and as the summit shows they’ve got the know how and the power to do it.  

Cover Letters: Business' Silent Killer

Cover Letters…The name itself strikes fear into the hearts of applicants everywhere. Currently a wonderful job opportunity has opened up for me and I found myself having to produce one to apply.  Cover letters are tricky; unlike resumes they are wordier and provide a great opportunity for candidates to display some of their personality.  I did some research on what defines a good cover letter and came across a great article by comphealth.com.  

In the article certain habits are highlighted, habits such as staying on track, being memorable and getting to the point.  comphealth.com has its successful tips broken down into 10 easy steps. The article challenged me to take my cover letter much more serious.  Thus, I have taken the time to produce a nice one-page cover letter that I have attached below.  I would love to get any feedback from the readers on what I could do to improve, alter, eliminate etc…  

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is CJ Britton and I am interested in the Agency Marketing Manager position that is currently open with (name omitted). I discovered the job on your website and believe it would be a perfect fit with my skillset.

I was initially introduced (unknowingly) to (name omitted) through the Atlanta Braves “spring cleaning” above the line campaign.  After seeing the billboards around town I did some research and found that (name omitted) was the company behind the promotion.  I love the simplicity of the campaign and really respect what the company did for such a high profile client.

As for me my background lies in marketing both traditional and non-traditional.  I currently possess 5+ years of marketing experience holding various positions from a sports department, to a couple blogs, college brand rep to Red Bull Field Marketing Specialist. During my time with Red Bull I directed a team of 14 in Southwest Chicago and hired, trained and managed the team from scratch.  My main goals as Field Marketing Specialist were to oversee a consumer-facing team in the collegiate universe, captaining projects by comprehensively aligning resources with marketing objectives to maximize visibility and ensure bottom-line growth in my market.

While in Chicago I was a key manager on international projects such as Red Bull Flugtag, Red Bull Thre3style and Red Bull Back to School campaigns.  I was also responsible for individually spearheading local projects such as Red Bull Sharpshooters, Red Bull Chariot Race, Red Bull Play and Destroy and more.  I also assisted in building strategy for the @redbullCHI social media accounts and helping reach 8000+ followers.

I thank you in advance for your consideration and time.  I would love the opportunity to talk with you more about the position, my qualifications, its expectations and how I could be a great asset to your team.  I look forward to your response and will be sure to reach back out by end of week if I do not hear anything.

Cheers,

And that’s it! Let me know what you guys think of the cover letter and any edits I can do to make it better.

CJ