Week 5: The October Pink Book

Hello again!

Things have been pretty hectic for me the last week. Unfortunately, the account executive in charge of our October Pink Catalogue (for Breast Cancer Awareness month) is out on a family emergency and I've kind of taken over her role. This involves compiling all of the images that will go in the catalogue that are not being photographed by our creative team, ironing out any issues with partners, and answering any questions that the publishers and their layout designers may have. Because this responsibility came very quickly (and wasn't really meant for me to do alone) I've been learning a lot at a rapid pace.

There are several projects within the Pink Book that I've taken on. One is getting national advertisements from our vendors who purchased space and are making a contribution to the BCRF. I have to go through our buyers that handle these vendors in the cosmetics, shoes, RTW, and intimates departments. It's tough because I'm waiting on the buyers who are waiting on the vendors, who are waiting on the graphic designers, who are waiting on the photographers, etc. etc. I also have to be sure that all of these photos meet the size, resolution, and logo specifications. You'd be surprised how little people know about "high res" and "dpi." I barely do! I just say it and hope they know what I mean.

Another area is dealing with restaurants and special promotions they're offering during the month of October to be mentioned in the book. I've worked with the restaurants to come up with pink-related offers (e.g. cupcake, cocktail, yogurt) that will donate a certain amount to the BCRF for every one ordered. It's difficult because the VP of Marketing doesn't want overlapping offers, i.e. three cupcakes from different restaurants. So I've had to negotiate with the different chefs and executive assistants about what they're offering. Everyone wants to make cupcakes! Next the food and drinks have to be photographed and even though the restaurants have all done it for us, the page designers are frequently not happy with the image. The director of photography has set up a food photo shoot date, which will work for the cupcakes, but the next issue is how do I transport sushi across the country to be photographed? Still trying to solve that one..

All in all it's been a delightfully hectic week because I'm getting a lot of experience and exposure to other employees, departments, and companies while scrambling to get it all done.

Thanks for reading!

Keri