IMC Halloween Party Came Back to Town!

Yes, this is the second time my class had this Halloween Party, and I could tell more people were well-prepared this time!

Originally I hesitated to go. I felt weak since the afternoon and did not prepare any special costume to wear. Thanks to Serena's warm warm invitation, I later decided not to miss the might-be-the-last-time Halloween in the US and at least not to miss the precious chance to get together with my lovely fellow classmates. I went to the party with a traditional Chinese top I bought in Shanghai.

Guess what? It was really wise to be there. I love the salad sets presented by Kara, Lakshmi and Jessica D. I love Fion's cute pumpkin costume. I was fully entertained by the Shrek families. Not to mention Evan's Sponge Bob, Paul K's rooster, Elena's rainbow fairy and Billy's tiger. With surprise, additionally, I finally met THE Justin who is a mutual friend between MILLIONS of my friends and I.

Goodness, this joy will soon becomes a part of my memory in Northwestern. Unbelievable.....

Wendy E-News-【Wendy fly over Shanghai=>Taiwan=>Chicago】

Dear my friends,

Long time no see! After a busy summer, I am back to my school work in Northwestern IMC program again.

This is actually the very last quarter for me. I only took two classes with three credits: mandatory "IMC Capstone" and "International Business Strategy" in Kellogg School of Management. My decision to only took two courses proved to be wise, because

1. I am at the same time looking for a position, and it is REALLY hard
   
2. IMC Capstone made me use everything we learned from the previous quarters to make marketing strategies for our client Clinique. The information they provided us was so limited and vague, and the mysterious organization of the class made our tasks even more complicated. My summer time project teammate Eileen and I missed the good old time when only five of us working very closely together every single day...
   

Since I mentioned my summer, please allow me to share with you my marvelous residency in Shanghai.

Shanghai brought me far more surprises than that I could imagine. My two week internship in KFC China allowed me to experience that city's endless opportunity and development. KFC China provided great hospitality to my team, introduced and presented their efforts in PR, marketing, e-marketing and market research for the summer drink project. We also got the chance to meet their other partners:Ogilvy Shanghai、Synovate Market Research、Tencent QQ to understand comprehensively about their integrated marketing communications endeavor. Based on all those, my team and I later developed our recommendations for their summer drink campaign. We also used our in-depth interview with Chinese teenagers, their target customers, and other first-hand observations to make our proposal more convincing. Additionally, believe it or not, I am one of the presenters for our final proposal, and report to high management teams in China and US at the same time!

Thanks to my language advantage, I am also responsible for coordinating several events: IMC Welcome Drinks for new students, current IMC students, alum and friends of IMC; "What is IMC?" presentation to YUM! Brands employees; Birthday Party for Professor Frank and Bronwen; "My Shanghai Impression" dinner among IMC faculty and students.

"How were you doing in Shanghai, Wendy?"

"I am very very busy!"

But indeed, I had fun.

I had a friend who came pick me up in the airport. I met my junior high classmates who is currently working near Shanghai. I went visit museums and Yut Yuan with a friend's friend Angela. I visited a water town Xitan during weekend with a new student. Many other new students took me around buying small gifts. Friends also showed the wonders of Shanghai to me, shared insight of the market with me and so much more!

Shanghai is great, internship is awesome, but NOTHING beats HOME!

I was completely conquered by my sweet home and family from the very first day I arrived. My cute cat Pipi surprisingly remembered me as a family member and licked me since I got in our car. Mom, Dad and my brother spoiled me within my very short stay at home without doubt. I rode on my motorbike happily to meet many of my friends and teachers around Taipei: The Best Four、Angkor 8 sisters、Explore Scout members、College friends、NTUMUN juniors、Other schoolmates、primary school friends and teachers.... I went to my Chinese doctors, did my hair, checked several scenic spots around Taipei and took Taipei MRT + Taiwan High Speed Rail + Kaohsiung MRT to visit all my lovely relatives in southern part of Taiwan within two days. One of my uncle's family visited me in Chicago after I flew back to school, They kind of extended my sweet home feelings a little bit longer while I happily took them around showing off the beautiful city of Chicago.

One more good news about home: Dad is coming for my graduation ceremony on December 13th! I am really excited about this and am looking forward to it a lot!!!!

I still need to face the cruel reality. I have to fight for my study and for my tough job hunting process.
I am applying for brand management, marketing communications, account planning position preferably in Chicago, somewhere California or New York. I sincerely desire to work for several years in the US to learn the way the market leaders manage their businesses. I am very experienced in online marketing, interactive media and related fields. As many of you have also known, one of my great assets was my global perspectives. If anything comes across your mind, please don't hesitate to contact me and let us discuss.

Thank you for your kind support and encouragement. I know it is tough right now, but I got your love and warmth with me. I would be able to move on.
Wish me luck!

Wendy

Lost An Earing, and Something in My Silence

掉的那隻耳環，讓我的心揪了一下，可也美妙的為這天留下一個紀念
那幾曲好歌除了讓人興奮，也讓我望著台上、台下感動得靜默了，察覺嗎？
雨夜、樂音、對話、旅程、點點滴滴。時間的流推進，情緒悄悄夾入夜色中，以一貫無聲的低調。

So Useful! Submit Express Analyzer!

In the e-commerce lecture of "The IMC Capstone" class, I just learned to use an interesting tool to take a look at the web analysis data derived for Web sites:

http://www.submitexpress.com/analyzer/

Its main focus was to know how the words displayed on the site relevant to the message it would love to deliver to its visitors. Reminded by our teacher, I inserted several competitors Web site to compare....

Key findings:

1. Web site title matter! Number of charaters and the contents should be relevant to the site contents. This especially matters for small business owners who would love to have their site popped up when others search.
2. Make your search page contents attractive and informative! For my example below, Lancome did a better job.
   

I'll continue my work further, but you get the idea :) Enjoy!

CLINIQUE.COM

Status.
Status:	200 OK
Web Server:	Apache
Content:	text/html, text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
Meta tags report for: http://www.clinique.com/
meta tag	length	value
Title:	121	Clinique - Say Hello to Great Skin - 3-Step Skin Care, Turnaround, Repairwear, Foundation, Lip Gloss, Eye Shadow, Mascara
Meta tags analysis.
Title:	This tag contains too many characters. This tag contains 121 characters. This is too many for what we would consider a 'robot friendly' web page. The maximum number of characters we recommend for this tag is 80.
Description:	Found no description meta tag. The description meta tag is used by most of the search engines. Consider to add a description meta tag.
Keywords:	Found no keywords meta tag. The keyword meta tag is still used by many search engines. Consider to add a keyword meta tag.
Robots:	Found no robots meta tag. This tag is not really required but helps spiders to index the web page.
Author:	Found no author meta tag. This tag is not really required but helps for your (company) name recognizing.
Web page analysis.
The size of the web page is to big. The size of the web page is 66393 bytes. The web page load time. The web page load time is 2 seconds.
Your site displayed on a search engine page.
Clinique - Say Hello to Great Skin - 3-Step Skin Care, Turnaround, Repairwear, Foundation, Lip Gloss, Eye Shadow, Mascara http://www.clinique.com/

LANCOME.COM

Status.
Status:	200 OK
Web Server:	Microsoft-IIS/6.0
Content:	text/html; charset=utf-8, text/html;charset=iso-8859-1
Meta tags report for: http://www.lancome-usa.com
meta tag	length	value
Title:	74	Lancome Perfume, Cosmetic, Make up, Skin care, Sun & Body care, Men care,
Description:	152	Shop Lancome's full selection of perfume, cosmetic, make up, skin care, men products, and more. Free Shipping for orders over $50 for My Lancome members
Robots:	12	INDEX,FOLLOW
Meta tags analysis.
Title:	Title relevancy to page content is very poor. The Title relevancy to page content is 25%.
Description:	Description relevancy to page content is very poor. The Description relevancy to page content is 38%.
Keywords:	Found no keywords meta tag. The keyword meta tag is still used by many search engines. Consider to add a keyword meta tag.
Robots:	The Robots meta tag contains no errors. This tag contains 12 characters.
Author:	Found no author meta tag. This tag is not really required but helps for your (company) name recognizing.
Web page analysis.
This page contains too many URLs. This tag contains 104 urls. Some Search Engines have problems with more than 100 urls on a page. The size of the web page is to big. The size of the web page is 51950 bytes. The web page load time. The web page load time is 2 seconds.
Your site displayed on a search engine page.
Lancome Perfume, Cosmetic, Make up, Skin care, Sun & Body care, Men care, Shop Lancome's full selection of perfume, cosmetic, make up, skin care, men products, and more. Free Shipping for orders over $50 for My Lancome members http://www.lancome-usa.com

MACCOSMETICS.COM

Status.
Status:	200 OK
Web Server:	Apache
Content:	text/html, text/html;charset=iso-8859-1
Meta tags report for: http://www.maccosmetics.com/
meta tag	length	value
Title:	15	M·A·C Cosmetics
Meta tags analysis.
Title:	Title relevancy to page content is poor. The Title relevancy to page content is 50%.
Description:	Found no description meta tag. The description meta tag is used by most of the search engines. Consider to add a description meta tag.
Keywords:	Found no keywords meta tag. The keyword meta tag is still used by many search engines. Consider to add a keyword meta tag.
Robots:	Found no robots meta tag. This tag is not really required but helps spiders to index the web page.
Author:	Found no author meta tag. This tag is not really required but helps for your (company) name recognizing.
Web page analysis.
The size of the web page is to big. The size of the web page is 51270 bytes. The web page load time. The web page load time is 1 seconds.
Your site displayed on a search engine page.
M·A·C Cosmetics http://www.maccosmetics.com/

W報報之【候鳥Wendy帶著愛飛越上海=>台灣=>芝加哥】

敬愛的前輩、親愛的朋友們：

好久不見，其實我應該感謝天，你們中的好些人我終於(又)見到了。是的，雖然百般不願意，我現在人又在芝加哥繼續在西北大學整合行銷傳播所IMC的碩士學業了。

其實這是我在西北IMC的最後一個學期。

這學期我只選了兩門共計三學分的課，一個是繫上的必修IMC Capstone(整合行銷傳播學)另外一門是在Kellogg商學院底下教授的International Business Strategy(國際企業策略)。我其實可以多選一門課，但是我衡量自己的時間精力後決定要把多修一門課的力氣移轉來認真找工作。開學約一個月後證明這個選擇是正確的，因為

1. 工作真的很難找
2. IMC Capstone的份量滿重的。我們需要運用過去一年來在課堂上學會的所有技能為客戶Clinique制定行銷策略，而客戶給我們的資料實在有限，我們各顯神通弄得焦頭爛額的.....另外一個讓這門課特別累人的原因是課堂組織效率低落，同樣一個專案往常我們是用4-6人的小組去進行深入的瞭解與發展，這次的組織太龐大以至於決策窒礙難行。我跟一同做中國KFC專案的Eileen私下討論，都忍不住的想念起我們暑假期間五個人關在小房間裡每天六小時以上的密集討論....
   

既然提到了暑假，我接下來就簡單報告我的精彩上海實習行。

我從來想像不到一趟上海行可以帶給我這麼多驚喜。我在KFC實習兩週期間，第一手的見識到了上海的蓬勃發展及商業競爭的激烈。中國KFC給我們高規格的款待，也出動了各部門的同仁詳細的跟我們介紹他們在PR、行銷、網路行銷、媒體採購各方面的努力，在妥善安排下，我們還得以與他們的合作夥伴：上海奧美、思緯市調、騰訊QQ碰面聽取簡報，全方位的瞭解他們的整體行銷策略，並根基於這些蒐集到的資訊來發展我們的企劃。從上海回到美國後，我與隊友們花了很多時間把收集到的資訊、進行的採訪都整理(翻譯)過，最終呈現了非常清楚且有力的企劃。我還不怕死的擔任其中一個簡報者喔！（有些人已經看過這段故事了，不過你也可以重溫一下...）

在上海期間我還負責組織一個IMC的歡迎酒會，把今年的新生、校友以及IMC之友都邀來熱鬧相會。因為語言(中文)的優勢，我還協助接洽另外幾個場合的活動，譬如在上海對YUM! Brands同仁的IMC分享會、同行教授與同學的慶生會、IMC師生間的上海經驗分享會。

「Wendy，你在上海過得如何啊?」

「很忙、很忙、很忙。」而且我的手機號碼是緊急求救電話的一種......

不過，除了工作的部分，我不免俗的又去玩樂了。

從抵達上海的第一天開始，貼心的網友Chrissy跑來接機；目前在中國發展的國中同學相約餐敘；西北中國同學的朋友Angela帶我逛博物館逛豫園；新生Zheng陪我西塘一日遊；新生Elin帶我逛文廟買飾品；新生Summer/Autumn/Jason等人陪我帶外國同學採買、帶我們體驗夜上海的美、提供我們很多很道地很精闢的市場資訊；我的室友Vali帶我跟他的朋友去歡唱，還有好多好多吃吃喝喝認識新朋友會見老朋友的聚會。

上海再怎麼好玩，實習經驗再怎麼精彩，都比不上回家自在舒服。

回家的第一天，我就立刻被親情完全征服了。尤其發現我們家貓咪皮皮還記得這個一年不見的姐姐，在我一上車就很自在的黏過來給我摸，拼了命的舔我 :) 爸爸媽媽弟弟當然用了很多方法在短時間內盡情寵壞我，我也開心的騎上了一年沒騎的機車四處去跟朋友、師長們見面：鐵四角、吳哥八人組、傳薪團長們、探察大隊、台大同學、模聯學妹群、台大直屬學弟妹、乾媽乾爹、Andy、小學老師同學。溫柔的中醫也看了雜草般的頭髮也整理了，跑到北藝大耍文藝也衝去淡水逛老街，還坐了台北捷運+高鐵+高雄捷運兩天一夜遊把爺爺奶奶外公外婆叔叔嬸嬸姑姑姑丈阿姨堂弟堂妹表弟表妹幾乎一個不漏的拜訪一圈(呼!這句好長!)。可愛的三叔一家人還把我對家的思念多延續了一點點，因為他們在我返美的同時跑來芝加哥玩耍，讓我可以開心的帶他們四處探索這座以建築聞名於世的大城。

還有另外一個關於家的好消息喔！爸爸十二月中要飛來美國參加我的畢業典禮！我已經開始開心倒數了～～

現實還是要回來的。我又在跟課業與申請工作打仗了。

謝謝你們一路的支持與鼓勵，時勢艱難，但是我知道有你們的愛與溫暖撐著我繼續前行！祝我好運 :)

Wendy

Autumn Comes To Town

Actually since weeks ago, but I did not have time to have any photo taken yet. I finally remembered to bring the camera out today and forced myself to shoot some photos. I still remembered it was even prettier earlier this week before the rain came..... When I stepped out at that rainy day, I saw all the beautiful leaves: orange, red, yellow fell and mixed on the floor, wet and smashed. That hurt me so bad....

Luckily Autumn is not gone yet! I still have chance to enjoy some glamorous views in the following weeks :)
And ya, right, life has been tough in every single way. So? That didn't completely prevent me from appreciating the beautiful side of life!

Meet Lucinda Williams Next Friday!

Something About What Happens When We Talk

~Lucinda Williams~

If I had my way I'd be in your town
I might not stay but at least I would've been around
Cause there's something about what happens when we talk
Something about what happens when we talk

Does this make sense It doesn't matter anyway
Is it coincidence or was it meant to be
Cause there's something about what happens when we talk
Something about what happens when we talk

Conversation with you was like a drug
It wasn't your face so much as it was your words
Cause there's something about what happens when we talk
Something about what happens when we talk

Well I can't stay round cause I'm going back south
But all I regret now is I never kissed your mouth
Cause there's something about what happens when we talk
Something about what happens when we talk
Cause there's something about what happens when we talk
Something about what happens when we talk

For some reason, my joy and excitement is beyond description. I have listened to her songs for some time, and as lucky as I could ever be, I will see her and listen to her in person in a concert! Great thanks to the careless sponsor :P

Striving Till the Last Minute

I knew it is tough. I knew. But I don't want to give up just now.

"When there is a will, there is a way."

Let's try my best. Let's ROCK!

It Struke Me This Morning

When I woke up, her soft voice came to me and the melody started to flow. Oh I miss the singer a lot!

[Promotion]National Taiwan Model United Nations Conference 2008

想把握千載難逢的機會，與校際精英談判辯論嗎?
想親身體驗聯合國會議與真實外交活動的魅力嗎?
Grab the chance to meet outstanding students from the country!
Master the art of negotiation, debate, and cooperation!
Experience a United Nations conference!
Delve into the alluring career of a diplomat!

活動對象:全國各大專院校學生，一到三人組隊報名，歡迎跨校組隊
Eligible Participants: Undergraduate & Graduate Students

會議日期:2008年11月28日(Fri)-11月30日(Sun)
Date:2008.11.28 (Fri)—11.30(Sun)

會議地點:臺灣大學集思會議中心(第二學生活動中心地下一樓)
Location: National Taiwan University GIS Convention Center

報名方法:網路報名，辦法詳見Registration
Please log on to our website for more information , go to registration

報名日期:即日起至10月17日止
Application will close on 2008.10.17

活動費用:新台幣1500元整
Conference Fee: NT $1500

總召 財金四 宋婉瑜 tvtv006@gmail.com

法律四 陳 萱 annie16683@gmail.com
Secretary-General:
Emily Sung tvtv006@gmail.com
Annie Chen annie16683@gmail.com

--

Go for it, my young student friends!
That's an association and an event that I love a lot. You will enjoy it, too!

Addicted to Sister Rosetta.... Still

Well, thanks to Andrew. But once you play it, I bet you will fall for it, too

"Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us"
Robert Plant & Allison Krauss

Strange things are happening everyday
I hear the music up above my head
Though the sight of my heart has left me again
I hear music up above

Secrets are written in the sky
Looks like I've lost the love I've never found
Though the sound of hope has left me again
I hear music up above

Standing in my broken heart all night long
Darkness held me like a friend when love wore off
Looking for the lamb that's hidden in the cross
The finder's lost
I know I loved you too much
I'll go alone to get through

I hear Rosetta singing in the night
Echos of light that shines like stars after they're gone
Tonight she's my guide as a girl on the moon
With the music up above

My Shining Sukiyaki!

Warning: This photo may make you feel hungry!

From Guten Appetit

Today, again, is a good day. I have my light fixed and my heating system working. One job application material was done and submitted. My class in the evening was inspiring and insightful. Additionally, the Sukiyaki I cooked last night was still good and it got the wonderful chance to bath under warm sunshine for a photo.

What a fruitful day :)

Wendy's Bright Side of Life

From Re-settle down

I knew it's raining, but I got a warm, pleasant ride.
I knew it's chilly, but I got a bouquet of flower that brought me sunshine.
I knew it's windy, but I got a cup of coffee that smells just right.
I knew study is intense and the career market is tight, but I got people's encouragement and support. I will be fine.
I knew we got really limited time, but I volunteer to prepare some Sukiyaki from time to time. :)

It's not Rain.
It's Liquid Sunshine.

Keep Faith in People! I Got My Mobile Phone back!

It may sound like miracle, but my mobile phone came back to me eventually (like a miracle)! I lost it in the ladies room in my department's building (McCormick Tribune Center) few days ago. I tried hard to find it myself by asking the staff in the offices and tracked my path, but in vain. The key to have it back was EMAIL.

I sent out an email to the listserve for the class of 2008 and 2009, and also to our student service staff Keri to forward the info for me. A girl in the journalism program, Melissa, replied me late at night the next day to inform me the place she dropped the mobile phone she picked-up! That email serious was the most welcomed one these few days! It raised me up :D

Praise the Good Nature in people! Praise the Lord!

Become a Confident Presenter?

Yes I am. My program-IMC- had a Global Residency presentation today for the new class and for my classmates. Our KFC team decided not to prepare any other presentation slides, but to show a part of our video with the interview clips we produced and the real-time presentation (on August 21) video scenes. Eileen did a wonderful job to introduce our project to the audiences and picked an appropriate length of video to show. After her, I briefly shared our experiences in China:

Work Hard

• Internally got wonderful support, detailed presentations and discussion from KFC Shanghai team prior to, during, and after we went on-site. Their warm hospitality while we were there was also significant.
  
• Externally visited KFC's creative agency: Ogilvy Shanghai; market research agency: Synovate; e-marketing partner: Tencent QQ
  

Play Hard- IMC= I Must Come-to-parties

• Successful IMC Welcome Drinks joined by alumni, class of '09, prospective student and friend of IMC
  
• Chinese town/garden visit, Chinese cuisine
• Hit bars with great view "to understand the business culture"

Additionally, we all shared the surprises and the value this residency opportunity brought us. I was actually surprised by myself on the Forum stage, confidently expressed my thoughts without reading any script. I was even more thrilled by the later Q&A panel discussion. The KFC team got so many great questions asked, and quite some of them (unpurposely) aimed at me. Microphone at hand, sat upright and answered questions clearly, precisely and witty, I indeed enjoyed the moment to speak to the public with passion and enthusiasm. I felt myself shining on the stage, glamorously :)

This past year and this past summer had transformed me into a better Wendy, who is much more confident, positive, independent and strong. Even though I didn't notice sometimes. For the journey and the challenge ahead, I knew I had so much more to learn and to explore. Since I have already upgraded myself into a better public presenter, what other tasks can't I accomplish?

--
My Presentation History

• KFC China Summer Drink Project- one of the two presenters for 45 min. responsible for 25 min. to client(directors, managers) in Shanghai, China and to client(CPAO, brand president, PR staff) in Louisville, US- ENG
• Introducing Modu- 5 min. in class presentation
• Online Advertising Matrix presentation- one of the two presenters for 20 min.
• Introducing marketing in Taiwan using example of convenient stores- 10 min. presentation for Medill Asian Student Association
  

13度的氣溫，冰冷的心

窗外的世界涼颼颼，我的心，更凍。因為我居然把新買的手機放在學校忘了帶走，目前看來只怕凶多吉少，白白讓媽媽的一片好心和大筆花費放水流走.....
媽媽，請原諒女兒不孝又太過胡塗，真的對不起..........