Pucker Up

In my mind our business's biggest downfall is the lack of consistent buzz about the RutgersZone. Externally, this can be attributed to the fragmented campuses of Rutgers University which sometimes seem like they are independent of one another. Being that we are located on Livingston, it is not unfair to say that most of our loyal customer base lives or spends a lot of time on that campus.

But how do we reach the students at the five other campuses?

Through advertising. Or at least that is my answer for now.

Internally, our downfall is attributed to lack of resources. We only heavily advertise on Livingston, because there is not enough manpower to flyer each campus. Moving past this, I am committed to seeing my advertising project to completion. Working with the Marketing office, the RutgersZone Marketing team, Matt and myself =) , complied humorous posters to display in the student centers of each campus. We will then begin to flyer within the student centers, main class room buildings, dining halls, and where ever else within our capabilities.

Coming up with creative ideas for advertising is one of the most challenging and fun parts of my job. Let me walk you through an abridged version of what I do.

We consider a product, for example a smoothie.
Which smoothie would look the MOST Delicious on a print poster?
Something tells me not our Kitchen Sink Smoothie, because despite the playful name and as appetizing as it looks it is pretty hard for a potential consumer to imagine the taste of Vanilla Ice Cream, Orange Sherbet, Mixed Berry, and Mango Puree all together unless they have had a prior experience with our yummy product.

Next!
Mango Smoothie? No, because it may be confused with an Orange Julius beverage.
Strawberry Mango? N0
Orange Mango? No
Strawberry Banana? No
Mixed Berry? YES!

The bright red would look beautiful on glossed paper, and most students can conceptualize the taste of a Mixed Berry Smoothie. mmmmmhmmmmmmmm.

The next step was to consider funny copy to accompany the image. (Copy simply means texts slash words for all those not in the biz.)


So what will be our Headline?!

While I was thinking of this, it was shortly after October when my girlfriends and I dressed as the WWE Wrestlers for Halloween. Keeping it classy, I was the D Generation X member, Shawn "sexy boy" Micheals. But I must admit I was the antitheses of sexy. Those of you in MY GENERATION (play on words? like that?) may remember this dynamic duo creating quite the stir with their trademarked "Suck It" phrase and dance move for lack of a better word.

That gave me the IDEA! A Mixed Berry Smoothie inside our glassware with a red straw aimed at the reader, copy reading "Suck it".

Ehhhhh. That won't get approved anywhere past my level of management which is pretty low on the chain of the command. So I needed to keep thinking!


It needed to be playful pun.

I got it!

"Pucker Up"
The innuendo is innocent enough. Everyone can receive a kiss from boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, dog. So this I thought was golden.

But why don't you tell me?

One-minute.. actually 10 minute Reprimand

All year we have had issues with crew members losing morale and enthusiasm at the Zone, therefore causing them to slack off and frankly half-ass their jobs. It's really easy to get frustrated, hold it in and then complain to Matt later, instead of addressing the issues as they arise. In our pre manager meeting a few weeks ago, the managers did just that and were met with quite a different response than we expected: We were told that WE were doing the same thing as the crew. Matt informed us that we were also slacking on the job by not properly checking that tasks were completed correctly, lacking enthusiasm and asking simple questions that had easy answers, had we just tried to solve the problem ourselves. Personally I think that it made all 8 of us take a step back and look at ourselves and our work ethic. Everyone on the team is important and if one person falls short, it will effect the entire group. For instance, if the closing shift left the place a complete mess that just makes more work for opening shift, which causes them to rush, which affects day shift, and the cycle will just repeat itself. So what I took away from the 10 minute reprimand was that we only have a few short months left together and we've done such a great job with getting the Zone up and running this year, so why not finish strong? It's the managers' job to keep the crew on track and focused so we can keep the ship running smoothly and I know that everyone will step up and get it done :)

--Joelle

Afterpartyyy

Last Thursday was the Rutgers on the Runway event in the Livingston Student Center. At the event, students modeled Rutgers apparel and guests gave a $5 donation to Dance Marathon. After the event, we hosted the Afterparty, which was out of control. It occurred during our usual free cones night so in addition to free cones we were also giving out free soda and appetizers. Thankfully we had a great crew (and some motivational music courtesy of fratmusic.com) or we would have been in trouble. Kyle was scooping ice cream all night, Schloss and Alisa were doing spectacular with the appetizers, and Jaime was on sodas. Everyone did a great job working together to get the food and drinks prepared, distributed and get the place clean. Outside the Zone, we had a float station set up, which was popular as well. They were floatastic! Overall I think we had a really successful event. There were a TON of people here and we definitely made some good money. I think that more people will want to have parties after their events :D

--Joelle

"New Kid"

Joining the RutgersZone staff halfway through my junior year of college has been challenging, difficult, and demanding, but undeniably great, and easily one of the best decisions I have made since coming to Rutgers. The eight managers had already been set in their established position by the time I had joined, so when late December rolled around and it came time for me to begin work, I was slightly apprehensive and unaware of what to expect. On my first day of work, I knew no one, except for Lisa (since we are from the same small town) and Matt (because he hired me). Not only did I know barely anyone, but I knew nothing about the Zone, since I only ventured to Livingston for the occasional basketball game or RUPA event. I have been the “new kid” a few times before, and they weren’t all exactly favorable situations, for example my first job in a retirement home at age 14, which made my worries skyrocket. Anyway, when I finally made it to work at the RutgersZone, and had the opportunity to meet everyone, I realized I had absolutely nothing to be nervous about, and my fears were instantly obliterated. Everyone was eager to meet me, tell me about the Zone, and help me in any way they could, and they still are two months later, answering all questions whenever they can. At first I would text one manager, then remember I had another question, and not to seem annoying, text another manager, and before I knew it I had texted all of them, with different questions. Finally, once I had used up all the managers on questions, I would just choose one unlucky one and burden them with questions, and they were always so patient. Unfortunately, it has taken longer than I would like to admit for me to learn all the ins and outs of the Zone, and I find myself questioning Matt, one of the managers, or one of the crew members at least once during each of my shifts. I am always treated kindly and with much patience, because I don’t think of these people as my coworkers now, but my friends. My knowledge of the Zone hasn’t paralleled the growth of my relationships, but it will soon, and I am happy to say that I am extremely comfortable at the Zone now, with all who work there. I feel like I am apart of the original crew now, like I have known everyone since the Zone opened in September, and am apart of all the inside jokes. Aside from the RutgersZone being an actual restaurant requiring complex care, there really would have been no reminder that I am still the “new kid”, and I would have blended in and fit in much more quickly. Being the “new kid” is a term I never referred to until Matt asked me to write this blog, and I really don’t feel the crew or managers have ever looked at me as the “new kid” either. I was instantly accepted to the Zone family, and am forever grateful, and I cannot wait to meet the next “new kid” and ensure they receive the same treatment I did, and never feel like quintessential newbie.

<3 katie

The Quest for the Scarlet Knight's Soul Mate- success!

As part of my job as program manager, I worked on 2 programs in one week for the month of February (which, btw, where did you go February? Why is it March already!?). On Valentine's Day, we closed the Zone to the public and took reservations for couples and groups. We decorated the space, got some extra tables, and created a price-fixed menu. It was a little crazy making sure everyone got their food in a timely manner, but overall everyone was pleased and the crew and Adam did a great job! Then, 3 days later, we hosted the Quest for the Scarlet Knight's Soul Mate. It was especially challenging to prepare for this event having hosted an event earlier in the week, but we pulled it off! We had 8 contestants, all of whom had a different persona, and 3 celebrity judges from the Rutgers community. Each contestant was judged on creativity, the correctness of their trivia answers, and for the very last round, Scarlet Spirit questions designed to determine if they were indeed the Scarlet Knight's Soul Mate. Of course, the Scarlet Knight himself was in attendance, and I think he was pretty happy when we picked the number 1 Rutgers Fan as the winner! Our own Steph Thomas showed her Scarlet Pride and took home the title, AND a brand new flat screen TV!! RU Sure sponsored the TV, and also an additional TV that was raffled off to a lucky audience member!!
While I was really stressed leading up to the event, and would suggest never doing 2 programs in one week again, I am happy with how the event turned out, and think all who attended had a nice time!

For photos of the event: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=148573055173697&aid=46000