Paper for Brand Management
For Brand Management Class we had to write up ourselves as a brand. The Jason Cunningham Brand, as it were. Brands have Personalities, and people do too, so why not create a one page exercise for it? Below is what I wrote, this was very interesting… please excuse the arrogance.
Jason Cunningham
Professor Patty Lewis
Yourself as a Brand
January 24, 2007
Jason Cunningham is an identity brand because I connect with people by getting to know them and helping them feel more comfortable with dreaming and expressing themselves and their dreams openly. I enjoy facilitating and encouraging those little daydreams that people have that motivate them when their mind wanders.
The Jason Cunningham Brand is friendly, honest, trustworthy and reliable. I’m creative, yet very practical and helpful. I’m a playful nurturer, but at the same time staunch, distinguished, and dignified. But he consistently faces obstacles with a sense of humor.
Among younger audiences Jason Cunningham will automatically adjust his personality to place more emphasis on humor and a playful jesting, but will gladly assist a friend in an emotional crisis by switching instantly to the nurturing, trustworthy, and reliable features. However, with the politically active college environment Jason will switch to a staunch, honest, yet practical mode of thinking when faced with political debates. With Grandparents, Jason holds to a mode of interaction that is honest, friendly, reliable and dignified.
Jason Cunningham stands out from the crowd by the simple fact that he strives to make people comfortable, and to be a genuine friend to each person he meets. While this isn’t always possible, he strives to break the ice in most relationships by using levity, and an external focus to drive his conversations. He is always interested to hear about your day, and more than willing to offer guidance or suggestions, when appropriate, to those who seem to be struggling. Jason is sensitive to the appearance of discontent or unease on the faces of his friends and can be counted on to inquire about whether something is bothering them.
These qualities present a very clear value to the individual looking for an engaging, and thoroughly unique friend, with a love of history and lively conversation. Sadly, this product generation does have one downside – a severe lack in video game expertise. His inability to navigate his way around a PlayStation2 or Xbox leaves many more video game savvy peers at a loss for how to interact with him with the social support of such games removed. He also has a crippling lack of athletic ability, and general indifference to Football, with the exception of the New England Patriots, whom He supports staunchly! However, Jason does take actions to counter these social threats by publicizing his love of the Patriots, and passion for computer games, especially mentally stimulating Empire building games, which are popular among the same market segment. He has also changed one other weakness into a strength. His complete lack of a slang vocabulary or any trapping of “coolness” at all, has been played with to comedic effect so that when he does use a youth culture slang word, it comes across as laughably awkward, to the extent that everyone gets a chuckle, promoting positive feelings for the brand.
Jason will hit the sweet spot for any consumer seeking a man with a civilized sense of humor and demeanor, willing to work through issues, and compromise in a caring way.
30 Seconds of Jason…
And Now, for 30seconds of Jason Cunningham… Compliments of Film and Video Production I by Professor Menke-fish!
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Introductions to Spring 2007!
Introductions to Spring 2007!
Well friends, I would like to take a moment to introduce you to my new setup here on Hughes Two. I hope you enjoy being kept informed because if you don’t, I do a whole lot of that here.
Lets start with my room, and new roommate!!
VOILA! Hughes 210 As you can see, Stephen has gone all out decorating and turning a cold barracks into a welcoming home.
As you can see, we have many monkeys hanging from our ceiling, approximately 11. This is part of his jungle decor which is a common theme. Stephen has recreated his infamous batcave, but renamed it the alcove. My bed can be pictured below the shrouded realm of Stephen.
One HUGE feature of the room is the Brand New 32″ TV set that Stephen purchased from Wallmart. This massive set allows for easy viewing, even from across the room! Stephe n spends most of his free time playing Final Fantasy on the set.
Above: Stephen destroying every digital creature to enter his line of sight!
However, my contribution to the room is far more interesting, from my point of view… since I’m not so good at video games…
CLOCKS!
As you can see, I have purchased two clocks for my room, one to display the time in Washington, and the other shows the time in London. This helps me keep track of what my beloved country might be doing at any point in time. Interestingly enough, Sarah, Colin, and I spend nearly 45mins starting and stopping the clocks trying to get their second hands to match exactly. WE did it! For the first day of their operation they were perfectly in unison. Two ticks clicking at exactly the same time. However, they have since fallen out of alignment.
More clocks!
Some new cool people that this semester as brought to Hughes Two are Ben and Adam. There are a bunch more, however, I’ll write about them later as I have pictures of them to show you.
On the Left is Adam, a cool guy from Tenley Campus. We’re very happy to have him on Hughes two. I don’t know very much about him except that I rooted for the Colts when it would have been better to root for the New England Pats! But we’ll forgive that. Ben (at Right) is also super cool. He joins us from the 5th Floor, and frequently joins us for dinner every other night. We like to joke that such-and-such a night is a Hughes 5 night, or I might ask if tonight is a Hughes Two night. He’s very reserved and kinda quiet, but that is refreshing in a world filled with heavy talkers.
Above: Colin, Josh, and Ben.
Above: Colin Sporting his new dress coat, and haircut!
Please Note that Sarah Gmeiner is also back, and serving as an RA on McDowel Terrace. I will feature more of our adventures, but have not taken any photos of her yet… not that that really matters!
Wicked, the new Floor Cleaning Program
Wicked…
…OK, so I couldn’t think of a title for this entry, so I chose the title of the classic broadway hit, Wicked because that is what my roommate is listening to.
Wicked is a most meaningful word, because it reflects in a most extreme fashion, my reaction to tonight’s 10:10 meeting’s announcement of a new program.
The idea is, that for 3 days, Housing and Dining, or the Hughes/McDowell complex, will suspend all cleaning services to the residents of those two dorms to teach them the life-skills necessary in the real world, such as the ability to clean and restock bathrooms and take out the trash.
This idea is one of the worst I’m aware of to come out of the University since my arrival here.
Before you think I’m a lazy slob, allow me to explain. (I now offer my 95 treaties!)
1
Educational purposes – there have been no provisions to actually train any students in the duties they’re suddenly being expected to perform. If indeed this program is supposed to TEACH students something, than shouldn’t they be taught before they go and are forced to work? Now it just so happens that I know how to do all the things I’d be expected to do, I work facility staff which has an identical set of duties. However, if there are students that don’t know these things (I recall one person who didn’t know how much LAUNDRY to put in the washing machine – not soap, laundry) forcing them to do the chores (which they won’t) won’t help the situation without training. (how do you force them to comply? You can’t!)
2
Unequal Work Load – Similar to communism, this measure seeks to remove man from any and all laziness, and assumes that each member will pull their weight, and clean their own share of the floor. This we know is not going to be the case. Every day dishes are left abandoned in the kitchen, and shaved facial hair coats the sinks, why should these offenders suddenly change their ways because their peers are cleaning up rather than the cleaning crew? Why would they be motivated to help out at all? They won’t!! This will dump the entire burden of the work onto the few floormates who actually desire to make the floor clean, or simply get sick of the mess. Namely, Thais and Molly will drop dead from exhaustion. Sorry! Hard to fight against human nature.
3
Thanking the faithful, and underpaid, staff - This 3 day break to appreciate the cleaning staff won’t help the staff at all, so that argument shouldn’t be used. The staff will be moved to another section of capus, where those residents will probably get twice the cleaning crew – not that that matters much. Also, the staff are hardly underpaid. Many drive cars far nicer than anything my family has every owned. So while these faithful staff members are certainly worthy of our gratitude, Housing and Dining shouldn’t paint them as beleagured victims of an unforgiving society. This program will untimately hurt them, because at the end of three days, they will probably have 3 days worth of grime to clean up, rather than one. Though I hope our floor won’t be that bad.
4
Contractual obligations – When we sign up to live in the dorms, and pay $5000 per year to live here, we expect to receive those services that are rolled into the highly elevated cost of living here. A cleaning crew is one of those services. I should, and can reasonably expect to be reimbursed for those services that we pay for, but never receive. I have been told this amounts to a minuscule 3 cents per day, almost 9 cents for the three days the program would last. I would like to see a 9 cent check in the mail.
5
Case for Campus-wide application – This program is only being applied to The Hughes/Mcdowell Dorm complex, from my experience, two of the cleanest dorms on campus. Why should this limited group of students be singled-out for forced participation, when Southside, Leonard hall, and Tenley Campus are exempt? Legend has it all these places are just as much in need (if not more) of such sanitation lessons as good old hughes hall.
6
Is this actually their job? – While one might argue that the point of a University is to give you an education, is this whole life-lessons thing really the job of Housing and Dinning? Shouldn’t this elementary education material be taught by a parent or family member? Surely there are limits to what a University can be held responsible for teaching. Perhaps a class that students could sign up for? It would seem that basic sanitation would be one of those things that should be left to either beginning butler school, household chores, or this new elective.
Let me be clear, I in no way blame my RA, or the other members of the board who are charged with putting this program into effect. I’m sure they realize this idea is as wacko as claiming that there is absolutely no alcohol in college dorms. Or that no one smokes at American University. It simply comes from a system that is as out-of-touch with the student perspective as a pony. The heart behind the program is good, however, clearly this idea begs the question, what school do you work at? There are many more questions that need to be answered, and until we get those answers, I will gladly refrain from participating.
Thanks for listening to my rant. A complete update on less agitating issues is to follow!
Sewer problems in Cunnland
Crisis in Cunnland Abated!
A Spokesman for the house of Cunningham announced today that the plumbing crisis at their suburban home has been fixed. Sources tell this blog that as of 12am Friday the last seal was put on the last joint connecting the Residence’s plumbing with the main city sewer. Celebrations marking this joyous achievement are being held across the globe by shower-loving peoples everywhere.
The British Royal Family marked the event with a special service to Thank God for his providence to the Cunninghams.
Japanese Emperor made a rare public appearance to commemorate the event.
Majority Leader Cunningham said in a statement to the Associated Press that he hoped for a swift return to normality. However, with the new Session of the T starting on Monday, Cunningham is expected to return to The capitol sometime this weekend to begin preparations for the new term. Official Election results are expected later next week.
Even the Norwegian Royal Family joined in the Celebrations.
President Bush is expected to address the nation regarding plumbing throughout the country in a special “State of the Plumbing” address in a few days.
I’m sure we can all join our voices to the chorus wishing the Cunningham family, Happy Showering! May Cleanliness be about you all the days of your lives!
The Very Hard Day
The Very Hard day…
Well Friends, today is perhaps the worst day of my working career. I suppose it is a fitting culmination to two weeks of struggling. The last few days have had the added burden of struggling with Pride, that most horrid of sins.
It all started two weeks ago, as announced on this very blog, my joyous resumption of work in my beloved communications department in my beloved church. Yes… things were good! Good work, and good people! I was given these last two weeks to produce the 10:31 Year in Review Slideshow. Easy enough. I made it my goal to finish by Tuesday of this week, a mere two days ago!
Well, Mike got me all setup beautifully. He even made me this awesome soundtrack with well blended seams between different songs. The photos were all picked out, and all I had to do was put it together into a neat little package. Sound good? HAH!
Mike, being very interested in saving time and being efficient, which I admire, suggested that I use a new editing program called Motion, as opposed to the old faithful Final Cut Pro. I figured this would be as good a time as any to finally learn how the program worked! You know, use the time educationally.
Well, Motion we later discovered was designed for short clips of 1-3mins in length. We 7min 30sec slideshow would soon be causing problems. Namely, overloading the processor enough so that the whole program would crash and burn every 20-30mins. This was an hourly struggle, as I lost much work and no matter how often I saved my progress, the program always seemed to preempt my saving with a crash. A regular two steps forward, one step back.
So finally, on Wednesday, a full week after production began, I was ready to watch the whole work at the same time, as opposed to different segments at various points throughout the day if the program felt up to it. So I tried to export it. It raced along at a nice clip, destined to be finished in an amazing 5mins. WOW! But this joy was not to be. It crashed halfway through. And the 2nd time. And the 3rd time. 4th and 5th made it about 5/8ths of the way though due to setting changes.
So I wrestle with this most of wednesday, and finally leave the office having given the project to Mike to export on his machine and make any additional changes. I was free to finally enjoy the last two days of my winter vacation having successfully completed my task provided by God to boost my finances and see old friends.
HAH HAH HAH!
So I get an email from my dear friend, and boss, Don. He writes, Dave, the youth pastor for whom I’m making the video, is very unhappy with the length of the video. They were expecting, not a 7 1/2 min show, but rather, a 12-15 min show. (WHAT!? What didn’t anyone tell me!) He went on to invite me to come back into the office to make the adjustments in length. Which given the pain and aggravation of the last week, I was not too eager to do. “can’t he just be happy with 7mins!! Whats the big deal!” was my thought. Not too Godly, was it?
Anyway. So I go in and brace for a long day of wrestling with the dreaded program which seems to be a problem for only me! Well, I find out that the exportation process of the night before, was no more successful than my own efforts. Leaving my work in a non-usable form. ouch! Finally, I have an idea! What if we export it in segments? Thankfully, this works! I can finally export a displayable slideshow with music in 5 little segments. Well, Don, my boss asks to review the whole reassembled show. So I drag the pieces into Final Cut Pro, that old faithful and oh-so-glorious program that God Himself must have inspired – and it works like a charm. Sure, the cuts between the segments are a little rough, a couple duplicate frames in between the edits, but thats easily enough fixed! If they can just be happy with 7mins we’ll be done, right?
Wrong. Don reviews it and says that pictures aren’t on the beat. “The Timing is poor” he says. **pride alert!** WELL! Little does he know that I wasn’t flowing my photos to the beat, but rather, the melody of the music, creating a more wistful, flowing effect. He doesn’t see it that way. He also doesn’t like the glitchy transitions between the segments, which needed some adjustments. Anyway, he says that we need to move many things around and change a bunch of things. Essentially, between his changes and the length failure because I was given wrong time to begin with, the best thing to do would be to start over completely. From scratch. Two days before it is due (On Saturday).
Well, thats what we start. I delete everything, close motion for the last time, and switch everything over to Final Cut Pro, and start building all over again.
But as of 5:00 today, My tenure at the communications office is over. two weeks down the drain from a productivity standpoint. I am suffering from the emotional impression that my reputation for efficiency has been damaged, and I walked out the door of the office with a little of what Richard Nixon must have felt, leaving the White House in disgrace. This isn’t truly their feelings, but they may as well be. Oh well. Mom and I talked it out, and I’m feeling better now – but the whole thing has been a rather traumatizing experience. But thankfully, no relationships are on the line.
One book I’ve thoroughly been enjoying while waiting for my computer to reload the crashed motion program was Royals and the Reich, seen below.
Above: Royals and the Reich, a book enjoyed by Jason.
I was just wondering the other day what happened to the family of the Kaiser after he was exiled to the Netherlands and the rest of the High German Aristocracy during Hitler’s reign. How about you?
DID YOU KNOW? in 1901, on the news of Queen Victoria’s sudden illness, the Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II, the WWI guy, rushed out of the opera and braved a dangerous sea to the Isle of White where Queen Victoria Died in his arms a few days later… She was his Grandmother. History is fun people! Stories like these where historical eras change so suddenly is what makes it cool!
Above: Left, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Center, Tzar Nicholas II, and Right, Queen Victoria
I also want to make a note to you, my dear readers. I don’t know what happened, but I’ve been told that my posts aren’t being emailed to a few subscribers. I have no idea why that would be, and certainly I haven’t changed any settings. If anyone knows anything about this, be sure to let me know.
Ta ta for now!
Crisis Persists…
Crisis Persists…
While the Crisis in Cunnland persists to be a problem for it’s residents who have been reduced to measures of internal relief that I won’t mention here, there are a few bright spots in this week.
for Starters, I’m back to working at the Church’s communications offices. I’m working on various 10:31 youth ministry projects – namely the year-in-review slideshow, and assisting with another very important slideshow.
However, today was my 2nd day, and I’m starting to get a reputation for causing disasters. Yesterday, I either installed a virus on an emac, or caused the Operating System to completely destroy itself. Today, I “caused” three brownouts that resulted in many people’s work being lost, and one Fire alarm.
Why I seem suddenly blessed with disasters can only be attributed to my sister’s absence – she is usually the target of such problems!
In other exciting news: I got a shower today! I headed over to Jerry’s house (one of mom’s friends) and she let me use her shower. It was amazing! Clean AND shaved!
Sewer Crisis in Cunnland!
Crisis in Cunnland!
– BREAKING NEWS FROM THE WIRE –
After returning from his New England Retreat, Representative Cunningham, Majority Leader in the T, is reportedly living with a sewage jam at his Washington-area home.
Sources close to Cunningham said that the clog was prohibiting the use of sinks, showers, and toilets throughout the complex, and it is unlikely to be resolved until after the new Year celebrations.
The latest reports say that the cause of the problem may lay beneath the extensive gardens that surround the Cunningham House. The sewage pipe is thought to possibly be out of alignment causing a clog which will require digging beneath the neatly groomed lawn in search of the problem pipe.
No word yet from Cunningham, however, it has been suggested that the family has been forced to find other means of waste removal.
Further bulletins as events warrant!
