Cultural Event 4 - Anchorman 2

During this semester, I attended a long anticipated showing of Anchorman 2, a sequel to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (one of my all time favorite movies!).  This cult classic has remained an underground favorite among comedy buffs for years.  Anchorman also takes a firm place in the roots of today's pop culture.

Nearly 9 years after the original film, Anchorman 2 finally came to theaters.  Rumors of a failed sequel existed many years ago.  After the initial sequel failed to be completed, many fans didn't give much more hope or thought to another being filmed.  Much to the surprise of dedicated fans, Anchorman 2 was released December 18, 2013.

At the time the first Anchorman was released, it was unlike any other comedy I had seen.  Most of the dialogue breeding a new brand of nonsensical, irreverent humor that has become the norm in many films since.  I was excited to see that new ideas were brought to the table with Anchorman 2 rather than disappointing fans with basically the same movie as the original.  Getting the chance to watch the sequel to one of my favorite cult classics was a blast.  The movie exceeded my expectations.

Cultural Event 3 - Art Exhibit at Taylor Books

Recently, I took a trip to Charleston, the capitol of West Virginia.  Amongst the many exciting attractions in the area, I happened upon a very interesting art exhibit at Taylor Books.  The exhibit featured several artists such as Josh Miller, Lorin Michki and Brent Thomas. Each artist had a unique style.  They also each used very different mediums for their art.

The artist that interested me the most was Josh Miller.  His art was unlike any I have seen in a long time.  Each painting he creates looks like the doodles of a 4 year old.  This is a very interesting perspective to capture and portray through art.  From food to animals, Josh Miller draws everything the way most toddlers would.  He even refers to his art as "drawings" on his handouts.

One example of many of Josh Miller's "drawings".

Cultural Event 2 - Wiretap Show, 1/28/14 at 100 Proof Tattoo

On January 28th, 2014, I  attended a local music show at 100 Proof Tattoo in Martinsburg, WV.  This was the first show that 100 Proof Tattoo had ever hosted.  It's still up in the air at the moment, but employees and the owner of the shop have tossed around the idea of opening a professional music venue at the location.  This show was a trial run that ended up working out pretty well.  Several local Hardcore bands played that evening including Wiretap and Distances.

Martinsburg, WV has always had a steady underground music culture over the past 10 years.  While the music may not always stay consistent, the energy of new bands displaying new musical ideas is always thriving.  Despite the fact that a music scene has existed in the area for a long time, there has still never been a designated all ages venue for local musicians to play at.

With this show as a good start, 100 Proof Tattoo is becoming more and more convinced that opening a local venue would be a good idea.

The show itself was great! This predominately Hardcore show consisted of the artists Sailor's Mouth, Distances, Wiretap and Black Mask.  I hope to see more shows at this venue in the future and to eventually play here with my band as well.

Wiretap performing.  I am pictured, second from the left, watching their set.

Cultural Event 1 - "Murder and Mayhem: How It All Began" Presented by The Rude Mechanicals

I attended a showing of "Murder and Mayhem: How It All Began" this semester.  This play was a Medieval Drama.  It was about the Christian story of the Creation of Man. It consisted of four different parts:

Creation and Fall of Angels
Fall of Man
The Murder of Abel
Noah

This was the second Rude Mechanicals play I have attended since I have been at Shepherd.  I can definitely say I wasn't disappointed.  The Rudes never seem to fail at providing an entertaining show for their classmates.  This particular play focused on some of the first parts of the Bible.  These stories explain the creation of the universe and mankind.  I thought that the play was quite entertaining.  I feel that many Shepherd students don't expect The Rude Mechanicals plays to be as funny as they are.

Faculty Review

Last week was the Faculty Review for my Capstone project.  I didn't have enough time to give a complete demonstration of the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts I created for Brother's Pizza, but I did review my PR Campaign and the progress/success I have achieved so far.

I feel that the presentation went well overall, but there were some criticisms for my project.  It was pretty unanimous that my work needs a little more of a push in a different direction.  Rather than just posting about specials the restaurant has to offer and creating new specials, I can improve by creating something more different and unique for Brother's.

I was also told that I should work more to appeal to my selected demographic and existing audience.  Repetitive posts about specials don't appeal to my audience as well as more demographic-centered posts would.  For example, my goal is to appeal to families.  To do this, I could post pictures of families enjoying their dine in experience at our restaurant.

To conclude, I can reflect on the criticisms I received at the Faculty Review in order to improve my project.

More Progress For Brother's Pizza!

My PR campaign for Brother's Pizza is still going very well!

Last night was the very first open mic night that Brother's has ever had and the second event that I planned for them.  The event could have gone a little more smoothly however.  Instead of planning the event for two weeks, I only had one. With more time, I could have better planned the event and had a better turn out. We ended up only having 2 performers play, but the people in the restaurant enjoyed the music! Overall, I think I would host this event again, but some better planning will have to happen on my part.

Next, I plan to begin a "pizza of the month" promotion and I am also considering a pizza eating contest to round out the month.  For the Pizza Of The Month, we will offer a different one of our specialty pizzas at the price of a regular pizza.  Hopefully, this will boost some interest in our new specialty pizzas.  For the Pizza Eating Contest,  I considered mimicking a March Madness bracket for customers to fill out for who they think will win out of 10 contestants.  I haven't done much planning for this event yet, so I am not sure if I still want to host it.

To conclude, I feel like I am on the right track, and I'm learning a lot about organization and planning through managing the Brother's Pizza social media.  This will help me in future jobs to create more efficient and successful work.

Capstone Project Progress

So far, my PR campaign for Brother's Pizza in Martinsburg is going very well.  Since the reboot of their Facebook page and the creation of their Twitter and Instagram accounts, I have noticed an steady increase in business overall.  Within the last three weeks,  I am responsible for gaining 82 likes on the Brother's Facebook page, 95 followers on Twitter, and 67 followers on Instagram. 


Before I began working on social media and PR for Brother's Pizza, they didn't have much of a social media presence at all.  Their Facebook page was pretty vacant, with about two or three posts total. A Twitter and Instagram account for Brother's were nonexistent.  Since I have become the manager of these accounts, there have been weekly, regular postings on all three sites.

Brother's Pizza also didn't have much in the way of promotions and events.  Some of the promotions that did exist didn't get much attention, and no one seemed to be interested in planning and running events.   One event that had been held a couple times was a Valentine's Day Dinner where customers could get a Heart-Shaped Pizza and Brother's would donate $1 to the American Heart Association.

I decided to hold the Valentine's event again this year.  Overall, it was successful!  Having reflected on it, the event could have been a bit more organized.  There wasn't a unified price for the pizzas so much as customers were given the option to have their pizzas heart-shaped.  By the end of the event, we sold 10 Heart-Shaped Pizzas.  Also, each customer who ordered one, ordered other menu items.

I am planning on creating several more events and promotions for the restaurant within the next few months, including a Pizza of the Month promotion, an Open Mic Night, and possibly a Pizza Eating Contest.  So far, I have made good progress with my capstone project.

A working version of a table-top flyer I created to promote Brother's new social media campaign