Tag: Marquette University

The kind of payment you should expect to receive as a speaker.

Throughout my career I have done a lot of public speaking. I frequently get requests to do presentations to businesses and professional organizations. I guest lecture a few times each year to college classes. I really enjoy being able to offer value by sharing what I know. In fact, I have a blog dedicated to sharing my learnings. And you are reading it right now. #meta.
I never want people to walk away from one of my talks thinking it was just ok. That’s why I think about offering value in my talks through the 3 Es.

My 3 Es of Public Speaking

  1. Education I try to teach people something they didn’t know. It could be information they didn’t have. Or a new perspective or philosophy that makes them think in a new way.
  2. Energy I always try to offer energy. It’s much easier for an audience to pay attention and learn something when they are awake. So I make it awfully hard to sleep during one of my talks.
  3. Entertainment I try to make my talk interesting. I use humor and storytelling. And I use liberal amounts of Surprisium. Which is the element of surprise. (I discovered that in my high school chemistry class.)

Chickety Check Yourself

When preparing to give a talk I always check to make sure I have all 3 Es in my presentation. It’s how I ensure that I am offering value. Because when I offer real value to others I know I will receive real value in return.

The Payment For A 3-E Talk

If you are wondering what kind of payment you should expect to receive for your public speaking, here is the payment I recently received for a guest lecture I gave to 35 students in Erin Napier’s integrated marketing communications class at Marquette University.

‘I had to email you to send a massive “thank you” for the presentation you gave to my advertising class, it was absolutely killer and it will leave a lasting impact on how I go about my future. Between you and me that was the most engaged I was in this class all year! (You are the type of guy Id love to sit down and have a conversation about life with)
From the moment you entered the room I noticed I had a lot of the same personality traits you shared with us and I am now, so excited to see what I can do with them. You showed me how to use the talents I was born with and use it to my advantage.
The way you asked us a little about ourselves was amazing because it shows that you are interested in what we have to say. Who doesn’t love talking about themselves?!
I learned so much in the short time you spent with us and from the bottom of my heart I really appreciate it and I wish you the best of luck with everything in your life and hopefully someday we cross paths again.’
‘Just wanted to say the presentation was great and one of the most interesting I’ve seen in my time at Marquette. On another note, i have a start up I’ve been working on with a buddy of mine and was curious if you’d be willing to connect one day and give some thoughts/ feedback. Either way, you crushed it tonight and hope we can connect in the future.’

‘Thanks for speaking tonight. Your talk made me want to quit my day job.’

‘Hey Adam, I am NAME CHANGED TO PROTECT THE LACK OF PROOFREADING, I am in Erin Napier’s advertising class that you spoke to last night.m (if you need a reminder of how I am, I was the NICKNAME I GAVE THE STUDENT IN CLASS). I really enjoyed your talk and I related to your engery and passion for the topic so I wanted to reach out and connect. Thanks’

‘Hi Adam. I enjoyed your presentation during my advertising class last Tuesday. You had mentioned to connect on LinkedIn if I was possibly interested in future opportunities. Thanks for volunteering your time and sharing your insight.’

‘This was the first time all semester I paid attention to a guest speaker. That was awesome.’

‘Hey Adam! I am the perfectionist from Pewaukee! (From Erin’s Advertising class.)
I wanted to thank you again for an awesome presentation last night. You have an amazing zeal for life which is not only refreshing to see, but inspirational as well.’

Adam: Again, thank you for your wonderful presentation last night. As usual, my students were mesmerized. You represent real world perspective which is difficult at times to bring into the classroom. I also appreciate that you provided some perspective on the DNC project.

It was also delightful to have Sara attend. She is a great example for my athletes in the room in how balancing their time between academics and preparing for post college starts now. Please feel free to bring members of your team again.
Erin

Key Takeaway

When you speak, expect to give. Provide value by educating and entertaining. Do it with energy. And when you do your job well you should expect to get paid with wonderful feedback from your audience. That positive feedback alone makes it all worthwhile.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

The surprising question I was asked while guest lecturing.

I guest lecture to college students several times each year. Guest lecturing is like a box of chocolates. Because you never know which students will be surprisingly delightful and which will be totally nutty. Last week I spoke to Erin Napier’s marketing campaigns class at Marquette University (which I secretly call a Marquetteing campaigns class, because it’s kinda funny).

Good Evening

There were 36 students in the class. It started at 5:30pm. Which, in case you don’t remember, is not when college students are at their energetic or attentive peak. I decided to bring some extra energy to make sure no one fell asleep (and no one fell asleep).

Sharing Is Caring

I spoke to the class about advertising, my career journey, the creative process and networking. I talked about starting my own business. And about the value of sitting in the front row. When I was done I opened the floor for questions. Not literally, of course.

A Trick Of The Trade

The students asked many good questions. Although I give myself partial credit for the quantity. Because after the first 2 questions I told the the class that I always remember the people who ask questions. If we stopped right then, 2 out of the 36 of them had made a positive impression on me. After my commentary the questions came fast and furious. Like Ludacris.

The Questions

The students peppered me with the follow queries:

  • Where do your best ideas come from?
  • What do you do when you are stuck creatively?
  • What was your favorite project ever?
  • What is your dream project?
  • What has been the greatest challenge of your career?

The Surprise

But there was one very simple question that truly surprised me.  Julian Wright, a freshman on the Marquette track & field team asked:

Why did you want to talk to this class tonight?  -Julian ‘Lefty’ Wright

My Response:

I wanted to share my knowledge with you. I have learned so much from experienced professionals who volunteered their time that I wanted to pay if forward, or backwards, or however you like to think about it. And I hope someday you give your time to share what you have learned with the next generation.

But I also wanted to make a positive impression on you, so that when you are looking for internships or jobs after college, you think of Adam Albrecht or The Weaponry first. I am always looking for rockstars. And I want the next generation of rockstars to be looking for me.

Key Takeaway

Share what you know. Add to the body of knowledge of students and others who are hungry to learn. The greatest impact you will ever have on Earth is the impact you make on other people. Pass along your knowledge, experience and observations. And in the process you will collect even more. Better still, teaching expands your exposure to talented people. It grows your network, and increases the number of opportunities that come your way.

Speaking Of Which…

This afternoon I will be speaking at an event about marketing through storytelling, hosted by the Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce. I am excited to learn from the other 2 speakers at the event, Tim Dyer and Richie Burke.  Here is an overview:

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? USING STORYTELLING TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

Tuesday, November 12, 2019 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM CST
The Venue at Milwaukee Brewing Co
1130 N. 9th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233

Behind every business is a great story. As new platforms for content marketing continue to grow, there’s never been more opportunity to use storytelling to strengthen your brand and find strategic ways to reach new audiences.

You can find more details, and register for the event here.

 

 

 

The best ways to get young people back in stores.

I love talking to college students. Throughout my career I have guest-lectured, judged class projects, and spoken on numerous panels. I enjoy these opportunities to encourage students. It’s fun to see how your personal career path can provide a map for future professionals. It is fascinating to see the world through the students’ eyes again. But best of all, I like telling students that the need for internships is a myth created by kids who have internships.

Marquette

The past three semesters I have guest-lectured for an advertising campaigns class at Marquette University. In this class, the students spend a semester creating a campaign for a real client. At the end of the semester, they then present to that client. I come in for a class or two to teach the students what I can about the creative process.

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I start each class by singing America The Beautiful.

This year my lesson consisted of 3 parts.

  1. I shared the journey of my career, from college student at the University of Wisconsin, to launching my own advertising agency, The Weaponry.
  2. I talked about creativity and the creative process.
  3. I gave the students a creative assignment that they had one week to complete.

The Assignment

I wanted the students to have a significant creative problem to solve. So I chose retail traffic. As you have probably heard by now, an invention called the internet makes it easy for people to buy virtually anything from their computer or smart-thingy. In fact, smart-thingy is just shorthand for an electronic device that lets you shop from bed.

As a result, people are no longer reliant on physical stores for anything. This is a major problem for retailers who have significant physical spaces. Because those stores become unprofitable and unnecessary when people stop dropping by to drop off money.

The Question: 

How do you get young people to shop at physical store locations?

Here is the assignment I gave 35 Marquette students:

We need to get Marquette Students, who are entering the workforce, to visit a Kohl’s physical store location, by telling them it is the best place to find their new workforce wardrobe.

Huh?

The universal knee-jerk reaction to this challenge from the students was:

‘Why would I have to visit a store? It is so much easier to shop online.’

My Response:

‘This is the greatest challenge facing retailers today. Your mindset is a major problem for them. Since college students represent the next great hope or the nail in the coffin for brands with significant retail locations, you hold the key to this perplexing problem.’

The Thinking Began

We gave the seven groups of five students one week to come up with their solutions. They could advertise to the student population anywhere on, or around the Marquette campus. There were no media restrictions or requirements. The ideas the student shared were both surprising and somehow obvious at the same time.

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One of the groups presenting their ideas to the nicest, sweetest group of judges they will ever meet.

4 key takeaways from college students for retailers.

Here are the buckets of ideas we heard from the seven groups

1. Offer Me Services.  

  • There are a host of services that students are not getting right now that would offer real value.
  • Help me understand how to dress professionally appropriate for my career.
  • Help me find clothes that fit well.
  • Help me coordinate, accessorize and create multiple outfits to make my money go further.

2. Help Get Me There

  • The rising generation does not see transportation the way previous generations saw it. Car ownership will not be ubiquitous. It may not even be popular. To get younger shoppers to the stores you may need to actually give them a ride to the store, or help them foot the bill.
  • The students had ideas like receiving UberCredits from the store when they show their college IDs.
  • Retailers could advertise on the campus vans that offer students free rides around campus at night. During the day, Kohl’s could hire these vans to take student to shop at Kohl’s. Think Express route to Express

3. Find Me Where I am

  •  If I should be thinking about you, meet me where I am. And that’s on SnapChat. Join the story.
  • Find me on campus. The students had multiple good ideas about Kohl’s showing up at places they are spending their time, like the student union, library and even bars and restaurants. To be top of mind, you may just have to show up and say hi.
  • Influence the influencers.  The students talked about involving the professors, staff, other students and advisors. The Kardashians may not be the only people influencing these students.

4. Get Involved

  • The students had ideas for fashion shows on campus that Kohl’s could sponsor.
  • At Job Fairs retailers can offer advice on how to dress for interviews and the workplace.
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This is us.

Conclusion

There are great ways to get people to visit retail locations. Personalized services and unique experiences will be key. Think about services as much or more than you think about the products you sell. Remember to fish where the fish are. Not where the old fish used to swim. You may have to coordinate or compensate the travel. This may sound weird, but it is important. It’s no longer business as usual. And the new business may feel unusual. But that’s what keeps it interesting.