It is time, once again, for another round of “Marketing Recommends,” in which the FGIA Marketing Department shares what we are getting out of in the world of social media, design and other marketing needs. The three of us have curated several tools and resources from which we’ve gained insight – plus some fun stuff, too. Take a look at our recommendations for this spring and see what you can bring back to your own team.

Lori Benshoof, Web and Online Technology Specialist:

A “Dream Scenario”

I recently watched the movie “Dream Scenario” with Nicolas Cage. If you are looking for something different and maybe a little twisted, I highly recommend this dark comedy about a man that begins appearing in millions of people's dreams. You won't believe the unexpected circumstances he ends up in during these random people's dreams.

Notes to Self

I've come to rely on a Microsoft Teams feature to message yourself. This allows me to easily locate information I may have copied and/or that I don't want to forget for a project or task I will be working on later. This way I don't have to save it in a file somewhere and I don't have to worry about losing the information. This chat to yourself can also be "pinned" at the top of your chats so you can quickly and easily reference it at any time.

Angela Dickson, Marketing and Communications Director:

Lessons from Gilmore Girls

After a friend’s tween asked to watch Gilmore Girls while visiting our family over Spring Break, I decided to rewatch this witty, fast talking series. The first few seasons focus on how one of the Gilmore Girls – high school student, Rory, prepares for acceptance to her coveted college of choice – Harvard. The lengths that she goes to in order to build her resume are over the top and, well, inspiring. While rewatching – I’m in the middle of season three, I’ve been struck by how applicable this focused preparation can be applied to so many different scenarios.

Prepping for the Content Ahead

In true Rory Gilmore fashion, Meryl does an excellent job of leading FGIA’s preparation for editorial coverage and drafting a calendar of topics for columns, features and blogs. She schedules a jump start meeting with our in-house technical experts at the beginning of the year to determine what content will be most valuable to each publication’s readers. Then, she hosts periodic check-ins to confirm that the chosen topics are still of interest – or if there is another more pressing point that should be covered. If you don’t already have a similar approach for your own editorial calendars, take inspiration from Meryl (and Rory) and get prepping now!

Meryl Williams Clark, Senior Communications Coordinator:

Get a Preview

My coworker, Jason Seals, shared a great Microsoft tip with me: using the “view preview pane” option to quickly identify an image file you are looking for. In this example, it is especially helpful if you have multiple images that may appear similar in their small thumbnail icon versions. Instead of making the thumbnail previews larger, you can turn on the preview pane. Once that is on, you can quickly click through the files and see a preview of each until you find the one you are looking for. This setting stays on as the default until you turn it off. Thanks, Jason!

The Tortured Poets Department

The new Taylor Swift album comes out April 19, mere days from now. You can prepare by listening to any (or all!) of her previous 10 studio albums or you can get some variety by listening to this Apple Music playlist from her famous Eras tour. (A Spotify version also exists, which includes all the “surprise songs,” too.) If you’re a Swiftie, be sure to ask Angela what it was like to see that tour live!

That’s it for this round of Marketing Recommends. Until next time, give these recommendations a try!