Research Center

MARISSA

Hometown: Collinsville, IL 

Major / Minor: B.S. Advertising, Minor in English, M.S. Advertising expected May '09

Extracurricular Activities @ U of I: American Advertising Federation, Sigma Kappa sorority, The Champaign Park District and Volunteer Staff at 10,000 Villages.

Favorite Class @ U of I:  Advertising and Marketing classes!  Consumer Communication & the Public, Marketing Communications, Creative Strategy & Tactics and special topics courses in which students create real world campaigns in collaboration with major companies!

Hobbies: Social networking, exploring the wonders of Champaign-Urbana, kickboxing, reading for business and for pleasure and enjoying time with my family and friends.

Favorite Quote: Make it happen.

Hero/Role Model:  Richard Gere's a real hero of mine. Sting would be another person who's a hero. The music he's created over the years, I don't really listen to it, but the fact that he's making it. I respect that.

Favorite Restaurant in C-U:
For classy:  Jim Gould's, Kennedy's at Stone Creek, Timpone's, Ko Fusion, Miko, Biaggi's, Escobar's. For casual:  Za’s, Chipotle, Panera, Chilli’s

Favorite Music: Pop/Top 40, Hot Adult Contemporary, Classic Rock, Hip-hop and anything Groove or Dance!

Favorite Movies Titanic! 

Favorite TV Shows: The Office, Seinfeld, Oprah  and everything on E! or Vh1

Best college advice:  Explore your interests, meet new people and live in the moment with a plan for the future.  Every day is an experience to learn and grow!

Project Work @ RC: I work in Strategic Resources - Consumer Research - Qualitative Focus.  My main project is in the area of customer access.  I am recruiting members for multiple focus groups throughout the summer and using those recruits to navigate the process of shopping for life insurance.  The goal is to discover techniques State Farm can employ to effectively market life insurance to specific market segments.  I am also writing Consumer Research articles using primary and secondary research materials.  Additionally, I am the intern lead for iRED IT/Recruiting Podcasts.

What brought you to the RC? From an advertising standpoint, I want to learn client-side marketing and consumer research techniques.  I also want to develop my business acumen and manage interdisciplinary projects.

Best thing about working at the RC: The collaborative working environment provides opportunity to create projects that both build my professional skills and also benefit State Farm.

Most surprising thing you’ve learned about State Farm: State Farm has many opportunities within the company for an employee to have a variety of careers within one place.

Life Aspirations: I aspire to a career in advertising with a specific focus in account management.  I hope to employ my skills with brand strategy, event marketing and promotion to create a diverse, professional portfolio. 

I also hope to travel, have a family and spend my golden years reflecting on a life well spent (in my Beach House).