LI VE A GREAT STO RY
C HA PT ER 9 // A LU MN I P E RS P ECTI V E // M I C H A E L BRAUN ’0 1
Tell us a bit about yourself. I am the Director of Brand Strategies at ID PR and oversee the media relations and day-to-day strategy for clients which include Netflix, Facebook, “Watch What Happens Live,” UNICEF and Instagram. I specialize in developing integrated marketing and publicity campaigns for brands on the cutting edge of entertainment and technology. A member of the Sports group, one my core focuses at DKC was the integration of sports, entertainment and lifestyle. With a passion for politics, I traveled the country extensively with President Barack Obama, Senator John Edwards and Secretary of State John Kerry, as part of their presidential campaigns and a member of their national advance staffs during the 2004 and 2008 elections. I also interned at Sony Music UK in London, the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Warner Bros. Records, Triple Crown Records, Clear Channel Communications, Arnold Worldwide, Zoom Media and Jive Records. I received my Bachelor’s in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations from Boston University. What do you consider some of your greatest professional accomplishments? My work with UNICEF, is some of the most important work, that I do on a daily basis. Knowing that the publicity and attention that we garner for the atrocities that children have to face around the world can help to make even the smallest difference or even raise a single penny means more to me
me, is more my speed than a hardcore/emo label. From there, all doors opened up as I had experience working at one of the largest record labels in the world before I even started college.
than getting a celebrity photo in Us Weekly. Lighting up the Empire State Building in honor of the 10th Anniversary of the UNICEF Snowflake Ball was pretty cool too. Additionally, having the opportunity to travel the country with President Obama, Senator Edwards and Secretary Kerry was life-altering. What did you do for your May Term project? My May Term project consisted of an internship at a hardcore, independent record label called Triple Crown Records. It was three of us in the entire company, with more rats than employees in the office on some days, but it was an incredible experience. I commuted three days a week to DUMBO, and got to learn the inner workings of an indy label. What was the outcome of this project? Greatest successes? Obstacles? The outcome of May Term is pretty much my entire career. The wife of the label’s owner was an executive at Warner Bros. Records, which, if you know
How did your May Term project help to prepare you for your future? I credit May Term with setting me off on my professional path. I knew that I wanted to continue to gain additional experience within the music industry and explore the opportunities that could and would be afforded to me later on in life. What advice would you give current students? My biggest piece of advice is that I know how appealing the various trips seem. Yes—how cool to go to China or Ireland or wherever is offered now, but you have your whole life to do that, and you can study abroad in college. As you embark on your journey into undergraduate studies, why not be prepared with valuable experience that will actually place you leaps and bounds ahead of other students. As one of the heads of my company’s internship program, I promise you that almost every resume looks identical. If you have experience from an early age that stands out, you’ll be propelled on a path to potential greatness. May Term helped to mold me into who I am today and laid the foundation for a pretty good life (thus far).
A Winning Strategy FAL L 2015
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