Surviving Your Final Semester During A Global Pandemic

First thing’s first – I can’t actually believe I’m in my final semester of my masters degree. I suppose that’s the thing with a one year course, it flies over.

It hasn’t been the easiest year though, for very obvious reasons. I can categorically say that I never thought going back to University would result in my studies being disrupted by a global pandemic.

Did I consider dropping out? Of course I did. I was actually already struggling due to personal reasons before Covid-19 came along and disrupted everything so yeah, it’s been tough. It still is…but I’m so close to the finish line now!

A Brief Breakdown of the PESO Model

When we were told to cover theory in one of our blog posts for this social media module, I immediately knew that it was the PESO model I would talk about. It’s been something that I’ve found interesting both learning about in class and reading about in my spare time, so I thought it would be a good one to discuss.

Credit: Spin Sucks 

SOCIAL MEDIA IN LOCKDOWN

I don’t know about you, but I for one am definitely guilty of spending more time on the internet and social media throughout lockdown than I usually would. Don’t get me wrong I’ve always been an avid user, but it seems now more than ever I have my iPhone stuck in my hand and I’m scrolling through Twitter, Instagram etc relentlessly. It feels normal at this time, but will that change?

THE DARK KNIGHT REVISITED: MOVIE MARKETING DONE RIGHT

You may remember a little while back I wrote a post taking a look at three of the best and most talked about movie marketing campaigns from over the years (you can read that here if you haven’t already). I had originally intended on including The Dark Knight (2008) in that post too, but as I was writing realised I had a lot to say about its campaign and decided that it deserved a post of its own.

LET’S TALK KFC

Now when I say let’s talk KFC I don’t mean about how delicious their fried chicken is, I mean how great their social media and marketing is.

For starters: did you know the main KFC account follows 7 people named Herb and all 5 Spice Girls? Yep. 11 herbs and spices. Genius, right?

MY TIPS FOR STUDYING OR WORKING FROM HOME

I think it’s fair to say that it’s been an odd year so far. I never thought that I’d go through something like this in my lifetime and when I started my MA back in September, I certainly didn’t expect my studies to be affected in the way they have been BUT, we’re all in this together and we’ve got to carry on.

3 OF THE BEST MOVIE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

I can guarantee I’m not the only one spending time in lockdown watching films. Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime are coming in very handy right now! If I’m being honest though, I’ve always been an avid film fan and something that I really love when it comes to the release of a film is how it has been marketed.

It’s not easy creating a blockbuster film. So much money, time and hard work goes into each one and when you look at the amount of films released each year, it’s important for studios to go above and beyond to create excitement and awareness of their own.

That’s why when it comes to the release of a film, the marketing and PR behind it matters just as much as the film itself.

Over the years there have been some clever and memorable marketing campaigns, and now it’s time to have a look at three of my favourites that got people talking.

THE START OF MY PR JOURNEY

I can’t quite believe that we’re already at the end of February and that I’m already a month into the second semester of my masters! The weeks have flown, deadlines have been met and I feel like the first few months of my MA have been a real positive experience.