The Food Show
As an intern with AVI Foodsystems, I was assigned a major semester project. This project was to plan and run the annual Food Show. For this event, I reached out to all of our branch's food vendors, and compiled a list of those who were to attend. To add a new element to the show, I also decided to invite local restaurants to showcase their food to the students, staff, and community members of Slippery Rock. The planning process included constant contact with the vendors, creating all advertisements and designs, obtaining parking passes, executing social media campaigns, and making arrangements with the event venue/ staff. On the day of the event, I oversaw setup, photographed the event, participated in interviews, checked in vendors, and ran a table for AVI. The table included a ballot box to allow event attendees to vote for their favorite vendor or inquire about the event. Both the vendors and students thoroughly enjoyed the friendly competition provided by the voting. A final tally was established using a Twitter poll of the top four vendors. I am incredibly proud of this event's success. My superiors informed me that my Food Show proved to have the best attendance and response in years. All of the designs from the event are my own. These are available on the graphic design page of this portfolio. Additionally, the photographs of this event are located in the gallery below.
Autism Awareness Event & Campaign
I held my second major event on April 24, 2018. In conjunction with a social media campaign and giveaway, I created a brand new event for AVI. Our first annual Autism Awareness event was carried out by our marketing team and the Office of Disability Services (ODS) on Slippery Rock University's campus. The main focus of the event was to educate and advocate for those with autism spectrum disorders. However, we also sponsored inclusive games like "sensory friendly mini golf." Students had the opportunity to play an autism awareness themed trivia wheel to win Pepsi sponsored prizes. If they signed their names on a puzzle piece, then they would be entered for a chance to win an Amazon Fire TV Stick. These puzzle pieces were displayed on a large poster board that was displayed throughout the end of the semester in one of our dining halls. In addition to the puzzle pieces, we also handed out free support ribbons, managed a cookie decorating station, and helped the ODS hand out informational pamphlets and volunteer forms. An associated social media campaign took place on Instagram during the week leading up to the event. Users were encouraged to show their support of the cause with a creative photo or video submission. They had to follow our account, nominate three friends, and use the associated hashtag. The gallery below features pictures of the event and campaign.
Other Events
During my time with AVI, I also ran many small events several times a week. Some of these events were planned by me, while others were merely my responsibility to run. Of these events, I was highly involved with National Coffee Day, National Pumpkin Day, several sampling events, and a Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. These events required extensive social media work, planning, and advertising.