Our awesome events, a year in review…

Looking back, it’s been one crazy year for IMG. Here’s a quick overview of all the events we’ve worked hard to bring to campus last school year. If you are interested in getting involved next year or wish to learn more, please contact Matt Newberg at matt (at)  interactivemediagroup (dot) org.

Joseph Ansanelli, Serial Entrepreneur

Joseph Ansanelli joined IMG for breakfast to share his experiences in building organizations from the ground up. He recommended following your passion and separated working at a consulting firm (“telling someone how to do something”) to working at a technology company (“actually be out there doing something”). Joe also spoke about his new investments in mobile security startup Lookout and realtime translation company Smartling.

Frank Eliason of @comcastcares

IMG hosted Frank Eliason for a talk on how he started a worldwide trend of public brands engaging consumers via social media. Frank discussed how his team monitors 6,000 blog posts and more than 1,000 tweets a day. He recommends putting a face to the brand’s name on social media outlets, as he has done for @comcastcares.

Andrew Chun of CBS Interactive
Andrew sat down with a small group of IMG members and shared his experiences from some of the largest media companies in the world. Discussing his role in mobile applications at CBS, Andrew shed light on how media companies are adapting to their new industry landscape.

Digital Day 1: NYC

IMG made a trip to New York City to visit Microsoft and Dogpatch Labs. Students visited the Microsoft Envisioning Center to take a peek at the upcoming technologies that Microsoft is concentrating efforts on. At Dogpatch Labs, Jon Steinberg recommended that students interested in entrepreneurship go and start something to benefit from learning that is only accessible through the startup process.

Venmo
Venmo introduced its mobile payment system to IMG and had students passing virtual currency around the room within minutes. Students had the opportunity to win some real Venmo cash to use at their favorite local food trucks. Currently based in Philadelphia, Venmo is expanding its network of stores and restaurants that accept payments through its system.

Secrets of Successful Recruiting: The Missing Manual
Yujin Chung (WG ‘10) held a talk for IMG members on building genuine relationships with industry professionals to get on the path towards and internship or career. He gave students a very practical toolkit for connecting with people and showcasing one’s strengths. Several students had a chance to ask questions and learn from Yujin’s experience in practicing what he preaches to receive offers in consulting and media companies.

Shaun Abrahamson of Mutopo
IMG hosted Shaun Abrahamson for a talk on his latest project, the betacup. With so much waste from paper cups as a result of the emergence of the coffee shop, Shaun launched a contest to determine the best strategy for reducing paper cup use, taking a mass collaboration approach to this growing problem.

Digital Day 2: Social Media Edition

Image by Sacca via Flickr

Back by popular demand, IMG visited Firstborn and Charity: Water in New York City to learn about each one’s success with social media.

Russ Fradin of Adify

Russ sat down with students to talk about his undergraduate experience, how he started his career, and the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Before founding Adify, Russ ran biz dev at Wine.com, comScore, and Flycast.

Dinner with Jim Young of Hot or Not

Image via CrunchBase

A select number of students were lucky enough to have dinner with newly minted partner at i/o Ventures and founder of HotOrNot.com. Jim spoke about his new iPhone app business and nearly convinced everyone to work for a small startup, or start a company, as opposed to working for a tech giant like Google or Microsoft.

Chuck Cordray of Hearst Magazines Digital

Members had an intimate lunch with SVP of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, Chuck Cordray. We had a long debate about the future of paid content, behavioral targeting, and old media titans (like AOL).

IMG GeoHunt with Venmo and SCVNGR
IMG organized a 4-day, campus-wide scavenger hunt, sending students through Penn’s mysterious past to collect clues and unlock cash prizes up to $200. Several students participated and learned about the advantages of using Venmo through a fun and interactive process.

IMG Meetup
IMG held an end of the year meetup (at Capogiro of course) to give IMG members a chance to catch up, enjoy some gelato, and geek out a bit before finals. IMG had a great year with some amazing speakers and events, and it was great to see some of our members come and just hang out for a bit.