Elizabeth Boudreau (Bednarek) – ‘04
Brand Manager, Star Wars (Toys)
Hasbro, Pawtucket, RI

Keep in mind while reading this journal: As a brand manager, no workday is ever the same! This is only a sampling of the vast spectrum of responsibilities that lie with a brand manager (at Hasbro)…

8:00 am
Coffee and trolling the Star Wars fan websites to check on current forum chatter. Check/respond to emails.

8:30 am
Review & edit website news postings written by Associate Brand Manager; check for content, spelling, etc.

9:30 am
Meet with Star Wars Marketing Director (my manager) to edit/review our Fall 2007 sales presentation for Target. Presentation includes 2007 Marketing & Product strategy and details.

10:00 am
Receive email from online advertising agency with draft of flash-animated banner ad for Cartoon Network TV sponsorship re: our Star Wars Transformers Deluxe Millennium Falcon. Recommend showing more stages of animation and highlighting action features. Send email with feedback

10:30 am
Meet with Transformers brand team and Market Research department to review Star Wars Transformers brand strategy and plan research to address questions:
1 – What is the impact on Hasbro’s intellectual property when blending the Star Wars & Transformers brands?
2 – How should we do it in the future (if at all)?
3 – Are there any product quality issues/disparities to address?
4 – What defines a Transformer in the minds of consumers (does it have to be vehicle-to-robot?)

11:00 am
Write & send creative brief to internal Creative Services team (for Spring 2007 print advertisement: Star Wars Action Figures – Ralph McQuarrie series).

11:30 am
“Final Art” – packaging sign-off. Review artwork for design, branding, product title and descriptive copy, and features/benefits callouts.

12:00 pm
Grab lunch and head back to office to respond to emails & voicemails. Check Star Wars weekly point-of-sale report and enter weekly sales data into our sales forecast/tracker workbook. Email updated sales tracker to Marketing team.

1:00 pm
Consumer research kickoff (meeting includes Marketing team, Design team, and Market Research team). Objective: How do we expand our Star Wars Galactic Heroes product line in a way that consumers want/need. What’s the play pattern that makes sense with this successful line of edgy, stylized figures?

1:30 pm
Milestones Meeting. Meeting includes Marketing rep, Design rep, Engineering rep, Packaging rep, Model Shop rep, and Milestones manager(s). This is a weekly meeting to review 30+ pages of Star Wars product development projects and check the status/dates of important product development milestones (i.e. sculpt complete date, tool start date, decoration complete date, packaging artwork complete date, ship date, etc.)

2:30 pm
Media meeting: meet with Mediacom (media buying agency) and review 2007 media plan including TV, print, and Internet advertising plan by week for 2007 – review budget allocation.

3:00 pm
Return to office and check/respond to emails & voicemails.

3:30 pm
2007 Website strategy/design meeting. Meeting includes Marketing team & Internet Design team. Objective: How can we make our brand site more “sticky” in a year without entertainment (movies/TV series)?

4:30 pm
Review our Wal-Mart Sales Director’s 2007 Star Wars brand planner to make sure the plan includes correct product assortments, pricing, and represents the appropriate dollar & unit share of our total 2007 brand shipment plan.

5:30 pm
Check/respond to emails & voicemails. Request travel arrangements for trip to San Francisco to meet with Lucasfilm Licensing team to present 2008 Star Wars product plan.

6:00 pm
Go home!