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November 2007
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ALUMNI PROFILE |
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Smart Women, smartwater – Alumnae Hydrate U.S. from Both Coasts
While consumers are continually hammered with advertisements for bottled waters and energy drinks whose ingredients are touted as pure, natural, and nearly miraculous, two alumnae are doing their part to market a beverage that truly is what it says it is. Shireen Husain, Kogod/BSBA ’04, and Corinne Theile, SOC/BA ’02, are district marketing managers for glacéau, a New York City-based beverage company founded in 1996 that produces four enhanced waters: vitaminwater, smartwater, vitaminenergy, and fruitwater. While vitaminwater’s popularity is already apparent, based on its accessibility and number of bottles sold, Husain and Theile work diligently – on opposite ends of the country - to promote smartwater, a vapor-distilled electrolyte-enhanced water. Husain began work for glacéau in 2004 as an assistant promotional manager for vitaminwater, but has since moved on to cover a smartwater territory that spans the entire Mid-Atlantic region. “My job is to introduce consumers to the brand through unique and targeted promotions,” says Husain. The job keeps her on the road quite a bit; organizing promotions that include stars such as actress Jennifer Aniston. While Theile does much of the same in her southern California territory (San Luis Obispo to San Diego), she breaks down the position into four primary functions: events, retail programming, local media buying, and managing the gtv, or glacéau tasting vehicle. “The gtv team targets local events and high traffic areas, handing out complementary bottles of smartwater and educating consumers about its benefits” says Theile. The ladies both mention glacéau’s recent acquisition by beverage industry giant Coca-Cola as a colossal development for the company. In fact, introducing themselves to Coke’s distribution centers up and down each coast takes up a considerable amount of time. But it appears to be well worth it. “It’s opening up so many more doors…moving our distribution part of the business to Coca-Cola’s distribution network is huge,” says Husain. “There are so many more opportunities.” Both young alumnae reflect positively on their AU experience and acknowledge taking away lessons they apply in their jobs today. “I learned from Dr. Campbell (Joseph, SOC) in the Honors Program to strive for excellence in everything you do,” recalls Theile. “AU people are extremely aware of the world. I had previously spent two years living abroad before transferring to AU, so the university’s large international presence was a big part of why I came here.” Husain feels the same way. “I look back at my friends from that time and they were from all over the world – Latin America, Europe, Asia, India – I just don’t think that you can get that kind of diversity during most other university experiences.” Hinting at what smartwater has in store for the immediate future, Husain adds, “We have a new face for smartwater targeting both male and female consumers – NFL quarterback Tom Brady.” -David Ferraris and Mike Reid '09 | |||
