I’ve done it. I’ve found the most ridiculous looking corporate website on the web. It has an animated moving background and multiple bouncing balloon/blimp logos that make it look like it’s straight out of the Imagination Land episode of South Park. It may be a little hokey, but it works for Niles, IL (right outside of Chicago) based The Bradford Group because they’re in the collectibles industry. Their customers aren’t concerned with flash and edginess, they’re all about sentimentality. When you’ve been doing direct marketing of collector plates, music boxes, and all kinds of commemorative items for 36 years, you probably know your audience. So, even though The Bradford Group’s web design leaves me laughing out loud, I’m not going to sell them short based on my taste as a non-collector. (And if you totally disagree with me and love the design, you can make it your computer’s background.)
The Bradford Group has a wide variety of brands that fill different niches in the collectibles market. They have The Bradford Exchange, which is all about “limited-edition collector plates”, and there’s also Hawthorne Village, which focuses on “finely crafted collectible villages, electric trains, figurines and accessories.” There are also 9 more brands that market items like sports collectibles, ornaments, and diecast cars and trucks. It’s a business that I know nearly nothing about, but it sounds like it has a lot in common with MBI Inc., whose jobs we featured on One Day, One Job. Beyond having similar businesses, they also both seem to have a huge interest in recruiting young talent. The Bradford Group’s website is plastered with links promoting their jobs, including a special section for College Recruiting. They seem to do a good amount of on-campus recruiting for positions like Direct Marketing Associate and Product Development Associate. I’d imagine they also recruit for internships; however, The Bradford Group’s job listings show a ton of internship opportunities that are still available. These include internships in Catalog Development and Analysis, Marketing, Advertising/Copywriting, Product Development, and Web Design. There’s no mention of whether the positions are paid or not, but I’d lean towards guessing that they are. Also, don’t forget to take an online tour of The Bradford Group’s headquarters, it looks pretty neat.
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Tags: advertising, analyst, arts, copywriting, design, Illinois, Internships, marketing, product development, web development
Hi Willie,
Thanks for the post, it’s awesome!
We are very interested in speaking with both college students and recent grads about our Intern and entry level Marketing Associate positions. Our internships typically last between 3-6 months depending on the individual and really provide someone an opportunity to learn our business. Our marketing positions are very analytical by nature and people who study finance, economics, statistics, as well as marketing, are always encouraged to apply.
Thanks again!
Amey Kennedy
Human Resources Representative