Running head: EXPERIENTIAL PAPER FRESH MARK

Experiential Paper Fresh Mark

Anthony Milano
Kent State University

EXPERIENTIAL PAPER FRESH MARK

Introduction
This summer I had an internship with Fresh Mark in Massillon, Ohio. Fresh Mark
is a privately-owned meat processing company founded in 1920. Its brands include
Sugardale and Superiors meat brands. Sugardale is the official hot dog of the Cleveland
Indians and was just named best hot dog in Major League Baseball. All of its processing
plants are located in the Northeast Ohio region. My position is as an intern in the
marketing department. There are six interns total, and we all have the same
responsibilities.
Marketing interns at Fresh Mark are required to work many events at grocery
stores across the country. The full time marketing department is very small with only four
full time employees. Because they are very busy in the summer, they have the interns
work most of the events. As interns representing the company, we have a lot of
responsibilities. During the events we can see anywhere from 100-300 people; therefore,
it is important that we make a good first impression. During the events, we sample
products the company makes. Since it is the summer time, we serve hot dogs at almost
every event. However, on longer trips we may sample bacon and pepperoni along with
our hotdogs.
Frank of Fun
The Frank of Fun (FOF) is a mobile hot dog shaped cart that Sugardale uses for
smaller events, such as local grocery stores. The FOF stays local and usually has about
three interns working each event. I have worked the FOF with just two people, which
creates more stress but is still very manageable. We transport the FOF with a van and
trailer. At the beginning of the internship all the interns had to go through drivers training.

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Driving on the highway with a large van and trailer can be a bit different than driving a
regular car. I was not worried about it, however; personally Ive driven bigger trucks and
towed larger things. I enjoyed driving something other than a car. As interns, we had to
remember that we were in a company-sponsored van and had to be very careful about
how we drove. In some states, like Pennsylvania, police target company vans or cars for
speeding, and receiving a speeding ticket would be an unfortunate experience. There are
many parts of this internship that made me step out of my comfort zone, and driving the
van and trailer was one of them.
The set up for the FOF is pretty basic. We have the cart, two tables, and a tent to
cover everything. Because we work with food, we had to learn all the safety regulations
set forth by the health department. One regulation states that all food must be served
under a tent or canopy. We have special tablecloths to use, and the project tab on my
website shows what I am describing. During the events, we have a prize wheel people
can spin if they sign up for our Sugardale family newsletter. The newsletter is a monthly
email that includes a coupon and a recipe. After an individual signs up, they have the
chance to spin the prize wheel. On the prize wheel are a variety of $1, $2, $3 and free
product coupons. The intern team has incentives to make sure we have people sign up for
this newsletter. For the FOF we need an average of 25 sign-ups per event. This gives us a
chance to work on our sales skills. One day I was able to get 51 people to sign up just by
myself. I am pretty good at convincing people to sign up. If the interns hit our mark we
receive our rewards; in June it was a $20 gas card.
The FOF events are usually stores located in Massillons immediate area. The
longest trip I have taken with the FOF was a four day trip through Pennsylvania. The

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events started in Johnstown, PA, and we worked our way back into Ohio. This last week I
worked an event in Oak Harbor, which is about two hours away. This week I will be in
Cincinnati sampling at Walmart stores. This internship has really gotten me used to
traveling and life on the road.

Taste of Sugardale
Fresh Marks second marketing events operation is the Taste of Sugardale (TOS).
The TOS is a traveling kitchen that includes a stove, oven, grill, freezer and dishwasher.
A new heavy-duty pickup truck pulls this rig. The trailer is a fifth wheel trailer, meaning
it is a lot bigger than the little FOF trailer. The whole set up is about 50 feet long. It is
important that before these events we contact the store by phone and in person to make
sure they know we are coming and have extra product ordered in. At a Walmart store in
Maryland, the store did not have any extra product ordered in. The day before the event
my supervisor and I drove around to other Walmarts and Save-A-Lots and bought as
much product as we could. The event went smoothly, but these are some of the problems
we can run into. I liked these events more than the FOF events because more traveling is
required.
The set up for these events is very similar to the FOF events. We have a table and
a large canopy to set up under. The big difference for the TOS events is we give out
whole hot dogs instead of just little samples like on the FOF. We can do this because we
can cook product faster on the TOS to keep up with the demand. For the TOS we have a
prize wheel as well, but stores such as Walmarts have policies that prevent us from using
the wheel. Some of the stores we have sampled at this year are Tops supermarkets in

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Rochester, New York; Walmarts in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland; and
Woodmans markets and Piggly Wiggly supermarkets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
For TOS events we always have a travel day involved. Usually we fly to these
locations, which I enjoy because flying is much faster. The days are longer for these
events; I have worked 13 hour days when traveling. After we land at the airport we have
to drive to each store and make sure it is prepared. Another reason I like TOS trips better
is because everything is paid for on these trips. Hotels, airfare, and an expense account of
$30 for dinner were provided for each trip. The biggest reason I like the TOS trips better
is because of the places we see. I spent two weeks in Milwaukee this summer. During my
time there we went to a Milwaukee Brewers game and Miller Valley for a tour of the
Milwaukee Miller Brewery. We also eat at many cool restaurants and I have tried food
and drinks that are not available in Ohio.
Dollar Dog Night
Another event that we sample at that is a bit different is Dollar Dog Night in
Cleveland during the Indians games. These events are crazy even though we are only
giving out samples and not whole hot dogs. We might see on average about 2,000 people
at Dollar Dog Night, and it can be very stressful. The first time all the interns worked
together was a Dollar Dog Night on May 26th. It was quite the bonding experience. I
classify Dollar Dog Nights as separate events because sometimes we take the FOF up to
Cleveland and sometimes we take the TOS; it just depends on what the company has
planned.
Corporate Office

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Since I have been on the road so much I have not been in the office for work. So
far I have been at the Fresh Mark corporate offices for work about eight days. However, I
have had a chance to observe how the company operates and how the culture is
developed. I have noticed an ideological system of control at Fresh Mark. Ideological
control is a system developed on the beliefs that members of that organization believe in
and are expected to exhibit (Mumby, 2013). Fresh Mark employees are treated well by
the owner. I have met the owner and many of the top executives. They are all very
personable, but I can tell they have strong personalities. Meeting the owner and upper
management makes me believe in the organization and believe in their values and culture.
I want to do my best to represent Fresh Mark and our brands.
The culture developed amongst the employees at Fresh Mark is great. They all
have a shared meaning; they know their jobs and do them. The employees in the office all
seem down to earth. When I went in for my first office day, they made me feel like a real
employee. While the company is growing very fast, the office still has a smaller
corporation feel to it. Fresh Mark is quickly reaching $2 billion in total worth. I am
excited I have had the opportunity to work there while it is growing.
With a company that is growing and expanding fast, there needs to be leaders who
step up and manage the business. Many of the leaders have evolved from the skills and
experience they have had working for the company. For example, the vice president of
sales sold pepperoni out of his car until he became successful and moved up through the
ranks. My boss started as an intern and eventually became second in command in the
marketing department. His experience working as an intern makes a leader for me. I

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email my boss or call him when I need advice on certain subjects. He has great
knowledge on what we do as interns because he did our job for several years.
The owner of Fresh Mark is about 70 years old. His name is Neil Genshaft, and
his son Isaac is about my age and just graduated from a business school in New York. He
will take over the company in due time. Right now he is learning all of the positions and
beginning his journey through the company. I have never met him, but I heard he is a nice
guy. I believe Fresh Mark is in good hands and has a bright future ahead. I have a feeling
that pretty soon all of our marketing efforts will pay off and Fresh Mark will someday
become the biggest meat processing company in the United States. This internship
experience has been very rewarding and I would recommend it to anyone looking to
travel and get valuable work experience at a large company close to home.

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References
Mumby, D. (2013). Critical Approach. In Organizational communication: A critical
approach. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.

EXPERIENTIAL PAPER FRESH MARK