'Double Gull’ Erica Aylward Featured for Innovative Work on Newbury Street
Erica Aylward ’07 M’09 is at the forefront of an exciting new marketing initiative for Boston's historic Newbury Street.
4/17/2018
The marketing efforts on Boston’s historic Newbury Street are changing, and Endicott College “Double Gull” Erica Aylward ’07 M’09 is at the forefront through her work for the Newbury Street Marketing Collaborative. The collaborative has connected the street’s numerous businesses – regardless of their landlord – through a centralized marketing effort. Aylward, who technically works for Lincoln Property Company in a joint venture with Jamestown Urban Management, UrbanMeritage’s Christina Attaway, and Back Bay Association’s Amanda Tassinari Hamedany lead the unique marketing team, and their work was featured in a The Boston Globe article by Janelle Nanos and Katheleen Conti in early February.
Prior to the collaborative, there was no group effort to effectively market the mile-long stretch. The different companies and landlords had their own teams, but there was no single voice, unlike fellow Boston shopping centers Copley Place and Prudential Center.
“Jamestown has taken the initiative to figure out a way we can collaborate more with other landlords and associations on the street,” Aylward said. “Even though we may be competition, ultimately, we want consumers to come here. It’s beneficial for all of us. But it takes a lot of time to build those relationships with other people on the street and get them on board with what we are trying to accomplish.”
Creating one brand for Newbury Street is an effort that will take time, but the collaborative is well underway with newburystboston.com, which includes information on every tenant and an interactive map. They also are behind the highly successful Open Newbury Street, during which tenants can activate outside of their stores and go directly to the influx of 50,000 people on the street for the event.
Prior to this exciting new adventure, Aylward worked for one year as a marketing manager at Sperry following a seven-year stretch as an account executive at GAP Promotions.
Through Endicott’s signature internship program, Aylward started her job training at places like Allen & Gerritsen before she ever received her diploma. She graduated with a Bachelor of Art in International Business in 2007, and she soon after completed the Fifth Year Master of Business Administration program through Endicott College.
“I think that the network I have at Endicott has been extremely helpful along the way,” Aylward, who’s also on the alumni council, said. “I love being a part of the College. (Former Endicott College President) Dr. (Richard E.) Wylie has done a phenomenal job. And from a business and marketing perspective, it’s been so much fun to see the evolution. I loved my Endicott experience.”
She’s a great example of an Endicott success story, as her internship, thesis, and MBA organizational management professor Richard Weissman put it, and it’s easy to see why.
“There’s a handful of special students, and she’s one of them,” Weissman said. “She’s a good example of how hard work leads to good results.”
Learn more about the Endicott College MBA program, which is offered full-time in an accelerated nine-month format, through an evening program designed for experienced professionals, online, and in a hybrid format with curriculum in classrooms and online. Locations include Beverly, Mass., and Boston.