A line of 500 students squeezed into Huntsman Hall Wednesday evening — but not for an on-campus recruiting event.
The group came to sample food from Tria, Morimoto and other acclaimed restaurants and to hear Susie Fogelson — Senior Vice President of Marketing for Food Network and one of the judges on The Next Food Network Star — speak on the growth of Food Network. Delta Sigma Pi and Penn Gastronomy Club hosted the event.
Fogelson left Nickelodeon 11 years ago to work at Food Network — a move that others thought was “insane.” But, Fogelson said, “I just felt drawn to Food Network.”
When she first started, Food Network only reached about 50 million households. “We were thinking, ‘How much can this food thing really take off?’” she said.
Today, Food Network reaches about 100 million households and has grown significantly. “We are more than a network … We’re a top-ten-rated brand. We’re a power brand,” she said. Food Network has extended to multiple platforms beyond TV — books, a magazine, sporting events, food festivals, travel, housewares, video games and even a cruise.
“Everything we do has a little bit of a wink, which we think is important,” Fogelson said.
Fogelson spoke on Food Network’s approach to marketing, using their strategy for Melissa D’Arabian — new celebrity chef — as an example. She also spoke on their digital and new media strategies — an area where she said they are thriving: their website is the top food and cooking site, their app is the number-one food and cooking app and their Facebook page has over a million fans, she said.
“People are so into food media, [a study showed that] they would give up Facebook and sex before food media,” she said. “We just want to connect people to the power and joy of food.”
Both the food and Fogelson’s informal presentation were well received. “She was frank and I loved that,” College freshman Catherine Wang said.
College freshman Laurel Weibezahn, said, “I love the Food Network, but it was really the food that got me.”
“The food is really good, like what I’m eating right now. I’ve never had smoked salmon pizza before,” Engineering freshman Steven Lee said.
Wharton junior Susann Almasi, Vice President of professional activities of Delta Sigma Pi, said, “We really went for something that’s part of our everyday lives that you don’t really think about ... We wanted to reach out to all the wonderful restaurants and bring them to Penn and remind students of how big a part food plays in their lives.”
“120 people were expected and 500 showed up. I’d call it a successful event,” President of the Penn Gastronomy Club and Wharton sophomore Betty Liao said.
