Parade Route: Stephanie Logan ’05

An inflatable, 42-foot-tall travel companion is bound to attract some attention.

Just ask Stephanie Logan ’05, who hit the road last spring with the balloon incarnation of Po, star of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda movies. The promotional tour was part of her work as manager of partnership marketing for Macy’s Parade and Entertainment Group, which oversees the iconic Thanksgiving Day parade.

“Turnout was amazing,” Logan says of  the tour, held during April and May in Miami, St. Louis, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles. “It’s a rare opportunity to see a piece of the parade up close in your hometown.”

This November marks the parade’s 87th year, with millions of people expected to watch Po and his compatriots sail above the streets of Manhattan. 

“The parade is a living piece of Americana,” says Logan, who landed her current post after three years with Macy’s Divisional Media and Branded Entertainment Group. Her responsibilities center on developing and maintaining partnerships for the parade with major companies such as DreamWorks, Nickelodeon and Saban Brands. 

“The companies and brands that take part in the parade are an elite group,” she observes. While some return year after year, she and her team are charged with bringing in new partners who recognize the parade’s benefits for their brands. “Many want to participate, but we allow only a few new organizations each year.”

The parade is one of several high-profile happenings that Logan helps to coordinate for the retail giant. Others include the Macy’s Flower Show; Fourth of July fireworks; Macy’s Passport Presents Glamorama, a fashion-meets-philanthropy event; and holiday-themed productions around the country.

Whatever the assignment, the former Information Design and Corporate Communication major draws on skills honed at Bentley.

“Bentley prepared me to understand the industry — and to succeed in it,” says Logan, who has welcomed current students to her workplace through the university’s Success in the City program. “My classroom experiences gave me the real-world perspectives I needed to go out into the business world.”

And if the to-do list should include escorting a giant helium-filled panda around the country? No worries. Logan is happy to have a hand in keeping the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade spirit alive all year long.

“Each year, more than 50 million people watch the parade on network television,” she says. “It’s incredible, almost indescribable, to be part of something that means so much to so many people.”