A Royal Frenzy

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Advertising, Branding, Communication Studies, IMC, Social Media

For centuries, royal weddings have drawn a unique interest among the population; however it is not until recent decades that such events have been televised. The first televised royal wedding was in 1960 of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones who were married at Westminster Abbey. The occasion accumulated over 20 million viewers according to BBC News, and since then royal weddings have become a social event not only for those attending, but millions worldwide. With such a broad interest in the subject, it’s no wonder marketing and branding gurus jumped on the royal bandwagon.

The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought in record numbers of viewers from all over the world. More than 52 million viewers tuned into NBC Universal, more than 40 million tuned into NBC news. But what would a royal wedding be in this day in age without a social media impact? Don’t worry, Prince William and Kate made a huge splash on Facebook and Twitter. NBC News hosted a Royal Wedding Facebook event that received 7,500 attendees and over 500,000 impressions. NBC News also created a Twitter account @RoyalWedding that acquired over 90,000 followers and more than 1.5 million users. The frenzy didn’t stop there, “The Royal Wedding by NBC News” App for iPad, iPhone, and Android reached over 200,000 downloads and quickly became one of iTune’s Top Ten listed free iPad Apps.

Aside from the technological and social media craze, numerous memorabilia items were created just for the big day. From replicas of the engagement ring to china sets with Prince William and Kate’s faces, branding reached a whole new level. Marketers even went so far as to create toilet seat covers with the dynamic duo’s face and wedding date. It is safe to say, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have developed into their own brand with the help of IMC.

– Katie Eagle, Deji Adeleke, Carissa Niederkorn, Anna Kate Babnik & Tiffany Evans

Advertising Branding IMC Kate Middleton Prince William royal wedding

Comments

18 responses to “A Royal Frenzy”

May 6, 2011

Stacey Pinno

William and Kate have definitely developed their own brand without much effort on their part; the media has gone above and beyond to keep the world in tune with their every move. William will forever be branded as Princess Diana’s oldest song and future Prince; therefore he has always had a lifestyle that reflected his maturity and poise. Kate Middleton, William’s wife, is branded as a fashion icon in the United States and will always been known for her politeness and of course fashionable hats. Since their marriage on April 29, 2011 their branding and publicity has skyrocket even more. For instance, immediately after the wedding T.V specials announced they were working on the replicas for Kate’s wedding dress to be sold in wedding dress stores. Not to mention the replica’s of her famous engagement ring. William and Kate have definitely the worlds “It” couple through the help of branding.

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May 9, 2011

Rachel Hopson

The Royal Wedding will be remembered as one of the biggest televised events this year. On April 29, 2011 social media websites exploded with discussions about William & Kate and the details surrounding their big day. From Kate’s dress to her sister to what the guests were wearing, social media websites like Twitter and Facebook were flooded with opinions-both positive and negative about this historical day. I was reading through all of the discussions that were occurring that day and what surprised me the most was that even if people let it be known that they weren’t watching it they were still talking and tweeting about it. Some people were adamant that we are so obsessed with a single event, but at the same time they were still involved by commenting on other’s opinions. I watched a rerun of the wedding later on in the day but I was bombarded with pictures and headlines on the internet before I saw anything on TV. This shows how much social media is affecting the way we receive information about the events occurring around the world.

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May 9, 2011

Brittany Patterson

This is the wedding that every woman dreamed of having since she was a little girl. Because of the televised life of Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana, from her wedding, to the accident, to the funeral, Americans along with the rest of the world have been oddly intrigued by the royal family. When we heard that Prince William had a serious relationship with Kate we all watched them like a hawk. There is not doubt that the now Duchess of Cambridge was ready to be royalty but was she ready for millions of tweets and Facebook posts to be sent out about her, I certainly was not. My Facebook, Twitter, and local news station were blowing up the day of and the days leading up to the wedding about the royal couple. While this is all interesting I have to ask the question, “Do I really need to be updated constantly about her beautiful gown and the look on her groom’s face when he saw her?” No, I don’t. I don’t know if there would have been less enthusiasm over the wedding without Facebook or Twitter, but it certainly would have allowed me to enjoy it without everyone else putting in their two cents.

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May 9, 2011

Kristine Strohmeyer

I could not imagine how much all of the pressure that the people involved in the royal wedding felt. Everything had to be perfect because the entire world was viewing it and critiquing every little bit of it. For William and Kate this can be considered their showcase for their brand. Their wedding was the first time the nation got to preview their brand and what kind of personality they wanted people to remember them by. Being apart of the royal family also gives them the pressure of depicting a brand personality that is suitable to their homeland and nation. Before the wedding even took place their brand was already a great success. This could be proven by the numerous amount of people who tuned in and watched the Royal Wedding.

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May 9, 2011

Kacey Cox

Personally I find that everyone cared so much about these two people who before now I had never heard of getting married is kind of ridiculous. I just have a very hard time understanding why people care so much about what famous people are doing. The fact that toilet seat covers where made with their faces and wedding date on it makes me ridiculous enough but knowing that people actually bought stuff like this makes me sick. I feel like people should spend there time and money on more important things such as the environment or feeding the hungry or something like that.

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May 9, 2011

Stephanie Rice

I really thought this was ridiculous. I personally had never even heard of these people, nor did I remotely care about viewing their nuptials. Sure they have created a brand for themselves, but I felt like it cheapens the entire experience. I would hate to see my hubby’s and my face on a tiolet seat. Very distasteful for thr royal couple’s image.

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May 9, 2011

Erin Bailey

I think it is actually quite rediculous how much of a brand they have become all on thier own. Yes, they are royals but it is a bit much to have to many repicated things of thiers. Who actually wants a fake engagement ring? I understand wanting to watch the wedding and see the dress in order to share the moment with the couple and the rest of the world, but to want to replicate things and bring in their personal faces to decorate your home is just weird. There is so much pressure on this couple to be a certain way in order to not only unhold their own brand as a celebrity couple, but also the royal name overall.

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May 10, 2011

Caroline Walkup

It’s amazing to me how clearly branded this union has become. I, for one, have become slightly obsessed with Princess Catherin and Prince William because I think they are the “real deal,” but I’m also excited to see the great things they do together during their lives for the country of England. I cannot believe how easily marketed their marriage has become. It seems over time, the branding phenomenon of the Royal Couples has escalated to large capacities. I think it is mildly comparable to how in America, marketers are so quick to jump of famous couples nicknames like “Brangelina” for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, to name a few. Creating a nickname and actually using it in the press is creating a brand for that couple, just as what has been done with William and Kate. The fact that so many English people love both commoner Kate and Princess Di’s son William makes them so much easier for marketers to create outlandish keepsakes for the sake of the brand. It is interesting how one could even consider social media as an outlet to find gossip regarding the Royal Couple……..OOPS, guilty!

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May 10, 2011

Jordan Hill

I have always dreamed of being a princess… Does that make me bad? Or sad? I watched the Royal Wedding on television, in real time, not later on in the day or on Youtube a week later. I watched the Nightline exclusive on the couple, and I watched the most recent Barbara Walters ’10 Most Fascinating People’ where Kate made the list. I am not obsessed with Kate, or with Prince William, I am intrigued by the entire “Royal” lifestyle. When Princess Diana died, my mother and I and another family friend held a ‘tea party’ during her funeral as we watched with our tiaras on. In fact, during the recent Royal Wedding, I wore a tiara as I viewed history in the making. The extremes that the William & Kate brand can reach is much farther than America. The fact that toilet seats were made with their faces on them, is a bit too much; however, public fascination with Royalty is and will always be acceptable; just not going to the bathroom with the Queen.

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May 10, 2011

Ayesha McIntyre

Although the couple has definitely developed a brand for themselves I personally believe that the media has taken it way to far. The day of the wedding my Facebook news feed was overflowing with statuses about the royal wedding and I couldn’t watch any of the news channels or even some of my favorite talk shows such as Regis & Kelly without hearing all about the event. The day before the event, super nanny, Jo Frost explored many places in London already selling replicas of the engagement ring, pens, hats, dishes and tons of more items with the faces of the couple on them. I mean to have their faces on a toilet seat is a bit much to me. I don’t know why anyone would want that. I feel the wedding was overly publicized taking away from the purity and intimacy of it, and frankly I don’t understand why so many Americans were so obsessed with it.

-Ayesha McIntyre

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May 10, 2011

Megan Suriano

For at least two weeks leading up to the event, the Royal Wedding was the most talked about subject in the media. As a girl entirely infatuated by marriage and the planning behind these events, most of my friends and family expected me to be up at 4 am watching with a spot of tea and my oversized hat. Well, I was up at 4 am, but that was because of an unfortunate emergency room visit with a resident. Needless to say this resident was not released until 5am, so I ended up watching the airing of Princess Diana’s wedding as the precursor to Kate and William’s big event. It saddens me that the poverty of the world or the lives of soldiers does not get this much press and attention, but then again I guess it goes to show the interests of people around the world. Stardom and gossip seems to win every time. This reality is somewhat disturbing, but not at all shocking.

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May 10, 2011

Liz LaPuasa

As much as I hated all the rave about the royal wedding, I really loved it. Despite seeing the first sign that the media was going crazy (the replica rings that they were selling on television), I still set my alarm and watched the wedding in the middle of the night. I typically make fun of people who are big followers about certain events or other things, but this was one of those things that most people don’t get to see or even hear about these days! Another thing that I thought was interesting was that when I was talking to my friends about the wedding, we all came to the realization that our mothers were obsessed with Princess Diana, so maybe that had something to do with our generation being crazy over Kate. Pretty weird huh?

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May 10, 2011

Colette Beaty

I think when people say they don’t care about this wedding they aren’t really taking into consideration the publicity of everything that was involved. Think if you were the designer of the dress the Bride wore? This wedding would be THE even for you. OF if you were the florist that made the bouqets? Its not only the couple William and Katherine that are the brand, but it was every little detail of the wedding that people asked about and the vendors got their name out there.

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1. May 10, 2011
  
  Lauren Inscoe
  
  I am personally very intrigued by the roayl lifestyle. I actually woke up at 5:00 A.M. and watched the live viewing of the wedding. I am not obsessed, but I do think the royal wedding and the life that all of the royals lead is a beautiful thing. In England, millions and millions of people gathered on the streets for days to get a glimps of the newly named Duke and Dutchess. They are public figures and the people in England absolutely adore them. I do not think that the brand and the coverage has gone overboard when it involves the people of England. We are the United States and do not have a royal family. It is amazing how brands reach to different countries. I remember my mom talking to me about watching Princess Diana marry Charles. She told me how beautiful and intriguing it all was. I wanted to watch the wedding of William and Kate so that I may tell my children one day about it and tell them that I woke up at 5:00 in the morning to watch history in the making.
  
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May 10, 2011

Mollie Berthold

Obviously people love watching the royal wedding but I’ve never heard of someone who needed a toilet seat with the prince and preincess’s faces on it. People went over and above with memorabilia items, I also saw on “fashion police” with Jan Rivers, tea bags with Kate and William. The event was critisized from every angle from what they were wearing to the kind of guests that were invited. It really ended up not about being an event to enjoy but how many flaws you could pick out to comment on with other people later.

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May 10, 2011

Lauren Inscoe

I personally woke up at 5:00 A.M. to watch the live coverage of the royal wedding. I am intrigued by the royal lifestyle and I think that everything about it is beautiful. I truly enjoy history and everything about the royal family in England intrigues me. Millions and millions of people waited on the streets in England for days to catch a glimpse of the newly named Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge. They truly are public figures and future rulers of England. I really do not think that the brand has been blown out of proportion because they are future rulers of England. So many of us in the United States are amazed by the lifestyle. I remember my mom telling me about watching Princess Diana marry Prince Charles on television and I want to be able to tell my children that I watched William and Kate marry. The royal wedding truly represents history in the making.

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September 13, 2011

Laura Moriarty

The royal wedding is something I too took part in watching on television. It is fascinating to me how big of a hype the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge received in the marketing world, for example to go as far as making toilet seat covers! Yes this wedding was indeed history in the making and with that the couple is still making their mark in the USA. However, I find Kate more popularly mentioned and shown more than Prince William. Kate has been made somewhat of a fashion icon. For example I went to Harris teeter two weeks ago and picked up a Peoples magazine and found it to be a Kate “Style special.” It is not just Kate that is receiving all the fashion credit though, her sister Pippa is also brought up just as much. Pippa was even involved in a scandal of riche’ photographs! Marketing has surely made this royal couple along with their siblings modern day celebrities!

Laura Moriarty

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September 13, 2011

Jennifer Merwitz

I remember all the hype built prior to the royal wedding and I remember how I was annoyed throughout the whole process. Every time I would turn on the TV I ran into some Royal wedding special, movie, documentary, etc. The media really branded the wedding and turned it into this world wide event for everyone to tune into and witness. Prince William and Kate were EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t even go out to the store without seeing their faces on magazine covers. I mean yeah, it was an important event, but maybe it was TOO much branding.

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