IMC Hawks Blog

Author: imcclass

  • Spring Break for Adults?

    Spring break has become an iconic holiday celebrated around the world. In the US, Florida has developed into the prime destination for spring-breakers with its enticing warm weather and endless beaches.  Originally Fort Lauderdale took the lead in the number one spot for college kids beginning as early as the end of World War II. It began to gain further recognition with the 1960 film Where the Boys Are, in which college girls met boys while on spring break there, and so the tradition took off! Over the years, the American spring break tradition has spread to other parts of Florida and the country; however the holiday has remained constant in marketing to students, until now.

    The holiday is a time for students to get away from school, but could it also be a time for adults to get away from the everyday hustle and bustle of “9 to 5’s”? US Airways Magazine seems to think so! The infamous spring break has delved into the confines of the “real world.” While spring break remains successful at maintaining its unique brand, a new outlook on the vacation week has been introduced as seen on the cover of US Airways Magazine, Let’s Go.  The article, Spring Break for Adults, lures adults in with promises of rest, relaxation, and most of all, no students! The cover highlights High Point, North Carolina as “the small town with a big presence,” which can lead one to question just how far spring break marketers are willing to go to beguile adults into joining the fad.

    The article however quickly recovers from its puzzling choice in cover story, and goes on to list 12 most appealing locations for adults.  While offering quirky encouragement that college students will be out of sight, the article focuses on marketing luxury and mature fun. They even go so far as to include Fort Lauderdale as number 10 stating, “That’s right: Fort Lauderdale. This former spring-break favorite is all grown up and home to a W hotel. The chic oceanfront property hosts the city’s premier hot spot: the stylish, popular patio at the Whiskey Blue lounge.”

    Although the choice in scenic beaches and crystal clear water may draw the same attention from college students, the article offers alternative hot spots within those ideal vacation destinations. Number eleven, Riviera Maya explains, “Don’t worry: This isn’t Cancun. Serene Rosewood Mayakoba is 40 miles south of the frenzy, tucked between the ocean and the jungle.”  Through marketing, spring break has diverged into two completely different brands, both coexisting in IMC harmony.

    Check out other chosen destinations here!

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

  • True Life: I’m on Spring Break

    With college students across the country and world closing their textbooks, embracing a week of freedom, and embarking on wild adventures, we see it fitting to pay homage to the originator of the modern definition of spring break, MTV.

    In 1986, MTV filmed its first season of Spring Break, and has done so every year since then. Usually it popularizes fun beach cities in the south such as Daytona Beach, Panama City, Fort Lauderdale, and of course, Cancun. It is a week-long affair full of concerts, parties, and outrageous contests. MTV has branded spring break as a time for young people to let loose. This year, they are breaking away from the traditional East Coast/Caribbean locations and heading out west to Sin City itself, fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!

    How has spring break, a time when students everywhere have a week of nothing to do, become a billion dollar industry that fosters the growth of social capital among college students? The answer is branding. When you hear the names Panama City, Cancun, and South Padre Island, the image of beautiful beaches do come to mind, but the majority of the time people envision huge, day long parties on the beach, crazy clubs, and excessive amounts of alcohol. What most people do not realize is that Spring Break is a major component of the economies of these cities. Each year, over 250,000 students descend upon Panama City alone over a period of four weeks. Local officials and residents actually embrace the students because they understand the amount of money being spent by spring breakers.

    Nonetheless, no matter the location, Spring Break is still branded the same way – as a time for students to let loose. So now we’ll ask the question: what are your plans for Spring Break, and do they fit into the brand image created by MTV? Our very own Scott Burgess and Megan Canny will be tackling this issue head on as they venture to Panama City, Florida. Wish them luck on their endeavors!

    -Allison Day, Jessica Berinson, Megan Canny, Melissa Gagliardi, Scott Burgess

  • Charlie Sheen: Nightmare For CBS?

    You must be living under a very large rock if you haven’t been hearing about Charlie Sheen this past week. It all started about a month ago when Sheen was taken to the hospital after a 36 hour cocaine binge with adult entertainers. Because of this, CBS decided to put the show in which Sheen stars, Two and A Half Men, on hiatus. Last week, Charlie Sheen made some very derogatory comments about the decision to postpone the show and its creator, Chuck Lorre, on a radio show. CBS then announced that the remaining season will be cancelled. This set Sheen into a heated verbal rampage on several television interviews which involve him calling for a pay raise, as well as threatening to sue for upwards of $320 million. It’s important to note here that Sheen is already the highest paid actor per episode on television at $1.25 million.

    Are the executives of CBS stewing over a PR nightmare, or are they enjoying the attention? You have to guess that having such a wild man going on tirades against your organization is very bad press for your network, but can CBS spin this in their favor?

    CBS isn’t really a network that has been known for groundbreaking, controversial programming. They have been branded more subtly, with most of their primetime shows consisting of crime dramas, standard sitcoms, and reality shows like Survivor. However, one of the most successful programs they have is Sheen’s very one Two and A Half Men, where he already portrays a wealthy man named Charlie living in Malibu with a penchant for loose women and drinking (not much of a stretch for Sheen). You would think that after the outlandish appearance Sheen has been putting on display, they would be inclined to cut all ties with the loose cannon. However, CBS would actually do well to embrace the attention Sheen has created. He recently set a Guinness World Record of being the fastest person to reach 1 million Twitter followers. He opened the account on March 1st, and he now has 1.4 million and rising as I write this. The public just can’t get enough of him. He may be a train wreck, but that’s the thing; people can’t look away. Charlie Sheen has definitely added interest to his own brand, and if CBS can reconcile with him, Sheen could help them improve theirs. We are seeing an increased demand to the drug-free, new look Sheen and it seems that people want to see him succeed. The amount of viewers tuning in to see him on his first episode back to Two and A Half Men could do both parties good.

    Every corporation knows that adaptation is important. There are going to be curveballs thrown at you and you need to learn to roll with the punches. CBS needs to take this potential disaster and do what they can so everyone benefits. They don’t want to be branded as an organization that condones that sort of behavior, but by getting Sheen back onto the screen so his new fans can adore him is what I like to call winning. Do you think Charlie Sheen is worried about how his brand is being seen or do you think this is what some people have to do in order to become the most successful?

    -Will Cosden, Brianna Golden, Drew Mayer, Lindsey Baggett, Micaela Fouhy

  • Who’s Your Audience

    One of the first and most prominent lessons we learn as new-born-communication studies students is to intimately know our audience. We have it engrained in our heads that in order to receive the desired feedback and reactions, we must know who is going to be engaging their minds and opinions into our message.

    So how could the Oscars be a supreme example of Communication Studies Lesson #1 gone bad?

    With a new generation filing into the spotlight (Generation Y-ages 18-34) it is obvious that one may wish to gear the entertainment spectacle towards these younger minds. But did the renowned and prestigious award show take it too far in the form of auto-tuned youtube videos, flashy gowns, and less than sophisticated jokes?
    According to the Wall Street Journal,  “A smaller audience tuned in for the Academy Awards Sunday night on ABC, reversing two years of growth for one of television’s biggest events.” Organizers of the Oscars Ceremony set out to reach a more youthful audience by bringing in James Franco, 32, and Anne Hathaway, 28 to host the event, which ultimately fell short of enjoyable.

    It was reviewed as an overall “futile attempt” in reaching the younger crowd, as most of them only tuned in to the red carpet fashion pre-award show. The Oscars, which was originally viewed as a classy, elegant award show to showcase the greatest in the Film Industry, had a median age above or around 50 years old.

    As the overall ratings and viewings sank, so did the interest of younger audiences, proving their attempts to reach these crowds was unsuccessful. Wall Street reports, “ratings among people ages 18 to 34 declined about 4.5% compared to a year ago.”

    Could advice from a Communication Studies Student may have aided in the construction of this years Oscars hosts? May we hope that next year, our lessons be put into practice, and a better suited host(s) be implemented to keep the Oscars alive.

    -Maxann Keller
    Thursday: March 3, 2011

    Pictures courtesy of Google Image Search: Oscars 2011 Hosts

     

  • Branded Actors

    The 83rd Academy Awards reward the best of the best in cinema. Actors and actresses are rewarded for their great work throughout the year, and just to be nominated is an honor. The best of the profession are able to make all of us believe that the character they are playing is real. Colin Firth won the Best Actor Award for his role in “The King’s Speech” and it was unlike any performance he has delivered. But what about the actors and actresses that play the same character in almost all of their movies. In the profession this is referred to type-casting: an actor who gets scripted to play the same funny guy, action hero, or typical house wife for all of their movies.

    In IMC we refer to branding often. There are name brand companies, products, and now actors and actresses. By being type-casted to certain roles actors are branding themselves for a certain role each film. Many actors make a living off of their brand, and I’m sure the money they acquire makes them happy to sell their brand. Tom Cruise is known for his action movies, and some would say that he plays the same role every time. This seems like criticism he can’t shake. In “Tropic Thunder” he played an arrogant studio executive in a movie that was making fun of war movie production. He was able to embrace the criticism of being type-casted, and make fun of himself. While he didn’t win an Oscar his character was extremely funny.

    So do the Academy Awards reward the actors who are able to break away from their brand and try a new role? I think all actors and actresses have a personal brand they are trying to fulfill, but when they step out of that shadow and give a great performance they should be rewarded. Adam Sandler might have not won an Academy Award for his role in “Spanglish” but it was great to see him not portray a type casted comedy role. Most find it very safe and reassuring to stick to their brand and continue to play that character, but I applaud those who embrace the challenge. Now that the 83rd Academy Awards are over we can all look forward to a great year in film. Let’s all wish that more actors will step away from their personal brand in hopes of Oscar recognition.

  • Academy Awards Entertain in More Ways Than One

    The Academy Awards is one of the most glamorous nights on television.  This year at the 2011 Academy Awards there were more than just the fabulous fashions and celebrities that walked the red carpet, or as Justin Timberlake described it in his interview with Tim Gunn, the “fuschia” carpet because it looked more pink than red.  Other than Melissa Leo being the first winner in Oscar history to drop the F-bomb in her speech and the all the British nominees racking up numerous wins with The King’s Speech, aspects of marketing were apparent throughout the night.

    Now we all know that the Academy Awards isn’t the Super Bowl, that’s a given.  However, they do have something in common.  Advertisements.  During the commercial breaks there were plenty of new advertisements for ABC network shows such as The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, and Good Morning America.  ABC revealed that the new cast for this season of Dancing With The Stars would be announced the following night during an episode of The Bachelor.  ABC also showed that Britney Spears had a big announcement that she was going to make on Monday’s airing of Good Morning America.  The network even incorporated the Academy Awards into a commercial for its series Modern Family, having the characters playing a game of Charades acting out the well-known films.  ABC markets how each series of shows, whether it be reality or drama, are integrated with one another as an actual “network”.  Every show has a way of incorporating another.  This may be a way ABC attempts to gain viewers because they are hoping people are interested in finding out the newest DWTS cast and what big news Britney Spears has to share.

    Aspects of marketing did not only show up during the commercial breaks.  One example unexpectedly came to attention during Christian Bale’s acceptance speech when he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as boxer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter.  The real-life Dicky Eklund was present at the award show and Christian Bale made sure that everyone knew it.  Bale thanked Eklund in his speech and told him how excited he was to watch the next chapter of his life and that everyone else should too if they want to be a true champion.  He told everyone to check out dickeklund.com for more information on boxing lessons with Eklund.  This got a large laugh from the audience.  Was this a way for Bale to return the favor to Eklund since he won an Oscar for his portrayal?  Maybe, maybe not, but it sure was good publicity.  If you visit the website, one of the first pictures on the site is of Bale and Eklund at the Academy Awards.

    -Danielle Dorantich

  • The Mickey Mouse (Rehab) Club

    Miley Cyrus. Demi Lovato. Lindsay Lohan. What do these names have in common? They were all, at some point or another, cream of the tween crop for the Disney Corporation. But with Cyrus pole-dancing at concerts, Lovato going to rehab, and Lohan jumping between rehab and jail on a regular basis, the images of these celebrities hardly seem synonymous with a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.

    One of the key factors of IMC is the communication of one clear message to consumers through a variety of media channels. So, when Disney is trying to convince parents that they’re providing worthy role models for their daughters, but the tabloids are constantly covering the personal drama of the Disney stars, who do parents believe? At an initial glance, some might suggest that Disney should distance itself from the constant media mishaps of these tweens and move on to the “next big thing”. But when your company owns the rights to a teen star worth over $48 million (Cyrus’s estimated annual earnings according to the 2010 Forbes’ Celebrity 100), do you really want to let go of all that merchandising power?

    In the world of entertainment, making sure that one clear message is presented can be a tricky issue because the selling power often rests on the shoulders of a human being with free will instead of the reputation of a product. Especially with a company like Disney, who deals with celebrities that are often in the midst of teenage turmoil, controlling the talent is no easy task. But, as long as there are parents buying their little girls Hannah Montana wigs and Camp Rock backpacks, Disney’s marketing advantage seems to be doing just fine.

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