IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Advertising

  • Raise Your Brand to New Heights

      Gina Smith, like many students before her, set out on the collegiate path to a university degree 4 years ago. Whether she knew it or not, by the end of her journey she had created her very own brand. Many things contributed to Gina’s own brand, such as the Communication Studies classes she took, her internship in a PR office, or, more specifically, the student organizations or clubs in which she was involved during her college years. The real question out there is how did these organizations help to form Gina into the final product of alumni?

      The missions of many student organizations include several goals, each pertaining to the success of promoting their own brand through members like Gina. The tough part is how to obtain then keep those handy brand-promoting members, and further, how to promote their organization’s goals? We have the answer. IMC, of course!

      Tomorrow, a group of students from our Advanced IMC class will be addressing the themes of recruitment and retention of members, how social organizations can properly use media in order to reach both their members and the public, and finally, how to plan events for each organization in an hour-long information session called Raise Your Brand .

      We have invited representatives from each of UNCW’s student organizations in order to participate in this interactive information session in order to bring more awareness and action to each of their organizations. The final goal is to equip each organization’s representative with the knowledge and tools to be bigger and better on campus and in the community.

    ~Heather Cornman

  • March Madness: The True Underdog Story

    Every NCAA Tournament kick starts spring and there is truly nothing like the opening days of tournament basketball. People have put all their time and effort into studying brackets for their office or friendly pool. As the tournament starts we all question whether a 16 seed will finally upset a number 1 seed. Yet again, this year it did not happen. No matter what happens there are always upsets, and this tournament was no different. After the upsets occur the “Cinderella Story” comparisons start to fly around. Marketers and advertisers beg to ask who will wear the glass slipper this year.

    For some reason our country loves the underdog story. We love to see Rocky make a courageous comeback and win the fight in the last round after getting beat the entire time. The NCAA Tournament has its fair share of underdog stories this year with Virginia Commonwealth, Richmond, and Butler. Butler is the most ironic of the “Cinderella Stories” because they reached the NCAA Final last year and came narrowly close to beating National Champion Duke. So why do we love to see Butler as the underdog? Reporters continue to ask Butler Head Basketball Coach Brad Stevens about the Cinderella story and he simply responds with “the Cinderella story worked well for us last year so I love to hear it.” The problem is that we are much too quick to forget about Cinderella teams. Marketers and advertisers use these schools and teams to market their underdog story and then after the tournament we quickly forget about them. We don’t hear a word about the universities or their basketball teams until they become the underdog story then marketers pump money to inflate their story. The Butler Bulldogs were not talked about much this regular season yet they find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen again. No matter how successful they were last season Butler will continue to be branded as a Cinderella team because they are a small school that lacks a deep, rich basketball tradition. Teams like Kansas and North Carolina will never be mentioned as an underdog or a Cinderella no matter how much better the opposing team is. These branding techniques seem to always be used during March Madness.

    There is a special story for two of the three Cinderella teams previously named. If Richmond and VCU both win it will be the first time in NCAA Tournament history that two teams from the same city or town will have played each other. Let’s hope that both win so we can celebrate two great teams from Richmond making it to the Elite Eight. More importantly, we can cheer for our fellow Colonial Athletic Association partners the VCU Rams. I’m sure CBS and advertisers will hype up the battle of the underdogs and ask whether the glass slipper fits Richmond or VCU. At this point we might be getting ahead of ourselves, but we can all dream. Hey, it worked for Cinderella.

  • Today, we are all Irish

    That’s right laddies and lassies, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, celebrated internationally on March 17 every year. The holiday is basically an excuse to hit the bars and grab yourself a Guinness or two…or ten (if you’re 21, of course). I myself don’t have a shred of Irish blood in me but I would be lying if I said that I never participated in one of the main activities that goes hand in hand with celebrating the holiday. Saint Patrick’s Day started in fact as a very real holiday named after Saint Patrick who is regarded as one of the most commonly recognized patron saints of Ireland. However, while it certainly did originate as a Catholic holiday, it has gradually become more and more of a celebration of Irish culture in general. This means that there are plenty of brands associated with the holiday and Irish culture as a whole, whether positive or more negative. It could arguably be one of the most branded holidays in the world as there are several things that always come to mind when you think of the holiday. These include the leprechaun, the shamrock, all things green, and alcohol.

    Today it is celebrated by Irish and non-Irish alike and, as we all know, it is one of the leading days for consumption of alcohol in the United States. It is a holiday that businesses, bars and restaurants all pour loads of money into every year as they each compete and advertise themselves as “the hottest St. Patty’s party in town”. Even Wilmington is no stranger to capitalizing on the event and promoting the downtown or beach nightlife.

    Also, green is the color and order of the day, especially in terms of clothing. I specifically remember being pinched, (affectionately, of course), for not wearing green one year in elementary school. It is a holiday that many of us learned about years and years ago when we were just little kids and are now at the point where we can fully enjoy it (if you’re 21, of course). All over the U.S. numerous cities throw Saint Patrick’s Day parades and even up the ante in some cases as with the Chicago river being dyed green for the day each year for the celebration.

    Thus, this unique holiday has become not only a staple of Irish-American heritage but also a staple of American heritage as a whole. It is a holiday that basically anyone can celebrate in one way or another. From green alcohol to tacky green t-shirts to those giant leprechaun hats, Saint Patrick’s Day definitely ranks up there with Christmas, Easter, and Halloween as one of  the most branded, and most fun holidays in my book. So all that being said, throw on some green, get a little loud, grab a pint or two (if you’re 21, of course), dance a jig, and kiss someone Irish!

    Eric Holtzman, Maxann Keller, Ryan Kelley, Chad Graves, Katelyn Truss

  • My spring break is cooler than your spring break!

    So instead of spring break being a week or so off school to relax and catch up, for some its an opportunity to party as hard as possible… in the coolest place possible.  Each year we try to top last year’s adventure.  It seems that spring break has become a status competition and the winner goes on the most epic trip EVER!

    College students aren’t the only ones to have caught on to this trend, though.  Travel agencies, hotels, the alcohol industry, cruise lines, etc plan for the months of March and April to bring in as many spring breakers as possible; cruises to the Bahamas, houses in Key West, Miami, Cancun, Vegas, Palm Beach, Panama City- you name it.  The point is to capitalize on the hopes and dreams of a wild week in a tropical location.  Much in the way Hallmark promotes Valentine’s Day, the travel industry pushes for cheap deals in hot places.  These divisions most often even come up with package deals to make this happen.  The alcohol divisions are really the ones who luck out.  They team up with the cruise lines.  They team up with the hotels.  The airlines partner with hotels- it’s all one big money making family.

    All you need is anywhere from $500-$1000 and you get a wrist band that says you’ve paid and you’re ready to party!

  • 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 most controversial Super Bowl Ad yet?

    This year’s Superbowl Ad XLV by Groupon is the most controversial ad yet. The company’s CEO Andrew Mason has apologized if he has offended anyone. This commercial starred actor Timothy Hutton where he first begins to talk about the seriousness going on in Tibet and then begins comically bragging about a fish curry dish you can get for cheaper using your Groupon coupons. They claim that the ad quickly went from charitable to consumerist. They also made no mention of the charity drive or the website in the commercial.

    Mason acknowledges that the portrayal of the meaning behind the campaign was not clear and says “as many of you have pointed out, if an ad requires an explanation that means it didn’t work out.” They feel as there brand has always been quirky, they certainly were not trying to portray the image of Groupon to be of controversy.

    Moments after the commercial aired blogs and tweets were posted on the negative aspects on the ad. Having spent millions of dollars on everything that goes into the ad you would think they had their humor dialed in. With these bad decisions and upsetting many viewers and human rights groups, Groupon faces many challenges in the road ahead. Many feel as this Ad had the most negative reaction in social media than any other game time advertisement.

    It will be interesting to see how Groupon handles this negativity and how it effects their brand.

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

  • Who really came out on top during the Super Bowl? The Packers or Bud Light?

    Overall, this years Super Bowl commercials were not as satisfying and did not meet the expectations that previous years commercials met. Usually there is a wide array of different brands being represented, but this year the same ones were repeated. Nonetheless, there were a few that caught our eye.

    Bud Light, which always creates entertaining commercials, did not disappoint. The first commercial that appeared mimicked Extreme Makeover Home Edition and other similar shows.

    The target audience for this commercial is women, different from their usual predominantly male target audience. It begins seeming like the couple, with the typical crazed anticipation of the woman, was going to receive a new kitchen.  Surprise! Only Bud Light was added to the room. The wife was shocked at first and a little unsure, but as people started to party in the kitchen, the host says “now this is a room that everyone wants to be in!”. This adds emphasis to their slogan of “a sure sign of a good time.”

    The second one (our favorite) that spoofed how outrageous product placement has become.

    Product placement is meant to be subtle, something to quietly promote a brand name without interfering the television show or movie (for example, a soda can on a kitchen counter). Bud Light took this fad to the extreme by mentioning how every time you place a product, you get free stuff. Bud Light appears almost twenty times in the thirty-second ad. Since it is such a recognizable brand, they do not have to explain what their product is or why you should buy it. Instead, they are able to use they creativity to make funny and memorable ads that people will talk about. This strengthens their brand by creating a buzz (figuratively and physically).

    They also created a commercial in which the dog sitter throws a party and has the dogs do all the work.

    The dogs open the door, serve beer, DJ, bartend, cook, basically running the party. This is memorable because most people can relate to owning a pet but by having the dogs personify human actions, it creates a humorous and different twist. This ties directly into their current slogan. Even though the commercial does not demonstrate the benefits of drinking Bud Light, it creates an image of how much fun you can have while drinking Bud Light.

    As one of the only three beers represented during the Super Bowl, they stood out as the frontrunner in beer ads for the year.  This indicates their financial prosperity as a company.

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