IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Advertising

  • Facebook vs. Twitter

    Social media has become such an important aspect of our culture and now provides businesses the chance to market to their potential and current consumers. It is interesting to notice whether having, for example, a Twitter or Facebook account will make a difference for your company.

    To keep with the theme of competition going for our IMC-Hawks blog, we’ll ask,
    Which is a better social network to market a business: Facebook or Twitter?

    Facebook: We all know the story of Mark Zuckerberg and his genius creation of Facebook in 2004. Facebook has now grown to have over 500 million active users and about 70% of those million are from outside the U.S.

    What makes Facebook appealing to businesses? It’s community based. Facebook allows you to know who is interested in your product and allows you find out what specific target market to aim for, as well as updating the users of any new information. Facebook gives the business an opportunity to upload multi-media information and gives users the chance to speak their minds about the specific product or service.

    Twitter: Twitter has 175 million registered users and about 95 million tweets go out a day. I like to think of Twitter as basically a site for multiple Facebook status’ (if you want to put it that way).

    So why choose Twitter for your business? The 140 character limit allows you to keep the message short while containing the most important information you want to deliver. Twitter is all about messaging at a fast pace. If you want to get something out fast, Tweet it! You also can see who is following you and what consumers are saying about your product (a similarity to Facebook). However, most tweets for businesses usually contain a link that drive the reader, if interested, to a specific site or article.

    Twitter offers a link for businesses on their website: http://business.twitter.com/

    If you weigh the comparison out, it seems that both Twitter and Facebook offer important social media marketing tools. It all comes down to what will be more appealing for your company or what will be more effective.  In my opinion, as a consumer, Twitter and Facebook work together in a positive way. You can tweet out a link to your Facebook page and you can connect your Facebook page to your Twitter account. Nowadays, having both Twitter and Facebook isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Involving your company one way or another on a social networking site is crucial for your company, especially on the customer satisfaction side. It is appealing when the company is involved and connects on a more personal level.

    Which one do you think is more successful in connecting with customers? Facebook or Twitter?

    -Micaela Fouhy

  • Battle of the Blues

    How do you market one of the most watched sports programs when it doesn’t have as grand advertising sponsorships as the Super Bowl? The answer is you let the fans advertise for you. The historic game I’m referring to is the infamous and arguably most intense rivalry in college basketball- the UNC Tarheels vs. Duke University Blue Devils. At least twice a basketball season, these two juggernaut teams battle it out for who is King of Tobacco Road (the literal 8 miles of road that separate each university).

    The feuded rivalry between both schools is long and exhausting but no one has taken it any more serious than the fans and the schools’ students. These fans through word-of-mouth advertising taunt their opposing fans to the point where no matter what the current team’s ranking or accomplishments, everyone must watch the game between Carolina and Duke that will shut their rival’s jabbering faces. To some die hard fans it doesn’t even matter how great the season, if Duke didn’t beat Carolina or if Carolina didn’t beat Duke, the rest of the season hardly matters.

    It also doesn’t help that not only bragging rights between fans are on the line, but each school’s newspaper gets in on the action and goads one another. This is truly the best representation of how the game should be advertised, capturing the essence of each school’s spirit. The day before each match Duke’s newspaper, The Chronicle, runs a phony page titled “The Daily Tar Hole” to ridicule UNC’s The Daily Tar Heel. To punch back, The Daily Tar Heel, publishes the “Insider’s Guide to Hating Duke” by Ian Williams. Also, to add gasoline to the flames, each newspaper has agreed on a bet to if their school loses they will place the logo of the winning team in their newspaper announcing that they are “still the best” and change their newspaper’s masthead to the opposing school’s color. Nothing could entice fans anymore to watch the big game than knowing that if their opposing team loses, that loss will be sensationalized in print.

    The Duke and Carolina opposition is one of the best illustrations of competition itself and the definition of rivalry in college basketball. It is no surprise that it is one of ESPN’s most watched sports games each year. Next Wednesday, February 9th, when the Tarheels and Blue Devils face again for the Battle of the Blues the ultimate reward for the winning school’s students will not only be the bragging rights, but to take part in the performance of their school’s celebration ritual (the massive crowding of people on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill or the bonfire of burning benches at Duke University). However, luckily for whatever team loses, both schools always meet at least twice each season, and the next matchup after February is scheduled for March 5th.

    – JC Salter

  • Who markets the best ice cream in town?

    As a smaller town, Wilmington has a lot of competition between businesses. Kilwin’s has always been known as a “go-to” location for ice cream in Wilmington and a popular tourist spot.  This past summer the ice cream industry grew by one, adding the Fuzzy Peach into the choices for a cool treat on a hot day. The Fuzzy Peach is located less than a mile from UNCW and this is their only location. Both Coldstone and Kilwin’s are chains and have locations across America.

    Coldstone is the largest of the three and it has stores internationally. Their marketing strategy involves television commercials, promotional coupons, direct marketing at UNCW events like the Involvement Carnival. They are a sponsor for the UNCW Athletic Department. On our basketball tickets, you will find a coupon provided by Coldstone. They set themselves apart from the competition because they have lots of different combinations such as “Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some” and “That’s How I Roll”.  You can see their entire signature creations made right in front of you and they have pictures of each combo on their website. Their portion sizes are called “Like It” “Love It” and “Gotta Have It”. They also sell ice cream sundaes, smoothies, and pre-made ice cream cakes. This company is also known for their quirky songs that they sing when you walk in the door and when you leave them a tip. You can hear the same songs at each location, so you know that you’re walking into a Coldstone when you open the door.

    The Fuzzy Peach opened in May of 2010 and already has a lot of brand recognition. Their t-shirts and facebook page are almost as popular as their low fat yogurt.  The frozen yogurt bar allows you to choose the toppings that you want and how much of each topping you want on your yogurt.  The Fuzzy Peach is the only frozen yogurt bar in Wilmington, so that makes them stand out from their completion. The price is calculated by the weight of your bowl and toppings. Their slogan is, “Providing Wilmington with a healthy dessert alternative.  On the website, they have a comparison of why they are better than their competition, which includes Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins.  Their marketing strategies include t-shirts with their logo, which allows people to recognize the brand since the logo is a peach. They also use direct marketing by passing out coupons, stickers, and shot glasses at events.  They come to UNCW’s Involvement Carnival in the beginning of the year and give out samples.

    Kilwin’s is a downtown Wilmington classic. It is a common tourist location. They sell ice cream, chocolates, caramel apples, fudge, and more. Kilwin’s makes their own traditional waffle cones, which lures customers in from their scent. Kilwin’s creates an exciting experience by creating the cones right in front of you. It ads a personal element of trust, since you can see the people hard at work on your waffle cone. They rely mostly on word of mouth marketing, as well as social media and their website. They draw people into the store because they bake their own waffle cones and the aroma drags people in by their noses. They are not as big as Cold Stone, only located in 15 states with only 9 locations in North Carolina.

    Who do you think has the best marketing strategy? The winner is…….The Fuzzy Peach! We think this because they employ the most promotional strategies. They handed out coupons and got customer input on what the best flavor is at UNCW’s 2010 Beach Blast. The store has been open for less than a year and a second location is already in the making. We look forward to seeing how much The Fuzzy Peach grows in the coming years.

  • Is Apple taking over the world?

    As you might have read over the past few weeks, there has been a media frenzy regarding Verizon Wireless receiving the iPhone 4. This has further added fuel to the cutthroat marketing campaigns of both AT&T and Verizon. With this in mind, the real question is how this will affect the marketing and brand image of the iPhone.

    By utilizing two wireless networks, the constant battle for customers by Verizon and AT&T may actually have a negative image on the Apple brand.  Apple, known for its superior technologies, has an overall positive brand image.  With both companies airing commercials attacking one another, how can Apple maintain their image? This is the most controversial issue that Apple has had to take on to date.

    Below is the most recent commercial for the iPhone 4 released by Apple.

    In the commercial, Apple is remaining neutral with AT&T and Verizon. This is keeping both companies on an even playing field, while not portraying one as better than the other.  This may change once Verizon’s iPhone is released in stores and a new slew of Verizon and AT&T ads hit the airways.  Will Apple continue to remain neutral or eventually choose a side? The future is uncertain, but on January 19,, 2011, Apple became the largest mobile phone vendor in the world by revenue. If this upward trend continues, they will continue to dominate the market share, regardless of which company carries the iPhone.

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

  • Visit from The Forte Institute

    In only our second IMC class, we had our first guest speaker. We were fortunate enough to get a presentation from Hoop Morgan and Sue Gardner from The Forte Institute.  Since 1978, the company has produced self tests that help judge the interpersonal communication levels in both individuals and businesses.  These tests can be extremely helpful when organizing teams or groups in order to benefit individuals within the workplace. 

    During their visit they discussed the services they provide and the wide range of clients that use their product.  With clients across the globe, The Forte Institute has mastered online systems in order to communicate and market to several different publics. 

    In his presentation, Morgan discussed the ways that Forte hopes to expand their marketing plan in the future.  Dealing with multiple demographics, Forte must design a program or programs that can be quickly adapted and changed to meet the group they are trying to appeal to at that time.  Because a part of IMC is recognizing the different roles people play in a group, we realized that we could help create a successful plan for the company through our knowledge of markets by expanding Forte onto social networking sites.

    After, Morgan allowed our class to ask him questions in order to better understand his needs from our class.  Throughout his presentation, he relied on the word “adapt” rather than “change.” With Forte already being a successful company, they do not need to change, but they must adapt to the changing technology and the benefits of using IMC. We hope to assist them in this new marketing approach to their product.

    -Chad Graves

  • Corporate Communication Wrap Up

    As our time in the Corporate Communication classroom comes to a close, the information and knowledge that we have gained will continue with us as we each venture out after graduation into our desired career field.  Among the class of communication majors are students interested in event planning, public relations, integrated marketing communication and advertising, just to name a few.  Corporate communication is involved in all of these industries.  As stated in Corporate Communication: a guide to theory and practice by Joep Cornelissen, one of our required readings for the course, “Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.”

    When the course first started back in August, not a single student in the class knew what the definition of corporate communication was.  Even though everyone registered to take the class, no one really had an idea of what it entailed.  Today, every student in the class has a definition of corporate communication, as well as plenty of detailed and background information that will give people a better understanding of the topic.  A big improvement from three months ago, wouldn’t you agree?

    We have covered a variety of forms of corporate communication that take place in sports, music, movies, politics, crisis management and careers this semester.  We have learned that communication is essential when it comes to an organization’s corporate image and identity, reputation, stakeholders and shareholders.  We have learned what makes a company go from good to great, the characteristics of a great company and why every company should strive to become one.  We hope we have left everyone with a better understanding of corporate communication.

    REMINDER! This week is NBC’s Green Week!  Green Week runs from November 14-21.  All this week, green topics will be featured into news and your favorite shows on the NBC network, such as 30 Rock and The Office, as well as special reports, fundraisers and documentaries.  Join NBC in celebrating the numerous ways that you can make a difference in the environment.

    -Danielle Dorantich

  • Seasons Greetings (For Whom, Actually?)

    The Yuletide season is drawing closer, as stores begin displaying decorations and Christmas music makes its seasonal debut on the radio. Some would say that the holiday spirit is in the air, but what is truly being celebrated? Is it a time of giving and charity, or a testament to our nation’s consumerism and emphasis on material possessions? As our earlier posts pointed out, advertising and marketing campaigns equate holidays to buying products and spending money. This deflects from the real meaning of the season of giving, and even excludes some less recognized holidays. These corporations need to realize that the holidays retain different meanings to different groups of people.

    Most people tend to categorize the month of December as the month of Christmas. Often times, the mainstream audiences overlook other holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. This could result from the lack of media attention given to these holidays. Currently, the greeting card industry offers cards celebrating these events, but that is about as far as it goes. The attention is almost always directed towards Christmas. This could be because Christmas is more marketable, thus turning a larger profit for companies. In the end, a company’s main goal is to earn a profit, no matter what it takes.

    These corporate practices are not exclusive to Christmas. Other holidays display the same profit-minded trend as well. With the creation of Black Friday, Thanksgiving has become less about giving thanks, and more about marking the beginning of the shopping season. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are synonymous with showing someone how much you care about them by purchasing a gift for them. Halloween advertises costumes and candy. Almost every holiday has some kind of themed product linked to it (clothing, party supplies, decorations, etc.), all in the name of profit. It could be argued that society has become so wrapped up in consumerism and receiving gifts, that the true meaning of holidays can become lost in the translation. In the corporate sense, holidays are about generating income and creating innovative new products. So who is really experiencing “Happy Holidays” around this time? Is it the corporations gaining substantial revenue, or is it the consumers providing the revenue?

    Sarah McIntosh, Eliza Wadson, Jocelyn Walson, Sean O’Connell