IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Advertising

  • Corporate Holiday Humbugs

    It’s getting to be that time of year, when the weather drops below 40 and people start to prepare themselves (and their bank accounts) for the holiday season. From turkey, stuffing and cranberries; to presents, garland and twinkling lights, there is always someone convincing you that the holiday season will be even more memorable if you spend just a little more money. Companies gear up for this busy season, creating entire strategic plans to tackle the influx of customers that will be searching their shelves and racks for the “perfect” presents this year. Television Ads and radio commercials turn from normal to intensely tacky within a week after halloween, and you begin to wonder how advertisements for holiday merchandise progressed to this magnitude.

    Many believe that the religious background of the holidays celebrated around this time of year gets overpowered by the materials and tangible items that are repeatedly portrayed to consumers. However, this is not the only gripe that is muttered around this time of year. Companies everywhere are constantly trying to change the way they reach their customers around the holiday season: ranging from television and radio advertisements, to mailing catalogues and going door to door. Many people view this as intrusive and not a very persuasive way to promote sales within the company.

    As a result, many believe there must be a balance: where families can celebrate the holiday season and enjoy time with their families and friends, all while avoiding the initial panic that so many experience when the season arrives. Companies must be able to advertise in a manner that doesn’t send chills down consumer’s spines every time they hear a radio ad and create havoc within the shopping malls to make that 3a.m. sale. After all: its a season where families should enjoy their time together, instead of the gifts they receive.

    -Lora Hampton

  • Does the word “corporate” in a job title mislead people?

    How are careers in corporate communication defined exactly? What kind of careers are even designated to the field of corporate communication?

    Jobs and professions in today’s society are categorized much more specifically by their titles than just being a doctor, dentist, blacksmith, plumber, or teacher. For example, careers that fall under the category of corporate communication are: corporate communications director, corporate communications specialist, internal corporate communications specialist, corporate communications/public relations manager, and corporate communications coordinator. What does all this mean? From the job title alone, it is hard to know what exactly the job description is and what it will consist of.

    Careers in corporate communication can be linked to jobs in public relations, advertising, integrated marketing communication and other related fields in communication studies. If you are searching for a job in any of these fields, don’t be afraid by the word “corporate” if it is in the job title. Society has given emotion to the word, corporate. It is made out to be this tough, professional, dictating vocation where everyone walks around in blue and grey suits all day. Yes, in reality there are people that wear blue and grey suits daily, but those are popular business colors. But, in all actuality, the word corporate is defined as “belonging to a corporation or company; pertaining to a united group.” Therefore, when a company assigns a job title with the words “corporate communication” in it, they are most likely informing people that they are looking for someone who can handle the specific communication tasks between many people either within their own corporation or with outside corporations whom they do business with. These companies are looking for people who can perform the needed skills in the public relations and advertising fields for a large company, not a small, local business for instance.

    -Danielle Dorantich

     

  • We’ve got Canes Fever!

    With October comes many things, the beginning of fall, Halloween, and one of my personal favorites, hockey season!  Granted, along with millions of other fans, I have been watching preseason games since September, but there is something indescribable about watching your favorite team play their first game of the season that I love.  This year was no different; I was so excited to watch my beloved Carolina Hurricanes play the Minnesota Wild that I had trouble sleeping the night before.

    Despite being a popular NHL franchise now, the ‘Canes haven’t always had the same following.  When the franchise first moved to North Carolina in 1996, their fan base was small.  Many people thought, “Hockey, in North Carolina?  Are you sure this is going to work?”  We aren’t exactly a state know for frigid temperatures and long winters typically associated with the ice sport.  This, coupled with the fact that the team played its first two seasons in Greensboro, a city somewhat out of the way for a sport that doesn’t have many followers and a team that doesn’t have many fans, proved to be a stumbling block.  Luckily, over the next few years the team’s success steadily increased, thanks in part to player improvement, relocating to Raleigh, and the efforts to spread the sport of hockey to North Carolina.

    Although winning the Stanley Cup for the 2005-2006 season helped to bolster the team’s fan base, the Hurricanes would not be where they are today without the efforts of the promotions and fan development department.  The department continually strives to promote and bring the sport of hockey to everybody.  They accomplish this through initiatives such as the organization, Canes Youth and Amateur Hockey (CYAH), an effort to get involved with youth hockey at all skill levels.  They also take advantage of in-game promotions including fun activities on and off the ice.  The team mascot, Stormy makes special visits to local schools and is available for parties and functions.  During games, the Storm Squad pumps up the crowd with cheers and entertainment.  The Storm Squad is also available for charity events and corporate outings.  Another unique promotional activity that the team uses is the Canes Cool Bar.  This is when the Carolina Ale House hosts a live broadcast during the game.  For fans who want to learn more about their favorite players, they can enroll in Hurricanes U, which provides students with a t-shirt, handbook, tickets to a Hurricanes game, and a graduation certificate.  Before every home game, one lucky fan gets to sound the Hurricanes Warning Siren, which signals the start of the game.  All of these promotional activities create a community for fans to come together and celebrate being Caniacs.

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

  • Humor Finding Its Place

    At the beginning of this semester our class set out to define Corporate Communication.  An example from one group in our class was in our first post for the semester, “The communicative interaction of building and maintaining a reputation and consistent brand while fostering relationships internally and externally.”(IMC-Hawks, Aug 30,2010. “What is Corporate Communication?”)

    Near the midway point of the semester now, I can say with confidence that our understanding of the concept of Corporate Communication has expanded and evolved. Differing from one organization to the next, Corporate Communication is an umbrella under which organizations can house as little as just shareholder communication, to as much as, marketing, advertising, public relations, and the communicative culture that exists between members of the organization itself.

    Focusing on humor in Corporate Communication this week I have found that it is most prevalent in advertising as well as cultivating the culture of communication within an organization. Research shows that humor can be devastatingly effective as an advertising tool. Funny jokes are easy to remember and people are much more likely to talk about your add with others if it made them laugh. If this happens, you have just generated free, positive publicity which is a great thing for any business.

    With respect to cultivating the culture of communication within an organization, humor, when used appropriately, can go a long way. Humor has an uncanny ability to relieve stress, and with a lower stress level at work members of an organization are more likely to communicate openly and honestly which fosters a trusting environment. “In a workplace with a trusting environment people open up to new ideas, find it easier to implement new ideas, and are more likely to engage in creative problem solving.” (Romero and Pescosolido, 2008) That being said it would appear to me that humor certainly has a home within Corporate Communication; organizations can, and should benefit from it’s appropriate implementation.

    Here are some funny commercials that I would bet you will tell someone about.

    Citation:
    Romero, Eric, and Anthony Pescosolido. 2008. “Humor and Group Effectiveness.” Human Relations 61: 395-415.

    Wade Boteler

  • Why You Should Hire a UNCW Com Studies Major!

    Last week our Corporate Communications class discussed why other majors consider Communication Studies as the “easy major” or the “business school dropouts”. This is untrue and is the very reason that we have gateway classes such as com 105(intro to communications) and com 200 (research methods).  You are a pre-com major until you earn a “B” or better in both of these courses and then you become a full Communication Studies major. The gateway classes sort out the people who are serious about getting a degree in Communication Studies from the people who need to go a different route. Some people may think that a Corporate Communications class belongs in the business school; however, we feel that every corporation needs effective communication to succeed so, why not hire students who have a Communication Studies degree.

    Here are our entrance requirements: http://www.uncw.edu/com/academics-entrance.html

    In order to prepare for our future careers we have the option to partake in an internship. While an internship is not required to graduate with a Communication Studies degree from UNCW, many students choose to be involved in one. Most students who are interning from this department are working in fairly large corporations.  Since communication in different careers varies there are many positions a Communication Studies Major may hold. Students at UNCW  intern and may eventually be hired in positions like…event planner, public relations assistant, marketing assistant, account executive, news anchor, journalist, human resources recruiter etc. and that is just to name a few! The options available with a Communication Studies degree in the Corporate world are unlimited and with all the wonderful things we learn and the networking we create thanks to UNCW, we are already well on our way!

    -Emily Hunter

  • UNCW Student Organizations’ Communication Efforts on Campus

    There are over 300 student organizations on UNCW’s Campus. A huge challenge these organizations face is getting the word out about their group. Luckily the Campus Activities and Involvement Center (CAIC) is there to assist their marketing efforts. For promotional items each group is provided with fifty buttons, five posters, fifty balloons, and fifty flyers per semester. CAIC also offers unlimited amounts of chalk for groups to write on the campus’ sidewalks and also unlimited cans of spray paint for groups to paint the two spirit rocks on campus.

    Another effective form of advertising provided by CAIC is the University’s banner poles. There are fifteen of these banner poles located outdoors and five located indoors. Organizations may submit twin sized sheets that they have painted and CAIC will hang them throughout campus. These promotional items allow organizations to share their message with the student body free of cost. In addition the office also offers involvement specialists to assist organizations around the clock.

    Alongside all of these promotional opportunities that CAIC offers there are also a variety of media outlets on campus that organizations can use to promote events. Teal TV is a broadcast news show hosted by UNCW students. The Seahawk is a campus wide newspaper written by UNCW students. Roomers is a newspaper written by Housing and Residence Life that is distributed throughout on-campus living facilities. There is also a monthly newsletter created just for student organizations. All of these are excellent sources for organizations to communicate with the rest of campus.

    By utilizing all of these resources provided by UNCW, student organizations can strategically market and advertise their groups.

    For more information about Campus Activities and Involvement Center, click here

    -Meghan French and Gracie Anderson

  • How Does UNCW Handle Communication?

    Within the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a department which offers a full range of services for providing optimal communication and promotion of news and events regarding the university.  The UNCW Marketing and Communications (MaC) department works to enhance the image of the university and to increase its position among other higher education marketplaces by managing marketing, communication, public relations, media relations, community relations, and advertising strategies.  MaC also seeks to preserve the integrity of UNCW and its reputation for excellence through a variety of services such as crisis communication, event promotions, issues management, and marketing and research strategies. Furthermore, MaC takes charge of the management of corporate events and marketing communication activities, which is done in order to build strong relationships with key institutional stakeholders who are vital to the continued success of the university.

    Although many crisis situations potentially occur without warning, many situations can be anticipated or mitigated before they get out of hand.  This is where MaC comes in.  MaC helps facilitate and maintain an extensive and effective system of communication during a period when the university may be in a crisis due to a campus emergency or circumstances that threaten to integrity of the institution.  In the event that an emergency occurs such as a major tropical storm, hurricane, fire or some other campus or regional emergency, MaC is responsible for communicating with the faculty, staff, students, visitors, and external audiences in the community.  The Seahawk Siren System, the UNCW Emergency Information Hotline, the UNCW Alert Website, as well as mass text messages and e-mails, are all efficient forms of notifying people if there is an emergency on campus.

    Corporate communication is the foundation of UNCW’s success as a university, just as with any successful business.  When dealing with crisis on campus it is important that it is effectively and positively handled through the marketing and communications department, but it also is important that the students and faculty are in the know and able to efficiently deal with the crisis. Students and faculty may be the image of this university, but a great deal of work is accomplished by other staff members, who are vital its success.  The university has very similar responsibilities and obligations to their students as a corporation does to their employees.  Each must create a strong public appearance in order to draw students/employees, and must provide a favorable work environment in order to keep them from leaving for another, more desirable, school or company.  Furthermore, within the system of higher education, UNCW must compete with other colleges and universities if they wish to be successful, thus it is just as important to foster a strong corporate bearing which will maximize opportunities for funding and university advancement.

    – Arielle, Danielle, Haley and Lora