IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Employment

  • Year of Adele

    The Annual Grammy Awards are one of the biggest nights in the music industry where artists are recognized for their exceptional achievements. Last week the Grammy awards ceremony celebrated its 54th anniversary at the Las Angeles Convention Center with host, LL Cool J. With live performances by Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, and Adele, America was eager for this year’s Grammy Awards. The 54th Grammys brought in 39.9 million viewers which was the second highest rating since the 1984 Grammys. America, along with the artists, held their breath with anticipation to hear the winners for the 78 awards.

    It’s hard to go even a day without hearing the name “Adele” in the music industry. She hit the music scene in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2010 that she seemed to gain fame overnight with her single “Rolling in the Deep.” The young British singer has encountered many obstacles in the past year, from canceling her tour to undergoing vocal surgery in late 2011.  “Adele underwent vocal cord microsurgery by Dr. Steven Zeitels to stop recurrent vocal cord hemorrhage (bleeding) from a benign polyp,” said a source at the hospital where her surgery took place.   She gave her first post-surgery performance at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards last week, and solidified that she’s still got it. Her worldwide fame reached new levels this year with an amazing 6 Grammy nominations; Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year, Best Short Form Music Video, and Best Pop Solo Performance. She won every category in which she was nominated and left the awards ceremony with her arms full of Grammys.

    At 23, Adele has more confidence than most females her age. She focuses on her passion for music instead of trying to look like the “ideal” celebrity.  She is happy with how she looks and is not pressured to be skinny like her competitors.  Despite criticisms of her weight rolling in from the media, Adele prides herself with being a role model for the average woman. Her fame and success prove that talent can overcome looks in today’s society.  “I’ve never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.” –Adele

     

    -Kelsey Bendig, Andrea Blanton, Brian Burch, Brooke Keller

  • InstaBRAND

    As we all know, Facebook and Twitter have been a vital source to promoting brands around the world.  In our ever-growing technological society, consumers want more. They get bored with what has been around and search for new innovative ways to relate to the things or people they love.

    Instagram is a growing social media site that is primarily accessed through a smart phone.  It is the same concept as Twitter, but your “Twitter feed” consists only of pictures to show what you are doing.  You can “like” and comment on the users you follow, edit your images and upload to both your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

    Brands like Michael Kors and Victoria’s Secret use Instagram to give their customers a visual of what they are doing behind the scenes at fashion shows or in the office.  It provides the consumers with a face behind the brand name and sense of feeling involved with what is being created throughout the company without the 140 character limit.  It allows brands and their consumers to have instant interaction through the commenting feature as well as posting pictures as responses.  Not only can consumers learn about their favorite brands, but they can learn about how their brands are being worn or used.

    Even though Instagram has not expanded to lengths of other social media sites, it is growing rapidly among consumers and will soon grab the attention of more businesses around the world.   Companies can now have their customers help in promoting new products to their followers.  Customers are endorsing their favorite brands which can be looked at as free advertising, for the people, by the people.  Consumers like to be able to identify with a brand through images as opposed to 140 characters.  As the saying goes, “Images speak louder than words.”

    – Julius Roberts, Leanna Marshall, Leslie Tyler and Bryce Koonts

  • Ready to Play With the Big Kids?

    A cup of Dannon Oikos yogurt: $2.00. David Beckham PJs: $29.95. Having your ad air during the Super Bowl: Priceless, or $3.5million. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder. This Sunday, February 5th, the 46th annual Super Bowl will take place in Indianapolis, IN with commercials that will showcase some new players in the field of big-ticket advertising.  Over 100 million people watched the big game last year, with even more viewers anticipated to watch this year.  The Super Bowl is notorious for its entertaining commercials which makes it a perfect place for up and coming companies to release their new marketing campaigns. These marketing campaigns turn a football game into an entertainment event for football fans and non-football fans alike.  There are certain big name companies that participate in the Super Bowl each year to retain their loyal customers and to intrigue potential new ones.  Companies like Coca-Cola, Lexus, Budweiser, Doritos, and M&M’s are just a few of the regulars in the Super Bowl advertisement world.  This year, however, some new names like H&M and Dannon are being tossed in the mix of million dollar commercial spots.

    This year’s Super Bowl will premiere the very first ad by the Swedish fashion label, H&M.  The purpose of this commercial is to promote the David Beckham Bodywear collection which launched today, February 2.  What better way to promote this new H&M line than to display David Beckham, himself, during the second quarter with 100 million viewers watching!  H&M’s Director of Marketing saw this as an opportunity to expose their ad campaign to catch the viewers’ attention.  Beckham’s H&M collection is going to include long johns, vests, boxers, briefs, T-shirts, and yes—even PJs!

     “We’re always looking for new ways to surprise and delight our customers, and we see this as a unique opportunity to reach millions of fans and H&M customers.”

    -Steve Lubomski, Director of Marketing for H&M North America.

    The Dannon Company also released their first-ever Super Bowl commercial for their Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt. This is not only the first Super Bowl appearance for Dannon, but the first appearance for any yogurt company. The commercial titled “The Tease” will be shown during the third quarter of the Super Bowl and stars “yogurt loving” Greek actor John Stamos’ and actress Jessica Blackmore. The two are flirtatiously battling over a spoonful of delicious Dannon Oikos yogurt before John learns that Jessica is serious about her yogurt. The humorous, creative advertisement wants to share with millions of viewers the new delicious and nutritious great tasting Greek yogurt.

    “We are committed to helping people lead a healthier lifestyle but not at the sacrifice of great taste. No matter who’s playing in the game on February 5, we are guaranteed to inform and entertain the broadest possible base of Americans about the delicious and nutritious yogurt we make.”

    – Sergio Fuster Senior Vice President of Marketing, The Dannon Company.

    These rookies are breaking out of their shell and risking millions of dollars for what could be seen as the best chance to promote their brand to a mass audience. The Super Bowl allows these companies to promote their new strategic marketing campaigns to millions of people at one time.  The potential rewards of increasing sales from new and existing audiences outweigh the monetary risk. We will be interested to see if investing in the Super Bowl will have a positive impact on their sales.

    -Brian Burch, Brooke Keller, Kelsey Bendig, Andrea Blanton

  • The North Carolina Seafood Festival

    The month of October brings many things to look forward to: crisp fall air, the eruption of auburn hues from the trees, and Halloween to name a few. But in the small, seaside community of Morehead City, North Carolina there is one more thing to add to that medley of feelings: The North Carolina Seafood Festival. The streets of downtown Morehead become alive with carnival rides and booths upon booths of delicious seafood to be consumed. You name it and it can probably be found amongst the crowded booths that weave their way down the main and side streets of the festival, shrimp, crab, oysters, clam, calamari, eel, sea urchin, flounder, rockfish, redfish, any kind of fish. With almost 150,000 people attending each year, the Seafood Festival, which celebrated its 25th year this past year, isn’t something that should be overlooked.
    With an emphasis on promoting the seafood industry’s positive economic and social impact on the state of North Carolina, the booths filled with the fresh seafood are one of the main reason people keep coming back year after year. Thus when marketing the festival to remind those who have experienced it before and to garner the attention of those who have yet to attend, focusing on the coast is an integral part of the campaign. Ad campaigns feature footage of the festival the year before, but also focus on the people who make the festival happen: the fishermen. Ads have been known to focus on their stories and what part they play in making the festival come alive. This personal touch brings a deeper meaning and connection with the festival for patrons. The promotion of the Seafood Festival digs deep into the roots of the festival and that is what has been continually celebrated for the past 25 years.

    -Jessica Kingman, Alaethea Hensley, and Lauren Phelps

  • Communication Studies Family

    The countdown for UNCW’s Communication Studies graduation is getting smaller and smaller. Now the graduating seniors can see the “real world” at a distance, and the reality of graduating and growing up is causing stomach pains filled with nervousness, but excitement for the future. Personally, I find it so hard to say goodbye to my Communication Studies family. I have developed such great relationships with not only the students, but with the professors as well.These are the people that helped me become the motivated woman that I am today.  I’ve learned so many aspects of communication, from interpersonal to integrated marketing communication to negotiation and conflict management. Therefore, I want to thank the members of the UNCW Communication Studies faculty that taught me so much.

    I want to thank David Bollinger from the start in Introduction to Communication Studies. It was great traveling with you on the class trip to Greece and Italy. Most of all, the Direct Individual Study of communicating with women in a public health setting is what really helped me focus my career goal of communicating in the public health field. I also want to thank Tammy Bulger, it was great to have you in Interpersonal Communication and I learned so much from you in 490. I am so thankful for learning about the job search process and informational interview from you. I’ll miss seeing you at the basketball games. Although I didn’t have many classes with them, I still want to thank Bill Bolduc, Lauren Frye, Jerry Bagnell,  Dr. Olsen, and Susan Lanier. You all taught such different parts of communication and I know I will use these skills in the future.

    Most of all, I want to thank my fellow Communication Studies classmates. You all are so supportive and make a great family. I’m going to miss seeing all of you everyday.

    -Megan Canny

    I have had a great four years here at UNCW, and have been through some ups and downs. Unfortunately, I will not be graduating in two weeks like the majority of the best class of Seahawks to ever grace UNCW with their presence, the Class of 2011.  Instead, I will be officially walking across the stage in December. Though I would much rather be graduating now, it is simply not an option.  I originally came to the university as a NC Teaching Fellow, with plans to teach high school history. Halfway through my junior year, it finally occurred to me that I had not desire to teach. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to completing this “victory lap” as “super-senior” and entering into the real world. Yes, I am a rarity, as I am so ready to be out of college and into the real world on my own!

    I am so glad that I made the switch to communication studies. It has presented a world of opportunities for me and I have loved every minute of it. My future plans are to either have a career in public relations or IMC, we shall see where I end up at once I receive my degree.

    I would like to thank a few professors, who are so lucky to have to put up with me for one more semester. Dr. Persuit for giving me the override for this class after my countless emails and office visits begging you to let me in. It has been a great experience and has really been one of my favorite classes.

    Jennifer Chin for letting me into Intro to PR this semester so that I could take Advanced PR in the fall, which would allow me to graduate in December. I am looking forward to it.

    Tammala Bulger for answering my email in the fall of 2009, and calling me out for not properly calling communication studies the right name. You helped put on the right track to graduate.

    I can’t leave out my amazing group mates in Com 200, Taren, Sam, & Heidi. We made it through that challenging class, which I have to say, was much harder than any history class I ever took, including my senior seminar class.

    Congrats to all of the graduates….now go out and find a job so you can hook me up with one for January 2012!

    -Scott Burgess

    With my graduation date drawing near, I am forced to evaluate my life; where it has been and where it is heading. My time at UNCW has taught me a lot about myself and what I want to do with my life as well as other plans for my future. The classes that I have taken in my path to a degree in communication studies have taught me many things about many subjects that I will use in my future no matter what communication studies related job I take. At first when I was told to blog about my time at UNCW, I wanted to boycott. I don’t want to reminisce about my four years at UNCW and how I am now a big girl and have to face the real world. The most important thing I have learned since moving to Wilmington and attending college is to be true to myself. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and didn’t know how to figure out what I wanted to do. So by taking the wide range of courses offered through the Comm Studies department I was able to try a little bit of everything. I think that the capstone course that is required before graduation is finally what forced me to choose.  I didn’t have a choice but to pick something and go with it. I decided that I want to be a wedding planner. There aren’t any classes in particular that made me choose this but a little of everything. I realized that it’s scary to choose a path and start down it but by staying true to myself  I know that I am making the right choice for me, not just because it’s time to be a grown up. It’s time to graduate and make a name for myself in the real world but my experience at UNCW has me fully prepared to jump off the deep end and straight into the pool of professionals. I want to thank every single professor that I have had the pleasure of taking classes from. Each one of them have made such an impact on my life and I am prepared because of their expertise and real world experiences. I am truly going to miss of them and miss this school, even though I will be very happy sleeping in before I get my real job!

    -Melissa Gagliardi

    This semester has given true meaning to the expression “time flies”, probably because I have been so busy with school and my internship. I want to thank Dr. Persuit, Dr. Fellows, and the Southern States Communication Association for letting us create an IMC Plan for them and guiding us along the way. I have enjoyed putting the lessons learned in the Advanced IMC class to actual use with clients. I also want to thank Lauren Frye, who taught me the joys of writing in Strategic Writing last semester. Honestly, I had no interest in writing before I took her class. Now, I write everyday in my internship using the skills Ms. Frye taught me in her course and I actually enjoy it! Lastly, another reason I have been so busy this semester is because I am the Community Outreach Chair of the Communication Studies Society. I want to thank Jennifer Chin for being a wonderful faculty adviser and for helping us make a difference in our Com Department and the community of Wilmington. I won’t be graduating this semester, so I look forward to new and exciting experiences this summer and next fall in Wilmington! Good luck seniors, I’ll miss you!

    -Allison Day

  • Public Relations Specialist: A Top Job for 2011

    According to the U.S.News and World Report, one of the 50 best careers for 2011 is a Public Relations Specialist. One definition for Public Relations given by the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) is that “PR helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”PR specialists are hired to create a relationship with the public and to hopefully generate success.

    U.S. News and World Report stated that between 2008-2018, the employment of public relations specialist is intended to rise 24 percent. That 24 percent increase is appealing for us future PR specialists, especially in this current economic climate.

    So, what does it take to become a PR specialist?

    First off, most PR specialists have a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies, Journalism, Public Relations, or Business. In any field, it is important to get experience. Internships, especially in PR, are important to build your résumé because that is what projects yourself to potential employers. You must be able to think fast and accurately, have stress control, and be confident in what you do. In all communication fields, having good writing skills is obviously a necessity along with strong communication.

    In the previous post, Katelyn Truss talked about how important it is to create a brand for ourselves. Knowing your brand allows you to be more appealing to employers and eventually, your specific brand could attract customers for the business. It is appealing to employers when the person they are thinking about hiring is proud of what they’ve accomplished and has a positive outlook about the person they’ve become.

    Gary McCormick, CEO, of PRSA gives some advice for future PR Specialists in U.S. News’ article for “Top 50 Jobs of 2011”. He explains that getting a job in PR comes down to networking and that, “it’s really the cornerstone for what we do for clients and companies all the time.”

    Integrated Marketing Communication programs use public relations to advertise, market, influence, promote, build relationships with the customer, communicate new products, defend products, build excitement over a product, and so much more.

    Check out this video from PRSA: “The Value of Public Relations.”

    -Micaela Fouhy

  • Putting us two steps ahead of the competition

    As advanced IMC-ers, we know that Integrated Marketing Communication and branding is quickly rising and becoming increasingly important for organizations to master.  The success of a product can be traced all the way back to the planning stages of market research, market development, and (before all of this) back to the perspectives customers have on the brand itself.

    As most of us are about to graduate and begin our new careers (in IMC!), it is crucial to the success of our organization and to our own personal success that we fully understand the brands we represent.  For starters, the term “brand” has countless definitions.  The one that we have personally adopted may not necessarily work for our new company.  We are currently focused on how we are branding ourselves, and how our personal narratives read within our resumes or to potential employers.  In a few months this will all be changing. This is where we take everything we have learned about IMC and put it to good use.  We research and we ask questions to get a better grip on who we now are as employees instead of students.  We find ways to deliver clear messages, to create loyal customers, and to fortify our company’s credibility.  We are already taking these steps for ourselves, now we think ahead to how we can apply these same ideas to our future jobs.

    Because IMC is still on the rise, we, as students of AdvIMC, are already two steps ahead of our competition just by knowing what we have already learned.  We have the fundamental tools to build upon a new stretch of marketing that is making or breaking organizations these days.  We will prove to be valuable assets in our new work places.

    -Katelyn Truss