IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Entertainment

  • Challenge: Build Your #brand In 140 Characters

    Social media is a growing evolutionary electronic forum around the world.  Some argue that Twitter and other social media sites are becoming the journalism of the 21st century. There are numerous social media outlets which allow their users to instantly connect with thousands of online communities and share a limitless amount of information.  From celebrity Tweets to Facebook events, wall posts to Pinterest pins, people are staying connected in a variety of forms on the Internet.  Twitter, founded in 2006, has become one of the leading social media outlets allowing users to stay up to date with current events. From international businesses to famous celebrities, Twitter allows its users to feel connected to whomever they choose to follow.  Celebrities like @Kim_Kardashian, @Heidi_Klum, @Ryan_Seacrest, and @Snooki all use Twitter to enhance their #brand and attract followers.

    The use of social media sites is becoming one of the most dependable and fastest ways to sell and promote products. In just a few clicks marketers can have access to any target audience they desire. Twitter is an efficient way to connect people to ideas and enhance their #brand awareness. It also allows marketers to engage their audience in a manner where the consumers actually want to receive information. Twitter can also be used as a research method to learn what their target audiences are tweeting about and incorporate those ideas into their marketing strategies. Twitter can be used to build and enhance a personal #brand by making connections with their target audience and answering their questions and comments directly.

    With each tweet, celebrities are promoting and advertising themselves in 140 characters or less. Some celebrities control their own accounts while others are maintained by their PR agent. Using Twitter for publicity increases their popularity while establishing their #brand.  It also allows celebrities to establish more of a personal connection to their fans. Sometimes celebrities will re-tweet and reply to comments, questions or concerns that their fans send.  This gives them an understanding of what their fans like and dislike about their #brand. Twitter provides these celebrities an opportunity to prove that they are just like everyone else.

    @Kelsey_Bendig, @Brian_Burch, @Andrea_Blanton, @Brooke_Keller

  • Foursquare U

    Back before texting and tweeting, students on college campuses relied on announcement boards and gossip floating in the student center to find the popular hang out spots or know about the latest buzz. Today, news about and around campus is instant. Most major universities have embraced social media over the past decade and are using it to reach college students in a unique way. But how can universities gain access to real-time social trends on campus? Welcome to the new and evolving world of geosocial networks.
    Geosocial or “location-based” social networks are on the rise, with the forerunner being foursquare, a mobile app launched in 2009 that allows users to “check-in” to various locations and share where they are and what they are doing with their friends. Access to real-time location data from foursquare allows marketers and businesses to know what locations are “trending” as well as the demographics of users checking-in to their establishment. With the growing momentum of foursquare, universities are hopping onto the “check-in” train and recognizing foursquare on campus.
    Why should universities be interested in foursquare? For starters, foursquare currently has 15 million users and over 1.5 billion check-ins worldwide, with a growth rate of 3400% in 2010. Chances are that your business or venue is already on foursquare and users have probably checked in and maybe even left some tips. Information that users enter when creating a venue may be incorrect, but universities that claim their venues can add appropriate information to academic buildings to ensure the best overall experience for faculty, students, and guest.
    Universities are beginning to recognize the potential value of information gathered using geosocial networks. What does 4pm look like on campus? Is the library packed? Are students working out? Applications like foursquare can also attract visitors on campus by offering “check-in” deals (ex. 10% off a shirt when you check-in to the campus bookstore), creating a self guided mobile tour of academic venues, and leaving historic information or helpful tips for different locations.

    Most importantly, foursquare is free advertising (for now). Not only that, but it can be interactive and rewarding for users, perhaps by giving away free university gear for going to the library, attending a campus event, or staying healthy at the gym. The possibilities for university marketing are endless.

    By: Hunter Wilson, Josh Vester, Ashley Oliver, Molly Jacques

  • Valentine’s Day Technology

    Love. Flowers. Chocolate. Hearts.  All of these words are associated with Valentine’s Day.  However this has not always been the case.  How has the brand of “Valentine’s Day” evolved from simply spending a day with that special someone to a day filled with all-things chocolate, bouquets of flowers and days at the spa?  Well, obviously, with the advancement of technology things are becoming more digitized, but does it make the day any less sentimental?

    Valentine’s Day started as the celebrating of the life of St. Valentine.  In today’s society, February 14th is the second most gift giving day of the year.  We have lost sight of the meaning behind the date, much like the other holidays. Diamond and jewelry companies, restaurants and even phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are finding ways to boosts sales for the day of love.  Phone companies claim that women want new smart phones rather than candies or to spend the day with your special someone.  We can send eCards to loved ones, we have apps that can send messages and give gift cards to go to grocery stores.

    It’s time to face it.  Valentine’s Day has lost some of it meaning and big brand companies are saying that their products are what we want now.  No more chocolates, flowers, candies… They want cell phones and gift cards.  The times have changed and along with it, ways of expressing an affinity for each other, but has the passion behind the special day lost it’s charge?

    Want to find out more about the origin of Valentine’s Day?  Click here!

  • 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 Most Interesting Blog In The World”

    One organization that does an exceptional job building their brand and message through effective corporate communication is DOS EQUIS. Dos Equis has been brewed since 1900 and was developed by master brewer Wilhelm Haase who emigrated from his native, Germany, to Mexico and fused brewing traditions from both places to make a unique, blended beer. This brand has grown in popularity ever since, but has recently skyrocketed thanks to some effective marketing and advertising ploys.  The “most interesting man in the world” campaign made its debut in 2006 and was designed by the marketing firm Euro RSCG for the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery. The ads feature Jonathan Goldsmith as “the most interesting man” and are narrated by Frontlines Will Lyman.
    Rather than an embodiment of the brand, “The Most Interesting Man” is a voluntary brand spokesperson: he and Dos Equis share a point of view on life that it should be lived “interestingly”. According to the company, U.S. sales increased each year between 2006-2010 and tripled in Canada in 2008. Although exact figures were not provided, sales of Dos Equis have increased by 22% at a time when sale of other imported beer fell 4% in the U.S. This campaign changed their identity from a mere beer brewing company to a revolutionary product; thanks to the endorsement from one of the most accomplished men on the planet. Not only is the endorsement a golden ticket for the company, but their advertisements have also proven to be successful. The ads are surrounded with catchy quotes, including: “He is the life of parties he has never attended” and “Sharks Have a week dedicated to him” as ways to connect with common themes that the audience will recognize. Goldsmith recently said in an interview that he realized how successful the campaign had been when a man came up to him in a restaurant, telling him that he had asked his young son what he wanted to be when he grew up, and the boy replied, “I want to be The Most Interesting Man In The World”.
    “Stay thirsty my friends”.   – Jared Sales, Sally Shupe, Oliver Evans

    IMC's very own JARED SALES

  • Gone, but never forgotten: Joe Paterno

    Fact: Joe Paterno is and will always be a legend in the sport of college football.

    Fact: Joe Paterno is the winningest coach in top-level college football.

    Fact: After 46 years as head coach, Joe Paterno is no longer the leader of the Nittany Lions.

    Previous to this week, Joe Paterno was considered the most respected man in college football. He is small in physical stature, greying, wears outdated glasses, and has a soothing-yet rough voice; basically, he fits the description of a typical grandfather. To his fans, the thousands upon thousands of Nittany Lions across the nation, he is their grandfather. His abrupt and unexpected departure from his long-held post as leader of Penn State Football has left his fans in a state of hysteria.

    Students at the university are outraged over the board of trustees’ decision to fire Paterno. These students fully support their beloved coach, regardless of this situation, but why? How can anyone support a person who was aware of such wrongdoing and allowed it to go unreported? Penn State students are different. On Wednesday night, students hit the streets voicing their love for “Joe Pa”, knocking down sign posts, yelling at police, shattering car windows, and turning over trash cans and newspaper boxes. Students even overturned a television news van in an attempt to illustrate their infuriation with the media, which they largely blame for the boot of the beloved coach.

    Under Paterno’s leadership, and motto of “success with honor,” a program was able to defy records and challenge teams across the nation. Although ‘Joe Pa’ was an amazing coach on the field, it takes more than Saturday games and weekly practices to make a good coach. Because Paterno neglected to consider the other duties of being a leader, a man was allowed to repeatedly desecrate innocent young children. In a 15-year period, 8 boys were sexually abused by one man, Jerry Sandusky. This one man has been charged with 40 counts of child abuse, 21 of which are felonies; however, because of him a powerhouse program has been forced to start all over.

    Paterno had announced Wednesday morning that he would step down as coach at the end of the season. But amid the outrage, Penn’s State’s Board of Trustees held an executive session late Wednesday night and fired him and the schools President Graham Spanier, triggering the protests and media frenzy.

    The Penn State story has been a lesson in what not to do in terms of crisis management from a public relations perspective. In a world filled with social media and news happening 24/7, companies, and in this case a university, cannot afford to mishandle a major crisis. It requires preparation and nurturing. One cannot just announce the events in such a manner that Penn State did.  They waited too long to address the allegations after the story had gone live-online, and began being broadcast on news outlets. Not only this, the university cancelled Paterno’s weekly-football press conference, which then caused chaos among the media. If anything good can come out of this, it will be that horrific instances such as this, and men such as Jerry Sandusky, never happen again.

    – Jordan Hill, Michela Noreski, Ashley Nelson

  • The 31 days of Hallomedia

    On a scale of one to fun — Halloween is by far the most-fun holiday of all holidays. Christmas is great, Easter is swell, and Hanukkah has the tendency to get crazy, but Halloween tops them all in terms of an all-around good time. It is such a good time that there is an entire month, “Monstober,” dedicated to it on the Disney Channel! On ABC Family, 13 solid-packed nights of Halloween are sure to get you in the spooky-spirit!

    And how could we ever forget the infamous annual hour-long special of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, which airs tonight at 8pm on ABC.  Other holidays are also heavily recognized in the media, such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day, however, they do not compare to the hype of Halloween and the month of October.

    If you think about it, although Christmas is considered a Christian holiday, it is celebrated by a large number of non-Christians as well. The only thing is, Christmas is surrounded by other holidays that “steal its thunder,” if you will. Hanukkah and Kwanza, with New Years’ celebrations shortly after, withdraw some of the attention to Christmas. On the other hand, Halloween has October’s attention-span all to its self!

    Every morning in the month of October talk shows across network television showcase all that Halloween has to offer in terms of recipes, decorating, and entertaining. The Today Show with Kathy Lee and Hoda provide you with the tasty treats and monstrous-mixed drinks. LIVE with Regis and Kelly share ideas for how to dress the snazziest at your Halloween event, while The Martha Stewart Show gets you ready to decorate your house in a ghoulish, yet glamorous way.

    When else can you convert a fruit or vegetable into a bird! Our own blogger, Jordan, made these adorable Angry Bird-inspired pumpkins.

    Later on in the day, while you are prepping your plans for the holiday with all of your newfound knowledge, holiday favorites are featured on T.V. Who doesn’t love seeing the Disney Channel’s Halloweentown and its three other entries, Halloweentown II, III, and IV. Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Casper round out some of the classics featured on television during the month of October. It’s amazing, if you think about it — all of these great movies and shows that are featured each year were filmed many years ago; yet, they continue to market to us and we keep tuning in!

    With Hallomedia, we can enjoy the entire month of October with all it has to offer, not just the last day!

    — Michela Noreski, Jordan Hill, Ashley Nelson