IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Entertainment

  • The Spooky Branding Reality of Halloween

    What is the most important thing about Halloween?  Your costume!  When we were younger, we thought running around the neighborhood for a few hours trick or treating was the essence of Halloween.  But as college students, we start pondering our costumes weeks or even months in advance, while candy and parties are afterthoughts.  A Halloween costume allows you to express yourself more freely than you can in everyday clothes, and for many college students it is the most important outfit of the year.  Some people spend hundreds of dollars putting together the perfect costume, complete with make-up, wigs and props.  Last year, the costume most searched on Google was Lady Gaga.  This year, the two top searches appear to be Nicki Minaj and Charlie Sheen.  Among other popular searches are Pan Am, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

    When we were children, we dressed up as witches, robots, zombies and the occasional super hero.  Today, we dress up like celebrities.  Maybe this indicates that during college, our behaviors are influenced by ethos more than when we were younger.  The fact that many college students transform themselves into their favorite stars for Halloween may correlate with the general spending habits of people ages 18-24.  If many people are buying things to look like celebrities for Halloween, it is safe to assume that they are buying things related to celebrities for everyday items as well.

    Being in the headlines helps celebrities promote their brand whether it’s intentional or not.  Halloween gives celebrities the greatest opportunity for celebrities to increase their brand awareness.  Those featured in the news and by other media outlets are getting their brand out there.  The people dressing up as these celebrities for Halloween are ultimately walking advertisements for the celebrity they are trying to imitate.

    -Stephanie Bakolia, Claire Outlaw, David Glaubach

  • Potato — Po-ta-to : Sweet Potato vs. Yam

    North Carolina is known for celebrating many odd and obscure things. For instance, our great state has festivals glorifying everything from pickles to blueberries, from crabs to mules, and in this case: both sweet potatoes and yams. Are you following along – sweet potatoes and yams are two separate entities!

    yams

    In the United States, yams are really just another name for a sweet potato. However, a true yam is usually imported to America from the Caribbean. When cooked, yams are a soft, sweet, orange concoction. I know what you’re thinking – this sounds just like a sweet potato! The US Department of Agriculture requires that the label “yam” always be accompanied by “sweet potato” to avoid the confusion because they are generally used interchangeably.

    North Carolina is known for specializing in this crop of ‘related-vegetables’. The sweet potato is a native crop in North Carolina and is primarily grown in the coastal plain area of the state.  We are also recognized for our crops in tobacco, cotton, blueberries, and peanuts.

    But, why should we celebrate a vegetable? The answer is, why not! October 22nd and 23rd, in Tabor City, N.C., the NC Yam Festival celebrates its agricultural heritage by saluting the yam. From 1947 until 1961, the little border town of Tabor City played host to one of North Carolina’s largest festivals.  Since 1947 the Carolina Yam Festival has been attracting as many as 15,000 visitors each year, to this tiny community of less and 2,000. The following weekend, in Snow Hill, N.C., Greene County will be celebrating the vegetable at the 4th annual N.C. Sweet Potato Festival.

    Each event is sure to be a good time, with the Sweet Potato festival having entertainment such as Jason Michael Carroll at this years’ event.  But, if you look at it like these North Carolina growers do, more is always better – so check out both festivals!

    If you are not craving a sweet potato/yam after all of this, hopefully this will at least ease your mind: the main difference in these two vegetables is that their individual festivals are held on different weekends in October and are about 2.5 hours away from each other! These festivals combined don’t need any marketing, they rely on word of mouth to promote these fantastic events for people of all ages to have a yam good time!

    – Michela Noreski, Jordan Hill, Ashley Nelson

  • The Greatest Lecture Ever Sold

    I remember the first time I watched “Super Size Me” and how impressed I was that someone would actually decide to eat McDonalds for 30 days. After watching the documentary, I was completely disgusted by the fast food industry but, Morgan brought an important issue about our society to attention and that is why I liked the film so much. “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” is a great film. I really enjoyed watching it and Morgan Spurlock definitely made the film enjoyable. I think it is so important to notice the brands in your every day life and in the movies/tv shows you watch.

    Attending the Morgan Spurlock lecture was the icing on the cake after watching “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” because in person, he makes the film come to life. It was so interesting hearing all about the little things that went into making the “docbuster” as he likes to call it. From the very inspiration that went into creating it (an episode of Heroes with overtly blatant product placement) down to the fact that he had a “Faken” – fake version of his son Laken in the final cut of the bathtub scene.
    I also really appreciated the time he took afterwards to make sure that everybody, and I mean everybody, had their questions answered. Even after Professor Fernando let him know that he would be going over his allotted time, he wasn’t at all worried about getting out of there. One student asked: “What motivates you to create movies?” Morgan answered: “If you can help, then you should. If you can change things, then you should.” He took the time out of his evening to stay with us and keep the conversation going. Overall, the lecture allowed me to take even more from the film, and to gain quite a bit of respect for Mr. Spurlock.
    I think what Morgan said to the student describes who he is exactly. He just wants to make a change and also to make a difference by putting light on subjects that need to be discussed.

    -Micaela Fouhy and Kacy Cox

  • 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

  • But first, here is an ad from our sponsor.

    Did you find yourself inconveniently plopped in the library studying for an exam during last night’s season premiere of Glee? DVR malfunction? No worries, Fox has you covered. With our schedules growing busier and busier all the time, network TV has to find a way for their programming to reach us. And they have found the solution. By having episodes for free on their website, networks, such as Fox, are able to get their programming to you at your convenience.  This means that you are able to sit and watch the program you missed without any distractions, at the time you want, with no commercials… right? Unfortunately, convenience comes with its price.

    When watching your favorite shows online, commercials are forced upon you at least 2 to 3 times per hour.  This is quite different from the early days of online video where one 20 second ad would play during the course of an hour program. Now, your show is interrupted several times with no means of changing the channel or fast-forwarding. This may be seen as an inconvenience by the viewer, but this is a marketing dream. Not only can you show ads which must be viewed in order to continue on with your program, but it also provides the viewer with clickable links to find out more information about the product or service. It goes beyond anything a TV commercial can do.  Having commercials online, as well as on TV, doubles the network’s advertising dollar. With the ease that episodes can be placed online, this can definitely be seen as quite a bargain.  As always, convenience comes with a price. In this case, frequent commercial interruption is the price we pay for being able to watch our episode of Glee on our computers while we do our laundry today.

    – Lauren Phelps, Jessica Kingman, Alaethea Hensley

  • IMC and Blueberries and Burgaw, Oh My!

    North Carolina is a diverse state with many commodities and much history to celebrate. The North Carolina Blueberry Festival is one of the numerous state revels that will hold its 8th annual festival on June 18, 2011. It takes place in Historic Downtown Burgaw, just 30 miles from Wilmington, where the first cultivated blueberry production in North Carolina began in the 1930’s. Pender County now ranks second in the state for blueberry production, showing their love for blueberries through the annual festival.

    Since the festival began in 2004, Burgaw has quickly branded itself as the “Blueberry Town” making the festival its leading event. Although Burgaw is home to a small population of 4,000, the festival draws in more than 30,000 visitors. Aside from blueberries, the festival also offers entertainment, artisans, food vendors, and more.  In order to attract such a large crowd, the festival relies on its website and Facebook page. Both media outlets are used to inform the public and to facilitate communication. The Facebook page also lists contact information on how to purchase available promotional items to market the event that include, limited edition signed and numbered print by Ivey Hayes, t-shirts, sweatshirts, blueberry recipe cookbooks, hats, visors, and tote gags.

    The organization has also strategically acquired key sponsors such as WECT Wilmington 6 and Star News Media, two major news outlets that reach Wilmington and the surrounding areas. To generate further coverage and recognition of the event, the association sponsors a Blueberry 5k Run and a Blueberry Open Golf Tournament. One of the biggest draws to the festival is the Essay Scholarship which has awarded over $100,000 since 2004. The festival provides scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 each year, which can be used toward tuition, fees, or books.

    This small Southern town has taken big strides towards becoming its own recognizable brand. As their Facebook page states, “The Festival celebrates the historic, economic, and cultural significance of blueberries in the Southeastern region of North Carolina,” and through IMC, Burgaw is paving the way to become a significant and well known “Blueberry Town.”

    NC Blueberry Festival Website, check it out!

    -Katie Eagle, Deji Adeleke, Anna Kate Babnik,Tiffany Evans, & Carissa Niederkorn

  • COM Studies Day is finally here!

    Today may be April Fools Day but this is no joke, it is finally here, Communication Studies Day at UNCW. Our Advanced Integrated Marketing Communication class will be covering the event minute by minute right here on our IMC-Hawks blog. The event starts at 10 a.m. where a panel presentation will be held in Leutze Hall featuring 5 alumni of UNCW informing students, faculty and guests of the different graduate programs and professional positions they have pursued post graduation, which will be followed by questions from the audience.

    This presentation will last till 11 a.m and will be followed with a 30 minute networking session for the panelists. Starting at 12:15 the Communication Studies Society is hosting a fashion show where the students will be strutting their stuff in business professional and business casual attire. This is a part of the event that can’t be missed, fashion tips are always a necessity. Following the fashion show will be an afternoon panelist presentation featuring 5 more alumni of UNCW from 2-3, with a follow up 30 minute networking session. This day is a perfect chance for faculty to see where their previous students have been since graduation and for undergraduates to know what to expect once they leave the doors of Leutze Hall. To follow up the day us Communication Studies students, faculty and guests get to have some fun while continuing to converse and network with Alumni and each other at Fox and the Hound from 4-6 for the reception and social gathering. April 1st is going to be a day of fun, networking and informative learning of what exactly it means to be a Communication Studies major and part of the Communication Studies family. Stay tuned all day for up to date blogging by Dr. Persuits Advanced IMC class….
    Com Studies Day Live Blog

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