IMC Hawks Blog

Category: IMC

  • Get Your Vote On!

    From commercials to infomercials, advertising and marketing in this day and age has become a completely different game than in the past. Lately, between the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, many Americans have been overwhelmed with advertisements and promotions that are attempting to make their company stand out from the competition. Whether it was simply trying to convince you to buy their soft drink or attempting to convince you to buy your girlfriend’s engagement ring from their jewelry store, sometimes it seems a little too forced.

    http://www.stikkymedia.com/blog/pepsis-20-million-dollar-social-media-campaign

    In response to this tension,  marketers are always looking for innovative new ways to involve consumers in the production, promotion and selection of the product itself. This method has been used effectively before and proved quite fruitful for certain companies. In 2007, Mountain Dew began their “DewMocracy” promotion where customers get the chance to vote on new flavors, graphics, colors and names. To this day, Mountain Dew continues to create opportunity for customer interaction in their promotions and advertisements.

    Interactive promotional campaigns are ideally designed to benefit both the customer and the company. Lays potato chips are the most recent corporation to take this creative strategy and run with it. Lays has put together a multi-step process for establishing their newest flavor of chip. Originally, Lays invited consumers to submit their flavor ideas and let the public vote on these flavors on Facebook. At this point, the public has voted and Lays has narrowed the competition down to the top 3 public favorites. These flavors have actually been produced and are available for purchase for a limited time. While these flavors are available the voting will continue on Facebook and eventually one will be voted in and named the newest member of the Lays family.

    http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/297982/81/You-get-to-pick-the-new-Lays-potato-chip-flavor

    Taking a step back and evaluating this marketing strategy utilized by Lays, Mountain Dew and many other large corporations, it is clear that it is effective not only as a result of the customer interaction, but in a handful of other ways. Obviously if voting and discussion is taking place on social media, this is driving a ton of Internet traffic to each of the respective websites. Also, the customer involvement builds a relationship with the consumers and gives them the feeling that they are a part of the company and making important decisions. Finally, specifically for Lays and other promotions that offer the product for a limited time, this strategy causes a boom in sales with everyone trying the new product.

    Now that this promotion idea of customer involvement has been tried and proven many large companies are adopting these campaigns. Doritos, along with a few other companies, ran campaigns before the Super Bowl to have the consumers make and vote for which commercial would be shown during the big game. So despite the fact that we are still being consistently and constantly advertised to (and that’s not likely to change any time soon!) the benefits of running these promotions are clearly beyond the obvious boost in sales, this is relationship building at its finest!

    – Zach Abramo, Callie Fenlon, Lauren Habig,  Alexandra Huss, Michael Nunes, Daniel Schaefer, Dann Williams

  • What’s That Doing There?

    After a long day of work or school most of us like to sit down and shut off the batteries. Some people (including myself) do this by
    enjoying a nice beverage and turning on the Netflix. The appeal of a service like
    Netflix is, of course, the elimination of the commercials that disrupt our viewing
    pleasure on live T.V. One night, I sat down and turned on The Office, I was
    instantly bombarded with company logos and products. As the actors go about
    their typical work day, the camera conveniently focuses on the Cisco Systems
    Telephone on Dwight’s desk and the HP logo on the computer that Pam uses as she
    hides behind her desk. These logos are not in the frame by coincidence, but
    rather they have been carefully positioned by the show’s producers. This discreet
    advertising strategy is known as product placement.

    Business dictionary defines product placement as “an advertising technique used by companies to subtly promote their products through a non-traditional advertising technique, usually through appearances in film, television, or other media.” This form of advertising is initiated through an agreement between a product manufacturer and whichever media company owns the program featuring the product. In the vast majority of product placement agreements the media company receives economic benefit as the manufacturers often pay a fee to have their product (or brand name) used, mentioned, or significantly featured in a program.

    Product placement is everywhere. A few notable shows that are known proponents of this technique are American Idol (Coca-Cola cups for all judges), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Coors Light consumption and signs prominently placed in the bar), and 30 Rock (which features multiple Apple products.) This form of advertising has been around for years and will continue to thrive as long as people keep consuming media. In this way, companies continue to ensure that viewers have plenty of exposure to their product, even if certain audience members have learned to maneuver around those pesky commercials.

     

    – Michael Nunes, Daniel Schaefer, Lexie Huss, Zach Abramo, Callie Fenlon, Dann Williams, Lauren Habig

  • Finally Done!

    It’s crazy to think that 5 years ago I entered UNC-Wilmington as a freshman truly believing i knew everything and the funny thing is through all the knowledge I gained in college I now know that I know nothing. As a freshman I often heard seniors saying cliché things like, “enjoy your freshman year because it will be over before you know it” and just like any other freshmen I brushed the advice off. Now that I have friends moving away and beginning to start  their own lives, I too need to start the next chapter in my life.  Alas, I can’t help but wish I had listened to the seniors advice and cherished every moment of my college career. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every minute of being at UNC-Wilmington but the reality is that I’m a senior who is graduating a week from now and reminiscing is not going to bring that time back.

    I have to look ahead and start preparing for the future as best I can. The reason for me being a super senior is that I changed my major about a billion times because I was unsure of what I wanted to do.  I was just another typical freshmen, I goofed around for my first 2 years here and wasted a lot of time doing nothing to improve myself while being on the path to not graduate. I had to take a semester off and  took a long look at myself on how to improve myself so that I didn’t make the same mistakes again.  Luckily for me I found a major that really caught my interest and made me want to learn more in Communication Studies. Now I’m bout to graduate in a week and I know that once I leave I’ll be prepared for the challenges facing me out there in the real world, thanks to my professors. So for you undergraduates you got to find your passion or at least something that gives you the motivation to learn. Without that motivation we don’t give ourselves room to improve. Also, get to know your professors! It will make a huge difference in the amount of learning that you can get done over a semester. So goodbye my fellow students, and may you ever soar to your potential.

    Gene Lee

  • Freakers the New Coozie?

    Established in 2011 and proudly located in Wilmington, NC we introduce to you….the Freaker! It’s the new cool coozie that is the ultimate one size fits all. Starting in Wilmington, NC this company started from a local start-up business with a vision to command and conquer and now has become a global product that is creating a high demand. In just one year it has grown exponentially into a money-making machine. How did they do it? Well first and foremost it is a very handy product that is way more interesting than any coozie we’ve ever had and can fit on any drink possible keeping it insulated and your hand protected. Secondly they have a clear-cut brand personality that is all about being unique to yourself and having as much fun as possible and they love to show it. They also have a unique way of marketing the Freaker from a truck that they turned into a home and drove around the country having grilled cheese parties at various trade shows coupled with various marketing videos on their website that show off their brand. They have approximately 200 stores across the nation with global distributors in Canada and Japan. It also helps that all Freakers are made in the USA helping local businesses and having a monopoly on it doesn’t hurt either because they have a patent on the product as well.

    If you watched the video the guy is Zach Crain the founder of Freakers, and as you can see he is a highly eccentric individual with a weird sense of humor. He is obviously very confident about his personality and has branded his product with it. The show “Shark Tank” allows business owners to pitch their ideas to billionaire entrepreneurs and get a large investment in return for a percentage of the business. Zach fails to grab any of the investors because they aren’t sure that he will be able to return on their investment. However, he was able to impress the potential investors with his impressive sales record of over 300,000 dollars in 13 months. So, one thing is clear: Zach Crain and Freaker USA have no where to go but up!

    Lauren Habig, Ally Walton, Hannah Eure, Gene Lee, Erin Kiffmeyer

  • The “Face” Behind the Letters

    Game night has long been a valued tradition in families across the globe, but with new technology some of the long-standing board games have been pushed to the side for virtual games on systems such as Wii and Xbox Kinect. Scrabble, for example, has been a part of the game world for over 60 years, but how often do families still bring out their Scrabble boards?

    Earlier this year, the advertising agency Pereira & O’Dell took over Mattel’s games account. This November, Pereira & O’Dell have released several 30-second spots in several different countries to bring back the association of Scrabble and fun. These advertisements bring personalities to three of the Scrabble squares: P, Q, and Blank. At first, the image of Scrabble pieces as faces on human bodies may seem a little strange. However, after viewing the advertisements a person may find themselves attached to the pieces.

    Each of the Scrabble pieces has their own unique personality. When you “meet Blank” you might notice that he seems to be a bit arrogant and definitely the life of the party. After all, everyone always wants to draw the blank square during the game, right?

    Q, on the other hand, is a bit of a loner. He has his heart broken by U and seems to be a bit timid. What is there not to love about the bashful, lonely Q? A viewer may almost feel guilty for hating the Q piece in the Scrabble game. It is heart-warming to see that, in the end, Q gets the girl.

    Pereira & O’Dell definitely get points for being clever with these advertisements. The strange image of the pieces having personalities seems to work, however, the question is: will the viewers relate to the pieces? Mattel wants to bring people together over their Scrabble game board for decades to come but only time will tell if it will actually work.

  • Have You Experienced the Rainbow?

    If you haven’t been to the Skittles website in a while (or perhaps, ever) now would be a good time to take a peek.  What you might expect to be a typical site, designed to provide advertisement and purchase opportunities, has undergone quite a facelift.  Unlike most sites, the website for Skittles has been reborn as a social media machine disguised as a blog.  Near the top of the page is the familiar Skittles slogan, “Taste the Rainbow.”  Scroll down a bit, and you’ll find an entirely irrelevant tweet from the Skittles Twitter account. @Skittles says, “It’s all fun and games until the chinchillas show up with the karaoke machine.” Next come a few phrases like “lace the train slow,” “trace the vein bro,” and “encase the faint glow,” all with coordinating pictures and all rhyming with the original slogan of “taste the rainbow.” Add a few quirky videos, more interesting tweets from fans, and many opportunities to share things via social media, and  you’ve pretty much summed up Skittles’ entire online marketing tactic.

    The Skittles commercials take on a similar level of oddity as their website.  Whether it’s a teenager catching “Skittles pox” from a “highly infected” friend with the message to “contract the rainbow,” or a guidance counselor eating Skittles out of a student’s unibrow with the message to “pluck the rainbow,” these commercials seem to be getting stranger and more extreme year to year.  So, do these weird messages work to promote their product?  Their 23 million Facebook fans, 47,000 followers on Twitter, and nearly 10 million views on YouTube would suggest that they do.

    As a product that has been a favorite with candy-lovers since their appearance in 1979, Skittles has little need for getting their brand noticed so much as keeping their brand relevant.  That’s exactly the idea behind their weird marketing.  By showcasing their social media followers on their website, and giving fans something different to talk about, Skittles is making people rethink what they already know about Skittles and driving them back to their brand.  The genius behind this tactic is that the product hasn’t changed.  What they are changing is stated right at the top of their site.  “Experience the rainbow.”  Skittles is changing the whole experience associated with their little chewy candies in a colorful shell to be more exciting and hilarious than before.

    What seems to appeal to consumers these days, especially to Skittles’ target market of pre-teens and adolescents, is the eccentric and the humorous.  Skittles has mastered both of these arts.  Not only are they staying relevant, they’re staying interesting.  As advertising trends continue to shift, Skittles will doubtless continue to meet the needs of their consumers and remain a favorite fruity snack to all.  The only question now, is what comes next.

    – Ally Walton, Hannah Eure, Gene Lee, Lauren Habig, Erin Kiffmeyer

  • White House Ballers

    With the re-election of President Barack Obama there is one sport that is overwhelmingly happy that he is staying another four years, and that sport is basketball. It is obvious to all that President Obama loves basketball and is more than happy to use his influence to help spread the game. It is well-known that he likes to fill out the NCAA March Madness brackets that everyone goes crazy for and is surprisingly good at it. Like most major sports, the NBA  championship team gets to visit the White House and meet the President for a photo-op. Obama,of course,  isn’t complaining since he is a huge NBA fan and has been to several games during his Presidency. Never before has a President been so involved with one sport that he can call upon the biggest name athletes in the NBA to come help him out at different charities and fundraiser events at any point in time and they will come running. For example, in this election year, Michael “Air” Jordan hosted a 3 million dollar fundraiser for President Obama in New York and had NBA players like Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Kyrie Irving, Joe Johnson, and Paul Pierce in attendance to play some hoops. With so many NBA superstars on his side he gets a good amount of publicity and respect from basketball fans all over the country. Obama is so integrated into the basketball world that the video game “NBA 2k13” has him show up as a character in the game to greet you at the White House when you win the championship in the game.

    Obama in 2K

    This is great publicity for the Commander-in-Chief, as basketball fans everywhere will see the President’s face every time they win the championship.  He may be the first President with the ability to advertise in a video game just because he loves the game of basketball so much. On election day he even plays his now-traditional “Election Day” basketball game with several big name NBA stars and a variety of White House aides. We think it’s safe to say that many basketball fans and basketball console gamers will be seeing more of President Obama the next four years.

    Eugene Lee, Lauren Habig, Erin Kiffmeyer, Hannah Eure, Ally Walton