IMC Hawks Blog

Category: IMC

  • The most controversial Super Bowl Ad yet?

    This year’s Superbowl Ad XLV by Groupon is the most controversial ad yet. The company’s CEO Andrew Mason has apologized if he has offended anyone. This commercial starred actor Timothy Hutton where he first begins to talk about the seriousness going on in Tibet and then begins comically bragging about a fish curry dish you can get for cheaper using your Groupon coupons. They claim that the ad quickly went from charitable to consumerist. They also made no mention of the charity drive or the website in the commercial.

    Mason acknowledges that the portrayal of the meaning behind the campaign was not clear and says “as many of you have pointed out, if an ad requires an explanation that means it didn’t work out.” They feel as there brand has always been quirky, they certainly were not trying to portray the image of Groupon to be of controversy.

    Moments after the commercial aired blogs and tweets were posted on the negative aspects on the ad. Having spent millions of dollars on everything that goes into the ad you would think they had their humor dialed in. With these bad decisions and upsetting many viewers and human rights groups, Groupon faces many challenges in the road ahead. Many feel as this Ad had the most negative reaction in social media than any other game time advertisement.

    It will be interesting to see how Groupon handles this negativity and how it effects their brand.

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

  • Who really came out on top during the Super Bowl? The Packers or Bud Light?

    Overall, this years Super Bowl commercials were not as satisfying and did not meet the expectations that previous years commercials met. Usually there is a wide array of different brands being represented, but this year the same ones were repeated. Nonetheless, there were a few that caught our eye.

    Bud Light, which always creates entertaining commercials, did not disappoint. The first commercial that appeared mimicked Extreme Makeover Home Edition and other similar shows.

    The target audience for this commercial is women, different from their usual predominantly male target audience. It begins seeming like the couple, with the typical crazed anticipation of the woman, was going to receive a new kitchen.  Surprise! Only Bud Light was added to the room. The wife was shocked at first and a little unsure, but as people started to party in the kitchen, the host says “now this is a room that everyone wants to be in!”. This adds emphasis to their slogan of “a sure sign of a good time.”

    The second one (our favorite) that spoofed how outrageous product placement has become.

    Product placement is meant to be subtle, something to quietly promote a brand name without interfering the television show or movie (for example, a soda can on a kitchen counter). Bud Light took this fad to the extreme by mentioning how every time you place a product, you get free stuff. Bud Light appears almost twenty times in the thirty-second ad. Since it is such a recognizable brand, they do not have to explain what their product is or why you should buy it. Instead, they are able to use they creativity to make funny and memorable ads that people will talk about. This strengthens their brand by creating a buzz (figuratively and physically).

    They also created a commercial in which the dog sitter throws a party and has the dogs do all the work.

    The dogs open the door, serve beer, DJ, bartend, cook, basically running the party. This is memorable because most people can relate to owning a pet but by having the dogs personify human actions, it creates a humorous and different twist. This ties directly into their current slogan. Even though the commercial does not demonstrate the benefits of drinking Bud Light, it creates an image of how much fun you can have while drinking Bud Light.

    As one of the only three beers represented during the Super Bowl, they stood out as the frontrunner in beer ads for the year.  This indicates their financial prosperity as a company.

    -Allison Day, Jessica Berinson, Megan Canny, Melissa Gagliardi, Scott Burgess

  • Facebook vs. Twitter

    Social media has become such an important aspect of our culture and now provides businesses the chance to market to their potential and current consumers. It is interesting to notice whether having, for example, a Twitter or Facebook account will make a difference for your company.

    To keep with the theme of competition going for our IMC-Hawks blog, we’ll ask,
    Which is a better social network to market a business: Facebook or Twitter?

    Facebook: We all know the story of Mark Zuckerberg and his genius creation of Facebook in 2004. Facebook has now grown to have over 500 million active users and about 70% of those million are from outside the U.S.

    What makes Facebook appealing to businesses? It’s community based. Facebook allows you to know who is interested in your product and allows you find out what specific target market to aim for, as well as updating the users of any new information. Facebook gives the business an opportunity to upload multi-media information and gives users the chance to speak their minds about the specific product or service.

    Twitter: Twitter has 175 million registered users and about 95 million tweets go out a day. I like to think of Twitter as basically a site for multiple Facebook status’ (if you want to put it that way).

    So why choose Twitter for your business? The 140 character limit allows you to keep the message short while containing the most important information you want to deliver. Twitter is all about messaging at a fast pace. If you want to get something out fast, Tweet it! You also can see who is following you and what consumers are saying about your product (a similarity to Facebook). However, most tweets for businesses usually contain a link that drive the reader, if interested, to a specific site or article.

    Twitter offers a link for businesses on their website: http://business.twitter.com/

    If you weigh the comparison out, it seems that both Twitter and Facebook offer important social media marketing tools. It all comes down to what will be more appealing for your company or what will be more effective.  In my opinion, as a consumer, Twitter and Facebook work together in a positive way. You can tweet out a link to your Facebook page and you can connect your Facebook page to your Twitter account. Nowadays, having both Twitter and Facebook isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Involving your company one way or another on a social networking site is crucial for your company, especially on the customer satisfaction side. It is appealing when the company is involved and connects on a more personal level.

    Which one do you think is more successful in connecting with customers? Facebook or Twitter?

    -Micaela Fouhy

  • Are Apps Changing the Way We Do Business?

    Technology giant Apple is once again in the news this week.  No, they haven’t come out with a new iPhone and the new generation of iPads are not yet available; the company has sold their 10 Billionth App.  Yes, you read that correctly BILLION!  On Saturday Gail Davis, of Orpington, Kent, UK, downloaded Paper Glider (a free App) making history for Apple and also making her the winner of a $10,000 iTunes gift Card.

    Apple’s Apps, short for applications, can be downloaded from the App Store on iTunes onto iPhones, iPads, the iPod touch, and now even your computer.  Ranging from free to $999.99, these popular downloads can help you with everything from finding a place to eat, translating words into another language, making dinner reservations, entertaining your child, studying for the California Bar exam (in case you were wondering what the most expensive App does) and anything else you can possibly imagine.

    The popularity of Apps has many retailers and other businesses taking notice and developing Apps of their own.  Apps have become yet another tool for them to reach target audiences and perhaps gain new ones.  Everybody from car insurance companies to retailers to airlines have developed Apps hoping to target new audiences and keeping the attention of existing customers. This trend has even spawned a new way of doing business, m-commerce.  Similar to e-commerce, or shopping online, m-commerce is shopping on your mobile device.

    This new form of business, ushered in by Apple’s introduction of the App, is changing the way companies market themselves.  In the age of Apple’s i-products, the standard practices of print and media ads aren’t going to cut it.  Companies must adapt and incorporate practices such developing Apps if they want to continue to remain relevant and build their customer bases.

    -Eliza Wadson

  • Visit from The Forte Institute

    In only our second IMC class, we had our first guest speaker. We were fortunate enough to get a presentation from Hoop Morgan and Sue Gardner from The Forte Institute.  Since 1978, the company has produced self tests that help judge the interpersonal communication levels in both individuals and businesses.  These tests can be extremely helpful when organizing teams or groups in order to benefit individuals within the workplace. 

    During their visit they discussed the services they provide and the wide range of clients that use their product.  With clients across the globe, The Forte Institute has mastered online systems in order to communicate and market to several different publics. 

    In his presentation, Morgan discussed the ways that Forte hopes to expand their marketing plan in the future.  Dealing with multiple demographics, Forte must design a program or programs that can be quickly adapted and changed to meet the group they are trying to appeal to at that time.  Because a part of IMC is recognizing the different roles people play in a group, we realized that we could help create a successful plan for the company through our knowledge of markets by expanding Forte onto social networking sites.

    After, Morgan allowed our class to ask him questions in order to better understand his needs from our class.  Throughout his presentation, he relied on the word “adapt” rather than “change.” With Forte already being a successful company, they do not need to change, but they must adapt to the changing technology and the benefits of using IMC. We hope to assist them in this new marketing approach to their product.

    -Chad Graves

  • Looking Forward to Advanced IMC

    It’s that time of year again!

    It is officially 2011 and spring semester classes across the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s campus have begun. Last semester we caught a glimpse of Dr. Persuit’s Corporate Communication class and what they had to say. This semester, the blog is back up and running with the class that originated it all, Advanced Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), but with new students and new insights.

    For all of our new subscribers and readers, you may ask, what exactly is Integrated Marketing Communication? Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) recognizes the importance of strategic planning to reach all businesses, customers, employees, as well as communities. Public relations and advertising are critical categories of IMC, along with promotions, event planning and marketing communications. IMC, so to speak, integrates all of these promotional tools and resources so that they can work hand-in-hand with one another.

    In this class, the projects and teamwork we will encounter will make us more knowledgable in the specified field and expand our resume and skill set.  This semester, we will be discussing topics anywhere from the Superbowl to careers in IMC.  We look forward to your comments and appreciate the feedback! ENJOY!

  • Corporate Communication Wrap Up

    As our time in the Corporate Communication classroom comes to a close, the information and knowledge that we have gained will continue with us as we each venture out after graduation into our desired career field.  Among the class of communication majors are students interested in event planning, public relations, integrated marketing communication and advertising, just to name a few.  Corporate communication is involved in all of these industries.  As stated in Corporate Communication: a guide to theory and practice by Joep Cornelissen, one of our required readings for the course, “Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.”

    When the course first started back in August, not a single student in the class knew what the definition of corporate communication was.  Even though everyone registered to take the class, no one really had an idea of what it entailed.  Today, every student in the class has a definition of corporate communication, as well as plenty of detailed and background information that will give people a better understanding of the topic.  A big improvement from three months ago, wouldn’t you agree?

    We have covered a variety of forms of corporate communication that take place in sports, music, movies, politics, crisis management and careers this semester.  We have learned that communication is essential when it comes to an organization’s corporate image and identity, reputation, stakeholders and shareholders.  We have learned what makes a company go from good to great, the characteristics of a great company and why every company should strive to become one.  We hope we have left everyone with a better understanding of corporate communication.

    REMINDER! This week is NBC’s Green Week!  Green Week runs from November 14-21.  All this week, green topics will be featured into news and your favorite shows on the NBC network, such as 30 Rock and The Office, as well as special reports, fundraisers and documentaries.  Join NBC in celebrating the numerous ways that you can make a difference in the environment.

    -Danielle Dorantich