IMC Hawks Blog

Category: IMC

  • “Together We Make Football” and Community

    When I think about the NFL, or football in general, my mind immediately goes to large men with helmets running into each other; granted, I am not a big sports fan.  Most people’s minds wouldn’t imagine a little girl as the face of a major NFL ad campaign.  However, tiny Samantha Gordon, a ten-year-old pee-wee football player from Utah, is featured on the first commercial of the NFL’s “Together We Make Football” campaign.

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    “Together We Make Football” is a contest where football fans of all ages, shapes and sizes are encouraged to share their stories of how football impacts their lives and what it means to them.  The contest narrows down to ten finalists, with five invited to take part in Super Bowl XLVIII festivities.  These stories can be in video, picture or story form and are posted to the “Together We Make Football” website.  The winners are chosen by a panel of judges, and the site’s visitors are invited to “like” the different posts; although these likes don’t have any affect on the contest winners.

    So how can I, someone so inexperienced in all things NFL, take an interest in “Together We Make Football?”  By applying it to what I know.  This campaign is a perfect example of how subcultures form and become such tight-knit communities.  The Social Identity Theory of communication states that people have many different versions of themselves depending on the groups, or subcultures, they belong to.  Different social situations are what drive these separate “selves” to behave in certain ways.  The title alone explains why “Together We Make Football” exemplifies this theory.  Defining fans of football as a “we” takes thousands of people and brings them together into a single unit.

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    Social Identity Theory goes further, saying that people belonging to one group tend to favor others within the group at the expense of others on the outside.  This holds true in the NFL regarding team rivalries in which fans become passionately involved.  Rivalries are like a double-edged sword, bringing together fans of the same team while creating tension with the fans of the opposing team.

    “Together We Make Football” reminds us that all fans are the same.  Ultimately, the goal is for their favorite team to win.  The campaign reminds us that all fans have the same goal, though it might be for different teams.  It allows people to share why they love the game so much, which can bridge the gap between rivals.  The different fan groups can become a single football-loving “we” because of the “Together We Make Football” campaign.

    – Maggie Dowicyan

  • “Everything for U”: Target’s Brilliance…Part Two

    Since Target has proved their brilliance once again with their back-to-school marketing and advertising campaigns, we just had to talk about it again! For years, companies have struggled to invent new and innovative ways to advertise this exciting time of the year.  However, Target has perfected profitable, long-term campaigns and has successfully created fresh, new advertising strategies.

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    As Thursday’s post mentioned, Target has been successfully hosting Target After-Hours Busing Events for twelve years.  Adding UNCW to its list of schools this year was very popular amongst students in Wilmington. The idea of getting to shop for trendy dorm and apartment materials after hours gives students the feeling that Target is catering to their needs personally. This year, Target took that personal touch one step further.

    With all the hype surrounding live events and social media, Target decided to try their hand at it as well.  Bullseye University, Target’s back-to-school campaign, created five dorm rooms decorated with Target products that real, soon-to-be college students lived in from July 15th to July 18th.  Viewers could interact with the participants by asking questions through social media, entering drawings, and purchasing products without interrupting the streaming video.  This campaign is the perfect way to reach their target audience, college student. Target has not just promoted their brand, but has given their audience an opportunity to interact with their brand.

    Advertising enforces the idea of a Commodity Culture.  Commodities are marketable items that satisfy the wants and needs of consumers.  In many ways commodities are a central aspect to a culture’s values, traditions, and meanings.  Target has mastered the idea of appealing to the Commodity Culture, especially in its Back-To-College marketing strategies.  On their Back-To-College webpage, the “…for U” theme is prevalent for every category of dorm essentials.  The home page advertises an end of back-to-school-season sale, with “Deals for U” stamped in the corner. When you click on “college bedding,” a picture of the many colorful Twin XL beds that college freshmen are so familiar with, with the phrase “Zzz’s for U” in the same position.  Target’s website is advertising the personalization aspect of their products to college students.  Making sure their dorm room, or apartment, and school supplies are able to tell the story of who they are to their classmates.  Commodity Culture states that people define themselves by what they purchase.  Target understands that young adults are finding themselves in college and want to stand out, which they encourage by allowing this personalization.

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    -Maggie Dowicyan, Tilson Hackley, Hilary Hall, Kelsey Raskob, Christine Schulze

  • Creating an Online Portfolio

    The end of the semester is near and graduation is right around the corner! Seniors are now pressured to lock down future plans for the next chapter of their lives. Whether your goal is starting a career, an internship, or graduate school, this is a very important time to mold your brand and prove your worth. The image you portray is vital, you need to market yourself in a way that is unique and shows that you will be an important asset to the team.  Thanks to our Communication Capstone course, students can prepare and shape their resume and artifacts for their portfolios. Why not make an online portfolio? In this day and age, in almost every field an online presence is essential. I am going to show some advantages of making your own online portfolio.

    As we all know, the moment an employer decides someone is worth hiring, they Google the prospect to gather as much information as possible. Facebook, Twitter and other social media is a great way for an employer to size someone up. But, if your online portfolio is the first thing the employer sees this can be beneficial to you by making you appear professional while showcasing your work. It shows employers you have taken the time and initiative to collect artifacts such as past articles, blogs, projects and presentations. Online portfolios give you the opportunity to show the steps and improvements you have made within projects. Including future goals is something that employers would like to see as well.

    The ability to personalize the layout and design gives you the opportunity to perfect your brand image exactly how you would like to present yourself.  Maggie O’Briant’s article, 5 Great Online Portfolio Hosting Websites, claims that carbonmade, behance, photoshelter, dripbook, and viewbook are all great opinions when choosing the host site that is right for you. Maggie also describes the details of each of these listed sites in her article if you would like more information.

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    An online portfolio is the ideal tool to create brand coherence for yourself.  In the book Branded Nation, James B. Twitchell defines brand coherence as “a sense of coherence, a sense that nothing was out of place, a sense of a center”. This will give your audience a clear image and a centered sense of who you are. The best part is you have the ability to control your image, by editing your portfolio at anytime. Twitchell also states that a brand tells a story. Creating this profile offers you a platform to display the story of YOU, how you have evolved, and where you would like to go.

    – Kelsey Raskob

  • Pin Pin Pin Away!

    As our generation surrounds itself more and more with social media, Pinterest is becoming more prevalent as an upcoming advertisement strategy for businesses. Only existing for 3 years now, Pinterest has skyrocketed to the third most popular social network site. Businesses have started to see the opportunities Pinterest can offer when marketing their products. Jim Cockrum, author of Free Marketing: 101 Low and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business, states  “Pinterest has unimaginable potential as a marketing and customer relationship building tool”. Small companies have begun to expand their clientele greatly due to the publicity that Pinterest generates for them. Similar to Twitter and the concept of “retweeting”, social media users do the work of advertising for businesses just by pinning their posts. Pinterest is like a multimillion multiplier, there simply is no end to where it can and will go.

    Another advantage of Pinterest is the ability for consumers to shop when they are not intending to do so.  Pinterest gives consumers the feeling of leisurely browsing, similar to a shopping mall. However, we can get ideas from all over the world, put them in an electronic file and remember them all later. Products are directly displayed to the public and the person who pinned them, but all of their friends on Pinterest, as well as others interested in that topic, can view them as well.

    Jason Miles and Karen Lacey  (shown above) wrote the book Pinterest Power revealing how they have made millions based solely on Pinterest.  In 2008 Liberty Jane Clothing was cofounded and took off when it launched its page in 2011.  Pinterest also led Liberty Jane to growth on Facebook with over 14K likes and on Youtube, with a channel consisting of 7,600 subscribers with 1.2 million video views. James Miles has also worked with over 600 small business owners to launch their Pinterest businesses as well.

    As you can see, Pinterest might be a valuable marking tool for businesses to look into in order to increase sales and publicity.  However, there is one issue consumers might want to stay clear of. Consumers should be aware of the dangers of mixing private and public spheres on Pinterest. Graham K. Henning, writes in Corporation and Polis, that “The polis emphasized the importance for public and private spheres to stay separated. Blurring of the spheres creates a social sphere”. He compares the social sphere to a shopping mall as well, and claims it to be unethical. I think consumers need to draw a fine line between their private and public worlds on Pinterest, but from a marketing standpoint this is the best customer relationship tool you can have!

    –Kelsey Raskob

  • The Galaxy S4

    What could be better than Siri you ask? Apple better watch out because they may have recently developed a new top competitor. Samsung’s newest phone the Galaxy S4 is soon to be released at the end of April 2013. The Galaxy S4’s, or GS4, dimensions and weight are slightly larger than the iPhone5, but so is the screen size for those who like to see a bigger picture.

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    The GS4 processing speed is 1 .9GHz with the Android 4.2.2 operating system, which is considerably faster, than iPhone5’s processing speed of 1 GHz on the iOS operating system. To see a table of more comparisons, click this link. When it comes to the camera, GS4’s Super AMOLED panel at 441 pixels per inch is significantly denser than iPhone5’s 326 pixels per inch. The GS4 camera also has crazy new features such as the recording of front and back cameras at the same time.

    So what new technological features does the Galaxy S4 have that could really disperse the iPhone fanatics? When choosing between the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone5 the design, display, apps, and processing system are all based on individual preference, but the Galaxy S4 interface is just on a completely new level. PC mag.com states, “Android features a much more customizable interface for advanced users, which lets you configure your phone exactly how you want it.” The interface has a feature called Air Gestures, which includes motion sensors of hand movements to control the display with out even touching the screen. They have Smart Stay, which tracks your eyes to tell if you are looking at the screen. If you are watching a video, Smart Pause will automatically pause the video for you when you look away. Smart Scroll will check when you are reading a scroll up and down when you tilt the device.

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    This April we will all be able to see for ourselves if the iPhone has a real competitor; and if Samsung’s new features using hand and eye sensors are handy to use on a day-to-day basis or just plain creepy!

    -Kelsey Raskob

  • The Next Big Thing… Coming Soon.

    Have YOU had the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos taco yet?  I can’t say that I was waiting anxiously outside of my local Taco Bell on March 7th when this new wonder debuted, but millions of taco fans could barely contain their excitement.  Not convinced?  Follow Taco Bell on Twitter or Facebook and you’ll experience the overwhelming response.  On March 4th Taco Bell announced via social media that fans could get the new Cool Ranch DLT (Doritos Locos Taco) a day early and the response was a mix of joy and outrage.  Many fans hopped on the chance to indulge while others were shocked to discover that their local chain had not gotten the memo.

    It seems that Taco Bell knows exactly what their fans want and have aimed to deliver.  In fact, the franchise has focused their advertising for the new DLT on their fans.  Working their fan base, the earliest announcements of the new taco came in the form of teasers, meant to fuel the DLT craze and build anticipation.

    Next came a series of ads featuring tweets from fans about the new taco sensation. Since the rise of social media, companies have been able to receive more direct feedback from their fans and have taken advantage of this in their ads.  Through these ads Taco Bell is not only able to highlight fan comments, but also feature these fans in the ad, emphasizing their delight in finally having the Cool Ranch DLT.


    Starting to sound familiar? You might be thinking back to the iPhone 5 and Apple’s promise to finally deliver all of the features that fans have been anxiously awaiting.  So is this new, fan-based advertising genius or overdone?  That’s up for us as consumers to decide.  After all, gone are the days of simply consuming advertising.  Today, we can all be a part of the magic behind the ads.

    – Ally Walton

  • Travelling Abroad and Confidence!

    Do you have any advice for traveling abroad?

    Jessie – When traveling try to blend in and make sure to research the culture you are going to be visiting.

    Kati – Do a lot of research and have a plan, but also be flexible! Your expectations can easily be misguided. Don’t be so caught in your plan that you can’t roll with the punches.

    Do employers look at travel abroad experience positively?

    Jessie – Absolutely, I work in the department I do now because I have the experience abroad.

    Closing notes:

    The COM Core Skill – Confidence – has gotten a lot of attention today!! Let yourself shine!