IMC Hawks Blog

Category: Wilmington NC

  • Communication Studies Next Top Model

    Did you know that you can employ Integrated Marketing Communication in any organization? It’s an easy way to reach your target publics and increase membership and participation in your organization. However, few people actually know how to use it properly. Communication Studies Society (CSS) has been heavily utilizing IMC in the past few weeks to increase attendance at the Com Studies Day events, which is this Friday, April 1st. CSS and the entire Communication Studies Department have been utilizing social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, to build anticipation for Friday! There is even a friendly competition between the professors to see who can get the greatest participation from their students to attend the events.  Our Advanced IMC class will be live blogging and tweeting from all of the events, with voting on who is the audiences favorite model at the Dress for Success Fashion Show. To follow the days events or participate on Twitter, type in #COMStudiesDay in your tweets or follow @IMCClass.

    The use of social media during Com Studies Day creates social capital within the community by allowing everyone to get a front row seat in the action and alumni to see how successful the Communication Studies Department has become.

    Other than using social media, CSS has been posting flyers and taking advantage of the Communication Studies Department newsletter that gets distributed to every Communication Studies major, which is the target audience.

    So be sure to come to all the Com Studies Day events, and if you can’t make it, follow us on twitter. More importantly, be sure to vote for Scott Burgess (@scottrburgess) and Allison Day (@Allisonday32) as your favorite models and send your votes to @CStudiesSociety.

    Happy tweeting!

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

  • Today, we are all Irish

    That’s right laddies and lassies, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, celebrated internationally on March 17 every year. The holiday is basically an excuse to hit the bars and grab yourself a Guinness or two…or ten (if you’re 21, of course). I myself don’t have a shred of Irish blood in me but I would be lying if I said that I never participated in one of the main activities that goes hand in hand with celebrating the holiday. Saint Patrick’s Day started in fact as a very real holiday named after Saint Patrick who is regarded as one of the most commonly recognized patron saints of Ireland. However, while it certainly did originate as a Catholic holiday, it has gradually become more and more of a celebration of Irish culture in general. This means that there are plenty of brands associated with the holiday and Irish culture as a whole, whether positive or more negative. It could arguably be one of the most branded holidays in the world as there are several things that always come to mind when you think of the holiday. These include the leprechaun, the shamrock, all things green, and alcohol.

    Today it is celebrated by Irish and non-Irish alike and, as we all know, it is one of the leading days for consumption of alcohol in the United States. It is a holiday that businesses, bars and restaurants all pour loads of money into every year as they each compete and advertise themselves as “the hottest St. Patty’s party in town”. Even Wilmington is no stranger to capitalizing on the event and promoting the downtown or beach nightlife.

    Also, green is the color and order of the day, especially in terms of clothing. I specifically remember being pinched, (affectionately, of course), for not wearing green one year in elementary school. It is a holiday that many of us learned about years and years ago when we were just little kids and are now at the point where we can fully enjoy it (if you’re 21, of course). All over the U.S. numerous cities throw Saint Patrick’s Day parades and even up the ante in some cases as with the Chicago river being dyed green for the day each year for the celebration.

    Thus, this unique holiday has become not only a staple of Irish-American heritage but also a staple of American heritage as a whole. It is a holiday that basically anyone can celebrate in one way or another. From green alcohol to tacky green t-shirts to those giant leprechaun hats, Saint Patrick’s Day definitely ranks up there with Christmas, Easter, and Halloween as one of  the most branded, and most fun holidays in my book. So all that being said, throw on some green, get a little loud, grab a pint or two (if you’re 21, of course), dance a jig, and kiss someone Irish!

    Eric Holtzman, Maxann Keller, Ryan Kelley, Chad Graves, Katelyn Truss

  • “I want to be an event planner!”

    Contrary to popular belief, event planning isn’t all white dresses and fancy cakes.  In the realm of IMC, events are everywhere. From trade shows to music festivals, it takes knowledge of budgeting, marketing, advertising, organizational planning, and more to carry out a successful event. Our education in Communication Studies gives us a head start on other event planning hopefuls by providing opportunities through the classroom, internships, and extracurricular activities.

    Dress for Success Fashion Show Logo
    2010 "Dress for Success" Fashion Show Logo

    At UNCW, students have the opportunity to assist in the planning of fashion shows, academic conferences and meetings, concerts, multiple charity functions, and fundraisers. These opportunities give us valuable insight into all the necessary components of event planning. We come to understand that it takes hard work and long hours, excellent writing and public speaking skills…the list goes on and on! At the end of the day, an IMC student evaluates the outcome of his or her efforts not by how happy Bridezilla was, but by how it changed the behaviors of the client. For example, the success of a charity event might be measured by an increase in donations, not by how much people enjoyed the show.

    UNCW Communication Studies Society raised over $5,000 for breast cancer research in October 2010!

    When searching through the thousands of job listings, there are a variety of titles to consider: conference coordinator, special event coordinator, and meeting manager to name a few. Dependent upon the more specific interests of the applicant, these titles can start you on your way to a career in event planning!

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

  • Who markets the best ice cream in town?

    As a smaller town, Wilmington has a lot of competition between businesses. Kilwin’s has always been known as a “go-to” location for ice cream in Wilmington and a popular tourist spot.  This past summer the ice cream industry grew by one, adding the Fuzzy Peach into the choices for a cool treat on a hot day. The Fuzzy Peach is located less than a mile from UNCW and this is their only location. Both Coldstone and Kilwin’s are chains and have locations across America.

    Coldstone is the largest of the three and it has stores internationally. Their marketing strategy involves television commercials, promotional coupons, direct marketing at UNCW events like the Involvement Carnival. They are a sponsor for the UNCW Athletic Department. On our basketball tickets, you will find a coupon provided by Coldstone. They set themselves apart from the competition because they have lots of different combinations such as “Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some” and “That’s How I Roll”.  You can see their entire signature creations made right in front of you and they have pictures of each combo on their website. Their portion sizes are called “Like It” “Love It” and “Gotta Have It”. They also sell ice cream sundaes, smoothies, and pre-made ice cream cakes. This company is also known for their quirky songs that they sing when you walk in the door and when you leave them a tip. You can hear the same songs at each location, so you know that you’re walking into a Coldstone when you open the door.

    The Fuzzy Peach opened in May of 2010 and already has a lot of brand recognition. Their t-shirts and facebook page are almost as popular as their low fat yogurt.  The frozen yogurt bar allows you to choose the toppings that you want and how much of each topping you want on your yogurt.  The Fuzzy Peach is the only frozen yogurt bar in Wilmington, so that makes them stand out from their completion. The price is calculated by the weight of your bowl and toppings. Their slogan is, “Providing Wilmington with a healthy dessert alternative.  On the website, they have a comparison of why they are better than their competition, which includes Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins.  Their marketing strategies include t-shirts with their logo, which allows people to recognize the brand since the logo is a peach. They also use direct marketing by passing out coupons, stickers, and shot glasses at events.  They come to UNCW’s Involvement Carnival in the beginning of the year and give out samples.

    Kilwin’s is a downtown Wilmington classic. It is a common tourist location. They sell ice cream, chocolates, caramel apples, fudge, and more. Kilwin’s makes their own traditional waffle cones, which lures customers in from their scent. Kilwin’s creates an exciting experience by creating the cones right in front of you. It ads a personal element of trust, since you can see the people hard at work on your waffle cone. They rely mostly on word of mouth marketing, as well as social media and their website. They draw people into the store because they bake their own waffle cones and the aroma drags people in by their noses. They are not as big as Cold Stone, only located in 15 states with only 9 locations in North Carolina.

    Who do you think has the best marketing strategy? The winner is…….The Fuzzy Peach! We think this because they employ the most promotional strategies. They handed out coupons and got customer input on what the best flavor is at UNCW’s 2010 Beach Blast. The store has been open for less than a year and a second location is already in the making. We look forward to seeing how much The Fuzzy Peach grows in the coming years.

  • Corporate Christmas?

    Holidays are usually perceived as a happy, carefree time of year, however, when reaching the holiday season corporations have to discuss and agree upon the appropriate way to acknowledge the different holidays. This is especially true in public school systems. In a school system such as a catholic school it is to be expected which holidays will be celebrated and even taught. However, in the case of UNCW, a public, non-denominational university special considerations must be made in order to not offend or exclude different beliefs. Instead of putting up specific decorations UNCW puts up things like wreaths with pretty red bows and some simple white lights. In my opinion they do a very tasteful and appropriate display of festivity without any favoring of a certain holiday or religion.

    This same phenomena can be seen in large business setting corporations. Many times instead of Merry Christmas you will see “Happy Holidays” or instead of hosting a Christmas party it will be titled as a Holiday Party. This sensitivity to others beliefs is respected in the office I work in, instead of sending Christmas cards to the donors and committee members the secretary sends out Thanksgiving cards that are very general and just say how appreciative our office is of our donors.

    This is not to say that the holidays are overlooked. There are still things such as holiday grab-a-dates, tacky Christmas sweater parties, decorations, holiday breaks from school, delicious food and even some festive weather to look forward to!
    -Emily Hunter

  • Event Planning- Glamorous or Not?!


    As a new intern at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundation, I didn’t realize how many careers could all be considered “corporate communication” titles. It is a small office, consisting of six women and myself. Their titles are: Annual Gifts Officer, Major Gifts Officer, Administrative Associate, Special Events Officer and Finance and Stewardship Officer. One of the main issues associated with all of these titles is how wordy they are and the fact that all of these women undertake several tasks outside of their job titles.

    Our professor often touches on the realities of event planning; I can relate well to this since I work under the Special Events Officer at NHRMC Foundation. The realities of this corporate communication position are long hours, planning with some very opinionated committee members, having to constantly be organized, the ability to multitask and working with a limited budget (especially in a non-profit office). Third party events are also a majority of this position’s responsibility. So far for our Pink Ribbon Event, there have been third-party events consisting of: Monty Miller’s Boot Camp, Rock for the Cure, Pink Martinis at Ruth’s Chris, TrySport’s 5k and Angie’s Amazing race…and these are just for one event! The special events officer is responsible for attending all of these.

    This is just insight on ONE corporate communication career, the list of other titles is almost infinite. While event planning may not be as glamorous as films such as “The Wedding Planner” portray it to be, it is a very rewarding and fabulous career for the right person!

    -Emily Hunter

  • Fraternities and Sororities at UNC-Wilmington…a Greek Corporation

    When thinking about a school 5 miles from the beach that doesn’t have a football team, the last thing that comes to mind might be fraternities and sororities.  Greek life however consumes roughly 9.5% of the student population and there are 26 Greek organizations on campus (8 Pan-Hellenic sororities, 11 IFC fraternities, 5 NPHC sororities and 2 NPHC fraternities). Most sororities and fraternities have an executive council, which make the decisions and determine the overall feel of the organization

    The President of the fraternity or sorority can be considered the boss and  make the final decisions in the chapter .  There are also a variety of different positions that are held by the members of the sorority/fraternity ranging from Public relations to social chair to a treasurer.  Those who hold these positions are in charge of certain aspects of the organization to assure the organization is accomplishing their goals and take charge of those activities.

    There is a different decision making process with the various organizations much like that of different corporations. There is a huge importance of the fraternities and sororities identity as well that distinguish them from one another.  For instance Chi Omega wears white dresses on bid day and Alpha Phi wears long dresses.  Pi Kappa Alpha always has very bright shirts for rush and Phi Mu is associated with anything pink.  These are all just clothing examples of things that give identity to the organization, but anything  from personal actions to parties to philanthropy events give these fraternity and sororities there “corporate identity.”

    At UNC-Wilmington, Greek life runs like a business. There are the different roles that are played in the organization which help maintain reputation, scholarship, identity, brand, etc also striving for Greeks to follow the strategic plan which can be seen at: http://uncw.edu/Stuaff/fratlife/plan.html


    Ari Nateman

    Fran Greene

    Lacey Inman

    Megan Regele