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  • See the USA in Your Chevrolet, or See China in Your Buick

    Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. That line from this 1970s ad for Chevrolet exhibits the brand’s position as an American icon.

    Fast-forward several decades, and General Motors’ Chevy is still an iconic American brand. Meanwhile, in China, the Chevrolet brand is still young. Chevy is China’s seventh-best selling brand, although two models, the Cruze (sold in North America) and the Sail are strong sellers.

    While Chevy is still catching on in China, another longtime GM brand from the United States holds popular: Buick.

    lugzaoaf2otau1jrolprYou may be asking yourself: Buick? Isn’t that the car for old people? Not so the case in China! In 2013, four times as many Buicks were sold in China than in the U.S.  Nearly 810,000 Buicks were sold in China, compared to over 205,000 stateside.

    What explains Buick’s popularity in China? The answer is rooted in the early 20th century when important Chinese government figures such as president Dr. Sun Yat-sen, premier Zhou Enlai, and emperor Pu Yi either owned, drove, or were driven around in Buicks. This historical background adds to Buick’s image of upper class and prestige. Their advertising uses images of success to propel Buick to a high-end brand, such as in this Buick Excelle ad from the 2000s.

    Establishing global brand coherence has its difficulties. To contrast, in the United States, Buick is having trouble shaking off the “55-to-dead” demographic, and they tackle that problem in this new ad that features the demographic commonly associated with the brand in the U.S. with the desired target demographic in the driver’s seat of the brand-new 2014 Buicks:

    GM isn’t the only American automaker popular with the Chinese. Ford’s sales in China rose 49 percent in 2013, and the Ford Focus was China’s best-selling car that year. NPR interviewed 32-year-old Li Ning, who said he bought a Focus because he likes its muscular American style. In China, Ford is establishing its image as young and trendy.

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    Auto China 2014, the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, kicked off on April 20th and runs until April 29th. At Auto China, Ford is introducing a luxury brand familiar to Americans—Lincoln.

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    Lincoln’s model of selling cars in China is called “The Lincoln Way” and features luxurious showrooms that feel like a five-star hotel. Lincoln plans to focus on building customer relationships by understanding and fulfilling their needs. Lincoln may bring this style of personal selling to the U.S. based on how it works in China.

    Only time will tell if Ford’s effort to introduce the Lincoln brand to China will be a success. Will it become a competitor to Buick, which is already established as a strong luxury brand in China? Are there other ways in which this is an example of globalization?

    –Nathan Evers

  • Advertising Bans Beautify the City

    Imagine one of our biggest cities, such as New York, Chicago or LA. If you were to take a walk down one of the major streets, what would you see? Besides getting bumped into constantly for not paying attention well enough, you would see advertisements. They would go as far as the eye could see! To some people, these ads are creative forms of art and entertainment that bring character to the city streets and help amuse and educate the citizens. To others, these ads may be nothing more than corporate America polluting the city with over the top marketing gimmicks and oversized eye sores. But can you imagine if one of these cities banned outdoor advertising all together? Would it bring the metropolis back to its original architectural beauty? … Or would the ban take all of the residents back into some sort of concrete jungle? This in itself is completely subjective, and really depends on one’s attitude towards outdoor advertising.

    Any readers who may want to experience this for themselves are in luck, and have been since 2006. Just head to your nearest airport and hop on the next plane to São Paulo, Brazil! It has been almost 8 years since the Brazilian city had passed the “Clean City Law,” one that outlawed all forms of outdoor advertisements! This included transit advertising, as well as storefront and billboard marketing.  Can you imagine driving into Wilmington and not being able to see the massive billboard letting us know of the 12 McDonalds ready to serve in our location? (Yeah 12 seems a bit Mcmuch huh?)  Either way, the law was passed and is still going strong, regardless of critics. Many feared the law would have devastating consequences on jobs and revenue in the city, and rightfully so. However, São Paulo continues to stand, just as the citizens continue to stand behind the law. A recent survey administered in 2011 found that of the 11 million residents, over 70% were in approval of the ban. It turns out that many of the citizens feel that the removal of all the advertising brought back an architectural magnificence that had long been hidden. We will let you decide though.  Did the city make the right decision in your opinion? And what do you see, a primitive concrete jungle, or a simple but yet beautiful city restored in its original form?

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    Following the advertising ban,  “Critics worried that the advertising ban would entail a revenue loss of $133 million and a net job loss of 20,000.” Although a revenue loss has not been reported, and the majority of the city citizens are in favor of the ban, we all must wonder how businesses are surviving. James B. Twitchell believes that  producers “have to advertise or drown in their own overproduction.” However, it seems as though companies in Brazil are doing just fine without massive advertisements on billboards, buses, or other sources of outdoor advertising. 

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    Many people could argue that advertisements in America are brainwashing citizens, or have various negative effects on people. What about the aesthetics that Brazil has focused? Would NYC be as beautiful and attractive if all of the bright lights and advertisements were stripped away? America thrives on advertisements, so to lose them would probably cause more outrage that being bombarded by advertising through all mediums. According to those who live in Brazil, the “Clean City Law”  was a brilliant change to how the city looks. Bans on billboards exist in other parts of the world, such as Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine in the US, as well as some 1,500 towns. Could America ever go beyond banning billboard advertising and deny advertisers of all outdoor ads in general? This shows how different advertising is between various nations.

    –Austin Johnson, Jade Johnson-Grant, Jami Rogers, Ty Thomas

     

  • We Love Our Moms (And So Do Advertisers!)

    With just a couple weeks until another one of the biggest card holidays, Mother’s Day, card companies are gearing up their promotions. Last week, American Greetings released their new ad, “The World’s Toughest Job” and with over 14 million views in just one week, it’s safe to say the video has gone viral. This call to action is sure to have you considering whether or not to switch from Hallmark to American Greetings this year.

    Prior to this advertisement, American Greetings ads consisted of mainly cute animals – much like the ones you can find on their actual greeting cards. What these ads were missing were what this recent ad captured – emotion evoking concepts – something competitors such as Hallmark have been relying on and capturing for years. See Hallmark’s “Proud Mom” ad below:

    Yet, it seems that even Hallmark couldn’t capture the raw emotions that the Mullen Agency was able to evoke from the interviewees – simply starting with a job posting and 24 interview candidates. The finished piece was a compilation of honest reactions that left viewer’s hearts melting.

    The American Greetings’ spot isn’t the only ad that has played on the love and appreciation of our mothers this year. Proctor and Gamble’s “Thank You, Mom” series showed the mother as much a part of the Olympics as the athletes themselves. Several other companies including British Airways and General Electric have recently produced ads centered on mothers.

    So what do these “tribute to mom” ads tell us and why do our hearts warm when we watch them? Understanding how advertising works tells us the answer. Ads tell us what is virtuous and what is our ideal world. These “shout out to moms” tell us what we virtue – the compassion mothers have and the love families have for their mother. In the ideal world, that appreciation would be shown by a card everyday, but since this isn’t the ideal world we hope to make it up on Mother’s Day.

    So what do you think about all these ads centered on Mothers? Is it ethical to exploit this relationship that our society holds so valuable? Will you turn to buying an American Greetings card this holiday or stick with Hallmark?

    – Caroline Robinson, Elizabeth Harrington

  • Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

    Teamwork is something both students and professionals struggle with. As much as we’d like to think working with others gets easier, the truth is that even college graduates have to work in less-than-ideal teams. For this reason, we’re giving all our readers a special Saturday blog post about what we’d like to assume Communication Studies students excel in: group work.

    As students interested in advertising, we sometimes forget the teamwork skills we learn in our classes apply to our future workplace as well. An advertising agency is typically made up of six major departments: Account Service, Account Planning, Creative, Finance & Accounts, Media Buying, and Production. Communication within each department is key, but even more important is communication between the different departments. Account Service includes the account executives, account managers, and account directors – all who are responsible for communicating with the clients. If these account people do not communicate with each other or with other departments, the client will not get what they asked for. Furthermore, Account Planning must communicate with Creative so they can create an ad that lines up with the client’s wants and needs. Finance & Accounts, Media Buying, and Production are involved in the process later on, but they all need to be on the same page to create an ad their client approves.

    The final product relies so heavily on teamwork that employees must know how to successfully work in groups. In order for the team to be successful, all members must understand and recognize the shared purpose they are working towards. In an advertising agency, the goal is making the client happy. In a class setting, the goal is making the professor happy. The goals really aren’t all that different. In the classroom and the office, a well-balanced team has individuals with unique skills and different opinions. When individuals bring different perspectives to the table, creativity flows and innovative ideas are developed. However, those challenges can sometimes introduce conflict in the group. When challenges arise, successful groups are able to diffuse these disputes by communicating as a team and collectively solving the problem. One thing that makes this possible is trust. Members must be able to trust each other so everyone is held responsible for his or her own work.

    It is when these components are abandoned that productivity deteriorates and goals are not met. Mark D. Kent says that the average team achieves only 63% of their strategic plans due to five reasons: Lack of Commitment, Absence of Trust (which we mentioned above), Avoidance of Accountability, Fear of Conflict, and Inattention to Results. While these are all common reasons why teams dissolve, our experience has shown the Lack of Commitment and Fear of Conflict are most prevalent.

    Lack of commitment is a problem for many groups. Who hasn’t been in a group that carries the weight of a slacking team member? Clarity on issues such as deadlines, member roles, and individual assessments must have ongoing attention from each group member in order to succeed in a group project. Team members should establish a code of commitment, such as a list of rules or requirements, to ensure each person is invested in the success of the team.

    However, this can be hard to do if everyone is afraid to speak up. Far too often we see groups comprised of overly passive members, unwilling to voice their opinions due to fear of conflict. When individuals avoid conflict, all ideas pass through the process of logical reasoning, even the dumb ideas. Allowing the final say to belong to whoever is the loudest doesn’t mean the best ideas will be chosen. To be afraid of conflict is to silence your own self, which is detrimental to the group as a whole.

    This is often defined as groupthink. Groupthink is when a group becomes so inwardly focused on the end goal that they begin to ignore alternatives and outsiders. According to Oregon State University , a group suffering from groupthink might be overestimating its invulnerability, collectively rationalizing decisions, stereotyping other groups, censoring themselves and others to maintain unanimity, and self-censoring information from the group. However, groupthink can be avoided with clear communication and acceptance between all team members. If members agree to be honest with each other, all ideas can be voiced and the best one will be found.

    The dream of teamwork is to find a group of people who churn out quality work without hating each other by the end of the project. It can be hard to accept anything less than this, even though it is rare. With the tips pointed out here, hopefully we will remember that teamwork makes the dream work.

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  • Girl Rising

    A popular opinion of the Advertising career path is that it allows the freedom to work in any industry that a person chooses. Anywhere from entertainment, travel and tourism, and sports, to government, industrial, and non-profit, there is always a place for advertising. Any company or organization in any field needs to tell their story, or in the case of Girl Rising, the stories of someone else. In advertising, you control the freedom to express the message in any way you choose. In this situation, Girl Rising is expressing the message for girls who don’t have the freedom to do so themselves.

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    Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls’ education, is a non-profit organization I recently came into contact with. Their main mission is to tell the stories of girls and women in developing countries fighting for an education.

    The jobs currently held include Creative Director, Community Manager, Campaign Director, Graphic Designer, and Production Manager. Girl Rising is currently taking applications for internships in Social Media, Event Planning, Campaign Management, and Graphic Design.

    One of Girl Rising’s largest advertising efforts has been the release of their documentary in which viewers get to know nine unforgettable girls living in the developing world: ordinary girls who confront tremendous challenges and overcome nearly impossible odds to pursue their dreams. Here’s the trailer, try not to cry.

    With such an emotional and moving documentary trailer such as that, the success of their campaign for 2013 was not surprising. In the year alone, over $6 million was raised for girls programs and in-country awareness. As far as their brand awareness impact, they gained more than 300,000 Facebook fans, a 13x increase since August 2012 and 25,000 Twitter followers, a 6x increase since August 2012.  The impact of the documentary release was astounding and generated mass buzz about the organization and their movement. Their partnership with CNN allowed them to reach over 150 countries and 100 million people due to a CNN global broadcast of the documentary on its release date of March 7, 2013.

    As if the work Girl Rising had done to create the documentary wasn’t amazing enough, 100% of the ticket sales for the Girl Rising screening were donated to The School Fund. Some of their corporate sponsorships also include Google, United Nations Foundation, CNN Films, and many others Everyone who came to the Girl Rising screening also received a follow-up email with the names, countries and pictures of all the girls they funded. Their work is not going unnoticed, either. Celebrites such as Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez, Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek, Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys and Kerry Washington were featured narrators in the film.

     “This film gives visual corroboration to knowledge we already have: Educating women and girls has the most optimistic, positive effects on families, communities, and economies worldwide. If to see it is to know it, this film delivers hope.”

                                                                                              – Meryl Streep

    If you’re interested in learning more about Girl Rising, please visit their website, as well as attend the screening of their documentary Monday, April 21st in Lumina in the Fisher Student Center at 7 pm.

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    -Crystan Weaver

  • Grey’s Culture of Creativity

    Who knew it was possible to turn a small retail shop into one of the world’s most respected advertising agencies? Larry Valenstein and Arthur Fatt found this was possible when they turned their one-room retail store in the garment district of New York City into what is now known as Grey Advertising Agency, one of the most popular creative advertising agencies in the world. Since being founded in 1917, Grey has established a 96-country network as well as a second headquarter location in San Francisco. Grey is often recognized for the strength of their creative ideas. The agency was recently named Global Agency of the Year in 2013.

    So, what is the key to keeping the creative team at Grey inspired? Culture. An official statement from the agency reads, “From where we are and how we work to who we admire and what inspires us, everything at Grey reflects a culture of creativity.” The agency supports a creative culture to encourage creativity among those who work at Grey.

    One of the most unique events that Grey holds in their offices is the quarterly distribution of a Heroic Failures award. The award is given to someone who made a miraculous attempt at achieving a creative goal and has failed. Grey promotes the idea that it is better to attempt at doing something incredible and fail rather than not try anything at all. The creative culture embraces failure in order to emphasize the importance of getting back up and trying again and again. Persistence is a key to success.

    In addition to the Heroic Failures award, Grey has several other ways in which they express the importance of the creative friendly culture in their agency. For example, on Thursday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. there will be no meetings held during that time. Those three hours are encouraged to be spent doing something new, challenging and creative. Any and all ideas can be posted on a giant corkboard in the office known as “the corkwall” in order to share the creativity with team members.

    Other locations at Grey where people may go to conjure up some inspiration include the rooftop terrace, the health and wellness center and even a bed. There is a bed located inside of a glass room in the middle of Grey’s busiest work space. Some people do their best brainstorming while comfortably resting!

    Grey works to maintain a creative culture so that people feel inspired to think outside of the box and share their creative ideas. Do you think working in this type of environment would spark your creativity?

    – Hannah Turner

  • Experience ETEAL

    What is ETEAL and why is it so important for students? First, ETEAL stands for Experiencing Transformative Education through Applied Learning. This isn’t a club to join but rather an engaging learning experience for students to be hands-on with their passion. ETEAL allows students to take what they’re learning and apply it in a more interactive and experiential way, with a variety of different options to choose from.

    So how did ETEAL make its presence here at UNCW? A quick history of ETEAL and its origins: it started when UNCW needed to implement a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve, enrich, and enhance the student learning experience. A QEP task force was sent out to gather information from students and faculty what they thought the best way was to apply this plan. The concept of ETEAL was formed.

    ETEAL’S Goals:
    • To improve student learning in applied learning experience through enriching the environment supporting student learning.
    • To provide faculty and staff with information and resources about high-impact practices in applied learning pedagogy as appropriate to their discipline and responsibilities.
    • To promote the incorporation and implementation of high-impact practices of applied learning throughout UNCW.

    ETEAL can be experienced in numerous ways across campus and beyond. A student can study abroad and gain a unique international perspective in their particular subject. An internship is an excellent opportunity for students to gain more insight in their desired field. Other applied learning approaches include course-embedded projects, honors projects, and community-based projects. All of these experiences can be very impactful for students while benefiting them after graduation. ETEAL’s goal in the end is that all students that take advantage of these valuable opportunities.

    If you’re interested in learning about ETEAL and how you can get involved please visit their website. You can also follow ETEAL on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep you up to date. ETEAL is currently sponsoring a contest on Instagram for students to post and share their ETEAL experiences and have the chance to win awesome prizes! The contest ends April 30 so take a photo of your applied learning experience and follow the directions below to enter!

     

    -Melissa Shampoe