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  • Branded in FIRE

    If you ask a kid what he wants to be when he grows up, he doesn’t think about the benefits, hours, or even how much he would get paid. They run on another type of scale dealing with popularity, familiarity, or uniform. A lot of kids originally hope to grow up to be like their mom or dad, no matter what job their parents may hold. For example, if you ask ten-year old Christopher Cannizzaro from New York what he wants to be when he grows up, he will tell you, “a Firefighter just like my dad”. Christopher was only ten months old when his father, New York City fire fighter Brian Cannizzaro, rushed to help the victims trapped in the twin towers on September 11th, 2001.

    Brian never came home.

    Only knowing his father through the pictures and stories told by his mother, Christopher plans to follow in his father’s footsteps. In this case, like many others, there is something much more powerful than the shared bond between this father and son dynamic. There is a legacy. Born in the flames of who they serve and in honor of the people of who they love. It is a brand. The brand of the firefighter.

    As college students, we were about ten years old on September 11, 2001. We all remember where we were when the twin towers were attacked and the reactions of those around us. The devastation on every news channel overwhelmed all of us with an emotional bond unlike anything else before. A deep and powerful connection was made between every American, as we mourned the loss of our own. This was one of the most impactful creations of shared meaning within our country’s history; bringing our country together despite the color of skin, economic status, or beliefs. At that moment, we were united. At that moment, we recognized our heroes.

    The aftermath of 9-11, showed how the strength of our nation helped us all to rise

    and overcome tragedy.  With a death toll of 6000+ Americans, the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be non-existent. The FDNY went into the flaming twin towers on the sunny morning of September 11th without an ounce of resistance.  They were the heroes that gave our country hope, and never gave up.  The appreciation we have for them as a brand of American heroes will never be let go and the strength we gained from that day will never weaken.

    Before 9/11, many Firefighters were often the unsung heroes of our communities all over. Their job is to put themselves into the path of danger to save people’s lives and homes.  They protect where we live and some of them are volunteers. Living the life of a firefighter means serving everybody, no matter the circumstances. There is no special set of qualifications that you need to have to be rescued; they don’t even have to know you for them to risk their lives for you.  Every time a call comes in, they gear up knowing that it could be their last. On September 11th 2001, 346 of these extraordinary people made the ultimate sacrifice.. for you.

    We are indebted to the 346 American fire fighters who lost their lives that day. Not just because of the day that we all remember but because of how they lived their lives and what they stood for. We all have something to learn from this. Coming together one day in September is not enough to honor these people who served our nation. It should be through our daily lives that we strive to serve and help others like they did for us. This is the brand of the Firefighter. The brand that symbolizes heroism and hope for all Americans.

    Firefighters Prayer

    -Jared Sales, Sally Shupe, Oliver Evans

  • Banded Nations

    Red white and blue are colors, the colors of our nation’s flag and colors which Americans wear proudly. Those colors represent our bold and courageous citizens, freedom, challenges and triumphs we have endured together. Those three colors represent who we are in a nation and show us where we have been and where we are going. In these days ahead we will be taking a moment to remember the devastating events of 9-11, the day when all Americans stood up and embraced the red white and blue. The attack on the world trade center has taken an emotional toll to all citizens. It was a day that thousands lost a parent, sister, brother, child, spouse and friend; which will never be forgotten.

    9-11 is a national day of mourning for a nation which has come so far over the past 10 years. Within those 10 years, 9-11 and the World Trade center has become another way which companies, individuals and media can actively publicize this tragic event by advertising this devastating event as a commodity and advertising campaign.

    Americans buy into the 9-11 brands because it is presents remembrance of the tragic event and it brings hope for a better future. They also buy into the brand in hopes of bringing the country closer together by exhibiting a symbol of unity. The Salamone family is one of many who lost their husband and father on 9-11. The oldest son was a collector of “cause” bracelets as many people are. After the event he wanted to create a band for people to wear to help raise awareness for the families affected by the attacks. He designed the bracelets so that people could “remember those who died, honor all those who helped around the world, and hope that something like 9/11 never happens again.” All contributions are tax-deductible.

    No one predicted the attacks of 9-11, but now no one will ever forget it.

    – Michela Noreski, Ashley Nelson, Jordan Hill

  • How Much is Too Much?

    As the ten-year anniversary of September 11th quickly approaches, many Americans are beginning to prepare for the remembrance of the lives that were lost on that day. All across the country, people are buying extra American flags to place in their windows, commemorative pins, banners, posters, and even coin sets. And that is exactly what marketers want them to do.

    NYCWebstore.com boasts an impressive display of 9/11 commemorative goods from Twin Tower ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree with care, to memorial umbrellas, to FDNY and NYPD shot glasses. Although some of the profits from these “limited edition” items do go towards The FDNY Foundation, we are not told exactly how much.  None the less, at least our conscience can be comforted knowing some part of our consumer spending is for the greater good. However, unfortunately we cannot say the same for all products.

    What better way to remember than through the unique 9/11 Commemorative Coin Certificate? But if a coin-certificate doesn’t tickle your fancy, fear not for the National Collector’s Mint has a variety of coins to choose from including a brand new coin rolled out to honor the 10th anniversary. Now only $29.95 can help you “pay homage to America’s heroes and remember the day that changed America forever… order today!” 

     We do not mean to make light of 9/11. For many of us, this marks an extremely important day in our country’s history and is a day that we will not soon forget. However, when is too much? When does our need for consumption begin to take over so much that we need to have teddy bears, snow globes, and necklaces to help us “remember our heroes”?

    – Jessica Kingman, Alaethea Hensley, Lauren Phelps

  • Something to Wine About

    This Sunday, communities from all over the country will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of September 11th, 2001.  With the United States remaining politically divided on many issues, people are wondering if the anniversary of September 11th could bring the country closer together.  Leaders around the U.S. are calling for a change in the nation and “true bipartisan cooperation for the benefit of our country.”

    From big events, like the 9-11 Memorial opening in New York, people everywhere in America are finding ways to remember one of the biggest tragedies in our country’s history.  Perhaps one of the most controversial has been the selling of 9-11 Memorial Commemorative wines.  Lieb Family Cellars of Mattituck, Long Island has caused outrage by producing a range of 9-11 Memorial wines to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center.  The winemaker is selling Chardonnay and Merlot wines at $9.11 a bottle, and giving 10% of the proceeds to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

    Despite these donations, the announcement of the wine has made many upset.    Lieb Family Cellars’ advertisements promote a wine made from “grapes grown 90 miles from the site of the World Trade Center,” and with sensitivities over the anniversary running high, this concept has sparked outcry.  Critics have accused the maker of, “exploiting the atrocity to make money.”

    Lieb Family Cellars insists that it is not making any money off the project.  Gary Madden, the general manager told The Times: “It’s a non-profit project.  We made the wine for charity; the profits on sales go to them.  It was done with the foundation, all under their licensing.”

    Many people have taken to social networking sites, such as Twitter, to express their anger about the issue.  Perez Hilton said, “WTF?” He calls this “tacky” and posted the following tweet: “@NoReservations- 9-11 Wine?!!? Are you out of your MIND?!! EPIC FAIL.”

    Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has called the brand naming around this wine “grotesque, exploitative and vomit inducing,” while the FDNY EMS proclaims, “What does the 9/11 Memorial brand next? Soap? Carwax? Tampons?  Hot dogs? Dog food?…anything for $?”

    Some say the Lieb Family Cellars’ intentions are good, with the victims and their families in mind; however, perhaps they should have done a little bit more research in regards to the implementation and marketing of their commemorative product.

    – Stephanie Bakolia, Claire Outlaw, & David Glaubach

  • A Royal Frenzy

    For centuries, royal weddings have drawn a unique interest among the population; however it is not until recent decades that such events have been televised. The first televised royal wedding was in 1960 of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones who were married at Westminster Abbey. The occasion accumulated over 20 million viewers according to BBC News, and since then royal weddings have become a social event not only for those attending, but millions worldwide. With such a broad interest in the subject, it’s no wonder marketing and branding gurus jumped on the royal bandwagon.

    The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought in record numbers of viewers from all over the world. More than 52 million viewers tuned into NBC Universal, more than 40 million tuned into NBC news. But what would a royal wedding be in this day in age without a social media impact?  Don’t worry, Prince William and Kate made a huge splash on Facebook and Twitter. NBC News hosted a Royal Wedding Facebook event that received 7,500 attendees and over 500,000 impressions. NBC News also created a Twitter account @RoyalWedding that acquired over 90,000 followers and more than 1.5 million users. The frenzy didn’t stop there, “The Royal Wedding by NBC News” App for iPad, iPhone, and Android reached over 200,000 downloads and quickly became one of  iTune’s Top Ten listed free iPad Apps.

    Aside from the technological and social media craze, numerous memorabilia items were created just for the big day. From replicas of the engagement ring to china sets with Prince William and Kate’s faces, branding reached a whole new level. Marketers even went so far as to create toilet seat covers with the dynamic duo’s face and wedding date. It is safe to say, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have developed into their own brand with the help of IMC.

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

  • Osama=0, Facebook & Twitter=2

    Last night social media networks exploded with the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. If you have a social media account, there was no way you did not hear the news before President Obama’s speech. Most people, especially members of the millennial generation, spread the news around the world like wildfire. On Facebook, statuses were updated every second with celebratory posts of the death of the most hated person since Adolf Hitler. Twitter set a new record on traffic, with an average of 4,000 tweets per second from the beginning to the end of President Obama’s speech.

    How does this relate to IMC? IMC incorporates social media, which helps create social capital. It is evident that last nights social media event fostered a community around the country and globe of American nationalism, helping to reunite the country once again as the United States of America. In all of our debates over whether social media inhibits social capital, it is now quite clear that social media is a driving force in creating social capital, and on a large scale.

    Here’s to you IMC, for helping create a community one status and tweet at a time.

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

  • Wow WE made it!

    As my final days at UNCW come to an end I start to remember how it all began. When I came to the university I was young and clueless, not only about my college career but life in general. With the guidance of great faculty and an excellent student body I found my way to where I am now. A few finals away from Graduation day….

    I am nervous and excited, yet scared of not knowing what my future holds. There is one thing that I am certain of, and that is I know UNCW has prepared me for the next step in my life no matter what that step is. I say this to all the seniors graduating now, and to those that will graduate in the future. You might not know what exactly your next step is, but you can be certain that your college experience has prepared you for it.

    My advice to anyone that will graduate later on down the road is to make the most of your college experience. Take the classes that interest you, talk to your teachers and meet your peers. I know it sounds “old” and kind of “cheesy”, but when you step foot on campus do everything to the best of your ability. Don’t hold back anything because one day your college career will near the end and you want to feel how I feel now. You want to feel prepared for the future, and you want to know that you tried as hard as you could in school and did everything you wanted. Take advantage of the opportunity you have to attend college and make the most of it.

    -Drew Mayer

    To the graduating class of 2011, WE made it! This is our moment to say all the research papers, presentations, nights in the library, our stress because we procrastinated in finishing a project, we did it and all our hard work has finally paid off. This is the moment our parents have been waiting for when they can say their “little” boy or girl graduated from University. All of us have come so far, gone through the good and the bad, and we can finally say we did it, were graduating. Most of us have been going to school non-stop basically our whole lives and some of us will continue our education in Graduate School. But what we most importantly need to understand is we never gave up, even when at times it seemed as we would never reach the end. I was a transfer student to UNCW in the fall of 2009 and attended this University not knowing a single person. Let’s just say how blessed I feel that I chose to be a Communication Studies major transferring in. You’re forced into groups, your forced to stand up and talk about your self the first day of class, but most importantly your forced to learn how to COMMUNICATE and NETWORK with others.

    These past two years at UNCW have been the most rewarding experience I could have imagined. Not only is it a great school, but also the Communication Studies faculty and students make it enjoyable to go to school each day. When Professors still greet you in the hallway by your first name even though they haven’t taught you in over a year and ask about your future plans, which to me is the best feeling. To those of you not graduating embrace your time left here. It comes sooner than you think and as excited I am to be graduating, I will miss it more than I thought I would. Not only should you embrace your education but embrace your life outside of school. Soon we grow up, we graduate, we get jobs, start families and as amazing as that is going to be, your time at school is a part of your life that comes and goes fast. Never stop having fun and enjoying life and always remember to network as much as you can. Cheers!

    -Lindsey Baggett