This past year, Wilmington was home to two exclusive One Tree Hill reunions, where the TV show once took place. Hundreds people came out to interact and reminisce with their favorite characters from the show. Commuters traveled from all over the nation and even overseas to Wilmington for the three-day event. Tickets started at $35 and increased up to $795 for a VIP experience. Fans who were willing to pay these high amounts obviously have a deep connection with the show or the characters.
Brands that cultivate a culture around their product and are able to build a lasting relationship with their consumers. The creators of One Tree Hill are able to continue the brand without producing a product. This benefits not only the show, but allows consumers to identify and participate with a culture that shares their common interests.
What other brands have cultivated their image to go beyond their product?
In case you haven’t heard the buzz throughout the halls of Leutze, there is a new project on campus called WingSpan. WingSpan is a weekly talk show that discusses political issues with guests who are experts on various topics. In the first episode, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo discussed the economic development of Wilmington. During the second episode, County Commissioner Rob Zapple discussed environmental incentives in our region.
An ETEAL funded project, WingSpan is produced entirely by COM 351, Media and Politics. The students are responsible for the research, production, and promotion of WingSpan, under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Brubaker. The first step for branding the television show included a naming contest throughout UNC Wilmington’s campus. Students were encouraged to submit possible names for the show, winning the contest and prizes. This contest raised awareness for WingSpan, and directly engaged one of the show’s publics – college students.
For the remainder of the ten-week show, the students are reaching out to different UNCW campus organizations, who pertain to the topic for that week. In the second episode, COM 351 contacted organizations such as The Plastic Ocean Project. They ensured students who are passionate about the environment- to tune in and watch the show that week. WingSpan recognizes the importance of discussing topics that resonate with the students at UNCW.
The group of PR and promotion students understand the significant need to have a presence on social media – further connecting and building relationships with the viewers. WingSpan students plan to continually push for the UNCW community to get involved through social media interaction, using the hashtag #WingSpan. Media’s role is to tell you what to think, not how to think. According to the Agenda Setting Theory, mass media has the ability to transfer the salience of issues on the news agenda to the public agenda. WingSpan recognizes the importance of remaining unbiased, and simply giving viewers the tools necessary to form their own opinions on political topics.
The twitter account raises political issues with its followers and encourages discussions, without a bias toward one opinion over another. As represented by the tweet, WingSpan is presenting the political issue of education. Wingspan encourages the community to think about and discuss the topic, by sharing data regarding the educational system. It is evident the students understand their roles and goals: to inform students and the community about political issues. COM 351 Media and Politics encourages students, faculty/staff, and the Wilmington community to think about political issues, not how to think about them.
In a city that has been a production hub for many years- it is an exciting opportunity for UNCW students to experience the other side of television, first hand. You can follow WingSpan on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and tune in on Fridays at Noon on www.uncwingspan.com, or Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm on TLN.
-Jonathan Callahan, Erin Fouhy, Julia George, Joseph Hines, and Sarah Suggs
Cucalorus is Wilmywood’s premiere quirky film festival, showcasing independent films from local, national and international artists. Film connoisseurs sporting chunky glasses, artsy students in their thrift-store best and less interesting folk like you and I file into Thalian Hall (or one of the many other venues), settle down and wait for the lights to dim. This November will be the 21st year this little slice of art and culture draws people to downtown Wilmington.
I could barely convince people to keep coming after my twelfth birthday party, so how does Cucalorus garner a big crowd each consecutive year? A cohesive brand narrative, that’s how. And Cucalorus’ brand narrative is nothing short of weird—but in the good way. Let’s explore what makes Cucalorus cool.
It’s in the copy
While none of these factors are ranked in any specific order of importance, I am a word person and always like to read and evaluate the voice of an organization. Many organizations forget about this, not capitalizing its subtle importance. Bad organizations.
Cucalorus, on the other hand, has got its copy down pat. The copy, whether it’s online, in print or broadcasted on the radio, is how an organization communicates not only its news or events, but its personality, its voice and its image. Here’s a snippet of copy from Cucalorus’ donation page on their website:
“Hey Cucalorians!!! Do you need to get rid of unwanted cash? Make a donation and we’ll send you a tax deduction letter to send your fuzzy little friends at the IRS (they don’t need your money and clearly don’t know what to do with it!!). We do know what to do with it – we’re already plotting and scheming for the 21st annual Cucalorus Film Festival – taking place November 11-15, 2015!!! Help us fund the dreams and visions of artists all over the world by making a donation today.
Dreaming of eggnog omelettes!
Cucalorius.
The Cucalorus Film Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit and your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.”
On first glance this might sound unprofessional and not the voice an organization would want to convey. The context, though, is important. Cucalorus’ audience is mostly the aforementioned artists, hipsters and independent film connoisseurs and Cucalorians. These types of people generally like funny, creative and quirky things (like Cucalorus). These types of people also tend to be skeptical of the IRS—not to mention the state cutting NC’s film incentive last year. So yes, it might be OK for Cucalorus to be a bit irreverent, and it’s their creative risk.
Digital presence, dude
If your business doesn’t have some sort of online presence (an email address counts), I would like you to write to me immediately by carrier pigeon and explain how you’re still surviving. An online presence is increasingly important each year, and now just having a website and Facebook isn’t cutting it. Brand cohesion across appropriate social media networks and inter-connectivity between them is vital.
Cucalorus not only has a website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram but their own blog and—drum roll—they are all updated. Bravo, Cucalorus. Content creation and audience engagement are essential to a successful IMC strategy.
Creepily consistent image
This one is tandem with the digital presence. IMC consists of advertising, public relations, marketing and every other single communication an organization can perform with its publics. Consistency in corporate communication allows the organization and its audiences to construct a narrative and image of the brand. This is what people can relate to. This is how we can see the quirkiness, irreverence and artsy personality of Cucalorus as if it were that weird kid in your English class who would always have some snappy reference to an obscure book even your professor hadn’t read. But less annoying.
The color scheme and design is consistent. The font-faces, graphics and little cartoon dudes are consistent. There’s well-organized navigation and that copy I was talking about earlier. The social media pages follow suit. There’s an article on this if you’re into academic papers. Basically, the author, Simon Torp from Odense University in Denmark, says that as an organization your communication through all channels must be consistent, accessible and in line with your self-image, public image and meta-image for people to take you seriously.
Zany staff workers
When I said all channels of communication, I meant all of them. Even the staff workers and volunteers need to be carefully selected and even briefed on an organization’s code of conduct. One time I went to a screening of a Cucalorus film at Thalian Hall and, not to get into too much detail, I, with the rest of the audience, was sternly asked by staff to partake in a ritual involving whipped cream, button pins and our tongues. Was I offended? No, but I could have been if I had been misguided by thinking Cucalorus was actually a convention for neo-Puritans. Because their self-branding and self-image don’t suggest that, I could expect something out of the ordinary. It’s the risk that Cucalorus takes to maintain its image and appeal to its target audience.
High-quality product
When it comes down to it, a business or organization is only as good as its product. Silly brand narrative and image aside, Cucalorus does a good job at what it does. It recruits and selects excellent film talent from around the world and showcases it in quality and entertaining venues. This is where word-of-mouth comes into play. Word-of-mouth marketing or WOM is an organic and invaluable means of public relations, advertising and marketing. Have you ever read a positive news story about an organization you love? Or has a good friend of yours recommended a product or service they favor? These are examples of WOM that can make or break an organization depending on whether they are in favor or against it. Maintaining the balance between brand narrative, professionalism and good business sense is how an organization thrives. While Cucalorus does an outstanding job of its own branding and controlled media, its reputation for quality and intrigue reign in filmmakers and spectators every year.
I am no way affiliated with the Cucalorus film festival professionally, nor do I represent it. I recognize good IMC in organizations and talk about it here. But, if you are tired of what the local theaters are playing, check out a showing of something interesting between November 11 and 15 downtown at Cucalorus.
For the past 30 years while the film industry was taking root in Wilmington, NC a brand was also growing. Wilmington became “Wilmywood.” With a well established tie to the film industry where does this brand identity go now that major productions like “Under The Dome” are heading farther south to Atlanta? Is Wilmington still “Hollywood East?” The NC Department of Revenue reported 10,500 film industry jobs in 2011. The UNCW Film Studies webpage promotes the department as a vital link to a “thriving film production center.” Students are often excited to see UNCW featured in these movies and shows, with hits like ‘The Conjuring’ and ‘One Tree Hill’ shooting scenes on campus. UNCW student Jackie L. says, “I took the opportunity to be an extra in Nicholas Sparks film at Dockside Bar & Restaurant because this was an easy way for me to break into the industry and help gain some exposure.” Incoming students, and industry professionals aren’t the only ones drawn to this exposure. Wilmington tourists are promised not only sandy beaches but film location walking tours from The North Carolina Travel and Tourism Board. It’s undeniable that Wilmington’s film industry has been at the forefront of establishing the city’s brand equity, attracting loyalty and awareness through the implications of its name branding “Hollywood East.” Will “Hollywood East” still be an accurate picture of the Wilmington brand?
When North Carolina cut film industry tax incentives in half in 2014, production companies moved productions but the studio they used is still here. EUE/Screen Gems Studio is the local film industry power player having provided an operational base for over 400 film and television productions since 1985, and the 50 acre soundstage is still in business. With the film industry starting to move out of Wilmington while a major studio complex remains this puts Wilmington and its brand in an interesting situation. Is it ethical to keep advertising Wilmington as “Hollywood East?” Or should Wilmington and the UNCW community take this opportunity to revisit their dominant selling point and establish a new standard for connecting the film industry with their brands?
The democratic ethical approach put emphasis on the habit of justice which calls for factual accuracy, and the habit of search which supports openness to new ideas. According to this, the city cannot market itself as Hollywood East, and let potential students and new residents believe that they will spot Robert Downey Jr. on the street or will sit down across from Jennifer Aniston Front Street Brewery. The reality is that the movie industry is largely moving out. We can still talk about the film that has happened in Wilmington and market that for all its worth, but we should be factual about the changes occurring.Wilmington and UNCW should open up to new branding possibilities and creating a new way to market themselves without needing to rely on “Hollywood East.”
We know that the film incentives have brought controversy among Wilmington citizens. What are your opinions on Wilmington’s next step should be?
-Aki Suzuki, Lexie Trimnal, Carey Shetterley, June Wilkinson, Carey Poniewaz
Film is a massive industry that grosses billions of dollar everywhere. Film is a living breathing entity that has a huge impact wherever it can find a home. For a long time film has been a staple of the Wilmington community. Despite being a tiny town in comparison to megacities like Charlotte and Raleigh, you can always find Wilmington pointed out in some way on a map of North Carolina. Film is just one of the things that we, as a city, do.
Famous shows like One Tree Hill and blockbuster movies like Iron Man 3 and The Conjuring have called at least one locale in Wilmington home. It’s hard to resist shooting here when we have such beautiful scenery, historic buildings and easily accessible sweeping landscapes. It also helped that until recently North Carolina provided excellent grants and incentives for filmmakers to use our natural beauty. Wilmington got it’s nickname “Hollywood of the East” because our scenery and incentives have attracted filmmakers to our area more than anywhere else. So, what’s going to happen with the recent decision to remove many film incentives from our budget? Well, before you answer that question you have to really look at how film affects the areas where it takes root. What better place to look than the most famous name in film?
A brief history of Hollywood: Hollywood started as a simple ranch outside of L.A. which slowly grew into a small town. Hollywood was annexed by LA in the early 1900s due to the fact that Hollywood was having an issue with its water supply and LA had a good aqueduct system in place. Hollywood really began to come into its own when filmmakers began to flee there because Thomas Edison’s Motion Picture Patents Company was imposing strict rules on independent filmmakers and often suing them to stop their production. These filmmakers accidentally stumbled on Hollywood after filming in nearby LA and after very successful shoots in the area they began to set up shop, the first studio being built in 1919. The Hollywood sign itself actually originally said Hollywoodland to advertise a new housing development. It fell into disrepair and the Chamber of Commerce commission a restoration, removing the last four letters and restoring the others. When TV sprang up in the 1950s, Hollywood was an obvious choice for studios and many of the existing studios there, like MGM and Warner Bros, decided to dip their hands into that industry as well. From then on, Hollywood has continued to be an icon of the American film industry, despite most studios moving on to other areas around LA. The only movie studio remaining in the actual Hollywood area today is Paramount Studios. (Source of all this history: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3871.html)
So, how did Hollywood become a synonym for American film? Well, the obvious answer is that filmmakers saw incredible opportunity in Hollywood and all decided to jump in the same boat. What we’re interested in is the way the image of Hollywood was created. Without film, Hollywood would just be another suburb in the barren country around LA. Somehow, through coordinated management of meaning, Hollywood because a famous place for famous people to create famous content. Let’s break it down based on the three prongs of the CMM theory. The first is coherence. In order for a message to be successful and meaning to be created, it must be coherent. In this case, Hollywood established itself as a haven for filmmakers early. While its discovery may have been a mistake originally, a clear message was sent by the town of Hollywood later: we are a place where you can come and film in peace. Next is coordination. Through the installation of the Walk of Fame in 1956, the creation of the Oscar in 1929, the building of five major theaters from five massive companies in the late 1920s and the restoration of the massive Hollywood sign in the 1940s, the town of Hollywood narrowed down its focus and decided what it wanted to be known for. The town sent out a message that being in Hollywood was rewarding for studios and actors alike. Hollywood really decided to take an engagement approach in its marketing by targeting its audience with incentives that it knew they would like. All that was left after that was to keep them there, and this is where the last prong, mystery, comes in. Before its surge in the 1920s, Hollywood was a massively untapped area, a veritable gold mine of beautiful scenery and largely untouched history. This led filmmakers to wonder else was in store. This may also be one of the reasons that Hollywood has lost steam and studios over the past few decades. The mystery is gone for studios as they know exactly what to expect from the area and viewers can expect to see much of the same scenery as the area is used over and over again. Maybe this is why film has expanded to so many other areas like Wilmington. Regardless, Hollywood did not become an icon through chance. After its discovery, the town made a coordinated effort to communicate the fact that it was a great place for film and incentivize filmmakers and actors alike for setting up shop there.
So what does this mean for Wilmington? Well, it means that the loss of our film incentives will cause a major problem. How can we bring studios here without communicating to them that we are a great place for film? How does the industry affect our image? What will Wilmington be if not the “Hollywood of the East”? I suppose you’ll have to come back tomorrow if you’d like to find out.
– Griffin Weidele, Austin Moody, Allen Wooten, Luci Keefer, Scott Uraro
With the start of fall comes much anticipated television network premieres. Major broadcasting networks debuted new series to compete with the established streaming community. Fox’s Minority Report, Scream Queens & Rosewood, ABC’s The Muppets, NBC’s Heroes Reborn, Blindspot & The Player, and CBS’ Limitless & Life in Pieces were expecting high ratings, but most did not meet expectations. The Muppets and Rosewood were the two exceptions.
Media Ecology theory is defined as the study of complex communication systems as environments, furthermore, how the medium in which the message is delivered is equally as — if not more — important as the message, itself. In this case, Netflix is taking advantage of its medium by being more convenient for the consumer. Viewers can stream content on multiple devices, anywhere, at anytime. According to Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, all TV will move online by 2030, proving true to the theory.
While Netflix is currently thriving, network TV still has an appeal to viewers. Families still watch TV together and the anticipation of a new episode each week brings viewers back; a few disadvantages of Netflix. Although streaming is convenient, some viewers appreciate the ability to follow a show together as a community. However, Hastings believes the transition to an online platform is “kind of like a horse – you know, the horse was good until we had the car.”
With networks still releasing shows next week, will they follow the current decline of network TV? As a viewer, do you prefer an online platform or network TV?
With beers like Belgian Triples, Indian Pale Ales, Oatmeal Stouts- one can get lost in the logistical nightmare of creating an individual brand. Dogfish Head and Flying Dog breweries created slogans, “off-centered ales for off-centered people since 1995” and “good people drink good beer”. Fortunately for local Lighthouse Beer and Wine, the hard part is no longer the beer, but bringing individuals together.
This year’s 14th Annual Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival will continue uniting breweries with beer-loving consumers- overlooking beautiful Downtown Wilmington. According to NC Beer Guys, more than 120 breweries will be present on October 24. The festival runs from 1pm-5pm, with the option to purchase VIP tickets, allowing for early entry. Paired with craft beer and wine, the event will host local food trucks and live music, featuring Greensboro natives, Holy Ghost Tent. The festival does not stop there! A portion of proceeds are donated to The Carousel Center, “a non-profit organization committed to assisting victims of child abuse, providing critical care services throughout Southeastern North Carolina”. The combined thirteen Beer and Wine Festivals, donated $150,000 to the cause.
Lighthouse takes to social media, outreaching to communities and consumers, past Wrightsville Beach. Promoting the 14th Annual Festival through the normal social media contenders:Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram– as well as a website. Each outlet allows Lighthouse to reach their consumer base and audience- with obvious overlap. The seamless flow from platform to platform, and from consumer to provider, bolsters the brand immensely. The identity that Lighthouse Beer and Wine has developed, is the result of careful social media management- and dedication to a specific brand image.
Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival has been at the top of every beer-lover’s fall to-do list for nearly a decade and a half, it has done a great job at remaining relevant with the new ways of integrated marketing. When one explores their social media accounts along with its website and blog, their identity is consistent and tailored to their audience. Lighthouse beer and Wine is very active on social media, especially so on their Instagram account. They share regular updates about:
New craft beers, wine, and sake
Information about the festival
Friendly reminders to purchase festival ticket(s).
Lighthouse promotes the festival within the store itself. It provides the opportunity to walk into the store, purchase a case of beer or bottle of wine and grab a ticket to the festival. How easy is that!
“The traditional marketing plan can do no more than give us a snapshot of a point in time. It doesn’t help us make the right decisions as we move forward in a complex and constantly changing marketplace” (Shiffman, 2008). The Engagement Theory discusses the importance of moving away from the traditional marketing approach, which only focused on profit of the business, and on toward the bigger picture: building the brand and engaging with your publics. As long as Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival continues to keep this outlook at the forefront of their marketing strategy, they will remain a trademark of fall in Wilmington!
Now that you have heard what we have to say, what do you think? Does Lighthouse Beer and Wine reach their fullest potential with their approach to social media and customer interactions? Or does it leave something to be desired?
-Jonathan Callahan, Erin Fouhy, Julia George, Joseph Hines, and Sarah Suggs
IMC Hawks Blog 