Tag: Brand coherence

Communication Studies At Work

October 6, 2015

College students are told time and time again just how important it is to have an internship while in college. UNCW student Aki Suzuki, a senior Communication Studies major, offered to speak with us about her Marketing internship at Live Oak Bank, a Small Business Association lender  here in Wilmington, NC.

liveoakbankInterviewer: What are your daily tasks?

Aki: Videography: Helping set up shoots with lighting and camera equipment, taking photos, organizing footage, editing photos and videos, and creating simple title graphics.

Interviewer: What do you want to gain from this experience?

Aki: I hope to gain professional videography skills and the ability to thrive and adapt to an adult work environment. Finally I hope to gain the knowledge to competently function as part of an organization/ corporations marketing team to enhance a brand and use my creative resources to continue advancing it.

Interviewer:  What coursework is relevant to your internship?

Aki: As I am interning in the marketing department and helping create promotional materials for Live Oak, the IMC related classes are relevant to my experience. Integrated Marketing theories, as well as course projects and discussions have prepared me to understand how the bank approaches attracting borrowers to each of its verticals. The videography department is responsible for video and photography related products. Videography centered courses like COM 380 have also been instrumental to my understanding of cameras, the elements of lighting and also editing techniques.

Internships are an excellent way for students to engage in applied learning but also a way to get their brand out into the real world. Aki has learned the importance of a consistent brand identity, especially when looking for jobs and internships. Aki demonstrated this during our interview.

akisuzuki_000Interviewer: What can you offer to Live Oak Bank?

Aki: I can offer Live Oak Bank a willing and open mind. Although I do not possess any outstanding skills, as a young and determined student I am engaged in learning and committed to contributing in any way that I can. My youth allows me to maintain a fresh perspective and enthusiastic attitude for any opportunities they allow me.

Interviewer: How does your brand as a Communication Studies major compare with other interns at Live Oak?

Aki: I find that I fit well into my niche in the marketing department because Communication Studies deals overwhelmingly with how to effectively incorporate messages being sent  through various channels which is precisely what any company’s marketing department hopes to cover.  I do find myself at a slight disadvantage when it comes to understanding the financial ins and outs of the bank; but like any communication studies major I am well versed in being an assertive researcher and curious verbal investigator to understand anything I do not immediately understand.

Aside from some unnecessary modesty, Aki has aligned the stories she communicates about herself, the way she sees herself and reality so closely that there are minimal discrepancies. If you have the opportunity to work with Aki, you would find this statement proves true. Branding is not just for businesses anymore. Every communication you put out into the world will contribute to your personal brand and when your band is as consistent as Aki’s it becomes a holophrasm, expressing your brand in a single nucleus. Aki has achieved such a level of brand coherence that her name now acts as a holophrasm.

What strategies do you use when defining your personal brand?

What are some examples you can share about personal brand coherence?

– Alexis Trimnal, Carey Shetterley, June Wilkinson, and Carey Poniewaz

-Interviewee: Aki Suzuki

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

April 23, 2014

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.

LincolnThumb_1398177154

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