IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Campaign

  • Falling in Love with Pumpkin Spice Lattes

    psl-starbucks.0.0Pumpkin is the flavor of fall. Products that offer limited edition seasonal pumpkin flavors and scents include pumpkin beer, pumpkin M&Ms, pumpkin spice marshmallows, pumpkin candles, pumpkin scented shampoo… and according to testers at the TODAY Show pumpkin spice Oreo’s are “especially tasty”.

    But no one does it better than Starbucks and the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

    Pumpkin Spice Lattes first appeared on the Starbucks menu in the fall of 2004. This is the beverage that kicks off their holiday seasonal drinks, even though it comes out in late August. The creamy pumpkin pie sensation mixed with a subdued coffee flavor created a taste that consumers immediately latched on to. One sip can bring you down memory lane, sharing an evening with your family, exchanging laughs and stuffing your bellies.

    Along with scarves and sweaters, sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte has become a new fall accessory. The drink option reminded loyal customers why Starbucks was their brand of choice and offered incentive for potential new customers to engage in their products.

    Seattlemet.com states that in October 2004, just one month after releasing the Pumpkin Spice Latte,  Starbucks noted an 11 percent spike in their company sales compared to the previous year. It was official…the brand had struck orange.

    In 2013, forbes.com reported that Starbucks has sold over 200 million pumpkin spice lattes and generated a revenue of over 80 million dollars.

    But popularity has a price. The seasonal drink got so popular that it seemed to reach a tipping point. Last year in 2014, some consumers were losing their sense of identity from feeling too conformed by the Starbucks pumpkin spice fad. Customers became critical of the product and and found some weak spots to pick on. The beverage’s ingredients did not actually include pumpkin and did include caramel coloring. These two things were enough to start an anti-PSL movement. This movement grew to such a size that Starbucks revisited its IMC plan.

    tumblr_nu0dm5sSD81tg0kfio1_500After 11 years with the same successful recipe, Starbucks reformulated to accommodate disgruntled customers. In addition to adding real pumpkin, the company devoted a large IMC effort towards branding this product. They have created a tumblr, an instagram, a twitter, and an entire brand identity just for one drink. The real Pumpkin Spice Latte now takes selfies and interacts with its audiences. Starbucks Efforts include having its own trending hashtag (#PSL), offering an iced version for warmer weather, and even a password that allows people to buy the drink earlier than it is official release date.

    Will Starbucks be able to revive the pumpkin spice latte trend once again? Or will the PLS critics find some other problem to cling to?

    Love Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Use the #PSL on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook to gush about your love for this hot beverage. Or leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!
    Watch Starbucks 2015 Campaign here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=112&v=la-h1sE3igs

    -Aki Suzuki, Lexie Trimnal, Carey Shetterley, June Wilkinson, Carey Poniewaz

  • The Super Bowl will never be the same

    The Super Bowl draws in more than 100 million viewers each year from around the world. Some watch for the game but many of these viewers only watch for the debut commercials. Companies spend upward of 4 million dollars for one 30-second spot during the four-hour broadcast.

    Although we will still see the classic Budweiser and Coke commercials, Doritos will be ending a 10 year tradition. Since 2006, Doritos has run their “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign, which allows consumers to submit a 30-second ad that could be aired during the Super Bowl. This has generated some of the top Super Bowl commercials of the last decade.

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    After 9 years, 8 installments, 32,000 entries and 7 million dollars in prizes Doritos is abandoning the project because of risks involved. The company feels the contest would no longer be profitable because of increasing prices for ad space.

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    On one side, Doritos now has the reins of their Super Bowl ads; however, ending the contest could upset participants and viewers that have followed the campaign. While we still have the 2016 “Crash the Super Bowl” ad, it remains to be seen how Doritos will position themselves for Super Bowl LI.

    Do you think Doritos’ decision to end the campaign will impact them positively or negatively?

    -Nick, Melanie, Mary & Patrick

  • Students Help Students Travel

    Ready to experience the world with exclusive travel discounts and rewards without breaking your college fund? Well we found just the website to make this process and your travels go much smoother. StudentUniverse is a technology company that offers these incentives and many more through their website. The best part? Membership is free! StudentUniverse is the leading student travel agency with almost one-third of all U.S. college students visiting the site every year. The website and blog offered by this company are operated by college students themselves. This team of students creates and spreads the latest trends so you know the destinations chosen are the “hottest” vacation spots this year.

    This travel agency also coordinates campaigns to engage students with brands and destinations, gaining their attention and swaying purchase decisions. StudentUniverse sells exclusive airfares from over 60 airline partners as well as sale rates on hotels and tours all throughout the world. The company also writes a blog, likewise conducted by students, which discuss the latest and greatest deals. They offer apps that you can download that release discounts on hotels, tours and more. The blog posts also offer information and tips about the youth travel market and how this industry is growing. Airline deals are also displayed in the blog along with the benefits for international students. StudetUniverse also gives away free round trip flights to a maximum number of students and scholarships to study abroad.

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    StudentUniverse recently introduced WeHostels, which is a new application for any smart phone that allows users to book hotels or hostels last-minute all over the world. It also features over 200,000 properties listed within the app. The target audience of this app is for students and young budget-conscious travelers between the ages of 18 and 28. WeHostels is currently  one of the most downloaded apps across the globe. It has been called one of the “100 Brilliant Companies of the Year” by Entrepreneur Magazine.

    One of the main components of WeHostel’s said brilliance is the emotional appeal of its campaign. Their campaign focuses on the destinations that people would like to travel to before death. This idea heavily utilizes pathos and pulls as the heart-strings of the target audience. WeHostels encourages people to deeply think about where they would love to travel most to before they die by using the hashtag “beforeidie” on Twitter. In turn of promoting the app via hashtag usage, WeHostels has made the promise to send a few lucky travelers on their dream bucket list journey. This is a prize that is sure to be coveted by inspired young travelers.

    In addition to promoting #beforeidie on Twitter, WeHostel has also created a video to display their mission of empowering young travelers. The video shows different individuals on the street saying where exactly in the world they would like to go before they die. Once again, pathos is strategically incorporated into this advertisement by providing young dreamers with a sense of empowerment.  In the end of the short video, WeHostels encourages audience members to go to their website to take the next step in making their dreams come true.

    The promotions and ideas that StudentUniverse provide are endless and the information is very beneficial for the average college student. StudentUniverse’s mission states, “It’s about getting the most out of your time in school. We believe in the positive effects that travel experiences can have on a person’s character and that having those experiences early on in life is critical in personal development”. They are a dedicated company who value the experience to travel and attempt to make the process a little easier. The company even offers a 24/7 customer support line for any comments, questions, or concerns at your convenience! Do you think that their use of pathos was effective in the overall advertisement of the app?

    -Briana McWhirter, Hannah Turner, Emily Foulke

  • “How REAL Will American Idol Get This Season?”

    It’s that time of year again! All our favorite shows are returning, after a seemingly long-awaited hiatus. The longest running singing competition, American Idol, has returned for its thirteenth season. But this season, Idol has been forced to change things up. The show is taking on a fresh, new approach to increase the amount of viewers by revamping their marketing schemes.

    In previous seasons, the show directed promotions towards the judges, featured cities, and upcoming drama. The initial aspirations of the show to seek out raw talent has slipped within the past seasons and in return, turned away viewers. At the shows peak, American Idol attracted 30.4 million viewers in season eight. Since then, viewer ratings have only decreased and reached an all time low with 14.3 million viewers for season twelve. As a result, Fox has decided to rebrand the show by bringing in a new team of producers, less drama-filled judges, and a more heartwarming advertising campaign.

    Within the past seasons, focuses of promoting the show featured drama among the judging panel rather than the actual talent of the contestants. Producers recently have realized the show has drifted away from the heart and original purpose of the show–discovering real people with real talent around the country. In an effort to rebrand their image, season thirteen marketers began focusing on the background stories of the contestants in hopes to return Idol to its initial purpose.
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    American Idol

    One component of the new advertising campaign features eight contestants in their hometowns sharing their personal motivations as to why they sing. Producers felt this new type of advertisement would help viewers identify with the stories and be able to relate to the contestants. Viewers are invited to participate in the hopeful journey of the “average Joe’s” transformation into a superstar.

    American Idol’s new video promotion of the upcoming season also focuses on introducing new contestants and excluding any drama or glamour of the judges (hallelujah). In addition to highlighting real contestants, marketers have incorporated social media by producing a new tag line for the show, #ThisIsReal, to encourage audience conversations on Twitter. Producers hope that the incorporation of social media marketing will increase the show’s ratings and reputation. The advertising of real people and their real aspirations are designed to appeal to a variety of audiences on social media platforms, especially the younger demographics.

    By incorporating a variety of platforms such as television, print and social media, American Idol hopes to attract a wide array of audiences through this new and improved IMC campaign. Do you think this new campaign will be effective in increasing and engaging audiences? Or will American Idol continue its downward spiral?

    -Briana McWhirter, Emily Foulke, Hannah Turner

  • How Kotex Got Almost 700,000 Impressions with their Pinterest Campaign

    In the past few years, Pinterest has been the protagonist of a real-life international explosion, a phenomenon with incredible numbers constantly growing worldwide. The steady growth of their users, combined with the social media’s careful attention to what is now clearly a new platform of communication, has led many brands to explore and take advantage of this viral sensation. Kotex, a famous feminine hygiene brand owned by Kimberly-Clark, partnered with the lesser-known (at least until now) Israeli social media agency Smoyz, for the first Pinterest-based campaign that finds expression in the initiative “Women’s Inspiration Day.” The creative talents of Smoyz searched and analyzed thousands of boards of women who eagerly use the social media site, until they finally selected 50, the muses who would then become the medium itself for the campaign.

    Once the “muses” were selected, they analyzed all of their boards on the website trying to find out what inspires them, after which the brand created individually personalized gift packages with the products they wanted decorating them with different styles that would capture each one’s attention. The 50 users selected to receive the packages did not have to do anything but re-pin Kotex’s original invite. How did this tactical advertising strategy go? Well, the numbers speak for themselves: 50 sent packages, 2284 interactions and almost 695 thousand impressions.

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    This marketing experiment was a huge success, a buzz that then involved several other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the amount of traffic generated to the brand’s websites. Both Kotex and Smoyz did a great job at carefully taking advantage of Pinterest’s peculiarities, such as females’ natural predilection for this specific social media, which holds about 68% of female users. Their careful demographic analysis combined with the use of the website for the production of gifts that were “tailored” around the user was refreshing and original.

    For quite some time now, Kotex has been conducting strong content advertising strategies, starting from their very own official site, which is home to a fairly populated online community. In fact the brand has already hosted several successful initiatives such as the campaign “Stand Up for What’s Real.” The campaign is primarily targeted at young women between the ages of 14 and 24 and it is aimed at helping women to talk about a subject that is usually viewed as taboo. Overall, this campaign certainly opens an interesting new chapter when it comes to online marketing by once again demonstrating how the dynamics of communication, thanks to the new media, are increasingly moving towards a more “tailor-made” approach.

     

    – Sasha De Vecchi

  • The Importance of Social Media in the 2012 Election

    More and more are the variety of social media through which voters are able to use.  These are convenient and simple tools that are effective ways to express the opinions of voters and influence the course of the electoral campaign. The role that social media has been critical in drawing conclusions about the outcome of the 2012 election. According to various studies, websites like Facebook have caused an increase in voter registration. Ultimately, social media networks are the powerful influencers that are often capable of moving large quantities of votes. It is important to recognize that an electoral campaign that is closer and pays closer attention to real human dynamics has a completely different approach than the traditional campaign. Nowadays, an effective campaign should be based less on the money spent and more on the intelligent use of new technologies to create new bonds with the everyday voter.Ultimately, the roles of social networks, new media as well as the weight of the establishment are all factors that will have a crucial role in deciding the electoral dispute.

    As previously stated, social media has encouraged many young eligible voters to register and vote. For many of the past elections, the young demographic is not properly represented in voting. This year, there are record numbers for college aged students voting.  Much of this can be attributed to social media outlets.  Young people in general use social media more than any other demographic (to date). Also, social media websites such as twitter allow you to follow each candidate and get quick, short, and frequent updates on what they plan to make their policy be if they are to be elected. This is only the second election that we are able to follow Candidates directly on Twitter since it did not exist prior to 2006. Also, Twitter has gained a substantial amount of users since the 2008 election. On Twitter, there are trending topics, and subjects regarding the recent presidential election have been trending at record numbers. Social Media allows people to get quick and easy access to information about the election.

    Both presidential candidates devoted much time and effort to boost the collection of information and social media sharing amongst voters. In the current election, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have predominately utilized Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, which are the top powerhouse tools of social media today. As the election progresses, candidates have concentrated their efforts on “swing voters”. Swing voters are voters who have yet to make up their minds and plan to wait till the very last minute to make a decision about who to vote for. Social media can establish a medium for interchange between our presidential candidates and many of these swing voters, avoiding an influence on votes that have already been established.  This reveals the importance of social media and web video usage in terms of voting. Not only can social media institute this medium that allows a campaign to be specifically modified for particular voters, but it provides value for each candidate, resulting into fewer costs for ads. The cost of advertising through social media is much less than the cost of paying T.V. channels to run advertisements; not to mention the impact of online ads have been reported as just as good or perhaps even better than the ones shows on television. All political parties in the current election have greatly benefited from these recent online updates and social media enhancements.

    –Sasha De Vecchi, Lindsay Gallagher, Jay Reilly, Cary Welborn

  • A Good Slogan Can Go a Long Way

    A key ingredient to any election is marketing and campaigning, and election campaigns are in a league of their own. From an IMC point of view, candidates are just another brand.  The goal of the campaign is to inform and persuade voters to vote for them.  And although there are many different marketing methods and tools that are used in a presidential campaign, there is one strategy that seems to never leave a voter’s mind:  a slogan.

    Slogans are created to summarize the candidate’s purpose and goals in a few words.  Selecting the best campaign slogan is a pretty significant factor. This phenomenon does not only apply to political campaigns, but to any marketing campaign. Slogans should typically be short, effective, and to the point. If the slogan is effective, the public will be able to know what brand, or candidate, is associated with it. Examples of effective slogans include “Just Do It,” “Where’s the Beef?,” and “Got Milk?,” just to name a few, and of course there is our most recent example of Obama’s “Change” campaign.

    So what are some ground rules that one must consider before deciding on a slogan specifically for an election candidate? For one, it has to be relevant to what the candidate truly stands for. An example of this is the slogan for Mike Huckabee that states, “Faith. Family. Freedom.”What seems to be an equally important factor is to match the slogan with the current times. This means that the slogan should not just address what is important to you as a candidate, but what is important to the citizens at the time of the election. There seems to be no greater example of this than the slogan Ronald Reagan used in 1980 that read, “Let’s Make America Great Again.”

    Slogans may be short, but they are powerful and meant to represent the brand and what it stands for. When considering everything that goes into preparing a political campaign, something as small as a slogan may not seem very important, but selecting the right one is just another way to take advantage of improving your brand awareness and recognition.

    An Oldie But Goodie: Here’s one of our favorite examples of a slogan! It may seem silly, but you’ll probably find yourself humming the tune after you hear it.  Would a song like this have swayed your decision in the election?

    -Claire Dillard & Liz LaPuasa