IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Communication Studies

  • Going Green, Brings Green

    Brands can promote themselves through almost any medium nowadays. Pens, stickers, posters, billboards, you name it, you can put your brand on it. Planet Earth Promotions is a company that is designed to help brands promote themselves in an eco-friendly way. There is constantly increasing awareness about environmental protection and a greater consciousness about how important it is to protect these environmental and natural resources. Planet Earth Promotions is leading the way for this “EcoSmart” promotional item trend.

    Planet Earth Promotions’ mission statement indicates that their “goal is to help companies and corporations around the nation proactively enhance their brand through the use of environmentally conscious and educational promotional items”. They have certainly delivered in this respect. This company has been ranked #1 in promotional advertising for the past ten consecutive years. Not only are they paving the way for other companies, they have become a greatly successful brand that is little to no impact on the environment. Planet Earth Promotions has built a successful brand on a trend that is becoming increasingly important as time goes on. This brand is very strong considering they have remained at the top of the list from Arizona Magazine for the last ten years and they are here to help other brands.

    They are able to offer many alternatives for companies to help cut back on environmental damage by providing recycled goods, information about recycling and environmental days in the USA and tips to bring pollution down. With so many companies shifting focus to being the “EcoSmart” companies and LEED (Low-energy electron diffraction) certified, it is a challenge to stay on top. Planet Earth Promotions has paired up with other environment-friendly companies such as AWEA (American Wind Energy Association) and Women’s Business Enterprise to built a very powerful and successful brand and continue to pave the way for other companies looking to create environment-friendly products and solutions for all varieties of businesses.

    – Julius Roberts, Leanna Marshall, Leslie Tyler and Bryce Koonts

  • Just Calling to Say “Happy Earth Day!”

    LG and Sprint have made celebrating Earth Day a little easier this year with the release of their new mobile phone with eco-friendly features.  The LG Optimus Elite will be available through the Sprint 3G Network on Sunday, April 22 through sprint.com and will be Sprint retail stores on May 18.

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     The LG Optimus Elite is the third eco-friendly device launched by Sprint and LG this year.  The company released their first environmentally device in 2010 and continued with the release of two other cell phones earlier this year.  Sprint’s Vice President of Production Development, David Owens, released a statement saying “As a leader in environmental responsibility and sustainability, Sprint continues to expand its portfolio of eco-friendly devices and services by providing consumers with strong device choices,” while continuing to call the LG Optimus Elite “a dynamic and affordable green option for customers who want to go green without sacrificing the latest features”.  The company is thrilled that the release of this phone is happening on Earth Day, which reaffirms the company’s move for sustainability.

     The LG Optimus Elite is sleek and stylish while still exhibiting eco-friendly attributes.  This new cellphone even has UL Environment Platinum Certification, which is the highest level of

    environmental performance recognized by sustainable requirements.  The certification is established by UL Environment and Sprint.  The phone is protected by a casing made of fifty percent recycled plastics, is RoHS compliant, meaning it is free of any hazardous material, and includes a charger that exceeds the EC Code of Conduct on energy efficiency and only consumes 0.03 watts of power when plugged into a wall socket without being connected to the phone.

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    Even the packaging to this phone is eco-friendly: the box is made from fully recycling packaging, printed with soy inks, and contains over 85% post consumer paper.

    Sprint is a corporate leader in sustainability and is ranked the third in Newsweek’s 2011 greenest companies.  The company is committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, committed to renewable energy, and encourages cell phone recycling.  In addition, Sprint’s policies and practices showcase their strong efforts in being eco-friendly.

    So how should you celebrate Earth Day this year?  By buying the brand new, eco-friendly LG Optimus Elite!

    -Christina Stevenson, Mollie Berthold, Dorothy Conley, & Laura Simmons

  • Live Blogging at UNCW COM Studies Day!

    #COMstudiesday – Click here to see what people are saying about COM Studies Day on Twitter!

    Join in the action of COM Studies day and participate in our live blogging event coverage! Our first event is a panel of 5 alumni. Panel 1 starts at 10am and ends at 11am in LH 125 (TV Studio). Hope to see you there!

    Morning Panel Features
    Al Inman– News Photographer, News 14 Carolina, graduated May 2008
    Jessie Warren Langley– Career Counselor, East Carolina University, graduated May 2003
    Sean McBride– Public Affairs Specialist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Charlotte District), graduated May 2009
    Cliff Pyron– General Assignment Reporter, WWAY-TV3, graduated May 2009
    Chris Rea– President/CEO, Top Tier Computer Services, graduated December 1999

    Click Here to view the transcript of Panel 1!

    Click Here to view the transcript of Panel 2!

    COM Studies Day Events:

    10:00-11:00am Panel presentation of 5 alumni in LH 125 (TV studio)

    11:00-11:30am Networking session for afternoon panelists in LH lobby12:15-1:30pmLunch and Fashion Show coordinated by CSS in the Warwick Center Ballroom 2:00-3:00pm Panel presentation of 5 alumni in LH 125 (TV studio)3:00-3:30pm Networking session for afternoon panelists in LH lobby

    4:00pm Reception and Social Gathering for panelists, guests, faculty and COM students at Fox and Hound

    Light appetizers provided by Fox and Hound & the Department of Communication Studies

    Find out more about UNCW’s COM Studies Department at our website!

  • Learn about Communication Studies at COM Studies Day

    When Communication Studies majors share their idea with others they are often met with a variety of  questions. These questions often range from “what is Communication Studies” to “what on earth are you going to do with that?!,” and can leave the student wondering just why exactly did they pick this major in the first place. Fortunately the UNCW Communication Studies department is hosting its annual Communication Studies Day this Friday and will answer many of these questions.

    The Communication Studies Day  will have panel presentations of UNCW graduates from the major discussing their careers and experiences since college. Students will be able to hear from individuals who are currently doing things with their Communication Studies degree that they are considering doing after graduating, such as marketing, graduate school, broadcasting, and public relations. Many of the panelists graduated recently and will be able to relate to the students attending the presentations as they only recently were in the same point of approaching graduation and having to decide what they wanted to do and how to go about it. There will also be networking sessions for students to speak with faculty, friends and alumni. Another aspect of Communication Studies Day is the Dress for Success fashion show, in which attendants will get to see outfits of business casual and business professional attire. Attire is an important component of a professional image and many students are unsure about how they are expected to dress for a successful career.

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    Communication Studies Day is not just an event that is simply put on by faculty and that students can show up to if they want to. The event is being  coordinated and marketed by UNCW Communication Studies students. Dr. Persuit’s IMC II class will be tweeting, posting photos, and sharing information about the event as it is occurring on this blog. Individuals can learn more about the event by following #DressForSuccess2012 and #COMStudiesDay on twitter.

    ~Molly Jacques, Josh Vester, Ashley Oliver and Hunter Wilson

  • What’s Your Unique Brand Style?

    UNCW’s Communication Studies Day includes an informative Dress for Success Fashion show for college students of all ages and levels. The fashion show will also include skits demonstrating the importance of an elevator speech, professional attire, portfolios, and how necessary it is to be prepared for interviews. This year the theme, “Will You Make the Cut?” is based upon the Food Network show “Chopped.”

    One idea about IMC manifested in this fashion show is that company image and brand management is very vital for growth and success. Individuals, as well as companies, have always had their own image and have to manage their own brand. It is sometimes hard for college students to transition from a student image that they have had for the past 13 years to a business professional image. The great part about the fashion show is that it shows students how to transition from their current image and brand to something more professional.

    Whether people realize it or not, we are branding ourselves every day through the types of clothes we choose to wear in professional or unprofessional settings. Your unique brand style can be a description of who you are in a job interview setting. It is very important to make interpersonal connections with job interviewers through your developed style and authenticity that will make you stand out from others. Branding yourself when looking for a job is very similar to branding a product. Basically, you are selling yourself as a product to your potential employer with the goal of standing out amongst the rest. Are you casual business, formal business, chick, trendy, preppy, classic, or a hybrid of several?

    By: Laura Simmons, Mollie Berthold, Dorothy Conley, Christina Stevenson

  • Where to go, Where to go.

    I’d like to tell you a story about “My Friend”. My friend is a senior enrolled at UNC-Wilmington, and though he is very low on funds, he really wanted to enjoy his final spring break. After some consideration, he decided to make the short drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with his girlfriend where they could live it up like true college students. After my friend returned from his 4 day trip he took a few moments to relive his getaway and came to an abrupt realization. When he was in Myrtle Beach, his schedule consisted of very few things that couldn’t have been done right here in Wilmington. He got up at the break of noon, spent the afternoons lounging on the beach, the evenings relaxing at the local eatery and the nights chilling at the local pub. So if all of these things could have been accomplished in Wilmington, why didn’t my friend just stay in Wilmington? More importantly, why don’t other college students from all around flock to Wilmington to celebrate their time off?

    After some consideration and a little observation, I think I have discovered the answers to these questions: college students don’t come party in Wilmington because Wilmington doesn’t want them to come party here. Wilmington, and more specifically Wrightsville Beach, consists of well-developed (expensive) beach houses and family friendly entertainment offerings. If flocks of college students flocked here every spring then Wilmington could potentially become a less desirable location to bring your family or spend your retirement. It almost comes to a point where a city that is blessed with the kinds of attributes that make it a destination must choose what segment of the population they want to be a destination for. Though the marketing of geographic locations is often not as aggressive as that of traditional businesses, it can be an important decision in the life of a city.

  • Surfing Your Way to Success

    Entrepreneurs, as well as many other companies, rely on Integrated Marketing Communication to get the word of their business out to the public with multiple methods. A fellow UNCW Senior in the Communication Studies department, James Connolley, has been an entrepreneur using IMC to promote his business, JC Surf Camp. James has been teaching people of all ages how to surf for 8 years and has been an entrepreneur, owning JC Surf Camp for 6 years. His decision to start his own surf camp business started with a conversation with his high school bible study leader. James has a love for surfing, kids, and Jesus and decided the best way to combine all the things he loves into his surf camp. He likes to share his message through his surf camp by the quality and professionalism in his every day work.

    When the surf camp started in 2006, the only way James was communicating with his publics was by posting fliers in the storefront of a local surf shop. His business quickly started to grow and in 2007, James decided he wanted to market his business to a broader audience. He paid someone to build his own website and just recently added new content and features. James uses many other ways to communicate to his public by using mass emails, direct mailing, brochures, website, and social media. The best marketing overall with JC Surf Camp is word of mouth advertising and partnerships with other local camps in Wilmington. More recently, James was able to advertise his business through the local news station WECT.

    Link to WECT Live bit on JC Surf Camp

    The JC Surf Camp team considers surfing one of the greatest blessings in life and goes to great lengths to ensure others see it the same way. Each instructor at JC Surf Camp has gone through an extensive SurfInstruct Training Program before becoming a surf instructor. This program was developed to ensure every instructor knows ocean safety, surf safety, CPR and First Aid certified, and knowledge of different teaching methods for all levels, such as, kids, teens, groups, or private lessons. Another way James and his team ensure safety is by providing UV protected rash guards and soft-top surfboards. Safety is very important to all the JC Surf Camp instructors to make sure they are providing a safe learning environment. James stated it perfectly when he said if people feel safe, they are able to have fun. This is one of the messages James tries to communicate to retain and maintain customers.

    Many times entrepreneurs start from the ground up and have to take what they have and make the most of it. Since James is in the communication studies department at UNCW, he has been able to take the knowledge learned in communication classes and IMC classes and implement that in his business. James, as a student and entrepreneur, thinks of entrepreneurship as an adventure and has far exceeded what many entrepreneurs his age are capable of.

    Learn how to surf today!

    By: Laura Simmons, Dorothy Conley, Christina Stevenson, Mollie Berthold