IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Communication

  • When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Get Going

    Although the economy is looking brighter than it has been in recent years, the marketing world is still facing two major problems: people are still feeling the effects of lay offs and are not quite in the position to spend money frivolously and companies are also feeling the wrath of the economy and don’t have the money to spend on expensive and elaborate ad campaigns. So what are they doing in order to get their message out? An age old trick in the marketing books and what most of us in IMC like to call, guerrilla marketing.
    It is more important than ever for companies to make their brand stand out and to develop loyal consumers who are actually able to come in contact with the brand. Guerrilla marketing provides both local and national companies that opportunity and gives them the chance to break though all the clutter and noise of traditional marketing.
    We all are familiar with the game Clue, right? Well take a look at how they are using guerrilla marketing to remind all of us of a favorite childhood game.

    And Clue isn’t the only one hopping on this train. Many companies and non-profit organizations are increasing their guerrilla marketing strategies in order to save money and gain direct contact with their consumers. What this innovative strategy and the downing economy have in common is that it’s forcing a lot of us to do something we haven’t done since elementary school: think outside of the box.

    -Alaethea Hensley, Jessica Kingman, and Lauren Phelps

  • Branded Nation

    James Twitchell explains in Branded Nation that “a brand becomes not just what we think about an object, but how we think about it.” Branding has become so successful that even institutions we would not think of have fallen into the branded nation.

    In Branded Nation, Twitchell goes deep into the institutions of religion, higher education, and art in our society. Twitchell compares megachurches to shopping malls and how museums have turned into an institution that will do anything such as motorcycle exhibits and have restaurants to increase revenue.

    The most intriguing section in Branded Nation is when Twitchell talks about university and college branding. As students studying in a university, Twitchell makes an important point. Colleges and Universities have accepted branding ever since they have become more alike. It is now a competition and The U.S. News & World Report proves it. Twitchell uses the example of Harvard and how it is all about who has “the best students, the most money, and the deepest faith in the brand.”

    Interestingly enough, Twitchell doesn’t find branding bad. Knowledge and belief will spread if we all become aware of branding and that in it’s self will create a community along with social capital. Branding Nation is a perfect example of why things work the way they do and with Twitchell’s example’s we see how effective/ineffective brands really are.

    -Micaela Fouhy, Brie Golden, Will Cosden, Lindsey Baggett, Andrew Mayer

  • Public Relations Specialist: A Top Job for 2011

    According to the U.S.News and World Report, one of the 50 best careers for 2011 is a Public Relations Specialist. One definition for Public Relations given by the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) is that “PR helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”PR specialists are hired to create a relationship with the public and to hopefully generate success.

    U.S. News and World Report stated that between 2008-2018, the employment of public relations specialist is intended to rise 24 percent. That 24 percent increase is appealing for us future PR specialists, especially in this current economic climate.

    So, what does it take to become a PR specialist?

    First off, most PR specialists have a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies, Journalism, Public Relations, or Business. In any field, it is important to get experience. Internships, especially in PR, are important to build your résumé because that is what projects yourself to potential employers. You must be able to think fast and accurately, have stress control, and be confident in what you do. In all communication fields, having good writing skills is obviously a necessity along with strong communication.

    In the previous post, Katelyn Truss talked about how important it is to create a brand for ourselves. Knowing your brand allows you to be more appealing to employers and eventually, your specific brand could attract customers for the business. It is appealing to employers when the person they are thinking about hiring is proud of what they’ve accomplished and has a positive outlook about the person they’ve become.

    Gary McCormick, CEO, of PRSA gives some advice for future PR Specialists in U.S. News’ article for “Top 50 Jobs of 2011”. He explains that getting a job in PR comes down to networking and that, “it’s really the cornerstone for what we do for clients and companies all the time.”

    Integrated Marketing Communication programs use public relations to advertise, market, influence, promote, build relationships with the customer, communicate new products, defend products, build excitement over a product, and so much more.

    Check out this video from PRSA: “The Value of Public Relations.”

    -Micaela Fouhy

  • [Black & Yellow] VS. [Green & Yellow]

    Thanks to the infamous song “Black and Yellow” by notorious rap artist Wiz Khalifa, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves with a bit of a theme song going into their seventh super bowl appearance this weekend. Khalifa is a Pittsburgh native who wrote the song to represent the main colors of the sports teams of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This interesting method of branding the city of Pittsburgh through the city’s athletic team’s main colors has brought a lot of attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers now that they are playing in the Super Bowl once more.

    Branding has been a driving force within the confines of IMC since the mid 1980’s when competition among products began to drastically increase. Without branding, a car is just a car, a school is just a school, and a football team is just a football team. There is no room for differentiation and no reason for a consumer to choose one over the other.  Each individual brand demands the support of loyal customers, and in this case, fans. Placing such emphasis on the color of the teams creates a more recognizable brand. Just upon hearing the words “black and yellow” fans feel a sense of ownership and camaraderie.

    Just to stimulate things even more, their opponent’s main colors are Green & Yellow. The Green Bay Packers are just as historic, prolific, and nationally recognized as the Steelers and naturally one could anticipate that it would only be a matter of time before imitations and remixes of the song “Black and Yellow” would be replaced with “Green and Yellow.” Sure enough, one of the most famous remixes has been done by two young men known as Pizzle and Prophetic titled “Green and Yellow” (See video below). The video already has garnered over 200,000 views on YouTube in just its second week. As this intense and historic competition between the two cities escalates, sides will be chosen with the question, “Black & Yellow or Green & Yellow?”

    -Katie Eagle, Deji Adeleke, Anna Kate Babnik, Tiffany Evans, and Carissa Niederkorn

  • We Wish You a Merry Chaos

    The holiday season is one of the most crucial times for the world of commerce. During the last quarter of the year the majority of businesses finally go into the black, or in others words, finally begin to make a profit. This time is not only the most lucrative, but also the most chaotic and busy. The extra productivity allows for problems that most corporations would not face throughout the normal fiscal year.

    For example, during the holiday season, FedEx enters into a frenzy of shipping, transporting, and employees are often over worked. In 1998, these over worked employees felt unappreciated, over worked, and under paid. Because of this, there was an expected strike from FedEx employees. This was ultimately due to a lack of positive communication between the corporations, in this case FedEx, and their stakeholders, the employees. They also have to deal with unhappy impatient customers and figure out a way to satisfy the demands of their stakeholders including employees and consumers, as well as all their other various stakeholders.

    These problems are just a few of the issues a corporation can face during the holiday season. Because of issues such as the ones FedEx faced, it is imperative for corporations to have successful communication in order to protect the interests of their reputation and profits.

    Breanna Alexander

    Lauren Dehart

    Lauren Smith

    Kelly Wiley