IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Entertainment

  • A.C.E. – Your Source for Campus Entertainment

    Please nod your head if you have ever taken another route to class pretending to be on your cell phone or completely ignoring someone who was trying to give you an event flyer. If you give your computer screen a nod, we applaud you.  However, if you are like 99% of the student population at UNCW and nodded your head–we understand.

    There are over 250 student organizations vying for our attention, membership and time so how do we pick what to attend? Our choices depend on how, or if, we hear about the event and how creative the marketing is. The Association for Campus Entertainment is the university’s student programming board Did you enjoy Hoddie Allen last year? That was ACE. What about when Maci Bookout from Teen Mom was here in the spring? That was ACE too.

    In the midst of everything college kids have going on, ACE provides an outlet for free entrainment. But just like every other student organization, they have to compete for your time as well. Integrated Marketing Communication, IMC,  allows us to diversify the means by which we achieve our marketing goals. A public relations campaign? Check. Social media presence? Also check. Cool and engaging advertising? Also IMC.

    ACE does this through an array of promotional tools each year, the first being through giveaways what college student doesn’t like free things? This year ACE gave phone wallets, Croakies, car USB adapters and staplers. This may seem like a mishmash of items but each one served a purpose: to be seen and get the ACE name known. Whether it is letting a classmate use the ACE braded stapler, or paying for food in Wag as you pull your OneCard out of your ACE branded phone wallet, ACE is marketing their brand. The goal is to increase the number of times a student sees a brand and how they associate it—hopefully in a positive light.

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    There is more to promotions than simply getting a name out; ACE must also promote their events. There are the standard campus marketing methods such as banner, chalking and flyers, but in order to infiltrate the calendars of college students, you must take efforts farther. ACE is a brand that thrives on creative promotions, whether this be acting out a scene from an upcoming movie in the campus theatre or handing out paint brushes across campus for a Cheerwine and Design event. There is always something being passed out.

    A successful marketing campaign goes beyond creating and implementing the campaign. The ultimate goal of IMC, is to not only change one’s beliefs, but to change his or her actions. Whether this be successfully convincing students to change their plans and attend an event or sign up for ACE, we want them to act on our suggestions. So how do you think ACE stacks up, do you hear about their events through traditional means of advertising or through creative promotions across campus? Furthermore – how do you prefer to be wooed into coming to an organization’s event or do you organically decide to attend? Let us hear your thoughts and comments blow!

    -Amanda, Daniel, Kendall, Meleah and Luke

  • The Old and The Reckless

    The commercials from last Sunday’s Super Bowl have been flooding social media sites as they get passed around by friends. The Taco Bell “Viva Young” commercial has been  particularly popular with over two million views on YouTube. The commercial starts with a nurse at a retirement home putting an older man to bed. Then the old man sneaks off with friends to acquire the life of the young and, of course, “Fourth Meal” at Taco Bell.  This unusual group of pranksters are seen pool hopping, lighting firecrackers and even getting down in the clubs. The group building up a hunger ends their night at the Taco Bell Parking lot, and walking back to the retirement home as the sun rises. The song “We Are Young” by Fun, is played in Spanish (of course)to maintain brand continuity. Interestingly, that particular song became popular during last year’s Super Bowl; when it appeared in a Chevy commercial.

    While watching the game, a friend said “talking babies and crazy old people always make the best commercials”. It is interesting to me that the most entertaining commercials are based on events that do not happen often (or at all!) The concept of “old folks” having partying hard and reliving their youth is entertaining and hilarious. This idea has been used before; the artist Modestep released a music video for their song “Sunlight”. This video was posted on YouTube on July 3, 2011 and has over twenty-two million views. The Modestep video has the same idea as the commercial but is not censored by the FCC. The Taco Bell commercial is a “clean” version of this music video as much of the material is not suitable for U.S. television. It Is remarkable to see music culture influencing the types of commercials we see.

    The stylistic features of the commercial and music video are similar. Certain aspects, such as the shot angle and exposures, are close to the same. The idea of the older people going crazy and partying hard that Taco Bell portrays take you by surprise, particularly while considering that most of the commercials promoting their unique concept of “Fourth Meal” have been targeted to their younger consumers (who are more likely to be up late). This commercial appears to actively debunk the stereotype that elderly people are typically in bed by nine. It is interesting to see the commercial feature a group of people who may or may not consume Taco Bell given the primary target audience of most Super Bowl ads. Is this an opportunity for Taco Bell to expand to more mature (or not-so-mature) markets or just another opportunity to entertain the younger population at the expense of the older one? Regardless it is a reminder to “Live Mas” and while doing so, fill your hunger with Taco Bell.

    – Zach Abramo, Callie Fenlon, Lauren Habig,  Alexandra Huss, Michael Nunes, Daniel Schaefer, Dann Williams

  • Does Humor Sell?

    During the 2010 NFL Super Bowl, Old Spice started a new marketing campaign, releasing the above commercial online and on television. It quickly became the “number one all-time most viewed” branded channel on Youtube. How did they achieve that success? By targeting women, who dominate the body wash market, and men with humor, it created for the first time a topic of conversation for couples around the nation. The marketing team also showed the commercials in certain movies where there was a “high amount of couples” were projected to go. So because of the topic of conversation that was generating millions of hits on YouTube, women began to buy Old Spice for their husbands and boyfriends so that they could “smell like the man your man can smell like.”

    But how did this campaign have continued success? Old Spice continued to use the “man your man can smell like” guy and let him interact with fans all over the internet who would ask him random questions that he would answer in his fashion. In one day alone Old Spice generated more hits on Youtube than Obama’s presidential victory speech, on day two he had 8 of 11 top videos on Youtube, and by the end had over 40 million people view his videos.

    The success of this campaign is astounding considering that ; the brands twitter following increased 2700%, Facebook fan interaction went up 800%, and traffic to the Old Spice website increased 300%. This made the bottom line of the company increased 107% 10 months after the release of the first Old Spice commercial.

    Shortly afterwards many companies have tried to have the same success, copying the Old Spice guy commercials to a certain degree but still enjoying some success. By making some of the funniest and memorable commercials of all-time Old Spice increased their brand awareness while making people laugh and had one of the most amazing marketing campaigns for a business ever. So does humor sell? This guy thinks so.

    – Ally Walton, Lauren Habig, Erin Kiffmeyer, Hannah Eure, Gene Lee

  • Remember When… Cupcakes Were Just for Kids?

    Think back to your elementary school days.  Were you one of the “lucky ones” whose birthday happened to fall on a school day?  If your parents were anything like mine, this probably meant having the honor of bringing your class a huge batch of store-bought (or on the rare occasion, homemade) cupcakes.  Right now you’re probably picturing them, covered in sprinkles and icing that turned your mouth bright colors, maybe decorated with plastic Barbie or Spider-Man rings that everyone would wear for the rest of the day.  Back then cupcakes could make you king or queen for a day, at least in the eyes of your classmates.

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    Nowadays cupcakes have a different reputation.  An exceptional batch could win you $10,000 and instant fame.  Thanks to television programs that highlight the new art of cupcake baking, these mini treats are taking the country by storm, and it’s not just the kids that are buying in.

    In 2010, the show “Cupcake Wars” began airing on the Food Network.  Each episode brings together 4 top-rated cupcake bakers from across the country to compete for $10,000 and the chance to debut their cupcakes to crowds of America’s elite at events such as awards shows and charity parties.  The list of ingredients these bakers are given ranges from fruits and nuts to chili peppers and vodka and the finished products are a far cry from the yellow cake and chocolate icing of our childhood.

    The popularity of cupcakes is rapidly spreading and the evidence is popping up in cities nationwide.  Cupcake bakeries that specialize in traditional, exotic, and chic flavors are now conveniently located next to your favorite coffee shops and boutiques.  These bakeries are rebranding the phenomenon of the cupcake with unique flavors and styling that aim to please a more adult crowd.  Not only are they a pleasure for the palate, but cupcakes these days are like a new accessory.  They can be as high-end as the bakeries that produce them and the clientele that consume them.   A cupcake bakery called Georgetown Cupcakes, also famous for a television show that airs on TLC called “DC Cupcakes,” has catered to clients such as Kim Kardashian.

    ImageHowever, it’s not just the ingredients or the celebrity that make cupcakes more appealing to adults.  Now, anyone over the legal drinking age can partake in fine cupcake-inspired wine and vodka produced by Cupcake Vineyards.  Why not pair your cupcake with a glass of wine?  Bakeries and other specialty shops now host cupcake and wine tasting events where adults can mingle and the two indulgences can be enjoyed side by side.

    So is this new trend something to expect from all of our childhood favorites? Will popsicles be the next big thing?  Leave it to the media to help us decide.  Until then we might as well have our cake, and eat it too. Bon appétit!

    – Ally Walton, Lauren Habig, Erin Kiffmeyer, Hannah Eure, Gene Lee

  • An “Augmented” Look Into the Future of Advertising

    Last week Google unveiled Project Glass, their latest developmental project set out to design and build augmented reality eyeglasses. Google upload a video to YouTube entitled “Project Glass: One day…”, which shows viewers what Project Glass could potentially look like. Project Glass would allow you to communicate with friends, schedule appointments, get directions, take pictures, and even hold video conferences all by using the augmented reality interface and voice commands. While this technology is in the earliest stages of development, Project Glass has the potential to be a realistic and marketable product in the future.

    While the announcement of Project Glass is only a week old, there is already concern about user privacy and advertisements. Google already uses search terms to customize advertisements, and are even beginning to push ads based on your location, so just how far would Project Glass go? Would advertisements pop-up in front of you if you are close enough to a store? Could marketers use where you go and what you look at throughout the day to better understand what type of consumer you are? The parody video below shows how pop-up ads with Project Glass might look if they were implemented:

    While this idea of “forced advertising” seems a bit extreme, it’s already happening with several other projects. Twitter now adds Promoted Tweets to your timeline, which are sponsored announcements from businesses that merge together with the other tweets from people you follow. Pop-up ads are common with free Android and iPhone apps, and some applications even send ads as a notification. Amazon sells discounted Kindle e-Readers with “special offer” advertisements that appear on your screen. It seems that with every new piece of technology, the first idea that is addressed is how to advertise on it. With Project Glass, the possibilities for customized advertising are much more personal. How will marketers adapt to changing technology? Will consumers be willing to sacrifice their privacy and accept interruptive advertisements in order to use Project Glass? Only the future will tell.

    -Hunter Wilson, Joshua Vester, Ashley Oliver, Molly Jacques

  • Wait, they care about my vote?

    Candidates have really been trying to “woo” young people to vote. This demographic can be quite difficult to motivate and actually get them to do something. They all just really need someone who they can relate to before we can make a decision, you know like a celebrity who is endorsing one of the candidates. Remembering back to the last election, this was very successful in Obama’s favor. Many famous people were sporting the always fashionable Obama gear. He even made it on the runway! Who wouldn’t want a president that has made it on the Paris fashion runway?

     

    Of course, not all ploys to get the youth to vote are quite so extreme and over the top. Rock the Vote is one of the biggest organizations trying to get young people to vote. They use pop culture, music, and new technologies to get them to register and have successfully signed up over five million young voters. The Millennial Generation makes up about 1/4 of the voting population which makes them an important demographic for politicians to market themselves to. Just in the last presidential election alone Rock the Vote registered 2.5 million voters. This was by far their highest number they have had yet.

    College campuses are another great outlet for getting the younger crowd to register to vote. Statistics show that there is a much higher rate of educated youth voting versus the ones who didn’t attend college. This is the most convenient way to motivate this  apathetic age group. Having an on campus presence is a good reminder of how easy it is to register. Since the 2000 presidential election it has been forced by federal law for postsecondary institutions to make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to all of their degree seeking students.

    The Presidential candidates now take the Millennial Generation a lot more seriously, then they ever did before. They want their voting numbers to go up and this large demographic can be the boost they need. As a member of this generation, I wonder what tactic they will use next to sway my vote?

     

    – Mollie Berthold, Laura Simmons, Christina Stevenson, Dorothy Conley

  • What’s the Real Show?

    During a regulation NFL game there is a 15 minute break between the 2nd and 3rd quarters. This halftime break was originally instituted so the participants of the game could catch their breath and re-energize. During the Super Bowl, halftime lasts for a minimum of 30 minutes. Not only is that plenty of time for a player to catch his breath, that could allow him an opportunity to take a nap and check some emails. The mid-game break is actually long enough that coaches usually alter practices leading up to the big game in order to prepare their players for dealing with the extended down time. Despite this, there has never been a serious motion to shorten the length of the break. On the contrary, every few years halftime will run a little long to better accommodate the length of more extravagant halftime shows.

    This presents an interesting phenomenon. The Super Bowl, the game that decides who the best team is in the highest level of the most popular sport in America, is consistently interrupted for at least 15 minutes more than is necessary so an assortment of washed up and unknown artists can perform for a crowd that has paid at least double the average monthly income for a ticket to the game. It is widely known that companies spend millions of dollars for a chance to slip a commercial in between the biggest football game of the year, but this event has become so large that the game itself is being postponed in order to make room for the event that surrounds it. That’s the kind of marketing that is normally reserved for religious holidays and national celebrations.

    So what makes the Super Bowl half-time show so special? It is the second most anticipated part of the event, besides of course, who wins the championship.  The hype of who is performing is always a boost for the performers publicity, but what if Madonna blows it like the Black Eyed Peas did last year?  What will that do to her brand as being Madonna, the Queen of pop? There is a lot at stake when involving yourself in the biggest event of the year.  Let’s just hope there are no wardrobe malfunctions or fumbled lyrics this year.

    Read more about the halftime show here!