IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Global Marketing

  • 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

  • Wonka Vision

    Have you ever gone out and bought something simply for the
    fact that you saw your favorite celebrity or athlete endorsing it? Or, have you
    watched your favorite show or football team-play on TV and be mesmerized by a
    product?

    Many companies use product placement on television shows to
    advertise their brand. A lot of times, the company will sponsor a certain show,
    and in return their brand may be used in various ways throughout an episode; it
    may be used as a product in the episode or the company’s commercial will play
    during a break. For instance, have you ever wondered why all three judges on American Idol are always sitting behind
    large glasses of Coca-Cola? It is not because they cannot get enough
    daily-intake of Coke; it is because American Idol is sponsored by the Coca-Cola
    brand. Television shows are a major source of advertisement. The reality show The Kardashians is a show focused
    around the life of the Kardashian brand and family. They now have a clothing
    line through the Sears Company which is marketed on the show, a boutique
    clothing and accessory store Dash, and even market perfumes because who doesn’t
    want to smell just like a Kardashian!

    Product placement is a way for companies to inject their
    products to be endorsed by celebrities so the product will then be “cool” and
    acceptable for everyone else to buy. The show The Restaurant, on the Bravo network, starring the high-end
    restaurant chef Rocco, was paid by the show’s three main sponsors: American
    Express, Mitsubishi Motors and Coors Brewing. Bravo
    did not pay a single penny of
    license fee to have the show made. To justify its investment, each of the shows’
    sponsors has received a prominent place in the show: American Express provides
    the financing for the restaurant and the show.

    Of course, in the early days of television, such
    integration between advertiser and show was quite common. Such links persisted
    into the 1970s from the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which was entirely funded by Quaker Oats. The
    Quaker Oats brand used the movie to promote its new “Wonka” brand of
    candy and sweets. Beware and conscious of what you are buying.

    – Jordan Hill, Michela Noreski, Ashley Nelson

  • The Need for Nielsen

    Imagine being chosen at random to watch hours of television and get paid to rate the shows you watch.  Believe it or not, this is exactly how television shows get their ratings.  The Nielsen Company is the leading consumer research group that collects demographic as well as  media consumption data that produce television ratings- hence the name “Nielsen Ratings”.  Nielsen randomly surveys millions of households nationwide to find trends among viewers based on what they are watching.
    Ratings may not seem that important to you as the viewer, but to the companies that wish to market their brand, these ratings determine when and where they invest their money.  For instance, say you work for a brand whose target market is young adults; where are you going to place your commercial? Are you going to have it air during the premiere of NBC’s provocative new drama The Playboy Club or the season premiere of FOX’s “High-School-Musical-esque” show Glee? This should be a no-brainer, but for  shows that are in the same genre and marketing the same audience, firms depend on these ratings and the demographic data from “Nielsen families” to assist in making these types of marketing decisions.
    So thanks to you, Nielsen Company, for only airing what we want, when we want it.

  • Corporate Communication Wrap Up

    As our time in the Corporate Communication classroom comes to a close, the information and knowledge that we have gained will continue with us as we each venture out after graduation into our desired career field.  Among the class of communication majors are students interested in event planning, public relations, integrated marketing communication and advertising, just to name a few.  Corporate communication is involved in all of these industries.  As stated in Corporate Communication: a guide to theory and practice by Joep Cornelissen, one of our required readings for the course, “Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the organization is dependent.”

    When the course first started back in August, not a single student in the class knew what the definition of corporate communication was.  Even though everyone registered to take the class, no one really had an idea of what it entailed.  Today, every student in the class has a definition of corporate communication, as well as plenty of detailed and background information that will give people a better understanding of the topic.  A big improvement from three months ago, wouldn’t you agree?

    We have covered a variety of forms of corporate communication that take place in sports, music, movies, politics, crisis management and careers this semester.  We have learned that communication is essential when it comes to an organization’s corporate image and identity, reputation, stakeholders and shareholders.  We have learned what makes a company go from good to great, the characteristics of a great company and why every company should strive to become one.  We hope we have left everyone with a better understanding of corporate communication.

    REMINDER! This week is NBC’s Green Week!  Green Week runs from November 14-21.  All this week, green topics will be featured into news and your favorite shows on the NBC network, such as 30 Rock and The Office, as well as special reports, fundraisers and documentaries.  Join NBC in celebrating the numerous ways that you can make a difference in the environment.

    -Danielle Dorantich

  • Marketing Over Seas

    Mindshare Media is an innovative media network corporation that functions not only in North America, but across the world. The many locations of  MindShareMedia offices include North America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asian Pacific. The company strives to enhance the way businesses interact and communicate with consumers and convey new, pioneering ideas in a unique way. The company claims “gaining a greater share of customers’ minds for our clients calls for smart ideas, but they are worth little without rapid decision-making, committed action and faultless execution,” which is always the goal of their employees.

    Upon visiting London in May of 2009, I had the opportunity to tour a Mindshare office and speak with a young professional who had been employed with the company for a few years. He described that the way the company conducted business was very laid back, yet professional, and focused on helping their clients cover new ground and break away from traditional audiences. He even discussed a current campaign Mindshare was working on with their client, Hanes underwear. The young man explained that employees of Mindshare developed a marketing strategy of displaying and simply stringing Hanes men’s underwear throughout the streets of London to gain attention from people passing by. This was just an example of how Mindshare takes their strategies to a new level.

    Current clients include Nike, LG and Virgin Mobile, and the Mindshare website provides many case studies to support their past and current clients. MindShare Media prides themselves on creating groundbreaking advertisement campaigns as well as overall promotional marketing strategies and tools. They have a very impressive website that is interactive and details their mission as a company, their services, as well as their new ideas of marketing for a particular product.

    The marketing strategies and overall communication tactics Mindshare employ are without a doubt worth exploring. Mindshare Media will only continue to grow as the global communication market shrinks and people are brought closer together with innovative ideas and resources such as the ones this company offers.

    Stephanie Saulsbury

    Lacey Inman

  • Sprite commercial goes global

    Hip-Hop artist Drake stars in Sprite’s new campaign launch “Spark,” the company’s new updated logo.  This campaign is aimed at encouraging teens to express their creativity through music and film.  Spark is Sprite’s first ever global marketing campaign.

    The commercial is titled “Unleashed” and features the rapper in a recording studio with no inspiration.  As soon as he drinks the Sprite and his body begins to transform as the Sprite flows through his body.  As a result of the soda he is able to find inspiration and spits a famous ling line from his song “Forever”, “Last name ever/First name greatest.”

    Drake has yet to release his debut album so the worldwide publicity will hopefully be great for his career.  “We looked at a lot of artists for this campaign,” says Joe Tripodi, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer of the Coca-Cola Company. “It began with the core creative idea that Sprite is the spark of fresh thinking when you combine our brand of individuality and creativity with the sudden refreshment of lemon lime that comes together for the spark. As we filtered through, we realized we wanted someone with a breadth of interest across the globe — a new, fresh, young talent.”

    The “Spark” campaign is an integrated marketing tool that will allow people an outlet to record their own 45-second animated films.  “Unleashed” currently airs in four markets, United States, Philippines, Turkey, and South Africa.

    -Danielle Murray