IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: iPhone

  • The Next Big Thing… Coming Soon.

    Have YOU had the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos taco yet?  I can’t say that I was waiting anxiously outside of my local Taco Bell on March 7th when this new wonder debuted, but millions of taco fans could barely contain their excitement.  Not convinced?  Follow Taco Bell on Twitter or Facebook and you’ll experience the overwhelming response.  On March 4th Taco Bell announced via social media that fans could get the new Cool Ranch DLT (Doritos Locos Taco) a day early and the response was a mix of joy and outrage.  Many fans hopped on the chance to indulge while others were shocked to discover that their local chain had not gotten the memo.

    It seems that Taco Bell knows exactly what their fans want and have aimed to deliver.  In fact, the franchise has focused their advertising for the new DLT on their fans.  Working their fan base, the earliest announcements of the new taco came in the form of teasers, meant to fuel the DLT craze and build anticipation.

    Next came a series of ads featuring tweets from fans about the new taco sensation. Since the rise of social media, companies have been able to receive more direct feedback from their fans and have taken advantage of this in their ads.  Through these ads Taco Bell is not only able to highlight fan comments, but also feature these fans in the ad, emphasizing their delight in finally having the Cool Ranch DLT.


    Starting to sound familiar? You might be thinking back to the iPhone 5 and Apple’s promise to finally deliver all of the features that fans have been anxiously awaiting.  So is this new, fan-based advertising genius or overdone?  That’s up for us as consumers to decide.  After all, gone are the days of simply consuming advertising.  Today, we can all be a part of the magic behind the ads.

    – Ally Walton

  • TechKNOWLEDGEy

    Changes in time catalyze changes not only in society but in the tools we use to connect with one another. From the telegraph to instant messaging our advancements in technology are so rapidly developing that some struggle to stay up to date. It has been a little over a century since the telephone was invented, and in that time we have managed to transform what we used to call a telephone into a device called a smartphone. We’re looking at you, iPhone. Not only have we managed to globalize communication in the last century but we have wrangled the use of the internet to help businesses communicate with their customers and allow friends to stay in touch. It is no wonder that with everything changing and developing so quickly that companies are turning to IMC consultants to help them keep up with the new technologies.

    As mentioned before, changes in time demands a change in tools. If a company can not manage their image there are people in public relations and integrated marketing communications that are fluent in the tools of social media and gauging the power of search engines. A smaller, local company may weaken if their consumers can’t access them as easily as others. Almost every business needs a website to maintain credibility and to inform the consumer of their services and locations. If it weren’t for technology, jobs for IMC and PR consultants wouldn’t have evolved into what they have become today. The more outlets for customer interaction the more roles that are needed to ensure a coherent brand message is being sent out and maintained through all possible points of contact. We are in constant change and with technology on the move it is imperative for a company to be able to communicate with its consumers by utilizing  the appropriate medium. Seriously, when was the last time you thumbed through the yellow pages to find a business? If you need to find something, you get on Google, enter your desired search and click on the best match that Google provides.

    For companies, staying relevant with modern technology is essential to creating a presence for your brand and technology today is allowing them to do so by employing multiple media outlets so that people can communicate with their brand. As the semester begins to draw to a close, a new crop of graduates will be entering into the job market, it’s imperative to keep in mind the true impact of the role of modernity. A company’s mastery of technology and multimedia tends to correlate with their success, in a time where “that was so five seconds ago” actually holds some truth. It is vital that businesses continue to make exponential progress, but unfortunately, this also means that like your now ancient VHS player and WalkMan, your brand new iPhone will soon be considered passe. Siri will be a thing of the past, something that the next generation will mock at throwback parties while rocking a Snuggie and some skinny jeans, poking fun at what lies in the past while riding the technological wave towards the future.

    By: Kacy Cox, Alexis Kapczynski, Sara Kaloudis, and Josh Bowman

  • A World Without Jobs

    When you think of the economy, you think jobs. When you think of the current status of the economy of the United States, you think “we have no jobs.” But, have you ever thought about a world without Jobs?

    Just over a month ago, the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, stepped down from his position as the head of one of the most powerful companies ever to exist. Amidst health issues, Jobs resigned from his job as possibly the most brilliant and innovative software developers and business man of all time. When this happened, Apple enthusiasts’ around the world stopped to ask themselves, “what will Apple be like with no Jobs?”

    Just a little over a month ago, we considered Apple to be at a loss for losing Jobs, yet now the entire World is grieving over the passing of Steve Jobs. Yesterday, the 56 year-old mastermind behind the Macintosh Computer, the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad, passed away ending his battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.

    While we sit and listen to our iPod’s and play Angry Birds’ on our iPad’s and call our friends from our iPhone’s, we have a piece of Steve Jobs with us. While much of the nation remains unemployed and our economy’s fate is unknown, we can be at peace knowing we got to experience Jobs before he was gone.

    — Jordan Hill, Michela Noreski, Ashley Nelson

  • Not So Fast Apple

    Believe it or not, Google is nipping at the heels of Apple in smart phones and tablets. While in some circles Apple has won the popularity contest with Blackberry they have had some serious competition from Google’s Android network. According to Eweek.com 2,200 application developers were polled by Appcelerator and IDC. The polling revealed that 87 percent of responders were very interested in writing apps for smart phones compared to 92 percent for the iPhone. The iPhone is still king in the market place we are starting to find that application developers are eager to work with the Android network. There is still growth for the Android in the tablet market.

    The Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb was introduced at the 2011 Consumer Electronics show and is going to make a splash in March 2011. Respondents from the Appcelerator-IDC say they are very interested in developing for the Android tablets. They claimed that price was the most important factor, and most want to develop for the Android 3.0 Honeycomb. As you can see the Honeycomb’s popularity keeps growing daily before its release. The most impressive part about the Honeycomb is the tab browsing which you can sync with your Google Crome Bookmarks. The selling point for the New Android tablet is multi-tasking.

    It seems that 2011 is ushering in new competition for Apple. Google is growing by the minute and while I love the versatility of my Blackberry the Android phones seem to have a lot of potential. Apple is on top of the market, for now, but this could be a big year for Android. The brand competition between Apple and Android is something we will be focusing on all semester, and as Google continues to grow I expect Apple will adapt to its market.

  • Are Apps Changing the Way We Do Business?

    Technology giant Apple is once again in the news this week.  No, they haven’t come out with a new iPhone and the new generation of iPads are not yet available; the company has sold their 10 Billionth App.  Yes, you read that correctly BILLION!  On Saturday Gail Davis, of Orpington, Kent, UK, downloaded Paper Glider (a free App) making history for Apple and also making her the winner of a $10,000 iTunes gift Card.

    Apple’s Apps, short for applications, can be downloaded from the App Store on iTunes onto iPhones, iPads, the iPod touch, and now even your computer.  Ranging from free to $999.99, these popular downloads can help you with everything from finding a place to eat, translating words into another language, making dinner reservations, entertaining your child, studying for the California Bar exam (in case you were wondering what the most expensive App does) and anything else you can possibly imagine.

    The popularity of Apps has many retailers and other businesses taking notice and developing Apps of their own.  Apps have become yet another tool for them to reach target audiences and perhaps gain new ones.  Everybody from car insurance companies to retailers to airlines have developed Apps hoping to target new audiences and keeping the attention of existing customers. This trend has even spawned a new way of doing business, m-commerce.  Similar to e-commerce, or shopping online, m-commerce is shopping on your mobile device.

    This new form of business, ushered in by Apple’s introduction of the App, is changing the way companies market themselves.  In the age of Apple’s i-products, the standard practices of print and media ads aren’t going to cut it.  Companies must adapt and incorporate practices such developing Apps if they want to continue to remain relevant and build their customer bases.

    -Eliza Wadson

  • Is Apple taking over the world?

    As you might have read over the past few weeks, there has been a media frenzy regarding Verizon Wireless receiving the iPhone 4. This has further added fuel to the cutthroat marketing campaigns of both AT&T and Verizon. With this in mind, the real question is how this will affect the marketing and brand image of the iPhone.

    By utilizing two wireless networks, the constant battle for customers by Verizon and AT&T may actually have a negative image on the Apple brand.  Apple, known for its superior technologies, has an overall positive brand image.  With both companies airing commercials attacking one another, how can Apple maintain their image? This is the most controversial issue that Apple has had to take on to date.

    Below is the most recent commercial for the iPhone 4 released by Apple.

    In the commercial, Apple is remaining neutral with AT&T and Verizon. This is keeping both companies on an even playing field, while not portraying one as better than the other.  This may change once Verizon’s iPhone is released in stores and a new slew of Verizon and AT&T ads hit the airways.  Will Apple continue to remain neutral or eventually choose a side? The future is uncertain, but on January 19,, 2011, Apple became the largest mobile phone vendor in the world by revenue. If this upward trend continues, they will continue to dominate the market share, regardless of which company carries the iPhone.

    -Allison Day, Jessica Berinson, Megan Canny, Melissa Gagliardi, Scott Burgess