IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Marketing

  • Who markets the best ice cream in town?

    As a smaller town, Wilmington has a lot of competition between businesses. Kilwin’s has always been known as a “go-to” location for ice cream in Wilmington and a popular tourist spot.  This past summer the ice cream industry grew by one, adding the Fuzzy Peach into the choices for a cool treat on a hot day. The Fuzzy Peach is located less than a mile from UNCW and this is their only location. Both Coldstone and Kilwin’s are chains and have locations across America.

    Coldstone is the largest of the three and it has stores internationally. Their marketing strategy involves television commercials, promotional coupons, direct marketing at UNCW events like the Involvement Carnival. They are a sponsor for the UNCW Athletic Department. On our basketball tickets, you will find a coupon provided by Coldstone. They set themselves apart from the competition because they have lots of different combinations such as “Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some” and “That’s How I Roll”.  You can see their entire signature creations made right in front of you and they have pictures of each combo on their website. Their portion sizes are called “Like It” “Love It” and “Gotta Have It”. They also sell ice cream sundaes, smoothies, and pre-made ice cream cakes. This company is also known for their quirky songs that they sing when you walk in the door and when you leave them a tip. You can hear the same songs at each location, so you know that you’re walking into a Coldstone when you open the door.

    The Fuzzy Peach opened in May of 2010 and already has a lot of brand recognition. Their t-shirts and facebook page are almost as popular as their low fat yogurt.  The frozen yogurt bar allows you to choose the toppings that you want and how much of each topping you want on your yogurt.  The Fuzzy Peach is the only frozen yogurt bar in Wilmington, so that makes them stand out from their completion. The price is calculated by the weight of your bowl and toppings. Their slogan is, “Providing Wilmington with a healthy dessert alternative.  On the website, they have a comparison of why they are better than their competition, which includes Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins.  Their marketing strategies include t-shirts with their logo, which allows people to recognize the brand since the logo is a peach. They also use direct marketing by passing out coupons, stickers, and shot glasses at events.  They come to UNCW’s Involvement Carnival in the beginning of the year and give out samples.

    Kilwin’s is a downtown Wilmington classic. It is a common tourist location. They sell ice cream, chocolates, caramel apples, fudge, and more. Kilwin’s makes their own traditional waffle cones, which lures customers in from their scent. Kilwin’s creates an exciting experience by creating the cones right in front of you. It ads a personal element of trust, since you can see the people hard at work on your waffle cone. They rely mostly on word of mouth marketing, as well as social media and their website. They draw people into the store because they bake their own waffle cones and the aroma drags people in by their noses. They are not as big as Cold Stone, only located in 15 states with only 9 locations in North Carolina.

    Who do you think has the best marketing strategy? The winner is…….The Fuzzy Peach! We think this because they employ the most promotional strategies. They handed out coupons and got customer input on what the best flavor is at UNCW’s 2010 Beach Blast. The store has been open for less than a year and a second location is already in the making. We look forward to seeing how much The Fuzzy Peach grows in the coming years.

  • Seasons Greetings (For Whom, Actually?)

    The Yuletide season is drawing closer, as stores begin displaying decorations and Christmas music makes its seasonal debut on the radio. Some would say that the holiday spirit is in the air, but what is truly being celebrated? Is it a time of giving and charity, or a testament to our nation’s consumerism and emphasis on material possessions? As our earlier posts pointed out, advertising and marketing campaigns equate holidays to buying products and spending money. This deflects from the real meaning of the season of giving, and even excludes some less recognized holidays. These corporations need to realize that the holidays retain different meanings to different groups of people.

    Most people tend to categorize the month of December as the month of Christmas. Often times, the mainstream audiences overlook other holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. This could result from the lack of media attention given to these holidays. Currently, the greeting card industry offers cards celebrating these events, but that is about as far as it goes. The attention is almost always directed towards Christmas. This could be because Christmas is more marketable, thus turning a larger profit for companies. In the end, a company’s main goal is to earn a profit, no matter what it takes.

    These corporate practices are not exclusive to Christmas. Other holidays display the same profit-minded trend as well. With the creation of Black Friday, Thanksgiving has become less about giving thanks, and more about marking the beginning of the shopping season. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are synonymous with showing someone how much you care about them by purchasing a gift for them. Halloween advertises costumes and candy. Almost every holiday has some kind of themed product linked to it (clothing, party supplies, decorations, etc.), all in the name of profit. It could be argued that society has become so wrapped up in consumerism and receiving gifts, that the true meaning of holidays can become lost in the translation. In the corporate sense, holidays are about generating income and creating innovative new products. So who is really experiencing “Happy Holidays” around this time? Is it the corporations gaining substantial revenue, or is it the consumers providing the revenue?

    Sarah McIntosh, Eliza Wadson, Jocelyn Walson, Sean O’Connell

  • UNCW Student Organizations’ Communication Efforts on Campus

    There are over 300 student organizations on UNCW’s Campus. A huge challenge these organizations face is getting the word out about their group. Luckily the Campus Activities and Involvement Center (CAIC) is there to assist their marketing efforts. For promotional items each group is provided with fifty buttons, five posters, fifty balloons, and fifty flyers per semester. CAIC also offers unlimited amounts of chalk for groups to write on the campus’ sidewalks and also unlimited cans of spray paint for groups to paint the two spirit rocks on campus.

    Another effective form of advertising provided by CAIC is the University’s banner poles. There are fifteen of these banner poles located outdoors and five located indoors. Organizations may submit twin sized sheets that they have painted and CAIC will hang them throughout campus. These promotional items allow organizations to share their message with the student body free of cost. In addition the office also offers involvement specialists to assist organizations around the clock.

    Alongside all of these promotional opportunities that CAIC offers there are also a variety of media outlets on campus that organizations can use to promote events. Teal TV is a broadcast news show hosted by UNCW students. The Seahawk is a campus wide newspaper written by UNCW students. Roomers is a newspaper written by Housing and Residence Life that is distributed throughout on-campus living facilities. There is also a monthly newsletter created just for student organizations. All of these are excellent sources for organizations to communicate with the rest of campus.

    By utilizing all of these resources provided by UNCW, student organizations can strategically market and advertise their groups.

    For more information about Campus Activities and Involvement Center, click here

    -Meghan French and Gracie Anderson

  • How Does UNCW Handle Communication?

    Within the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is a department which offers a full range of services for providing optimal communication and promotion of news and events regarding the university.  The UNCW Marketing and Communications (MaC) department works to enhance the image of the university and to increase its position among other higher education marketplaces by managing marketing, communication, public relations, media relations, community relations, and advertising strategies.  MaC also seeks to preserve the integrity of UNCW and its reputation for excellence through a variety of services such as crisis communication, event promotions, issues management, and marketing and research strategies. Furthermore, MaC takes charge of the management of corporate events and marketing communication activities, which is done in order to build strong relationships with key institutional stakeholders who are vital to the continued success of the university.

    Although many crisis situations potentially occur without warning, many situations can be anticipated or mitigated before they get out of hand.  This is where MaC comes in.  MaC helps facilitate and maintain an extensive and effective system of communication during a period when the university may be in a crisis due to a campus emergency or circumstances that threaten to integrity of the institution.  In the event that an emergency occurs such as a major tropical storm, hurricane, fire or some other campus or regional emergency, MaC is responsible for communicating with the faculty, staff, students, visitors, and external audiences in the community.  The Seahawk Siren System, the UNCW Emergency Information Hotline, the UNCW Alert Website, as well as mass text messages and e-mails, are all efficient forms of notifying people if there is an emergency on campus.

    Corporate communication is the foundation of UNCW’s success as a university, just as with any successful business.  When dealing with crisis on campus it is important that it is effectively and positively handled through the marketing and communications department, but it also is important that the students and faculty are in the know and able to efficiently deal with the crisis. Students and faculty may be the image of this university, but a great deal of work is accomplished by other staff members, who are vital its success.  The university has very similar responsibilities and obligations to their students as a corporation does to their employees.  Each must create a strong public appearance in order to draw students/employees, and must provide a favorable work environment in order to keep them from leaving for another, more desirable, school or company.  Furthermore, within the system of higher education, UNCW must compete with other colleges and universities if they wish to be successful, thus it is just as important to foster a strong corporate bearing which will maximize opportunities for funding and university advancement.

    – Arielle, Danielle, Haley and Lora

  • A Framework for Our Future

    I never could imagine all facets of my Communication Studies career at UNCW would come to a close at the exact same time. I am in the cusp of finishing my departmental honors project, currently transitioning positions for the COM honors fraternity Lambda Pi Eta, and now the last day of classes is dawning. I am moderately overwhelmed; however, it is a familiar feeling. As a student entering the department three years ago, I was quite oblivious to what career I truly wanted to pursue come May, 2010. Unfortunately now a week shy of May, I am still just as oblivious. BUT before everyone reading recedes in shock, I DO possess one feeling in regards to my future I did not before, which is passion. Passion for my major, passion for my department, and passion for IMC (not a promo for the class, I promise). Having taken classes in integrated marketing communications truly has opened my eyes to a whole new way of pursuing communication studies.

     Hybridizing marketing and communications while outlying features such as social media, public relations, and advertising, creates a captivating discipline. It is truly unique in that IMC provides a surplus of prospective job opportunities, graduate school programs, and opportunities abroad for students interested in the field of study. IMC students have the advantage of being multifaceted within their major, gaining both client and corporate experience while utilizing new forms of social media to boost their own personal brand. It is such a rich subject that allows students the flexibility for growth and expertise.

    So as my time at UNCW and my participation with the IMC Hawk team comes to a close, more than overwhelmed, I now feel confident. I feel confident in the success of my peers, confident for myself, and confident for our future. No matter what career, school, or volunteer path we decide to take, IMC Hawks rest assured, our knowledge of IMC will be there offering support, and laying the groundwork for all the implausible feats we are surely to face.

    –Stephanie Saulsbury

  • Marketing & Advertising

    Let’s go to a place where signs line the streets left to right, up and down, and where thousands of people walk; Times Square in New York City! What more could a business ask for to advertise their product? If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I mean, and if not let me paint you a picture.  Times Square is an area within the City where ads come in the forms of pictures, lit up signs, and even videos.  Marketing and advertising take place in all businesses and is needed everywhere, but Times Square for me resembles the latest trends and a competition of who can attract the most attention to their ad. What element will make people stop and stare at a specific company’s ad?

    These are only some elements and aspects that are studied using a communication studies degree. Within communications we are able to study these questions and find what trend may be the most effective in reaching a target audience. Using a communication studies major you can go into a variety a fields, and marketing and advertising is seen as a growing area.

    Certain characteristics are needed to work in marketing and advertising, such as patience, multi-tasking abilities, creativity, and the ability to work well in a team environment. Just as in any company or organization, to complete the work effectively and efficiently, working with others is essential. To be a successful marketer, it’s important that you are able to communicate well, be it talking to large crowds, other employees, or to clients in a meeting.

    As students, it is our responsibility to develop a strong foundation while we are in school, so that upon graduating we can be confident in our journey ahead into the professional world of business.

    – Alissa Lockwood

  • Blunders of Intercultural Marketing

    In the global market, it is very important to be aware of cultural traditions and translations. If a company is not cautious with their marketing attemps, the results can be disasterous. However, these disasters can also be quite hilarious. That’s exactly what kwintessential  proved with its article about cross cultural marketing blunders.

    The article lists a few rather humorous marketing errors that have happened in the past. Some of the companies listed include high profile names like IKEA, Honda and Procter & Gamble.

    IKEA’s incident had to do with a poor choice in naming one of its new desks: FARTFULL. Honda did not do their homework when the automotive giant decided to introduce their new car “Fitta” to Nordic countries in 2001. With that research, the company would have learned that the term fitta is a vulgar term for a woman’s genitals in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. Marketing megatron, Proctor & Gambel, did not understand the cultural differences of Japan. P&G  offended the Japanese by broadcasting a television commercial that goes against the Japanese idea of privacy and appropriate behavior. The advertisement showed a husband entering a the bathroom, touching his wife while she was bathing.

    Mistakes like these can cause many problems in marketing and public relations efforts. It is essential for companies to have better understandings of the world around them, to learn about the varying and different cultures in this growing global market.

    Kwintessential.co.uk is a great source to use to better learn about the communication differences in this world. According to the website, “Business success is now more and more about creating and nurturing strong relationships with international and multicultural colleagues, customers and clients.” Kwintessential provides translation services, interpreters, multilengual design and intercultural communication training.

    Resources, like Kwintessential, allow for effective and positive marketing across the globe to continue to grow and prosper. If companies are struggling in the global market, they should take a minute to look around and learn about their interculural marketing techniques. They must adapt these techniques to the culture to which  they are marketing. It is only until then that their global marketing will become a success.

    – Jesse Bazemore