I am not always the most decisive, but I know what I like and what I don’t like. This was 100% true when it came to college tours. I knew that I did not like Appalachian State University, it’s beautiful, but way too cold for me. I knew I didn’t want to stay in Charlotte, too close to home, I wanted something new, and I knew I wanted a school with a football team.
Well… What I didn’t know then, was how the future could change so ironically.
Shortly after I decided I would never go to ASU, I started dating the love of my life who had already sent his acceptance to the only school he applied to. Now I drive 5 ½ hours at least once a month to visit him at APP state. I love it there.
It’s been three and a half years since I moved away from Charlotte, and after being away from family for so long I can’t see myself staying this far away. So in May I am moving back to my parents house (temporarily, no rent=whoop whoop) and trying to find a job in the Queen City. I love it there too.
Lastly. I spent all 4 years at UNCW so you can obviously see how that last one turned out… But I still love it here.
There were plenty of other things I didn’t know back then either. I didn’t know that my grades were going to be twice as good in college as compared to high school. I didn’t know that it would monsoon rain in the fall, and only when you are on Chancellor’s walk. I didn’t know that I was going to meet some of the most amazing friends I could ask for. I didn’t know that I would get to live on Wrightsville Beach as a senior. I didn’t know how I would change so much. And I didn’t know how fast it would all pass.
I love Wilmington, and UNCW, and the COM department, but I can’t stay forever and this is when I leave it. Even though I can’t come back for the football games, it will always be my school and one of my favorite places.
What I don’t know now is what exactly the future holds for me. What I will say a year from now is “I didn’t know how much I would miss it all.”
Although it’s only in Wilmington, NC, once you step through the doors of Indochine Restaurant you are transformed into a Vietnamese wonderland. Guarding the front entrance, a 6-foot golden statue of Buddha welcomes the guests that come to dine. Statues, paintings, and nicknacks line the walls of the interior of the restaurant, all collected by the restaurants owners during their many travels throughout Asia.
The true enchantment begins when you pass through the back doors into the garden. With just over an acre, the Bartsch family has created a Vietnamese-inspired garden that will leave you speechless. From koi ponds to individual tiki-huts for guests to dine in, the garden is a true transformation to a new “far east” destination.
After opening its doors in 2001, Indochine quickly became one of Wilmington’s most popular attractions. Voted Encore’s Best Restaurant Overall for over 15 years, each visit to Indochine is a handcrafted experience. On top of a beautiful atmosphere, the cuisine only enhances the experience. Staying local and true to Thai culture, each dish is freshly prepared based on family recipes.
Indochine has built a brand based on every factor of the dining experience. Atmosphere, service, and cuisine are just a few examples of where the Indochine staff focuses their attention to ensure every guest is experiencing a true taste of Vietnam. Staying true to culture is very important to the owners and doing so has allowed them to build a strong brand awareness in the Wilmington community.
Based solely on word of mouth marketing, Indochine relies heavily on their reputation. Through their success it is clear that staying true to culture and providing the very best experience to the customer is vital in surviving in the restaurant business. Although the owners choose not to advertise in the community, Indochine is a name we all recognize and has become a staple in Wilmington culture.
Every year Statesville, North Carolina hosts the annual Carolina BalloonFest. This is a three-day event full of hot air and fun. With over 50 hot air balloons taking to the sky, Carolina BalloonFest will definitely leave you speechless. This festival consists of numerous family-friendly events to keep everyone entertained. From hot air balloon rides to a balloon 5k run, this festival has a little of everything. The festival includes: ballon viewings, balloon flights, live music, beer and wine tasting, kite making and much more.
Tickets are $10 dollars and can be purchased onsite at the festival. For more information regarding the festival see: http://www.carolinaballoonfest.com.
For a Cause
Each year the festival chooses a variety of local charities to support. Last year, over 17 charities received donations from the event. Distributing over $76,000 dollars last year, Carolina BalloonFest not only provides fun and entertainment to the community, but also, a helping hand to those in need. The organization states on their website that over the past five years they have contributed over $274,000 dollars to the community. Ranging from cancer organizations to Boy Scout troops, many benefit from this weekend of fun.
Com as Design
Think of words you would use to describe fall. Was “festival” one of the words? To many, fall means dedicating weekends to a vast variety of festivals. County fairs, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and apple picking are all part of the fall theme. But what is it we find so attractive about these events? Is it the goods sold at them? Or the idea of a group of people coming together for a united reason? The design an organization or company decides to pursue for an event is very important. Promoting what their target markets will find most attractive is crucial.
By focusing on language in their design, Carolina BalloonFest uses phrases such as “help continue our charitable mission” and “experience the magic” to persuade their target audiences to attend their event. This organization has decided to put a large emphasis on the charitable aspects of the festival. The website has a section labeled “Our Mission” that describes exactly what charities benefit from the proceeds.
The festival also places a large emphasis on being family-friendly. Adding a list of activities that will take place over the course of the event, Carolina BalloonFest uses strategic naming of these activities to catch a parents’ eye. “Kid Zone,” “Kid Fun Run,” and “Learning Center” are a few examples of designing language to fit a certain target market.
It is clear when dealing with communication, design is key. Remembering the power of design aspects, such as language, will ensure that you are successful in your communication efforts.
The North Carolina State Fair, an event whose humble origins begin with a small four day agriculture event held in 1853, has become a yearly tradition for many North Carolina natives. Much of the reason for the fairs current success is perhaps the diversity of attractions it offers. Whether you go for the fried food or displays of giant vegetables, livestock judging or pig racing, to peruse the craftsmanship in the Village of Yesteryear or to pursue the coveted prize of a giant stuffed animal at one of the many carnival games, there is a little bit of everything for everyone.
2015 has already seen record attendance numbers with its first Thursday, the 15th of October, setting an opening day record at 47,677 guests, breaking the previous record set in 2010. Many more visitors will make their way to Raleigh as the week continues and they are drawn to the many events and attractions.
Of the many events and attractions, perhaps one of the most publicized is the State Fair’s fried food that has become infamous for being as creative as it is unhealthy. As a part of the State Fair’s social media, there is a blog run by the fair called the Deep Fried Blog. Of this years many deep fried sensations, the star of the show is a newcomer called, “Fry Me Over the Moon”, a combination a Moon Pie, Hostess Cupcake, Oreos, and Reese’s Cups, all deep fried into a single creation. Not only has this been publicized on the State Fair’s blog, but many other media outlets have covered this State Fair delicacy such as WNCW, The News and Observer, and WRAL, just to name a few.
While this modern fried phenomenon draws much attention, a less advertised, but long running tradition for many is the more relaxing Heritage Circle, a place where visitors can get fresh home made ice cream from the Grist Mill and listen to the line up of bluegrass musicians at the Bluegrass Stage. While bustling energy surrounds the novelty fried food vendors as people squeeze their way through the busier segments of the fair, Heritage Circle offers a completely different state fair experience. It is tucked away from the heavy foot traffic of the main paths in a much quieter wooded area where visitors can sit and enjoy the feeling of a simpler time.
Today’s fair goers are offered a wide variety of attractions that range from experimental to traditional. There is something for everyone this fall at the NC State fair grounds as the festivities continue until October 25th.
Cucalorus is Wilmywood’s premiere quirky film festival, showcasing independent films from local, national and international artists. Film connoisseurs sporting chunky glasses, artsy students in their thrift-store best and less interesting folk like you and I file into Thalian Hall (or one of the many other venues), settle down and wait for the lights to dim. This November will be the 21st year this little slice of art and culture draws people to downtown Wilmington.
I could barely convince people to keep coming after my twelfth birthday party, so how does Cucalorus garner a big crowd each consecutive year? A cohesive brand narrative, that’s how. And Cucalorus’ brand narrative is nothing short of weird—but in the good way. Let’s explore what makes Cucalorus cool.
It’s in the copy
While none of these factors are ranked in any specific order of importance, I am a word person and always like to read and evaluate the voice of an organization. Many organizations forget about this, not capitalizing its subtle importance. Bad organizations.
Cucalorus, on the other hand, has got its copy down pat. The copy, whether it’s online, in print or broadcasted on the radio, is how an organization communicates not only its news or events, but its personality, its voice and its image. Here’s a snippet of copy from Cucalorus’ donation page on their website:
“Hey Cucalorians!!! Do you need to get rid of unwanted cash? Make a donation and we’ll send you a tax deduction letter to send your fuzzy little friends at the IRS (they don’t need your money and clearly don’t know what to do with it!!). We do know what to do with it – we’re already plotting and scheming for the 21st annual Cucalorus Film Festival – taking place November 11-15, 2015!!! Help us fund the dreams and visions of artists all over the world by making a donation today.
Dreaming of eggnog omelettes!
Cucalorius.
The Cucalorus Film Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit and your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.”
On first glance this might sound unprofessional and not the voice an organization would want to convey. The context, though, is important. Cucalorus’ audience is mostly the aforementioned artists, hipsters and independent film connoisseurs and Cucalorians. These types of people generally like funny, creative and quirky things (like Cucalorus). These types of people also tend to be skeptical of the IRS—not to mention the state cutting NC’s film incentive last year. So yes, it might be OK for Cucalorus to be a bit irreverent, and it’s their creative risk.
Digital presence, dude
If your business doesn’t have some sort of online presence (an email address counts), I would like you to write to me immediately by carrier pigeon and explain how you’re still surviving. An online presence is increasingly important each year, and now just having a website and Facebook isn’t cutting it. Brand cohesion across appropriate social media networks and inter-connectivity between them is vital.
Cucalorus not only has a website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram but their own blog and—drum roll—they are all updated. Bravo, Cucalorus. Content creation and audience engagement are essential to a successful IMC strategy.
Creepily consistent image
This one is tandem with the digital presence. IMC consists of advertising, public relations, marketing and every other single communication an organization can perform with its publics. Consistency in corporate communication allows the organization and its audiences to construct a narrative and image of the brand. This is what people can relate to. This is how we can see the quirkiness, irreverence and artsy personality of Cucalorus as if it were that weird kid in your English class who would always have some snappy reference to an obscure book even your professor hadn’t read. But less annoying.
The color scheme and design is consistent. The font-faces, graphics and little cartoon dudes are consistent. There’s well-organized navigation and that copy I was talking about earlier. The social media pages follow suit. There’s an article on this if you’re into academic papers. Basically, the author, Simon Torp from Odense University in Denmark, says that as an organization your communication through all channels must be consistent, accessible and in line with your self-image, public image and meta-image for people to take you seriously.
Zany staff workers
When I said all channels of communication, I meant all of them. Even the staff workers and volunteers need to be carefully selected and even briefed on an organization’s code of conduct. One time I went to a screening of a Cucalorus film at Thalian Hall and, not to get into too much detail, I, with the rest of the audience, was sternly asked by staff to partake in a ritual involving whipped cream, button pins and our tongues. Was I offended? No, but I could have been if I had been misguided by thinking Cucalorus was actually a convention for neo-Puritans. Because their self-branding and self-image don’t suggest that, I could expect something out of the ordinary. It’s the risk that Cucalorus takes to maintain its image and appeal to its target audience.
High-quality product
When it comes down to it, a business or organization is only as good as its product. Silly brand narrative and image aside, Cucalorus does a good job at what it does. It recruits and selects excellent film talent from around the world and showcases it in quality and entertaining venues. This is where word-of-mouth comes into play. Word-of-mouth marketing or WOM is an organic and invaluable means of public relations, advertising and marketing. Have you ever read a positive news story about an organization you love? Or has a good friend of yours recommended a product or service they favor? These are examples of WOM that can make or break an organization depending on whether they are in favor or against it. Maintaining the balance between brand narrative, professionalism and good business sense is how an organization thrives. While Cucalorus does an outstanding job of its own branding and controlled media, its reputation for quality and intrigue reign in filmmakers and spectators every year.
I am no way affiliated with the Cucalorus film festival professionally, nor do I represent it. I recognize good IMC in organizations and talk about it here. But, if you are tired of what the local theaters are playing, check out a showing of something interesting between November 11 and 15 downtown at Cucalorus.
Film is a massive industry that grosses billions of dollar everywhere. Film is a living breathing entity that has a huge impact wherever it can find a home. For a long time film has been a staple of the Wilmington community. Despite being a tiny town in comparison to megacities like Charlotte and Raleigh, you can always find Wilmington pointed out in some way on a map of North Carolina. Film is just one of the things that we, as a city, do.
Famous shows like One Tree Hill and blockbuster movies like Iron Man 3 and The Conjuring have called at least one locale in Wilmington home. It’s hard to resist shooting here when we have such beautiful scenery, historic buildings and easily accessible sweeping landscapes. It also helped that until recently North Carolina provided excellent grants and incentives for filmmakers to use our natural beauty. Wilmington got it’s nickname “Hollywood of the East” because our scenery and incentives have attracted filmmakers to our area more than anywhere else. So, what’s going to happen with the recent decision to remove many film incentives from our budget? Well, before you answer that question you have to really look at how film affects the areas where it takes root. What better place to look than the most famous name in film?
A brief history of Hollywood: Hollywood started as a simple ranch outside of L.A. which slowly grew into a small town. Hollywood was annexed by LA in the early 1900s due to the fact that Hollywood was having an issue with its water supply and LA had a good aqueduct system in place. Hollywood really began to come into its own when filmmakers began to flee there because Thomas Edison’s Motion Picture Patents Company was imposing strict rules on independent filmmakers and often suing them to stop their production. These filmmakers accidentally stumbled on Hollywood after filming in nearby LA and after very successful shoots in the area they began to set up shop, the first studio being built in 1919. The Hollywood sign itself actually originally said Hollywoodland to advertise a new housing development. It fell into disrepair and the Chamber of Commerce commission a restoration, removing the last four letters and restoring the others. When TV sprang up in the 1950s, Hollywood was an obvious choice for studios and many of the existing studios there, like MGM and Warner Bros, decided to dip their hands into that industry as well. From then on, Hollywood has continued to be an icon of the American film industry, despite most studios moving on to other areas around LA. The only movie studio remaining in the actual Hollywood area today is Paramount Studios. (Source of all this history: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3871.html)
So, how did Hollywood become a synonym for American film? Well, the obvious answer is that filmmakers saw incredible opportunity in Hollywood and all decided to jump in the same boat. What we’re interested in is the way the image of Hollywood was created. Without film, Hollywood would just be another suburb in the barren country around LA. Somehow, through coordinated management of meaning, Hollywood because a famous place for famous people to create famous content. Let’s break it down based on the three prongs of the CMM theory. The first is coherence. In order for a message to be successful and meaning to be created, it must be coherent. In this case, Hollywood established itself as a haven for filmmakers early. While its discovery may have been a mistake originally, a clear message was sent by the town of Hollywood later: we are a place where you can come and film in peace. Next is coordination. Through the installation of the Walk of Fame in 1956, the creation of the Oscar in 1929, the building of five major theaters from five massive companies in the late 1920s and the restoration of the massive Hollywood sign in the 1940s, the town of Hollywood narrowed down its focus and decided what it wanted to be known for. The town sent out a message that being in Hollywood was rewarding for studios and actors alike. Hollywood really decided to take an engagement approach in its marketing by targeting its audience with incentives that it knew they would like. All that was left after that was to keep them there, and this is where the last prong, mystery, comes in. Before its surge in the 1920s, Hollywood was a massively untapped area, a veritable gold mine of beautiful scenery and largely untouched history. This led filmmakers to wonder else was in store. This may also be one of the reasons that Hollywood has lost steam and studios over the past few decades. The mystery is gone for studios as they know exactly what to expect from the area and viewers can expect to see much of the same scenery as the area is used over and over again. Maybe this is why film has expanded to so many other areas like Wilmington. Regardless, Hollywood did not become an icon through chance. After its discovery, the town made a coordinated effort to communicate the fact that it was a great place for film and incentivize filmmakers and actors alike for setting up shop there.
So what does this mean for Wilmington? Well, it means that the loss of our film incentives will cause a major problem. How can we bring studios here without communicating to them that we are a great place for film? How does the industry affect our image? What will Wilmington be if not the “Hollywood of the East”? I suppose you’ll have to come back tomorrow if you’d like to find out.
– Griffin Weidele, Austin Moody, Allen Wooten, Luci Keefer, Scott Uraro
Pumpkin is the flavor of fall. Products that offer limited edition seasonal pumpkin flavors and scents include pumpkin beer, pumpkin M&Ms, pumpkin spice marshmallows, pumpkin candles, pumpkin scented shampoo… and according to testers at the TODAY Show pumpkin spice Oreo’s are “especially tasty”.
But no one does it better than Starbucks and the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes first appeared on the Starbucks menu in the fall of 2004. This is the beverage that kicks off their holiday seasonal drinks, even though it comes out in late August. The creamy pumpkin pie sensation mixed with a subdued coffee flavor created a taste that consumers immediately latched on to. One sip can bring you down memory lane, sharing an evening with your family, exchanging laughs and stuffing your bellies.
Along with scarves and sweaters, sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte has become a new fall accessory. The drink option reminded loyal customers why Starbucks was their brand of choice and offered incentive for potential new customers to engage in their products.
Seattlemet.com states that in October 2004, just one month after releasing the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Starbucks noted an 11 percent spike in their company sales compared to the previous year. It was official…the brand had struck orange.
In 2013, forbes.com reported that Starbucks has sold over 200 million pumpkin spice lattes and generated a revenue of over 80 million dollars.
But popularity has a price. The seasonal drink got so popular that it seemed to reach a tipping point. Last year in 2014, some consumers were losing their sense of identity from feeling too conformed by the Starbucks pumpkin spice fad. Customers became critical of the product and and found some weak spots to pick on. The beverage’s ingredients did not actually include pumpkin and did include caramel coloring. These two things were enough to start an anti-PSL movement. This movement grew to such a size that Starbucks revisited its IMC plan.
After 11 years with the same successful recipe, Starbucks reformulated to accommodate disgruntled customers. In addition to adding real pumpkin, the company devoted a large IMC effort towards branding this product. They have created a tumblr, an instagram, a twitter, and an entire brand identity just for one drink. The real Pumpkin Spice Latte now takes selfies and interacts with its audiences. Starbucks Efforts include having its own trending hashtag (#PSL), offering an iced version for warmer weather, and even a password that allows people to buy the drink earlier than it is official release date.
Will Starbucks be able to revive the pumpkin spice latte trend once again? Or will the PLS critics find some other problem to cling to?
Love Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Use the #PSL on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook to gush about your love for this hot beverage. Or leave us a comment below and let us know what you think!
Watch Starbucks 2015 Campaign here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=112&v=la-h1sE3igs
-Aki Suzuki, Lexie Trimnal, Carey Shetterley, June Wilkinson, Carey Poniewaz
IMC Hawks Blog 