Let me tell you, for my final required blog post for the semester, about one of my biggest pet peeves. We'll need some background first.
So in order for me to fall asleep, I need to have my brain thinking of one thing, but it can't be real life. A story, a tv show, anything. It needs to be loud enough for me to hear it, but barely hear it. I want it quiet enough so that when I fall asleep, the tv show won't wake me up. I set my sleep timers for an hour on my television, just to be safe.
BUT THEN THERE'S A COMMERCIAL THAT GOES LIKE THIS AND YELLS AND THE MUSIC IS LOUD AND THERE'S SO MUCH NOISE AND I WAS SO CLOSE TO BEING ASLEEP...
Well, I've got to tell you. It's worked before, it does grab the viewer's attention, and they do at least see or hear what the heck it is you're selling or doing. But let me be honest, I hate you and will never buy from you/whatever it is your selling simply because you're obnoxiously loud. Even if I LOVE buying pillows from PillowPuffMart or something, if I heard a commercial of them SCREAMING LIKE THIS then I would never buy from them ever again.
Good news for consumers! Bad news for marketers: You can't yell at me when I'm trying to sleep anymore.
This only relates to marketing in the sense of WHY they're doing it, and how this could most assuredly hurt some companies. Some people actually like being caught off-guard by your loud noises, and will be more interested in your wares because of it. I'm not one of those people, but there are people like that in the world.
Good new for consumers, my ear drums are safe and you'll stop waking me up.
So what can marketers do now? Clearly they need to flash bright colors and white light instead, so it'll blind me. Kidding. Now, those weird TV spot commercials will have to actually think of decent commercials instead of blowing out everyones' eardrums. I'm actually really excited to see what some of them will come up with, which might sound really nerdy, but I think it could be really funny.
Marketers make it work! That'll be the title of my blog post when I figure out what they're doing instead..
Until next time!
-MG
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
How Quotes Change Everything
Let me preface with this: I am not a crazy feminist. I don't believe in women having more power than men because we're better or something obscure like that. Heck, if I get home before my future husband, I'll have dinner on the table for him when he gets home - because I like cooking and I assume I'll enjoy eating with my husband.
But I love this article on a gender equality (Which I am all for) article with some pretty excellent pictures.
I'm a big fan of this girl.
I thought this one was really eye-catching and good.
But what I really want to mention is a line from the article.. The creative brief for the “Gender Equality Now” exhibition carries a quote from Clinton that states, “As long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes, the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realised.”
Let me tell you something about quotes. I'm obsessed with them. I find them hugely inspiring, and when we're they're really well put-together, they're very focused. Conveniently enough, that's everything a creative brief should be. I'm going to be honest here, I have a board on pinterest called 'Quotes' and it's easily my most filled board. I. Love. Quotes.
Which made me realize, I love the idea of quotes in a creative brief! Why didn't my group think of that for our creative brief?! What an amazing idea! I'm impressed. Again, with my post on creativity, I'll use this for any future creative brief I need to make. Let's be real, wow. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so impressed with this - I'm sure plenty of companies and businesses have done this. Maybe it's just because I love quotes.
For example:
This is on my pinterest quotes board, because I'm kind of on the shorter side of ladies' heights. That's just one of the >50 quote pins I have.
I think using a quote in a creative brief is a strong, powerful way to reinforce the influence behind what you want, what you want it focused on. Inspiring and focused.
It's like creative briefs were made to showcase quotes! At least, in my head. Wish I'd thought of this sooner.
Until next time!
-MG
But I love this article on a gender equality (Which I am all for) article with some pretty excellent pictures.
I'm a big fan of this girl.
I thought this one was really eye-catching and good.
But what I really want to mention is a line from the article.. The creative brief for the “Gender Equality Now” exhibition carries a quote from Clinton that states, “As long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes, the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realised.”
Let me tell you something about quotes. I'm obsessed with them. I find them hugely inspiring, and when we're they're really well put-together, they're very focused. Conveniently enough, that's everything a creative brief should be. I'm going to be honest here, I have a board on pinterest called 'Quotes' and it's easily my most filled board. I. Love. Quotes.
Which made me realize, I love the idea of quotes in a creative brief! Why didn't my group think of that for our creative brief?! What an amazing idea! I'm impressed. Again, with my post on creativity, I'll use this for any future creative brief I need to make. Let's be real, wow. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so impressed with this - I'm sure plenty of companies and businesses have done this. Maybe it's just because I love quotes.
For example:
This is on my pinterest quotes board, because I'm kind of on the shorter side of ladies' heights. That's just one of the >50 quote pins I have.
I think using a quote in a creative brief is a strong, powerful way to reinforce the influence behind what you want, what you want it focused on. Inspiring and focused.
It's like creative briefs were made to showcase quotes! At least, in my head. Wish I'd thought of this sooner.
Until next time!
-MG
Changing hands is a good thing
Guys, I really like Gap.
They changed hand a lot recently, and let me tell you. It's working for them. So what other brands have made this scary jump of switching ownership or who your manager is and rocked it?
JC Penney. The guy who now runs it used to work at Apple - something tells me he has great insight into business.
Speaking of Apple, despite Steve Jobs' passing, Tim Cook has been rocking it out. I firmly believe Apple has the BEST business plan, followed by Wal-Mart. Hypermarkets are crazy.
So why is this working? Well, I exercise a lot, and I feel like I can relate these two concepts. Get ready to have your mind blown.
So when you lift weights, your muscles tear, and then heal back stronger from protein. That's the simplest way to put it. But if you do twenty bicep curls a day, guess what? Your body adapts, and even if you go up in weight, your muscles will SORT OF callous, is the best way I can phrase it, and they won't tear or reheal bigger. If you do the same exercises in the same orders every week, your body adapts and stops growing. You have to switch up your workout program, usually every two weeks is sufficient. Probably the most you can do it is six weeks before HAVING to switch or else being caught in a slump.
So here's relating it to a company switching hands, if it's not already clear. Your company gets used to you. The world gets used to you. Your company becomes jaded, and you don't know how to switch it up in a way that isn't already jaded. Some older football coaches are having this problem as well. So how do you fix it?
Well.. you replace your workout with something new and different. You replace your football coach with someone younger with new play ideas. You replace someone with a lot of power with someone younger, with a lot of new ideas.
So even if it's been a bumpy ride while you switch over, I think in the long-run, this switch is going to be great for these companies. JC Penney did an entire rebranding with their CEO switch, and I think the few bumps in the road have been minor compared to what they'll gain in the future. Same with Gap. Apple has stayed true to it roots, but they're trying a few new things.
What promising companies!!!
Until Next Time!
-MG
They changed hand a lot recently, and let me tell you. It's working for them. So what other brands have made this scary jump of switching ownership or who your manager is and rocked it?
JC Penney. The guy who now runs it used to work at Apple - something tells me he has great insight into business.
Speaking of Apple, despite Steve Jobs' passing, Tim Cook has been rocking it out. I firmly believe Apple has the BEST business plan, followed by Wal-Mart. Hypermarkets are crazy.
So why is this working? Well, I exercise a lot, and I feel like I can relate these two concepts. Get ready to have your mind blown.
So when you lift weights, your muscles tear, and then heal back stronger from protein. That's the simplest way to put it. But if you do twenty bicep curls a day, guess what? Your body adapts, and even if you go up in weight, your muscles will SORT OF callous, is the best way I can phrase it, and they won't tear or reheal bigger. If you do the same exercises in the same orders every week, your body adapts and stops growing. You have to switch up your workout program, usually every two weeks is sufficient. Probably the most you can do it is six weeks before HAVING to switch or else being caught in a slump.
So here's relating it to a company switching hands, if it's not already clear. Your company gets used to you. The world gets used to you. Your company becomes jaded, and you don't know how to switch it up in a way that isn't already jaded. Some older football coaches are having this problem as well. So how do you fix it?
Well.. you replace your workout with something new and different. You replace your football coach with someone younger with new play ideas. You replace someone with a lot of power with someone younger, with a lot of new ideas.
So even if it's been a bumpy ride while you switch over, I think in the long-run, this switch is going to be great for these companies. JC Penney did an entire rebranding with their CEO switch, and I think the few bumps in the road have been minor compared to what they'll gain in the future. Same with Gap. Apple has stayed true to it roots, but they're trying a few new things.
What promising companies!!!
Until Next Time!
-MG
So this one time..
I went to the zoo and The Boyfriend didn't know what a red panda was, so when he saw a picture of it, he called it a koala-fox. Let me tell you, it looks NOTHING like a koala, and maybe a little like a fox. After this trip, it's his new favorite animal.
LOOK AT HIS FACE :D
So here's this article about pictures that I'm pretty sure everyone already knew. But! It's always nice to have numbers and research behind it.
Also, this says words look better with an actual picture, as opposed to a blank screen or a solid color. Apparently, the picture doesn't even have to be relevant! Now, I don't like that, because if there's a disconnect, I just sit there staring in a confused manner and wonder why the heck this doesn't click, why you're trying to persuade me to buy a brand of cracker with a picture of a dolphin.
Just came up with that, I'm not calling anyone out here.
Here's my singular problem with this article: Isn't this kind of a duh thing? As with all the neuromarketing articles, it's nice to have the numbers behind it and the proof and to learn how they got there. But at the end, when they some it up: Make the picture relevant, include a picture, and not just stock photo. Isn't that all given?
This sort of ties in with my post on creativity - BE CREATIVE. Someone took a great picture of a sunset, and it's applicable to your product. DON'T USE IT!! It's probably all over the internet!!! Use it as inspiration and go take your own picture of a sunset! Take a thousand pictures of sunsets if it means you'll get a good shot.
Don't use this. It's from wikipedia. I googled 'sunset.'
But now I've seen what I want, I can go find a nice spot and stare at a sunset until I get a good blend of colors like this for my product.
Don't use stock, everyone will know.
Until next time!
-MG
LOOK AT HIS FACE :D
So here's this article about pictures that I'm pretty sure everyone already knew. But! It's always nice to have numbers and research behind it.
Also, this says words look better with an actual picture, as opposed to a blank screen or a solid color. Apparently, the picture doesn't even have to be relevant! Now, I don't like that, because if there's a disconnect, I just sit there staring in a confused manner and wonder why the heck this doesn't click, why you're trying to persuade me to buy a brand of cracker with a picture of a dolphin.
Just came up with that, I'm not calling anyone out here.
Here's my singular problem with this article: Isn't this kind of a duh thing? As with all the neuromarketing articles, it's nice to have the numbers behind it and the proof and to learn how they got there. But at the end, when they some it up: Make the picture relevant, include a picture, and not just stock photo. Isn't that all given?
This sort of ties in with my post on creativity - BE CREATIVE. Someone took a great picture of a sunset, and it's applicable to your product. DON'T USE IT!! It's probably all over the internet!!! Use it as inspiration and go take your own picture of a sunset! Take a thousand pictures of sunsets if it means you'll get a good shot.
Don't use this. It's from wikipedia. I googled 'sunset.'
But now I've seen what I want, I can go find a nice spot and stare at a sunset until I get a good blend of colors like this for my product.
Don't use stock, everyone will know.
Until next time!
-MG
A Lesson in Grammar
I really like books. I think this article is awesome.
But is it really about books, or is it about something more? Something we can use in more than places than just books.
I understand that taglines are supposed to be short. Just Do It. Gimme A Break. Expect Great Things. But what about a description? Used to, KitKat had 'Crispy wafers in chocolate.' Could it be better? Clearly, because now they have 'Crisp wafers in milk chocolate.' Crisp gives you an adjective, so does milk chocolate. Not just chocolate, but thick, creamy chocolate.
Do they sell more now than they used to? I'd assume so, since they're still growing as a company. They have a devoted fan base, people who love KitKats LOVE KitKats. But what about another start up company? What about someone I've been talking about a lot: Sodastream? "Get Busy With the Fizzy." I personally think that's weird, but it does have at least one adjective in it. Fizzy. That tells you what you're getting out of it - fizz. But I don't get the rest very well. Get busy with the fizzy - does that mean it's going to take me a long time to make my beverages fizzy?
I think they need a new tagline. Now they're DESCRIPTION is much better, except it's too long to be a tagline, too wordy. "Turn Water into Fresh Sparkling Water and Soda." So that's better - boring, plain old water into fresh, sparkling water.. and soda. Okay, so the soda bit is just thrown on, but it's what probably at least 50% of users use it for.
Skittles have 'experience the rainbow.' Now adjectives, but let's be honest, a rainbow is pretty exciting. Then on the packaging, bite size candy. Not just small, bite-size. Adjectives work.
So even if you can't cram an adjective into a two-word tag line, at least try to get it into your description. Studies show it works wonders, and I can definitely agree with that.
Until next time!
-MG
But is it really about books, or is it about something more? Something we can use in more than places than just books.
I understand that taglines are supposed to be short. Just Do It. Gimme A Break. Expect Great Things. But what about a description? Used to, KitKat had 'Crispy wafers in chocolate.' Could it be better? Clearly, because now they have 'Crisp wafers in milk chocolate.' Crisp gives you an adjective, so does milk chocolate. Not just chocolate, but thick, creamy chocolate.
Do they sell more now than they used to? I'd assume so, since they're still growing as a company. They have a devoted fan base, people who love KitKats LOVE KitKats. But what about another start up company? What about someone I've been talking about a lot: Sodastream? "Get Busy With the Fizzy." I personally think that's weird, but it does have at least one adjective in it. Fizzy. That tells you what you're getting out of it - fizz. But I don't get the rest very well. Get busy with the fizzy - does that mean it's going to take me a long time to make my beverages fizzy?
I think they need a new tagline. Now they're DESCRIPTION is much better, except it's too long to be a tagline, too wordy. "Turn Water into Fresh Sparkling Water and Soda." So that's better - boring, plain old water into fresh, sparkling water.. and soda. Okay, so the soda bit is just thrown on, but it's what probably at least 50% of users use it for.
Skittles have 'experience the rainbow.' Now adjectives, but let's be honest, a rainbow is pretty exciting. Then on the packaging, bite size candy. Not just small, bite-size. Adjectives work.
So even if you can't cram an adjective into a two-word tag line, at least try to get it into your description. Studies show it works wonders, and I can definitely agree with that.
Until next time!
-MG
Creative.
So one of my blog prompts from my professor is "What does it mean to be creative?" I assume that if I simply write, "To create something," in this blog, she'll dock a lot of points.
But seriously, what more is it than that?
Dictionary.com says "cre·a·tive [kree-ey-tiv] adjective
1. having the quality or power of creating.
2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.
3. originative; productive (usually followed by of ).
4. Facetious. using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping."
I feel like this proves my point. Creating something. I know you might say, yes Marketing Girl, but it has to be ORIGINAL. I disagree.
The other day, the boyfriend drew me a picture of a My Little Pony, Applejack. It took me a few weeks to beg for it, but he finally did because he likes me. He opened a picture of Applejack from google images, and he drew it. Just because someone else originally drew it and he copied it, does that make him not creative? He still created something for me. Something I couldn't have created without the use of a printer and tracing paper.
I'm not saying copying is good, in fact, copying and plagiarism and all that nonsense is horrible and illegal and you should never do it.
But just because you base an idea off of something someone's already done before, does that mean you're no longer creative? I disagree, I think it makes you just as creative. Why reinvent the wheel every time you make a car? I think that would be silly.
I don't think my idea is hugely novel. I just think being creative means you can create something. You can either create something completely new from scratch, or you can take someone else's idea and build something new from that. A hatchback and a van and a truck have a lot in common when you look at how they're made and what they're made of. They all also still happen to have four wheels.
Until next time!
-MG
But seriously, what more is it than that?
Dictionary.com says "cre·a·tive [kree-ey-tiv] adjective
1. having the quality or power of creating.
2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.
3. originative; productive (usually followed by of ).
4. Facetious. using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping."
I feel like this proves my point. Creating something. I know you might say, yes Marketing Girl, but it has to be ORIGINAL. I disagree.
The other day, the boyfriend drew me a picture of a My Little Pony, Applejack. It took me a few weeks to beg for it, but he finally did because he likes me. He opened a picture of Applejack from google images, and he drew it. Just because someone else originally drew it and he copied it, does that make him not creative? He still created something for me. Something I couldn't have created without the use of a printer and tracing paper.
I'm not saying copying is good, in fact, copying and plagiarism and all that nonsense is horrible and illegal and you should never do it.
But just because you base an idea off of something someone's already done before, does that mean you're no longer creative? I disagree, I think it makes you just as creative. Why reinvent the wheel every time you make a car? I think that would be silly.
I don't think my idea is hugely novel. I just think being creative means you can create something. You can either create something completely new from scratch, or you can take someone else's idea and build something new from that. A hatchback and a van and a truck have a lot in common when you look at how they're made and what they're made of. They all also still happen to have four wheels.
Until next time!
-MG
On the same note of viral marketing, here's AdAge's list of the top 10 viral campaigns of 2012. Conveniently enough, it starts with Kony. But don't worry, none of the rest are as long or as intense. So! Here's the article:
I want to point out that two of them are for Angry Birds.
My Mom is obsessed with Angry Birds. It's really cute, actually. She has an obsessive need for three starts on all the levels of all the games. I'm sort of like it with Cut The Rope. We're a pretty strange little family.
Anyways! Onto this discussion of viral marketing. I have to say I sort of agree with their list, in that I saw the top few or so and then it kind of dwindles because I don't watch a lot of youtube and only a few of those were actual commercials as well, like the M&Ms one. So I ask this, what is this new obsession with viral marketing? How did we go from a world of television and billboards to one where a youtube ad has more success than a prime TV spot? The Superbowl is, perhaps, the main exception to this, but overall.
I saw Kony because I was confused, I saw the space one because I watched it, I saw the two Angry Birds one from my mom, I think the Galaxy S one was on tv? Or it was an ad before a video I was watching on youtube, and then the m&m ones are the only ones I've seen.
I missed the jump because if I spent a lot of time on youtube watching these things, I would spend literally all my time watching these things.
My number one answer is that we have become a nation of procrastinators. I myself am one, and I can't go a day without hearing one of those 'clever' things like 'Procrastinators Unite! ..Tomorrow.' Which people need to stop saying because it's become very unoriginal.
But we have a problem. I know, aside from procrastinating?! You ask. I say yes. We don't just procrastinate, but we don't do ANYTHING while we procrastinate. Well, I don't feel like socializing with friends or eating food and everything on TV sucks except for Big Bang Theory/Jersey Shore/Whatever it is you rot your brain with, which isn't on right now. But I don't want to do my HUGE paper that's due tomorrow and worth 90% of my grade and has been assigned all semester. So I think I'll just go click popular things on youtube for a few hours.
A few HOURS?! WHAT?! The longest I spent on youtube once was one hour, where I proceeded to watch about thirty Jenna Marbles videos. I have an attention disorder, I can't even focus on being distracted for more than an hour.
I feel like as a marketing major, I should be THRILLED by this. So long as I can create a video and push it so hard or make at least one opinion leader laugh, suddenly I've made it. Instead, I'm just a little freaked out by how big viral marketing has gotten. Will it make my future job easier? Maybe. Does it mean there are kids out there with cumulative finals tomorrow that they haven't studied a lick for and instead they're busy laughing about a brown M&M? Sadly, yes.
As excited as I am, and as much as I enjoy watching the occasional viral marketing, I'm concerned with how often one person will watch each of these singular advertisements. How many times have you seen the angry birds commercials? For me, it's once each. That's all I need to see it too, thanks.
Viral marketing. Very exciting, very interesting, very scary, and a little concerning.
Until next time!
-MG
I want to point out that two of them are for Angry Birds.
My Mom is obsessed with Angry Birds. It's really cute, actually. She has an obsessive need for three starts on all the levels of all the games. I'm sort of like it with Cut The Rope. We're a pretty strange little family.
Anyways! Onto this discussion of viral marketing. I have to say I sort of agree with their list, in that I saw the top few or so and then it kind of dwindles because I don't watch a lot of youtube and only a few of those were actual commercials as well, like the M&Ms one. So I ask this, what is this new obsession with viral marketing? How did we go from a world of television and billboards to one where a youtube ad has more success than a prime TV spot? The Superbowl is, perhaps, the main exception to this, but overall.
I saw Kony because I was confused, I saw the space one because I watched it, I saw the two Angry Birds one from my mom, I think the Galaxy S one was on tv? Or it was an ad before a video I was watching on youtube, and then the m&m ones are the only ones I've seen.
I missed the jump because if I spent a lot of time on youtube watching these things, I would spend literally all my time watching these things.
My number one answer is that we have become a nation of procrastinators. I myself am one, and I can't go a day without hearing one of those 'clever' things like 'Procrastinators Unite! ..Tomorrow.' Which people need to stop saying because it's become very unoriginal.
But we have a problem. I know, aside from procrastinating?! You ask. I say yes. We don't just procrastinate, but we don't do ANYTHING while we procrastinate. Well, I don't feel like socializing with friends or eating food and everything on TV sucks except for Big Bang Theory/Jersey Shore/Whatever it is you rot your brain with, which isn't on right now. But I don't want to do my HUGE paper that's due tomorrow and worth 90% of my grade and has been assigned all semester. So I think I'll just go click popular things on youtube for a few hours.
A few HOURS?! WHAT?! The longest I spent on youtube once was one hour, where I proceeded to watch about thirty Jenna Marbles videos. I have an attention disorder, I can't even focus on being distracted for more than an hour.
I feel like as a marketing major, I should be THRILLED by this. So long as I can create a video and push it so hard or make at least one opinion leader laugh, suddenly I've made it. Instead, I'm just a little freaked out by how big viral marketing has gotten. Will it make my future job easier? Maybe. Does it mean there are kids out there with cumulative finals tomorrow that they haven't studied a lick for and instead they're busy laughing about a brown M&M? Sadly, yes.
As excited as I am, and as much as I enjoy watching the occasional viral marketing, I'm concerned with how often one person will watch each of these singular advertisements. How many times have you seen the angry birds commercials? For me, it's once each. That's all I need to see it too, thanks.
Viral marketing. Very exciting, very interesting, very scary, and a little concerning.
Until next time!
-MG
Viral Marketing - Kony
So if you haven't seen this at all during 2012, you're clearly missing out on some intense marketing, and this video gets shut down on December 31. I'm not sure how they can do this, given how many users have reposted it on youtube, so it'll probably still be available after that, but here it is now.
I'm not going to talk to you about Kony. Not about deployment of the troops vs. saving Ugandan children, not about Republican vs. Democrat or anything like that, because I don't believe in shoving my opinions down peoples' throats, and I gauge that you can make your own opinion on this video.
What I'm going to talk about is the marketing of this video. The viral marketing. It has over 94,000,000 views. Ninety-four MILLION views. Want to know the total views? Over 213 million. 213,000,000. How did this happen? A few people made it, and they made it well. They put together moving images and clips, and explained their plan in about the same amount of time of a short lecture.
Then they posted it, they shared it with their friends, their family, each other. Then they passed it on to facebook, who watched it and saw these moving images, this cute kid, this intense issue in Uganda. Then they shared it.
Then they were moved by the attempt to explain this massive issue to a child. So they shared it on Twitter.
Then they were moved by the thought of losing their child/future children because of a war, about not being safe. About having their own kids shoot them.
Then they shared it.
Soon, the number hit 94 million.
I must say, this has to be the most intense viral marketing campaign ever. I'm sure it didn't cost much - certainly not near as much as it made. I'd be curious to know how much money they made from Tri, and how many of those little boxes they sent out. I'm sure the number would blow me away, and I'm sure we've all seen the posters about. I can't say if it was April 21st with I saw them all, or when or where it was when I first noticed, but even I, secluded on my college campus and in my hometown, saw enough for me to be curious.
This sets a completely new standard for viral marketing. It was parkour, or some crazy stunt, it was a tragic issue happening in a country on another continent, and the world took it and ran with it. Whatever this Kony 2012 campaign did, it did it right and it needs others to follow it's example. If I had to guess? One thing:
Dedication.
These aren't people who just sort of care about this in their spare time. No, these people CARE about this in all their time, and I'm sure each person who helped make that video or was in that video probably shared it on their facebooks and twitters about 100 times, at least. Who knows exactly when it took hold, but they chipped away by posting it so often, by being so dedication and persevering and persistent, until they couldn't be ignored.
This is a hugely successful marketing campaign, but not because of the campaign itself, but because of the people behind it I think. If only everyone were as dedicated to their campaigns as that, we'd have a lot more viral marketing out there.
Until next time
-MG
I'm not going to talk to you about Kony. Not about deployment of the troops vs. saving Ugandan children, not about Republican vs. Democrat or anything like that, because I don't believe in shoving my opinions down peoples' throats, and I gauge that you can make your own opinion on this video.
What I'm going to talk about is the marketing of this video. The viral marketing. It has over 94,000,000 views. Ninety-four MILLION views. Want to know the total views? Over 213 million. 213,000,000. How did this happen? A few people made it, and they made it well. They put together moving images and clips, and explained their plan in about the same amount of time of a short lecture.
Then they posted it, they shared it with their friends, their family, each other. Then they passed it on to facebook, who watched it and saw these moving images, this cute kid, this intense issue in Uganda. Then they shared it.
Then they were moved by the attempt to explain this massive issue to a child. So they shared it on Twitter.
Then they were moved by the thought of losing their child/future children because of a war, about not being safe. About having their own kids shoot them.
Then they shared it.
Soon, the number hit 94 million.
I must say, this has to be the most intense viral marketing campaign ever. I'm sure it didn't cost much - certainly not near as much as it made. I'd be curious to know how much money they made from Tri, and how many of those little boxes they sent out. I'm sure the number would blow me away, and I'm sure we've all seen the posters about. I can't say if it was April 21st with I saw them all, or when or where it was when I first noticed, but even I, secluded on my college campus and in my hometown, saw enough for me to be curious.
This sets a completely new standard for viral marketing. It was parkour, or some crazy stunt, it was a tragic issue happening in a country on another continent, and the world took it and ran with it. Whatever this Kony 2012 campaign did, it did it right and it needs others to follow it's example. If I had to guess? One thing:
Dedication.
These aren't people who just sort of care about this in their spare time. No, these people CARE about this in all their time, and I'm sure each person who helped make that video or was in that video probably shared it on their facebooks and twitters about 100 times, at least. Who knows exactly when it took hold, but they chipped away by posting it so often, by being so dedication and persevering and persistent, until they couldn't be ignored.
This is a hugely successful marketing campaign, but not because of the campaign itself, but because of the people behind it I think. If only everyone were as dedicated to their campaigns as that, we'd have a lot more viral marketing out there.
Until next time
-MG
Curvey Glasses
I find this really interesting.
I'm not sure how people could use this, aside from changing their glass shapes/sizes for faster turnover or to increase sales. For example, soda in restaurants. There could be faster refills, and if you charge per refill, you'd make plenty of profit.
But how could this work in marketing..? In my head I'm thinking of weird advertisements. Or maybe guerrilla marketing.. guerrilla marketing could actually work really well. I don't even drink beer, except for these two times out of curved, flute glasses. I think I might've had one can, once.
What if beer companies or soda companies capitalized on this?
Seems soda companies are almost already capitalizing on it. But what about with cans? What if beer came in curvier, glass-shaped cans? Or encouraged you (through marketing) to drink them out of glasses such as that? Same with sodas too. I know some beers give you specific instructions, to drink until there's a certain amount left, then swirl it and take the last few drinks right quick.
Instructions can tell you drink (over ice, not over ice, whatever happens) in a curvy glass.
I made a vase-floral design in one of these once.
But seriously, I really think drink companies could really capitalize on this new discovery, and let's be honest, it's a very interesting concept you can impress almost anyone with. Even on an interview.
Until next time!
-MG
I'm not sure how people could use this, aside from changing their glass shapes/sizes for faster turnover or to increase sales. For example, soda in restaurants. There could be faster refills, and if you charge per refill, you'd make plenty of profit.
But how could this work in marketing..? In my head I'm thinking of weird advertisements. Or maybe guerrilla marketing.. guerrilla marketing could actually work really well. I don't even drink beer, except for these two times out of curved, flute glasses. I think I might've had one can, once.
What if beer companies or soda companies capitalized on this?
Seems soda companies are almost already capitalizing on it. But what about with cans? What if beer came in curvier, glass-shaped cans? Or encouraged you (through marketing) to drink them out of glasses such as that? Same with sodas too. I know some beers give you specific instructions, to drink until there's a certain amount left, then swirl it and take the last few drinks right quick.
Instructions can tell you drink (over ice, not over ice, whatever happens) in a curvy glass.
.svg/149px-Pilsner_Glass_(Standard).svg.png)
I made a vase-floral design in one of these once.
But seriously, I really think drink companies could really capitalize on this new discovery, and let's be honest, it's a very interesting concept you can impress almost anyone with. Even on an interview.
Until next time!
-MG
Uniqlo! Part two!
So here is our creative brief for the Uniqlo problem I mentioned before. I don't have the powerpoint, nor would I post it on here, mostly because I don't know how.. haha.
Background/Problem
We do not yet have a relationship with the young adults we are looking for. They do not yet know that our fashion allows them to creatively express their personality through the clothes they wear. Once they find those colors that let them be them, they will fall in love with us, and themselves all over again.
Advertising Objective
We want people to break free of the color boundaries that other stores put on them. We want people to walk into the store or visit the site and have this “Ahhh” feeling, relieved that they finally found a store that gives them the shot of choosing exactly who they want to be.
Insight (Problem)
I want the shade I imagined in my head to jump off the shelf at me. I need the freedom of choosing that “in between color” that shows who I am. Give me the option of differentiating myself from all the other color clones.
Target Audience
They’ll keep an old pair of shoes because those shoes hold stories that they adore
They see the status quo around them, and set out to defy it.
They strive to show themselves as an individual and not just a member of the flock
They want people to see that they don’t have to conform to their standards
They’d rather have the right product, rather than the IT product
They’ll wear that lucky pair of underwear because they know it would never do them wrong
They’ll go to the hole in the wall restaurant because they see the potential
They have a need to use the stairs because everyone uses the elevator
If a product doesn’t say something about them, they want nothing to do with it
They’ll do that dare, because you thought they wouldn’t
They want to take on the world, while remaining true to themselves and not selling out
They don’t want the world around them to tell them who they can and can’t be
They live by their rules, their decisions, their soul
Proposition (includes benefits and reasons to believe):
Your shade is waiting for you
80 colors of polo shirts currently available on the floor, 50 Colors of Socks
16 textile masters with each over 20 years experience in dyeing
Not tailored to any certain fashion, no logos - just colors
Selections available in stores, as well as online
“Uniqlo offers products in almost every color imaginable” - New York Fashion
So did you like it? You probably didn't read the whole thing, but I understand. Our SMP (Single Minded Proposition) ended up being "Your Shade Is Waiting For You." Let me tell you, if I read that, I'd think of paint instead of clothes and I'd still be interested. I don't even need paint and I'd want to go look. Discovering it's actually clothes? What a nice surprise. I love clothes. :)
Seriously, look at all those colors! And then they have it in off-shades. I can't find the exact picture right now.. still googling.
You know what, I can't find it. Just go to the site and look for yourself. Seriously, it's impressive and the only reason I haven't bought from them is because I'm a broke college student who doesn't NEED any of these clothes. If I had money, it would be impulse buys out the wazoo.
Seriously, go to the website. It's pretty since they redid it. :)
Until Next time!
-MG
Background/Problem
We do not yet have a relationship with the young adults we are looking for. They do not yet know that our fashion allows them to creatively express their personality through the clothes they wear. Once they find those colors that let them be them, they will fall in love with us, and themselves all over again.
Advertising Objective
We want people to break free of the color boundaries that other stores put on them. We want people to walk into the store or visit the site and have this “Ahhh” feeling, relieved that they finally found a store that gives them the shot of choosing exactly who they want to be.
Insight (Problem)
I want the shade I imagined in my head to jump off the shelf at me. I need the freedom of choosing that “in between color” that shows who I am. Give me the option of differentiating myself from all the other color clones.
Target Audience
They’ll keep an old pair of shoes because those shoes hold stories that they adore
They see the status quo around them, and set out to defy it.
They strive to show themselves as an individual and not just a member of the flock
They want people to see that they don’t have to conform to their standards
They’d rather have the right product, rather than the IT product
They’ll wear that lucky pair of underwear because they know it would never do them wrong
They’ll go to the hole in the wall restaurant because they see the potential
They have a need to use the stairs because everyone uses the elevator
If a product doesn’t say something about them, they want nothing to do with it
They’ll do that dare, because you thought they wouldn’t
They want to take on the world, while remaining true to themselves and not selling out
They don’t want the world around them to tell them who they can and can’t be
They live by their rules, their decisions, their soul
Proposition (includes benefits and reasons to believe):
Your shade is waiting for you
80 colors of polo shirts currently available on the floor, 50 Colors of Socks
16 textile masters with each over 20 years experience in dyeing
Not tailored to any certain fashion, no logos - just colors
Selections available in stores, as well as online
“Uniqlo offers products in almost every color imaginable” - New York Fashion
So did you like it? You probably didn't read the whole thing, but I understand. Our SMP (Single Minded Proposition) ended up being "Your Shade Is Waiting For You." Let me tell you, if I read that, I'd think of paint instead of clothes and I'd still be interested. I don't even need paint and I'd want to go look. Discovering it's actually clothes? What a nice surprise. I love clothes. :)
Seriously, look at all those colors! And then they have it in off-shades. I can't find the exact picture right now.. still googling.
You know what, I can't find it. Just go to the site and look for yourself. Seriously, it's impressive and the only reason I haven't bought from them is because I'm a broke college student who doesn't NEED any of these clothes. If I had money, it would be impulse buys out the wazoo.
Seriously, go to the website. It's pretty since they redid it. :)
Until Next time!
-MG
Klout opinions
Let me begin by stating that I hate Klout and disregard everything about it. It you tell me 'OHMYGOSH, MY KLOUT IS 100.' I would just assume your pale skin isn't the only sign that you sit in front of a computer all day.
Don't get me wrong, I find it interesting and amusing. I have a very pathetic, 14 below the average 26. I never post on Twitter, I don't have it synced with my blog (Can I even do that?), and I never do status updates on Facebook, Google+, nor do I even get on LinkedIn very often. I feel our attachment to social media and electronics in general proves Einstein's theory that right now, we are at the worst we've ever been about communications.
I seriously don't care if your Klout score is 100. It could be a million for all I care, it just shows me that you can get followers online. But what about face to face? I have people who greatly respect my opinion and ideas, and try most things I recommend within reason. My Klout score can't identify my real life, so I disprove of people trying to use it as such.
Here's what's causing my hullabaloo.
If I'm going to get hired or fired based on my Klout score, or be graded in a class, let me tell you. I would be beyond unemployed and my GPA would hit the ground. Not running, just hit the ground.
Also, I really agree with the gentleman in the article, "If someone were to pull up my Klout score during a job interview, I would like to immediately have a conversation as to about why they think that Klout is important." That would be my reaction too. You can gauge my communication skills from right here, right now, judge me based on that, not some score that you don't even know what it's grading for. That's another thing, no one knows the algorithm. Maybe it's how often you post, maybe it's how many likes or comments you have.
Maybe they just pick a random number and run with it.
That's of course not true. But it might as well be for how little I care. On the other hand, the way some people view it, is as a percentage of how hard you plan on working. I guarantee I won't just be working 26% of my capacity. I think work is almost enjoyable, sort of just something to do (depending on what it is I'm doing). Anyone a fan of Klout? Care to share why you think it's important?
Maybe I'd just rather come up with my own opinions rather than trust a computer algorithm.
Until Next time!
-MG
Don't get me wrong, I find it interesting and amusing. I have a very pathetic, 14 below the average 26. I never post on Twitter, I don't have it synced with my blog (Can I even do that?), and I never do status updates on Facebook, Google+, nor do I even get on LinkedIn very often. I feel our attachment to social media and electronics in general proves Einstein's theory that right now, we are at the worst we've ever been about communications.
I seriously don't care if your Klout score is 100. It could be a million for all I care, it just shows me that you can get followers online. But what about face to face? I have people who greatly respect my opinion and ideas, and try most things I recommend within reason. My Klout score can't identify my real life, so I disprove of people trying to use it as such.
Here's what's causing my hullabaloo.
If I'm going to get hired or fired based on my Klout score, or be graded in a class, let me tell you. I would be beyond unemployed and my GPA would hit the ground. Not running, just hit the ground.
Also, I really agree with the gentleman in the article, "If someone were to pull up my Klout score during a job interview, I would like to immediately have a conversation as to about why they think that Klout is important." That would be my reaction too. You can gauge my communication skills from right here, right now, judge me based on that, not some score that you don't even know what it's grading for. That's another thing, no one knows the algorithm. Maybe it's how often you post, maybe it's how many likes or comments you have.
Maybe they just pick a random number and run with it.
That's of course not true. But it might as well be for how little I care. On the other hand, the way some people view it, is as a percentage of how hard you plan on working. I guarantee I won't just be working 26% of my capacity. I think work is almost enjoyable, sort of just something to do (depending on what it is I'm doing). Anyone a fan of Klout? Care to share why you think it's important?
Maybe I'd just rather come up with my own opinions rather than trust a computer algorithm.
Until Next time!
-MG
Just let me play my game.
This isn't so much a critique as a glaring agreement. Here's the article - this one's really short, just go read it. Seriously.
Click me! I'm the short article on mobile advertising!
Anyone agree? Disagree? I was shocked that the number was as low as 70% finding it disruptive. Look, Steve Jobs even said it sucks. To those people who like it, you are CLEARLY not playing interesting enough games if you like these.
So it's one thing when I open up Evernote and get a little pop-up telling my to upgrade to Evernote premium. Annoying, because I just want to take my Channels and Logistics notes? Sure.
But it's a completely different thing when I'm on some website, trying to read goodness knows what, and suddenly, A WILD MOBILE AD APPEARS. WITH NOISE AND FLASHING. And all I'm think is, "Why is this happening to me?! Where is the close button?!" Sometimes it's a little x in ANY of the corners. Sometimes it says 'close' in barely readable font. Sometimes it's long and says 'return to mobile browsing' in even more difficult to read font.
Then in the article, it also mentions ads popping up based on location and their interests. If Starbucks (I'm a tea drinker who comes from an avid family of coffee drinkers who love Starbucks, so I go there all the time for tea.) Ever did something where if I'm walking by one, an app would pop up advertising their latest deal, I would run for the hills.
Anyone agree with this? Disagree? I'd love to hear from anyone who likes these, and why. Maybe it freaks me out that someone is tracking my likes and location.. ON MY PHONE. Computer is one thing, I voluntarily like all those strange things on facebook. My phone is mine though, my private communication device. I just think it's weird. And invasive.
Since there were no pictures, he's a picture of a black lab puppy. I have a soft spot for animals.
Until next time!
-MG
Click me! I'm the short article on mobile advertising!
Anyone agree? Disagree? I was shocked that the number was as low as 70% finding it disruptive. Look, Steve Jobs even said it sucks. To those people who like it, you are CLEARLY not playing interesting enough games if you like these.
So it's one thing when I open up Evernote and get a little pop-up telling my to upgrade to Evernote premium. Annoying, because I just want to take my Channels and Logistics notes? Sure.
But it's a completely different thing when I'm on some website, trying to read goodness knows what, and suddenly, A WILD MOBILE AD APPEARS. WITH NOISE AND FLASHING. And all I'm think is, "Why is this happening to me?! Where is the close button?!" Sometimes it's a little x in ANY of the corners. Sometimes it says 'close' in barely readable font. Sometimes it's long and says 'return to mobile browsing' in even more difficult to read font.
Then in the article, it also mentions ads popping up based on location and their interests. If Starbucks (I'm a tea drinker who comes from an avid family of coffee drinkers who love Starbucks, so I go there all the time for tea.) Ever did something where if I'm walking by one, an app would pop up advertising their latest deal, I would run for the hills.
Anyone agree with this? Disagree? I'd love to hear from anyone who likes these, and why. Maybe it freaks me out that someone is tracking my likes and location.. ON MY PHONE. Computer is one thing, I voluntarily like all those strange things on facebook. My phone is mine though, my private communication device. I just think it's weird. And invasive.
Since there were no pictures, he's a picture of a black lab puppy. I have a soft spot for animals.
Until next time!
-MG
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Uniqlo
Within the course of this semester, we had to analyze an article and a potential problem it was facing, create a mock creative brief, and then do a mock creative pitch for a completely different product.
Boy, was it fun and super easy.
That's outrageously sarcastic though, I can't tell you how many times my group met, and kept starting over from square one. We'd finally make some progress, and go see our professor.. who would thoroughly squash our (brilliant) ideas and plans with some witty comparison or metaphor showing just how badly it sucked.
Just kidding, she was always very nice about her idea-squashing, and overall has been a magnificent professor. But let me tell you what we ended up coming up with for our brand over a few blog posts:
We had Uniqlo. Clothing for all, wanting to be the new Gap, yes? I did an article critique on them a while back, it was wonderful (in my humble opinion) and sassy towards them snarking at Gap. I really like Gap, therefore I defended them.
So Uniqlo's big issue that we identified was this: They needed to breach the American market. But they were starting in all the weirdest places. Trying to be what Gap used to be? Hint: Gap USED to be that for a reason. Trying to be the Macintosh of fashion?
I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. Seriously.
So we changed their target market from a very narrow and specific 'everyone' and made it actually make sense. We targeted interesting people, college to young professionals, who were tired of being forced into a group because of what they wore or how they dressed. Tired of only being able to get the PERFECT sweater in one color.
Let's be real, guys find one thing they like and buy it in twelve colors. So do girls. (You NEVER know when you'll need a VIOLET sweater as opposed to a PURPLE sweater. Seriously.)
Dat Purple.
So Uniqlo wasn't doing anything to make the American consumer want them except opening these MASSIVE stores that you couldn't help but notice. Fashion blogs have commented (I don't have links, but if I find any, I'll post them!) that it's sub-par quality, but at least it's cheap. Most of them left without buying anything.
So, we didn't want to focus on their price. We wanted people to want Uniqlo, to want to buy it, and the low price just be a huge benefit. We wanted people who regularly shop at Ross and people who regularly shop at Macy's (or, heck, let's go all the way and say Louis Vuitton) to meet in a store that shared both their values.
So Uniqlo needs to advertise in a way to reach these people who want more colors, good quality, affordable, able to mix and match. People who pave their own way needed to see this advertisement. That's what Uniqlo needs to do. Pick a target market and go with it.
So what did we come up with? I'll tell you in my next post on Uniqlo! Which will be soon. :)
Until next time!
-MG
Boy, was it fun and super easy.
That's outrageously sarcastic though, I can't tell you how many times my group met, and kept starting over from square one. We'd finally make some progress, and go see our professor.. who would thoroughly squash our (brilliant) ideas and plans with some witty comparison or metaphor showing just how badly it sucked.
Just kidding, she was always very nice about her idea-squashing, and overall has been a magnificent professor. But let me tell you what we ended up coming up with for our brand over a few blog posts:
We had Uniqlo. Clothing for all, wanting to be the new Gap, yes? I did an article critique on them a while back, it was wonderful (in my humble opinion) and sassy towards them snarking at Gap. I really like Gap, therefore I defended them.
So Uniqlo's big issue that we identified was this: They needed to breach the American market. But they were starting in all the weirdest places. Trying to be what Gap used to be? Hint: Gap USED to be that for a reason. Trying to be the Macintosh of fashion?
I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. Seriously.
So we changed their target market from a very narrow and specific 'everyone' and made it actually make sense. We targeted interesting people, college to young professionals, who were tired of being forced into a group because of what they wore or how they dressed. Tired of only being able to get the PERFECT sweater in one color.
Let's be real, guys find one thing they like and buy it in twelve colors. So do girls. (You NEVER know when you'll need a VIOLET sweater as opposed to a PURPLE sweater. Seriously.)
Dat Purple.
So Uniqlo wasn't doing anything to make the American consumer want them except opening these MASSIVE stores that you couldn't help but notice. Fashion blogs have commented (I don't have links, but if I find any, I'll post them!) that it's sub-par quality, but at least it's cheap. Most of them left without buying anything.
So, we didn't want to focus on their price. We wanted people to want Uniqlo, to want to buy it, and the low price just be a huge benefit. We wanted people who regularly shop at Ross and people who regularly shop at Macy's (or, heck, let's go all the way and say Louis Vuitton) to meet in a store that shared both their values.
So Uniqlo needs to advertise in a way to reach these people who want more colors, good quality, affordable, able to mix and match. People who pave their own way needed to see this advertisement. That's what Uniqlo needs to do. Pick a target market and go with it.
So what did we come up with? I'll tell you in my next post on Uniqlo! Which will be soon. :)
Until next time!
-MG
Fizzy water fights back!
I feel better now.
http://adage.com/article/global-news/evade-u-k-ban-spot-sodastream-switches-print-ads/238645/
In case you don't feel like reading that, the article title is 'To Evade UK Ban on Spot, Sodastream Switches to Print Ads.' Here's an example of their print ad:
Never have I been more proud of a carbonation service before. This ad is brilliant, not only is it completely eye-catching, but it gets the information across very quickly, leading you to want to read the fine print.
In the fine print, they tell you about how they were banned - hence the censored bit at the top, which is hugely eye catching, as previously mentioned.
Just look at it! I don't even know where they're going to run it, but I'm excited for it. This is really just a tag on to my last article, about a marketing campaign growing a set (of legs, what were you thinking?) and fighting back.
I love it. I think I'm going to go buy a new sodastream now, just to support this.
I want to talk about this though, some brands couldn't do this. A lot couldn't. Like Nivea. If they were censored for slamming on.. I don't know. Jergens. Nivea having a print ad like this wouldn't have near the exciting, actiony, fighting back slam as this does. Because this is huge. It's a completely different category, wrongly banned, fighting back with a bite.
I'm stoked to see what else Sodastream comes up with along this line for the UK. I have a feeling this won't be my last post about this..
Until next time!
-MG
http://adage.com/article/global-news/evade-u-k-ban-spot-sodastream-switches-print-ads/238645/
In case you don't feel like reading that, the article title is 'To Evade UK Ban on Spot, Sodastream Switches to Print Ads.' Here's an example of their print ad:
Never have I been more proud of a carbonation service before. This ad is brilliant, not only is it completely eye-catching, but it gets the information across very quickly, leading you to want to read the fine print.
In the fine print, they tell you about how they were banned - hence the censored bit at the top, which is hugely eye catching, as previously mentioned.
Just look at it! I don't even know where they're going to run it, but I'm excited for it. This is really just a tag on to my last article, about a marketing campaign growing a set (of legs, what were you thinking?) and fighting back.
I love it. I think I'm going to go buy a new sodastream now, just to support this.
I want to talk about this though, some brands couldn't do this. A lot couldn't. Like Nivea. If they were censored for slamming on.. I don't know. Jergens. Nivea having a print ad like this wouldn't have near the exciting, actiony, fighting back slam as this does. Because this is huge. It's a completely different category, wrongly banned, fighting back with a bite.
I'm stoked to see what else Sodastream comes up with along this line for the UK. I have a feeling this won't be my last post about this..
Until next time!
-MG
Monday, December 10, 2012
Fizzy Water Gets Busted?!
Things I like: Sodastreams.
So here's my issue. I'm sure everyone has seen that ad they released recently, about how it's less wasteful (plastic bottles) to use Sodastream. Now, my family used to have a sodastream, and we loved it. We've since all but stopped drinking soda, and ours sadly started breaking, so now we just buy regular coke when we go to the supermarket.
I still think sodastreams are genius. I don't even like fizzy water, I think it tastes bitter.
So here's the video:
Shocking and offensive, right? Not at all, in my opinion, and yet it was pulled right before it's premiere airing in the UK. Here's an article about it:
http://adage.com/article/news/sodastream-campaign-alex-bogusky-yanked-u-k/238469/
Go on, go read it, it's short I promise.
Okay, because I know some of you didn't read it, or won't read it until finishing my blog post, here's the gist: UK pulled that advertisement last minute because they thought it was disparaging to Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Now as we all know, I'm a huge Coca-Cola fan. In my opinion, no one likes Pepsi and Coca-Cola shine with butterflies and sunshine with unicorns prancing about it. But I do definitely love Sodastream as well. Does that mean I'll NEVER BUY COCA-COLA AGAIN?! No, I'm pretty sure the last coke I bought was a Cherry Coke Zero. Boom. Sodastream has not ruined coke for me, nor has coke made me get all up-in-arms against Sodastream.
Against Pepsi, yes, but that's just because I think it tastes funny.
Sodastream was concerned about this too, and I think it's something that really should air. There are plenty of people obsessed enough with Coca-Cola and obsessed enough with Pepsi that Sodastream will NOT ruin EITHER one of these big-name brands.
Also, let me mention something about this ad. Sodastream, in general, it targeted at families and young couples, or just people who like soda or fizzy water. On that note, it's practically free fizzy water for those of you who like that, because you just have to pay for the carbonation bottle and no syrup. But anyways, this ad is targeting environmentally friendly people, who hate plastic bottles in all settings, whether they're recycled or not because it can still end up being wasted and wasteful. So these people probably don't drink much coke on their own. What this ad is doing is getting the people who drink coke rarely, and bringing them into the coke-world. The consumers it does happen to 'steal' from Coca-Cola and Pepsi from this ad specifically is completely negligible. Sure, every customer matters, btu the truly dedicated, lifetime customers, will not switch, and those are your most valued assets as far as consumers go.
I think the UK is silly for pulling this ad. Also, what most people over there would do is just use it for fizzy water, and still mostly buy their own cokes, be it Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or store-brand. My family never once fully switched, if only because sometimes we'd be out and what a coke of some sort with dinner. We weren't going to tote our sodastream into a restaurant, that's insane.
I love sodastream. The end.
Until Next Time!
-MG
PS: Lingo: If I say Coca-Cola or Pepsi, I do mean those brands. Diet Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, etc. are also Coca-Cola, and I will always call plain Coke Coca-Cola. When I say 'coke' I mean a soda or a pop in general. In my house everything fizzy and surgary is a coke, even if it's Pepsi brand.
Which it rarely is. :)
So here's my issue. I'm sure everyone has seen that ad they released recently, about how it's less wasteful (plastic bottles) to use Sodastream. Now, my family used to have a sodastream, and we loved it. We've since all but stopped drinking soda, and ours sadly started breaking, so now we just buy regular coke when we go to the supermarket.
I still think sodastreams are genius. I don't even like fizzy water, I think it tastes bitter.
So here's the video:
Shocking and offensive, right? Not at all, in my opinion, and yet it was pulled right before it's premiere airing in the UK. Here's an article about it:
http://adage.com/article/news/sodastream-campaign-alex-bogusky-yanked-u-k/238469/
Go on, go read it, it's short I promise.
Okay, because I know some of you didn't read it, or won't read it until finishing my blog post, here's the gist: UK pulled that advertisement last minute because they thought it was disparaging to Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Now as we all know, I'm a huge Coca-Cola fan. In my opinion, no one likes Pepsi and Coca-Cola shine with butterflies and sunshine with unicorns prancing about it. But I do definitely love Sodastream as well. Does that mean I'll NEVER BUY COCA-COLA AGAIN?! No, I'm pretty sure the last coke I bought was a Cherry Coke Zero. Boom. Sodastream has not ruined coke for me, nor has coke made me get all up-in-arms against Sodastream.
Against Pepsi, yes, but that's just because I think it tastes funny.
Sodastream was concerned about this too, and I think it's something that really should air. There are plenty of people obsessed enough with Coca-Cola and obsessed enough with Pepsi that Sodastream will NOT ruin EITHER one of these big-name brands.
Also, let me mention something about this ad. Sodastream, in general, it targeted at families and young couples, or just people who like soda or fizzy water. On that note, it's practically free fizzy water for those of you who like that, because you just have to pay for the carbonation bottle and no syrup. But anyways, this ad is targeting environmentally friendly people, who hate plastic bottles in all settings, whether they're recycled or not because it can still end up being wasted and wasteful. So these people probably don't drink much coke on their own. What this ad is doing is getting the people who drink coke rarely, and bringing them into the coke-world. The consumers it does happen to 'steal' from Coca-Cola and Pepsi from this ad specifically is completely negligible. Sure, every customer matters, btu the truly dedicated, lifetime customers, will not switch, and those are your most valued assets as far as consumers go.
I think the UK is silly for pulling this ad. Also, what most people over there would do is just use it for fizzy water, and still mostly buy their own cokes, be it Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or store-brand. My family never once fully switched, if only because sometimes we'd be out and what a coke of some sort with dinner. We weren't going to tote our sodastream into a restaurant, that's insane.
I love sodastream. The end.
Until Next Time!
-MG
PS: Lingo: If I say Coca-Cola or Pepsi, I do mean those brands. Diet Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, etc. are also Coca-Cola, and I will always call plain Coke Coca-Cola. When I say 'coke' I mean a soda or a pop in general. In my house everything fizzy and surgary is a coke, even if it's Pepsi brand.
Which it rarely is. :)
Monday, October 29, 2012
Speaker Prep 4
1. A current issue I feel Burt's Bees could be facing is breaking into the moisturizing world. Everyone knows them as chapstick, and maybe the occasional other product. But now they're breaking into the lotion world, and taking it by storm. What I worry about is if people will switch. They already have Aveeno or Nivea for lotion, and Burt's Bees for their chapstick. How do they plan to compare to these brands that have been go-to moisturizers for generations?
2. Current perception of Burt's Bees is amazing. I use it myself, and almost everyone I know uses Chapstick brand, or Burt's Bees brand lip balm. They're become a giant in the lip balm world, and everyone who tries and uses them switches to them most of the time. They're rubbing a promo right now called Raise Your Burt's that has taken Twitter and Facebook by storm, showing just how involved their fans are.
3. If you could change one thing your consumers view you as, what would it be?
Is there any chance for a rebranding of Burt's Bees, or will it forever be the yellow and style we know it as?
Until next time!
-MG
2. Current perception of Burt's Bees is amazing. I use it myself, and almost everyone I know uses Chapstick brand, or Burt's Bees brand lip balm. They're become a giant in the lip balm world, and everyone who tries and uses them switches to them most of the time. They're rubbing a promo right now called Raise Your Burt's that has taken Twitter and Facebook by storm, showing just how involved their fans are.
3. If you could change one thing your consumers view you as, what would it be?
Is there any chance for a rebranding of Burt's Bees, or will it forever be the yellow and style we know it as?
Until next time!
-MG
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Speaker Prep 4
1. There aren’t really any huge strategic issues that jump out about Publicis. It is a well-respected advertising agency, one of the top three in the world. A few issues that I think could arise include their expansions: they could come across a cultural barrier that they couldn’t overcome. They’re very experienced in all they do. Also, in being friendly with major names such as ‘Google,’ the realization that even business can be a cutthroat world given all the competition could make one worry. Friendships between major names can sometimes cause problems, as both need to look out for themselves first.
2. Consumer perceptions of Publicis are easy. It’s well-respected, well-known, well-liked. They’re an old name in marketing, one of the top three, and they’re there for a good reason. Due to these facts, I could also see consumers perhaps being intimidated by Publicis.
3. Publicis recently bought the Malaysian advertising company Arachnid. Are there any plans for this company, or is it just general expansion?
4. Publicis Dallas recently acquired a new VP/Associate Director of Integrated Production. How does Publicis choose people to fill big roles such as this? The person chosen hadn’t worked for Publicis before, but would having worked for Publicis be an advantage for someone trying to get higher in the company?
Until next time!
-MG
2. Consumer perceptions of Publicis are easy. It’s well-respected, well-known, well-liked. They’re an old name in marketing, one of the top three, and they’re there for a good reason. Due to these facts, I could also see consumers perhaps being intimidated by Publicis.
3. Publicis recently bought the Malaysian advertising company Arachnid. Are there any plans for this company, or is it just general expansion?
4. Publicis Dallas recently acquired a new VP/Associate Director of Integrated Production. How does Publicis choose people to fill big roles such as this? The person chosen hadn’t worked for Publicis before, but would having worked for Publicis be an advantage for someone trying to get higher in the company?
Until next time!
-MG
Speaker Prep 3
1. Wieden and Kennedy just landed the Facebook account, giving them another massive client. While this is great for the company, it's going to be interesting to see how you advertise Facebook, and even why given how popular it is already. Who is there left to advertise to, and how will Wieden and Kennedy accomplish it? A strategic issue for the Nike client specifically could be in regards to their contracts. A lot of their contracts with sports teams are going out this year or soon. What will they do to keep their client coming back to them?
2.current consumer reactions to Wieden and Kennedy, especially the Nike side, are impressed. I know I'm not just speaking for myself when I say wow, every Nike commercial I see has me wanting to go buy Nike. Some people might think they're very biased though, that they have no just general exercise clothes. Everything Nike does shows a specific sport or activity per advertisement instead of embodying movement in general.
3. Wieden and Kennedy is pretty much at the top of their game right now, with some of the biggest names in the world using you. Are you worried about the saying the what goes up, must come down?
Also, are you ever worried about having enough good, qualified individuals for your all your different clientele?
Until Next Time!
-MG
2.current consumer reactions to Wieden and Kennedy, especially the Nike side, are impressed. I know I'm not just speaking for myself when I say wow, every Nike commercial I see has me wanting to go buy Nike. Some people might think they're very biased though, that they have no just general exercise clothes. Everything Nike does shows a specific sport or activity per advertisement instead of embodying movement in general.
3. Wieden and Kennedy is pretty much at the top of their game right now, with some of the biggest names in the world using you. Are you worried about the saying the what goes up, must come down?
Also, are you ever worried about having enough good, qualified individuals for your all your different clientele?
Until Next Time!
-MG
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Happy Land
Today we're going to talk about something near and dear to my heart. Coca-Cola.
Even as the rest of the world would dawdle around with Pepsi, or switch to diet drinks, I stayed true to Coke. Now mind you, in the south, it's all called coke. "Do you want a coke?" "Yes please." "Okay, what kind?" And then your verify diet, regular, cherry, pibb, whatever.
So I found an article briefing my favorite Coca-cola commercial ad. Ever.
It just makes me happy. I love the idea that every coke is 'specially made for each person' or something of the sort.
Which this article summarizes. It's supposed to make you happy, to be a reminder ad that coke may not be there to save the ozone or create world peace, but they will be there on a rough day to make you happy.
And to save the polar bears when it gets cold out. :) I do like polar bears.
Their basic idea is that coke is the genuine taste of happiness. They base off of that, it doesn't do anything special, but it does taste great and refreshing, and will make you happy. Like, someone made this fresh and specifically for you happy.
I don't know about you, but Coca-Cola nailed this on the head. It certainly made me happy. :)
I know this was short, but the article nailed it on the head.
Until next time!
-MG
Even as the rest of the world would dawdle around with Pepsi, or switch to diet drinks, I stayed true to Coke. Now mind you, in the south, it's all called coke. "Do you want a coke?" "Yes please." "Okay, what kind?" And then your verify diet, regular, cherry, pibb, whatever.
So I found an article briefing my favorite Coca-cola commercial ad. Ever.
It just makes me happy. I love the idea that every coke is 'specially made for each person' or something of the sort.
Which this article summarizes. It's supposed to make you happy, to be a reminder ad that coke may not be there to save the ozone or create world peace, but they will be there on a rough day to make you happy.
And to save the polar bears when it gets cold out. :) I do like polar bears.
Their basic idea is that coke is the genuine taste of happiness. They base off of that, it doesn't do anything special, but it does taste great and refreshing, and will make you happy. Like, someone made this fresh and specifically for you happy.
I don't know about you, but Coca-Cola nailed this on the head. It certainly made me happy. :)
I know this was short, but the article nailed it on the head.
Until next time!
-MG
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Speaker Prep
Speaker prep for Steve Grant of Modea.
A strategic issue Modea seems to be facing is connecting with their fanbase. Their on-site blog hasn’t been updated since June 6 (with a very interesting Pinterest infographic), their Pinterest has only 15 pins with the most recent being the same as the blog, and their Facebook doesn’t reflect what they seem to want it to, based on a blog post. They had a blog post about how timeline is to connect with facebook users and fans, and they’re still just using it as a basic wall; a place to post updates, not historical and interesting events. Hulu has when the TV was invented, which is applicable, interesting, and humorous. What about posting when the first ad came out and what it looked like?
Honestly, for the first three years of me living in Blacksburg, I passed the building with ‘Modea’ in it at least once a week and had no idea what it was, nor did I ever feel the need to look it up. It seems though, that they’ve been on the rise in the advertising world, even receiving a small agency of the year award for ‘Best Culture.’ Given that and the details of their culture from their website, I can conclude that the customers see them as a modern, well-rounded advertising family. They play soccer, softball, foosball, every Friday they dress up, the first Friday of every month they go get drinks. They make sure to get each other presents for birthdays and for other holidays, and from an outsider looking in, they seem to truly be a family that gets their work done, and get it done well.
I saw the infographic you did recently on Pinterest. How will that information help you or help another company or brand potentially?
Until Next time!
-MG
A strategic issue Modea seems to be facing is connecting with their fanbase. Their on-site blog hasn’t been updated since June 6 (with a very interesting Pinterest infographic), their Pinterest has only 15 pins with the most recent being the same as the blog, and their Facebook doesn’t reflect what they seem to want it to, based on a blog post. They had a blog post about how timeline is to connect with facebook users and fans, and they’re still just using it as a basic wall; a place to post updates, not historical and interesting events. Hulu has when the TV was invented, which is applicable, interesting, and humorous. What about posting when the first ad came out and what it looked like?
Honestly, for the first three years of me living in Blacksburg, I passed the building with ‘Modea’ in it at least once a week and had no idea what it was, nor did I ever feel the need to look it up. It seems though, that they’ve been on the rise in the advertising world, even receiving a small agency of the year award for ‘Best Culture.’ Given that and the details of their culture from their website, I can conclude that the customers see them as a modern, well-rounded advertising family. They play soccer, softball, foosball, every Friday they dress up, the first Friday of every month they go get drinks. They make sure to get each other presents for birthdays and for other holidays, and from an outsider looking in, they seem to truly be a family that gets their work done, and get it done well.
I saw the infographic you did recently on Pinterest. How will that information help you or help another company or brand potentially?
Until Next time!
-MG
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Mind the Gap
So today I read an article about Uniqlo for a project for this class. If you don't know, which I didn't until about two hours ago, Uniqlo is a clothing brand. They're centered in Japan (Hiroshima, to be exact) and they offer basics for cheap. I went to their website, and it's true - basics for cheap. But some of the things were.. off to me. A lot of the casual stuff was cute, but the dresses were not basics. They were dull colors and unimpressive, sack-like shapes, which is nothing 'basic' here, but is instead frumpy. Don't get me wrong, Uniqlo has a lot of cute stuff (for cheap!), but some of it would need a lot of accessorizing before I'd wear it.
So as I continued reading this article, I noticed it kept bashing Gap, over and over again, calling it a 'dusty playbook,' and that it's heyday was back in the '80s and 90s.' I have a response to that: Gap is back.
So this summer I bought a lot of Gap stuff - I mean a LOT. I needed a new wardrobe because I'd outgrown a lot of my things maturity-wise, and I'd gained a bit of weight (which I planned on dropping this summer, but I still needed new clothes). I have a Gap Outlet near me, so not only is everything cheaper to begin with, but there are sales. All the time sales. Even for non-outlet Gaps, they have a lot of sales, and their prices aren't that bad. So what was this articles deal? Well, I have an opinion.
The article was wrong.
Gap used to be out of fashion. They used to be trying to keep up with fads, but now they've stopped. Since the early 2000s, they've updated. They're classy aesthetically in the stores, and their clothes have shifted to being basics with a twist.
Cords - bright cords. I used to hate cords, they were big, thick, clunky, very masculine, and the color selection didn't help. But I might buy a pair of these. Oversized sweaters are another things - not just BIG, but ones that fit, just a little looser. Maybe they're perfect fitting, only a little longer. Those have become a classic. They're not your typical ideal of classic, like 'pencil skirt' or 'oxfords.' But they've become a classic on their own.
Gap has taken it and given it more color, more patterns, three-quarter length sleeves. Gap had taken classics, and updated them, and still keeps it all at a good price for the quality. They even give you ideas on how to wear certain things. Maybe you just got some bright fuchsia pants (because colored skinny jeans have officially become more than just a fad, but not yet a classic) and you have no idea what to do with them.
Striped neutral sweaters are a classic, as is the little button-jacket. It could even be replaced by a vest or you could wear the little sweater alone with the pants. Little basic slip-ons are good shoes for it - nothing clunky or showy, just basic shoes.
A little classy button up shirt, something that woman have been wearing since the pantsuit came into existence with shoulder pads, only now Gap has added ruffles. It takes a few unisex piece of clothing and gives it a more feminine appeal, making it more appealing, cuter, a way of staying true to yourself.
The same thing is applicable to men. With this, we'll also look at skinny jeans. Has anyone noticed everyones' pants getting tighter and tighter? That's a long-term, cyclical trend. Pants get bigger and baggier and wider until the can't anymore, and then they start coming in. Hence the skinny jeans for men and women. Soon, they'll hit a point where they just can't get any smaller, and they'll slowly start going back out, into flares and bootcuts.
But I guarantee, khakis like these for gents will be popular and fashionable for a while. Gap is keeping it classic with a modern, well-appreciated twist, while keeping themselves affordable for the quality. Higher quality than Old Navy, and therefore more expensive, but a lot cheaper than Banana Republic, for only a little less quality.
I'm a Gap supporter and I plan on staying that way for a long time. PS, I lost all the weight I wanted to, and all the clothes still look perfectly cute on me (after an intense dryer cycle). In short, that article was wrong, and I think Gap is doing perfectly right now. They bounced back, and aren't going away anytime soon in my opinion.
Until next time!
-MG
All images from Gap website or google images. Original article found Here. :)
So as I continued reading this article, I noticed it kept bashing Gap, over and over again, calling it a 'dusty playbook,' and that it's heyday was back in the '80s and 90s.' I have a response to that: Gap is back.
So this summer I bought a lot of Gap stuff - I mean a LOT. I needed a new wardrobe because I'd outgrown a lot of my things maturity-wise, and I'd gained a bit of weight (which I planned on dropping this summer, but I still needed new clothes). I have a Gap Outlet near me, so not only is everything cheaper to begin with, but there are sales. All the time sales. Even for non-outlet Gaps, they have a lot of sales, and their prices aren't that bad. So what was this articles deal? Well, I have an opinion.
The article was wrong.
Gap used to be out of fashion. They used to be trying to keep up with fads, but now they've stopped. Since the early 2000s, they've updated. They're classy aesthetically in the stores, and their clothes have shifted to being basics with a twist.
Cords - bright cords. I used to hate cords, they were big, thick, clunky, very masculine, and the color selection didn't help. But I might buy a pair of these. Oversized sweaters are another things - not just BIG, but ones that fit, just a little looser. Maybe they're perfect fitting, only a little longer. Those have become a classic. They're not your typical ideal of classic, like 'pencil skirt' or 'oxfords.' But they've become a classic on their own.
Gap has taken it and given it more color, more patterns, three-quarter length sleeves. Gap had taken classics, and updated them, and still keeps it all at a good price for the quality. They even give you ideas on how to wear certain things. Maybe you just got some bright fuchsia pants (because colored skinny jeans have officially become more than just a fad, but not yet a classic) and you have no idea what to do with them.
Striped neutral sweaters are a classic, as is the little button-jacket. It could even be replaced by a vest or you could wear the little sweater alone with the pants. Little basic slip-ons are good shoes for it - nothing clunky or showy, just basic shoes.
A little classy button up shirt, something that woman have been wearing since the pantsuit came into existence with shoulder pads, only now Gap has added ruffles. It takes a few unisex piece of clothing and gives it a more feminine appeal, making it more appealing, cuter, a way of staying true to yourself.
The same thing is applicable to men. With this, we'll also look at skinny jeans. Has anyone noticed everyones' pants getting tighter and tighter? That's a long-term, cyclical trend. Pants get bigger and baggier and wider until the can't anymore, and then they start coming in. Hence the skinny jeans for men and women. Soon, they'll hit a point where they just can't get any smaller, and they'll slowly start going back out, into flares and bootcuts.
But I guarantee, khakis like these for gents will be popular and fashionable for a while. Gap is keeping it classic with a modern, well-appreciated twist, while keeping themselves affordable for the quality. Higher quality than Old Navy, and therefore more expensive, but a lot cheaper than Banana Republic, for only a little less quality.
I'm a Gap supporter and I plan on staying that way for a long time. PS, I lost all the weight I wanted to, and all the clothes still look perfectly cute on me (after an intense dryer cycle). In short, that article was wrong, and I think Gap is doing perfectly right now. They bounced back, and aren't going away anytime soon in my opinion.
Until next time!
-MG
All images from Gap website or google images. Original article found Here. :)
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Hello you lovely, lovely people! So the topic for today is shoes. I like shoes, and I feel like everyone else does too. Even boys, because they need their feet protected too. Shocking, right?
So! Who HASN'T heard of Toms?
Exactly. Anyone heard of their strange Sketchers version, called Bobs?
I know, they look almost identical. Also, if you just type 'bobs' into google, you get hair, so be forewarned, use 'Sketchers Bobs' or something of the sort.
Thus far we've established: Everyone likes shoes, Toms and Bobs BOTH give a pair of shoes to someone who needs shoes when you buy a pair of shoes. And everyone needs shoes.
But what about a college education? Would you buy a pair of shoes for that?
Have you ever heard of them? I'm not surprised if you said 'no,' and if you said 'yes,' then I hope you own a pair. Being a broke college student, the next time I have actual money I can actually spend, I plan on buying a pair. As it is, I just stare at them longingly all day, with romantic music and birds tweeting in the background.
So here's the gist of it: Women in Uganda usually can't afford college, and there's a nine month gap in their school system between schools. What Sseko does is it employs these women. For nine months these Ugandan women make these beautiful leather sandals and the interchangeable, multi-way straps. All the income gets put in a special account for their college, so after nine months, they've earned enough to get a college degree.
Why a separate account? More often than not, these women come from impoverished families who would take everything the women earned and put it towards something else. As it is, Sseko makes sure the women take home enough to live off of, and the rest if put in savings so it can't be spent on a whim, and that savings money can only go towards college.
So instead of giving a kid another pair of shoes, why not give a Ugandan woman a college education?
You can tie these sandals in a multitude of ways, and not only that, but you can buy different straps for it. Solids, prints, a whole pack of these ribbons, and apparently they're really sturdy. Like I said, broke college student, no monies, so I'll get there. But every review I've read speaks highly of them. They might be kind of like Rainbows, the flip-flop brand, in that you kind of need to break them in. But other than that, what's not to love?
Cute sandals with interchangeable, multi-way straps that help give Ugandan women a good college education? Count me in!
But trust me, I'll still buy Toms too. :D
Until next time!
-MG
So! Who HASN'T heard of Toms?
Exactly. Anyone heard of their strange Sketchers version, called Bobs?
I know, they look almost identical. Also, if you just type 'bobs' into google, you get hair, so be forewarned, use 'Sketchers Bobs' or something of the sort.
Thus far we've established: Everyone likes shoes, Toms and Bobs BOTH give a pair of shoes to someone who needs shoes when you buy a pair of shoes. And everyone needs shoes.
But what about a college education? Would you buy a pair of shoes for that?
Have you ever heard of them? I'm not surprised if you said 'no,' and if you said 'yes,' then I hope you own a pair. Being a broke college student, the next time I have actual money I can actually spend, I plan on buying a pair. As it is, I just stare at them longingly all day, with romantic music and birds tweeting in the background.
So here's the gist of it: Women in Uganda usually can't afford college, and there's a nine month gap in their school system between schools. What Sseko does is it employs these women. For nine months these Ugandan women make these beautiful leather sandals and the interchangeable, multi-way straps. All the income gets put in a special account for their college, so after nine months, they've earned enough to get a college degree.
Why a separate account? More often than not, these women come from impoverished families who would take everything the women earned and put it towards something else. As it is, Sseko makes sure the women take home enough to live off of, and the rest if put in savings so it can't be spent on a whim, and that savings money can only go towards college.
So instead of giving a kid another pair of shoes, why not give a Ugandan woman a college education?
You can tie these sandals in a multitude of ways, and not only that, but you can buy different straps for it. Solids, prints, a whole pack of these ribbons, and apparently they're really sturdy. Like I said, broke college student, no monies, so I'll get there. But every review I've read speaks highly of them. They might be kind of like Rainbows, the flip-flop brand, in that you kind of need to break them in. But other than that, what's not to love?
Cute sandals with interchangeable, multi-way straps that help give Ugandan women a good college education? Count me in!
But trust me, I'll still buy Toms too. :D
Until next time!
-MG
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Guest Speaker Prep 1
Guest Speaker Prep: Monica Jones, President AD2 Roanoke, Modea
I can't find any problems AD2 would be facing right now, strategically or otherwise, but I'm not sure how their membership is. Overall I'm sure it's fine, but I hadn't heard of them until today, so I wonder about the success of their numbers. Also, I figure it's probably a very thin line that they have to obey between professionalism and still maintaining a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Based on their likes and 'talked about' statuses on facebook, along with who they follow, retweet, and who they're followed by on twitter, I can venture that my initial suspicion was correct, in that they don't have very many people following them. However, who them do have seems to be a very loyal, tight-knit group with greap connections. This shows that AD2 Roanoke really accomplishes what they mean to, easing people under 32 into the business world as easily as possible, and with as much help as is available.
How do you advertise to the marketing world? Is it through AAF Roanoke, or by coming to places like VT and Radford and other colleges and speaking about it?
How did you discover AD2 in Florida?
Do you ever have a discrepancy in ideas with AAF? How do you resolve those, or are you a completely separate affiliate of them?
Until next time! -MG Edit: spoiler alert for next time: Toms, Bobs, or a free college education?
I can't find any problems AD2 would be facing right now, strategically or otherwise, but I'm not sure how their membership is. Overall I'm sure it's fine, but I hadn't heard of them until today, so I wonder about the success of their numbers. Also, I figure it's probably a very thin line that they have to obey between professionalism and still maintaining a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Based on their likes and 'talked about' statuses on facebook, along with who they follow, retweet, and who they're followed by on twitter, I can venture that my initial suspicion was correct, in that they don't have very many people following them. However, who them do have seems to be a very loyal, tight-knit group with greap connections. This shows that AD2 Roanoke really accomplishes what they mean to, easing people under 32 into the business world as easily as possible, and with as much help as is available.
How do you advertise to the marketing world? Is it through AAF Roanoke, or by coming to places like VT and Radford and other colleges and speaking about it?
How did you discover AD2 in Florida?
Do you ever have a discrepancy in ideas with AAF? How do you resolve those, or are you a completely separate affiliate of them?
Until next time! -MG Edit: spoiler alert for next time: Toms, Bobs, or a free college education?
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Bread, But No Butter
All right, are you ready for this?
BREAD. This is a display in an Anthropologie store. I don't know which one, and credits are at the end for where I got this picture. But let's take a look at the magnificence that is Anthropologie:
Anthropologie does advertising a little differently, and here I'm going to describe it to you and say why I think it works for them.
To start with, if you don't know Anthropologie, then click HERE. Go on, be amazed.
So they're owned by Urban Outfitters, who also own other stores such as Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Terrain. Each of those stores is targeted towards a different group, and Anthropologie is targeted towards selling a lifestyle to 30-40 year-old-women looking for something.. different. To put a title on the 'lifestyle,' would be probably be described as such. Different. Fun. You can't find what you find at Anthropologie anywhere else.
This skirt is called a 'flora fortress skirt.' In short, it has flowers and castles in it - and where else can you get a skirt like that?! I love it. Onto Anthropologie's advertising.. which is rather minimal. You can't flip through an 'Instyle' or a 'Cosmopolitan' and find ads for Anthropologie. You won't turn on the TV and see a commercial, nor will you hear one on the radio. Anthropologie is - as previously mentioned - a lifestyle. Once you love it, you spread the word. It has high quality clothes, and despite the sometimes high prices, the clothes are well worth it.
So how do they attract customers? Well, word-of-mouth, for one thing. Even you, right now, reading my blog, are now looking at their website, even if you never have before. Looking at their pictures. But most people are attracted by their displays. You've seen some already, here's a window display for one of their stores.
It's made of CLOTHES PINS. Also they normally have their doors open on nice days, so you walk by, you see this, and there's some airy, fresh smell pouring out of this store. They interest you - you go in just to see, 'well what is this store about.' They sell clothes, decorations, furnishings, books, accessories - a lifestyle.
Seriously, I can't stop looking at that picture.
Another way they keep customers coming back (aside from being pleasant and wonderful) is their catalogue, which is called 'The Magazine'. You can get it at the till, when you check out or just to grab one, and it's more like a magazine than a catalogue. There aren't articles, but there are pictures, with tiny print saying what each item is and how much it costs. In addition to the hard copy of the Magazine, they have an online version.
In their online version, they have articles. These articles range from straight fashion to the lifestyle they promote and the designers they showcase and sell. They don't just make their own clothes, they buy from other people and then become a distributor for that company, or even for just those few people. They also post reels from their photoshoots for the Magazine (September 2012 was in Edinburgh, so it's really interesting to watch), or they'll share a little story or article from where they went. They showcase artists, and let you know what fashion is really excellent right now. Recently, they've released a petite line of all their clothes, so it's an article about how to dress a petite body.
Being rather petite myself, this news gave reason for a slight celebration. :)
They also have a 'he says, she says' section, where their two stylists for the Magazine (Richmond and Kelly) showcase their picks for the season/the transitioning seasons. They have two very different opinions stylistically, and it's always a good and quick read.
I feel like all of these things combine to stylistically sell a lifestyle to their target audience, and even out of that range. I'm going to be honest, I adore Anthropologie when it's on sale so I don't have to pay $200 for a pair of jeans. Nice jeans, but I am a college student on a budget! Between the Magazine, the online version of it, and their ever-changing store designs, I feel Anthropologie will do nothing but grow in the future.
Assuming there's nothing terrible in the future. ;)
Until next time!
-MG
Sources
http://iheartlaughing.blogspot.com/2011/12/anthropologies-to-die-for-displays.html
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/06/anthropologie-summer-windows.html
http://www.anthropologie.com
http://www.imogeneandwillie.com/press
BREAD. This is a display in an Anthropologie store. I don't know which one, and credits are at the end for where I got this picture. But let's take a look at the magnificence that is Anthropologie:
Anthropologie does advertising a little differently, and here I'm going to describe it to you and say why I think it works for them.
To start with, if you don't know Anthropologie, then click HERE. Go on, be amazed.
So they're owned by Urban Outfitters, who also own other stores such as Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Terrain. Each of those stores is targeted towards a different group, and Anthropologie is targeted towards selling a lifestyle to 30-40 year-old-women looking for something.. different. To put a title on the 'lifestyle,' would be probably be described as such. Different. Fun. You can't find what you find at Anthropologie anywhere else.
This skirt is called a 'flora fortress skirt.' In short, it has flowers and castles in it - and where else can you get a skirt like that?! I love it. Onto Anthropologie's advertising.. which is rather minimal. You can't flip through an 'Instyle' or a 'Cosmopolitan' and find ads for Anthropologie. You won't turn on the TV and see a commercial, nor will you hear one on the radio. Anthropologie is - as previously mentioned - a lifestyle. Once you love it, you spread the word. It has high quality clothes, and despite the sometimes high prices, the clothes are well worth it.
So how do they attract customers? Well, word-of-mouth, for one thing. Even you, right now, reading my blog, are now looking at their website, even if you never have before. Looking at their pictures. But most people are attracted by their displays. You've seen some already, here's a window display for one of their stores.
It's made of CLOTHES PINS. Also they normally have their doors open on nice days, so you walk by, you see this, and there's some airy, fresh smell pouring out of this store. They interest you - you go in just to see, 'well what is this store about.' They sell clothes, decorations, furnishings, books, accessories - a lifestyle.
Seriously, I can't stop looking at that picture.
Another way they keep customers coming back (aside from being pleasant and wonderful) is their catalogue, which is called 'The Magazine'. You can get it at the till, when you check out or just to grab one, and it's more like a magazine than a catalogue. There aren't articles, but there are pictures, with tiny print saying what each item is and how much it costs. In addition to the hard copy of the Magazine, they have an online version.
In their online version, they have articles. These articles range from straight fashion to the lifestyle they promote and the designers they showcase and sell. They don't just make their own clothes, they buy from other people and then become a distributor for that company, or even for just those few people. They also post reels from their photoshoots for the Magazine (September 2012 was in Edinburgh, so it's really interesting to watch), or they'll share a little story or article from where they went. They showcase artists, and let you know what fashion is really excellent right now. Recently, they've released a petite line of all their clothes, so it's an article about how to dress a petite body.
Being rather petite myself, this news gave reason for a slight celebration. :)
They also have a 'he says, she says' section, where their two stylists for the Magazine (Richmond and Kelly) showcase their picks for the season/the transitioning seasons. They have two very different opinions stylistically, and it's always a good and quick read.
I feel like all of these things combine to stylistically sell a lifestyle to their target audience, and even out of that range. I'm going to be honest, I adore Anthropologie when it's on sale so I don't have to pay $200 for a pair of jeans. Nice jeans, but I am a college student on a budget! Between the Magazine, the online version of it, and their ever-changing store designs, I feel Anthropologie will do nothing but grow in the future.
Assuming there's nothing terrible in the future. ;)
Until next time!
-MG
Sources
http://iheartlaughing.blogspot.com/2011/12/anthropologies-to-die-for-displays.html
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/06/anthropologie-summer-windows.html
http://www.anthropologie.com
http://www.imogeneandwillie.com/press
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Obligatory Introduction
Hello!
So this blog is for my advertising class, but knowing me, I'll get so into the habit that it'll continue on past this semester. Actually I have a dreadful memory, so don't count on that, but we'll see.
This is just a quick intro post before I do any real ones - in this blog, I'll pretty much be talking about whatever strikes my fancy. Fashion, sports, makeup, cars... There will be a plethora of excellence.
To make it easier, I'll try to keep it to a topic a week or so. One week will be on fashion, another on how companies are making the world better, another on foreign brands.. so it won't be a complete hot mess.
Until then, here's a little spoiler for my topic next time:
If you're wondering, 'is that bread on that wall there?' then let me just tell you now: Yes. Yes it is.
Until next time!
-MG
This is just a quick intro post before I do any real ones - in this blog, I'll pretty much be talking about whatever strikes my fancy. Fashion, sports, makeup, cars... There will be a plethora of excellence.
To make it easier, I'll try to keep it to a topic a week or so. One week will be on fashion, another on how companies are making the world better, another on foreign brands.. so it won't be a complete hot mess.
Until then, here's a little spoiler for my topic next time:
If you're wondering, 'is that bread on that wall there?' then let me just tell you now: Yes. Yes it is.
Until next time!
-MG
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