I chose Hot Topic.
Walk into the store, notice the ambience, the lighting, the music, the salespeople, the mannequins,
What do they convey?
The lighting is dark, the music is punk rock, the salesperson had green hair. The walls are a fake brick wall. I believe this is supposed to convey an edgy gothic non mainstream type of store.
Who does it cater to?
The store caters to teenagers and young adults, especially those that aren't in the in crowd. Caters to musicians (lots of music type of clothing and even sells records) and teenagers in general.
Who is shopping? Age group, description.
There were a couple college girls, and a couple punk rock looking guys who seemed to be in their early 20's. They wore tight jeans and had crazy dark hair.
How helpful are the sales staff?
I asked the salesperson for something imparticular and he just looked at me like and didn't really respond. Wasn't helpful at all. He had green hair and looked to be in his 40's.
What works and what should they be doing differently?
Hot topic is well known for trying to be edgy and opposite of main stream culture. What's weird is that in the very front of the store is a lot of pop culture and mainstream type clothing, mainly of the cartoon and video game characters our generation grew up with as kids like Super Mario and the Ninja Turtles/Power Rangers/X-Men. This seems to go against the image they present and I imagine would draw in a completely different consumer than their main target audience, but that might be what they want.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Advertising exposure
Thursday 10/22/09
11:30am - Dicks Sporting Goods - ads and displays for Nike and Under Armor
12 - 1pm - Itunes store - Twilight soundtrack, Simpsons Tree House of Horror
2-3, 5 - 7pm - TV USA Channel - Law and Order SVU, NCIS - I was working on a homework project while the TV was on as background noise, so the only commercials I caught were the following: Fish Oil, Aleve, Monk, House, GMC Terrain (cognitive, animation), Pizza Hut Wings (iphone order now available), Duracel (emotional), Macys (promotional 1 day sale), TJ Maxx (Testimonial), Clorox two (Demonstration).
Friday 10/23/09
12:30-7pm Radio - 97.7 The Bear classic rock, 99.1 Extra classic rock, Jack Fm, 97.1 The Drive classic rock - I went on a road trip home so I had the radio on the entire trip but switched stations when one stopped coming in. I often turn the volume down to drown out the ads but I listened to a few for the sake of the project:
Army Reserve, Caseys General Store (jingle), Godfathers Pizza (sponsor), SIU Football, Schnooks (store brand testimonial), JCPenny (last day sale, heard this three times every time at the very start of the commercial break so they must have paid more for that spot), hydroxitone (given away at VIP gift bags at film festivals so it must be good)
Billboards and vehicles: Rc Cola (new look), Lasik, U-Haul, Classiccinemas.com. My Wife and Kids (WCIU), 2012 movie, Love it Live Chicago Bulls
8-9pm - Monk - USA Channel - I watched almost every ad for this even though I normally get up and go do something:
Presented by Windex, followed by Windex commercial, Windex also had product placement in the show itself
Mac and PC Windows 7
Hyundai - need information (2nd opinion) hyundaimomentum.com
Ball Vaccuum (creator talks) demo Dyson Ball
Honda (everyone knows someone who loves a honda)
Latisse (grow eyelashes drug)
Smart Strand stain proof carpet
Jameson - humor alcohol
Monk Bobblehead
Alien Abduction movie
Mytouch 3g with google (classic song, celebrities)
Outback Subaru (emotional, first trip)
TD Ameritrade (twice celebrity endorsement)
Amtrack (emotional)
Fantasea Shed Aquarium cognitive
Volkswagon looks like nothing else on the road
Tylenol (dramatization - better than ibuprofen) pain relief
Geico humor
Lubridurm - favorite among dermatologists, doctor
Walgreens - Halloween humor animation
Missed some ads at the end, noise
Summary:
Overall the ads that grabbed my attention the most were ones that tied into something I was watching (Monk Bobblehead for sale on USAnetwork.com during the Monk commercial break), or ads that played to my own personal philosophy or moral standards. There weren't really any of those during these 2 days but in the past there have been some like Domino's offering a vegetarian option for their new sandwiches. Also a lot of the humor ads catch my attention, but I realized how bombarded I am with adveritising that I've started to really tune it out on purpose. I went on a road trip to my home for the weekend and the billboards and radio ads were non stop, I got so sick of writing them down that I started purposely ignoring them but still wrote down the ones that broke through the noise. I guess the best way to reach me in advertising would be to let me come to the ads. Now with entertainment making this switch to on demand with things like the internet, Itunes, and DVR it's almost cutting out the middle man of advertising and just having the audience pay for the product itself. I'm going to be way more interested in an ad if I'm the one searching it out to begin with.
11:30am - Dicks Sporting Goods - ads and displays for Nike and Under Armor
12 - 1pm - Itunes store - Twilight soundtrack, Simpsons Tree House of Horror
2-3, 5 - 7pm - TV USA Channel - Law and Order SVU, NCIS - I was working on a homework project while the TV was on as background noise, so the only commercials I caught were the following: Fish Oil, Aleve, Monk, House, GMC Terrain (cognitive, animation), Pizza Hut Wings (iphone order now available), Duracel (emotional), Macys (promotional 1 day sale), TJ Maxx (Testimonial), Clorox two (Demonstration).
Friday 10/23/09
12:30-7pm Radio - 97.7 The Bear classic rock, 99.1 Extra classic rock, Jack Fm, 97.1 The Drive classic rock - I went on a road trip home so I had the radio on the entire trip but switched stations when one stopped coming in. I often turn the volume down to drown out the ads but I listened to a few for the sake of the project:
Army Reserve, Caseys General Store (jingle), Godfathers Pizza (sponsor), SIU Football, Schnooks (store brand testimonial), JCPenny (last day sale, heard this three times every time at the very start of the commercial break so they must have paid more for that spot), hydroxitone (given away at VIP gift bags at film festivals so it must be good)
Billboards and vehicles: Rc Cola (new look), Lasik, U-Haul, Classiccinemas.com. My Wife and Kids (WCIU), 2012 movie, Love it Live Chicago Bulls
8-9pm - Monk - USA Channel - I watched almost every ad for this even though I normally get up and go do something:
Presented by Windex, followed by Windex commercial, Windex also had product placement in the show itself
Mac and PC Windows 7
Hyundai - need information (2nd opinion) hyundaimomentum.com
Ball Vaccuum (creator talks) demo Dyson Ball
Honda (everyone knows someone who loves a honda)
Latisse (grow eyelashes drug)
Smart Strand stain proof carpet
Jameson - humor alcohol
Monk Bobblehead
Alien Abduction movie
Mytouch 3g with google (classic song, celebrities)
Outback Subaru (emotional, first trip)
TD Ameritrade (twice celebrity endorsement)
Amtrack (emotional)
Fantasea Shed Aquarium cognitive
Volkswagon looks like nothing else on the road
Tylenol (dramatization - better than ibuprofen) pain relief
Geico humor
Lubridurm - favorite among dermatologists, doctor
Walgreens - Halloween humor animation
Missed some ads at the end, noise
Summary:
Overall the ads that grabbed my attention the most were ones that tied into something I was watching (Monk Bobblehead for sale on USAnetwork.com during the Monk commercial break), or ads that played to my own personal philosophy or moral standards. There weren't really any of those during these 2 days but in the past there have been some like Domino's offering a vegetarian option for their new sandwiches. Also a lot of the humor ads catch my attention, but I realized how bombarded I am with adveritising that I've started to really tune it out on purpose. I went on a road trip to my home for the weekend and the billboards and radio ads were non stop, I got so sick of writing them down that I started purposely ignoring them but still wrote down the ones that broke through the noise. I guess the best way to reach me in advertising would be to let me come to the ads. Now with entertainment making this switch to on demand with things like the internet, Itunes, and DVR it's almost cutting out the middle man of advertising and just having the audience pay for the product itself. I'm going to be way more interested in an ad if I'm the one searching it out to begin with.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Group Project Experiences
"Writeup should include a brief synopsis of your experience, what did you learn about advertising, how has it helped you, etc."
I had a generally positive experience working on this group project. My mom is a dietitian and I worked in her department at the hospital for a few years so I already know a lot about this topic. Interestingly, what I added to the group was leadership, accountability, and task managing more than information. I think our group meshed well each of us with different talents or motivations.
What I learned about advertising is that there needs to be a very precise direction planned before any actual work is done, but even with that direction there needs to be an amount of flexibility involved so that if things don't work out properly all is not lost. Although there were some major and minor inconveniences or our project, our group handled it well and we managed to fulfill the majority of tasks that needed to be completed for the project. In the future I would push the group and myself to not procrastinate so that there is more time to polish the project before the due date.
I had a generally positive experience working on this group project. My mom is a dietitian and I worked in her department at the hospital for a few years so I already know a lot about this topic. Interestingly, what I added to the group was leadership, accountability, and task managing more than information. I think our group meshed well each of us with different talents or motivations.
What I learned about advertising is that there needs to be a very precise direction planned before any actual work is done, but even with that direction there needs to be an amount of flexibility involved so that if things don't work out properly all is not lost. Although there were some major and minor inconveniences or our project, our group handled it well and we managed to fulfill the majority of tasks that needed to be completed for the project. In the future I would push the group and myself to not procrastinate so that there is more time to polish the project before the due date.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Questions from chapters 4,5,6
Chapter 4:
Q:What is the major ethical issue with market segmentation?
A: That market segmentation can be a form of racial or other sensitive stereotyping.
Chapter 5:
Q:How many and what are the steps of Advertising Campaign Management?
A: There are five steps. 1: Review the communication market anaylsis 2: establish advertising objectives consistent with the communication objectives developed in the promotions opportunity analysis program 3: review the advertising budget 4: select the media in conjunction with the advertising agency 5: prepare a creative brief
Chapter 6:
Q: What is a major criticism with sex appeal advertising for the viewer?
A: it perpetuates dissatisfaction with the viewer's body and can cause eating disorders, for both males and females.
Q:What is the major ethical issue with market segmentation?
A: That market segmentation can be a form of racial or other sensitive stereotyping.
Chapter 5:
Q:How many and what are the steps of Advertising Campaign Management?
A: There are five steps. 1: Review the communication market anaylsis 2: establish advertising objectives consistent with the communication objectives developed in the promotions opportunity analysis program 3: review the advertising budget 4: select the media in conjunction with the advertising agency 5: prepare a creative brief
Chapter 6:
Q: What is a major criticism with sex appeal advertising for the viewer?
A: it perpetuates dissatisfaction with the viewer's body and can cause eating disorders, for both males and females.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Creative Brief
1. Non alcoholic beverages
Mountain Dew
1.) The objective is to increase retailer and wholesaler orders.
2.) The target audience is males 14 to 25, video gamers and extreme sports fans, in school, and need caffeine.
3.) The message theme is activity, awake, hydration, extreme, popularity. Ad should be emotional (right brained).
4.) The supporting fact is a 12 ounce can contains 54mg of caffeine. This is a great way to stay awake or to wake up for kids (especially those who don't drink coffee).
5.) The constraints: the nutrition fact label, 12oz can contains 170 calories and 46g of sugar.
2. Fast food restaurant
Subway
1.) The objective is to increase foot traffic into any subway store location.
2.) The target audience is teens male and female age 13-19, and adults male and female age 30-50, health concerned, overweight, value concerned.
3.) The message theme is to promote a healthy eating lifestyle, value ($5 footlong), diet, weight loss, availability, individuality.
4.) The supporting facts are subway is healthier than the other leading competition in fast food (McDonalds, Burger King, etc...), 6 grams of fat or less sandwiches, 31,816 locations in 91 countries, thousands of different sandwich combinations.
5.) The constraints: nutrition facts label, disclaimer subway is not always a healthy option in a diet.
3. Shoes
Adidas
1.) The objective is to build brand image.
2.) The target audience is athletic males and females 16-30.
3.) The message theme: style, comfort, fitness, way of life, philosophy.
4.) The supporting facts: largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and second in the world, supporter and sponsor of soccer (football), tennis, golf, basketball, cricket, rugby, lacrosse, skateboarding.
5.) The constraints: legal protection of trademark/logo and motto "Impossible is Nothing".
Mountain Dew
1.) The objective is to increase retailer and wholesaler orders.
2.) The target audience is males 14 to 25, video gamers and extreme sports fans, in school, and need caffeine.
3.) The message theme is activity, awake, hydration, extreme, popularity. Ad should be emotional (right brained).
4.) The supporting fact is a 12 ounce can contains 54mg of caffeine. This is a great way to stay awake or to wake up for kids (especially those who don't drink coffee).
5.) The constraints: the nutrition fact label, 12oz can contains 170 calories and 46g of sugar.
2. Fast food restaurant
Subway
1.) The objective is to increase foot traffic into any subway store location.
2.) The target audience is teens male and female age 13-19, and adults male and female age 30-50, health concerned, overweight, value concerned.
3.) The message theme is to promote a healthy eating lifestyle, value ($5 footlong), diet, weight loss, availability, individuality.
4.) The supporting facts are subway is healthier than the other leading competition in fast food (McDonalds, Burger King, etc...), 6 grams of fat or less sandwiches, 31,816 locations in 91 countries, thousands of different sandwich combinations.
5.) The constraints: nutrition facts label, disclaimer subway is not always a healthy option in a diet.
3. Shoes
Adidas
1.) The objective is to build brand image.
2.) The target audience is athletic males and females 16-30.
3.) The message theme: style, comfort, fitness, way of life, philosophy.
4.) The supporting facts: largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and second in the world, supporter and sponsor of soccer (football), tennis, golf, basketball, cricket, rugby, lacrosse, skateboarding.
5.) The constraints: legal protection of trademark/logo and motto "Impossible is Nothing".
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Frontline: The Persuaders
What are some things that you learned about advertising after watching this video?
That advertising has switched more to emotional belonging, a cult like effect, to get consumers to be die hard devoted instead of just fans.
There are unconscious emotions buried deep in our brains for every product we buy.
Buzzwords or the twisting of words can send completely different messages while still saying the conveying the same thing.
What are some of the main problems that plagues contemporary advertising?
The creation of clutter and trying to break through the clutter.
Many advertising creators lean more towards advertising to themselves, and doing what they want to do by making it artsy, funny, or clever. This leads to them not reaching the original goal of trying to sell the product to the consumer.
The 30 second TV spot is no longer as strong as it once was, and because of DVR being able to fast forward through commercials the advertisers are looking to integrate their products with the tv shows themselves in some sort of hybrid product placement.
What are some of the ethical concerns about advertising that we need to be aware of?
Once a culture becomes synonymous with advertising it ceases to be a culture.
Things like narrowcasting can invade our privacy to pull at us emotionally and to send messages that might conflict with other people to the individuals who want to hear it. It can be dishonest.
That advertising has switched more to emotional belonging, a cult like effect, to get consumers to be die hard devoted instead of just fans.
There are unconscious emotions buried deep in our brains for every product we buy.
Buzzwords or the twisting of words can send completely different messages while still saying the conveying the same thing.
What are some of the main problems that plagues contemporary advertising?
The creation of clutter and trying to break through the clutter.
Many advertising creators lean more towards advertising to themselves, and doing what they want to do by making it artsy, funny, or clever. This leads to them not reaching the original goal of trying to sell the product to the consumer.
The 30 second TV spot is no longer as strong as it once was, and because of DVR being able to fast forward through commercials the advertisers are looking to integrate their products with the tv shows themselves in some sort of hybrid product placement.
What are some of the ethical concerns about advertising that we need to be aware of?
Once a culture becomes synonymous with advertising it ceases to be a culture.
Things like narrowcasting can invade our privacy to pull at us emotionally and to send messages that might conflict with other people to the individuals who want to hear it. It can be dishonest.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Brand Tags
Brand Name: Vitamin Water
Five things that come to mind:
1. Tracy McGrady (ad)
2. Shaquille O'Neal (bottle size/jersey #)
3. Dragonfruit (one of the flavors)
4. Wal-Mart (where I typically buy it)
5. Fresh (new type of product)
I remember a coworker drinking vitamin water a couple years ago and they enjoyed it so much they wanted me to try it. It was a strange flavor called "Dragonfruit" which I then google image searched and realized it was a fruit I'd never even heard of, and it looked cool. Still, I didn't think much of it, and I wasn't a fan of the prescription drug style packaging. It wasn't until last summer when I was working up such a huge sweat while working at my job that I had to continually keep drinking water/liquids to keep me hydrated. Eventually I got sick of water and wanted something with taste that would keep me hydrated (no soda). I've never been a fan of powerade or gatorade so I looked around the local wal-mart and found vitamin water right at the front of the store next to the checkouts in mini fridges (convenient). I needed something cold since I had to go back to work so I chose the vitamin water, remembering what my friend had said about it, and a certain ad during NBA playoffs starring Tracy McGrady (a year in which there was a lot of controversy about him not making the second round of the playoffs). I enjoyed it so much I've been hooked ever since. I've cut out all soda products and now have a ready supply of vitamin water at all times. I went from having a negative perception to being completely hooked moreso than any other food product I purchase.
What others are saying:
http://www.brandtags.net/browse.php?id=629
The top words/phrases seem to be:
50 cent (I don't know if this is reference to the rapper or the price, but Vitamin water is usually $1 or more)
Calories
Clean
Expensive
Healthy
Jennifer Aniston
Ripoff
Sugar
Water
Now calories, clean, expensive, and sugar make sense to me, but healthy was one of the largest words and unfortunately it's a misconception. The amount of sugar in regular Vitamin Water is almost as high as soda. Because the name suggests something healthy many people don't realize that it can be bad for them. There is a 10 calorie less sugar product also available though. My words were rather small like Shaq, fresh, and dragonfruit. Wal-Mart and Tracy McGrady weren't on the list but McGrady can be substituted for Jennifer Aniston. I've never seen one of her ads as I'm sure they target more female oriented shows with her sponsoring. I pretty much agree with the rest of the tags including expensive, but it's one of the luxury items I don't mind paying for (and I don't find it that much of a ripoff).
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