Word of Mouth – Helping or Hurting Us?

We live in a world where the masses get their formal news from sources like Instagram and Twitter rather than traditional newspapers and evening news television programs. This puts into question the validity of the news being delivered. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, government officials are prompting their country’s residents to stay home and self quarantine to prevent the spread of this virus. This request wasn’t taken seriously by many as we saw college students partying on spring break and gathering for St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Florida and thousands of people relaxing on the beaches in Australia. Because of rule defying individuals like this, government officials are asking famous influencers to spread the word and ask people to stay home. The Surgeon General of the United States, Jerome Adams, has asked Kylie Jenner to use her influence and spread the word to her 166 million followers around the world to self quarantine (Wagmeister, 2020). 


Blackwelder, C. (2020)

In an interview on Good Morning America, Adams said “We need to get Kylie Jenner and social media influencers out there, in helping folks understand that look, this is serious, this is absolutely serious, people are dying” (Blackwelder, 2020). Kylie Jenner went to her Instagram stories to explain to people why it’s so important to stay home and how to enjoy this time to reset. This resulted in a domino effect and all influencers, big or small, have been posting daily about the importance of staying home to remain healthy and save their loved ones. As soon as something becomes a ‘trend’, millennials are likely to listen. Social media campaigns have also been started to make self quarantining the cool thing to do. Celebrities are now taking part in the #IStayHomeFor challenge to prove that, famous or not, we’re all alike and abiding to the same rules (DeSantis, 2020).

It is a known fact that word-of-mouth marketing can work wonders for brands and individuals alike. Due to its success, the government is now resorting to this method as well since it seems not everyone listens to/takes the news seriously.

This style of marketing also trickles down the pipeline and allows anyone and everyone to post ‘news’ that they hear onto social media. Next thing you know there are messages being sent person to person like the below: 

“Hey guys, I sent this to a few folks and wanted to share just in case… I hope you are well and alright during these unusual times. I wanted to let you know what my law firm is seeing throughout the country and in LA, and of course, if you feel it appropriate to share with anyone else that may benefit from the same. Please know the info below is sent not to inspire panic but rather precaution and preparation. I received the message below from my friend late last night who is an attorney with strong contacts in DC and elsewhere and she says: “You should go by more food. Within the past few hours, we have independently received at least six separate reports from friends and colleagues with contacts at various levels of the US Government (CDC, Pentagon, etc.) as well as CA Government (National Guard, Governor’s Office, etc.) that there are expected to be significant quarantine procedures put in place and announced shortly.” 

After this text, and others similar to it, began to spread like wildfire over the weekend, the National Security Council had to post on Twitter that this was an inaccurate representation of the situation and made up of false claims. 

Although a lot of good messages are being spread to stay home and stay safe via word of mouth, there are also a lot of false messages that are stirring up fear and panic around the world. These are all prime examples of good versus bad word of mouth marketing. This brings up a crucial question in regard to marketing validity: Who should we believe in a serious case like this – formal news sources, social media influencers, celebrities, or viral texts/messages?

References: 

Blackwelder, C. (2020). Kylie Jenner answers Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ call to help fight coronavirus. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/surgeon-general-jerome-adams-call-social-media-influencers/story?id=69686036

Cheik-Hussein, M. (2020). Influencers join efforts to encourage social distancing amid coronavirus pandemic. AdNews. Retrieved from: https://www.adnews.com.au/news/influencers-join-efforts-to-encourage-social-distancing-amid-coronavirus-pandemic

Delahunty, S. (2020). Influencers urged to support social distancing message. PR Week. Retrieved from: https://www.prweek.com/article/1677568/influencers-urged-support-social-distancing-message

DeSantis, M. (2020). What is the #IStayHomeFor challenge? Kevin Bacon, David Beckham, Elton John and more celebs getting us through social distancing. Evening Standard. Retrieved from: https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/alist/i-stay-at-home-for-challenge-celebrities-twitter-trend-a4392271.html

Dunleavy, J. (2020). ‘FAKE’: National Security Council shoots down rumors of nationwide quarantine. Washington Examiner. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/fake-national-security-council-shoots-down-rumors-of-nationwide-quarantine

Frier, S. (2020). Instagram versus reality: Travel influencers gloss over Coronavirus. Bloomberg. Retrieved from: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-12/instagram-vs-reality-travel-influencers-gloss-over-coronavirus

Wagmeister, E. (2020). Kylie Jenner can urge Gen Z to take Coronavirus seriously, Surgeon General says. Variety Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kylie-jenner-urge-gen-z-155537692.html



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Rhetorically speaking…

As an English major, I am a lover of words.  I get a geeky thrill when I read a well-crafted sentence and an even geekier thrill when I can see the way it leads to persuasion. Persuasion is a fascinating subject and vital to communications. Professional communicators are often looking to persuade someone to do something. In other words, Proctor and Gamble didn’t just distribute Tide to grocery stores and it magically became a leading detergent. Consumers had to be sold Tide.

Aristotle

There is a vast selection of books on how to persuade people. One of the most recognized works on a persuasion technique called rhetoric is Aristotle’s Rhetoric, written in 350 BCE (Roberts, n.d.). Aristotle defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion (Roberts, n.d., Part 2).” In this work, Aristotle explained three important rhetorical appeals you can use to change someone’s mind: the appeal to ethos (credibility), appeal to logos (logic), and the appeal to pathos (emotion) (Roberts, n.d).

Ethos can be developed by virtue of a speaker’s credentials/status, or by employing techniques such as speaking in the same language as an audience (The Art, n.d.). Logos can be established with statistics, data, and reasoning (The Art, n.d.). Pathos can be developed by connecting with the audience emotionally (The Art, n.d.).

Chances are you have seen these types of appeals a million times in your life. For example:

Ethos:

Dr. Adams is speaking about the Coronavirus. His credibility is established by his medical degree and his status as the United States Surgeon General.  Additionally, the reporter adds Dr. Adam’s credibility by calling him the “Nation’s top doctor.” These elements make him a viable authority on the subject and thus people are very likely to be persuaded by what he says.

Logos:

Image result for lysol advertisement

In order to convince people to buy Lysol, this ad provides the statistic that Lysol kills 99.9% of germs. This speaks to the effectiveness of Lysol and how it will achieve the desired result of cleaning a surface.

Pathos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDeRyyDrS40

Pathos is seen in this Christmas ad. Apple tugs at our heartstrings with the heart-warming narrative that includes using their products.

These are just a few examples of how to use rhetoric in communications messages. There is a wealth of information about the subject in Rhetoric. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in persuasion.

Elizabeth

Sources:

The Art of Rhetoric. (n.d.) Retrieved on March 20, 2020, from http://utminers.utep.edu/kmooy/Arto%20of%20rhetoric.htm

Roberts, R. (n.d.) Retrieved on March 20, 2020, from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.3.iii.html

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Influencer marketing in a pandemic

We’ve all written about them, if not commented on someone’s blog post about them, if not seen them on our own Instagram or YouTube feeds. Influencers are everywhere and an essential part of modern marketing strategies.

Special K influencer partnership

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, many advertisers are readjusting their marketing tactics and reassigning their marketing dollars to spend on different things. Some of that includes cancelling influencer trips, or pushing back promotion schedules altogether. Per Digiday, “Victoria Yore, travel influencer and founder of Follow Me Away, has lost 90% of her income due to the coronavirus as the cruise line and airline campaigns she had booked have been canceled,” (Monllos, 2020). Many brands are pausing as they examine what is happening, and that means holding their marketing money until things are more stable (Holton, 2020).

Blogger Rachel Martino.

I myself subscribe to Rachel Martino, a fashion blogger from New York City. Though it isn’t live anymore, she posted to Instagram saying that she and her boyfriend (who is also an influencer) have been saving money and only buying essentials since no work is coming in. This is an example of, despite Martino not being a travel blogger, still having campaigns cancelled by advertisers.

A lot of influencers also depend on advertisers to fund their lifestyles – in the form of free products, free trips, and other free items in exchange for advertisement on influencers’ pages. That being said, with an increased number of social media engagement since so many people are now home more often, perhaps this is an opportunity for brands to invest even more in social media marketing. As people gather on social media for forms of escapism or to connect with one other, this may provide new and refreshing opportunities for advertisers to utilize social media into their integrated marketing campaigns, (Faull, 2020)

Do you think the coronavirus pandemic will have a positive, expanding effect on the influencer marketing industry, or will it have negative implications? In what ways do you think?

References:

Faull, J. (2020, March 19). ‘Influencer marketing can prove its value’: the social opportunity amid coronavirus crisis. The Drum. Retrieved from https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/03/19/influencer-marketing-can-prove-its-value-the-social-opportunity-amid-coronavirus.

Holton, K. (2020, March 19). Advertisers stare into the coronavirus abyss. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-advertising/advertisers-stare-into-the-coronavirus-abyss-idUSKBN2162CB.

Monllos, K. (2020, March 18). ‘I’ve seen every thing get canceled’: Influencers get hit by coronavirus uncertainty. Digiday. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/marketing/ive-seen-every-single-thing-get-canceled-influencers-get-hit-coronavirus-uncertainty/.

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The “Money’s-No-Object” Candidate

By: Christine Rex

It’s campaign season in American and in DC residents celebrate its coming as if it were the Superbowl. Beltway locals pack DC bars and cheer on candidates during debates as if they were famed athletes.

DC residents spectator sport of campaign debates captured at Capitol Hill bar.

But for those outside the beltway, or more commonly referred to as the Real World, campaign season brings one thing, campaign ads. And there was one candidate that took media blitzing to the extreme. 

Enter former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. This late joiner to the Democratic Primary competition and Planet Earth’s 12th richest person (Schaul, Uhrmacher, & Narayanswamy, 2020), spent an unprecedented $500,000,000 of his own personal funds to launch a full fledged presidential media blitzkrieg (Peters, 2020). Or to put it another way, Bloomberg spent less than 1% of his total net worth competing for a shot at the White House (Peters, 2020).

So endemic were Bloomberg’s ads that by the end of his short lived three-month-long campaign over 2/3rds of the country’s registered voters had played audience member to his media takeover (Schaul, et al, 2020). Upon his March 4th withdrawal from the primary the Bloomberg campaign was running 30,000 online ad spots per minute (Powers, 2020), spent more on facebook ads than all other candidates combined, and outspent all other field candidates by more than 10 times (Schaul, et al, 2020). 

One of Michael Bloomberg’s billboard memes.

Bloomberg is no stranger to politics, with a track record of supporting political seats from the local school board to Congress. To date, Bloomberg has personally spent $223.1 million in political support and is the single most important donor to Democrats (Burns & Kulish, 2020). And although he has never been accused of coercing candidates, the optics of his financial infusions lead many to question just what extent his pocket book is influencing candidates. 

A running clip from Washington Post.

More specifically to the 2020 Presidential Primary, his intentional skipping of early primary states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, had competitors crying foul and had many alleging that he was paying his way into the presidency. Former Democratic Nominee hopeful Kamala Harris ended her bid to the White House citing that she wasn’t a billionaire and as such could no longer afford to compete (Greve, 2019). 

The rise of self-funded candidates, like Ross Perot, Donald Trump, and Michael Bloomberg, have created a chasm for everyday candidates to be able to compete in the democratic process. 

Bloomberg’s campaign spend was 90% more than what it cost President Trump to win the White House in 2016 (Powers, 2020). But Bloomberg viewed his campaign as a point of pride and a revolt against financial influence by outside political donors. 

In the end Bloomberg exited the scene having reached 3rd in the national polls and granting his endorsement to Former Vice President Joe Biden (Powers, 2020). The air waves were returned to their regularly scheduled programming, President Trump was left crafting new nicknames for his current political opponents, and the Beltway was left wondering at what point is this level of campaign blitzkrieg a form of media bribery? 

References

Burns, A. & Kulish, N., (2020, February 15). Bloomberg’s Billions: How the Candidates Built an Empire of Influence. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html

Greve, J. (2019, December 16). Man with the money: Democrats cry foul as Bloomberg splashes cash. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/16/man-with-the-money-democrats-cry-foul-as-bloomberg-splashes-the-cash

Peters, J. (2020, February 17). I watched 185 Mike Bloomberg Ads. Slate. Retrieved from 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/02/michael-bloombergs-ads-ranked.html

Powers, J. (2020, February 28). Debate Mike vs Tv-ad Mike: How Bloomberg revived the relevance of the political TV commercial.  Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-02-28/michael-bloomberg-mike-revived-political-tv-ads-debate

Schaul, K., Uhrmacher, K., Narayanswamy, A. (2020, February 19). Bloomberg’s immense spending gets him 30,000 online ads a minute, and a whole lot more. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/bloomberg-ad-spending-scale/

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Here for the Right Reasons: How The Bachelor Franchise Evolved to an Influencer Factory

Bachelor Influencers
Source: The Ringer

The final rose was once again among us mere mortals. However, it looks like The Bachelor did not just launch the “perfect love story,” but also presented a new generation of influencers.

Premise

Before we continue with this blog, let me first introduce the franchise. For 18 years, the premise of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is to find 20-30 women or men who are willing to enter a polygamous relationship where they share one person. Aside from living with dozens of other people who are also dating your partner, as well as seeing the “love of your life” only once or twice a week, contestants must also endure physical activities like play an intense game of football, wrestle in the mud, or binge-jump naked. And, oh, there is also this one requirement where you must share their traumas and tragic pasts to a person you basically just met. After all that, only one will end up engaged.

In 2014, producers decided to shake things up and created Bachelor in Paradise. In this spin-off, former The Bachelor and The Bachelorette contestants are given another shot finding love among each other in a secluded paradise in Mexico. To keep the dynamics in the island entertaining, the producers add new people to the group every week. Meanwhile, Winter Games, another franchise spin-off, is the winter sports-themed counterpart of Paradise.

Bachelor in Paradise 2019
Source: ABC

The Right Reasons

For those who are regular viewers of the dating show, the concept of “the right reasons” is an overused phrase that contestants throw around to expose their fellow contenders’ motives and intentions. In recent seasons, this idea is emphasized to address the modern caveat of the show: that people are going on The Bachelor franchise to gain money and fame, instead of falling in love with the person of their dreams.

The original romantic reality show, which currently features Pilot Peter Weber for its 24th season, peaked at 8.2 million viewers on its finale episode last season. Because of the show’s consistently high ratings, former contestants utilize their screen time to launch their influencer careers after they exit the show.

These former contestants usually gain more than one million followers once the show starts airing. According to data, paid partnerships with these influencers have better engagement rates on social media than other celebrities and lifestyle influencers. Most of these former contestants now label themselves as brand ambassadors as they help sell clothing, makeup, events, workout merchandise, restaurants, and even board games, among others. A lot of Bachelor alumni have also launched their own YouTube channels, podcasts, books, clothing lines, shoes, perfume, and basically any commodity under the sun!

In Vox’s podcast called “Reset,” they discussed how the advent of social media, particularly Twitter and Instagram, provided a platform for former Bachelor contestants to share their own narratives. In the beginning, these alumni leveraged their personal social media accounts to defend themselves from gossips and scandals, as well as share their experiences behind the scenes. Always up-to-date in trends, marketers zeroed in on the show alumni’s significant follower counts and leveraged this opportunity to market their brands.

According to The Ringer, Tenley Molzahn, the runner-up from The Bachelor season 14, seems to be the “patient zero” in this breed of influencers. Even before the word “influencer” has been in our lexicon, Mehzan’s Instagram page in 2010 was already filled with photos of her modeling a bracelet and recommending a cleansing juice that her followers can purchase through her promo code.

Brands can often be a perfect match with some of the former contestants. For example, according to Tribe Dynamics, some of the most popular Bachelor former cast members like Ashley Iaconetti (Season 19) and Amanda Stanton (Season 20) drove more than $6 million in earned revenue in 2018 for online store Revolve.  FabFitFun’s head of influencer marketing, Jolie Jankowitz shared in an interview with WWD that what makes the romantic reality show contestants special is they are average women that consumers had gotten to know right before they became popular. According to Jankowitz, they are aspirational, but attainable.

However, launching an influencer career right off the bat is not as easy as it seems. For one, Bachelor contestants have to make sure that they always look good for TV. Entertainment Tonight reporter Lauren Zima shared that women who are set to go on the show are reaching out to brands for outfits in exchange for exposure. Similarly, brands are also proactively ensuring that they reach out to contestants before their competitor does.

Moreover, in the latest season, Revolve decided to further get ahead of the curve and sponsored one of the group dates. In the episode, women who are vying for Peter Weber’s heart participated in a Revolve fashion show, wearing products from the company’s in-house brands. The woman with the best catwalk won heaps of clothes from the brands.

revolve fashion show bachelor
Source: Bachelor YouTube

These sponsorship deals are not limited to women cast members in the franchise. Former leads like Nick Viall and Ben Higgins have their fair share of endorsements that range from sports brands to cars. Even former The Bachelorette contestants like Jared Haibon (Season 11) and Tyler Cameron (Season 15) are posting photos with oral care products and liquor brands. Meanwhile, some couples who actually ended up being together after meeting on the franchise, are “joint-influencers” in their own right.

Tyler Bachelor
Hannah G Influencer
Ashley I and Jared

True Love, After All

Going on the show, these men and women knew what they were getting themselves into. If you knew that the risk of leaving with a broken heart is greater than the potential chance of getting engaged with the person of your dreams, is it not better to forge a career out of it? Hey, if you can’t have the person, then you might as well get the coins. To some, money is the ultimate true love, after all.

To read more about this phenomenon:

https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/bachelor-contestants-influencers-1202969257/

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/1/6/21048923/the-bachelor-bachelorette-instagram-influencer

https://www.vox.com/reset/2020/2/24/21145335/the-bachelor-instagram-social-media-influencers-money

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Music festival brands on the line amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues have been closing left and right in an effort to “flatten the curve” by increasing social distancing through banning the congregation of large crowds. With these closed venues comes canceled events, including music festivals, where event-goers have purchased tickets months beforehand and arranged for travel to attend. 

On March 6, 2020, Ultra canceled their event, Ultra Music Festival as a result of the City of Miami’s decision two weeks before the event was scheduled to take place, noting that the event scheduled for the weekend of March 20, 2020 will be postponed until the weekend of March 26, 2021.

However, Ultra announced that they would not issue refunds but rather honor the 2020 tickets for their event in 2021. This announcement was met with backlash among event-goers who had purchased their tickets up to months before the event.  

https://twitter.com/SwansonSummer/status/1235944526738583558

Goldenvoice’s Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, originally scheduled for April 2020, were postponed to October later this year at the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities. However, both musical festivals offered full refunds to those who had purchased tickets and no longer want to attend the postponed event.

Some individuals compared how Goldenvoice had a better response to the pandemic compared to UMF in terms of refunds.

The same day California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that events with over 250 people are to be canceled on March 12, 2020, Insomniac’s postponed their Beyond Wonderland Socal event to late June after leaving inquiring event-goers without any updates for weeks. However, the company’s owner, Pasqual Rotella, announced that full refunds will be issued for those who are unable to or no longer want to attend the event. People commented that this was a responsible decision considering recent events and applauded Insomniac for issuing full refunds after seeing how Ultra had responded. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9pdochAGB8

Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival is scheduled to take place months from now and will be moving forward as planned. However, event-goers are skeptical of whether or not the event will happen if the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen in the upcoming weeks. Some even commented that it was irresponsible of the event company to move forward with the event considering the increase of COVID019 cases in the U.S. 

In all of these cases, each music festival organizer took different approaches on how to respond to the situation. In some cases, some individuals were understanding of the decision while others were upset and angry. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to please everyone in these instances. What do you think would be the best course of action for music festivals during this time of pandemic that would mitigate damage to the brand? 

References
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9332232/coachella-stagecoach-rescheduled-coronavirus

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9331890/ultra-music-festival-miami-no-refund-coronavirus

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/9333990/insomniac-events-beyond-wonderland-socal-rescheduled-coronavirus

https://www.businessinsider.com/california-bans-gatherings-250-prevent-coronavirus-six-foot-spacing-rule-2020-3


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Anime: A Global Marketing Franchise

fruits basket

Are you into either J-Pop, and/or anything related to Japanese lifestyle/culture? If so, you are probably well aware of anime. Animation (a.k.a Anime) is a style of Japanese film and television animation (Grand View Research, 2019) that began roughly around 1917 in Japan (Wonderopolis, n.d). According to Grand View Research (2019), “nearly 622 animation studios are present in Japan that engage in the development of animation related content, and out of which 542 anime studios are located in Tokyo itself”.

This unique Japanese concept has slowly taken over the world, all while providing different genres of animation content such as: action, adventure, comedy, drama, horror, supernatural, romance, and magic (Cheeky Kid, 2018). Followed by sub genres: Hentai, Cyberpunk, Ecchi, Harem, and Mecha (to name a few) (Cheeky Kid, 2018). However, if many are not familiar with the genres, some of the most popular/common anime shows are: Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Pokémon, Cowboy Bebop, and Sailor Moon.

U.S. anime market
Anime Market Size Chart

Over the years, the “global anime market size is being valued at 20.47 billion USD in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of 8.8% over the forecast period” (Grand View Research, 2019). With the great expansion/marketing of anime, it has lead to “developers, animators, publishers, other creative agencies and artists that are responsible for significant generation values in the market” (Grand View Research, 2019). Well enough, the anime industry has been steady on all distribution channels, and can be watched on “TV, movies, music videos, and pachinko machines among others” (Grand View Research, 2019).

Along with the marketing aspect of anime on a global scale, anime marketing insights consist of: “Bones Inc.; Kyoto Animation Co., Ltd.; Madhouse Inc.; Manglobe Inc.; P.A.Works, Inc.; Pierrot Co., Ltd.; Production I.G, Inc.; Studio Ghibli, Inc.; Sunrise Inc.; Toei Animation Co., Ltd; among others” (Grand View Research, 2019). While keeping in mind, the key purpose of anime marketing insights are to develop scripts, production, special effects, drawings and etc(Grand View Research, 2019).

Given the fact anime is being recognized more and more on a global scale, will its unique marketing continue to be popular in 10, 15, or even 20 years? Will it be able to connect with various generations, as there might be either a slight or large age gap between the generations?

What are your given thoughts on anime in future? And what are some of your favorite anime films (for those who are into anime)? Or even those who are interested in exploring a new film genre, is there a specific anime genre that grabs your attention?

(P.S. my favorite anime film(s)/cartoon(s) are Sailor Moon and Pokémon).

Thanks for viewing.

References

Kid, Cheeky. (2018) A Complete List of Anime Genres. Retrieved from: https://reelrundown.com/animation/Anime-Genre-List

Wonderopolis. (n.d). Retrieved from: http://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/when-did-anime-begin

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TOM BRADY SAYS FAREWELL TO THE PATRIOTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

20 years of greatness. 6X Super Bowl Winner. 4X Super Bowl MVP. 9 Super Bowl appearances.

Early Tuesday morning, Tom Brady said goodbye to the New England Patriots on his Instagram and Twitter. This closes a chapter and a relationship that Brady has has had with only one team for 20 seasons. Brady is only one of five NFL players to have dedicated their career for 20 years.

Brady’s decision is a day away from Free Agency, in which all NFL teams can reach out to free agent players about the upcoming NFL season. Throughout the years in several interviews, Brady who is 42-years-old has emphasized that his goal was to play until he is 45, but the Patriots were not able to reach an agreement with his contract.

The sports world has been put to a screeching halt and turned upside down due to the Coronavirus. But for many, Tom Brady’s post on social media stunned many football fans even more around the globe. The Chargers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain as the top two candidates that Brady might sign with, but only time can tell.

As a consistent social media user and as a Producer of sports television, I have seen how it has become the norm that more and more athletes are communicating life-changing news via their personal Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook pages. As a fan and taking out my Producer hat, I feel that this strategy has its pros and cons. Its pro is that it is immediate and people who are not watching television can hear it directly from their favorite athlete. The con is that it is so informal that people might feel as if their idol has become a traitor in the sense by simply communicating something in one sentence. Would a Patriots fan have preferred that a press conference were set up and that he would have made that formal announcement? What are your thoughts between the dichotomy of new media and traditional media?


“I don’t know what my football future holds but it is time for me to open a new stage for my life and career,” Brady said.

Earlier today in a heartfelt statement, Bill Belichick said: “Sometimes in life, it takes some time to pass before truly appreciating something or someone but that has not been the case with Tom. He is a special person and the greatest quarterback of all-time.”

Now for this upcoming NFL season, the greatest Quarterback of all time and the greatest coach of all time will be able to experience how it is going to be to compete for titles without one another. Who will bring more victories to their team? Who do you predict will make it to Super Bowl next year? Let’s just say this new rivalry is going to make football even more exciting and fun to watch.

References:

ESPN News Services.  (2020, March 17).  Tom Brady says goodbye to Patriots on social media. 
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28915341/tom-brady-says-goodbye-patriots-social-media
 
Littleton, Cynthia.  (2020, March 17).  Superstar Quarterback Tom Brady to Leave New England
Patriots for Free Agency.  https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/tom-brady-new-england-patriots-quarterback-nfl-free-agency-1203536739/

O’Connor, Ian.  (2020, March 17).  Tom Brady leaving the Patriots: Why Brady vs. Belichick
will be the great battle of the dynasty.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28903671/tom-brady-leaving-patriots-why-brady-vs-belichick-last-great-battle-dynasty
 

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How a Korean boyband with only one English-speaking member has taken over America and the world by storm

The BTS phenomenon

BTS is now the biggest boyband in the world. Their latest album is the bestselling and fastest-selling album of 2020 in “pure sales”, with over 3 million copies sold globally in just three days.

BTS has the highest-grossing show ever at the Los Angeles Rose Bowl, beating out Taylor Swift and U2. Most of their songs are not even in English, but they have sold out U.S and European dates. They spoke at the UN, appeared on Time Magazine, the first group since the Beatles to earn 3 no.1 albums in less than a year on the Billboard 200 Chart, and is now a prominent fixture of mainstream America culture.

How BTS won over America

They were had the fastest music video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, topped the iTune charts in 39 countries, and the first Korean group to reach 10 million followers on Twitter. BTS has the most devoted fanbase called ARMY. BTS has consistently put out content on social media daily.

Nobody expected BTS to reach this level of success, because they are signed on with a tiny entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment, which was near bankruptcy at that point.

Since the breakup of One Direction in 2015, there was no other big enough boyband sensation in the United States until BTS.

How BTS Became A Major Moneymaker For South Korea

BTS was cited as the reason why one out of every 13 tourists visited South Korea in 2017. If BTS maintain their popularity, they could generate $37 billion in economic value for South Korea over the next 10 years.

An English man even devoted $150,000 of his life savings to look like Jimin from BTS.

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One of the World’s Most Powerful Brand’s That You Didn’t Even Realize

Have you ever been shopping and seen that ‘Made in Italy’ tag? Subconsciously, we correlate a product made in Italy with craftsmanship, quality, heritage and luxury. Brand loyalty is so strong that many consumers will purchase a product just because it was made in Italy. Why is that?

Italian fashion lable GCDS and Barilla collaboration

Italian fashion, art, wine and race cars are all encompassed by the nation brand, Made in Italy that demonstrates an integrated and collective brand message. While the Made in Italy tag is not a company, it’s a merchandising mark that indicates to consumers that a product is planned, manufactured and assembled in Italy. The brand itself is worth over 7.5 billion dollars and is the backbone of the Italian Economy.

Prada – Made in Italy

The Made in Italy brand was introduced in the early ’80s to specify a unique brand positioning of traditional Italian industries: fashion, food, furniture and mechanical engineering. Since 1999, the brand has been protected by Italian Government institutions. In 2009, an Italian law was introduced to determine what characterizes the use of the Made in Italy tag. A list of Italian brands includes Barilla, Ferrero, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Bulgari, Bottega Venetta, Kartell, Ferrari and hundreds more.

The Made in Italy tag communicates to consumers that the product they are purchasing is rooted in Italian excellence. By purchasing a product that is made in Italy from start to finish, you are purchasing Italian heritage and identity.

The brand facilitates the recognition of a differential value in consumers through the influence of the product-country association. My grandfather used to always say, “there are two kinds of people in this world, Italians and then everyone else who wants to be Italian”. The Made in Italy brand capitalizes on the idealistic Italian lifestyle, which has proved to be captivating to many consumers.

La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini

What do you think of the Made in Italy brand?

References:

https://www.academia.edu/25292337/Made_in_Italy_-The_nation_brand_of_Italian_fashion

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annalisagirardi/2019/04/03/made-in-italy-what-is-behind-the-worldwide-famous-label/#2923ed196556

http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/made-in-italy_(Dizionario-di-Economia-e-Finanza)/

https://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/decreti/09135d.htm

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