"Buy the Way…" Insights on Integrated Marketing Communication

By Drew Wilson

None of yinz have jagged me abaht the way I talk n’ at. Thanks, I appreciate it. Of course, if you’re not from Pittsburgh, you probably need me to translate. I just pointed out that no one has teased me for speaking Pittsburghese. It’s a real thing. Slate.com, the New York Times, as well as a number of academic research papers by linguists – have written about the Pittsburgh dialect, more commonly known as Pittsburghese. On a negative note, more recently, Gawker declared it the ugliest accent in the United States.

Ugly or not – and technically it’s a dialect, not an accent – in Pittsburgh, the people who speak it are often referred to as “Yinzers,” a word that comes from the way Pittsburghers have their own third person plural, “yinz,” which is really a derivation of the southern, “y’all”. Even in Pittsburgh, to be referred to as a “Yinzer” can be both a form of ridicule – “He’s just a dumb Yinzer; he doesn’t know anything.” – or a form of reverence – “Joe won $1,000 on the lottery and donated half of it to Children’s Hospital. He’s a true Yinzer.”

Into this linguistic stew, I want to introduce you to “Pittsburgh Dad,” a series of YouTube videos produced by Chris Preksta and Curt Wootton where the main character (and most times only character) is Pittsburgh Dad. The basic premise of the video series is that everyone who has grown up in western Pennsylvania, even if their own father wasn’t like the main character, knows someone just like the Pittsburgh Dad. Here is a sample:

Humor certainly can be subjective, and I’m prepared for my classmates to not get any of the inside jokes in Pittsburgh Dad, but there can be no denying that Wootton and Preksta’s Pittsburgh Dad series has tapped into something that resonates with western Pennsylvania residents past and present. Preksta, who films and writes the videos, and Wootton, who plays Pittsburgh Dad, never intended this to be a series, and produced it more or less as a lark, but the first one went viral, as does every new installment shared by fans across the region and transplanted Pittsburghers across the country. The number of views of these short films always tops 100,000 views and some get close to half a million views. Here is a video of them talking about the phenomenon known as Pittsburgh Dad.

According to Jonah Berger in his book, “Contagious,” humor can generate high arousal responses, and Wootton and Preksta have moved beyond the reaction “ha, that’s amusing,” to a more viral, “OMG, this is hilarious and you have to watch this.” (Or maybe, the more authentic reaction is “yinz gotta see ‘is.”) With its popularity, Pittsburgh Dad has generated revenue for the duo in ways that couldn’t have been dreamed of when they put the first one on YouTube.  There is merchandise to be purchased:  https://shopsteelcity.com/collections/pittsburgh-dad and they have begun to be featured on local television commercials for other products like this one for Turner Dairy Farms:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlkPDRYU2eE

Or as Pittsburgh Dad might say when he is counting down the final seconds of a Steelers’ victory:  “3, 2, 1…win!”

References

Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why some ideas die and others survive. Random House.

Malady, M.J.X., (2017). Where yinz at? Why Pennsylvania is the most linguistically rich state in the country. Slate.com. Retrieved from:  http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2014/04/pennsylvania_dialects_from_pittsburghese_to_philadelphia_speak_the_keystone.html

Sultan, T. (2006). It’s not the sights, it’s the sounds. New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/travel/escapes/its-not-the-sights-its-the-sounds.html

By Jennifer Castro, CMGT 541(A)

A luxury yacht, fine wine, diamond necklace, new fragrance or handbag – who are we likely to see as the face of these ads? The answer is most likely a Millennial. Unfortunately, as advertisers, we are forgetting about a major audience segment that currently has significant disposable income and make up a large audience of the luxury consumer market: Baby Boomers. So why aren’t we seeing more luxury goods being marketed to them?

   vs.   

According to a 2017 Forbes article written by NJ Goldston, 77 million baby boomers make up the luxury market and during 2017, 70% of the disposable income in the U.S. was controlled by baby boomers (Nielsen, 2012). So how might the shopping preferences of a Baby Boomer differ among the luxury market versus those of a Millennial? Goldston (2017) notes that the 2018 luxury consumer is looking for a one-of-kind, unique item in an environment that is not found anywhere else – they are looking to have an experience in the retail environment. In a 2017 Wall Street Journal article, luxury product analyst Patrizia Arienti noted that 72% of luxury product purchases by baby boomers are made in stores and 28% are made on computers or mobile devices. This suggests to luxury brands to place emphasis on how their in-store, in-person experience is for the Baby Boomer luxury shopper.

While focusing on the Baby Boomer audience in the luxury good market could provide a positive business outcome, advertisers should continue to plan and project for the economic impact millennials will have on the luxury market in the future. According to a recent study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Altagamma (2018), luxury brands should focus on marketing to millennials and Chinese consumers over the next six years. The study notes that millennials will account for nearly half the market of luxury consumer goods by 2024, and that Chinese consumers are driving the most growth of luxury goods by about 70% (BCG, 2018). The current spending power of baby boomers right now is certainly something that shouldn’t be ignored by advertisers, while preparing for the economic impact Millennials will have in the future on the luxury good market.

References: 

Arienti, P. (2017) Reaching the new luxury customer. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://deloitte.wsj.com/cmo/2017/06/20/reaching-the-new-luxury-consumer/

BCG (2018). The key trends for the luxury goods industry in 2018.Retrieved from: https://www.bcg.com/d/press/20february2018-altagamma-true-luxury-global-consumer-insight-184693

Goldstron, N.J. (2017) What you need to know about luxury consumer trends for 2018, Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/njgoldston/2017/12/29/what-you-need-to-know-about-luxury-consumer-trends-for-2018/#62b940de21eb

Nielsen (2012). Introducing boomers: marketing’s most valuable generation,
Retrieved from:http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2012/introducing-boomers–marketing-s-most-valuable-generation.html

When it comes to integrated marketing communications, it is important to clearly define the target audience. Before doing this, you need to know the difference between the target market and the target audience. The target market is a specific sector of consumers a company focuses their products and services and direct their marketing interests. The target audience refers to the consumers targeted directly by the advertisements (Kappel, 2017). As a result, marketers will not waste time and resources with the unintended audience.

When it comes to market research and defining the target audience, you must be aware of behavioral habits, motivations and interests. In addition, you can focus in on characteristics shared by a group of individuals. With that being said, companies can look to social media to help acquire the target audiences. Social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn all share a common goal; to share personal interests. It is nearly impossible for a company to market to everyone; therefore creating an effective marketing strategy by means of social media is often effective.

Let’s take a look at the various social media platforms:

Facebook: Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms and the  users come from various demographics.

YouTube: YouTube is popular among the younger generations and provides insight on media content, such as music, videos and tutorials. YouTube is a platform that relays messages to a much broader audience.

Instagram: This platform allows you to learn about your audience by means of pictures and videos. By utilizing hashtags you are adding visibility within the search feature.

Twitter: With the use of hashtags and newsfeeds, Twitter increases visibility especially when posts are retweeted.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn allows you to target by industry, company size, and on an individual basis.

Monica Miller

CMGT 541-C

References:

Bergemann, D., & Bonatti, A. (n.d.). Targeting in advertising markets: implications for offline versus online media. The Rand Journal of Economics (Blackwell), 42(3), 417–443. doi:10.1111/j.1756-2171.2011.00143.x

Kappel, M (2017, January 9). Find Your Customers With A Target Market Analysis. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2017/01/09/find-your-customers-with-a-target-market-analysis/#749743c96bab

Richter, F. (2014, May 23). How Marketers Use Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/2289/how-marketers-use-social-media/

Since we’ve been discussing the advertising “pitch”, I thought I’d include a baseball reference as my blog title. In baseball, the umpire at home plate calls the pitches as balls or strikes, and we’ve been learning that the decisions makers in ad pitch meetings aren’t necessarily the best umpires. We’ve seen examples of ad campaigns that raised questions about ethics and some that were simply in poor taste. I’ve wondered about the processes that permitted some of these concepts to advance, and who was responsible for approving them?

While watching scenes in the Tommy Bahama episode (The Pitch, 2013), there was a noticeable demographic imbalance even when the target market was clearly identified as women’s apparel. We’ve also learned from Brandon Rochon about some of the pitching challenges his teams have faced. It’s becoming evident that clients aren’t always the experts on connecting with an intended target demographic, and it’s our job to point out Peter Coughter’s advice, “Remember, this is about making a human connection” (Coughter, 2012, p.141).

Dr. Akira has also shared his perspectives on decision makers, and this reminded me about an incident at my company. Coincidentally, this past weekend was New York Comic Con 2018, and it was at last year’s NYCC where our company suffered a failed campaign launch. Marvel Comics and Northrop Grumman planned to announce a partnership for a comic book at NYCC (Polygon, 2017). However, the partnership was canceled prior to the scheduled announcement, because of a backlash when the comic book fans got wind of it. It was an embarrassing episode for Northrop Grumman and Marvel Comics quickly took to Twitter and distanced itself from the project. At the root of the comic book fan uproar was that Northrop Grumman was a large defense contractor, which Marvel fans felt was too much like Stark Industries, a weapons manufacturer in their comics.

Many in our company felt the failure was due to insufficient research to understand the intended target market. Details of the project was not shared outside a small group, mainly at the headquarters. Shortly before the campaign details were finalized, some members on my team were involved with an informal survey of employees at an internal company event. The feedback from employees was not strong support for the concept of the comic book, and some employees who identified themselves as comic book fans expressed that they did not think it was a good idea. The feedback was communicated to our headquarters, but none of the group of decision makers were involved with gathering direct feedback, so those who conveyed the feedback to them felt it was not taken seriously. So if we go back to Coughter’s advice, “we’ve got to make our audiences feel something” (Coughter, 2012, p. 74). Perhaps we should stipulate that the audience should feel that something is “right”.

While the people involved with this project were in high positions of responsibility and power, this example clearly shows that these decision makers were disconnected from the intended target audience.

Kevin Gonzalez

CMGT 541-A

References:

Coughter, P. (2012). The art of the pitch: Persuasion and presentation skills that win business. Palmgrave MacMillan.

Polygon, October 7, 2017. Julia Alexander. https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/7/16440850/marvel-northrop-grumman-comic-event-canceled-nycc-2017

The Pitch (2013). Season 2, Episode 4: Tommy Bahama. AMC.

On Wednesday, October 3 at 11:14 a.m. 225 million American cell phone users all received an alert from President Trump. The first of its kind, the Wireless Emergency Alert System is a newly adopted communication system that can only be used in the event of a national emergency and reserved for the President to issue these warnings. The test was successful, however, within minutes of the alert a hashtag was born #PresidentialAlert.

Many brands such as AMC’s show Walking Dead, NBC, and Pizza Hut among others that capitalized on this media opportunity by having pre-developed meme’s ready for the October 3rd alert. Once the warning went live, social media managers took to their perspective brands Twitters account as was the case with Walking Dead. The Walking Dead Twitter handle (Twitter.com/WalkingDead_AMC) sent out a Tweets seconds after. The image included an Iphone with a background photo of Rick (the show’s main character and his family). Then a message box identical to the #PresidentalAlert that read: “URGENT Message: VIRUS OUTBREAK. Avoid infected and dead at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way.” This played on the premise of the show that tells the story years later after a deadly outbreak that kills millions infect the United States. The Ellen DeGeneres show also sent a hilarious Tweet: “Ellen is hilarious today. Check your local listings.”

Currently, it is unknown the number of social media impressions that these meme’s received. However, I am confident that it is in the millions. As Ellen’s meme on Twitter generated 18.8 thousand likes and had almost 2,000 people talking about this. This is an excellent example of how as marketers we must always know what is in the news as we can always capitalize on these type of opportunities to generate positive PR if done right.

References:

Fung, B. (2018, October 04). Cellphone users nationwide just received a ‘Presidential Alert.’ Here’s what to know. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/10/03/millions-cellphone-users-are-about-get-presidential-alert-heres-what-know/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.172c957dedfb

Winchel, B. (2018, October 05). Brand managers turn to Twitter with ‘presidential alert’ memes. Retrieved from https://www.prdaily.com/marketing/Articles/25129.aspx

Before there were computers, trips were planned through a travel agent and one would stay where the travel agent would book accommodations. We trusted travel agent to make our trip memorable. Today we trust the Virtual Word of mouth (VWOM) instead of travel agents. We find information we need sitting at home, online by looking at Yelp, travel blogs, or just a simple internet search. No appointments with the travel agency or having to step out of your house. Over the years, social media has changed how we communicate, shop, get information and operate our daily lives. In today’s technology savvy world planning ones next trip is no different. The tourism industry is taking full advantage of virtually marketing to consumers. How many times have you opened up your internet browser and have seen banner ads for hotels.com, TripAdvisor, Priceline, Kayak and many others without even browsing on any of these websites? I’m pretty sure the answer is more than 50% of the time. So how has social media impacted the way tourism is advertised and marketed to consumers?

“There are five ways that social media has changed tourism marketing forever which are travel research, Facebook recommendations, destination discovery via social sharing, and the perfect customer service platform.” (Rodriguez, (no date); Carnoy, 2017) If you’re a travel agent and want to boom business then it is important that you have social media accounts and an online presence. Your business transactions will not survive if you do not create an online presence for your business. Social media has reshaped how many other businesses operate including hotels, car rentals, and retail. Many major airlines have significantly dropped their tickets prices due to online competition. Consumers are able to travel to their destinations without having to pay an arm and a leg for airline tickets. Social media has impacted the way we travel, how we travel, and the destinations that we travel to. (Hudson &Thal, 2013) Business have adapted their marketing and advertising strategy to social media trends. Other such industries include hotels, car rentals and even retail stores.

One example of retail is IKEA, in 2014 they were the first business in the world to use Instagram to build their website and created an online presence. (Akhtar, 2014) How clever is that? It saves money and brings in business. They were able to show case their new PS furniture collection on their Instagram page. (Akhtar, 2014) How else do you think social media has impacted tourism?

The image below has been retrieved from MDG Advertising (2018), and explains the impact of social media on tourism.

1. What other industries do you think social media has changed when it comes to advertising and marketing products? Is the change a good change or a bad change?
2. Do you think it is better to use social media to plan your trip or go the traditional route and speak to a travel agent? Should travel companies use social media only to market and advertise their business? Why is either a good idea or bad idea?
3. In 2014 Ikea was in the news for making their website on Instagram. How do you feel about shopping on Instagram instead of the company’s actual website? Is this a better way to communicate with your customers? Would you make purchases through a social media store website rather than a traditional online website?
4. What are your thoughts about the way social media has changed the way we travel into today’s digital world?
5. How likely are you to get travel tips through blog posts, Yelp and other social media platforms for your next travel destination?

References:

Akhtar, O. (2014). Ikea creates a website within instagram for its latest furniture collection. DMN.com. Retrieved from https://www.dmnews.com/channel-marketing/social/news/13057226/ikea-creates-a-website-within-instagram-for-its-latest-furniture-collection

Carnoy, J. (2017). 5 ways social media has transformed tourism marketing. Entrepreneur.Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/286408

Hudson, S. & Thal, K. (2013). The impact of social media on the consumer decision process: implications for tourism marketing. Journal Article.vol.30 (1-2), p.156-160 Retrieved from https://www-tandfonline-com.libproxy1.usc.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/10548408.2013.751276?needAccess=true

MDG Advertising (2018). Vacationing the social media way. MDG Advertising. Retrieved from https://www.mdgadvertising.com/marketing-insights/infographics/vacationing-the-social-media-way-infographic/

Rodriguez, V. (No Date). Social media and tourism marketing: a match made in digital heaven. UHURUnetworks.com Retrieved from https://uhurunetwork.com/social-media-and-tourism-marketing/

Lately, it seems as though the Kavanaugh case has been consuming most of my thoughts. For those of you who are not aware, Brett Kavanaugh is a judge who was set to be appointed to supreme court when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward with allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school (Dumenco, 2018). The hearings took place on September 27, 2018 (Dumenco, 2018). Watching CNN and Fox News dissect the situation, it was evident that both were unapologetically taking sides as they normally do. As I listened to the swing votes such as Senator Collins and Senator Flake present their decisions (Pramuk, 2018), I couldn’t help but wonder: To what extent did the media coverage affect their decision?

My search revealed that beginning in July, pro-Kavanaugh television advertisements aired over 9,738 times and spending was up to $6.4 million (Dumenco, 2018). In contrast, anti-Kavanaugh television advertisements aired about 8,025 times with $2.9 million in spending (Dumenco, 2018). Although these television advertisements were aired beginning in July, a majority of both anti and pro-Kavanaugh advertisements (17,401 total), were aired prior to September 28^th. In addition, Fox News has several pieces supporting Kavanaugh such as the “I stand with Kavanaugh” article (Bottner, 2018) while CNN included pieces painting Kavanaugh negatively such as “Kavanaugh FBI probe was a cover-up” (Ghitis, 2018).

Dumenco (2018) found that:

“Judicial Crisis Network, America First Policies, and the National Rifle Association are among the pro-Kavanaugh advertisers. Demand Justice Initiative, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and NARAL Pro-Choice America are among the anti-Kavanaugh advertisers.”

This information did not sit well with me. For such an important decision, it seemed as though marketers from these organizations and news outlets were pulling out all the stops to saturate the media with anti or pro-Kavanaugh propaganda. Social media outlets are covered in commentary for both sides as well. Is there any way to know whether these marketing efforts are the reason that the vote went a certain way?

As marketers, is it ethically sound to work with organizations to sway opinions regarding such an imperative decision for the United States of America? The jury during a high-profile case is kept from being exposed to media or outside influence. Why are these methods not being applied to the judiciary committee when deciding on a position as influential as a Supreme Court Judge? With no full understanding of how this advertising affects decision making at this level, I ask again, is it ethically sound to engage in creating these kinds of advertisements? When do we decide that marketing is crossing a line?

References

Bottner, A. G. (2018, September 22). I stand with Kavanaugh. Fox News. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/i-stand-with-brett-kavanaugh

Dumenco, S. (2018, October 4). Pro-Kavanaugh groups have outspent anti-Kavaugh groups 2-to-1 on TV ads. Ad Age. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/

Ghitis, F. (2018, October 5). Kavanaugh FBI probe was a cover-up. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/opinions/kavanaugh-fbi-probe-cover-up-opinion-ghitis/index.html

Herb, J., Mattingly, P., & Barret, T. (2018, October 6). The different ways four swing senators made their decisions on Brett Kavanaugh. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/06/politics/

Phillips, K., & Rosenberg, E. (2018, October 7) Susan Collins announced support for Kavanaugh – causing site to fund future opponent to crash. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/06/

Pramuk, J. (2018, September 28). Sen. Jeff Flake says he will support Kavanaugh, then calls for cote delay after dramatic twists. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/senate-judiciary-committee-votes-on-brett-kavanaugh-nomination.html

California has recently become overrun with businesses attempting to sell cannabis since the state’s legislation made recreational marijuana use legal. This also came with a rush for the California departments responsible for overseeing the proper use of it to create new laws and rules that would govern the proper use of cannabis. Although marijuana is considered legal and able to be purchased in California, it does not mean that businesses are freely able to advertise and market their businesses and products (Gunelius, 2018).

These laws include regulations and legislation that state exactly how businesses are allowed to market cannabis. Under California legislation, a business is not allowed to ignore including their licensee number on any marketing or advertising whether that is commercials, publications, billboards, on technology platforms, etc. Another regulation is that businesses are not able to give any products in relations to cannabis for free when they are marketing their products. And the most important is that advertising is that the marketing is not allowed to be near schools or suggested to any persons under the age of 21. This includes television channels that possibly have 71 percent of viewers under that age (CBPC, 2018).

Internet websites that support the advertising of cannabis such as Weedmaps, do not feel that the law should include their Internet webpage posts. If you do not know already, Weedmaps gives the location of marijuana selling businesses that can be looked up through their search database. Weedmaps believes that they should be free to post a businesses’ advertisement, because they do not fall under the same jurisdiction. These laws mean that any company or ad agency could be in trouble with large fines if they do not know about the current legislation and Weedmaps will have to start relying on other forms of advertising if they want to stay afloat.

These rules do not consider how they will be affecting other businesses that rely on advertising, but do not sell marijuana. There is one thing that is available to businesses if they are not sure about the California laws regarding their marketing and that is a recent influx of law firms that assist startups and entrepreneurs related to cannabis.

References:

California Business and Professions Code, 2018.  Division 10, Chapter 15. 26150 – 26156.

Gunelius, S. (2018, May 25). Marijuana Advertising Rules Challenge California Businesses. Retrieved October 7, 2018, from https://cannabiz.media/marijuana-advertising-rules-challenge-california-businesses/

– Samantha Stewart

Have you heard of rich media? No, it’s not media reserved for the affluent. Rich media can be defined as “any form of content that deviates from normal text and static images and engages with the end user,” ranging from videos, to podcasts, to more interactive media (Miller, 2014).

The first example of rich media advertising that comes to my mind is when I am playing a game on my iPhone, and the ever-dreaded ads start. Some ads are just videos or your standard banner ads that leave you waiting until you can exit out of them. Some, however, are ads for other games available on the App Store. These ads, instead of just displaying a screenshot of the game, actually let you test out the gameplay by playing a mini-version of the game within the actual advertisement.

Another fun, creative example of rich media advertising is IKEA’s “assemble banner yourself” ads (“Innovating Rich Media Ads,” n.d.). In this ad, IKEA capitalizes on their notorious instruction manuals by having the viewer “assemble” the ad before viewing the content.

An even more extreme, perhaps slightly terrifying example of rich media, is Virgin Mobile’s “Blackwashed” ad (“Innovating Rich Media Ads,” n.d.). This ad uses innovative technology called “blink recognition” through the user’s webcam to engage the user in ways unlike ever before. Rest assured, the user has to give express permission for the ad to use their webcam. Once set up, the viewer can switch between 25 TV channels simply by blinking their eyes (“Innovating Rich Media Ads,” n.d.).

Rich media really emphasizes user engagement in order for the advertisement to stand out from all the other ads that audiences are already exposed to (“Innovating Rich Media Ads,” n.d.). The aim is for the consumer to have a memorable experience with the ad so they are able to recall the good experience and brand name when it comes to times of purchase and decision making.

Are there any examples of rich media advertising you found you enjoyed (or at least found rather memorable)?

References:

Miller, D. (2014, April 30). Why marketers should care about rich-media content. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233521

6 innovating rich media ads to inspire your next campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.digitaland.tv/blog/6-innovating-rich-media-ads-inspire-next-campaign/