Now that the election has settled down and almost 30 days has past, we still witness protests from voters who are not in support of the president elect. Although President Elect Donald Trump was successful with reaching inner America and the working class, it is clear there is a significant communication gap between his administration and the Millennial generation. Experts have likely already begun on developing a strategy for this Mr. Trump to not only target this group, but to reach the milestone of simply getting through to those who oppose him from this generation. Although they may not like his politics, he will need to work diligently at earning their respect. There is a silver lining with Millenials: they did not care for Hillary Clinton either. There could be long-term benefits should trump win over this group across the country.
Amongst Millennials, both candidates were considered highly unfavorable (Gangitano, 2016) and neither were candidates of choice. As a communication specialist, I find significance with dedicating resources to reaching this audience. Although the challenges facing Trump are clearly emotional and likely perceive as fresh wounds, his time and decisions in office could slowly earn respect and mend the torn tissue from the election process. Simply put, Trump will need to think about how his decisions will impact this generation four years from now. I believe he has an entire team of experts figuring that out as we speak.
Reference
Gangitano, A. (2016). Generation Gap: Can Clinton and Trump Reach Millennials? Retrieved from: http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/can-clinton-trump-reach-millennials
Beautiful Minds: Shutting Down the Fake News Sites!
By: Sandra M. Speed
While it has always been a problem, the fake news site have proliferated during this past election cycle. Regardless of your political ideology, I would suspect you want your news feeds to be accurate and truthful!
I have a number of friends that are newscasters, journalists, television and radio personalities, you would think that the posts they share would be from a credible news source, think again! Today so many of us, myself included, rely on our Smartphones and social media sites for our news. Since we are scrolling through our Smartphones constantly, we want to ensure that we can rely on the news that we read.
Why do people post fake news? One reason is that it can generate money, if you click through there are advertising dollars that can be made.
While several Social Media sites initially shrugged off this phenomena it is now looking at ways to control and eliminate those fake news sites. Facebook, Google and Twitter are looking at ways to stop the madness. While they are working on it, I will provide the 6 C’s to keep you from sharing fake news sites:
Check which news outlet published the content
Check the URL names on the pages
Check the published date and time
Check out the author
Check out suspected quotes and photos
Check your bias at the door, just because you want to believe something doesn’t mean it’s true!
Beautiful Minds
Recently, some young students at Princeton came up with a way to detect fake news site. They met at a “Hackathon” contest and were successful in creating “FiB.”
Here is the video of one of the students, Anant Goel being interviewed by CBS News, explaining how it works!
This semester we’ve learned about incorporating emotion into our pitches to create a deeper understanding and connection with our target audience. Sandy Hook Promise is a foundation created by the families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. They’ve created this foundation to raise awareness around gun violence and prevention.
The two and a half minute commercial demonstrates the severity of the issue paired with our lack of awareness around gun violence. Everyone who watches this commercial is too consumed with one story to notice what else is going on, until it is too late. The ad agency, BBDO New York, did a fantastic job with this memorable commercial. Their message is that gun violence can be prevented if we know what to look for. They direct viewers to their website for educational material and research on warning signs. To educate the audience on the foundation’s mission, they’ve used this platform to put us in their shoes.
We see our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and loved ones in this story. We feel fear, sadness, and shock. They’ve used emotion to create a lasting impression and demonstrate how real this issue is in our communities. Sandy Hook Promise and BBDO New York send a call to action with this clip. They have empowered everyone to make a difference and potentially save lives.
Sandy Hook Promise. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.sandyhookpromise.org/
Corporate social responsibility is a huge component of modern day corporate PR. It is widely accepted that not only is CSR good for society but it is also good for business. Consumers have become more savvy and critical to CSR efforts wanting to know where funding goes or if actions are being taken in the spirit that the company has advertised.
Patagonia, an outdoor/active wear clothing company has put our capitalist nature into good use by donating 100% of its Black Friday sales to underfunded, grassroots environmental organizations (Patagonia, 2016). They are calling this a “fundraiser for the earth” and using the hashtag #loveourplanet.
Originally they anticipated $2 million in sales but sold 5 times that amount for a total of $10 million dollars. Patagonia is a profitable company not only for their quality gear but for their friendly business and manufacturing practices.
While some of us may be thinking “ouch” reading the pricetag on this movement, it was undoubtedly a strong iteration of who they are as a company and as a global citizen. As we know, authenticity is one of the most important marketing tools and this was an authentic movement executed flawlessly. Patagonia has a strong history of supporting environmental causes and being vocal about them as well, further attracting their target audience.
Patagonia knows their strong millenial customer base will not be strongly motivated at half ass CSR attempts that other companies employ. Millenials want to know that the money is going to where they say it is going and they want a full commitment.
Only time will tell if the long term effects are as positive as the donation is large but just like they offer a lifetime warranty on their products, they undoubtedly have gained lifetime customers through their efforts on Black Friday.
PR-wise, do you think the company could have benefitted just as well by offering to donate 50%? I think not.
References:
Marcario, R. (2016). Record-breaking Black Friday Sales to Benefit the Planet. Retrieved December 03, 2016, from http://www.patagonia.com/blog/2016/11/record-breaking-black-friday-sales-to-benefit-the-planet/
We all know that like machinery, muscles must be a field, This fuel comes from what you eat, and for a good exercise routine, just the right amount of Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP is necessary.
On the other hand, post workout is considered the most critical phase of an exercise routine. During exercise, your muscles endured tiny tears in the muscle tissue. So how to heal and grow muscle?
We all know that most sales people hustle, however, next time you are encouraged to purchase an expensive post workout drink, I would recommend not to and instead buy bromelain and eat a healthy diet.
Bromelain is a derivative of pine apple, which causes your muscles to relax and stimulates growth.
Whatever people think of Quinton Tarantino- he offers value. Tarantino has made a handful of films, his most recent The Hateful Eight. I have seen all of Tarantino’s films, he has numerous ideas and has earned the right to be one of the best American filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. Tarantino has an incredible ability to draw scenes out beat by beat.
Much of the first have of the Hateful Eight is spent in a stage coach. The rest- in Minnie’s Haberdashery. What follows is an interesting Agatha Christie drawing-room mystery.
This film captures the incredible talents of Tarantino. I think everyone should watch the Hateful Eight, by Quinton Tarantino!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_UI1GzaWv0
– Ethan
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The internet may replace the television as social media is persuading consumers to increase their time on Netflix (not social media) or Facebook, whatsAP, Snapchat (social media). According to the Pew Research Center, 65% of American adults use social media and currently the percentage is at 72% usage. Therefore, changes should be either added to the way television is broadcasted, or continue to improve and grow the internet and social media as the main source for everything. The strategic importance of this Pew Research Center article suggests organizations like Time Warner should make the changes to how the company broadcasts. Failure to do so may put at risk investments and the overall financial health of Time Warner.
The Israeli Silicon Valley may have been the turning point to Israel’s economic success. And Israel in its entirety has benefited as per capita income is close to the US per capita income. Universities have a history of providing learning abroad opportunities/ internships, and USC does not seem to capitalize on creating partnerships with Israeli startups. According to technology news, Israeli startups were sold for $9 billion in 2015. Many if not all of these startups have increased the wealth for many people and also created good paying jobs. At this time, according to news.usc, USC is the top choice for Jewish students. Meanwhile, USC doesn’t seem to be reaching out to Israeli-based companies for collaborative projects. Under the UCLA program/ internship, students are given opportunities to consult actual startups in places like Isreal. Why are we not beating UCLA in this front as well?
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Cloud technology is a turning point for the education sector. The cloud technology has reduced the cost of a large portion of a university’s IT structure. The decision for USC IT CIO to restructure his IT environment, by being frugal to maintain within the USC budget, and in part to join the future of technology. USC has a history of spending around $50k for IT services, not including the IT environment or IT staff and CIO, which is most likely in the six-figure range. Some of the benefits of cloud technology are cost savings for those involved with the application server or deep in the tech layer, and with constant scaling and un-scaling, USC is most likely paying for technology the IT department is not using. At this time, cloud technology is becoming the creative destruction for on-premise technology. Meanwhile, USC and other Universities are still using legacy systems within their IT environment.
While I was having my breakfast on a rainy Sunday morning, I took a glance at my local diner’s main television which was airing a car commercial. I could not hear much of the audio, but the commercial was visually appealing and lots of fun to watch from where I was sitting. It seemed to fit the theme of a Black Friday ad, that incorporated the feel and excitement of the Christmas season. The main thing I noticed about the ad, was the heavy use of several spirited children to provide a family-focused and jolly theme. I immediately thought, “these kids are out here selling high end vehicles.” When I got home, I tuned into the San Diego Chargers game and I got to see and hear the same ad three more times. It was a commercial for Chrysler’s “PacifiKids” campaign:
In the commercial, the children, or Pacifikids, provide a lot of important insight and details about the new Chrysler Pacifica. The ad uses actress, Brooklyn Decker from “Grace and Frankie” while featuring three children between the ages of 8 and 11. The children are spread throughout the ad, promoting the vehicle’s new features and benefits, while using the terminology of an experienced car salesman. The campaign began in May and intends to spread a great deal of content through YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
When I got to hear what the kids were saying in the commercial, I was quite surprised but also a little upset about the continued exploitation of kids in major ads and commercials. For years, there have been a lot of discussions on companies featuring kids in their ads as a marketing strategy. Most people believe that using children for marketing practices is unethical and dangerous to the child’s mental health in the future. While the process of developing effective stories and messages can be difficult, simply using the positive and youthful energy of children has become a reliable strategy. To better understand how the innocence of family and children can be used effectively, I decided to look for more Pacifikids ads and I came across one particular commercial that focused on family activities entitled, “Family Game Night” which premiered just 2 weeks ago:
More car companies are beginning to understand the value of providing family experiences to consumers. According to a blog called Yashi, “Advertisers feature kids in their commercials because they are innocent, straightforward, and cute.” Therefore, companies are willing to feature kids in countless ways which includes presenting them as adults. In this Subaru ad, a young man goes through his hectic day:
There can be a lot said about the use of children for marketing and capitalism, but at some point, consumers will have to determine whether these messages have anything to do with the actual product or service. In an article provided by Matthias Leyrer, he states that cars are interesting to market because they are tangible products that don’t have to be presented as such. Another interesting observation was that most car commercials won’t even feature their cars in natural elements. It is clear that the strategy of using children in marketing practices won’t die down any time soon. So, are we really losing track of how much kids are being exploited in big ads and marketing efforts?
