Roberts Wesleyan College » advertising

Ads On Basketball Jerseys — Too Far? (Geoff)

student — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:34:46 +0000

This September team owners and executives from the National Basketball Association will vote on whether or not to approve a league program that allows teams to where corporate advertisements on their jerseys. These advertisements are not just the Nike “Swoosh” or the Reebok or Addidas symbols (usually the company that made the jersey) but instead these ads can be anything and everything from Blockbuster Video to Tide Detergent. The NBA estimates that this move would bring in over $100 million in the first year in additional advertising dollars. But what are the long term effects of this program?

A poll on the NBA’s own website showed that only 79% of fans said they dissaprove of this plan and only 21% approve. It’s no surprise that basketball fans are weary of this move. After all, sports fans usually try to avoid the ads while watching games (with the exception of the Super Bowl). So, with that logic in mind will this move eventually do damage to the NBA? If consumers generally try to avoid ads while watching the sports they love then will they eventually avoid basketball because of the over-commercialization of the sport? Can you imagine the retired jerseys of Michael Jordan and Larry Bird hanging in the rafters of their respective arenas with an ad for Taco Bell or KFC on them?

It doesn’t seem like basketball fans are ready for this change. The NBA might want to stop and think if an extra $100 million per year in revenue is worth aggravating and alienating their millions of loyal fans.

More is less.

student — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:25:12 +0000

I started out by thinking of the things that catch my eye. I thought – I like the colorful posters above the recycling bin that tell me what to recycle with pictures. I always notice the first three lines of the emails that I receive. I remember the random quote that I see taped to someone’s computer, the headline of the RBJ on the desk, and the microblog statement on twitter, the daily e-blast, the company website and our internal memos. Having said that, you have probably stopped reading because I am on line six already.

If you are still with me, challenge your editing skills to see just how concise you can get your messaging while maintaining impact. Microblogging is in, short messages with impact will drive your message and the time spent on the long company memo is simply better spent drinking a cup of coffee. Copy is a tricky balance and too much can bore your audience. If you have to have it, add in subheadings, visuals and lists to break up the text and keep the audience engaged.

-Kelly

photo sources:

http://visboo.com,

http://www.indiaonrent.com,

http://www.allgraphicdesign.com

Who rules the roost?

student — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Social media is the extended hand that beckons all marketers and organizations to come along. This is a tricky proposal and seemingly tough to convince upper management of the benefit due to the fact that there are not a lot of ROI calculations, it is not obvious which department should be in charge and there are risks.

I am aware of the facts about how blogging drives traffic to websites and how large companies have advanced with the utilization of social media and I know how many people are on Twitter (175 million). Despite this, I still have trouble giving advice as to the implementation of social media as a form of marketing that has direct benefit.

I have found that when I put social media in the context of public relations, I have an easier time conceptualizing results. Companies believe in the value of having a public relations team that pushes stories, maintains relationships and is well connected within the community. Social media platforms are the outlet for public relations and public relationships.

Two bloggers who I cross paths with regularly have very different views on this topic. To learn more about why social media is NOT public relations click here, and to learn about why social media IS public relations, click here. I would strongly encourage you to check out their opinions and see where it falls within your organization’s conversation.

-Kelly

photo source: designbeep.com

B2C Reaps Benefits of Social

student — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:58:48 +0000

In New York, at the Association for National Advertiser’s (ANA) Digital and Social Media conference that took place this week, Adrian Parker, director of social media and digital strategy at RadioShack was a speaker talking about the case study for their social media programs.

Several large name companies are pleasantly surprised at the positive reaction they are receiving from their customers through social media outlets. Companies are seeing an increase in brand awareness and perception, but more importantly, they are seeing an increase in sales. Does this change the way that companies will reach out to their customers? Will this have an impact on how companies have traditionally advertised? Is social media the new tv commercial?

It is an interesting way to think about how one would promote their business. Social media outlets let you get information out there, but you never really know what that means for business until you have data like this……….an increase in sales!

I believe the key to this success is customer engagement. Asking for customer’s opinions, having give-aways for customers, asking them for pictures and videos, this is the key to increasing your business. People like to feel a part of stuff, when you are asked what you think, to post pictures, to win prizes, you are a part of it.

It will be interesting to see the wave of the future. Will social media replace traditional means of advertising?

-Jackie

http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/ana-wheat-thins-southern-comfort-dominos-ragu_b24369

Who’s awesome? Your [sic] awesome.

student — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:49:22 +0000

Talking about grammar can bring chills or excitement, depending on the audience. Where do these rules apply in the realm of social media? I have two opinions and will take the fence-sitter role, overall. Good grammar is important and should always be our aspiration, but social media has created leniency regarding the classic rules.

Did you spot the grammatical error?

Since perfect grammar is a goal, not always a reality, we must ensure that the quest for perfection does not bind our hands and prevent us from delivering a message. A grammatical error is not as significant in social media because the platform enables us to correct the error immediately. Mistakes also provide an opportunity for people to compose an email comment that would make their fifth grade English teacher proud, when they correct you publically.

As marketers and perfectionists, we want to appeal to our entire audience and position ourselves as experts within our fields. Striving to use correct grammar strengthens personal brands and public perceptions of intelligence. Simply put, there is no good reason to turn people off of your message, just because you did not take the time to proofread.

YourDictionary.com covers five common grammatical mistakes and the corrections. Check out this list, and hopefully, get a few pointers. My advice is to strive for the best, quickly correct mistakes and make sure to deliver the message.

-Kelly (geekier than ever, in a good way)

Photo source: http://vaban.tumblr.com/