Rachel N. Gracy
Blog Posts
History:
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Student run trade blog that I contributed to in my Advertising II course
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Two of my favorite posts from the past semester
Professional Skills: trade blog writing, researched local branding and social media advertising, proficient in Wordpress, maintained blog comments and stayed connected with subscribers
Wilmington: Just Brand It
Beginning last summer, the City of Wilmington along with New Hanover County and the surrounding beach towns have attempted to develop a brand for Wilmington. Various groups within the community might have different perspectives on what this southeastern North Carolina town is all about, but officials involved believe there must be a common theme amongst the groups. They also have mentioned that the goal is not to “re-brand.” They have clearly stated that it is a first time effort to create an effective message of what Wilmington is to outsiders.
Beth Schrader, strategy and policy manager for the county believes that branding the town gives you an initiative you can sell. Once there is an established brand, outsiders will know what exactly sets Wilmington apart from other southern historic towns.
UNCW business and marketing students and professors have played a huge role in this process. They have aided in research and surveys, which has been an exciting opportunity for them to engage in applied learning.
Recently, the Brand Identity Leadership Team met to continue the mission of branding the Wilmington area. Newer ideas include Wilmington being a place to “discover” as well as the idea to market Wilmington as a “hidden treasure.”
The idea of attempting to brand an entire town might seem strange at first glance. But according to CEOs for Cities article, “Branding Your City,” cities have always been brands. When you think of our globalized world, every place has to compete with every other place for attention, which creates the need for a brand identity. Cities need to set themselves apart from other cities in order to attract the world to that city. Branding is a tool cities can use to define themselves, which is necessary to have a long-lasting impact. The brand will influence and shape the world’s perception of a town.
Branding a city is an important and commonly used tool, but the question that remains is does Wilmington already have a brand? Will the initiative be able to successfully brand something that has already existed for so long?
What is the Wilmington brand to you? Comment and let us know!
*Please note: Click on blog title to be directed to original blog post.
Instagram Strikes Ad Deal
Advertising seems to be cluttering most forms of media we consume daily, including our favorite: social media. Facebook is surrounded by personal advertisements, Twitter is filled with promoted tweets, and Pinterest lets the users do the advertising. Instagram, a social network dedicated to images and short videos, is now hopping on the advertising bandwagon. Instagram has recently signed a deal valued around $40 million dollar with Omnicom Group Inc.
This deal means that Instagram users will begin seeing advertisements within their news feed for certain Omnicom clients, such as AT&T and Pepsi. The advertisements will look similar to native Instagram posts, supposedly making them less intrusive to users. It is already known that Instagram has been a platform for indirect advertising and celebrity endorsements, but this deal will intensify the sense of sponsored advertising on the particular social media.
Instagram has experimented with sponsored advertisements recently with brands such as Michael Kors and Ben and Jerry’s. The reviews from users was mixed. Some felt like advertisements were entering into a place they felt as if they owned, while some felt like it was an inevitable conclusion.
Instagram is a unique social media in that many use it to gauge their self-worth, even more so than other social media. Instagram is their place to build self-esteem as well as build or tear down other’s self-esteem, and now this “personal space” for doing so is being subjected to advertising.
Many have acknowledged the promise of the deal with Omnicom. The deal is flexible in that Instagram gets a say in which clients Omnicom promotes and the format in which they do so. Instagram wants to make sure the advertisements fit the platform because they want to stay true to their users. Some might think this is impossible, while others might believe it is irrelevant. Ultimately advertisements infiltrate all forms of media, and maybe it was just Instagram’s turn.
Will Instagram be able to stay “true” to their users and advertise for Omnicom’s clients at the same time? Does it even matter?
*Please note: Click on blog title to be directed to original blog post.
