Vick's Ad

When looking at Vicks medicine, everyone is used to the cold and sneezing that normally portray once on TV, but a new advertising campaign they have launched are ads on Pandora. Pandora is something that millions of people listen to everyday on their way to work, walking to school (such as myself), simply waiting in line, etc. Ads are common if you do not want to pay $4.99 a month, but a new technique that Pandora has installed is if you listen to an ad for 30 seconds or so, then you get one free hour of listening to their music with no ads whatsoever. Vicks takes it an even step further were if you interact with their ad, then you get 1 hour free.

With this new interaction, you look at their ads for 30 seconds and you get 1 hour free of music. To me, that is hitting the jackpot because I like to switch between the stations and the more you switch, the more Pandora knows you will have to hear/watch their ads. At times, you are unable to do anything but watch this ad until it is done. However, with Vicks, I have become more interactive and actually enjoy when these ads come one because it means I will be able to have an hour of pure music.

            This is an ingenious way I believe because many people are about the free things they can acquire as quickly as possible and this method helps to expose people to more products while still get something in return. Requiring a form of interaction ensures that someone is paying attention to the add without making them want to skip it because there is a “treat” in it for them. I return and become more active with the cite because of this. I would prefer Vicks over anything else, thusly, there ad was successful in my case and I’m sure successful in others.

amazon's Echo

Amazon has created a plethora of new products that make our lives easier and the newest of these products is Echo. Amazon Echo is a new hands free device for you home designed around your voice. It is connected to Amazon’s Alexa, smart brain, that is alway learning about your needs to further meet them in the future. At the sound of your voice, Echo will instantaneously follow your command to play music, read the news, turn on the TV or even turn on the lights to your home.

There are a extensive amount of features to echo that make it the new innovative way to living in your own home and being able to stay in touch with technology solely through the use of your voice.

            Echo has 7 voice sensors that have far reaching volumes to be able to listen to your voice once you enter your home. Even if you're playing music, noise cancellation inside of Echo will be able to follow your commands. These commands are computed to Alexia who then in turns tells what Echo to do. Alexa herself is a built-in cloud system that is always evolving since updates are downloaded automatically. New downloads include being able to look at Yelp reviews, having access to Kindle Books, Google Calendar scheduling options, all tools that can help better the lives of people by making it easier to live your life.

            All you need for Echo to function is a good and stable Wifi connection and a tablet or other electronic device to set it up. Startup itself is easy as 1, 2, 3. There are no monthly costs and a great way in introducing products from Amazon to homes. Businesses themselves rely on social media outlets to get their products out there, but with Echo, Amazon is able to go into someone’s home and become a large impact on the lives of everyone inside the home as well as people who visit the house of the owner. Becoming a part of someone’s life is an easy way to obtain a lifelong customer rather than being an add or infrequent pop up.

GROUPON'S MISUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Recently Groupon has been caught repeatedly using Instagram photos without permission from the photographers. "The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the suit was filed yesterday by a photographer named Christine Dancel in the Illinois Cook County Circuit Court. Dancel says she shot a photo of herself at a restaurant last summer and shared the tagged photo on Instagram. Soon after, she found that the Chicago-based Groupon had used her photo in a deal offer for that same restaurant" (Zhang, 2016).

Over 1,000 Instagram photographers had their photos stolen and used in Groupon’s advertising campaigns. The suit claims that “Groupon intentionally creates the false impression that the consumers appearing in the photos are endorsing” In doing so potential customer may be lead to believe that people pictured in the ads are happy Groupon customers when in fact they are not.

The suit was filed because it is believed the Groupon is in violation of the 1999 Illinois Right of Publicity Act. The 1999 Illinois Right of Publicity Act was put in place to protect people from having their name, image, or likeness being used without their expressed permission.

Groupon’s stock value has be falling over recent years and the unspecified lawsuit can drive their stock even lower. This was definite misuse of social media by the company.

References:

Zhang, M. (2016, February 06). Groupon Sued for Using Instagram Photos Without Permission. Retrieved February 08, 2016, from http://petapixel.com/2016/02/06/groupon-sued-for-using-instagram-photos-without-permission/

ARMENTROUT, M. (2016, February 5). Groupon sued for using Instagram photos without consent - Chicago. Retrieved February 08, 2016, from http://chicago.suntimes.com/business/7/71/1306942/groupon-sued-using-instagram-photos-without-consent

"Cut Your Bill in Half"

My blog post today is focused on how to get the most bang for your buck! Over the past 12-15 months, you all may have seen Sprint’s commercials, huge yellow billboards posted all over the bigger cities, and tweets streaming on Twitter from their newly appointed CEO about their "Cut Your Rate Plan in Half" promotion that was initially rolled out in December 2014. Catchy commercials were played multiple times a day of subscribers from other carriers using chainsaws to slice their rate plan in half, bringing in millions of new customers in Q4 of 2014. More recently, this past November, Sprint decided to change things up a bit to also include T-Mobile subscribers in their updated promotion of "Cut Your Bill in Half", offering 50% off customer's bills with any of the three biggest carriers, while giving new subscribers 28 days to try their service. 

Throughout this past year, not only did Sprint invest a substantial amount of money into their marketing campaigns but even more so into their network. With the significant improvements to their network quality, a recent analysis conducted last month by Nielsen shows that Sprint's LTE Plus network beats AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in delivering the fastest LTE download speeds!

Perception vs. Reality

As we close out the quarter and end the class, I wanted to present the class with this final blog post about a company who is using a web 2.0 technology in an innovative way. The company that I am focusing on is Dove, which is a company that is most famous for their line of toiletries. A few years ago, in 2013, they launched one of their many "feel good" campaigns which was targeted at women and how confident they were in themselves. The campaign consisted of two parts, the first was to have people convey to an artist how they saw themselves and he would draw them without ever seeing them. The second part consisted of complete strangers describing the same people to the artist and comparing the two pictures which is where the perception vs. reality concept comes into play.

Dove's Real Beauty Sketches campaign was one of the more creative takes on a major problem we have in our society, on a social and personal level. Being a woman, I can definitely relate to this campaign due to the fact that I myself have been hard on myself or compared my looks to other women's based on what society has lead us to believe. Even if you tap into online platforms such as twitter or tumblr, it's not unusual too come across a discussion or two about how women are forced to take on these unattainable goals of how they should look and present themselves.

The platform that Dove decided to premiere their campaign was Youtube. Which was a smart move for them because Youtube is one of the biggest and fastest growing video sharing websites that there is in this day and age. Not only does having this video on Youtube allow for convenience but it also allows users to share the video to different platforms thus increasing the exposure and the audience that Dove serves. I'm a huge fan of this campaign because it sheds light to a real problem that we don't think about too often but one that still has a huge impact on us.

Not For Sale

Hi everyone and welcome to my second blog!

In tonight's blog I would like to talk about a campaign called Not For Sale. The campaign focuses on stopping human trafficking throughout world. The definition of slavery is a state of subjection like that of a slave. The idea of enslaving someone does not have to relate to slavery of blacks but has to do with the treatment of people without respect to labor laws or entrapment of people to do sexual acts.

Over the years I have heard about human trafficking but always considered it as an act that happens in other countries but over 30 million people are or have been involved in human trafficking worldwide. The act of enslaving humans is now known to be modern-day slavery; the act of someone becoming a victim. It is shocking to read that there are more slaves in the world today than any other time in history.

The campaign Not For sale was founded in 2001 by Dave Batstone, when he discovered a restaurant in the Bay area was the center of a local human trafficking ring involving teenagers from India being bought into the United States. Not for Sale provides survivors and at risk communities with shelter, legal services and healthcare. Once a relationship is built with organization and the person is assured to be safe, they then focus on long term goals of education and employment.

Candace Robinson

"Like a Girl"

Hi everyone! Welcome to my second blog post!

Today, I will be talking about a successful marketing campaign that has caught my attention in the past that is very relevant to our society. Social media is such a large aspect of our culture and everyday life nowadays that companies are using it to reach a large number of people within a short amount of time on a daily basis. The campaign I chose is called “Like a Girl” by Proctor & Gamble and it is a brilliant take on the crucial time period between childhood and adolescence that negatively affects girls’ confidence. The marketing campaign was so successful when it first came out that Procter & Gamble have done multiple similar campaigns afterwards geared towards self-image and confidence. (YouTube link for the campaign provided below)

The “Like a Girl” campaign was used to advertise the ‘Always’ feminine-hygiene brand and it featured girls of varying ages. The video shows how girls, when they are younger, are much more confident and not as self-conscious. However, as they become teenagers, they become incredibly influenced by the people around them and our society that they begin to doubt themselves. They start to associate the phrase “Like a girl” with bad connotations and to words such as weak, overly emotional, inadequate, cowardly etc. In the marketing campaign, you can see how different the phrase, “Like a girl” resonates with the girls of varying ages. When instructed “run like a girl,” young girls are seen running as hard and fast as they could while older/teenage girls and the boy mockingly try to run.

The campaign is very powerful in showing how critical it is for us adults to help young girls and boys maintain their strong self-image and confidence throughout their teenage years. I remember when I first saw this commercial I could not stop watching it and I kept showing it to friends and family. Since the marketers did an amazing job creating a social media campaign that emotionally connected with viewers, they accomplished their goal of promoting Always products through it. The marketers successfully raised awareness of the confidence issue whilst advertising their products and increasing sales.

I, personally, loved the campaign so much that I actually use a lot of Proctor & Gamble products now. It was very refreshing and touching for me to see something that many others and I could personally connect and relate to through the campaign. My opinion about the “Like a Girl” video is also shared by millions of other people around world as it has over 60 million views on YouTube. Additionally, when the campaign first came out, the hash tag #likeagirl was trending worldwide on many social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter for weeks straight and it definitely boosted the image of the Always brand and Proctor & Gamble in general. Overall, this “Like a Girl” social media marketing campaign was/is one of the best I’ve seen and it has brought the company a lot of respect and success.

'Like a Girl' by Proctor & Gamble- YouTube link for the video

Podcast Podcash

The podcast: A wonderful Web 2.0 technology that allows us to put in our headphones and listen to the many stories or journalists and joe-schmoes alike. 

And now, with the ad campaigns within a podcast, publishers are able to profit off of their work! 

Check out the first few minutes of these podcasts to get a feel for the ad campaigns utilized. These ad campaigns generate profit for the podcast creators!

If you think about it, this innovative technique is intriguing to podcasters--who doesn't want a little extra cash for the work they have done? Not only are organizations able to advertise to a entirely new audience, but publishers have the opportunity to utilize the profits collected to benefit and enhance future podcast projects.

This has been another informative blog post by Lauren. As always, I hope you have enjoyed and learned something new. Cheers!

New baby product " The Baby Bullet"

Hi everyone,

This is my first blog post and I'm not sure how this goes, but I recently found out my close friend is pregnant with her first baby, and all I hear is baby stuff this and baby stuff that. While this is an exciting time in my friends life, it also hard to decide what gadgets are great for babies or worth the money. So my first post will be on a new trending baby product that my friend as expressed a need for her soon to be boy or girl.

I'm sure with new moms every healthy opinion product seems great for your soon to be new baby. Well I introduce to you the "Baby Bullet" this is a product that is similar to the "Nutribullet" but for baby food instead of smoothies. Being that a lot of people choose to eat organic foods, they can actually make their own organic baby food at home. What's included in the baby bullet is the  batch bowel, baby blender, a silicon tray, dial storage cups and stay fresh lids.  To start you would cook a vegetable, potato or chicken ( depending on age) and then put in baby bullet to be pureed. After you would then measure out the puree and place in the small containers and use the dial storage cups to apply an expiration date. The average cost of this product is $59.99 with the items I listed previously included.

Looking at this product productivity pertaining to the business market, this product would be very useful and beneficial to new moms and parents who plan to feed their baby organic food only. The use of the Baby Bullet will save on the cost of buying baby food from the grocery store and allow parents to be more proactive in their child's choice of foods. With the marketing of Nurtibullets and Ninja's, the sales of these "baby Bullets should be just as successful.




By Candace Robinson

The Bubble Baby

Oh baby, baby! In addition to their first birthday, turning sixteen, and getting married, having a baby can add to the list of great accomplishments for women and their families. Although having a baby can be a very fulfilling moment in one's life, it also carries the burden of the process of preparing for the baby which includes, but is not limited to, buying clothes, making sure the baby has all the necessities, and most importantly finding the perfect resting nest for your baby. With so many choices, how does one come to the conclusion on which crib is the "perfect" bed. It is the wood finish of the crib? Is it the softness of the mattress pad? Is it the feature of the crib?

Considering the above facts, it's more than a pleasure to introduce to you all the bubble baby bed! The most stylish, innovative, and safest baby bed on the market.

Without a doubt, this is an attention grabbing product that makes people want to investigate more into with a simple sighting. What makes this product different from anything else on the market? Besides the obvious and innovative design, the overall construction of the bubble baby bed is one for the books. We're all accustomed to the tradition baby crib that we see at our local Target and Walmart but this design takes baby showers to a whole new level. The product comes completes with six major components that make the most perfect nest for the baby in your life. The six compartments include: the sleeping mat, mattress, baby basin, weights, outer bubble, and the stopper.

With the new bubble baby bed, it takes a tradition concept and twists it upside down to provide families with a safe nest without compromising a great sense of design. Based on hospital beds provided to new born babies, these beds allow families to not only have visual access to the children from all angles but also the ability to mange the hygiene of the crib easily. In addition to the former features, the bubble baby bed also doubles as a cradle which makes it all the more attractive because you get two in one thus helping you stay cost effective.

The concept of a crib is very simple but the baby bubble bed takes it to the next level making it modern & stylish while remaining safe and cost effective.

The bed can be purchased following the link: www.babybed.com

I hope this post comes to mind when shopping for your next baby bed. Thank you!

Introducing "The Beam"

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my first ever blog post! Today, I will be talking about a new technology that is revolutionary in its own sense and its potential business application. Technology is being completely revolutionized and updated on a daily basis nowadays that it has become nearly impossible for us to keep up with new technological advances. However, I was able to come across a gadget that I would love to spread words about and introduce it to my blog readers. It is called the “Beam” it is a smart projector that fits into any light socket and turns any surface into a big flat screen (I have included pictures of the product for your convenience. For more information about The Beam, please visit this site -> The Beam product website).

The Beam is extremely easy to set up so that you can use it anywhere on the go. The product can be bought online for about $499 with free worldwide shipping. The Beam supports AirPlay and Miracast, which means that it is equipped with a smart computer and can be controlled with the Apple or Android app. It is also connectable with Bluetooth devices, which is completely revolutionary since all of the projectors we have been using on a daily basis to this day have been manual with no Bluetooth connectivity. Also, since the product is equipped with a smart computer and always connected to the Internet, you can set it up to have any apps playing or have it wake you up smoothly in the morning with the news and the weather forecast.

With the Beam, you can turn any night into a movie night and you can project anything you would want anywhere on the go. For example, you could play games on your dining table or you could watch cooking tutorials in your kitchen while you cook. Additionally, there are so many potential business applications of the Beam since projectors can be found almost anywhere at different offices of companies. Since the product can be screwed into any light socket or can be placed on any flat surface using the power cable that is included in the package, people can use it anywhere for business. By using the Beam, workers will be able to easily pitch their ideas and present their materials using the projector to the team without any technical difficulties or hassles. They can easily pull up videos from the Internet or open up any apps from the Apple or Android stores.

Another mass business application that I could think of for the Beam is at schools around the world. Some teachers have such difficulty using the old fashioned projectors at schools and universities but, the Beam will easily solve that problem. The projector is so light and simple that any teacher/professor can carry it around and use it for their daily lectures. Having the Beam marketed at schools and colleges could be a massive success for its makers since projectors are such needed and valued products for instructors and students all over the world.  

Thank you for visiting my blog!

A Collaborative Take

Welcome to the World of Collaboration

As the majority of us are familiar with this handy little tool, we so often take it for granted. We may not consider it to be new now, but it has only been around since 2007--a measly 8 years.

Group projects are assigned in the classroom and no one has time to meet in person; presentations must be organized for that last minute conference--technology has the capability of allowing us to collaborate on any piece of work, at any time, any place in the world. And since we are all too busy to meet in person, Google has conveniently spared our educators and businesses alike from having to nix the concept of group collaboration...[insert Google Docs here].

The creation of the web 2.0 technology, Google Docs, streamlines a groups' ability to collaborate and innovate within a single document.

Google Docs allows its users to create, share and edit documents, spreadsheets, and Power Points. Once a document is shared through this technology, the users being shared with have the ability to edit the document in real time. There are different levels of sharing, as well--if the document is to be viewed and not edited, the creator simply changes the document settings. This technology is extremely versatile and enhances the ability for a group to collaborate in real time whether or not they are able to meet in the same room. 

In the classroom

Studies upon studies have shown that students learn best in small groups. Not only do us youngsters learn from each other, we also build off of each other's ideas. In the modern day, collaboration has become the goal in many classrooms. This is in order to foster an open learning dialogue and enhance the overall effectiveness of learning. That is, by utilizing this hands-on approach of group collaboration, students are able to fulfill a much more realistic and practical knowledge of their field of study.

In the office

Businesses are constantly expanding and one great way to achieve collaboration without compromising location discrepancies is by utilizing the Google Doc tool. Say your business is partnering with a non-profit. That non-profit has a list of sponsors that need to be contacted; create a Google Doc Spreadsheet and real-time edit the sponsors you have contacted, any notes you may have taken about the sponsor, and the amount of money or product they are offering up. This is one of an infinite amount of uses for this Web 2.0 technology that is rapidly being utilized by internet users alike. 

How to get started

CLICK HERE to create your GoogleDocs Account!

To begin utilizing this innovative tool, all you need is access to the internet and an e-mail address. The Google Doc site will guide you to create whichever document you wish, or to even upload an existing document and prepare it for sharing and further editing. Google Docs automatically saves your work so you will never 'accidentally' delete your most important work!