Matt Kury came and spoke to our class on Wednesday, April 16 and was very professional in dress and appearance. He works at Anchor Communications on Main Street in St. Charles and gave us interesting information about advertising. The way he presented himself made it seem, like he really enjoys working in advertising. He walked around, got us involved, and wrote on the board. To begin with he started out playing major league baseball and used his degree in Mass Communications to fall back on when his plans fell through.
He said the two main motives in advertising are frequency and reach, with frequency being slightly more important. He said that every ad agency has big clients and small clients and you have to help them choose an advertising plan that will best help their business and stay within their budget. He quotes “You are going to win some and loose some.”
Matt strongly stated that adverting is a recession proof system because people always have to communicate to their target market to keep business and the economy moving. He said that new businesses should spend more on advertising in the beginning to make customers aware of products and/or services; about 10% of their total budget. After the business is established the average ad budget should be around 6%.
He said the ad business can be fun and stressful. The months of December through February are normally bad because everyone is paying off Christmas debt and paying taxes and spend less on advertising. However, in March and April the sales pick up and times get better. Matt’s advice to us was similar to Cameron’s advice. He said get experience because it is better than knowledge. Write like you talk and divide yourself from the rest because there is competition.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Cameron Satterfield Blog
Cameron Satterfield came and spoke to our class on Monday, April 14. I thought it was very interesting how large his career change was after graduating college. He currently is the Director of Public Information for the St. Charles County Health Department, but before that he worked at a television station in Omaha, Nebraska. I would not have thought that going from fast paced, deadline oriented news and televisions stations to sitting at your desk and writing news releases about health issues would have been a typical career flow for a communications person. However, he enjoys working a normal 9 to 5 job and working at his own pace instead of getting up at 2 am to do the morning news broadcast.
Cameron’s job entails writing news releases, writing 2 new letters a year, updating the website, and taking public opinion questions. He said the average salary for his position (he did not say his actual salary) was around $50,000 and depends on experience. He says the government normally pays less than a corporate business.
Cameron was highly involved in communications in high school and college. In high school he was involved in Radio Explorers and had several communications internships in college. He advised us, as college students, to do the same. The more experience the better. He said the most important skill we can develop is writing because just about every job in some way or another involves some writing. He encouraged us that even though our beginning salaries might be low if we preserve there is room to move up.
Cameron’s job entails writing news releases, writing 2 new letters a year, updating the website, and taking public opinion questions. He said the average salary for his position (he did not say his actual salary) was around $50,000 and depends on experience. He says the government normally pays less than a corporate business.
Cameron was highly involved in communications in high school and college. In high school he was involved in Radio Explorers and had several communications internships in college. He advised us, as college students, to do the same. The more experience the better. He said the most important skill we can develop is writing because just about every job in some way or another involves some writing. He encouraged us that even though our beginning salaries might be low if we preserve there is room to move up.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Advertising-- What & Why
Name of Product: Pepsi Cola
Pepsi Commercial
Year Made: 2005
This ad was actually banned from being played on live television, but it is listed as one of the funniest commercials on many global websites. If it were on TV I would think that it would be played during kids shows to teach children brand preference.
Q& A: I really liked this ad because the ending was not at all what I was expecting. In the beginning the boy buys a Coke, and then you see him buy another Coke. The conclusion is that he really likes Coke, but in the end you see him stand on the two Coke cans to reach the Pepsi button on the vending machine. He then proceeds to walk away with the Pepsi, leaving the Coke cans behind. It gets your attention in many ways. To begin with the boy is a cute little boy, and plays to the fact that children and animals catch attention. It also keeps your attention because not a lot of action happens until the end when he steps on the Coke cans. It is effective because it shows that children, who normally don’t care if they get Pepsi or Coke, are willing to spend the extra money to get the Pepsi. So often this is an adult issue, so adding a child to play the role adds to the irony. It is a very funny commercial but the deeper message is that Coke is bad and Pepsi is good, therefore drink Pepsi and not Coke. This ad does have puffery, especially that of irrelevant comparisons. Pepsi and Coke have always been rivals and to say that Coke is literally under Pepsi’s feet is controversial. The ad is really selling superiority. The idea that the boy had to step up to the Pepsi button shows that Pepsi is of a higher quality than Coke. Unfortunately for Pepsi I did not and will not go out and buy a Pepsi after seeing this commercial. That is because I don’t like soda, though.
Year Made: 2005
This ad was actually banned from being played on live television, but it is listed as one of the funniest commercials on many global websites. If it were on TV I would think that it would be played during kids shows to teach children brand preference.
Q& A: I really liked this ad because the ending was not at all what I was expecting. In the beginning the boy buys a Coke, and then you see him buy another Coke. The conclusion is that he really likes Coke, but in the end you see him stand on the two Coke cans to reach the Pepsi button on the vending machine. He then proceeds to walk away with the Pepsi, leaving the Coke cans behind. It gets your attention in many ways. To begin with the boy is a cute little boy, and plays to the fact that children and animals catch attention. It also keeps your attention because not a lot of action happens until the end when he steps on the Coke cans. It is effective because it shows that children, who normally don’t care if they get Pepsi or Coke, are willing to spend the extra money to get the Pepsi. So often this is an adult issue, so adding a child to play the role adds to the irony. It is a very funny commercial but the deeper message is that Coke is bad and Pepsi is good, therefore drink Pepsi and not Coke. This ad does have puffery, especially that of irrelevant comparisons. Pepsi and Coke have always been rivals and to say that Coke is literally under Pepsi’s feet is controversial. The ad is really selling superiority. The idea that the boy had to step up to the Pepsi button shows that Pepsi is of a higher quality than Coke. Unfortunately for Pepsi I did not and will not go out and buy a Pepsi after seeing this commercial. That is because I don’t like soda, though.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
What & Why -- Television
Title: I Love Lucy
Network: CBS Television
Now runs on TV Land
This show is now cable.
This show is in syndication.
Production Company: Desilu Studios
Parent Company: CBS
Years Run: 1951-1957
Producers: Jess Oppenheimer (150 episodes); Desi Arnaz (150 episodes)
Director: Ralph Levy
Writers: Madelyn Pugh Davis, Bob Carroll, Jr.
Stars: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley
Q &A: Set mostly in New York City, I Love Lucy centers on housewife Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), and her singer/bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), along with their friends and landlords Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). In later seasons, Lucy and Ricky had a son named Little Ricky. Lucy is somewhat naïve and ambitious, with an overactive imagination and a knack for getting herself into trouble. Primarily she is obsessed with joining her husband in show business. Fred and Ethel are former vaudevillians and this only strengthens her resolve to prove herself as a performer. I was first introduced to this show when I was a very small child. I started watching it because my parents watched it and at that time I thought my parents were so cool and I wanted to do what they did. I love this show because it is good clean fun. Lucille Ball was so talented in that she could make any activity funny. The story lines were simple, and always had a happy ending. It makes me appreciate the simple things in life. There was no profanity, nudity, or extreme violence. Most of the shows were set in the same location, and the viewer almost feels like they live in that apartment and go through the issues that Lucy and her friends go through. Sometimes the show is predictable, but that often adds to the humor. I would definitely recommend this TV show to anyone. It deals with real life issues that just about anyone can relate to.
Network: CBS Television
Now runs on TV Land
This show is now cable.
This show is in syndication.
Production Company: Desilu Studios
Parent Company: CBS
Years Run: 1951-1957
Producers: Jess Oppenheimer (150 episodes); Desi Arnaz (150 episodes)
Director: Ralph Levy
Writers: Madelyn Pugh Davis, Bob Carroll, Jr.
Stars: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley
Q &A: Set mostly in New York City, I Love Lucy centers on housewife Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), and her singer/bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), along with their friends and landlords Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). In later seasons, Lucy and Ricky had a son named Little Ricky. Lucy is somewhat naïve and ambitious, with an overactive imagination and a knack for getting herself into trouble. Primarily she is obsessed with joining her husband in show business. Fred and Ethel are former vaudevillians and this only strengthens her resolve to prove herself as a performer. I was first introduced to this show when I was a very small child. I started watching it because my parents watched it and at that time I thought my parents were so cool and I wanted to do what they did. I love this show because it is good clean fun. Lucille Ball was so talented in that she could make any activity funny. The story lines were simple, and always had a happy ending. It makes me appreciate the simple things in life. There was no profanity, nudity, or extreme violence. Most of the shows were set in the same location, and the viewer almost feels like they live in that apartment and go through the issues that Lucy and her friends go through. Sometimes the show is predictable, but that often adds to the humor. I would definitely recommend this TV show to anyone. It deals with real life issues that just about anyone can relate to.
Extra Credit: Clip
Sunday, February 24, 2008
What and Why- Music
Artist: Aaron Shust
Name and Songs: Anything Worth Saying
“Matchless,” “My Savior My God,” “Stillness (Speak to Me,)”
Record Label: Brash Music
Year Released: 2005
Genre: Contemporary Christian
Q & A: It actually took me a little while to find this album. I knew he was a contemporary Christian artist so I checked the Christian bookstores. I tried three separate stores and finally found 1 copy in the third store. Three weeks later he had a whole rack of his CD in the same store. I think one of his songs got in the top 10 Christian artists that week. I learned about this artist on the radio. I liked the way his voices sounded and the chord progressions that flowed through the songs. I would recommend this album because many of Shust’s songs give life and hope. So many artists sing about how their life is bad and they have no way out. Shust’s songs tell of a loving God that forgives and heals. Growing up I have always listened to Contemporary Christian music, but since in college I have tried to broaden my horizons. I like country. Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Kenny Chesney, are pretty good. I also like a lot of soft rock, but I am pretty bad at keeping track of artists and song titles. Most of the time I only listen to music on the radio in my car. I don’t have an i-pod, or MP3 player. I just have no desire to have music with me wherever I go. I do listen to CDs, but most of the time I listen to them three or four times and then they just collect dust. When I do buy a CD, which I haven’t done in about 2 years, I buy them at the Christian bookstore.
Name and Songs: Anything Worth Saying
“Matchless,” “My Savior My God,” “Stillness (Speak to Me,)”
Record Label: Brash Music
Year Released: 2005
Genre: Contemporary Christian
Q & A: It actually took me a little while to find this album. I knew he was a contemporary Christian artist so I checked the Christian bookstores. I tried three separate stores and finally found 1 copy in the third store. Three weeks later he had a whole rack of his CD in the same store. I think one of his songs got in the top 10 Christian artists that week. I learned about this artist on the radio. I liked the way his voices sounded and the chord progressions that flowed through the songs. I would recommend this album because many of Shust’s songs give life and hope. So many artists sing about how their life is bad and they have no way out. Shust’s songs tell of a loving God that forgives and heals. Growing up I have always listened to Contemporary Christian music, but since in college I have tried to broaden my horizons. I like country. Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Kenny Chesney, are pretty good. I also like a lot of soft rock, but I am pretty bad at keeping track of artists and song titles. Most of the time I only listen to music on the radio in my car. I don’t have an i-pod, or MP3 player. I just have no desire to have music with me wherever I go. I do listen to CDs, but most of the time I listen to them three or four times and then they just collect dust. When I do buy a CD, which I haven’t done in about 2 years, I buy them at the Christian bookstore.
Monday, February 18, 2008
What & Why-- Movies
Movie Title: Finding Nemo
Movie Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Parent Company: Walt Disney Pictures
Other Movies Made by Pixar: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., A Bug's Life, Cars, Ratatouille
Producer: Graham Walters
Director: Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich
Writer: Andrew Stanton
Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, William Dafoe, and Elizabeth Perkins
Q & A: Pixar’s Finding Nemo is a father-son underwater adventure about a fish, named Marlin and his son Nemo, a boy clown fish, who is stolen from his home in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and taken to a fish tank in a dentist's office in Sydney. His timid father and a blue tang fish named Dory with short-term memory loss must follow the East Australian current in order to get to Sydney and take Nemo home. I have actually seen this movie in the theaters, on DVD, and on television. I was actually interested in this movie because I love children’s movies! Seeing a nice clean movie with funny (sometimes corny) humor is refreshing. Finding Nemo also teaches right character traits such as perseverance, patience, and self sacrifice. Many other Hollywood movies are displaying quite the opposite. It may sound funny but the animations and colors that are created are so realistic is almost seems like you are actually there. I love how all of the different human characteristics are given to different sea animals. For example, the sea turtles are Jamaican, the sharks are friendly to fish, Dory has short term memory loss, the angle fish with the scar is reserved, and Marlin and Nemo have to relate to all of them along the way on thier adventure. I would definitely recommend this movie, first off because it is a great piece of artistic film. The story line keeps your attention, and there are always unsuspected events that happen throughout the entire movie.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Controversies Blog
The controversy over the impact of images is one that can have a very wide variety of opinions. The controversy reveals how magazines define people, particularly woman, as having the perfect body. Magazine models are normally 5’11 and weigh 120 lbs. Whereas, the average American woman is 5’4 and weighs 144 lbs. Magazine models also have perfect proportions, and flawless golden tan skin. My stand on this issue is that the models should not look this way. To begin with, the models themselves are probably not getting the nutrition that their body needs because they must have to starve themselves to get that certain appearance. Secondly, American women think that in order to be beautiful, they have to fit into this model’s appearance. Therefore, they have overwhelming guilt thrown on them when they give into the huge donut advertisement leading them to the fresh baked glazed donuts. This is showing that our marketing strategies as a society are contradictory. Companies are telling us to eat more and more food, but expecting us to have smaller and smaller waistlines. It just won’t work! The result is consumers who have poor self- esteem and frustration. Men are not excluded from this model. Men are portrayed as having extremely muscular broad bodies, but are also expected to be able to eat massive “manly” meals, and drink beer like it is water. The two ideas just do not mesh. I am so passionate about this controversy because I am a victim of the impact of images. Even in elementary school I always thought I was overweight, and went through several eating disorders. Still when I see a magazine of a perfect woman on the cover I compare myself, and think “I wish I could look like that.” The truth is that true beauty cannot be seen with human eyes. It is within the character and soul of a person, and that is a truth the media has trouble flashing on a cover of a magazine.
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