brandED: Presented by Nicole M. Maclean

Nicole M. Maclean has always shown an interest in company brands and consumer’s behaviors and attitudes towards them. Taking this idea, she decided to look at her future goals and instead of branding an inanimate object, she decided to brand herself. She has spent the last year doing something that many professionals have a difficult time pursuing, and that is creating a personal brand. Personal branding consists of who you are, how others perceive you, your visibility to the public, and how you differentiate yourself from others.

One of the first steps she took in establishing her own brand was finding a mentor who had experience with creating their own personal brand. Along the way she found Jeffrey Cohen, who not only has his own successful brand, but also has industry experience with social media. After she found a mentor, she began doing personal research to see what personality traits stood out. When she distinguished these traits, she then conducted industry research. By accomplishing this, she was able to compare the two forms of research and extricate some of the common factors and interests.

Once she recognized some distinguishable characteristics, her next step was looking at social media and search engine optimization (SEO). SEO increases the visibility of a webpage in an unpaid search engine and ensures that people can find you. In Nicole’s instance, when somebody searched her name she was not found until the second page. In order to confront this issue, she found that making a cohesive domain name throughout all of her social media accounts would set her apart. One of the challenges she faced was not finding usernames that were available. She easily solved this problem by adding her middle initial. This simple correction now made her name recognizable and easily accessible, and as a result made it the first five names when you googled her name “Nicole M Maclean.”

Lastly, the thing that I found the most interesting was the signature colors and fonts. Who knew that these two simple things could make such a difference? Her main color scheme consisted of orange as a primary color and then navy blue, ivory, and gray as her accent colors. She has even incorporated her colors into her wardrobe when she is meeting with certain individuals. Her reasoning is that it brings a sense of confidence and comfort, and relating it to a “power suit.” Secondly, her extensive research on typology was something I found absolutely fascinating. I never knew there was a science behind how each letter is written and how it could relate to readability.

Overall, the concept of rebranding yourself is a decision that many people should consider. It sets you up for your future, and allows you to build networks and grow professionally. By combining your personality with a professional presence, you can begin to sound more like an industry leader. As Nicole said, “Post for the job you want!”

Jeffrey Cohen Presents: “Car Crashes, Train Wrecks, and Social Media: You Just Can’t Look Away”

Jeffrey Cohen is not only the co-author of The B2B Social Media Book, but he is also a social media guru who created a successful personal brand. In this lecture, he discusses some of the poor attempts companies have tried on social media in order to gain consumer recognition.

When it comes to companies and brands, they seem to think that the only way to appeal to consumers is to create a humanistic personality when it comes to social media. Brands want to feel more human because they feel as though their audience will make a personal connection, and eventually become loyal customers. With the use of big data, companies have no problem targeting their market niche. Consumers are providing so much data, though loyalty cards and even just the swipe of their credit card, which is making it simple to connect with them. When this much data is involved, there is only a matter of time when issues arise.

One example given during the lecture was the DiGiorno Pizza debacle. At this time, there was a story about domestic violence in the NFL. This led to a social media movement called #WhyIStayed, which allowed people to share their stories about why they stayed in their abusive relationship. DiGiorno Pizza decided to tweet “#WhyIStayed You had pizza.” Obviously this caused chaos with both the Twitter community and the public. DiGiorno took down the post as soon as the saw the millions of comments and responded with, “A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about before posting.”

As a company and brand, marketing departments need to be more vigilant when it comes to what they are posting on social media. If DiGiorno took two seconds to look at the hashtag, this issue would have never occurred. With the rise of social media, companies not only have to worry about their own brand, but also current events. Not only did DiGiorno make a public apology, but they also went and apologized to individuals on Twitter. Yes, they did try to do everything in their power to apologize, but Cohen emphasized that these kinds of problems occur when brands try to act human. Humanity is filled with mistakes.

Overall the lecture from Cohen was very informative and definitely made you look at things with a new perspective. In the past when I looked at a company on social media, I never make the connection that they were acting humanistic. I feel as though I will never look at a brand the same way, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

Jimmy John’s: Freaky Fast Customer Service

Jimmy John’s is known for their sub sandwiches, but in a market with competitors like Subway, Pita Pit, Penn Station, and Jersey Mike’s it’s difficult to set yourself apart. One way Jimmy John’s accomplishes this is by advertising that their sandwiches are made “Freaky Fast.” I love Jimmy John sandwiches, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve had my share a good and bad experiences. I’ve been to some locations where my sandwich is either already made before I even pay the cashier, and then I’ve been to some that have taken almost 45 minutes to be delivered to be home. When a brand is trying to portray an image, such as being Freaky Fast, it is important to stay consistent. Let’s be honest, nobody is perfect and neither are companies. Consumers are notorious for posting on social media when they are unsatisfied. The introduction of social media allows consumers to reach a larger audience in only a matter of seconds.

Jimmy John’s has taken the opportunity to use Twitter as a customer service platform. In reality, consumers are more likely to post about a company when there is a complaint compared to a complement. In the above tweet, you can see a customer post a standalone comment complaining about their sandwich taking over an hour to be delivered. The customer was also unsatisfied with his whole order due to his “watered down drinks” and receiving no straws. Jimmy John’s apologizes in less than 20 minutes and does an excellent job at personalizing the message by using the customer’s first name. This genuine response allows the person posting the complaint to have a personal connection to the company compared to a scripted response. As you can see from the reply, Jimmy John’s also uses a unique diction making it sound like it is Jimmy John himself adding a humanistic characteristic.  They also tell the customer to direct message them with his information in order to fix the problem.

Overall, Jimmy John’s has about a 70% response rate when it comes to replying to tweets to @jimmyjohns. They usually respond within 15 minutes of the original post. From every response I saw from Jimmy John’s, they were all personalized and even a little playful. They have a great interaction with their customers, and try to do whatever is necessary to make a negative experience positive. I am a huge fan of Jimmy John’s sandwiches; it’s reassuring to know that if I ever have a problem, they are more than willing to help me out.   

Rainn Wilson Presents: “SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions”

Rainn Wilson is better known for his character Dwight Schrute on the television comedy series “The Office.” Over the years, he has earned three Emmy nominations with his portrayal of Dwight Schrute, and with this popularity he has gotten the word out about a program him and his friend started in 2008, SoulPancake. SoulPancake is a space where people from all walks of life can discuss and question what it means to be human – a place to wrestle with the spiritual, philosophical and creative journey that is life.

Rainn grew up in Seattle with two parents who raised him in a Bohemian household. His parents believed in the Bahá’í Faith. This faith believes that there is one god and that god occasionally sends teachers to earth. These teachings have provided the basis for the advancement of civilization. These divine teachers visit every 500 years, some examples of teachers include Abraham, Buddha, and Moses. Growing up in this household allowed Rainn to learn at an early age the importance of equality. Growing up in this faith taught him to believe that everyone on this earth is part of one human family.

When Rainn turned 20, he decided to move to New York City and become an atheist. He decided to drop everything he previously believed in to immerse himself in art. After a couple years he decided pick up his Bahá’í Faith and also begin studying over cultures and religions. It is there where he truly immersed himself in art. He came to the realization that people are never satisfied, and that happiness is just a myth. Once you achieve “happiness,” whatever it maybe, you tend to redefine it. For example, you finally get that raise you wanted and are making $80,000 a year, but now you want $90,000. It’s even the same with material items such as cars and houses. We are never truly “happy” and this is why Rainn emphasized his dislike for the word. Instead he prefers words such as “joy” because it explains a moment in time.

This idea of redefining happiness gave him the idea for SoulPancake. Rainn wanted to take the idea of spirituality and create a space for self-expression. SoulPancake has many mediums for getting this message across from a website to social media platforms. One of their more popular platforms is YouTube. SoulPancake’s YouTube channels mission is to bring joy. One of the most successful examples is Kid President. This wise child brings on messages such as equality and self-acceptance in a fun and creative way. Some of Kid Presidents most influential messages are “Treat everybody like it’s their birthday” and “Create something that is awesome.”

As stated on the SoulPancake website, “Our brain batter of art, culture, science, philosophy, spirituality and humor is designed to open your mind, challenge your friends, and feel damn good.” SoulPancake is using things such as social media to spread a message. There are so many different forms of art and Rainn and his partner are doing an excellent job at spreading messages in a fun and creative way.

Red Bull has Wings When it Comes to Mobile Apps

Mobile is quickly replacing desktops as the primary source for accessing information. 74 percent of Americans own smartphones, nearly two thirds of cell phone owners’ use their phones to go online, and more than one-third of users say it is their primary Internet device. For me personally, I rarely use my laptop for logging onto Facebook. The ease and convenience has made mobile marketing desirable for companies. Mobile marketing has given companies a new opportunity to reach their primary target market.

Red Bull is not only known for their energy drinks, but also their involvement with extreme sports. One of the advertisements we watched in class consisted of a man completing an “extreme” sky drive from space. This ad not only showed Red Bull’s association with extreme sports, but it also showed how innovative they are especially with mobile.

Facebook

Facebook isn’t about collecting “likes,” but about consumer engagement. They do an excellent job at getting their consumers involved. Red Bull uses their Facebook page thoroughly, and the vast majority of their posts are images and videos relevant to extreme sports and sponsored athletes. Red Bull isn’t just about selling an energy drink, but a lifestyle. I viewed Red Bull’s Facebook using the Facebook app on a smartphone. The app allows for the profiles to be easily accessible and is optimized for small screens. The Facebook app provides a standard format for the profiles and allows for easy navigation. There is no need to adjust the screen for legibility, which also means all the content fits onto the screen and it is unnecessary to scroll from side to side. The cover image of Red Bull’s Facebook profile is perfectly suited for mobile, showing someone participating in an extreme sport in artic conditions. Having clicked through links from their post, I was led to content on their website and video posts. The website content viewed from Facebook on a smartphone was created to be mobile friendly. Red Bull’s Facebook contains a drop down navigation menu, which makes for easy navigation. This menu is organized into multiple categories. This Facebook app provides users with the ability to “share” the content, copy or save the link, open the website through a web browser, or send the link to a friend on Facebook.

Twitter

As an international brand, Red Bull has hundreds of Twitter feeds dedicated to different events and projects all over the world. The official Red Bull account has 1.8 million followers and tweets links to images, videos, and stories of manyextreme athletes and adventurers. Having looked at their Twitter account on a smartphone, the header image seems to be suitable for mobile devices. The image is clear and proportionate. The cover photo consists of a man attempting a trick on a motor cross vehicle. Red Bull’s images are high resolution and optimized for the small screens of mobile devices. Although their images are suited for small screens, it is a good thing that mobile devices allow for viewers to zoom in on images because, unlike Facebook, it is a little bit more difficult to see.

Many of Red Bull’s tweets contain links that direct viewers to different content to their website and blog. Using a mobile device, I looked at a recent post and was directed to their website. The website view of this link from a smartphone is very accessible, appearing to be specifically formatted for mobile. While some websites contain a main navigation menu along the top of the site, Red Bull’s mobile website view allows you to access their navigation menu through a drop down window. Viewers are able to click and view other content on the website through the drop down window.

As stated previously, visual content dominates Red Bull’s social media platforms, but before they post these amazing images they should consider how these images will appear in-stream on both computer screens and mobile devices. Because Twitter automatically crops images to be confined in a certain pixel dimension space, some of the pictures Red Bull posts do not display at a large enough size. Although some of their images are small, their content on both Facebook and Twitter, appeared to be in moderation. From their images and videos to their text-based updates, their feed and website never seemed overwhelming or cluttered when viewed on a mobile device.

Overall, Red Bull is paying attention to their mobile-dominated audience and providing them with significant amounts of content accessible for mobile devices. They should take into account that it is more than the material they illustrate on their site that captivates their audience, but the way they format this material for their audience that really matters. I don’t know if it was just my smartphone, but I found it difficult to watch videos on their website. Considering the amount of videos they post on their social media accounts and website, they should definitely take this into consideration. A bad mobile experience can cost any brand or business customers. Fifty-seven percent of consumer wouldn’t recommend a business with a bad mobile website and 40 percent of consumers have turned to a competitor after a bad mobile experience. In order to optimize their social media presence for mobile, Red Bull should pay attention to their image sizes, and adjust their video content to be more mobile friendly.

#ShowYourSharpie Instagram Marketing Campaign

Sharpie is an American manufacturer of writing instruments, specifically their permanent markers, whose products are sold in over 20 countries. Originally a name designating a single permanent marker, the Sharpie brand has been widely expanded and currently holds 89% of their industries market share.

Today, Sharpie shows appreciation for self-expression and uniqueness. Since 2011, Sharpie has been running a Back-to-School campaign, which urges consumers to “Start Something” with their products. The campaign includes print media, television, and internet advertisements that highlight consumers taking ordinary products and decorating them with Sharpie pens. Contestants are able to submit anything from a drawing on a paper to home décor. This campaign is also seen on social media (such as Instagram and Facebook), which allows easier access for Sharpie fans to share their art.  This campaign is directed towards teenagers because of their extensive social media use. According to Pew Research Center, 95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online. Teens are also targeted for this campaign because of their creativity. According to Sally Grimes, Sharpie’s Global Vice President for Marketing, teens “use Sharpie in the most creative, inspiring ways. Teens have always been our primary user in the past, but we talked more to moms in the past.” This Back-to-School campaign has allowed them to target this audience directly.

Although Sharpie usually targets teens for their Back-to-School campaign, I would like to target young adult women between the ages of 18-24. The cohort of young adults who have internet access is 95%, with 26% of them on Instagram. The ages between 18-24 are the prime years where young adults move out on their own for the first time, either because of college or employment. This is usually when many experience life living on a low income. This makes this age group an excellent target market, especially women, because they are looking for cheap ways to decorate their homes. This market is ideal because these consumers can take ordinary items and decorate them in a creative way and make it into something new and appealing. Instagram would also be an appropriate platform because it not only is popular with young adult women, but it is a great medium for spreading the campaign.

The goals and objectives for this version of the Back-to-School campaign are to increase overall consumer engagement and to increase sales by 5%. With Sharpie dominating 89% of their industry in market share, it would be difficult to build more overall brand awareness. Instead, we would like to inform consumers and show them that there are other ways to use our products then just using them for ordinary writing tasks. We will also be targeting both current and prospective consumers.  In order to do this, Sharpie will be expanding on their Back-to-School campaign by marketing young adult women between the ages of 18-24. This will primarily be an Instagram campaign called #ShowYourSharpie, and consist of a contest that allows individuals to submit entries of their Sharpie artwork. This artwork will consist of ordinary household items that have been reinvented though the use of Sharpie products. For example, it could be a plain, white lamp that was redesigned with a pattern that was created with Sharpie Permanent markers. In order to submit entries the hashtag #ShowYourSharpie will be attached to each photo. As stated earlier, Instagram is incredibly popular with young adult women, which means it is an excellent platform for targeting our market niche. It is also an easy and convenient way for consumers to submit their contest entries. Since it is a contest on artwork, it will hopefully boost sales by encouraging consumers to go out to their local stores and purchase Sharpie products.

The contest will consist of contestants submitting their entries through Instagram with the #ShowYourSharpie. In order to spread the word about the campaign, Sharpie will strategically place photos on Instagram to inform consumers of the details of the contest and to give consumers some crafty ideas. On average we would like to post between 1-2 times a day. An example of a post would consist of a picture with a living-room fully decorated with accessories such as vases, center pieces, and tables designed with the use of Sharpie products. This example will also be the used as the cover photo and will include a link to the Sharpie website explaining the details of the contest. It will also include a tagline such as, “Make room for your personality #ShowYourSharpie.” Another example of a post would include a photo of a lamp with the lamp shade decorated with quotes written in cursive with a black Sharpie. This post will have a tag line such as “What is your inspiration? #ShowYourSharpie.” Another post would include a photo of stones with Sharpie designs on them. The post is tagged with “Even the simplest items can become beautiful #ShowYourSharpie.” It is apparent through these three posts that they encourage consumers to pick up a Sharpie and use their imagination to create a room filled with their own personality. Each post will also consist of the #ShowYourSharpie in order to spread awareness of the contest. The Instagram homepage will comprise of a profile picture using the current Sharpie logo. The incentive for entering this contest would include a $500 cash prize to the winning design, $250 for second place, and $100 for the third place entry. All three winners will also receive a “Sharpie Creativity Kit,” which would include a variety of our Sharpie products.

This campaign will also use Twitter as a supporting platform in order to help spread awareness with their already 190,000 followers. Twitter also targets a younger market and would complement the Instagram campaign well. There will also be a separate website linked to the Back-to-School campaign on the Sharpie website. Traditional advertising will also be included in stores in the Back-to-School area.

Since this is a Back-to-School, the campaign will run from the beginning of July to mid-October. This timeframe is extended into October because since this is primarily aimed towards college students, many larger schools do not start until mid-September. This gives consumers a grace period to settle into their homes. Also, since we are marketing towards young adult women, the beginning of the school year marks sorority recruitment. Sorority recruitment is well-known for each organization showcasing their creativity in order to attract new recruits. This could lead to an increase in consumer engagement and sales.

This #ShowYourSharpie campaign is very cost-effective and allows Sharpie to connect with their target market using a low budget. Considering Sharpie already has their own marketing department, there will be no need to hire new employees to manage the Instagram account. We will also have to hold a photo shoot, for example the post with the room filled with home décor, in order to display ideas to consumers. We also would need young creative individuals who could inspire consumers to create their own crafts. This could be as easy as asking some of our younger employees to create something, getting some of our current employees children involved, or using products that have already been created with the use of Sharpie products. As for the prizes, the cash prizes will total $850 and the “Sharpie Creativity Kit” will not add any additional cost because of mass production. Overall, this campaign should cost between $15,000 to $20,000 due to the photo shoot, which is most likely outsourced.

Overall, Sharpie is a company that allows for opportunities to take something ordinary and create something extraordinary. This Back-to-School #ShowYour Sharpie campaign gives consumers the option to save some money and create a space that displays their personality. Sharpie is all about self-expression and the campaign #ShowYourSharpie provides consumers the chance to express themselves with the use of a Sharpie marker.

Laverne Cox Presents: “Ain’t I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood”

Laverne Cox is best known for her role in Orange is the New Black, playing the groundbreaking role of “Sophia Burset,” an African American transgender woman. Laverne is the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show, and her character, Sophia Burset, was named by Time Magazine as the 4th most influential fictional character of 2013. This successful woman has gracefully come to Ball State to share her inspirational story.

Gender usually has the wrong connotation within a society. It is easily confused with sex, and it is not uncommon to hear individuals use these terms interchangeably. The difference between sex and gender is that sex is what you are born as, and gender is what you identify yourself as. In Laverne’s case, her sex is male (born as) and her gender is female (what she identifies as).

Throughout Laverne’s life, she knew that she didn’t fit in with many of the other children and was missing that sense of acceptance. In elementary school, one of Laverne’s teachers called home and informed her mother that she was caught fanning herself and singing like a girl on a school field trip. Her mother confronted her and told her it was not acceptable for a young boy to be fanning himself. This was Laverne’s first time experiencing shame in terms of sex and gender, but it wouldn’t be her last. As she grew older, she knew she had a passion for dance. This passion eventually gave her the opportunity to attend The Alabama School of Fine Arts. Entering this next stage brought on more opportunities and struggles. This new phase generated a whole new definition of shame in terms of race and class. Although this was a difficult time in her life, because she was still confused about whom she was, she persevered and moved to New York City after she graduated.

New York City was the first time Laverne felt as though she really belonged. While there, she met another transgender woman name Tina Sparkle. Tina was the definition of who Laverne wanted to be. She met Tina when she was an awkward, pimply-faced woman, and then saw her flourish throughout the years into a beautiful confident woman. It is there that Laverne decided to live by the inspiring words of Simone de Beauvoir, “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.” According to gender theorist Judith Butler, it is not necessarily guaranteed that this woman is female.

Laverne Cox is an inspiration for the transgender community. Although she lived a life of struggles, she realized who she is and now does something she loves with people who accept her.  She is the symbol for the whole LGBT community and her ability to spread awareness is one step towards equality.

#ShowYourSharpie Love

Sharpie isn’t any ordinary permanent marker manufacturer; it’s the brand that stands up for self-expression. Letting you be heard, putting you at the center of your world, helping you express all the ideas, feelings, moods, and memories you have with absolute conviction and passion—that’s what Sharpie’s are all about!

Today, Sharpie shows appreciation for self-expression and uniqueness. Since 2011, Sharpie has been running a Back-to-School campaign, which urges consumers to “Start Something” with its products. The campaign includes print media, television, and internet advertisements that highlight consumers taking ordinary products and decorating them with Sharpie pens. This campaign is also seen in social media (such as Instagram and Facebook), which allows easier access for Sharpie fans to share their art.  This campaign is directed towards teenagers because of their extensive social media use. According to Pew Research Center, 95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online.

Although Sharpie usually targets teens for their Back-to-School campaign, I would like to target young adult women between the ages of 18-24. The cohort of young adults who have internet access is at 95%, with 23% of them on Twitter. This target audience is ideal for an extension of Sharpie’s Back-to-School campaign, because these are usually the years where young adults begin to venture out on their own. During these few years, people don’t have a ton of money, but they still want to have desirable items for their homes. Due to the low income, it is not uncommon to see women partake in crafts, especially when it comes to decorating, such as a dorm room. This is what makes this market ideal, they are not afraid to take an affordable/older item and turn it into something beautiful! Twitter would also be an appropriate platform because it not only targets adults, but it is a great medium for spreading a campaign.

Sharpie currently has an industry market share of 89%, with the help of social media. With a market share this high, it is in Sharpie’s best interest to increase their overall brand awareness and engagement with consumers. By focusing on brand awareness and engagement, it should also increase their overall sales. In order to do this, Sharpie will be expanding on their Back-to-School campaign by marketing young adult women between the ages of 18-24. This will primarily be a Twitter campaign called #ShowYourSharpie, and consist of a contest that allows individuals to submit entries of their Sharpie artwork. This artwork could range from doodles to DIY crafts, such as lamps and cell phone cases. This campaign will be attracting both current and prospective customers. This Twitter campaign will allow contestants to easily submit their entries, and since it is a contest on artwork, it will hopefully boost sales by encouraging consumers to go out to their local stores and purchase Sharpie products.

Now you might be wondering what the incentive is to enter the contest. Sharpie’s parent company is Newell Rubbermaid, which also makes Rubbermaid products. Since this campaign is targeting women between the ages of 18-24, many of these consumers are in college or about to live on their own. Rubbermaid is best-known for their storage products, so many of these women are looking for cute products to store their belongings. Not to mention those who are moving into dorm rooms where space is limited and smart storage is essential. The winner of this #ShowYourSharpie contest will assist in the design of the upcoming years Rubbermaid products and be rewarded with a $25,000 cash prize.

The contest will consist of contestants submitting their entries through Twitter with the #ShowYourSharpie. The Twitter page will include a banner with a collage of already submitted artwork. In order to get the word out about the campaign, Sharpie will strategically place tweets to inform people of the details. An example of a tweet would consist of a picture with a room fully decorated with items that were designed using Sharpies. This example would include a link to the Sharpie website explaining the details of the contest and include a tagline such as, “Think you have the Sharpie eye for art? Then prove it #ShowYourSharpie.” Another example of a tweet would include a link to an article, such as 30 DIY Sharpie Projects You Have to Try, and something on the lines of, “When you need some crafts in your life, grab a Sharpie and see what you can create #ShowYourSharpie.”  This overall campaign will also be using a supporting platform, Instagram. Instagram is notorious for giving users the opportunity to create photos that have more of an artist element. This would allow contestants to have another platform to submit their entries. There would then be an informative tweet encouraging consumers that submissions through Instagram will be accepted, but remind them to include the campaign hashtag. The #ShowYourSharpie campaign will also include traditional advertisings in stores. The partnership between Rubbermaid and Sharpie will allow the campaign to be shown in multiple locations throughout stores, such as kitchen, home, and school section.

In order to determine our success, we will be looking at our biggest competitor in the stationary industry, Bic. Currently, Sharpie has the largest market share in the industry. By comparing both Twitter accounts, Sharpie has about a 0.017% engagement rate, whereas Bic has an engagement rate that is practically non-existent with barely any retweets or favorites and only 157 followers. Sharpie is hoping to improve their engagement rate to at least 2% during this campaign. An increase in engagement should hopefully correlate to a spike in sales due to the increase of submissions and the fact that consumers will have to go out and buy Sharpie products in order to participate in the contest. A way to collect results would be to look at overall sales, site visits, retweets, and the use of #ShowYourSharpie.

This campaign would need additional help in the assessment on entries being submitted. These judges could be popular DIY bloggers, who could also assist in the design of the Rubbermaid products at the end of the contest. The social media team could also gain assistance from the design team at Rubbermaid. As for the price of the campaign, it could very well be in the millions due to the new product line at Rubbermaid. Newell Rubbermaid, the parent company for Sharpie, could look at this as an investment. In reality, Sharpie is targeting women between the ages of 18-24, but so is Rubbermaid. These individuals who are buying Sharpie pens could easily be the same people purchasing adorable storage accessories. The tools needed for this campaign would include manufacturing supplies for the winning design, advertising components, and any type of metric software to help analyze engagement.

Sharpie is a company that allows for opportunities to take something ordinary and create something extraordinary.  Sharpie is all about self-expression and the campaign #ShowYourSharpie gives consumers the chance to express themselves with the use of a Sharpie marker.

FitBit’s YouTube Channel is in Need of a Workout

The rise in popularity of health and fitness trends has allowed companies like FitBit to create products that help consumers to become proactive when it comes to healthy-living. In an earlier blog post, I discussed the successfulness of FitBit’s blog in appealing to their audience. Now, I want to focus on one of their visual platforms, YouTube. Just like their blog, it targets an audience consisting of both fitness enthusiasts and tech savvy consumers.

FitBit’s YouTube username is FitBit Official Site, which in all honestly I thought was unusual. I was expecting the username to be a straightforward FitBit for ease. The homepage consist of a cover photo with their iconic blue and multiple pictures of their Flex model. They also have their new campaign “Find Your Fit” as a headliner. The account overall, is very well organized and separated into three different categories including FitMoves, Find Your Fit, and Products. FitMoves consists of 30 second videos that show quick workout moves to try at the gym, Find Your Fit are commercials that are harmonious with their campaign, and Products includes informational videos on their products. Products and Find Your Fit are doing an excellent job at looking visually appealing, but the same cannot be said for FitMoves. The videos within FitMoves are not very informative and poorly recorded. As someone who actually participates in strength training, I find it odd that the videos do not include modifications and explanations of proper form. The videos just show a man and/or a woman executing single workouts without any explanations. It is honestly just 30 seconds silence. Many celebrities use FitBit, so I think it would be in their best interest to use these resources and produce celebrity workout tutorials. Although all three categories appeal to their target audience, I would say that FitMove should be improved to be more informative.

FitBit’s YouTube account is not one of their strongest platforms. While they do have about 7,000 subscribers, their overall engagement is rather poor with an engagement rate of 0.03%. This low engagement rate can be explained because of their focus in their FitMoves category. This category is the least popular, but the most frequently updated. These videos are posted in spurts, meaning that many are downloaded at one time. The last 30 posts by FitBit is from FitMoves, which could be a determining factor to the low engagement rate. According to SimplyMeasured, the average rate for retail brands on Instagram is 4%.  FitBit’s YouTube account is nowhere near that average, after joining YouTube two years ago they have just recently become more engaged. This platform has the opportunity to generate more popularity and engagement in the future. When it comes to the other two categories, Find Your Fit and Products, there is an exponential increase in views, likes, and comments. Find Your Fit and Products are updated less frequently, but these two categories seem to be serving their audience due to their substantial amount of views.

YouTube is notorious for being a useful tool for finding tutorials, and that is exactly how FitBit is trying to engage their audience. By taking a direction towards fitness tutorials, FitBit is using YouTube as an engagement platform. Although the tutorials are poorly made, there are still many facets that they could improve upon. When it comes to their YouTube account, they are definitely taking a step in the right direction.

Febreze: Smells Like a Winning Campaign

It’s difficult to think that one of Proctor and Gamble’s billion dollar brands, Febreze, was actually a huge failure when it was first introduced into the market. With a change in their marketing campaign, Febreze has not only become the top selling air freshener in the market, but it has also become one of the best-selling products of all-time. Today, Febreze takes on a new marketing campaign, “Breathe Happy.” This marketing campaign targets “consumers with different appetites—or tolerances—for scent: Some consumers just want to eliminate a problem, while another group is looking to create ambiance,” as stated by David Taylor, group president of P&G’s global home-care business. In other words, Febreze is targeting a large market that consist anywhere from mom’s trying to eliminate odors while cleaning, to an ordinary person who loves to walk into a room with the scent of vanilla after a long day at work.

The “Breathe Happy” campaign can be found on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. All four platforms are cohesive and include the iconic Febreze logo, either with a blue or white background, and cover photos that ask the question “Have you gone #noseblind?” The TV commercials advertising Febreze have shown friends and family taking their loved ones into a room that is a magnetized version of what their room actually smells like. For example, a women owes cats and has become nose blind by the stench. Her friends bring her home one-day and lead to a more dramatized version of her house. When she walks in, she sees a room surrounded with numerous cats and a cat shaped couch. Although I have not seen the #noseblind on any of Febreze’s television ads, there are videos on YouTube that display the hashtag. This new concept of #noseblind has made connecting to their audience a lot easier, and is not only found on their YouTube account but also on all of their platforms. It is also simple to share, comment, and re-post items on these platforms. Febreze also does an excellent job at posting regularly to keep their audience engaged.

As someone who is attentive to having a quality smelling house, I would say their strategy is to make consumers self-conscious about the smells around them. Nobody wants to be that person who invites friends and family over and realizes that their house smells strange. Although the message is not meant to be terrorizing, I cannot help but feel fearful that I might be that person. One of their YouTube videos shows a mother who is being told one at a time by her family that they are moving out because of the stench in their home. When watching this, I am consistently reminded that anyone can go nose blind. Whether their strategy is awareness or fear, I must say that their campaign objectives are definitely working.