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The Professional Student: “Greatest Marking Campaigns” Outdoor Advertisements

Hello, and welcome back to the Professional Student! This week, I’ll be examining outdoor advertisements. Not to be confused with advertisements for the outdoors, outdoor advertisements are those that are outdoors, like a billboard.

I always like to start out by listing the criteria for the analysis, just in case you’re new here!

The deliverables are composed of 5 different sections listed in the following order (Lahm & Lockwood, 2022):

  1. Describe the advertisement by product/service, company, brand, etc., and the focus. What was the appeal or technique that was used to evoke an emotional response? Include a link to the ad selected.
  2. What were the objectives of the campaign? To sell more? To inform customers about a new product feature? Were the objectives attainable and measurable, or were they time-specific? 
  3. Describe the target market that was the focus of the advertisement.
  4. What action does the advertisement want the audience to take? If action is taken, how will the audience member benefit from using the product? 
  5. Describe the value proposition of the product or service being offered in each advertisement. What are the specific reasons (product features and benefits) that would drive customers to purchase the product or service being sold in each advertisement?

1. The Marlboro Man Billboard

I wanted to start this off with something I remember seeing constantly as a child: cigarette advertisements on billboards (which are now banned as of 1999). A link to the advertisement is below. Marlboro is owned by Philip Morris USA.

https://calisphere.org/item/7b50e39fca2b1b4a1df28e26efdc11c2

For me, seeing the Marlboro Man is iconic, as he was an icon in his own right. The billboard features the Marlboro Man on a horse in a blue denim shirt, tan jeans, a cowboy hat, gloves, and a rope for rounding up animals. He has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and faces in a side view profile. It brings back memories of seeing these advertisements everywhere as a child. My first thought was that I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to smoke and ride a horse while rounding up animals, but hey, it’s the Marlboro Man. Aside from Chuck Norris, he can do anything! He is a rugged, manly man who smokes red, so if you’re a rugged, manly man, you should smoke them, too (value proposition)!

Obviously, the purpose of this advertisement is to sell Marlboro cigarettes. The billboard is from 1982 and was featured on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Before 1950, Marlboro cigarettes were advertised to women only, but that changed with the introduction of the Marlboro Man, who was always featured smoking Marlboro Reds. Marlboro Reds used to have a red filter to hide lipstick stains, but they failed to attract women. So, they slapped a brown filter on it, complete with a cowboy (the Marlboro Man), and marketed it to men.

A 1982 article in The New York Times by Eric Pace discusses the price of cigarettes jolting up from about 20 cents per pack to 82 cents per pack. I am not a smoker anymore, but I smoked for 10 years during my time in the Army. I can recall a time when a pack of cigarettes was almost $10, depending on where you were in the country, as some states have higher prices than others.

Another New York Times article by Phillip Wiggins in 1982 highlights that Philip Morris is the second-largest tobacco country after R.J. Reynolds Industries. Operating revenues in 1982 were 10.89 billion, with a profit of 676.2 million.

2. Sheets Energy Strips, “I TAKE A SHEET.”

My second advertisement isn’t exactly the greatest or something considered great advertising, but it made me laugh hysterically because of how ridiculous it is. What it is, though, is a great failure, and as such, it deserves to be revisited. I can’t believe a company’s marketing team thought this was a good idea! I must highlight this as a failure because this is exactly what you should not do!

PureBrand owns Sheets Energy Strips. These energy strips essentially dissolve on your tongue to give you energy. I can’t help but see the resemblance to dropping acid. Not that I’ve ever dropped acid (I haven’t), but I am not ignorant of the fact of what it is, either. We’ve all studied psychology, and the 70s were wild. The box of energy strips features a face with only a mouth and a tongue sticking out with a hand, placing an energy strip onto the tongue that looks exactly like dropping acid. I bet the kids loved this! I can’t find Sheets Energy Strips for sale, but there are plenty of other brands being marketed as dietary supplements. They’re insanely expensive on Amazon.com, ranging from $20-$30 for one box containing 30 strips.  Honestly, just buy a case of energy drinks if you’ll pay $30 for that!

Let’s get to the juicy part: the advertisements! Below is a link so you can see them.

View at Medium.com

There are two featured on that webpage. The first is a woman in a bathing suit with a big smile on her face. She has a swimming cap on and goggles as if she is about to compete competitively, even though it’s a casual pool you would find at a hotel or apartment complex. Athletes use a lot of energy, so maybe that’s their target market for the ad. Here is where it goes wrong. In big, bold white words across the woman, it says, “I TAKE A SHEET IN THE POOL.” First of all, no, you don’t! This isn’t Caddy Shack. No one is throwing a Snickers bar into the pool. They were trying to be funny, but it comes off as crude. I find it hysterical. Not at the words but at the fact that this was publicly advertised on the side of a bus stop and billboards. Next to that, there is a professional woman. A student, a professor, a bookworm, perhaps? She is dressed in a black suit with glasses and looks conservative. She has a slight grin on her face while holding a stack of books. There is also a wedding ring on her hand. Like ad 1, it says in bold white letters, “I TAKE A SHEET AT THE LIBRARY.” It must have been all the Starbucks working its magic. Okay, back to the seriousness. I really can’t believe this was an ad campaign! This obviously targets students and professionals alike, who have very busy schedules and might need an extra energy boost.

According to CSP Daily News (2011), PureBrands spent $10 million on advertising and partnered up with athletes and celebrities alike, such as Pitbull and LeBron James. According to the SEC, PureBrands took a net loss of $21,094,983 in 2012 and $12,583,216 in 2013.

3. Surreal Cereal

Surreal Cereal is a plant-based based high protein, low carb, zero sugar cereal that is “Surreal because it shouldn’t work, but it does, brilliantly.” Surreal is owned by Jac Chetland and Kit Cammell, two British entrepreneurs reinventing the breakfast game by making a nutritionally balanced cereal that tastes great for adults. I can’t find this product for sale in the US, but on Amazon’s UK page, I found a variety pack of 4 for 24 British Pounds.

The specific advertisement I’ve decided to look at is called “No Work January” and can be seen in the link below.

Surreal Cereal – Marketing Geniuses at Play

There is an all-white background that reads: January. Protein. Whatever. Can’t be bothered this month? Neither can we. Whatever is written in rainbow words. Next to the words are cereal boxes, and on the bottom right hand, the word “SURREAL” is printed in bold black letters.

I think this advertisement is clever, as many people are trying to drop holiday weight as their New Year’s resolution. The message, can’t be bothered this month? You don’t have to be with our cereal. Just eat it. The target market segments are adults who want to eat healthy, eat good, and not think about it. People who live active lifestyles or those who are athletic are also a great market. Folks who are looking to improve their health is another market segment.

Regarding the financial information, the company is registered as a private limited company in London, England.

4. okcupid, DTF

Okcupid, an online dating site, is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and other dating apps and sites.

The billboard advertisement I’ve chosen to analyze features two lovely ladies. Below is the link for the advertisement.

https://www.designrush.com/best-designs/print/trends/best-billboard-ads

The first woman picked up her date and held her up in her arms sideways while her arms wrapped around her neck, holding a rose. The background is all baby pink and says “DTF” in big, bold yellow letters with a black shadow. Next to DTF it says “ALL HEAD OVER HEELS” bolded in black. The bottom of the billboard says okcupid, and below that, “DATING DESERVES BETTER” is printed in bold black letters.

I will not elaborate on the acronym DTF, but if you’ve watched The Jersey Shore, you know what comes to mind. However, okcupid took a play on DTF, and it doesn’t mean what you think it means here. DTF certainly grabs attention and gets a laugh, but in this ad campaign, DTF means down to thrift, down to furiously make out, down to flea market, etc. It is a way to connect to millennials and a modern audience.

I like the colors of the billboard. They’re bright. I like to see the LGBTQIA2S+ community being represented. Its modern, and it targets exactly who it was meant to target. Though millennials and modern people might have been the target, Gen Z can’t be discounted as they’re a much more accepting and open generation than previous generations.

Match Group has a net worth of $8.65 billion and a value of $11.63 billion (Stock Analysis, 2024). Love is a good business to be in! Match Group spent $519.6 million on advertising in 2023 and $447.9 million in 2022. In 2016, they spent $325 million but have steadily increased to spending an average of half a billion since 202 (Dixon, 2024).

5. Chipotle, “As Real As It Gets”

Am I the only one who thinks Chi-pot-le instead of Chipotle? It makes me laugh every time. I like Chipotle, but I don’t eat there often. It isn’t exactly something that comes to mind, and I find their food overly salty. Every bite I take slowly increases my blood pressure levels until my feet start to retain water and swell up. Chipotle is a publicly traded “Mexican Grill” quick service fast food restaurant owned by The Vanguard Group, which holds majority shares. Surprisingly, Chipotle is not franchised and is owned and operated by the corporation itself.

This advertisement is funny nonetheless and can be seen by clicking the link below.

https://www.commarts.com/exhibit/chipotle-billboards

The billboard features a burrito with some bites taken out of it, as the contents have spread out all over only what one can assume to be a table. You can see the foil wrapper slowly being peeled away, and next to the burrito, the words “REALEST WRAPPER IN THE GAME” appear in bold white letters against a grey “table” background. Below that, there is the Chipotle logo with the words “AS REAL AS IT GETS” in bold black letters.

This is obviously a play on words and a nod towards the music industry, specifically the rap music genre, where rap artists and musicians claim to be unchanged by their fame and money as they’re “the realist of the real” rapping about real life, real situations, or their own personal stories. The billboard made me smile, but it didn’t make me want to eat a burrito, which appears to be what is being sold. A real burrito, of course, not those fake burritos sold elsewhere.

According to Google Finance (2024), Chipotle is valued at $79.74 billion and had revenues of $2.52 billion in 2023. Chipotle spent a quarter of a million dollars on advertising in 2022 and $264.09 million in 2023.

Thanks for stopping by The Professional Student. Don’t forget to leave me a comment!

References

About. Surreal UK. (n.d.). https://eatsurreal.co.uk/pages/about

Cable News Network. (1999, April 29). Marlboro Man hangs up billboard hat. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/US/9904/23/tobacco.billboards/

Chipotle billboards. Communication Arts. (2017, May 15). https://www.commarts.com/exhibit/chipotle-billboards

CSP Daily News. (2014, August 28). Lebron James, purebrand roll out sheets energy strips. https://www.cspdailynews.com/general-merchandise/lebron-james-purebrand-roll-out-sheets-energy-strips

Design Rush. (2023, December 7). 12 Best Billboard ads with inspirational designs. DesignRush. https://www.designrush.com/best-designs/print/trends/best-billboard-ads

Dixon, S. J. (2024, February 26). Match Group annual AD spend 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101065/match-group-ad-cost/#:~:text=Online%20dating%20company%20Match%20Group,its%20ad%20spending%20since%202016.

Google. (n.d.). Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) stock price & news. Google Finance. https://www.google.com/finance/quote/CMG:NYSE?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2-9G81cyFAxXA4MkDHSmODHEQ3ecFegQIPRAg

Lahm, R., Lockwood, F. (2022). ENT 610 Entrepreneurial Creation. Master of Entrepreneurship Degree Program: “Greatest Marketing Campaigns” Analysis. https://www.canvas.com

Leonelli. (1983, January 1). Marlboro Man Billboard. Calisphere. https://calisphere.org/item/7b50e39fca2b1b4a1df28e26efdc11c2/

Match Group, Inc. (MTCH) Statistics & Valuation Metrics. Stock Analysis. (n.d.). https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/mtch/statistics/#

Pace, E. (1982, November 2). Cigarette prices tiptoe higher. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/02/business/cigarette-prices-tiptoe-higher.html

Roach, E. (2012, August 27). Purebrands of Boca Raton’s energy strip a hit with co-owners Lebron James, pitbull. The Palm Beach Post. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/business/2012/08/26/purebrands-boca-raton-s-energy/7834465007/

Sec.gov. (n.d.). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1062273/000114420413069417/v363889_10k.htm

Statista Research Department, & 4, M. (2024, March 4). Chipotle’s AD & Marketing Cost Worldwide 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/504077/chipotle-ad-marketing-spend/

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The Professional Student: Subway Sandwiches 5 Forces Analysis

Welcome back to The Professional Student. Graduate students at Western Carolina University studying innovative leadership and entrepreneurship were challenged to conduct a 5 Forces Analysis. Please enjoy the video below of the 5 Forces Analysis on Subway Sandwiches.

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to leave me a comment!

References

Brown, L. (2023, December 23). Subway five forces analysis & recommendations (Porter’s model). Panmore Institute. https://panmore.com/subway-five-forces-analysis-recommendations-porters-case-study

El, A. (2022, March 6). Porter’s five forces analysis; is this the end of the restaurant industry?! market review. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/porters-five-forces-analysis-end-restaurant-industry-market-amir-el/

Home. MindTools. (n.d.). https://www.mindtools.com/at7k8my/porter-s-five-forces 

Michael E. Porter. Michael E. Porter – Faculty & Research – Harvard Business School. (n.d.). https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6532#:~:text=Michael%20Porter%20is%20the%20author,well%20as%20over%20125%20articles.

Publix Deli Buffalo Chicken Tender Sub. Publix Super Markets. (n.d.). https://www.publix.com/pd/publix-deli-buffalo-chicken-tender-sub/BMO-DSB-611161?origin=collections3

Subway Menu. Subway Order. (n.d.). https://www.subway.com/en-us/restaurant/11870-0/menu/category/853 

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The Professional Student: “Engaging Professional Marketing Services”

For this assignment, graduate students at Western Carolina University in the Innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurship program were challenged to visit a PR firm, advertising agency, or other marketing services firms to create a publicly available audio or video presentation. Alternative options include writing an essay based on research or creating a digital tour for a professional marketing firm. 

I decided to visit a local PR firm, Darby Communications, in Asheville, North Carolina, and make a video presentation. The firm is owned by another student in my cohort, Coral Darby. Coral was kind enough to grant me access to her business and her amazing staff. Everyone at Darby Communications was so kind and I appreciate the time everyone gave me. Thank you Coral, Mindy, Suzanne, Lysianne, Stacy, and Angie!

Coral, along with all the interviewees, have given their written consent to have their interviews publicly released. Consent forms have been uploaded online to the university portal in accordance with Western Carolina University policies and procedures.

Please take an opportunity to check out Darby Communications in the link provided below:

Home

I hope you enjoy my video presentation, which you can access at the link below, and I look forward to reading your comments and feedback. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope everyone is enjoying The Professional Student!

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The Professional Student: “Greatest Marketing Campaigns”Newsprint Advertisement Analysis

This week, WCU graduate students studying innovative leadership and entrepreneurship are diving into newsprint advertisement analyses. If you’ve missed my previous analyses, I’ll post the criteria below.  

The deliverables for the assignment analysis are composed into 5 different sections listed in the following order (Lahm & Lockwood, 2022):

  1. Describe the advertisement by product/service, company, brand, etc., and the focus. What was the appeal or technique that was used to evoke an emotional response? Include a link to the ad selected.
  2. What were the objectives of the campaign? To sell more? To inform customers about a new product feature? Were the objectives attainable and measurable, or were they time-specific? 
  3. Describe the target market that was the focus of the advertisement.
  4. What action does the advertisement want the audience to take? If action is taken, how will the audience member benefit from using the product? 
  5. Describe the value proposition of the product or service being offered in each advertisement. What are the specific reasons (product features and benefits) that would drive customers to purchase the product or service being sold in each advertisement?

1. “We Can Do It,” 1942

The first newsprint advertisement I want to explore is a popular and well-known one that has resurfaced countless times since it was first produced during World War II. I’m referring to the “We Can Do It! Rosie the Riveter” poster. I’m not sure if this counts as a newsprint advertisement, as it’s a poster, but it is iconic and something I’ve always been attracted to. Here is a link to the famous war-time poster below:

https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669753

The poster, produced by Westinghouse during World War II, was part of a national campaign in the United States. There was a labor shortage in jobs that men traditionally filled due to the war. The campaign aimed to recruit women into the workforce (value proposition) to fill vacant jobs during a time when women were traditionally running households or limited to the types of jobs that were “acceptable.” The jobs that needed to be filled were in the defense industries, civilian service, and the armed forces. These campaigns were very encouraging, especially for women who had never had a job, to join up and contribute their part during the war (Library of Congress, 2024).

The poster depicts Rosie the Riveter all done up with a full face of makeup, wearing what appears to be a mechanic’s or flight uniform, with her hair pulled up in a red polka-dot scarf while flexing her arm muscles. Her face, while glamorous, looks focused and fierce. She looks strong and ready to take the world on. Looking at the poster makes me feel motivated and reminds me that we can all do jobs and take on new tasks, regardless of who traditionally does them. The yellow and blue background makes her pop and stand out. It almost reminds me of Mr. Clean for some reason. Later, tools, lunch boxes, and different war work uniforms were incorporated into revised images. 

The image has continued to resurface over time, representing women’s rights. Rosie the Riveter has been identified as Naomi Parker, who was working in a machine shop at a Naval Air Station in Alameda, California when her photo was snapped by a photographer sent to a photo agency and later became the face of the campaign. She even had heels on with her jumpsuit, working at an industrial machine. Naomi wasn’t officially recognized until 2016 and passed at 96 on January 20, 2018 (Pruit, 2023).

2. “Brad Is Single,” Norwegian Airlines- 2017

The second newsprint advertisement I’ve picked is modern and won a Cleo award in 2017. Norwegian Airlines took advantage of the very public split up of “Brangelina,” Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. In this advertisement, in big white letters on a bright red background, there is an announcement that “Brad is single,” and one-way tickets to fly to Los Angeles start at $169 British pounds, including taxes. I find this to be hilarious, and it makes me laugh. The advertisement can be seen below here: 

https://clios.com/awards/winner/print/norwegian-airline/brad-is-single-21503

The value proposition is a cheap flight to Los Angeles. Go travel, see the stars of Hollywood, and maybe even bump into the freshly single Brad Pitt! I mean, it’s not Las Vegas, but anything can happen, right? 

I could not find specific advertising budgets for Norwegian Airlines, but I did find the 2017 financial data that they released. According to Norwegian Airline Reports (2018), they experienced a net loss of 22.7 million British pounds due to increased fuel prices, wet lease, and passenger care. Total revenue was 2.8 billion British pounds, a 19% increase, with 33 million passengers that chose to fly with them in 2017, an 18% increase.

3. “Late Breakfast,” Burger King- 2024

The third advertisement I’ve chosen is “Late Breakfast” from Burger King. This print advertisement is a 2024 Clio Award winner and depicts two women sitting on a bus stop bench. One is older and dressed conservatively. The other is younger and dressed in a clubbing outfit with heels, sparkly black pants, and a sparkly black spaghetti strap top revealing two tattooed arms. The woman dressed in the clubbing outfit appears to be hungover or still drunk, eating a breakfast sandwich. The older woman looks kind of annoyed and disgusted to be awake so early, or maybe she is annoyed by the drunk/hung-over clubbing woman. There is a Burger King Bag between them both, but only club woman is eating. Below them, it says, “The most important meal of the night. Breakfast Menu. From 6 AM to 10:30 AM.” 

I think it would have been cleverer to have them both eating or even sharing a meal. I get what they’re saying about the most important meal of the night, as the younger woman clearly hasn’t gone to bed due to party time. Maybe the older woman could have been looking at her watch, and above it in a bubble, “6 AM” could have been displayed. 

The value proposition is the breakfast menu and the hours breakfast is served at Burger King. The advertisement doesn’t really make me want to go to Burger King, and it makes me kind of cringe. I would say the target market for this would be folks who like to be out late doing whatever or folks who wake up early and want to grab a bite to eat on the go.

The most recent data I could find regarding money spent on advertising and profits goes up to the year 2022. According to Faria (2024), Burger King spent $497 million dollars in the United States during 2022. According to the Statista Research Department (2024), Burger King made $1.89 billion dollars worldwide. 

 4. “Fight Against Alzheimer’s Association,” 2024 

The fourth advertisement I’ve chosen is about raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease among people. This advertisement is a 2024 Clio Silver Award winner and has a powerful message.  Here is a link to the advertisement below here:

https://clios.com/awards/winner/print/fight-against-alzheimer-s-association-a-l-m-a-/second-523236

There is a background of all black with a small piece of light shining through against a wall. It could be an alleyway, a street, or someone’s home. There is lots of room for interpretation. In the light is an elderly woman dressed up with a large red handbag looking off into the distance against the wall. In the upper right-hand corner of the ad, it says, “One second, they know where they are. The next, they don’t. Six out of ten Alzheimer’s patients can get lost.” 

This advertisement made me feel sad as I lost my own grandmother to Alzheimer’s, but I am also happy about the fact that it raises awareness regarding the disease. I think it is important to understand and recognize the symptoms of a patient with Alzheimer’s because those folks need help getting to where they belong. I remember one day that my grandmother’s neighbor called my dad and told him she was wandering the streets and didn’t know where her house was. The home she had lived at for over 40 years. We lived hours away but were able to get in contact with folks to help her get home. I imagine one day I could have it, or anyone for that matter, and I hope someone could see that and help me return to where I belong. 

The value proposition of this advertisement is to raise awareness regarding Alzheimer’s and bring attention to the memory loss that so often occurs. 

5. McDonald’s “Big Mac,” 1969

I’ve chosen to analyze an old McDonald’s ad from 1969 that is featured in The Times-Tribute. The advertisement is introducing the new McDonald’s Big Mac, with “100% of the proceeds from sales on Feb. 1st and 2nd going to the Korisher fund for Bobby and Bill” at McDonald’s of Scranton. The link for the advertisement can be found below here:

https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/food_for_thought/big-mac-ad-1969/html_6303489a-d034-5637-bea6-21f60535410c.html

There is a photograph of the new Big Mac being marketed as “A meal disguised as a sandwich.”  I guess a burger is a sandwich, but I’ve never heard anyone refer to it, so I find it interesting that they’re not referring to it as a burger. The description of the Big Mac reads as follows: This is McDonald’s new Big Mac Sandwich. It’s two patties of pure, lean beef. Cheddar-blend melty cheese. Crisp, fresh lettuce. Slices of tangy pickle. And drenched in McDonald’s own special gourmet sauce. All on a club-style sesame seed bun. Now bring us a bigger than average appetite. We’re ready. McDonald’s is your kind of place.

I’m not sure what the definition of lean was in 1969, but I find the advertisement interesting! It’s almost as if the Big Mac is healthy! The “cheddar-blend melty cheese” made me laugh because this must be referring to American cheese, like a Kraft single or something. Marketing the “sandwich” as a meal was smart because it is big enough to be a meal. Honestly, I don’t like Big Macs, but the advertisement is very enticing! 

The value proposition is introducing the new Big Mac, which is “a meal disguised as a sandwich.” The target market would be folks who have a big appetite!  I would guess teenagers and adults, as I don’t know many children who slam Big Macs down. The advertisement is so old that I am unsure of the cost of advertising or how much revenue the advertisement generated. 

References

Archives, T.-T. (2023, May 1). Big Mac AD 1969. Tribune. https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/food_for_thought/big-mac-ad-1969/html_6303489a-d034-5637-bea6-21f60535410c.html

Burger King – Late breakfast. Clios. (n.d.-a). https://clios.com/awards/winner/print/burger-king/late-breakfast-510515 

Faria, J. (2023, September 6). Burger King: Ad spend in the U.S. 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/306694/ad-spend-burger-king-usa/ 

Fight against alzheimer’s association (A.L.M.A.) – Second. Clios. (n.d.-b). https://clios.com/awards/winner/print/fight-against-alzheimer-s-association-a-l-m-a-/second-523236

Lahm, R., Lockwood, F. (2022). ENT 610 Entrepreneurial Creation. Master of Entrepreneurship Degree Program: “Greatest Marketing Campaigns” Analysis. https://www.canvas.com

Norwegian airline – Brad is single. Clios. (n.d.-c). https://clios.com/awards/winner/print/norwegian-airline/brad-is-single-21503 

Norwegian reports 2017 full year results influenced by global expansion, fleet renewal and extraordinary costs. Mynewsdesk. (n.d.). https://media.uk.norwegian.com/pressreleases/norwegian-reports-2017-full-year-results-influenced-by-global-expansion-fleet-renewal-and-extraordinary-costs-2417623

Pruit, S. (2023, September 19). Uncovering the secret identity of Rosie the Riveter. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/rosie-the-riveter-inspiration# 

Statista Research Department. (2023, September 18). Burger King’s revenue 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/266462/burger-king-revenue/ 

We can do it! Rosie the Riveter. The Library of Congress. (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669753/ 

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The Professional Student: “Situation Analysis” Subway Sandwiches SWOT

Hello, and welcome back! Graduate Students at WCU in the Innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurship master’s program were challenged this week with using the SWOT analysis framework to analyze a company of their choosing. Since I previously chose Subway Sandwiches as a subject for my advertisement blog posts, I decided to continue with them.

I fondly remember eating Subway sandwiches when I was younger in the early 2000s. As a freshly graduated from high school “adult” newly enlisted in the Army, Subway was always my go-to option. You couldn’t beat the $5 footlong promotions, and I was on the budget of an Army Private. Money was not plentiful, but I made it work. Chicken teriyaki on Italian herbs and cheese bread with olives, green peppers, onions, and spinach toasted with pepper jack cheese was my favorite Subway sandwich during that time, and I would probably order it now if I still ate at Subway. 

Please enjoy my presentation on Subway. Below the video, you’ll find a complete reference list with clickable links. 

References

Hillel, A. (2023, July 27). “fake tuna” lawsuit against subway dropped by plaintiffs. Courthouse News Service. https://www.courthousenews.com/fake-tuna-lawsuit-against-subway-dropped-by-plaintiffs/ 

IBISWorld – Industry Report: Sandwich & Sub Restaurants in the US. IBISWorld Industry Reports. (2024a, February). https://www.ibisworld.com/ 

IBISWorld – US Company Benchmarking Report: Subway- Company Overview. IBISWorld Industry Reports. (2024b, February). https://www.ibisworld.com/ 

Jurevicius, O. (2024, March 19). Subway SWOT analysis 2023 – SM insight. Strategic Management Insight. https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/subway-swot-analysis/ 

Kunst, A. (2024, February 21). Subway Brand Awareness, Usage, Popularity, Loyalty, and Buzz Amoung Restaurant Chain Customers in the United States. statista. https://www-statista-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/forecasts/1335810/subway-restaurant-chains-brand-profile-in-the-united-states 

McCarthy, K. (2023, August 25). Subway bought by Roark Capital, parent company of Jimmy John’s and other restaurant franchises. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Food/subway-bought-roark-capital-parent-company-jimmy-johns/story?id=102561166 

Mion, L. (2023, May 2). Subway closed more than 500 US stores in 2022: Report. Fox Business. https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/subway-closed-more-than-500-us-stores-2022-report# 

Reed, B. (2020, October 1). Subway bread is not bread, Irish court rules. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/01/irish-court-rules-subway-bread-is-not-bread 

Statista Research Department. (2023a, November 2). Leading chain restaurants by sales US 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/298191/sales-of-the-leading-chain-restaurants-in-the-us/ 

Statista Research Department. (2023b, November 10). Number of subway restaurants by country worldwide 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/469379/number-of-subway-restaurants-worldwide/ 

Statista Research Department. (2024, March 4). Subway revenue US 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/464277/subway-us-sales/ 

Categories
Uncategorized

The Professional Student: “Greatest Marketing Campaigns” Television Advertisement Analysis

This week, graduate students in the Innovative Leadership and Entrepreneurship program at WCU were challenged to analyze five different television advertisements using the same criteria from last week’s blog post regarding radio advertisements. In case you missed my blog posting last week, I’ll repost the criteria below for your convenience. 

The deliverables for the assignment analysis are composed into 5 different sections listed in the following order (Lahm & Lockwood, 2022):

  1. Describe the advertisement by product/service, company, brand, etc., and the focus. What was the appeal or technique that was used to evoke an emotional response? Include a link to the ad selected.
  2. What were the objectives of the campaign? To sell more? To inform customers about a new product feature? Were the objectives attainable and measurable, or were they time-specific? 
  3. Describe the target market that was the focus of the advertisement.
  4. What action does the advertisement want the audience to take? If action is taken, how will the audience member benefit from using the product? 
  5. Describe the value proposition of the product or service being offered in each advertisement. What are the specific reasons (product features and benefits) that would drive customers to purchase the product or service being sold in each advertisement? 

I really enjoyed this assignment as I got to take a trip down memory lane, remembering some of the more pleasant aspects of childhood, like the holidays and enjoying treats. I hope you’ll enjoy these commercials as much as I did! 

Snickers candy bar commercial, 2010 

Two icons joined together and formed one when Snickers recruited Betty White to film a commercial! Snickers is an iconic American candy bar owned and produced by Mars, Inc.

Betty White is and forever will be an American Icon. From Golden Girls to later hits like The Proposal, which was filmed just a year before this commercial. What’s not to love about an innocent-looking, cheery, and lovable grandmother figure with a bit of a naughty comedic side? Snickers has always made memorable commercials, and this one is no exception. 

The scene starts out on a football field with many young men playing tackle football on a muddy field. You see them all running around, and then suddenly, Betty White appears in a pantsuit, playing right along with them. One player goes to throw the ball at Betty, who then gets tackled. Betty lands in a mud puddle with mud all over her face and outfit, and she has this guy on top of her. After Betty gets up, one of her teammates refers to her as Mike and asks, “What’s your deal?” Betty responds, “Oh come on, man, you’ve been ridding me all day!” The teammate chimes in, “Mike, you’re playing like Betty White out there!” Betty comes back at him with a quick-witted response, “That’s not what your girlfriend says!” At this point, all the players are like, “OOOOOOOOOO,” and another lady comes up to Betty with a Snickers bar. Betty takes a bite, and the woman asks, “Better?” At this point, Betty transforms back into Mike, who responds, “Better!” The commercial ends with the tagline, “You’re not you when you’re hungry. Snickers satisfies.”

The objective of this campaign is to sell Snickers bars, particularly to have a few stashed around or with you on the go in case hunger should strike as “you’re not you when you’re hungry. Snickers satisfies (value proposition).” The commercial made me laugh at the thought of a grandmother figure playing tackle football, and it was even funnier with the quick-witted like of “That’s not what your girlfriend says!” Snickers is a classic candy bar, and there is nothing new to offer or change about it. It’s good just the way it is, and it is one of my favorite candy bars aside from a Payday. 

According to the Statista Research Department (2012), Snickers came in third, holding 5.5% of the U.S. candy bar market share in 2011 and 6% in 2012, followed by M&Ms in 2nd place, and Reese’s in 1st place. According to Faria (2023), Mars, Inc. spent $630.2 million in 2010 and $652.2 million in 2012. There was no data for 2011. I could not find specific sales revenue information for the year 2010. Mars, Inc. is a family-owned private company, but what I did learn is that as of 2022, 147,000 people were employed by Mars, with an estimated sales revenue of $47.3 billion (Wunsch, 2024). They are the top global confectioner in the world, with a diverse portfolio that owns 16 separate companies, including drinks, pet food, gum, and healthcare corporations (Wunsch, 2024).

Apple Super Bowl Commercial, 1984

I chose this commercial because I was curious to see why this ad is the most famous commercial of all time, as it only aired one time during the 1984 Super Bowl game.

The purpose of this advertisement was for Apple to introduce their Macintosh computer. The advertisement is long, coming in at a minute. It starts out in what appears to be a futuristic setting with people all dressed the same, marching into a room with glimpses of a woman in orange shorts and a tank top running with a sledgehammer. There is background music playing, talking about “pure ideology.” The people are marching into an auditorium, all looking the same, all dressed the same, listening to the propaganda about ideology being spewed by the figure on the screen. It’s serving A Handmaid’s Tale and giving out Nazi vibes in the depicted militaristic manner of everyone looking the same and marching to listen to their “great leader.” As the scene progresses, this woman with the sledgehammer keeps running closer and closer to the screen. Everyone sitting down appears to be in a trance, looking at the screen. At one point, ever so faintly, you can hear, “We are white people.” The woman begins swinging the sledgehammer around and around while she is twirling in a circle. At the same time, armed guards outfitted in riot gear start charging towards her. Right as the man on screen says, “We shall prevail,” she launches the sledgehammer at the screen, punching a big hole in it. A huge explosion occurs from the screen, and everyone sitting down looks in awe as if they’re coming out of their hypnotic state. Words pop up on the screen, and an announcer starts speaking, “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce the Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984.” This is obviously a nod to George Orwell’s book 1984. The screen goes blank, and the famous rainbow Apple logo appears on the screen. 

The advertisement is eerie and creepy, and overall, it gives you a bad feeling until the end when hope is presented: the Apple Macintosh, the answer to disrupt the present and future to prevent Orwell’s 1984 from becoming a reality and be different (value proposition). The goal of this ad is to sell and introduce the Macintosh by announcing when it will be available for sale. Who is the target market? I would guess working middle to upper class folks as the computer was over $2,000 in 1984, which is a cost still considered high today. To give you a better picture, adjusted for inflation, $2,000 in 1984 is the equivalent to $6,000 today. It also strikes people with a bit of fear, forcing a deeper thought process to occur. Don’t be the same. Don’t be like everyone else. Don’t do what the person next to you is doing. Don’t do what your neighbor is doing. Be different and buy something different to disrupt the present and the future. 

According to Hintz (2014), Apple’s 1984 Super Bowl commercial reportedly cost half a million dollars to produce. According to Zuzarte (2024), Apple sold $155 million worth of Macintosh computers in the first 3 months following the Super Bowl ad.

M&Ms do exist commercial, 1996

I want to visit a favorite commercial of mine from when I was a child. This is a classic commercial, and I have many fond memories of stuffing my face with M&M’s during the holiday season. Mars, Inc. also owns M&M’s. As a veteran, I appreciate the origin of M&M’s, as they were developed in 1941 exclusively for U.S. service members deployed overseas during World War II. 

The commercial starts out with the red and yellow M&M’s walking out to the Christmas tree at night with a bowl of green and red M&M’s while a classic and well-known song, the Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky from The Nutcracker, plays in the background. The yellow M&M asks the red one if he thinks Santa will enjoy the green and red M&M’s. The red one says, “I have no idea,” and suddenly screams as they encounter Santa putting presents around the tree. The M&M yells, “He does exist!” Santa, looking back at the M&M’s in awe, says, “They do exist!” This is a hilarious moment of irony. Both the red M&M and Santa faint, and the words “Happy Holidays” appear on the screen, followed by “Always Fun” and the yellow M&M asking Santa if he is okay,

I like the feeling of this commercial as it is a little mysterious, with Tchaikovsky playing in the background. I love The Nutcracker, and I saw it many times while growing up during school field trips. This commercial is hilarious for adults if you understand the irony of three fictional characters meeting each other at the same time and mesmerizing for children who have thoughts of Santa coming down the chimney with presents. The commercial suggests putting out red and green holiday-colored M&Ms instead of traditional milk and cookies for Santa. However, with the use of “Happy Holidays” instead of something like “Merry Christmas,” the commercial is inviting people who might have different religious beliefs and backgrounds (target market) who don’t celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense to also enjoy the red and green candies (value proposition). M&M’s are inclusive with their word usage even though they depict a traditional Santa with a Christmas tree. 

As previously stated, Mars, Inc. is a privately family-owned corporation and is the top global confectionary producer. 

Share a Coke commercial, 2018 

When I think of Coca-Cola, I think of America. Coke is a part of American culture and history, as is McDonald’s and other well-known food brands. Like the previous commercial, I have many fond memories of different Coca-Cola advertisements. Some of my favorites growing up were the Coca-Cola polar bear commercials. Coke was so smart with their Share a Coke campaign, as you could buy drinks with your name on them, friends, family members, and so on, gifting them a Coke in a gesture of kindness, love, and friendship.

Coca-Cola is a publicly traded company owned by thousands of shareholders. The largest shareholder of Coca-Cola is Warren Buffet through his company Berkshire Hathaway. 

The advertisement starts out with two men on a train, one younger and one older, with foreign background music playing. There is one bottle of coke on the table, and it belongs to the older gentleman. The younger man tries to grab the bottle, and the older man slaps his hand away and slowly starts turning the bottle of coke around towards the young man. The bottle has the words “Friend” written on it. The young man looks at the bottle intensely and grabs his phone to text the older man. Once again, the young man goes to grab the bottle, but his hand is slapped away. The older man picks up his phone and reads the message, “Friend request accepted.” The older man smiles, and the young man takes the bottle of coke, twists off the top, and begins chugging it. He takes the bottle from his mouth and smiles, and the camera cuts to the bottle of Coke with the word “Friend” front and center. The words “Share a Coke with” appear next to the bottle, and the word “friend” changes to “Dad, Bro, Dude, etc.” Both the men start laughing and chatting with each other, and the words “Taste The Feeling” appear on the screen. 

I like this advertisement for several reasons. It shows how two strangers can be brought together with the clever use of the word “friend” combined with a technological era where more socializing happens online than in person, depicted by the “friends request accepted” text message. The advertisement also displays how Coca-Cola, an American Brand, can bring anyone together, regardless of what language they speak or where they’re at (value proposition). It can be assumed that these two know each other since the young man has the older man’s cell phone number. Presumably, it’s his father or grandfather, but it isn’t explicitly obvious, so that’s up to interpretation. The ending is particularly clever: “Taste The Feeling.” It’s impossible to taste a feeling, but the feeling of making a friend and sharing laughs with each other is a good feeling, which is what it feels like to drink a Coke; good. The target market could be anyoe, as the cost of a bottle of Coke is inexpensive to share as a gift.

According to Ridder (2018) sales revenue for Coca-Cola in 2018 was $34.3 billion and has since increased to $45.7 billion in 2023. According to Ridder (2023) Coca-Cola spent $4.1 billion on advertising in 2018, and that number hasn’t changed much over the years, coming in at $4.32 billion in 2022. 

De Beers A Diamond is Forever commercial, 1996

For my final television advertisement analysis, I wanted to dive back into my childhood with another classic, a De Beers diamond commercial. Known as the “world’s largest diamond company,” De Beers is owned 85% by Anglo American, a British company, and 15% by the Government of the Republic of Botswana. 

The song that everyone knows because of the famous De Beers commercials is Palladio (1st Movement) by Karl Jenkins, the Smith Quartet, London Philharmonic Orchestra. The commercial starts out with Palladio playing and a couple holding hands, walking in the park, being viewed through the mesh pattern of a fence in all black and white. A narration begins, “The last time we were here was when I proposed 10 years ago. It seems like only yesterday. Now, the camera turns to a wall, projecting the shadows of the man and woman; it quickly cuts to the eyes of the man, and then, back to the wall, you can see him placing a ring on her shadow hand. The ring is not a shadow, so you can clearly see it in the advertisement. The narration starts again, “I told you then how much I loved you, and nothing has changed.” All the while, the glistening diamond ring sparkles intensely in the background. The camera cuts to the woman’s eyes, which look filled with love and joy, and back to the shadow figure of them giving each other a passionate and intense French kiss. On the screen, the words “The Diamond Anniversary Band. On your 10th, show her you’d marry her all over again” appear, followed by, “A diamond is forever. De Beers.”

This advertisement makes you feel passion and love for the special someone in your life. The over-exaggeration of the diamond sparkle makes the ring appear almond-magical. It is aimed at long-term couples who are celebrating their 10th anniversary, encouraging men (target market) to purchase the diamond anniversary band to “show their love they’d marry them all over again (value proposition).” 

According to Behrmann (1996), De Beers for the first half of the year are up by 8% from a year earlier, coming in at $2.75 Billion for diamond sales. An article by Bergenstock and Maskulka (2001) suggests that De Beers spends $200 million annually on advertising. 

References 

Behrmann, N. (1996, June 20). The Wall Street Journal – Breaking News, business, Financial & … De Beers Diamond Sales Hit A Record in the First Half . https://www.wsj.com/ 

Bergenstock, D. J., & Maskulka, J. M. (2001, May). The De Beers Story: Are Diamonds Forever?. GALE ACADEMIC ONEFILE. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA75645899&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00076813&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ee46b7721&aty=open-web-entry

Faria, J. (2023, December 19). Mars: AD spend in the U.S. 2019. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/463074/mars-ad-spend-usa/ 

Hintz, E. (2021, April 1). Remembering Apple’s “1984” Super Bowl Ad. Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. https://invention.si.edu/remembering-apple-s-1984-super-bowl-ad

Lahm, R., Lockwood, F. (2022). ENT 610 Entrepreneurial Creation. Master of Entrepreneurship Degree Program: “Greatest Marketing Campaigns” Analysis.https://www.canvas.com

Ridder, M. (2024, March 18). Coca-Cola Sales figures 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/264423/revenue-and-financial-results-of-coca-cola/

Ridder, M., & 26, S. (2023, September 26). Coca-Cola Co.: Advertising Budget 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/286526/coca-cola-advertising-spending-worldwide/

Statista Research Department. (2012, September 20). The Statistics Portal. Statista. https://www.statista.com/ 

Wunsch, N.-G. (2024, February 19). Top confectionery companies by net sales 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/252097/net-sales-of-the-leading-10-confectionery-companies-worldwide/

YouTube. (2010, June 26). Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial introducing Macintosh computer (HD). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=2zfqw8nhUwA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fthesparkhouse.com%2F&source_ve_path=MzY4NDIsMjg2NjY&feature=emb_logo

YouTube. (2013, June 26). 1996 De Beers a diamond is forever commercial. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigEiW8abJk&t=5s 

YouTube. (2016, December 27). M&M’s – they do exist! (1996). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hMAHqp9FNw 

YouTube. (2018, April 12). Coca-Cola’s new “share a coke” ad 2018. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xCqmYbXH9w&t=34s 

YouTube. (2021, October 22). Betty White Snickers AD (2010). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5syJjBQ_k6o 

Zuzarte, R. M. (2024, February 15). 40 years later: Lessons from Apple’s 1984 as we reflect on the celebrity-driven ads of Super Bowl 2024. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/40-years-later-lessons-from-apples-1984-we-reflect-ads-zuzarte-imhoc

Categories
Innovation Uncategorized

Innovation: A Modern Problem

Many people have ideas, but not all ideas are good. Those who can act on their ideas, capture and deliver value, and generate a profit for a new or improved framework, process, product, or service can be considered innovative.

What is innovative leadership? Innovative leadership can be described in several ways, but to break it down plainly, it is the ability to lead and drive the innovation process within an organization. Ideas are managed beyond the research and development departments through the practice of entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, or intrapreneurship.

The innovation process is a proven process broken down into five steps that can be found in different sources (Desouza, 2017).

Step 1: Idea Generation and Mobilization

Step 2: Advocating and Screening

Step 3: Idea Experimentation

Step 4: Idea Commercialization

Step 5: Diffusion and Implementation

According to The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (n.d.), “Of the estimated 4.9 million for-profit companies with at least one employee, 25% introduced an innovation during 2017-19. Eleven percent introduced one or more product innovations, and 22% introduced one or more business process innovations (para. 1).” If only 25% of for-profit organizations are innovating, 3.67 million are not.

Organizations that innovate, invest in innovation, and innovate during a crisis outperform their peers by 10% and outperform the market upward of 30% while recovering from a crisis (Furstenthal et al., 2021).

If organizations that innovate generate more revenue than those that do not, why are so many for-profit organizations failing at innovation? Innovation, like any business process, is a science that starts with a strong innovation strategy, but the problem goes beyond planning from top-level executives and management. It is the top-level executives and management.

Traditionally, organizations are structured with a top-down hierarchy. Still, innovation requires ideas from everyone, including front-line employees, who are often dismissed by management even though they interact with customers the most. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, so maybe it’s time for them to ditch tradition, open their ears, and reverse organizational structure through a bottoms-up approach.

The problem goes beyond management and organizational structure. I could keep going but want to save something for my next post. In the comments, let me know why you think organizations fail to innovate. Thanks for reading, and I hope I’ve sparked your interest and curiosity to explore this topic further.

References

Desouza, K. C. (2017). Intrapreneurship: Managing ideas within your organization. University of Toronto Press Rotman-UTP Publishing. 

Furstenthal, L., Hirt, M., & Roth, E. (2021, March 18). Innovation: Your launchpad out of the COVID-19 crisis. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/innovation-your-launchpad-out-of-the-covid-19-crisis

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (n.d.). Innovation data from the 2020 Annual business survey | NSF – national … ncses.nsf.gov. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23310