Standing Tall on a Bale of Hay. Jessica Garrett
VCU Brandcenter Alumni Communication Strategy
I am a ... Girl Sister Friend Nail Biter Pizza Lover Coffee Drinker Book Collector Family Member Wannabe Painter Mover and a Shaker Right-handed person Hopeful photographer Big fan of John Mayer Person who wears glasses Adjunct Professor at VCU Southern raised country girl Person who sings while driving Owner of a beagle named Hogan Recent graduate of the VCU Brandcenter Person who puts ketchup on macaroni and cheese
The Resume
Advertising Experience:
Education:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia August/2007 - Present Adjunct Professor, Mass Communications (Courses: Ad Lab, Discovery Lab, Ad Story)
Master of Science, Graduated May 2008 Virginia Commonwealth University, Adcenter/Brandcenter, Richmond, Virginia
* Outlined the advertising story course which was replacing a news writing course. Developed and taught the first semester. * Developed and executed an effective syllabus for fifty plus students ranging from Freshmen to Juniors. * Participated in a 24-hour CreateAthon event for a local non-profit, coordinators2inc.
Concentration: Communication Strategy GPA: 3.5
Bachelor of Science, Graduated August 2006 University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida Major: Advertising and Public Relations GPA: 3.4
I love challenges. I get a rush from discovering, learning, and being pushed to the best of my ability.
Some of the brands I worked on while in school: * What is a Big Idea? * Beauty - Group Thesis * Tweed - Home Boutique * Online Dating - Individual Thesis
What have I been doing since graduation? Selling panties and bras at Victoria’s Secret. Waiting on tables at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Looking high and low for great opportunities.
June/2008 – August/2008
* Organized and arranged interviews with the Virginia Lottery’s Retailer Advisory Council. * Developed effective qualitative and quantitative research. * Helped in a new branding initiative for the Virginia Lottery.
TracyLocke, Wilton, Connecticut Account Executive Intern - Starbucks, Aquafina, Ethos
Why you will love me.
* BMW * Cartier * Waring Blenders * Mark Cosmetics
O’Keefe Brands & Cantrell Mining, Richmond, Virginia Freelance Researcher and Planner – Virginia Lottery
June/2007 - August/2007
* Helped in the development of a new product introduction video for Starbuck Frappicinos. * Researched current promotional trends. Brand research included; Doritos, Pepsico, and Kimberly Clark. * Discussed and created promotional ideas for MasterCard. Developed a supplemental leave behind with the presentation.
City of Orlando, Office of the Mayor, Orlando, Florida Media Relations Intern for Mayor Buddy Dyer
May/2006 - August/2006
* Developed and maintained media database for Mayor Buddy Dyer’s constituents. * Wrote articles for the weekly newsletter that was published on the Chamber of Commerce’s web page.
Cramer-Krasselt, Orlando, Florida Media Department Intern
May/2005 - August/2005
* Utilized research programs/books such as SRDS and Scarborough. * Researched regional media for Florida Power & Light that spanned across 35 counties. * Created five media recommendations, a SWOT Analysis, and POVs for Progress Energy intern project. * Presented our brand analysis to various agency heads.
Vergason, Sojourner & McWaters Inc., Orlando, Florida Media Department and Account Executive Intern
January/2005 - August/2005
* Managed photo shoot coordination for D.R. Horton homes. * Researched and wrote media proposals to various clients including Morrison Homes and Centex Homes. * Conducted research and planning of regional and national media. Includes Parade and Where Magazines. * Coordinated account services activities including drafting creative briefs, editing, and proofing ads.
Contents Beauty - Is there such a thing as natural beauty? Does it still exist? MasterCard - Promotional Ideas for Summer 2008 promo period. Online Dating - Gained knowledge and gained heartbreak. Big Idea - Who owns it? Where does it come from?
Beauty Assignment: In a world of botox and plastic surgery does natural beauty still exist? With campaigns such as Dove, Axe and Botox is there a place where women can feel beautiful just being themselves? My group and I were to decide where we stood in this diluted category. We began our journey on the backs of the Dove campaign. We felt there was a great message being sent to all women. Be proud of who you are. But then we realized, are all those other women who are getting tummy tucks, facelifts, and botox wrong? Who are we to pass judgement on these women. They are making themselves feel better, feel more beautiful. After much research, many interviews, and meetings that introduced my group to the world of beauty, we came to a conclusion.
What women see. We are surrounded by media in some shape or form every day. Women begin to think, “Am I beautiful? I don’t look like her.” The messages that reach women are not messages of, “Be who you are. Love yourself.” Women can be told they are beautiful but might not necessarily see themselves as significant as the woman on the front of Cosmopolitan.
An “ideal beauty” is a person who is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture. What is real and what is fake. Fake Faith
Real Faith
“Women are their own worst enemy.” -Janet Kestin, Ogilvy Toronto, Dove Campaign The truth is,
“Every morning women wake up and put on a mask.” - Dr. Diana Scully, VCU Women’s Psychology
Hypothesis: Women are continually becoming more self conscious of the value of their appearance because of society’s beauty standards.
Benefits of Being Beautiful
Observations:
Looks = Money Plain people earn 5 to 10% less money than people of average looks, who earn less than the good looking. IT PAYS TO LOOK GOOD. - Source: Hamemesh and Biddle, 1993
Status
Belonging Belonging to Sororities. “There is often a relentless pressure at these houses to fit in - a pressure that can be particularly dangerous in such groups because they focus so intently on looks.” - Alexandra Robbins, Pledged
Better looking professors get better ratings from students - Source: Wilson Quarterly, 2005 Pressures of HOLLYWOOD In celebrity gossip magazines we read about plastic surgery all the time. For example, take the Simpson sisters; Ashley went through quite a few surgeries to make more money like her sister Jessica. But Jessica was told to stop doing so many procedures because directors were saying her face looked fake.
“Last month on Craigslist.com, someone who described herself as a “spectacularly beautiful” 25-year-old placed a personal ad seeking a husband who made at least $500,000 a year, because $250,000 won’t get me to Central Park West.”
“When we’re out shopping, in class, at the club or in any other social environment we glace around at other people and begin to pick ourselves apart. For example, “I wish I was as skinny as her...” or “I wish I could pull off that outfit...””
Amber, 20 VCU Journals
Position:
Cosmetics and cosmetic surgery levels the playing field for these beauty restricted opportunities and privileges.
Strategy:
Enjoy the benefits of being beautiful.
Our Manifesto beauty secret? beauty shortcut? either/or, welcome to the club. despite the opinions about vanity; one thing will never change: beauty will be rewarded. the tools available to help have never been more public, more up front and in our faces. yet guilt forces us to cover our trail. no more. the conversation is not about natural or bought beauty. it’s about beauty, period. be free and enjoy the benefits of beauty.
MasterCard Assignment: Create four, evergreen, music themed, fully integrated promotional concepts for MasterCard’s Summer 2008 promotional period. * Two concepts focused on the potential Apple partnership. * Two concepts leveraging MasterCard’s umbrella position in the music space. Think of multiple partnerships with companies, venues, artists, etc.
CONSUMER OVERVIEW - They find inspiration in the little things as well as the big things. - Music is an importatnt part of their life. It inspires them, defines them, emotionally charges them. - They like to experience music to the fullest, and that means LIVE. - They love to “share the love” that music generates with the people in their lives that matter. - They express themselves by creating something new, better, different. - They want to shape their own music experience.
We celebrate all these people as individuals and the music that helps in making them who they are.
Marketing Objective Create a breakthrough music experience with and without Apple that, - Is ture to MasterCard’s “Priceless” equity and therefore ownable and completely differentiated from anything Visa could/would do, furthering MasterCard’s competitive advantage. - Excites the music industry and creates tremendous buzz. - Has lasting power. - Utilizes the latest technology. - Surrounds the target with a 360º integrated approach.
CONSUMER TRUTH & BRAND TRUTH
Consumer Truth Active Music Participants (AMPs) Music is an important part of our target’s life. It inspires them, defines them, emotionally charges them. But just like life, they like to experience their music to the fullest and that means LIVE. It is the authentic and all-consuming experience of live music that matters most, because it’s the most emotionally moving. And more than anything, our target looks to “share the love” that music generates with the people in their lives who matter most. Brand Truth Transforming Ordinary to Extraordinary “Priceless” has transformed a financial services company into one of the emotional businesses by promoting “everything that matters in life.” It appeals to the brand to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. So music, for MasterCard, must be Priceless, a transformational experience that intimately matters.
ACTIVATION PLATFORM Share Your Musical Stage Sharing is a form of self expression; music communicates ideas and emotions. The Active Music Participants (AMPs) will be motivated and inspired by a brand that relates to their experiences of the past, and thirst for more in their future. Advocating the ability to share the musical experience will prove to be nothing less than priceless.
OUR PLAN
In an effort to intensify card usage and capture the essence of our musicoriented target, we devised “Swipe it. Rock it.” It is the cornerstone that our four concepts activate against. It exemplifies spontaneity, simplicity of use, and liveliness.
OUR CONCEPTS CONCEPT 1 - 12 CONCERTS in 12 MONTHS (Partnership with Apple) The never-ending responsibilities of everyday life has made it increasingly difficult for you to spend quality time with those who mean the most to you. Use your MasterCard to enter to win a chance to see 12 Concerts in 12 Months - and bring 5 fabulous people with you. Design your own concert tour to see who you want, when you want, where you want.
INSPIRATION
CONCEPT 2 - PLAYLIST LIVE (Partnership with Apple) Playlists are a combination of songs that represent the soundtrack of your life. Each track contains it’s own story of how it applies to your life or brings you back to a With a keen awareness of, and a pragmatic attitude toward, their remarkable event. place in the world, AMPs are concerned with sharing rich MasterCard and iTunes want to give you a chance to witness your own playlist come experiences, both personally and with their friends and family. to life before your eyes. Submit your customized playlist at iTunes and yours may be It is finding the ways to connect with AMPs that enhances their chosen to be played out - live in concert. lives and allows them to be spontaneous. AMPs want to experience thier music to the fullest, which for them means CONCEPT 3 - RELIVE THE EXPERIENCE LIVE. Everyone has a memory of their favorite musical experience. Whether it was at your wedding, the prom, or rockin out with the garage band you and your buddies formed, MasterCard wants to give you a chance to relive that experience. So dust off those drumsticks, and use your MasterCard to enter to win the chance to relive your favorite musical experience. CONCEPT 4 - ROCK LIKE A ROCKSTAR We’ve all had champagne wishes and caviar dreams about the fabulous lives of our favorite musicians being our own. That’s why MasterCard is giving you the chance to “Rock like a Rockstar” for a weekend you’ll never forget. Use your MasterCard to enter for a chance to win a wild rockstar weekend.
ONLINE DATING
MY DISCOVERY INTO A WORLD OF MEETING STRANGERS AND FALLING FLAT ON MY FACE.
Assignment: It started with a curiuosity for a topic I thought was weird, creepy, odd, and just down right disturbing. Why not do my ďŹ nal project on something like that? Something like, online dating. What is online dating? How does it work? What is this sudden acceptance all about? What does it have to do with marketing? After four months of research and experiences, I learned more about this topic and about myself than I thought I would.
“Remember my sentimental friend, you will be judged not by how much you love, but by how much you are loved.” - Wizard of Oz
Methodology Primary Research Online Dating Survey Postcards and Post-It Notes 1:1 Interviews Man on the street interviews Love and Dating Journals Love Ambassadors
Secondary Research Books Web sites Blogs Newspaper Articles Magazine Articles
Love For Thought 40 million Americans use online dating services 20 million Americans visit an online dating site monthly 120,000 marriages a year occur as a result of online dating Estimated financial growth for 2008 is $642 million Men -15 minutes for first impressions Women - Hour or so for first impressions
Survey Respondents 73% For Online Dating 60% Wouldn’t Use Online Dating
“When you first considered online dating, what were your attitudes toward it? Internet Marrieds, Micro Trends (Book)
Nervous Skeptical Embarrassed Neutral Delighted Confident It was a last resort
65% 55% 27% 22% 20% 10% 10%
THEMES ONLINE DATING
DATING AN AVATAR
WHAT’S NEW
DATING BOOMERS
NICHE SITES
DATING AN AVATAR
As technology continues to expand its values and capabilities so does the cyber dating world. Online dating has taken a new idea and created something of their own, dating avatars. Sites like Match.com, eHarmony, Msdewey.com, Oddcast.com have adopted avartar and video based series. People are leaning towards these methods because they find them safer than meeting in person.
DATING BOOMERS
Around 30% of the nation’s 80 million Baby Boomers are single, and they have money. Yahoo Personals and eHarmony report double-digit growth in the 50-plus market. We all need love whether young or old. Boomers are going to continue to look for love as well as the rest of the generations.
NICHE SITES
Specific criteria, catering to specific groups based on religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or hobbies. “For the politically inclined, Republicans can try ConservativeMatch.com, and there’s LiberalHearts.com for the other side of the political fence.”
Niche sites are continually popping up as the culture becomes more accepting of online dating.
“Dating, online or off, is all about clear communication, matching expectations with reality, and a liberal sprinkle of marketing and packaging.” - Dave Taylor, Online Dating Expert NOTICE
ACT
MARKETING FOR BRANDS
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INTEREST
WANT
Brands are dating consumers. As technology continues to grow and develop there are more options available. Like online dating, the consumer has more choices, do I want to look for a particular product that fits me or do I want to use it because others are using it?
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Consumers are potentially looking for products that fit their needs, fits their check-list for a particular product. Creating an idea that making a connection with a product is like dating.
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BRANDING EXAMPLE Notice - A potential consumer walks into their local grocer and glances towards the endcap featuring a brand they aren’t aware of. Interest - As they travel down a nearby aisle their eye is again captured by the endcap, their interest has perked up.
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Want - They reach the endcap, pick up the product, read the label. Will this fit my needs? Act - It is something that they would enjoy trying. The product is placed in the cart.
MARKETING FOR YOURSELF It is dating but a brand is now dating a consumer.
It is dating but a student dating an agency or an agency hiring a student.
“They called me, they courted me.” - Pam El on getting a job with Terabeam Inc. Marketing Vice President State Farm Insurance
Assignment: What is a big idea? Where does it come from? Who owns the big idea? Is it ownable? We were sent down a road of discovering the deďŹ nition of a big idea but what was created was something bigger than a big idea. What was discovered was a glance into how we see a big idea, who owns the big idea, and ultimately a model of getting a big idea. It was looking outside of our industry and into our own opinions that led to our understanding and development.
The Big Idea
“ A lot of little ideas equal the one big idea.”
Instead of jumping straight into the advertising industry we jumped else where. How do fashion designers, artists, bartenders and animators feel about big ideas. In discovering how they feel can we translate the big idea throughout multiple industries instead of just advertising.
-fashion designer & business owner
“...one of the coolest parts of being an artist is changing the world. Big ideas matter because it’s what we as artists use to accomplish that goal, even if it starts with small steps.” -aspiring artist
“The best big ideas--the ones that are simple and elegant and ring with some sense of truth -- tap into something elemental inside us. They make us nod our head, and see patterns and connections that we previously couldn’t see. They satisfy a hunger we didn’t even know we had.” -bartender
“it’s like religion, the more you talk about it, the dumber you sound.” -local artist
“...the big idea is timeless, but the approach or implementation of that idea could possibly have a shelf-life.” -animator
After our interviews we met to discuss what we thought were big ideas. Big Ideas are...
emotional truths
human broadcasted actionable
. they inspire us. encourage us. they tap into our
. they are context sensitive. shared. spoken about.
their life-span is debateable. timeless? maybe. eternal? maybe. they are motivating.
energizing change
fuel them. they
.
.
. they push us out of our seats. a lot of little ideas feed them.
things.
The Big Idea Timeline Vision Big Idea
Execution
Big ideas start with a vision. A vision of a way things could be. This vision could come from an individual or team. The big idea ows out of this long-term vision. But it usually comes from smaller ideas that have been thought of based on the vision. Small ideas can even be formed together to create the big idea. The execution brings that big idea to life.
B.I.M Big Idea Model
problems
brand
brand
culture
commerce
Who owns the idea? the artist says me. the company says me. the agency says me. Ownership belongs to whomever can enact the idea. to whomever makes it actionable.
beneďŹ ts
References Caley Cantrell VCU Brandcenter Professor cscantrell@vcu.edu 804-827-8861 Ashley Sommardahl VCU Brandcenter Assistant Managing Director - Student Affairs asommardahl@vcu.edu 804-827-8874 Donna Spurrier Spurrier Media Group President dspurrier@spurriermediagroup.com 804-698-6333 Joan McCain University of Central Florida Program Coordinator of Advertising and Public Relations jmwrites@aol.com 407-823-2852
For when we meet. Suggested conversation starters when getting to know more about one another. Who says we can only talk about advertising?
If you could be a superhero, who would it be?
You can pack your bags and go anywhere right now, where would you go?
What is your favorite season and why?
Do you have any pets? Why or why not?
Are you usually on time or late?
Would you like a cup of coffee?
Thank You. Jessica Garrett
VCU Brandcenter Alumni Communication Strategy