Who actually reads Bridal Magazines?

                Since I am getting married in May, I have become prey to the money pit I used to make fun of – Bridal Magazines. Not only do many of my friends give them to me as gifts, newlyweds offer me their back issues, and for some unknown reason I cannot pass one at Lowe’s Foods without adding it to my basket. This does not include the stacks my mother and future mother-in-law have on their coffee tables. It’s truly compulsive.

                In planning my wedding, I have found them very useful. Not only was I able to get ideas for my dress, but I also used them as sources for pictures I could bring my florist and other vendors to give them an idea of what I liked. On top of thousands of pictures of dresses in an equally astounding number of shades of white (who knew there was ivory, champagne, bright white, and light white – I thought there was just white), there are many useful articles about how to deal with issues like pesky in-laws, awkward “plus-one” conversations, budgeting tools, and plenty of advertisements for honeymoon packages. All of these things are to be expected when browsing a wedding magazine and are very useful for the bride-to-be when planning her special day.

                To my surprise, the back cover of almost every issue of Brides has an advertisement from Cartier or Tiffany’s for engagement rings. This was surprising to me since I didn’t receive or purchase my first issue until I had a ring on my finger. I would have understood advertising for wedding bands or bridal jewelry, but engagement rings? This made me think.

                Top jewelry brands like Cartier and Tiffany’s would not shell out the cash for such prime real estate like the back cover if every girl (and her mother), who bought these already had a rock on her left hand. I would love to get my hands on the statistics on readership for these magazines. How many are planning their big day with their grooms and how many are day dreaming about when prince charming will ride in on his white horse, little light blue box in hand? The number of readers who are not engaged has to be sizable.

                This got me thinking, is there an opportunity for a magazine devoted to younger girls who may not have met Mr. Right quite yet, but are already busy planning their weddings? Would they buy this or be too embarrassed to be classified as “that girl” that every young gentleman would run away from - screaming? Would they use a more discreet online tool instead?

                According to a recent survey by The Knot, the cost of the average wedding is almost $28,000. While we’ve all heard the statistics on opulent weddings like the recent Kardashian extravaganza, it still seems astonishing to me that in the recent economic climate that the average wedding is $28,000. With Daddies laying out this much cash, wouldn’t it be good if his little princess knew what she wanted and what her parents could afford before she even gets close to the altar? Maybe if she knew the cost differences between hydrangeas and calla lilies she can be a savvier shopper when it comes time to interview her first florist? I know that in some of my planning, I have felt overwhelmed in the amount of choices and wished I had known more about things like how to hire a videographer and what is a reasonable quote.

                I’m not sure. I can’t say that I never looked at wedding dresses with friends online before I was engaged, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have subscribed to a pre-engagement planning tool or a “Hey, you’re not a bride yet, but you want to be” Magazine. However, I think there are a lot of young women that would. I wonder if that segment’s needs are being met by the countless bridal magazines that are currently out there? Perhaps similarly to getting a training bra before you Mom ever takes you to a department store to get your first bra, there should be a magazine for those that are just trying to drop hints on ring sizes, shapes, and styles and day dream about the day that they’ll have to decide if they want a cathedral or a fingertip veil?  

Bride-to-be,

Christina Waxlax

Haggling with the "People of Wal-Mart"

Haggling

Roddey Player

The art of haggling, whether trying to buy a car, TV, etc…, has been perfected by some, and absolutely failed by others.  I’ve had plenty of experiences with both of these groups growing up in a retail environment, and I believe I have seen the complete opposite of the spectrum.  Recently, I went to Wal-Mart, and was held up in line for ten minutes because there was a customer there that was attempting to get a better deal on a TV and DVD player while I was waiting in line for the cashier.  This severely frustrated me because I never look forward to go shopping for longer than I have to, but after a couple minutes, I began to enjoy myself watching a person who clearly didn’t know how to get herself a better deal, try to get a better deal from a cashier that clearly didn’t have the authority to give her a better deal, even if the customer was in fact, an expert in the art of haggling.

This problem brought up a question in my mind about how do people know when it is ok to haggle or not.  Is there some unwritten code about where you can or cannot try to get yourself a better deal? It’s understood that in the process of buying a car, it’s very acceptable to haggle and potentially knock thousands of dollars off the original price, but why is it unacceptable to do this at Wal-mart while buying a TV to maybe knock off 20 dollars? Was it just a “people of Wal-mart” skit in hilarity, or was there something more behind this exercise in futility?

I work for a consumer electronics and appliance store as a sales associate, and just about every sale I make, I have to experience haggling in some form or another by people dragging their feet mumbling about getting a better deal at store X or corporation Y.  There are built in price drops for that possibility, and even though there will be a slight dent in the commission earnings for the salesperson, the consumer can take 50 dollars off of a couple hundred dollar ticket.  We certainly do not advertise this fact, so how do people know that we could give them a better deal if they try to talk the seller into it by being difficult while in the store.

In case you’re all wondering, (which I’m sure you are…) the customer left the TV and the DVD player on the register, along with the rest of her potential purchases, and stormed out of the store, yelling at the person paid to watch the door and say “have a nice day,” on her way out.  This frustrated the cashier, who looked like she was about to cry afterwards, and the manager, who was called out to help.  The differences in this case against cases of haggling that I saw all summer, are completely dissimilar, although this one was quite entertaining to not be a part of.

Checking In

            This summer I downloaded the Foursquare application on my iPhone.  In case you’re not familiar with the app, Foursquare is a location-based social networking website.  It allows you to check in at your physical location and it finds specials and places of interest near you.   The poor college student part of me was immediately obsessed with Foursquare.  During work, I would check in at bars near my office so by 5 o’clock I could get a free drink rewarding my 5^th check-in or whatever.  But the implications of Foursquare and similar applications are even cooler.  Location-based services (LBS) represent, in my opinion, the future of how society interacts with technology.   First the internet connected people with content.  Then social networks connected people with people.  The recent creation of Google’s Plus One, where the searcher sees friends’ valuation of sites in their search results, indicates that web content is becoming increasingly relevant to the user.  Now LBS have funneled our entire treasury of knowledge- aka the internet- to the most fundamental point of relevancy: physical location. 

            Advertisements are a facet of delivering content to people.   In this case, the content is a product or service and the people are consumers.  Advertising in the past can be compared to the unfiltered internet.  The ads aimed to serve as many impressions as possible, would hopefully be included in a few consumers’ consideration sets, and would maybe lead to a purchase.  Like the internet circa 1996, old advertising was very limited in its degree of relevancy to any specific consumer.  Then came cookies, which could actually track the web-user’s interests and habits.   “But how do facebook sidebar ads know I’m a student in Winston-Salem and like Gossip Girl?” Cookies.  Like a search engine, cookies filter the entire web for the targeted consumers.   If that didn’t seem crazy enough, consider this: Location-based advertising.  Now we get ads pertinent to our interests and location.

            To me, LBS and location-based advertising seemed like a natural step towards advertising’s intent to hone in on their target.   My true applause goes to the extraordinarily innovative ways marketers and agencies have utilized LBS to promote a product.  I think these 3 ads really have a modern cool-factor because they capitalize on consumer location and allow the consumer to interact more with the brand:

1.      Bing: Decode Jay-Z by Droga 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNic4wf8AYg

Using LBS to promote a LBS- AWESOME.  Printing the words of Jay-Z’s life on the pages of his city- AWESOME.

2.       IKEA Interactive Catalogue by Mobile Dreams Factory:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqeLNxoBtjM

Life is starting to get really easy.  Maybe in’12 that chair I took a picture of will actually materialize instantly in my living room. 

3.      MINI Getaway Stockholm 2010 by Jung von Matt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt9OlGq3gWUThis leverages a game to make people talk and gain brand recognition, but really exemplifies the power of LBS.  The Swedes explain how the game objective of geo-tracking one another to find this virtual car united and created a conversation for their city. The great part for MINI is that their brand and product produced this effect.  That type of thing really resonates in the minds and hearts of people.  

    Emily McGraw is a BEM major with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Art History at Wake Forest University 

Goodbye Spruce. Hello Trade.

We’re moving. 

And with it comes all the excitement and trepidation of a new beginning. There’s been a lot of purging (I just heard Jon ask, “Why do we have test tubes?”) and a lot of reminiscing (Amanda to Don, “This was the first project I ever worked on at M Creative (some 13 years ago)!). Old concepts that never made it past the first round. Great ideas that went on to help our clients expand and grow their service offering, build new buildings, help underserved populations. 

We’re moving at what seems our busiest time ever in the last few years. The economy slowed us down but the ebb and flow of this business has returned us once again to a good buzz of activity and a hearty list of assignments that keep us sharp and creative and challenged. 

I’ve been at M Creative for almost 9 years now. I’ve seen the firm grow and evolve and work its way into a positioning that seems right for who we’ve become—a values driven strategic communications firm. It’s what we do. And what we become better at every day. 

Of course what remains intact with the move is a solid group of individuals committed to the work we do every day for our clients. I’m sad to be packing boxes. But oh so glad the M gang is making the move together. 

M Creative has now left the building. But we’re ready for what lies ahead in our new space on Trade Street. 

Airport Monopoly

Recently, on my way back to Wake from Texas, I got stuck at the airport in Atlanta for five hours.  Why is this significant?  Well, at one point, I got pretty thirsty and headed over to a snack shop to pick up a coke.  After waiting in line for about 5 minutes, I was finally able to purchase the drink I was craving: a Diet Dr. Pepper.  I was thoroughly disgusted, however, by the ridiculously high price of $1.99 that I was forced to pay for the 20 oz. treat.  So at that point, I started thinking about the whole decision making process and why I had gone ahead and chosen to make such a fiscally irresponsible purchase.

First, I know that there were certainly different options around the airport other than the little shop I chose, but I also know that I want a DDP for a variety of specific reasons.  First, I wanted a caffeinated beverage so I could stay up since I'd started my journey back to Wake really early that morning and so that I wouldn't miss any updates on my delayed flight.  I chose a DDP specifically because it is not only one of my favorite drinks but it reminds me of good ol' Texas as well.  Additionally, I was drawn to that specific shop to purchase the beverage because it was close to my gate.  Unfortunately, the price was increased due to the convenience factor and the fact that in an airport there is little competition since the customer is basically being sequestered in one area.

That said, though, I was still willing to pay the high price and made the purchase decision without regarding that aspect of the decision process since all I really wanted was a Diet Dr. Pepper and to be close to my gate.

Skinny Girl

As cliché as it may be I love Bravo TV. I follow Top Chef as if they were all my family members and get personally offended when a millionaire breaks the rules on The Millionaire Matchmaker. I feel loyal to Bravo partially because I feel that I am personally indebted to them for introducing me to Skinny Girl Margarita’s, Bravo star Bethenny Frankel’s creation.

Bethenny with a bottle of Skinny Girl Margarita's 

For those of you who aren’t addicted to everything Bravo comes out with like I am, Bethenny was an original New York City housewife. She is loud, crass, and brutally honest and I can’t get enough of her. Previously struggling to make it as a natural chef on ‘The Apprentice’ she emerged as a favorite housewife because she was entertaining and funny but still real. She was single and working to make a name for herself and her brand. After meeting her fiancé and becoming pregnant Bravo saw the opportunity and gave her her own show. The show killed the Housewives in the ratings and Bethenny became a standalone star. Now with a baby, a husband, and a growing brand in natural cookbooks, recipes, and her infamous Skinny Girl Margaritas she continues to share her whole live with her fans and consumers. People see who she is what she stands for and how she lives. Her willingness to share her whole life on TV and with her consumers and fans has done wonders for her brand.

Skinny Girl Margarita’s are great! They are light and refreshing and can be served over just ice while still being less than 100 calories a drink. My roommate and I swear by them and her and everything she stands for. The alcohol business is extremely hard to emerge in. With household names like Grey Goose, Smirnoff and Absolut the liquor department is even harder. What made Bethenny’s brand succeed is that buying each product is in turn buying into her and the 'Bethenny brand'.  She created a brand around herself because she lives every day with her products. If it has Bethenny’s name on it I will buy it and although I have obviously never met her I feel like I completely trust her. Her success is a testament to transparency when promoting and making a brand successful. She has genuine fans of the brand that is her life which translates to being fans of her products which is remarkable. While some may say this is similar to any celebrity who has a brand that is themselves I think this speaks to something else. Consumers want genuineness.  Any celebrity can come out with a clothing line and put their name on it hoping to capitalize on their fame but it’s not that simple.  Consumers don’t take your word for it anymore you need to live breath and exude your brand if you want it to succeed. More and more it is becoming evident that in order for a brand to succeed the people who run it must in term become a brand themselves. Bethenny does this in a unique way by living completely for her fans and in turn building trust with them. Building trust that translates to her products that aren’t just bottles with her name on them but a genuine good product that you can tell she knows you will enjoy.

Emily Kieczykowski is a BEM major with a concentration in Marketing and a minor is Psychology at Wake Forest University 

The "F-an"

With the winter fast approaching and the warm weather behind us, many people are starting to yearn for that hot sun and beach breeze of the summer. While cranking up the heat in your apartment and having a baby pool doesn’t quite make the cut as far as faking the experience, a growing trend is beginning to fake other parts of the past time. I am of course referring to the growing fascination with fake tanning, more specifically spray tanning.

Fake tan is the fastest-growing area of cosmetics with new brands coming out every other day. Whether it’s Jergens gradual tan builder, any of the L’Oreal sublime bronze lotions, tanning towelettes or Mystic tanning at a salon the consumer trend seems to be towards the most natural fake tan for the cheapest price. The mentality being: why spend hundreds of dollars on a vacation when you can tan at home for $10.99 a bottle or in a booth for $30! It is shocking how many girls on campus you can obviously tell have had fake tans gone wrong.  The orange skin or streaked application of a color that is obviously not natural leaves me to wonder as a consumer… What were they thinking! There are many students who have successfully navigated the consumer jungle of tanning products and so I decided to see what the draw was to it.

As a curious consumer I couldn’t help but try it out and see what all the fuss was about. I researched and decided that I would splurge for the mystic tan considering I would be sporting the ‘Fan’ (Fake – Tan) for a few days before it wore off and was skeptical about how it would look. First and foremost the process of getting a spray tan is not trivial. It takes quite a while and involves a fair amount of planning. Not only can you not shower or get wet for four hours but you are also covered with the actual die for that period of time.  This creates the challenge of wearing something that wont give you marks in the tan and also wont be ruined from the brown die.  The weather is also crucial because when they say you can't get wet this include rain.. I've had visions of leaving behind an orange trail and having my face appear to be dripping off. It’s cold and dark in the booth and the mist has a less than ideal odor. If you can get past those things there are still the very crucial instructions that you must follow or else risk the infamous Ross debacle from friends (see below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOLCwaHVtWs

Overall I was pretty happy with the result. I looked freshly bronzed while not orange and the tan was even without any streaks. I could see why people went through the uncomfortable process to get the tan. However it brought up in my mind what consumers will do for a desired result. As we see on Black Friday every year consumers will go to crazy lengths to get something that has a high intrinsic value. While I was happy with the outcome, as consumers are happy with the half price TV they get after waiting 6 hours in the rain, I was surprised that I had not heard about the annoyances of getting a spray tan. Don't get me wrong its safe to say I would probably go and get another one but it really is a testament to consumer habit of putting up with uncomfortable things in order to get what we want. Inconveniences aside we as consumers will do what we have to get what we want.

Emily Kieczykowski is a Senior BEM major with a concentration in marketing and a minor in Psychology at Wake Forest University