Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As you probably already know, October represents not only Halloween but the quest to find a cure for breast cancer.  Years ago the initiative was not nearly as great, but today everyone does their part- even the unexpected businesses.   It seems that the pink ribbon has become a way to sell a product, after all sometimes only 1% (or less) can go to support the cause. 

The large popcorn bucket, the biggest
seller at the movie theatre, has gone PINK!

Marcus theatres embraced pink large popcorn containers for the month with some unknown percentage going toward finding a cure.

Kohl's has also been known to be a major supporter of the cause.  They play a huge role in the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure each year, and have several product lines dedicated to raising money.  This year, they even went as far as changing the color of their sign pink.  A statue in the entranceway explains the initiative.

And now for the quirky, a billboard posted along the Marquette Interchange says that Silk Exotic, a Milwaukee Gentlemans club, will donate 10% of their cover charge during the month of October to breast cancer research.  The irony in the billboard is  is proof enough that everyone is trying to get in on the action!

It seems that the breast cancer initiative has turned into a giant FOR profit business.  Companies are stamping a pink ribbon onto a product and in turn donating only a few pennies off the dollar.  While more and more money is being raised, so too are the questions as to the ethical nature in which the money is being raked in.  How much does a consumer think they are donating when they purchase a product or service? 

And if they knew, would they still buy it? 

New Perspective on Levi Jeans

After choosing Levi's Jeans for a large "Brand Dissection" project in my Advertising Prinicples class, I suddenly began to notice the brand-- everywhere.  When we had our first group discussion about it, all of the girls realized that we didn't own anything by Levi.  However the boys in the group had each owned something; be it jeans or even shoes.  This brought me to a fundamental question: what was the brand missing when it comes to women?

I hadn't ever given much thought to buying the original denim brand.  I always chose jeans that were a. cute, b. fit well, and c. inexpensive.  And somewhere along the line Levi jeans just didn't cut it. 

Spending more than an hour at the mall made me realize, Levi jeans were advertising everywhere! There were sold everywhere!  And yet, I never had owned any.  Kohl's, Boston Store, and JC Penny were some of the retailers that I had found who sold Levi's.  All had them marked at reasonable prices, were attractively displayed, and located in the center of the jean area.  So what could be the reason that so many females around college and high school age do not buy this brand?

One thing I had noticed were the styles.  Levi lacked a lot of the very popular "Skinny" jean styles.  Instead, they had a much larger proportion of flair and boot cut denim.  The "Skinny" rack was demolished- with only a couple pairs (in sizes 00 and 16).  In addition, the wash of the jeans were not "BeDazzled" with any distress or gems...something very popular. Rather, Levi had way too many boring washes, fits, and styles. 

Over the course of the brand analysis I hope to discover a lot more about Levi Strauss Jeans including how to improve the number of female customers.  Stay tuned!

Grilled Cheese VS. Toasted Cheese

While at the local Target store this weekend I walked passed a sign in the food section.  The sign help a giant picture of a grilled cheese sandwich and above, said the words "MMM.  Toasted Cheese." Immediately, I grabbed my friend and pointed out the sign, wondering what the heck toasted cheese was.  Here, it is grilled not toasted. 

The sign brought me to an important understanding.. Lingo.  If you posted a sign in a Flordia Target that direct customers to the "bubbler," few shoppers, if any, would know what that meant.  Similary, in Milwaukee, a sign with a giant grilled cheese sandwich better hold the words "Grilled Cheese." 

Keeping in mind the regional dialect is always very important because if advertisers use the wrong words, they may turn off their consumers.  Forget about making the sale.

Buffalo Wild Wings Blackout

Each year Buffalo Wild Wings seems to come out with a new commecial about bringing sports fans together.  Usually airing on the typical Sunday afternoon, these ads are aimed at your typical sports loving man.  While I love football, the BW3's commercials do not encourage me to go to the bar/grill and eat because I am out of the target audience.  Nonetheless, I find the ads highly entertaining and laugh almost every time.

It's a clever idea, that Buffalo Wild Wings has insiders at every sporting event who are able to change the outcome of the game.  The absurdity of it is even more comical, as to how the NFL would react if something of the sort were ever to actually occur during a game. 

I think that the ads are effective at getting people to go to BW3's.  They create a sense of community throughout the sports world, thus enticing people to go watch a game with their fellow fans.