Has Branded Entertainment Gone Too Far?

The topic for discussion this week is branded entertainment, which I taught. Branded entertainment, also known as product placement, is the embedment of product's logos and other trappings of advertisers in the content of entertainment to increase product or brand publicity.

Entertainment can include movies, television, radio shows, on web sites, in video games, in lyrics; in newspapers; magazine articles and in plots of novels.

Nivla will bring awareness to the brand by building a strong brand identity that many can recognize through publicity. The company will do so by establishing relationship with professionals who work in broadcasting and film. Also, collaborate with companies who specializes in branded entertainment.

Perhaps the company can produce its own mini movie that highlights the company's brand and also focus on the world of fashion for those who don't get to travel and explore the many faces of fashion.

Are you Gamed?

The topic of discussion this week is gaming/consumer generated content, which was taught by a fellow classmate, Charita Evans. Gaming is simply the acting of playing a game whether on the Internet, hand handle device, a wii, play station etc...

Consumer generated content is not your traditional media, it is derived from the use of social media, such as facebook, blogs, twitter, youtube etc.... which is also used as a non-traditional advertising method to reach whomever is the target audience.

Nivla, in the future, nivla.com will communicate with clients and potential consumers not only through e-mails but also using social media as well as housing a website that consumers to generated their own content.

In-store, Nivla has a styling service that requires all staff members to have knowledge of each collection including accessories, shoes and apparel, which will also be incorporated on the website.

On the website, a game for our fashion fanatics will be available to grasp their attention and let them know of all new items that are housed at the boutique. Using the latest items that can be purchased in-store, a client will have the chance to become a stylist. Each stylists will be given a look to dress their models. They will  race against the clock to find garments, accessories and shoes to complete their look and at the end the stylists must have the models dressed and explain their reasoning on the garments, shoes and accessories that they chose. At the end of each month, the owner and  in-store stylists will choose two to three looks and reward them with an in-store or on-line gift card and/or choose a garment from their favorite collection.

EXAMPLE OF GAMING:

Fashion Apprentice

Anna is ready to show her style point of view as she jets off to learn all the tricks of the trade from her aunt who owns a fashion boutique. As Anna leaves behind her father's wishes for her to become a lawyer, she uncovers the secrets of the fashion world and begins to work her way up to becoming an internationally-acclaimed fashion designer.

Fashion Apprentice Features

• Explore 28 levels in six different locations.
• Earn Glam Points and buy hot new designer fashions.
• Multiple varieties of Hidden Object gameplay.
• Exciting rhythm and dress-up mini-games.

Rewards....Who? Why?

The topic of discussion this week was Social/Communal Marketing, which was conducted by the Professor Mario Nelson. Communal Marketing involves having the community in which the brand/ store is located, backing the brand. According to Jaffe, in order for brands to gain the support of their communities they must reward loyal customers instead of luring new customers by rewarding them for joining or buying a product for the first time. Many companies, especially phone/ cable companies, offer deals to first time buyers to gain their business, but  may fail to reward the customers who have purchased products

from their brand for many years. Moreover, in order to gain and keep customers, brands and/or companies have to realize that both potential and loyal customers need to be satisfied/ rewarded to succeed or thrive for many years.

Many apparel retailers offer their loyal customers a percentage off of one regular priced item or some sort of promotion via email, and/or through the use of social media such as facebook, twitter etc..., to keep the attention of the segment of the market they are trying to reach. Furthermore, Macy's, department store that sells women, men, girls and boys apparel and accessories, are always getting their community involves through varies promotions and a day they have set aside called Community Shopping Day. Community Shopping Day is a special shopping day event that offers the opportunity for nonprofit organizations in select communities to raise funds in their local communities. It is a unique opportunity to fundraiser in a different way.  In the future, Nivla will host shopping parties for customer appreciation as well as for special causes. For example, women who have suffered from cancer will enjoy a day of pampered shopping. Wig specialist to make-up artists will be at their service and they will also receive a percentage off of their purchase.

Are You Ranking High Enough?

The topic of discussion this week is search marketing, which is a form of online marketing that allows optimizing web sites on the Internet, finding them easily and improving their visibility. (http://www.yoursearchmarketingexpert.com/). When searching for fashion forward websites on the

A fashion search engine that helps fashionistas
find garments worn on fashion forward television
findthatstyle.com

net many of the sites I visit for fashion news was found on the first page and others that I would not have imagined showing on the first page popped up, which is probably the case of popularity. Moreover, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies, including Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid Search (also pay-per-click or Sponsored Search Listings), Link Building Campaigns and other services will also help boost rankings for your companies web page. Also, be sure to check regularly on your website ranking and when adding new content always use keywords so you can use those words to link your archives back to your page. Also, think of the topic of your web page and use significant words to heighten the possibility of ranking higher than the competition. 

Furthermore, according to blink optimized, Fashion SEO, can help those with a fashion business website by using social bookmarking (involves linking sites within the various forums, blogs and message boards on social networking websites, blog sites and content-centric sites like Digg, http://digg.com/, according to submit edge) or networking websites to enhance their audience/customers. Such websites allows the owners of fashion business websites to connect with numerous people who are interested in their work on a personal level, which will lead to word of mouth advertising. And you can never go wrong with experts informing others of your work!

Experiential Marketing!

To learn about the awareness of their products, many companies may use experiential marketing to understand the consumers emotional and logical feelings, as well as their general overall thought process towards the products being sold. During a in class discussion of experiential marketing, ads on the internet, in print media and modern billboards were examples given to describe the many ways companies can target that market of choice to somewhat understand how consumers view their products. As I was search the web I came across an interesting campaign by Absolut Vodka....

Absolut Vodka created  bus stops with some of their flavored drinks as their inspiration. The bus stops are very appealing not to mention very comfortable looking too. I am not a heavy drinker nor do I drink on a daily basis, but I wanted to set down at one of these bus stops and have a drink the minute I saw the lemon drop bus stop!

To incorporate the same feeling in store and on the website, my customers will experience a world beyond the one they view and live each day! The boutique will house different collections that will seem as if its several different stores around the world!

On Demand Viewing!

Today technology allows the viewer to choose what they want to hear or view on TV, which is probably a good idea because most consumers want to view commercials they're interested in and not randomized commercials that will only encourage them to change the channel and find something else interesting to watch. So, Base on the information that was discussed in my interactive marketing class, the company Nivla will maintain their Target market's interest by constantly keeping their customers updated on the latest trends with enhanced technology that will allow them to purchase and discover newly released products with an app that can be easily download on their smart phones. The app will allow the consumer to view latest fashions of their choice, not only products house in the store, but will also allow them to view the latest trends from top fashion capitals around the world. This app will also be incorporated on the companies website. Consumers will be able to click on a link to a page on the website that will show them  the latest runway shows,  the latest trends around the world etc...and they will have the options of viewing the topic of their choice. With all of the advanced technology my vision for the app and the website page that will allow my customer to view channels of their choice is possible....