A Walk On the Waterfront

This fall I designed a calendar in my desktop publishing class. My theme was a walk in the Exchange District, but more specifically, on the Waterfront. I had fun shooting photos in the Exchange and thought I would post some of them on my blog!

Hair Grows Like Weeds

In my advertising class at Red River College, I created a campaign for a local client, Berns & Black Salon & Spa. My target audience is female RRC students who want to look good, but can't afford to get their hair cut and styled often because of tight finances. Since I fit into this target audience, I developed a campaign that would attract me to the salon. Out came my "Hair Grows Like Weeds" campaign. Here are some of the creative pieces included in my campaign. Oh and thanks to my gorgeous models, Melissa and Jenn. You were fantastic!

Kleenex Launches Cute PR Campaign

I am really excited to write this post on Kleenex's latest crack at public relations and their newest brand image. I saw Kleenex's new ad campaign on TV tonight. Take a look:



The "Softness Worth Sharing" campaign is really cool because it encourages you to go to the Kleenex website and send a specially designed Kleenex box to anyone across North America! FOR FREE! It's a "pass-it-along" campaign where you can trace how far the chain reaches.

Last night I sent a cute Kleenex box to my mom! And hopefully she'll follow suit and send one to someone else and so on... it's a cute idea, and 623841 packs have already been sent across North America! I love this sort of thing so I am excited to tell all my friends and watch the chain grow!

This publicity stunt is a great idea by Kleenex, and it definitely positions their newer brand image in consumers' minds. It makes me feel that Kleenex cares about relationships and spreading friendship this holiday season. After seeing this campaign, I feel Kleenex is "cute","caring" and "fun", oh and it makes me feel sentimental sending a surprise to my mom! I can't wait to hear her reaction!

Way to get the public involved, Kleenex!!

Standing Strong & True

Since today is Remembrance Day, I decided to post this video of a song called "Standing Strong & True." It features cameos from many great Canadian country artists, and it is a wonderful song. It's the perfect way to think about our Canadian soldiers right now and those who fought for our country years ago.

Beyond the City Lights

Since I attend Red River College in downtown Winnipeg, I had to move to the city for school. I'm not cut out for the city life and I really miss living on a farm. I miss the smells, the beauty, the solitude and mostly the peacefulness of nature. When I get the chance to leave the city lights and head for my hometown, I take it! I took these pictures on the way out to my boyfriend's farm a few weekends ago.

If an Ad Gives You Shivers, it's Fantastic

Last week I did a speech on "Alcohol in Advertising" and it reminded me of quite possibly one of my favourite ads of all time. I may be biased because a. I'm patriotic, b. I love hockey, and c. I love the outdoors. But this ad gives me shivers every time I watch it. It makes me so proud to be Canadian and I know this is what they were going for, but why fight it? It's the truth, this ad works. And I'm not ashamed to say this, I love this ad for Molson Canadian. To prove how great this ad is, I'll let you in on a secret. My boyfriend is an avid Bud fan and he admitted to me that when he saw this ad he loved it so much that he bought Molson Canadian the next time he was at the vendor. But...that was the one and only time he bought Molson.

Word of Mouth Works?

Last Monday, I did a market research assignment for my advertising class at Polo Park Shopping Centre. According to my teachers, this is still an important part of any ad campaign. In this case I wasn't working on a campaign, but just observing shoppers' habits and how stores advertise in the mall. As part of my market research, I spent about 45 minutes in David’s Tea observing the customers’ behaviour and watching how the store clerk sold products to consumers. I learned a lot about the company, David’s Tea, and the marketing they rely on.

The store clerk informed me that David’s Tea does absolutely no print, radio, or TV advertising. David’s Tea relies on word of mouth and the internet, which is definitely working for them. David Segal opened the first store in 2008 in Toronto and now there are over 35 stores across Canada.

From my personal experience, I know that word of mouth marketing is proving to be successful for their company. I heard about David’s Tea through a friend and also through Twitter. Many new companies starting up are taking this fresh approach and spending less money on paid advertising. David's Tea can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and also a site called Steepster.com where people can rate teas. David’s Tea also has a website that is consistently updated and interactive. They encourage people to buy tea online.

Since the company does no print or TV advertising, it is important that the salespeople are very helpful and leave a good impression in consumers' minds when they leave the store. It made me think that the company probably spends more time and consideration on the hiring process. I tested this theory out to see how good the salespeople were. I didn’t know anything about the brand so I asked many questions and sampled several teas. The woman working was very helpful and very persuasive. I had to try very hard to leave the store with no purchased tea in my hands. The store clerk’s knowledge of the products and her friendliness really made my shopping experience at that store.

This market research has led me to believe that this method of marketing can obviously work, but the company has to be confident in their store’s service. It also made me think about specialty stores versus franchise businesses. For example, Walmart does an ample amount of advertising on TV, print, and radio. But, they don’t offer the exceptional one-on-one service to consumers that David’s Tea does. Therefore, consumers won't feel compelled to refer others to the store.