Why Does the NFL Promote Themselves?

Hello friends, we are rapidly approaching the end of the Fall 2015 semester and my weekly blog posts. First off, I hope everybody enjoyed their Thanksgiving and enjoyed quality time with friends and family. We are already into the month of December and the last day of classes is December 14^th which is followed by a few days of final examinations. I am blessed with the support I have received with expanding my blog. I would like to extend a ‘thank-you’ to all my friends and family that have taken the time out of their busy lives to post and share my blog to increase my readership. I am about 50 views short of my semester goal, so the challenge continues! Let’s get my blog rolling!
Reminder: Please continue to share my blog with everyone you can think of! As stated above, this semester is quickly winding down, meaning, that we have very limited time to reach my goal. www.deanfromsiena.wordpress.com.

This week, I am going to bring up something that you probably have not noticed before (and no, it is not more subliminal messages hidden in company logos). I would consider myself an above average fan of the National Football League. With that being said, I have never noticed how many times that the National Football League runs advertisements about the National Football League while their games are on TV on Sunday afternoons. It is quite shocking actually. Why does the National Football League do this? Is it effective? Does this technique work and change their brand perception?

Lately, the National Football League has been under great scrutiny due to many scandals that may have ruined their brand image. In 2010, the New Orleans Saints were found guilty of placing wagers within the team to intentionally hurt the opposing players, ultimately promoting malicious violence. In 2011, the National Football League Players’ Association went on strike after being felt taken advantage of by the National Football League. In 2012, the NFL referees similarly went on strike for the same reasons. In 2014, the NFL had ineffectively dealt with the suspension of two players who were accused of domestic violence, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy. Throughout the hardships, the NFL was led by, what was perceived as, weak leadership through its commissioner Roger Goodell.

It is known, however, that football is the fastest growing sport in the United States and the NFL has even been success in their early efforts to increase their awareness in international countries such as England and Mexico. Just last year, the NFL received over $1 billion from corporate sponsorships. So as a business, it is only predictable and knowing that the NFL is going to continue to grow.

In their efforts to grow, by nature, they need to gain new consumers. They are primarily targeting the female population of the United States and the population of other countries (England and Mexico). If these people are on the “outside” analyzing the NFL, there is a strong probability of being turn off by the recent events. This is why the NFL promotes itself during their games with their Play-60 campaign, “Football is Family” campaign, and their “No More” campaign to bring awareness and end domestic violence.

I would like to raise a question. Why does the NFL run these video promotions throughout their games? It does not make logical sense to me. The NFL is advertising to already established fans. In my mind, they are wasting their time and money. If they want to grow, they need to attract new consumers. This is why I believe that the NFL should run these video advertisements perhaps during other sporting events or during evening TV shows.

Maybe the NFL will listen to me, but I strongly doubt it. What they are currently doing must be working because (I would hope that) a corporation the size of the NFL would have smart people making smart decision.

That’s all for this blog post. Stay tuned for next week when I write my last blog update of the semester!

All my Best,

Dean Maloney from Siena College

Advertisement

Radio – Is it Still Effective?

Hello Friends, we are quickly approaching the end of semester and I only have two more required blog posts! My number of viewers/readers have been steadily increasing as the weeks come and go. I only need about 100 more clicks to reach my semester goal! Again, I would like to thank Professor Scardillo for posting the link to my blog on his LinkedIn profile. He’s a great mentor and professor. I encourage you all to take his a look at his LinkedIn profile!

Reminder: Please continue to share my blog with everyone you can! The semester is quickly winding down meaning that we have limited time! www.deanfromsiena.wordpress.com.

Before I get started, I just wanted to praise WordPress.com for a minute. WordPress just updated their website so now their users can easily track how many views and visitors they have. It is also more aesthetically pleasing. As I am writing this current post, it looks modern and sharp. Exciting stuff!

First, I would like pose the question about the effectiveness of radio advertising. After the first known broadcast was introduced in August of 1920, the effectiveness of the radio has greatly diminished after the inventions of the television, computers, internet, and cellphones. Some experts have even predicted the use of radio to be extinct when the television was introduced in the 1950’s. This theory was clearly disproven as people continue to consume radio messages. The radio industry has seen a gradual increase in advertisement spending.

Using the radio today still provides businesses with sufficient advantages such as, targeting certain demographic groups, relatively low cost (compared to TV advertisements), and the greater possibility in running repeating messages that will build awareness or develop brand knowledge. These advantages, however, may be offset by some limitations. For example, by targeting certain demographic groups may lead to a very small percentage of the whole population. Also, generally speaking, consumers only listen to the radio in two main parts of the day, morning and evening. The scarcity of consumers listening to the radio throughout the day also provides some degree of worrisome.

I would like to take some time and talk about my personal experience with radio. I love to listen to the radio. I am a big fan of NPR, or National Public Radio. NPR provides their listeners with the latest news, weather, and advertisements. My love for the radio stems from the convenience that it provides me. It is so convenient because I am always in my car when I listen to it. As a commuter student, I am frequently driving back and forth to either school or work. When I drive, I also need background noise. Radio is a perfect solution to my personal problem!

Fun fact of the day: Albany, New York is the United States’ 58th largest radio market.

I want to thank you again for reading my latest post on the internet. Stay tuned to see what Dean from Siena is going to say! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Best,
Dean Maloney from Siena College

 

Top 5 Subliminal Logos

Hello Friends,

It is hard to believe that this is already my eighth installment of my blog! First, I would like to thank Professor Scardillo for informing me of the great importance in maintaining my weekly blog at a high level. I would also like to extend a genuine ‘thank-you’ to my repeat readers who have supported my efforts while writing this blog. This blog has been a great outlet to really express and show all of my Advertising knowledge that I have learned from Professor Scardillo’s class.

Next, I will exhibit my gratitude by writing a top ten list of subliminal advertisements. My first blog post on subliminal messages in September was highly praised by you the readers. Also, in Scott Stratton’s book UnMarketing, he writes that a key factor in creating an effective and popular blog is to provide lists. Research shows that American’s are more likely to be engaged in reading a list rather than large readings in paragraph form. I hope you all will appreciate my kind gesture.

Reminder: I am still well under my semester goal of 1,000 views! I need your help in sharing my blog to spread my thoughts and ideas so that we can all learn and have fun together. Www.deanfromsiena.wordpress.com 

5.) Wendy’s Fast Food Restaurant

Everyone is very familiar with Wendy’s and their mascot Wendy Thomas, the daughter of founder Daniel Thomas. With society’s recent push of a healthier lifestyle, the fast food industry is often perceived as unhealthy and avoidable. If you notice Wendy’s collar, you can make up the word “Mom” being spelled out to encourage the idea of a healthier home cooked meal.

4.) Baskin Robbins

Baskin Robbins is the world’s largest specialty ice cream chain. One of the many reasons of their success is the association of the number “31” that is clearly visible in their logo. Baskin Robbins is best known for their 31 unique flavors that give the consumer an option of trying a fun and new ice cream flavor every day of the month.

3.) FedEx

FedEx is one of the most iconic supply chain and logistic companies that used by millions of consumers daily. A creative strategy when designing their logo was to position the letters “E” and “x” next to each other so that they could form an arrow. FedEx hopes that their consumers perceive this arrow as forward direction, speed, and precision.

2.) LG Electronics

Depending on the person, the LG Electronics’ logo could be perceived as a winking face with the “L” as the nose. This face is used to promote positives brand associations by potential customers of LG. It is also common to associate the LG logo with the iconic video game character, Pacman.

1.) Tostitos

Everybody eats Tostitos Chips. Let’s be honest with each other, they are absolutely delicious. But you may have missed a couple friends sharing a chip and salsa in the Tostito’s logo. Still can’t see it? Look at the two lower case “ts” in the logo. Tostitos did this to reestablish the social gathering of consuming Tostitos chips. This idea also reinforces the need to buy a complementary Tostitos’ salsa!

I hope you all have enjoyed reading my list as much as I have enjoyed writing it. If you recall, subliminal messages are so powerful because they fall under visual communication which is the most powerful communication for advertisers. Visual advertisements can also be used in all communication channels (broadcast, print, and digital).

Please comment your ideas and thoughts. Perhaps there is a great subliminal logo that I have missed! Again, thank you for reading and expect me to be back next week!

Best,

Dean Maloney from Siena College

Photoshopping – What an Effective Tool

Hello Friends,

It is good to be back on WordPress. This is my first blog post in over two weeks! Thankfully, my readers have been great and consistently generated more views by sharing this blog with their friends and family. My total views has now grown to be more than 330 hits. Although I still have a a lot of progress to make in order to get 1,000 hits, I am still confident that I can reach my goal, easy.

Reminder: Please continue to share, share, and share my link: www.deanfromsiena.wordpress.com.

The purpose of today’s Advertising class was to discuss the importance and relevance that visual communication has in the advertising industry. In today’s fast-paced society, an individual is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day! Since we are not super humans, we can not remember and recite all of the information contained in all 3,000 messages that we encounter throughout our day. Meaning that it is the job of advertisers to create a message that has the ability to grab one’s attention and stick in their memory. This concept is known as an ad’s stopping power. To effectively create the idea known as stopping power, many companies have turned to using visual communication. Visual communication is known to be twice as effective than textual or audio communication channels.

One way to maximize the impact of stopping power through visual communication is by photoshopping to enhance your message. We all know what photoshopping is and why advertisers use it (visual communication is twice as effective than other forms of communication). A lot of people often take issue with the use of photoshopping in our society and we will look at a few examples of photoshopping that have backfired on advertisers later in this blog. Photoshopping, however, usually has a positive impact on photography that many people many not even realize. It is most likely subliminal or under one’s threshold of perception. For example, the photoshopping technique allows visual messages to have the correct lighting and color scheme. This correct lighting of contrast, color selection, and saturation give the advertisers the power to prioritize, emphasize, and highlight exactly what they want their audience to see.

Axe Example:

As you can see in the Axe shampoo advertisement shown above, the color selection of every aspect of the advertisement (background, water, etc.) was chosen carefully to emphasize key components of their product such as brand name, packaging design, labeling, and brand quality. The precise selection of the color and brightness versus contrast was determined and executed through the use of photoshopping. Axe has seen the rewards from effective advertising as their stock price has increased 17% over the last quarter.

Now let’s have some fun and look at some results of sloppy photoshopping. It’s very funny to see!

In conclusion, there is a lot more that goes into photoshopping than just trying to distort one’s body image to make it more “socially acceptable.” When using photoshop, it is important to check for errors, because effective photoshopped pictures, as shown above, can have such strong stopping power. A simple error in photoshopping can lead to brand disloyalty and a lack of credibility to that brand. Even for the large, established brands shown above such as Ralph Lauren and Victoria’s Secret.

I hope you enjoyed my blog about the use of photoshopping. Stay tuned to see what I am talking about next week! See you then! Share my blog: http://www.deanfromsiena.wordpress.com

Best,

Dean Maloney From Siena