PR Video Case Study

For my video case study I chose to look at the Naked Heart Foundation's video campaign. Naked Heart is an organization based out of Russia that promotes that every child should have a loving family, and a safe and stable place to stay. They strive to meet this goal by promoting awareness and information about childhood disabilities in order to de-stigmatize mental illness, as well as building vibrant safe play structures for children. Video is necessary when promoting a charitable cause, because it gives the organization a chance to personally invite their potential donors into viewing something intimate about their company. Videos give an organization a chance to showcase their cause in an interesting and appealing way, while it provides the audience front row seats to what is most important about the organization, and ultimately helps them decide if they want to donate to the cause or not.

The target demographics for Naked Heart include those native to Russia, as well as any English speakers who are willing to donate to their cause. They have many videos in Russian and English, which helps them to reach a much wider audience, and to potentially receive more donations. They are targeting those who have a soft spot for children, or who may be the parent of a disabled child - evident through the content contained in their promotional video that I chose to look at, "Every Child Deserves a Childhood."

In this video there a many still shots of children with smiling, and sometimes painted faces, as well as those who appear to be mentally handicapped. They show adults interacting with those handicapped and have the copy overlay, "we support those... who have it hardest of all." This entire segment sets them apart from other charities that simply just build playgrounds making them more desirable to donate to, especially if a person already has an emotional tie to spreading mental illness awareness. This video does an effective job of displaying the qualities of the organization that make it desirable to donate to.

In comparison, the KaBoom organization builds playgrounds here in American with the mission to solve the "play deficit." They are a widely successful non profit that has been around since 1995 and have built over 2,000 playgrounds in order to get and keep kids active and outside. Unlike Naked Heart, they do not have a focus on mental disabilities, although do have what I believe to be a better video campaign. They have much more content to view on their channel, and the video that I chose to look at "I believe in play" is exciting and attention holding. It is a story, as told from the child's perspective, of all the things they believe in that come together to form the climax - a playground revealed. Listening to the voices of the children, and going through their day along with them, is relatable and causes a feeling of nostalgia that resonates with the viewers and convinces them that this is a good cause.

KaBoom is generally targeting a similar audience to that of Naked Heart; people with a soft spot for children and/or mental disabilities, who are willing to donate, although I believe take a more effective approach in their video. I find KaBoom's video more appealing for these reasons: the child narrating which provides a more personal and intimate experience, the building of the story and music in sequence, and finally the ending in which the now adult narrator states "help us give all kids the childhood they deserve," which brings attention back to the act of donating, as well as makes their motives known, clear, and direct.

I think Naked Heart would benefit from something done in the way the KaBoom video was created. If there was more of a story or something personal to connect with, I believe that Naked Heart's videos would be more popular and obtain higher view counts, which would then hopefully translate into more donations.

Social Media Strategy Case Study

The Central Florida Sports Commission is an organization that aims to attract national as well as international sporting events to the central Florida area. They highly stress their interest in partnering with businesses in the local area in order to promote tourism and economic growth through sporting events. In the sense of being "online" they promote their events though their website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. Today, I will examine the strategies they employ through two of these platforms, Facebook and You Tube, as well as determine their effectiveness.

The general demographics that the commission is trying to reach varies slightly, dependent on their function as almost a public relations firm. On one hand they are targeting fans and sports enthusiasts to attend their events, though on the other they are targeting event arenas and sponsors to host such contests.

The organization utilizes social media to get the community involved and interested in the events they're hosting as well as a tool to attract teams and competitions to the area. The Sports Commission posts on Facebook multiple times a day, and uses it as almost a catchall to keep the public updated on what is going on within the organization, as well as other ways to involve the community. They inform on projects they have spearheaded, such as "with the help of our government partners, we're spearheading the effort to bring 22 NCAA Championships to the region over the next 5 years," as well as when an upcoming event's tickets go on sale, and free events that are going on within the community. Their Facebook page is effective in that it is extremely informative, although there is much room to grow. One area I feel that would benefit them, is if they were more interactive; interactive in the sense that they post pictures of people at events, host contests for tickets through Facebook, do a daily trivia question for prizes etc., the possibilities go on and on. Yes, people can comment on their posts now, but that is nearly as far as the interaction goes, and more feedback from their consumers creates a better company.

The organization uses the social platform of You Tube also as a way to inform the community, but as well as a way to share more marketing details. For example, they recently posted the video they used to submit to the NCAA to potentially host the soccer championship in 2013. In the video, local schools such as UCF, and Rollins, are featured saying that they are on the "team." This branding technique is used throughout the video in order to portray a total sense of unity and community throughout the central Florida region, no matter the school or division of competition. You Tube is also used to promote the organization in general, and offers videos that promote their mission such as "Sports is Big Business in Florida." One problem that lies within their You Tube account though, is that they have almost no views on any of them. They need to implement ways through their Facebook, and website that see more traffic in order to promote their You Tube content.

Overall, the Central Florida Sports Commission has done a mediocre job at establishing themselves in the social media sphere, now it is up to them to implement strategies to utilize social media to its full potential. With the implementation of a more interactive user experience they have the ability to gain more followers as well become more effective in the social media realm.

Web Site Strategy Case Study

For my website case study, I chose to examine St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. I created a website map that can be downloaded here, as well as an illustrated version located at the bottom of the page. This philanthropic organization boasts a website that I believe to be pleasing and appealing to their targeted demographic that allows them to continue to raise the funds needed to operate (upwards of $1.8 million per day). The mission of St. Jude’s is to “advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment… no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay.” They therefore employ a website that appeals to a variety of demographics, one that informs and invites a visitor to donate to their cause, as well as provides hope to those in search of treatment.

Drop-down menu on
website

Due to the children’s hospital’s mission to treat children at no cost to their families, St. Jude must brand themselves as an organization that is well worth donating to. The organization’s website helps them successfully do that by providing an abundance of resources to the everyday web user. When visiting the site, the homepage comes up quickly and is only about a page and a half long. The simplicity and clean organization is not overwhelming, and is divided into clear categories.  If a person has recently heard of St. Jude by word of mouth or otherwise and is eager to learn more, the first tab on the website invites the user to do just that. The website then breaks down inquires further depending on the users area of interest. The main page also features pictures of smiling doctors and children which displays a sense of hope if the website user is a family looking for treatment options.

The rest of the main categories, from left to right, take on an informative approach that provides an abundance of information before the last tab - ways to help. I think this categorical method is important to note, because it gives off the impression that St. Jude wants to provide opportunities to inform, and convince the visitor of their worth, before clearing off a section that is designated only towards donations and ways to get involved with helping the hospital.

The main body of the website is made up of current scrolling articles that consist of news pertaining to St. Jude and their current accomplishments and breakthroughs in medicine. The scrolling pictures are again of happy smiling children and doctors or scientific looking people that project an image of hope. On the right hand side of the page more towards the bottom there is a featured patient of the month, in which the user can click on the child’s picture and read their personal, heartwarming story that is also accompanied by a video. This personal profile of the patient creates a sense of closeness between the user and the mission of the hospital, which is essential if they are to get people to donate to their cause.

Overall the St. Jude’s website does an effective job of informing web users and inquirers of all aspects of their organization, and most importantly ways in which they can get involved. The website is essential to the continuation of the hospital, and the success that they have had with their research and treatment of childhood cancer.  

Visual Website Map I Created 

Traditional vs. New Media Case Study

     The brand Nike is a multi-billion dollar international corporation that has changed the way that the world looks at sports. The company has successfully launched themselves as the premiere athletic clothing and shoe brand since their creation in the 1960's. Nike is the sole contractor for the national football league in the United States, many top division one universities, and a variety of other different sports leagues in hundreds of countries located around the globe. Beyond their own advertisements, they receive thousands of minutes of air-time a day on television solely due to their logo, the trademarked "swoosh," which is patched visibly onto every piece of athletic clothing worn by a team who has a contract with them.

Nike Swoosh patented in 1974

     Nike's great success has largely been due to their ongoing advertising campaigns and their effective use of traditional and new media. Their "just do it" slogan has been recognized by Advertising Age as a top five slogan of the 20th century, and they have also been named "advertiser of the year" in both 1994 and 2003 by the Cannes Advertising festival. To this day Nike utilizes traditional media by running commercials featuring high profile endorsed athletes that grab the attention of all that are watching. They have even created a line of shoes around one of the most famous athletes of all time, Michael Jordan who exclusively endorses the shoe "Air Jordans." The campaign surrounding this shoe, brands it as a shoe that can help those who wear them achieve success as Jordan did, as seen in this commercial.
     Recently with the advances in technology, and booming of social media advertising and communities, Nike has successfully adopted new media strategies to continue to reach the widest audience possible. They have come out with new products that go beyond clothing and shoes, and have transferred their brand into a lifestyle through new media. For example, the Nike Fuel Band is a product worn on the wrist of any person who wishes to use it; the band tracks "what is important to you," the user. It can track calories burned, steps taken, distance, time, etc. all combining them into a number - fuel points.

Serena Williams spotter wearing her
Nike Fuel during a tennis match. 

These points are matched up to a goal that the user sets for themselves on their smartphones; the Fuel application links the user to an online community of friends and those who have like interests, in order to keep them motivated and help them reach a more fit life. By wearing the Nike fuel and staying involved in their goals, users are in touch with the brand every single day making it a vital part of their life.
     This combination of using both traditional and new media reaches the largest target market for their corporation. They market their clothing, shoes, and watches/bands and accessories, as products that top tier athletes use through their multiple celebrity endorsements, and professional team contracts. This factor of being only for the best appeals to consumers who also strive to get better at what they do. Their products are convenient to buy nearly anywhere in the world, they are readily available online, in Nike stores, or at large retailers such as Sports Authority and Dick's sporting goods. Since the company has been around for so long they are reputable, reliable, and are able to sell at the price point that they ask for. They are competitively priced with other high end sporting labels such as Under Armour, Adidas, Reebok and Puma, which also creates an sense of eliteness and desire. Nike as a whole has created a dedicated population of consumers who buy into their lifestyle; most people's favorite athletes wear and endorse Nike which only makes these products more desirable among fans. With their continued efforts in the age of new media while also keeping true to still relevant traditional media, Nike is poised to be the number one athletic brand for many years to come.

Business Cards

When exploring business cards and throwing around ideas for my own, here are three business cards I came across that interested me the most:

Card 1: Mustache Card - this one is awesome because it has a mustache on it.. and like the caption on the website says, people remember it and put it up to their face, instead of in a desk drawr. Its memorable.

Card 2: Hair Cut Card - This one caught my eye because it is elegant and something I wouldn't forget. I love the design and the vertical layout. 

Card 3: Coffee Card 

This card is my favorite so far because i've never seen anything like it. Its round so it sticks out immediately, it looks like coffee or java, so I know immediately what the general line of work is. This card is pretty and double sided, and does not contain too much information. 

My Brand Identity

Rollins Women's Lacrosse

roster photo

When meeting people for the first time, I always want to give a good impression; I make sure I have a firm handshake, strong eye contact, and a friendly smile. This is important to me because I want to brand myself as someone who is intelligent, independent, and hard working; and lets face it, first impressions can never be replaced.

     I come from a small suburb, Winter Springs, located just northeast of Orlando, FL. It is a pretty well off place, full of A+ public schools, a large country club, and plenty of parks and lakes. Although I was fortunate enough to grow up in this area, I was raised with the knowledge that it could all disappear in a second, and to always remember that nothing comes easy. 

     My mother and father married late in life, she was 39 he was 43, my mom had already had my sister from her first marriage, which only lasted about three years. From this marriage came my mother and sisters insanely strong independence and will to get things done - which was inherently passed down to me when I was growing up. My mother worked three jobs to support my sister on her own, never once receiving help from her former husband, or the government. She refused to have anyone give her pity, she would make it work - and she did. Once my father came into the picture, who was also extremely independent - being his own boss in real estate since he was 23 years old, created an atmosphere at home that took on the attitude "it is up to you to succeed." 

My mom and dad and I

     Since understanding that concept, and realizing that only I am in control of my own future, I strive to be successful in everything I do. One part of my life that I believe encompasses my will, and determination, is my involvement with the women's lacrosse team at Rollins College. Being a member of this highly successful team (two final four appearances in the past two years) requires a sizable amount of self-discipline, motivation, organization, and time management. During the summer and winter breaks, we are expected to keep up with our workouts in order to pass our running and other athletic “tests” when we return back to school, which is demanding when you don’t have your teammates by your side to push you. Then, once we return to school, managing schoolwork with seven a.m. workouts and three-hour practice’s at night becomes an art form that most NARPs (non-athletic-regular-persons) would have a hard time handling.

Having the ability to be athletically successful by pushing myself in the off-season, succeeding in practice, games, and school during the season, encompass the qualities that I wish to brand myself with. Being independent enough to do all of these things successfully on my own terms, makes me who I am. No matter the demographic, whether it be my family, friends, teammates, professors, or bosses, I always want to be recognized as someone intelligent, hard working, and independent. 

Test Post

Sandspur field courtesy of Rollins College

Hi, my name is Alley Rhinehart and I am currently a Junior CMC Major at Rollins College. I am a member of the women's lacrosse team here, and I love food and puppies. Especially golden retrievers.