Best Practices: Advertising on Podcasts

On By matthewmartocciIn Advertising & Public Relations, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This week, I was assigned to look at and review a podcast that was specifically tailored to highlight what advertising is doing to our society and how. The one I found was from the Liberty University podcast page. The main premise of the podcast was to talk about certain advertising campaigns, what their intended goals were, and how they were able to become so successful. The hosts talked about the Nike and Dove campaigns specifically, to try and highlight how these brands try and sell a lifestyle rather than just a pair of shoes or a bar of soap. The overall goal was to make the customer feel like they weren’t just buying a dinky product, but are actually paying for a unique characteristic that one can identify with.

The forms of advertising the hosts discussed were very interesting, but the actual podcast itself was not that interesting to me, no matter how hard I tried to stay engaged. Thankfully the forms of advertising that were talked about not only took up a majority of the time, but they also easily aligned with the topic of the podcast and the message they were intending to send. I could tell the hosts relied on the Dove and Nike topics heavily, because not only are they super prominent nowadays, they basically explain themselves in terms of selling an attitude or emotion along with a desired product. I would have personally liked if the hosts discussed more in depth how these brands got to be as iconic in our capitalistic society as they are, what steps we can take as young people in this career field to maximize and innovate the already successful systems.

Like I stated in the above paragraph, seeing more examples, or maybe a clearer view of how and what was done to navigate into that realm of lifestyle selling on a mass-scale. Seeing companies or small business that are on the rise would be more impactful and more inspiring to their listeners in my opinion; especially since this podcast streams from a University with many students who I’m sure have similar questions and ideas to the ones I am posing in this article. Marketing and selling these kinds of products will become more and more important when us college kids start to grow up, and realize that marketing ourselves is also equally as important. When we are able to present the best versions of ourselves to our customers, our potential buyers will be able to trust your word more, and you overall come across as a more reliable resource to those in your area as well.

Advertising and selling products are something that a majority of our careers will eventually require within the next couple of years. Each day, we try and discover what things work for others, and what things we can improve on in the long run. From the podcast I discussed and from what I have written in this article, it only further strengthens the claim that how a product is properly marketed can make or break your industry.

For the link to the podcast, click here!

Trina Vega declared Chicago to be called, “SHE-cago,” and the girls and gays are here for it.

On By matthewmartocciIn Lifestyle & FunLeave a comment

So, I wanted to write about something that truly made me the happiest I could’ve been this weekend. Whenever my hometown friends and I return to college, we slowly start to become disconnected from one another because we’re all just too frickin’ busy. My best friend of eleven years, Lara, goes to go to a beautiful school in Chicago, and it just so happened that we both had a free weekend that aligned, and I came to see her as soon as I could.

Now, I haven’t been to Chicago in years. The last time I went must have been when I was in middle school, because the ESPN zone was still alive and popping’ off. However, upon returning, I realized truly how many fascinating things I had missed out on when I would come with my family, and how nice it is to be with people who know how to successfully navigate this labyrinth of a city. I mean, if I’m speaking with candor, I definitely got lost finding the right subway after I had been in the city not even five minutes; so that should be a warning to not trust me with any GPS’ or your children honestly. But anyway, it was also her birthday weekend, so our main objective was to fiesta, party, quincenera, family, as Raini Rodriguez so eloquently put it.

Our first outing was to the beach, because my girl’s school is a quaint lil walk from it. The weather was perfect, the water was gorgeous, and my heart was so full. The only thing I would want to improve from the beach was the amount of college kids smoking weed around the little kids who were playing but like…hey…to each their own I suppose. Once we left the beach, my friend and I decided to head to city center to meet one of our other hometown friends, and it was the cutest lil outing ever. We went to some beautifully extravagant stores, ate delicious Mexican food under the city lights, then wrapped our venture up by heading back to the dorm to party! We had a decent-sized group of people who came, and the whole night would have been amazing from how everything started…but why would things go right for that long? What I mean by this is one of our friends accidentally cut his hand on a door, and instead of us walking it off and getting a bandaid, our buddy had to be shipped to his dorm in an AMBULANCE all because he had a minor injury oh his pinky. Tragic. Thankfully, the fun did not end there this weekend.

The next “morning” (noon), my friend, her roommates and I decided to head down to the local farmers market, and get some locally made empanadas which were exquisite to say the least. On top of the delicious food, we also had the chance to head to Boystown, where my thirsty gay ass got to see some delicious men if ya know what I mean 😉 We got to experience the LGBTQ+ culture in the inner city, and the experience was everything to me. There were so many equality murals and art projects surrounding the area, and the positivity that is created there is astounding. We internalized that positive energy and made our way to the next stop: Chinatown! Which was on the exact OPPOSITE of town!

Regardless of how far it was, Chinatown was by far my favorite part of the trip. Once we stepped off the subway, we practically were in the center of a monsoon, but it was beautiful? Like we were all drenched and cold from the obvious torrential hell-storm, but the memories we created absolutely made up for this lull in our expedition. We headed to a Korean beauty store first, because I saw a sign written in Korean, flipped out because I am K-Pop trash, then forced my friends to come in with me! We ended up getting these skin brightening face masks because why not, and they felt sooooo soothing on my sewer rat-esque skin. We then headed to a Chinese cafe that was wedged in the back of the district, then ventured to the nearby river to take pictures and reminisce on good memories that we had over the weekend. It made me realize that in life, all you need is a few people who love and accept you for you you 100% are, and the rest of the energy you crave will come to you.

I really could not have asked for a better weekend with my best friend, and it made me the happiest person in the world that I got to make my favorite person have a great belated birthday weekend. Impulsive trips can actually be a good thing, if you know what you’re doing and if it’s for a good cause, and I think this lil’ vacation definitely fits those parameters. I’m back at my college right now, getting over a throat infection, applying for jobs, and trying to catch up on homework. When in reality, I wish I could be riding the CTA all around town, shopping in adorable boutiques, taking memorable photos that we can look back in fifty years, and all-in-all just having a nice temporary break from reality and getting to have a blast with great friends! ❤

Below are some of my favorite photos from the trip! 🙂

A snapshot of my best friend, Lara, and I being extra at Loyola-Leone Beach.
Me staying in-touch with my gayness in Boystown.
Grabbing lunch at an adorable Parisian-themed cafe with my good friend, Olivia.
One picture to accurately sum up how the weekend went!

Promote yo’ self! The Where’s and Why’s of Social Media

On By matthewmartocciIn Advertising & Public RelationsLeave a comment

The concept of social media is something that I have been actively been interested in more and more as I learn about it in my major-related classes. Hearing about how much potential there is for growth and expansion with just pictures or quotes is fascinating, and it had me thinking as to what cites would be the most efficient at promoting oneself to an audience of interested users. Below is an infographic comprised of research I collected on the top 6 social networking platforms and what benefits each one can bring to your brand:

From the data provided, I came to the obvious conclusion that even though most social media users my age do not use it often, Facebook is still the MVP when it comes to promotions and advertising online, whereas I thought Instagram or Twitter would be at the top. I understand why, though. Facebook truly incorporates all aspects of each different form of social interaction on these platforms. Facebooks allows for the posting of photos and videos, live-streaming, FacebookTV shows, links to Messenger, Advertising to followers and new clients, and much, much more. Facebook was the first “official” form of social media ever made, but it has evolved with the times and was able to re-brand itself and compete with the newer brands that have come out. It’s not only fascinating to me, but also really lucrative how Facebook was able to adapt how they did to meet their customers demands at such an efficient rate.

Facebook is just the lead example as to why it’s important to utilize the power of social media and incorporate it with modern day careers. Every day, technology is changing to fit the needs of the constantly-demanding market, and the ability to grow with your customers is an admirable and lucrative trait to be known for. Social media can be seen by almost everyone nowadays, and leaving an impression that you’re a reliable brand can greatly help you and your financial standings as you learn to market and brand yourself. Be yourself, put your heart into your work, and think wisely when it comes how you want to be known in our expeditious online universe.

Best Practices: Social Media and Societal Impact

On By matthewmartocciIn Advertising & Public RelationsLeave a comment

Social media is one of those things that you could explain it to millennials or generation “Z”-ers, and they would get it with no issue. But if it were explained to anyone out of those realms, it would be as if you were speaking a braille-Mandarin-calculous mix that seems to complex to register in most. It’s quite damning to see how difficult it can be for those who did not have the chance to grow up with the forms of social media we use today, and this lack-of or extra-dosage of this specific form of information is becoming more valuable as we rely on social media more.

I was born in 2000, so social media and technology at the time was something that I thankfully wasn’t bombarded with straight out of the womb, and it allowed me to have a fair separation between screen-time and everything-else time when I was a kid. As I have gotten older, I have learned that social media is actually quite interesting (and fun in my opinion) and can be used for personal and professional use in our world today. Personally, I use Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to keep in touch with my friends, posts pictures of myself and of fun events I attend, and to share memes and keep myself entertained if I’m bored or whatnot. Most of these things are what the average social media user uses their account for – which is totally fine because that’s the purpose – but, as of lately, I am trying to use my social media platforms to brand (or re-brand if you already know me) myself, in order to get people to be intrigued in me and what I plan on offering to the table in any career path I venture down. I was inspired because I was able to see that some of my friends were attempting to change their online image to seem more appealing to employers, and it seems like such a simple but effective strategy into attracting clients to you.

Social media has a lot of power on those who use it frequently, of course; but these affects aren’t always positive or become successful straight from the get-go. Yes, social media has made it exceptionally easier to contact one another, market and sell products on a global scale, and to promote positivity and bring awareness to good things that are happening. Adversely, it can enforce negative or depressive ideas via cyberbullying, it can instill feelings of insecurity and anxiety in those who are at impressionable ages because of edited photos and vulgar comments, and it can teach kids that the only way for those who don’t know you to like you is by how attractive you are, rather than what you have to say. Social media has changed how the younger generations interact with one another completely, in good and bad ways, but it is always good to address both sides in my opinion. If we act as if the social media platforms we use are as almighty and powerful as we acclaim them to be, these harmful patterns that are locked on to the beneficial ones won’t ever have the chance to be emphasized and abolished as we get older.

These new ways that social media are now affecting its users has started to become more prevalent because of the social networking explosion that has been happening over the past decade or so. Like I stated earlier, when I was a younger, I didn’t have my first social media account until I had grown a little bit-I believe I was twelve when my mom and I made my Facebook account-but as of 2019, I can see kids who just started their first day of KINDERGARTEN and they have an Instagram account that’s run by their parents or their manager if they’re famous or something. It’s truly mind blowing to me, honestly. I can see the purpose as to why any child-who really doesn’t have a need to contact business partners and keep in touch with current events and friends and what not-would need an Instagram account before their tenth birthday?! I just believe that putting a non-fully-developed human on a platform where their frontal cortex is gonna maximize every negative word and picture posted to the worst extent, maybe is not the best option for them, or at least until you talk about it with them and your significant other.

Even though there is a lot of negative stigma surrounding social media, I can see why kids and people my age are drawn to social media so much, however. I even fall victim to it as well. When it comes to the most popular social media platforms in use, I would personally say that Snapchat and Instagram are the two most popular sources of sharing and posting that my generation uses. Both of these sources allows the user to instantaneously take, edit, and post pictures directly to their feed so their friends, colleagues, customers, fans, business partners, etc. can all see at once at in one second, practically. These two in my opinion are the best at helping an individual build and strengthen their personal brand, and I also believe that this has also helped these two platforms solidify themselves as forms fo timeless social media sites. On the other hand, Facebook seems to be deposing out of the younger generation’s eyes, and I think that it’s just going to be left for the soccer-moms to fend over in a decade or two but we’ll see!

Overall, social media is a revolutionary invention that has changed the way humans interact and socialize with each other forever. We now live in an era where we can see what almost anyone is doing, anywhere in the world, at anytime, and there have been many blessings and many curses involved for those willing to roll the dice. Either way, I believe that social media and its impacts will continue to grow and change as we all do, and I am excited to see where this technological journey will take us.

Best Practices: Innovations in Technology

On By matthewmartocciIn Advertising & Public RelationsLeave a comment

Advertising and Public Relations are two pathways that are constantly changing. With the recent technological boom in electronics, workers in these fields are adjusting their marketing strategies to be more virtual-based instead of physical. This gradual shift towards technology started back before I could even comprehend the concept of Advertising in my lil’ head. Ever since I was a little kid, however, there were always different forms of continuous ads that I unknowingly consumed. I used to think being guilted and manipulated into buying a product was heinous. But over the years, I have learned that there are many calculated methods in place to help empathize with consumers, and it is very fascinating to see it in effect. These methods, however, are being constantly upgraded to reach the most people, fill the general public with good images of their product/brand, and to ultimately make the largest profit. With more emphasis being placed on the need for virtual Advertising and Public Relations, the impact that technology has on our responses to these stimuli is more prevalent than ever.

One method that has taken over advertising forums as the internet becomes more and more extensive is the bombardment of pop-up ads and cookies. Pop-up ads and cookies are targeted endorsements that invade your computer via unprotected websites, and their main objective is to entice you into buying one of their products based on a specifically tailored ad just for you. These ads are able to use cookies, which are softwares that collect your public information, interests, search history, etc. in order to personalize ads that will most likely guarantee a purchase at the moment or in the near future. When I was younger, this was something that we seldom had to deal with, but since the internet has grown to be so massive, there’s no escaping the firestorm of ads nowadays!

Unlike Pop-up ads, there are other ways of advertising that are considered to be more clever and thought-out. The forms I am referring to are the ads that you’re able to interact with. I think that it’s resourceful for the ad developer to include a short trial version of the game in order to appeal to the consumer. These ads have become immensely popular with the recent influx of mobile games, so this in my opinion is a lucrative move for the game developers. The mobile application market has become excessively competitive as we become more reliant on our phones; so what better way to get a step up on your competitors than to showcase what they can’t? It’s quite cunning when you really think about it, especially if these companies advertise on apps with demographics that tend to enjoy games more…*cough* *cough* children who impulsively buy apps and make in-app purchases *cough* *cough.*

Regardless of your age, there are a plethora of reasons as to why someone would gravitate towards specific ads, or to similar things in that realm. For me, I enjoy Advertising and Public relations because of the human interaction I get to integrate. In almost every job I’ve worked at, I have been assigned to a position that is customer service based. I would always get so many questions that were related to corporate or something I had no control over. That made me realize that I could be the person who can sculpt what the public thinks, now it’s just learning the tools and tricks to get me there. With the rapid growth of technology in the last decade, it is much easier to reach more people while also providing them with interesting ads. Even if those I interact with aren’t too fond of my work, I know that it won’t kill my passion for this career.

As we look into the future, the systems that companies use to advertise are being continuously expanded on as technology does. We already deal with interactive-game ads, infomercials, and ads that pop up on every form of social media under the sun; so, what’s going to be next? Ads that harass you as you walk down the street? TV commercials that pay you to leave positive reviews? Or maybe even advertisements that are played before class to fundraise for academic programs! Who knows what’s going to attempt to attract us next, unfortunately. But until that day comes, keep an eye on your screen-obsessed children, pay attention to what ads you hear are really saying, and keep an eye out for any new advertising methods that captivate your senses.