#lukeforston

[cmcl315sp14]

BrandYourself.com: Control Your Own Google Results

How and why BrandYourself is the only do-it-yourself online reputation solution on the market.

This is a website I found that relates to the article we talked about in class Wednesday about branding yourself. This website allows you to control what people associate your name with by changing the irrelevant Google links you get when you search your name to more relevant, presentable links such as your LinkedIn page or any awards you've received.  I think this shows the importance of creating a brand image of yourself and how it is rising in interest for people looking for a job or trying to start their own business.  Check it out and see what kid of stuff you can come up with.

[cmcl315sp14]

http://coffee.news.ubuycoffee.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ht_political_brands_jp_120615_wg.jpg

We talked in class on Monday about the brands associated with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney during their election campaigns so I found this photo to be quite intriguing.  Instead of limiting the brands to one representative, this photo shows what the typical Democrat associates with and what the typical Republican associates with.  I find it funny - and a little unnerving - that the media is able to group us into political parties based on the types of brands we associate with.  I think doing so shows how predictable we can be as a public but at the same time, highlights this predictability so that we can recognize it and change the perception of what it means to be a Democrat, Republican, independent, etc. Through these associations, campaign managers are able to target the American public more directly and win over voters but if we are made aware of these tactics, I'm curious to see what changes will be made to REbrand the image of Democrats and Republicans.

[cmcl315sp14]

Why 2014 is the Year of Social Media Advertising

http://www.brandwatch.com/2014/01/why-2014-is-the-year-of-social-media-advertising/

This is an article on brandwatch.com talking about how companies are stepping up their social media games by posting more and more ads on all networks.  The article breaks down each social media site that is seeing this increase in ad-popularity and the reaction people are having to it.  It shows how companies are using the "Long Click" process to up their revenue and, of course, benefit the customer experience with their brand.

[cmcl315sp14]

5-Hour Energy Social Media

                I have been following 5-Hour Energy on Twitter for quite some time now, as well as on Facebook.  Something I’ve been noticing about 5-Hour Energy on Twitter is that they don’t limit themselves to just marketing their product of an energy shot but also promoting an active lifestyle.  They will periodically post motivational or inspirational posts to their followers encouraging them to be the best they can be on any given day.  I find that odd for an energy shot business because of the lack of significance an energy shot has on the lifestyle of a person.  I think this is an attempt to solidify the target audience that 5-Hour Energy wishes to reach or maybe market to the audience they don’t have.  The creative director of 5-Hour Energy has been quoted saying they do not wish to market to teenagers but instead, working-class adults who are drained from the tasks of work but still wish to live an active lifestyle.  It seems their brand is no longer about staying awake at work but instead what happens after work or on the weekends.  It’s about having the energy to go mountain climbing, swimming, hiking, etc. 

https://twitter.com/5hourenergy

                On Facebook, the goal of their site seems to be to inform consumers of their athlete endorsements as well as sweepstakes or opportunities for free products coming up.  There’s a moderate level of encouragement to live an active lifestyle on their Facebook page but not to the extent of Twitter.  It seems Facebook is a medium for product marketing rather than the lifestyle marketing like that of Twitter.  Facebook offers advertisements for new flavors of 5-Hour Energy shots as well as ways to win free products on a regular basis, playing to the advertisement side more than lifestyle interests.  In this respect, 5-Hour Energy is able to have an equal amount of audience interest and marketing in order to make their social media existence the most effective it can be for their brand.

https://www.facebook.com/5HourEnergyShot

[cmcl315sp14]

5-Hour Energy

                The first article I picked is from the New York Times.  In it, it states that 5-Hour Energy has exploded onto the market by becoming a billion-dollar company seemingly overnight.  Described as a “Cadillac-red bottle” by Forbes Magazine, this article provides some credibility for the skeptical market of energy-shots.  The article claims that truckers, traders in Oliver Stone’s 2010 sequel to “Wall Street”, and hungover students all swear by 5-Hour Energy as the energy-shot to have if you want to get the most effective use of your money.  Times also goes into a little detail about what exactly is in a shot of 5-Hour Energy saying there are, “4 calories, zero sugar, ‘a blend of B-vitamins, amino acids and nutrients,’ and ‘about as much caffeine as a cup of premium coffee.’”  Overall, the article puts 5-Hour Energy on a pedestal above all other products in its league.    http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2012/02/29/the-rise-of-the-5-hour-energy-drink/

                The second article I picked is from AdAge.com and this article takes a different perspective than the New York Times by explaining the process of inventing 5-Hour Energy and the track they intended to take.  The article provides insight from creative directors at Living Essentials who invented the drink saying, “It was one of those marvelous, once in a lifetime things.  Now we’re being copied by some of the biggest beverage brands in the industry.”  Ad Age explains that 5-Hour Energy controls roughly 70% of the market and is expected to top $320 million dollars in sales – an article from 2009, mind you – with the company’s success only growing.  One of the most important lines from this article I found was who their target audience is.  Carl Sperber, creative director at Living Essentials, stated that, “We’re not going after the teenage boys.  They’re the last people on earth that need more energy.  It’s guys like me in their 40s who need it.”  With these articles, I’m able to form a better image of what 5-Hour Energy represents.     http://adage.com/article/special-report-americas-hottest-brands-2009/5-hour-energy-america-s-hottest-brands-case-study/140458/

[cmcl315sp14]

Brand Project

For the brand project I am choosing the brand 5-Hour Energy.  I’m choosing this brand because of their recent ad campaign that claims “5-Hour Energy IS Focus.”  I’ve heard this ad many times and watched it on TV as well and I can honestly say it’s one of the best campaigns I’ve heard in a long time.  I find the brand 5-Hour Energy to be interesting because of its impact it has had on the energy drink market.  This brand has caused brands like Red Bull and Monster to revitalize their products to compete with what 5-Hour Energy has to offer.  I believe this relates to our class discussions in the sense that it shows the level of competition between companies and also the competition between advertising agencies to come up with better advertisement campaigns.  Also, it shows an appeal to a vast target audience that we have recently been talking about in class.  I would mainly like to focus on their breakthrough in the energy drink business and how they exploded onto the scene by providing a “healthier” energy shot than any other big name energy drink on the market.  5-Hour Energy’s claim that their product “IS Focus” is a great campaign and has really boosted their popularity, showing the importance of running an attention-grabbing campaign that’s put together by a good advertising agency.