Blog 7: Subway: Sandwich Day
Posted on 11/5/2015
On Tuesday November 3rd, companies all across America celebrated, “National Sandwich Day.” Subway celebrated this day by giving away free sandwiches after you purchase a sandwich and a 30oz. drink. Part of the reason why Subway was giving away free sandwiches was due to the company wanting people to eat lunches together.
My View on the event: I think getting a “free” sandwich is a great idea. By doing something like this, I believe it helps a company to get more free advertising. This creates free advertisement by people spreading the word about the deal to their friends. Free advertising is always a great way to save money and to get more business.
I also think it is a great idea that the company is trying to encourage people to take a longer lunch break. Most people usually only take a 15 to 20 minute break for lunch. This campaign comes at an interesting time. The reason it is interesting is because this past summer, Subway’s previous spokesperson, Jared Fogle, plead guilty for being involved with child pornography and for having sex with minors.
Not everyone was excited about this whole deal. In class, we learned that we cannot make everyone happy. Most people that complained about the deal were upset about having to purchase the 30oz drink. This drink costs $1.81 and most people do not want to pay this price. People also thought it was interesting how Subway promotes a healthy diet, yet they wanted you to buy a drink that has lots of sugars. I think instead of having people buy a 30oz drink to receive the free sandwich they should have had consumers purchase a water bottle. I believe this would have encouraged consumers to drink more water.
http://nrn.com/marketing/subway-give-away-subs-national-sandwich-day
___________________________________________________________________
Hobby Lobby: Under Investigation
Posted on 10/29/2015
Hobby Lobby is being sued due to importing artifacts from Iraq. The main problem with this incident is that the paperwork with the tablets was not accurate. Meaning, the label on the shipping tag was not accurate in regards to the value of the content. PR Daily found more to this story.
The CEO for Hobby Lobby admitted to reporters from The Atlantic that there might have been some, “wrong doing.” Steve Green, the CEO for Hobby Lobby is now denying telling reporters this and he know says he was not aware of any illegal activities.
My View on the situation: In class we talk about ALWAYS telling the truth. Green is not telling the truth. Either he knew about the illegal activity or he did not. In class, we also have talked about always sticking to the same story and to not change our story. By changing the story, it looks like Green is lying. Lying makes him as a person seem untrustworthy. It also makes the company Hobby Lobby look bad. This story contradicts what Hobby Lobby wants its viewers to see; the store is known for being Christian.
I believe Green needs to tell the truth and that he needs to stick with one story. People will forgive those that tell the truth. I do not believe this incident will affect the Hobby Lobby stores. I do believe that it will affect the museum that Hobby Lobby works with. Green’s reputation will not be the same due to him not sticking with a story. I think his image will really only suffer if he does not work well with the investigators.
Sites used:
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/19611.aspx
____________________________________________________________________
ABC Family (posted on 10/22/15)
In October of 2015, ABC Family revealed that they are changing its name in January of 2016. The new name will be Freeform. The reason for this change is due to the decline of viewers for the generation that it was created for. Freeform’s new target audience will be for the ages of 18 to 34. The reason for this target audience is because Freeform wants to focus on those that are most likely having a lot of “firsts.” This would cover jobs, love, heartbreak, and deciding who one really is.
As I was reading the comments on Facebook about the name change, I realized that everyone wants their opinion to be heard. I noticed that ABC Family is only commenting on posts where people are asking questions about the change. One question is, “Will ABC Family continue 13 nights of Halloween and 25 days of Christmas after the name changes?” ABC Family is not replying to the posts that are negative toward the change nor toward the general negative comments about ABC Family.
I thought this was very smart of ABC Family. I believe they did not comment on the Negative comments because they realize that they cannot change all of the negative comments. I believe they also realize that they cannot make everyone happy. In class we have talked about how at times, you just let people say what they want. By doing this, I believe it shows how the company is mature. I believe it also shows that the company is not afraid of losing a few viewers.
I think it was very smart that ABC Family did reply to the questions and the positive comments. They are giving attention to the viewers that will continue to view their station. This is smart because the company is showing that they care about their loyal viewers.
Links to Research
_____________________________________________________________________
Mac N’ Cheese
On March 17th, 2015 Kraft Foods Group recalled over 240,000 of their Mac and Cheese. The recall was due to the “possibility” that some of the boxes contained metal. Kraft Foods had a detailed chart that describes which boxes of Mac N’ Cheese’s were recalled and the dates on the boxes.
One thing I think is interesting in the Press Release is that the company created this update on March 17th, but the company was not making this effective until May 15th, 2015. I think that it is interesting that this recall was not in effect for 2 months after the day the Press Release came out. Why did the company wait to put the recall in affect?
After this incident, I was shocked to see that Kraft Food Groups approved a merger with the H.J. Heinz Holding. This merger happened just three months after Kraft had a recall. With the recall, the shares for Kraft Food Group fell. It is interesting to think that Kraft Food Group was still able to recover. I think this shows that Kraft overall has a good reputation. I believe this also shows that if a company has a good reputation, they can recover from an incident fairly fast.
I am surprised that I could not find more information on this incident. I would think that I would be able to find more information due to how popular Kraft Food Group is.
_
____________________________________________________________________
Recall from Cheerios
In October of 2015, Cheerios released a Press Release. This Press Release was due to the Gluten Free labeled boxes of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios having wheat in them.
Overall, I was impressed with the Press Release. General Mills from what it appears did their research and testing on all of their gluten free products. General Mills concluded that the incident was isolated. One thing that I really like that General Mills said was, “We care about what you and your family eat and we are truly sorry for this mistake. We will work extremely hard to earn back your trust.” I think that was a smart thing for General Mills to say to consumers. It made me feel like I can still trust General Mills. I have two sisters that are gluten free, so this incident does affect my family. I also love how General Mill ended by saying that they want to earn back our trust. To me, it shows that General Mills cares about their consumers. We are not just consumers to General Mills; we are part of their family.
From what I have learned in class, General Mills is telling the truth. They are not trying to sugar coat what happened or that their gluten free products were contaminated. In class, we have also talked about reputation. To me, I feel like General Mills has a fairly good reputation. This incident may have broken some of the trust with the company, which means the reputation is not 100% at the moment, but I feel like the Press Release was pretty good. They stated the truth of what happened, they did their research on all of their products, and their press release seemed sincere. I do believe that because their press release sounded sincere, that General Mills will have their reputation back soon. I also believe that consumers will still be able to trust the products.
To view the Press Release, please click on the link below.
http://www.cheerios.com/glutenfreerecall?gclid=CPOP96S2s8gCFUVffgodFfQO2g&gclsrc=aw.ds
____________________________________________________________________
Chipotle Hoax
According to articles I found online, a fake advertisement that had Chipotle’s name it on was found in a Costco Magazine. This advertisement read, “NEVER FORGET (…HOW BIG OUR BURRITOS ARE).” It also had pictures of two burritos standing up with a tin foil airplane going into the burritos. American’s became outraged at this advertisement. From what I observed on Facebook, people became so outraged that they claimed they were going to boycott Chipotle.
As I was researching to find out what Chipotle did, I realized how even though a company might do reputation management within hours of the first posting on social media, not everyone sees or hears the truth. For instance, Chipotle was on Social Media within four hours of the initial posting. Four hours was not fast enough. They have tried to tell people on social media that the ad is a hoax and they have no idea how this ad started. This event happened over a week and a half ago and people are just now seeing this ad. When they see the ad, they automatically start jumping to conclusions. Instead, we need to research to see if this or something like this is a Hoax. From what I found, this ad was actually created in 2013.
My View: I think Chipotle should have made a comment as soon as Social Media got a hold of the ad. I understand the company probably had to do some research before posting anything, but they should have at least stated, “We are uncertain about who created this advertisement. As a company, we think this ad is outrageous and distasteful. As soon as we find more information about this ad, we will inform you.” If the company had stated that, I believe there would not have been as much hatred against Chipotle.
____________________________________________________________________
Coca Cola Celebrates Hispanic Heritage
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th-October 15th. In order to help Celebrate this month Coca Cola has decided to do a new spin off of their campaign to “Share a Coke”. This spin off is to celebrate Hispanic roots. Instead of Coca Cola printing first names on Coke Bottles, Coca Cola will be putting Hispanic last names on the bottles. That is not all they are doing though! They are also making the names into temporary tattoos!
In order to put the tattoo on, one will need to take the cover off of the tattoo that is actually printed on the can. Then one can roll the can on their body.
What is the point of having your last name tattooed on you though? Well, the point is FAMILY. Hispanics generally have a higher pride when it comes to their family. LAst names are not just a name to Hispanics; last names are a way for us to tell others where we are from and who we are. Coca Cola is not just celebrating Hispanics, they are also showing the world that where we come from matters and we need to have pride.
My View On This Idea: This is a fantastic campaign! The company is showing the world that they care about Hispanic Culture. Families are not just important in Hispanic Culture, but it is important in every culture. Last names are a way for people to come together. As a society families are falling apart. In the news we see many families suing one another. I believe Coca Cola is trying to help the world remember how important family is. Families have their struggles, but family should always be there for one another.
I think it is interesting that Coca Cola is a brand that is known World Wide. Coca Cola is not exactly the same around the world, but their campaign shares the same message. Coca Cola loves bringing people together. This company cares about making friends and creating a relationship. Coca cola is not just creating drinks, but Coca Cola is creating a World Wide Family.
To view the commercial for Coca Cola’s Hispanic Heritage month, please click on the link below.
Angelique Winterton 