IMC students developed target market profiles in advertising class this week and had a chance to let out their creative sides in the process. (Bring out the craft supplies and it’s amazing how engaged any crowd will become!)
Building on the previous week when they investigated a specific product and considered how they might use the product features in an ad campaign, this week they considered consumer oriented advertising. Their products ranged from a snack made out of seaweed to gluten-free cookies. They were able to taste test the products and research the companies.
This dovetailed neatly with the brand wars they waged in branding class and the focus of Digital Marketing and Analytics class. In their digital class last week they brainstormed a product and this week developed a brand voice, emotional connectors and a content matrix – 3 important elements of a social media strategy – designed to connect with the target market.
The focus on who or the target is a key element in an IMC plan. It is easy to look at the surface demographics (age, gender, geography, etc) and not go deeper. This focus on the target continues in corporate communications class where the students must complete a writing plan for their writing assignments. The writing plan includes a section on who will read your message.
