Our visit to Target Cast, a media planning and buying agency, was definitely insightful. While I had some knowledge of media agencies from working at Grey Advertising, I never really knew about the fundamentals and work processes of this industry. I am still exploring the options of potential career path and feel that these company visits would be beneficial for me to get the feel of the work environment. I went to Target Cast to learn and I must say that I did not come out empty handed.
We met Colette and Heather who took us through a presentation overview of the company. I found the session to be very informative and useful. While I have some sort of background in media planning and buying because I was able to collaborate with these companies during my internship at OgilvyOne, I was never really exposed to the specific tasks that they had to do. However, after hearing about the kind of roles that people do at Target Cast, I realized that it wasn’t that far off from a traditional advertising agency. The fact is that all communication agencies have become more integrated in terms of their strategies and executions. This is the most important aspect of providing this kind of service to clients because consumers are constantly bombarded with media messages 24/7 through all the different channels, and therefore, it is very important for us to select appropriate channels for different targets. It also became clearer as to why there are more advertisements online now – through videos, social media and other websites.
As a consumer, I am always presented with various kinds of advertisements, both online and offline. I sometimes become irritated of these advertisements if they pop up too frequently. When I learnt that the media agency has access to particular content of my media usage, I felt that a little intruded. While I understand the need for media agencies to track my behavior, it always comes down to the question of “How much is too much?”
Around midway of the presentation, we had an unexpected visit from the CEO, Steve Farella. He told us briefly about the company background and I was very impressed with the company’s progress in the past 12 years because they seem to have achieved so much. It is definitely inspiring to hear how a company that started from scratch can evolve into something of significant value.
Besides the informative session, we had a brief office tour to see where and how the work was being done. I thought that everyone who worked at the company seemed to enjoy their office environment and workplace. I have always believed that the workplace plays a very important role for the whole company. Target Cast’s culture is very relaxed and down to earth. Although there is a clear distinction between the roles, those in top positions did not seem to treat their subordinates poorly. Everyone we met seemed friendly and learning a lot from their jobs. I know from personal experience that small companies allow people to expand their horizons and touch upon many different roles.
My “aha” moment was probably the fact that even professional media agencies, who are the experts in media planning and buying still find it challenging keep up with the new media channels available. New methods of communication have come into play. I found it interesting that media agencies now integrate their communications into applications like Pandora and Shazam – it is quite amazing to see how creative the executions can be.
Could I see myself working in a company like this? Although I liked the positivity and relaxation of the workplace environment, I still do not see myself working in media planning and buying. I am thinking of branching into a career on the client side – focusing on marketing and strategy. However, I am definitely excited to see what other companies have to offer!
Current Events:
I recently read an article on CNN about the impact of social media. The article primarily discusses Twitter as the “angriest site on the Internet.” Twitter is positioned as the go-to platform for news updates, witty one-liners, political one-upmanship and even absurdist storytelling. However, ever since the crowning an American of Indian ancestry as Miss America, “Twitterverse started spewing.”
People started tweeting nasty comments online and posting things impulsively without thinking. The result? It goes viral.
I feel like the social media platform has become a place for people to express themselves and their opinions nowadays. The classified emotions are: sadness, disgust, joy and anger – the emotion that spreads like a virus is anger. Of course this is not limited only to Twitter, people also use YouTube or Facebook to attack certain opinions or posts as well.
TTIY Project Update:
For my TTIY project, I did a little bit of research on the Bath & Body Works company background. The company was established in New Albany, Ohio in 1990. It has then expanded its retail stores within the United States and Canada. Their mission was “to bring amazing fragrances to every home”. Have they been achieving this so far? I think so! I think that Bath & Body Works has a variety of product lines that cater to different household and individual needs.
Looking further into their current advertisements, Bath & Body Works has special deals for their customers to make their purchases even more valuable.
Examples:
Signature Body Care: Buy 2 get 2 free
Soaps: 4 for $15 or 6 for $20
Wallflowers: 4 for $20 or 6 for $24
Furthermore, they also have exclusive sale items available only for customers who shop online. I feel like these deals are a big part of why they are successful. I found out about what people thought when I asked a few people their reasons to purchase Bath & Body Works products – their answers tend to revolve around the economical price and the good quality products.
As for the social media platforms, Bath & Body Works continue to post about their new product lines, current events and special deals for customers to look out for.
Facebook & Instagram: Provides the details of these products and events, along with a promotional campaign/coupon code to draw customers to their website.
Twitter: This acts as a platform for people to tweet about any topic to do with Bath & Body Works – whether it is to give feedback or ask questions. I noticed that Bath & Body Works are very responsive and answer all inquiries that people may have.
Blog: Bath & Body Works blog is a community created for people to interact with the brand – not only to blog about latest news but also to post fun facts as well. These blog posts are divided into categories such as:
FUN: Trivial content
FRAGRANCES: Product recommendations and new arrivals
SHOW&TELL: Health/beauty tips and tricks
YouTube: I found a new ad which mentions the new collection that just came out earlier in August. Although, I was disappointed to find only a limited number of ads.
I plan to look further into the brand and its activities in the coming weeks!
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