Thursday, September 26, 2013

Wei Yun Lim Entry #3

The visit to McCann was extremely exciting. Grant was extremely friendly and approachable, and I was really amazed at how honest he and Kesha were. Kesha, especially, was really honest in regards to how difficult it would be for an international student to obtain entry-level work in the communications field in America. In a way I already knew that it was going to be hard, but at least she was blunt. What really surprised me about McCann, however, was the Truth Central initiative. Initially, I had thought of the Truth Central as something that they were using to promote certain values and to restore their reputation. While, as Professor Jarmon pointed out, it certainly is, it certainly surprised me that this notion of 'truth' underpinned all the advertisements that McCann put out. As Ariel pointed out, McCann had a surprisingly anthropological approach to truth. The research that goes into it was definitely fascinating, and I know where I'm applying for an internship this summer. Another surprise was the fact that the average time from the receiving of the briefing to the putting out of the advertisement was only six-eight weeks. With all the magic, glitz and glamour that comes with advertising, I would have thought that it would take far longer than that.

It seems like such a vibrant, energetic environment to work in. Though something that was mentioned in class really stood out to me: the vibrant environment is also a good way to lure clients, and to make them think that creative people must work in this environment. Just because an environment looks a certain way does not mean that the culture will definitely be easygoing and casual. In fact, in advertising, I am quite sure that none of it is easygoing and casual at all. I enjoy fast-paced though: it keeps me from getting bored.

Speaking of fast-paced, the class is definitely progressing that way. Because of how much there is to pack in, we have a lot of work and a lot of discussion. The issue of online advertising constantly comes up, especially with regards to online vs. traditional. What kind of ads strike you is definitely something to think about, and when people are most vulnerable to advertising is certainly a question. It was interesting how different people in the class once again had different reactions to being targeted for advertising.

As for my research on the TTIY project, the new Kindle Fire has been released! I'm extremely excited (and, as I have probably mentioned every post, extremely tempted.) It's called the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, and it was unveiled around the same time as its competitor, Nexus 7. It is being said that it was done deliberately in order to foster competition and raise sales. With all the talk about Kindle versus Nexus, both brands are likely to feature in the media more often, resulting in more exposure than if the Kindle was released alone.

The Kindle Fire is supposedly lighter, faster, and it comes with 24/7 tech support, which I am extremely excited about. Though I have yet to use tech support for my Kindle, I would love to be able to have it fixed at three in the morning. They are also touting it as the 'best college tablet', which I find interesting as critics have previously said that the Kindle is not suitable for college students. However, 80% off textbooks with Amazon Prime? Talk about marketing genius: they are selling their Prime to students, who already obtain it at a discount, as well as making the new HDX more appealing. I don't know about you, but I'm down. Then again, I am an Amazon die-hard.

One thing though: the Kindle Fire is now coming with advertisements. It will cost $15 to turn the advertisements off, and while I am now more receptive to the thought of advertising than I once was, I'm not sure how the casual user is going to feel about that.

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