TCC Insights

Pay it Forward

 By: Matt McDermott, Intern

Three weeks ago marked my first day as a creative intern at Travers Collins. The internship came about as a result of my own research and sparked interest in the advertising/public relations realm this past summer. From there it was a few emails, a phone call, a recommendation from my supervisor at my past internship, an interview, and wham, it was September 7 and I was in my cubicle at Travers Collins sipping on coffee and enjoying my first assignment.  Life was good, but my feet hurt.

What's in a Name?

  By Drew Shields, Creative Intern

Yesterday morning I awoke to an interesting story on the Today Show about how the founders of US Fidelis, the automotive extended warranty firm, had been indicted on multiple felony charges. The laundry list of white-collar crimes was read over mugshots of the owner brothers, followed by a slideshow of expensive cars, watches, and helicopter shots of million-dollar mansions bought with defrauded money. Turns out that after an damning NBC investigative report in April 2009, the company discontinued selling its services in December 2009 and declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2010.

At this point, the company's clearly down for the count, but I elect to take this opportunity to kick it while its down to learn a thing or two about "misleading" marketing messages: chiefly, how not to market a service so it is perceived as a skeevy scam.

Old Navy Sways, Spike Follows

By Drew Shields, Creative Intern

Whether or not the Vacay Sway is your dancefloor move of choice, Old Navy has been making moves in the world of television advertising by teaming up with mobile app company Shazam earlier this year.

Since its inception, Shazam's music identifying and tagging app has solely been focused on saving individuals from the mind-wrangling torture of trying to figure out the name of the song that's playing overhead while you wait for your oil change. The Old Navy team-up, which allows you to shop the items from the commercials right from your smartphone, is just the first play in Shazam's full-court press to expand its tech beyond simple redirects to iTunes and Spotify and into the realm of non-music marketing.

Ads on Amazon Kindle: Genius or Gimmick?

By Kelsey Bradbury, Account Service Intern

The idea of ads mixing with e-books is enough to elicit groans, and is probably fodder for hundreds of gloomy blog posts about the unbridled proliferation of advertising into every aspect of American life. But this particular blogger thinks that Amazon may have achieved the improbable—the creation of a desirable ad-supported e-reader.

First and foremost, Amazon promises skeptical readers an uninterrupted reading experience with the ad-supported Kindle—ads appear only on the bottom of the home screen and as screensavers.

A Thank You With Strings Attached Just Doesn't Cut It

By Kathleen Rooney, Senior Vice President

Recently, I had the pleasure of reporting back to a school on a student’s performance during an internship.  Routine forms were filled out with a spot for comments.  It was a fairly simple process requiring no phone interaction between the academic director and myself.  About as painless as it gets, as the now former student in question was and is a high performer.

So, when an envelope arrived in the mail from the academic director’s office, I assumed it was a final thank you.  (Saying thank you is a courtesy that I think separates ladies and gentlemen from, well, everyone else.)

But when I read the letter, I really couldn’t quite believe my eyes.  It was a solicitation asking me to consider the school’s master’s in communication management.  Under the thin veil of about six lines of a form letter that said thanks for the mentoring, came the hard sell.

Sound Bites and Tasty Bites

   By Elizabeth Grady, Public Relations Intern
 
I was thrilled when Kate Torok, my internship supervisor, asked if I would attend the Taste of Buffalo press conference with her on my second day as an intern. Anxious for the new experience, I arrived early, open-minded and eager to learn.

When we walked into Tops and found the stage set in the produce section, I realized I was lucky to have this be my first press conference. Normally when I think of a press conference on TV, I naively associate them with a political scandal or some other drama. This was different though. The mood of this event was set by the savory smells of a great wall of food that surrounded the reporters. Everyone attended with a secret underlying reason in mind, to get their hands on some of the incredible feast.

Hi I’m Joe, I’m an advertising intern by day and a wild man by night.

By Joe Russell, Advertising Intern

I joined Twitter a couple of months ago so that I could follow T.O. here in his new home of Buffalo. While I continue to learn about Twitter’s use as an effective marketing/PR tool (very interesting), I’ve learned that it is also a great way to stay on top of my 1980’s video montages. Through Kristen Bell (Couples Retreat, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), I got the inside scoop on a video that has changed my life. It is incredible.

Check it out:

Dating Montage
by smithy00101

After regaining my senses, I did a quick Google search because I needed to learn more. Apparently fed up with karaoke dates and the local bar scene, some singles (i.e. the dozen or so guys in this video) in 1987 decided to try this new video dating service, Video Mate. Groups of single men and women would gather in a room (on separate days, as to eliminate an awkward post-viewing face-to-face meet) and watch 45-60 second video profiles of potential dates.

I was barely a year old in 1987, but I’m pretty sure mustaches had been out of style for at least 5 years by then. Couple this with the fact that the video features a Viking, an awfully spray-tanned man with “incredibly blue eyes”, and a poetic “body designer” and I think it can be safe to assume that red-sweater guy didn’t find anyone to join him on his playground.

This video is a reminder of how far dating services have come. Thanks to the selectivity of online services like EHarmony and Match.com, hopeful singles no longer need to sit through something like this ever again. Dating services have been brutal since The Dating Game made its debut in 1965 (Love Connection, speed dating, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels) but continue to change and improve with technology.

Many services are now going to mobile and I predict the same for the dating scene. Mobile will combine the face-time of video, the selectivity of online dating, and the volume of speed dating into one convenient service that is immediate and interactive. Singles will be able to use their mobile device to sort through various 10-15 second clips of potential dates found by searching tags. Let’s hope mullets aren’t a popular search term…

UPDATE:
I just watched the video again; I think I saw Paul Rudd’s Brian Fantana, Seth Green, and my dad.

PR Skills to the Rescue

By Kayla Hogan, PR Intern

After compiling the “PR 101” PowerPoint for the Brown Bag Presentation last week, I started thinking of how often I incorporate the basic elements of public relations in my day-to-day life, particularly in my job at Shorty’s Ultimate Sports Bar & Grill in Niagara Falls, NY. I waitress and tend bar at Shorty’s in between school and interning, and even when I’m not scheduled to work, I’m usually there fixing something, training someone, or finishing up side work others have left behind. I arrive early and always stay later than scheduled, because to me my shift isn’t done until all of my work is. I take great pride in the restaurant and the work that I do there, which is why I have frequently put my PR skills to use in order to maintain the strong relationships we have with our customers.

On several occasions, I’ve been faced with minor crises that called for PR action. Specifically, a few weeks ago I was waitressing on a Friday night. The patio was open, a popular live band was playing, and the place was packed. Around seven o’clock, the hostess informed me that I had a 6-top (which in the restaurant business translates to “a party of 6”) of middle aged men. As I approached the table, I recognized a few faces. They were regulars for my Saturday afternoon shift. I greeted them enthusiastically, welcomed them back, and rattled off the specials. I got their drinks, took their order, and brought them their dinner salads. After about five minutes, I went back to check on them and noticed one of them was sitting back, arms crossed, glowering at me.
    “How’s everything going, gentlemen?”

The Value of an Internship

By Regan Corr

I’m about to start my senior year at a liberal arts college. My major is English Literature and History. I’m finishing up an unpaid summer internship at a marketing and public relations firm this summer. And, no, I am not getting any class credit for it.

I cannot tell you how many of my peers have asked why I took this summer internship. Here are a few questions I have often been asked:

You major in English and History? So you wanna become a teacher, huh?

Wait, you don’t major in PR or communications? Then why are you working as a public relations intern? Aren’t you nervous you won’t know anything?

If you don’t get paid or get class credit, what’s the point of the internship?!

De-friending

By Camille Sarkees, Public Relations Intern

I was recently on Facebook, and went to click on a friend of a friend’s profile, whom I was certain was already in fact my Facebook friend, when I was prompted to add him.  Surely, we have been through this formal process of requesting and accepting one another’s friendship.  Being completely unaware of any fallout or reason for my de-friend, I considered it and quickly forgot about it.  Months later, our mutual friend asked me about the “situation”, and why I had de-friended him.  Hm… did the Facebook administration suddenly decide that the two of us could no longer be friends?  How many other friends did this happen to without my realizing it?

Soon, I began considering the notion that all 850 of my Facebook friends, surely couldn’t all be my “friends,” nor are they people I want having any knowledge about what I’m doing.  I soon began a series of cuts, and decided to remain friendly with those only I know.  Jenny from freshman year financial accounting class isn’t someone I speak to anymore, so I am beginning to wonder why we are still Facebook “friends.”  I have no vested interest in her virtual life, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual.  Perhaps if she were a little more exciting, I wouldn’t mind being notified when she’s added in excess of 95 photos of her and her latest boyfriend.