You're a Good Man [Jessica Ayla]: my introduction to Finding your Brand

“You’re a good man, Charlie Brown. You’re the kind of reminder we need. You have humility, nobility and a sense of honour that is very rare indeed.” Charlie Brown was lucky to have his family and friends to tell him what his “personal brand” was. Even though they arent advertising students and don’t know the terminology.

My advertising class has our professors to help us find our personal brands through blogging, podcasts and our own personal websites. They teach us that we have to really think about who we are, what we stand for, and what we want to prove and portray in life.

Well I guess I will start with who I am. I am Jessica and I have a FATAL allergy to all nuts and nut products. I love anything to do with the dramatic and graphical arts. My favourite animals are cats and bats. Karate is my life; it brings me a stress-reliever and helps me find balance in my hectic life. I love learning and meeting new people – even though the idea of trying to make friends gives me great insecurity. My birth mother came from Grenada and my father from Trinidad & Tobago.

                      

I pride myself in being a good natured person. I am always polite to everyone no matter who it is. My boyfriend says I say “please” and “thank you” more then the average young adult. And I always hold open the door and let others go through first before I do. I even ask my fellow residence-mates if they need help carrying their bags.

I found this video while watching television one day which I think describes my brand of “multicultured equal courtesy” but in a funny way of course.                                   

I may not fully know what my brand is yet, but I KNOW that I will always have my nut allergy, I will always strive to defend what is right and I will always show kindness to everyone. So even though they are singing about Charlie Brown the meaning is still the same for others and myself as welll…
“With a heart such as your you could open any doors. You could go out and do anything. You could be king Charlie Brown, you could be king.”

An "All-Star Experience"



Frank Armstrong- Coolest Teacher ever!
Thank you for giving us such a great opportunity



Ip Man once said “It is difficult for a student to pick a good teacher, but it is more difficult for a teacher to pick a good student”. Last Friday our Writing for Marketing class was visited by an “All-Star Panel” of Advertising-Integrated Marketing Communications graduates who taught us a lot about our awaiting lives outside St. Lawrence walls.

 Ricardo Guiliani, Gui Bermejo, Laura Kittner, Jamie Walker, and Viktor Michailov shared stories of their experiences in placements and jobs after graduation. They told us how important it was to always try your hardest, always say yes to the little jobs, appreciate the opportunities that are opened for you and always network and value those connections.

After the intermission we split into smaller groups and talked to the all-stars. I chose Viktor Michailov and I’m glad that I did. Viktor works for my Presentations teacher Jackie St. Pierre at Ontario East Economic Development. He also owns his own company Paw+Paw that specializes in luxury high comfort pet beds. Viktor explained to us that you have to respect everyone as fellow human beings. Everyone makes mistakes. He also asked us about blogging and the importance of separating our personal life from your professional.

Viktor changed my image of the business worker. He is really funny and charismatic and didn’t show up in a suit and talk all in business terminology. He spoke as though he only left school yesterday. He thought it was really cool that I based a big part of my brand on food allergy awareness. That gave me some much needed self-confidence that I wasn’t finding anywhere else since arriving in Kingston.

 Viktor Michailov once said “I see life as an amusement park. There are all these rides but you’re only given a limited amount of time to stay. It’s up to you to figure out how many you’ll try....you don’t want any regrets on the way out”. I’ve never found anyone who I could look up to (save my mother) but I hope that Frank invites Viktor to come back again. I could have talked with him all day, and I hope I get another chance to over the next 2 years.

 Thank you Viktor, don’t hesitate to visit again because your newest fan will be here when you do.

A Sense of Emotion

While looking up information on food based allergies I found this advertisement. This picture is from ALLERGIC LIVING but was posted on a blog by “Sophie Safe” a mother who talks about the trials and tribulations of raising a child with a food based allergy.

         


The advertisement was made by Allergy Asthma Information Association and their mission is to “create a safer environment and improve quality of life for Canadians affected by allergy, asthma, and anaphylaxis by empowering individuals and providing education, leadership, and a national voice.” They practise the three A’s which are Awareness, Avoidance and Action. They focus on education and prevention.

By the look of the figure this advertisement is targeting adolescents/young adults who have/or are affected by someone who has an allergy. The message is that even the simplest action can lead to an allergic reaction. Even a small amount of an allergen can cause you to go into anaphylactic shock whether you “thought” what you ate was safe or not. The image uses powerful emotional appeal techniques. Anaphylactic shock can happen almost instantly and the image represents this fact.

I think that the positioning strategy for AAIA would be to represent a lifestyle. Living with any kind of allergy is a different lifestyle of its own because you have to constantly be aware of information and choose the things you touch, eat and buy accordingly. I’m not saying there is a specific ‘allergen lifestyle” out there like with Harley-Davidson but you do have to live a different way then others.

I love this advertisement because it’s hard dealing with food based allergies not only for the one with the allergy but for the loved ones close to them. With more advertisements like this AAIA could create some much needed awareness and understanding in our communities.

Go Beyond the Cover: the Bare Bones of Advertising Campaigns (revised after marking)

When you think about DERMABLEND products do zombies come to mind? This is 26 year old Rick (Rico) Genest and he is the ZOMBIE BOY. Earlier this week I found DERMABLEND’s newest ad campaign starring Rico. The tagline is Go Beyond the Cover: How do you Judge a Book? The Creative Strategy or “Big Idea” is that you cannot always judge someone by their outward appearance.

Rick inspires people around the world to accept that inner and outer beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That in itself is a big contribution to get customers loyal with DERMABLEND’s brand. The fact that their products can completely cover that many tattoos flawlessly is brilliant.
 

DERMABLEND decided not to use a traditional celebrity endorsement where the subject stands with product in hand and raves about its benefits (this is called a factual appeal technique). Rico doesn't even speak during the whole video. After all actions do speak louder then words. The audience can only hear the background music There is Hope by Zoo Brazil featuring Rasmus Kellerman.

DERMABLEND used an emotional appeal technique for their ad. When you see Rico rubbing off the make up and revealing his tattoos it is very shocking. If I hadn't already known about Rick I would have been amazed myself although I am very impressed with the overall results of the products. As if the Zombie Boy didn’t catch your attention already this advertisement leaves you wanting to know more. Watching this video left me near speechless.

                                

I also found the behind the scenes video for anyone who wants to watch the transformation.

                                
I would definitely show this video to my students if I taught advertising classes. You cannot help but understand how savvy this advertisement is and how inspiring their campaign is. Koodos to you DERMABLEND!