Listening to Oreos

      Oreos! Milk's favorite cookie. Everyone loves them, and why? They're a simple treat that has been around for decades. They bring us back to our childhood and we want to pass those memories on to our own children. And that is their value proposition: they're great with milk and they've always been there for us.
      Oreo has been around since 1912, how have they managed to stay relevant and how will they continue to be? One thing is for sure, they're fans love them and can't get enough. Is it even possible to be disappointed with an oreo?

People usually say cigarettes would likely be the post-apocalyptic currency, saying oreos would be implies this person thinks they are equally addictive and valuable to society.

There are many comments like this, saying something about eating a whole pack at once. The oreo-lover's shared taboo and a relatable saying to share.

Oreos bring back our childhood for a moment and inspires it's fans to get creative. Many customer comments mirror the playful disposition the company presents. Oreo takes the time to respond to many customer posts and do so in a casual, playful manner.

      Oreo's success is not all due to a fabulous product and long-standing reputation. They've maintained their relevance by being a very creative company, coming out with new flavors and different ways to adapt the oreo into other dessert products. They pay attention to their customers and market to them through multiple social media platforms giving their brand a  fun, kooky personality that appeals to oreo-lovers.

     Oreo is currently doing a 'guess the mystery flavor' competition and their customers are loving it! They are also simultaneously pumping up their Halloween oreo and jumping on any opportunity to respond the community's oreo related comments.

    Another thing to be admired about Oreo's marketing team is their ability to respond to advertising opportunities with a quickness. When the power went out during the 2013 Superbowl Oreo went straight to twitter to throw out this quip:

     While Oreo does a fantastic job at marketing to their main demographic, I can't help but wonder if they could be alienating a potential customer base with their playfulness. People who don't enjoy silly behavior may still like cookies. Also, they could expand their social media advertising techniques by incorporating more storytelling vs using primarily quips.


     By looking at Oreo's success we can see the value in creating a personality for your brand, marketing on multiple platforms, and taking advantage of opportunities for real-time marketing. Staying relevant takes round the clock maintenance, my hat is off to the team over at Oreo.
  








Citations:
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/07/10/marketing-moment-101-oreo-wins-super-bowl-dunk-dark-tweet
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/335485
https://twitter.com/Oreo
https://www.facebook.com/OREOUnitedStates/

Marketing in the News

   

Imagine flipping through your phone one day and an ad pops up, with your face on it! You were never asked or even notified that you would be in the advertisement. That is what happened recently to Tik-Tok user, Elijah Jay. He is one of many creators on the site that post videos in hopes of achieving some measure of fame. The ad features a clip of him swallowing a 3ft long balloon, set to cycle over and over. While being put in this ad did bring him fame, who wouldn't feel violated at being given no notice or compensation.

Empathetic outrage is what initially drew me to this article. Tik-Tok, like many media platforms obtains the rights to what you publish when you sign up, however, that doesn't mean they shouldn't communicate with you when involving you in an ad campaign. It's just unethical. Tik-Tok is just a platform for people to perform on. Their business wouldn’t exist without these creators, so you’d think they would put more care into how they treat them

Tik-Tok is a wildly popular app used for sharing and sending short clip videos. Their value proposition would definitely include their large user base, with 203 million daily users, making it quick and easy to spread your own videos to millions of viewers.

I love the idea of putting their users in their ads, what better way to accurately represent the app? Although, the concept is not unique and, in my opinion, their ads blend in with all the others I see. Both Facebook and Snapchat are doing marketing campaigns in which they use real life users. How to make their ads stand apart from the others is probably the biggest challenge facing their marketing program. I don’t know what the solution is, but I know it’s not following the herd.

Who's That Girl?!

     It’s Shawna! I’m a pretty simple person, my world revolves around my two jobs, my critters and now school. In my free time I like to play games, hang out with friends and take my doggo, Balto, hiking. I’m in my second year of the accounting tech. program and am taking this class as part of the curriculum.

     My first introduction to marketing was from the TV series Mad Men, which portrays marketing as a hardball career ruled by out of the box thinkers, among other things. While I am drawn to the concept of a career that necessitates thinking creatively, the competitive nature is not my style.

     I'm not sure exactly what my end goal is career-wise, but my dream would be to run my own small business. No matter where I end up in the business field I imagine marketing knowledge would be applicable and could only benefit me.

Laughter is the Best Medecine



When you witness a jolly man laughing, a real hearty laugh, hands on belly, red faced with tears in his eyes. It brings a smile to your face, or even a laugh, and you may not notice it at the time, but this smile has completely changed your outlook on life, atleast for a little while.

Maybe it made it so that the pile of homework awaiting you at home didn't seem so intimidating. Or, maybe it made you forget the unwanted day's work ahead of you. No matter the situation, the benefits of laughter are more than what meets the eye.

Laughter has many far-reaching benefits. It can improve all areas of your life; the physical, the mental, and the social areas of your life can all benefit from a healthy dose of humor.

"I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off," says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. "They might be healthier too."

Laughter is great for the body, a good belly laugh relieves tension and stress from your muscles, leaving them relaxed for up to 45 minutes. It boosts your immune system by decreasing stress horomones and increasing infection-fighting antibodies. Laughter even protects your heart; it improves the function of you blood cells and blood flow, which can decreases your risk of a heart attack

Laughing makes you feel good! That feeling that you get after getting your jollies off sticks with you. It gives you a different perspective so that you can look at situations more realistically, because humor creates a pychological distance between you and the situation making you feel less overwhelmed.

Humor melts away upsetting emotions. It's hard to feel angry, anxious, or sad when you have a genuine grin on your face.

Laughter is contagious, it's true! Just hearing other people laughing can bring a smile to your face; that's because we are naturally attracted to positive emotions. Group laughter is one of the best tools to strengthen relationships and build group, or one-on-one, bonding. And it can unite people in times of difficulty, after all, laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone.

The gift of laughter is something that you are born with, it is an innate part of life. Babies begin smiling in the first month of life and are able to laugh out loud well within the first year. Even if you don't consider yourself a naturally funny person, it's not too late, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

The best way to learn how to laugh is to smile as often as possible; a smile is the beginning of laughter. Start by not taking yourself too seriously, laugh at the things in life that would ordinarily stress you out, then see how big of a deal they seem.

Some things in life are sad, and clearly no laughing matter, but truth is most events in life fall into a sort of gray zone that makes up your daily life-giving you the choice to laugh, or not.




At A Glance:

Benefits of Laughter:
Physical Health Benefits:

• Boosts immunity
• Lowers stress hormones
• Decreases pain
• Relaxes your muscles
• Prevents heart disease

Mental Health Benefits:

• Adds joy and zest to life
• Eases anxiety and fear
• Relieves stress
• Improves mood
• Enhances resilience

Social Benefits:

• Strengthens relationships
• Attracts others to us
• Enhances teamwork
• Helps defuse conflict
• Promotes group bonding

We're Vegetarians, Not Aliens



     If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? We do! So often it seems like omnivores look at vegetarians as though they are of a different breed. Hell, maybe we are; in the rest of the animal kingdom we find that animals who eat solely meat, animals that eat both meat and plant matter, and animals who eat only plant matter are of different species. But humans have always been the exception, haven't they?

     Truth is the difference between a vegetarian and a person of the typical diet is really nothing more than food preference. You wouldn't usually gawk and be in awe of the idea that someone doesn't eat potatoes. Not eating meat products makes about the same amount of difference to a vegetarian as not eating potatoes makes to a potato-hater.

     Just like anything else in life, you can't generalize. Every person is an individual; not every vegetarian chose the lifestyle because they're against killing animals, or because they want to shed some weight. Some people don't lose a pound. I don't eat meat because I just don't like it. There is no other motivation or thought behind it.
    During Thanksgiving dinner, at the age of six, I've been told that I said: "I don't eat no damn dead bird," a mimic of my father's way of wording things, and refused to eat any of the turkey.

     If I had a dollar for everytime I have been asked: "How can you get enough protein with that diet?", I'd probably have about 30 bucks. Doesn't sound like much, but it's actually a pretty fair amount for being a relatively uncommon question. The average American usually consumes 10% more protein than the lifestyle requires, so says Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, authors of the diet book Skinny Bitch. In my 5 years of being a vegetarian I have never had a problem with supplementing all of my dietary needs.
    After that look leaves the omnivores's face, that look that tells me they are thinking they were just let in on the secret that I am really a life form from another planet masquerading as a normal human, and they come to the inevitable, and quick realization that I am no different than them, they try to convince me that I have just never had good meat before.
    It doesn't matter if I tell them with complete honesty that I do not like chicken, I frequently find myself in the situation where they resond with, "Oh, but you've never had my chicken." It doesn't matter. I don't want your chicken.

At A Glance:
~ Vegetarian Food

~ Vegetarian Celebrities  

~ Vegetarian Restaurants Near You

Robert Harrison Teaches the Future

When Robert Harrison lectures his class, you can barely tell that's what he is doing. It feels more like listening to captivating stories, told by someone who has all the inside details.

His class is a conversation between teacher and student; you get the impression that he appreciates the time spent with the students just as much as his students appreciate and value the time spent in his classroom.

When opening a lecture on the Roaring Twenties he begins by telling his class slang words that teenagers of that generation would use. He describes how kids would say "He's the bee's knees", when referring to the life of the party, the coolest guy on the block. Then he asked the class what their version of "the bee's knees" is. To which, after a moment of nervous mumbling, one student said: "We'd say 'He's the shit', not to be confused with 'He's a shit." And the wall between teacher and student instantly crumbled.

Harrison began teaching History at LBCC in 2006, he got his doctorate from for Ohio State University, but has been teaching in many different states all over the US since 1983.  Since starting at LBCC he has founded the Democracy Club and started the Clinic for Citizenship.

The Clinic for Citizenship was an event hosted by the Democracy Club in which they had speakers talk to students about government, past, present, and future. They handed out tests, to see how much people knew about their country, and offered to help people register to vote.

He started these clubs because he strongly believes in the future being in the students' hands. He says that he and others of his generation are too old to really make a difference, but that the student generation can change the world.

These clubs are about educating students, because we all get a voice in this world, but due to finances, some people are afforded a bigger voice. Harrison wants to get as many college aged individuals educated and  involved; students make up a large portion of the voting population and this is an untapped power. Too many students don't know what's going and they don't care to be involved, which is a shame since students could be such a force in our government if they only tried.

"I want to push back against a lot of the cynicism and apathy in students," said Harrison.

"He cares deeply for the success of his students and this is reflected in the time he spends on his classes," said Darci Dance, a colleague of Harrison's since '06. "Robert often sacrifices much of his free time to work on class-related information and always brings fun to learning."

Harrison is a devoted family man. He is married to LBCC's writing professor Callie Palmer, together they have two daughters, Katrina and Robin, 22 and 25, two dogs, and a cat, who are integral parts of their lives.

In his free time he enjoys politics, it's a hobby of his. He also loves reading and traveling. He and his wife have traveled to places such as: Italy, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Morocco, and are dying to see more. "You can't feel like you've lived a full life if you've never seen the pyramids," said Harrison.

When asked what motivates him he smiled and sighed, saying that as much of a cliche as it is, he has to say his children. "My two daughters are the most important things in my life. I am so proud of them."

Scott McAleer, colleague of Harrison's, describes him as a creative thinker who is resourceful and a great problem solver. He is dedicated to his students, their learning, and is interested in non traditional approaches. "One of the most genuinely nice people I know. Personable, laid back, intellectual, funny, kind and unique all come to mind," said Mc Aleer.

It's obvious Mr. Harrison loves what he does. He likes to have a platform, and a chance to influence people. Of life, he says: "Do as much good as you can, have as much fun as you can, because it will be over before you know it."

At A Glance:

Classes he teaches:
Humanities 102
History 103
History 202
History 203

Family:
Callie Palmer-Wife
Katrina Harrison-Daughter
Robin Harrison-Daughter

Randy Jones: Adult Foster Care Provider(Updated Profile)

There's a yellow house on water street lined with flowers whose petals have given into the fall breeze and been carried away. Inside this home is a collection of individuals who have the same amount of potential as these flowers to stretch their leaves and bloom into independent individuals who can lead full, successful, and happy lives.

This is the mind set of Randy Jones, whose goal is to make his clients feel empowered enough to be able to move onto a more independent living situation. "Our system is self empowerment and behavioral modification. We do this through change in environment and education," said Jones.

He said that the definition of empowerment is the increase of an individual's abilities and knowledge. And that is exactly his approach; skill building so that his clients can become more capable, making them stronger and more secure with themselves.

A client of theirs happily reported: "I like it here a lot, it's the best place of all the places I've lived." This same client, adult-male, said that he feels Randy runs the house very well, "It's as fair as fair could be."

Another client, senior-male, said he enjoys living here but feels he is ready to move out on his own. Whether the state agrees or not he doesn't know, but his focus is set in the right direction.

Both clients agreed that Randy helps them a lot. He helps them when they're hurt or need support and guidance. With Randy's help, a client said, he has made it past a lot of milestones.

By his loved ones he is described as honorable, ethical, intelligent, hard-working, and strong-willed. His nephew, Devin Clifton, thought back fondly to a time he and Jones built a fence together. "He teaches me not just the fundamentals, but life lessons that I can take with me in everything I do." He describes his uncle as knowledgeable: "He knows what he's talking about, not only from books, but from life."

His wife, Kami Jones, said her favorite memory with her husband is their wedding day. "Randy was everything I wanted before I knew what I wanted," said Mrs. Jones. "I became a better person when I began to grow my life with him."

Together Randy and Kami Jones have three children, Zachery-22, Savana-18, and Hunter-13. Jones' hope is for his children to learn the business and one day take it over.

The Jones' business is highly reputed for taking the hardest cases and making significant progress with them. "Our main clientel are those that are behaviorally challenging, or behaviorally intense. I've been told that all of the people we have were refused by everyone else," said Jones.

"With our system of self empowerment we are able to stop violent behaviors almost immediately, and in some cases we have successfully been able to stop individuals desire for violence."

Throughout his career he has owned and operated about 8 homes, ranging from Nevada to Lebanon to our home town of Albany. They've specialized in all sorts of cases, including: most all forms of personality disorders, schizophrenia, autism, aspergers, and sex offenders.

When his clients talk about Jones, no matter what their situation is or where they came from, they have an obvious respect for him. You can tell by the tone of their voices, and the hope in their eyes when they talk about their aspirations.

Sometimes what people really need is someone just to believe in them. In the Jones' home, they found the support they've been looking for in abundance. "I honestly feel like everyone who has come into this house has left it a better person," said Jones.