Bumble is one of a seemingly endless list of online dating apps, but it has one primary unique quality, it requires that women be the one to initiate and lead the online communication. Dating apps have become more widely used and accepted as legitimate ways of forming a romantic relationship and with this broader acceptance we are beginning to see the advertising for these apps creep from seedier locations into more mainstream mediums. The Bumble advertisement during the 2019 Superbowl is undoubtedly the most mainstream ad for a dating app thus far and presents an excellent example of some broader principles of advertising.
Creating an emotional trigger is one of the most effective tools in the toolbox of advertisers and this Bumble advertisement is flush with emotional triggers. The commercial begins with a clear shot of Serena Williams standing in a tennis court. In this shot Serena is immediately recognizable to even the most casual sports fan. Using such a recognizable figure is one of the ways that a commercial attempts to grab your attention. In the next few scenes you see a young and meek Serena contrasted against the mature and powerful superstar Serena. The voice-over is Serena herself as she describes what it took for her to stand out from others. This contrast is intended to make you think about the struggles that a young Serena must have gone through on her journey to super stardom. Thinking about the struggles of a child is a huge emotional trigger for many people and is another attempt at your attention. The commercial begins its close by showing a few shots of Serena, not as a tennis star, but as a successful (and married) businesswoman. Presumably, the idea behind this closing is to lend credence to online dating apps as a legitimate means of entry into romantic relationships. The commercial ends with a simple shot of the Bumble logo and where you would best find the app for download.
The individual scenes in the
commercial hit on a few specific methods for hooking your attention, but the
broader theme and tone of the commercial also are effective at grabbing your
attention. Piggybacking on social movements is also an effective attention
grabber, especially social movements that are in vogue. Women lead the
conversation on the Bumble app and so the entire tone of the commercial is
recalling the broader themes of Feminism. Framing the Bumble app in the wider
context of women’s empowerment is intended to encourage use of the app by
people who value this important social movement.
The commercial definitely grabs your attention and is wonderfully brief, but it suffers from the same problems many others commercials appear to suffer from. As you watch you find yourself wondering, “What the hell is this ad for?” While I find many of the themes found in the commercial important, I just cannot seem to reign in my skepticism. Can a Superbowl advertisement really be a part of a social movement? Maybe I am just being cynical but I am finding it hard to believe that the interests align.
President Trump (with Vice President Pence present, unspeaking) opens his border wall discussion with Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi by praising the job that the border patrol and military are doing in handling the situation there. As the first person to speak, he sets the tone of the rest of the conversation. Pelosi responds by placing an emphasis on what the American people want, which, as far as she is concerned, is not a shutdown of the border. Trump interrupts her in a typically self-aggrandizing fashion less than a minute into her response. If he had not done this right off the bat, she may have been more compliant to his demands. On the other hand, Trump historically seems to respond most compliantly to aggression. So, their mannerisms make a compromise between them difficult. Schumer, for a major part of the discussion, fails to contribute much at all until telling Trump about his dishonest framing of this national conversation. He states firmly to Trump that he feels there is a way to come to an agreement without shutting down the government. Trump is rigid, unwilling to come to a compromise, which is a bad way to resolve a conflict. He goes on to say that the border patrol is very effective and that it is ineffective without a wall. He ignores Pelosi and Schumer when they point this out. He introduces non-sequitur into the discussion, bragging about what he feels he has accomplished as president while Pelosi and Schumer fail miserably to keep him on point. Both sides decided to stubbornly stick to their talking points instead of letting the conversation flow organically, and that is why they were unable to reach a consensus.
You may not know the term very well, but you are probably quite familiar with what it is. Group-think has long been associated with past events like the Nazi regime, the Challenger explosion, as well as the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In each of these instances, people have come forward after the fact and stated that at the time when some major decisions were being made, instead of saying they didn’t agree, they chose to “go along with” ideas or decisions that cost many people their lives. Things that could have possibly been avoided had someone stood up against the “group.”
Have you ever done something because numerous people you trusted suggested it, even if you didn’t do research on your own or really think about the consequences? Did you vote straight Republican or Democrat without examining the candidates voting record or beliefs? Perhaps you really didn’t even want to do something, but you went along with an idea of a group because you felt pressure to conform? That in a nutshell is group-think; conforming to the ideas and decisions of a group because of fear. While we all do these things in day to day life like choosing a restaurant or buying a brand of toothpaste, these instances are not going to cause you many issues. In large settings or when you help contribute to the making of a powerful decision, it can be a dangerous place to be in.
Group-think still happens in major ways today. We will see it in many forms come November. Even now the fear of being judged or treated poorly for simply not voting is a whole new wave of group-think. I have seen people who will vote simply because they are told they aren’t American if they don’t, while not even knowing the candidates’ names on the ballot.
By understanding the dangers of group-think, we begin holding ourselves accountable to our actions, diving into fear, and standing up for something that is right or we believe in, (especially when we are not in the majority.) While we know this is not an easy task, we are seeing people stand up all over the US today and make it known that fear will not stop them. From the Rosa Parks to the #metoo movement, standing up for what is right will always be the what makes America, the home of the BRAVE country it has always stood out to be.
-Christina Jones – Business and Communications Student – IUPUC
Listening to me and Hearing me are two different things. How well do you listen? According to PR Daily, less than two percent of the country’s population, have had formal education on how to listen. Did that not just blow your mind, because mine is flabbergasted. We communicate everyday with people from around the world, only to realize what we are saying to each other is only being heard, and not comprehended. I have three quick points on how we can enhance our communication skills, by simply improving our listening abilities.
Pay Attention
Open Your Mind
Interact
These tips do not have to be completed in order, but it is much easier to understand the conversation if you do. Let’s break these tips down into a simpler form.
Paying attention is the key to any conversation. This allows the sender and receiver the opportunity to feel each other out. It is also needed to retain pertinent information.
Open your mind to all ideas whether you feel like they are good or bad. You never know what someone else can bring to the table, not to mention we all fall short of knowing everything, so always be willing to learn something new.
Both the sender and the receiver should interact with each other. By doing this the other knows if the message sent is clear. Interaction could be as simple as eye contact or a nod of the head. The point is you are letting the other know you get it!
I have found in relationships with others in my life, communicating effectively is so important. Not understanding what someone is trying to tell you after they have said it over and over and you have heard it over and over is beyond frustrating. That is why during the communicating process, we must openly listen to each other and pay attention to the details in the message so that we can respond to effectively. Considering there are so many cultures that make up our country, some ways of getting a message across will vary. These steps might not work for every situation, but they can assist with the process.
I’m sure many of you if not all of you have been through at least one job interview in your lifetime so far. Well, how many of you actually took time and effort to prepare for the interview? Probably not as much as you wish you would’ve. An interview consists of many simple but huge steps you should always follow. After completing all your resume steps which should have been done in order for you to get an interview, you want to make sure those files and documents are accessible to yourself as well as your future employer. Make sure you always plan ahead and maybe even bring an extra copy of your resume. You should always go into the job interview feeling confident and strong that you have a place to fill the position you’re trying to get. Employers have many jobs other than being a hiring manager. Time is money, don’t waste their time. Most employers will only bring you in for an interview if they feel like you will be a good fit for the position and team. Most interviews for very serious businesses are put together to get to know you more personally. If they know you can do the job, they will always have you come in for a face-to-face interview that way they can get to see how you act in person. Most of the time you’re going to be at work and so they want to make sure they like you at a personal level as well as a coworker/team. In order for you to do good in an interview, you should always be conversational with the employer. Don’t be shy, speak up and speak to them as if you met a new person. A lot of times people feel discouraged in an interview which results in them being quiet and not showing themselves at a high potential. You don’t want to make them feel awkward, the more you talk the better you will be off. You should always be prepared physically as well as mentally. Going into an interview you should be wearing something that is at least a bit dressier than a regular day for yourself. Maybe slacks, jeans, polos, clean shoes, etc. Dress yourself accordingly to the job title. Although not everyone can look as nice as one another, you should always try to be at your best physical appearance that way they know you are serious enough about their opening position. Expect the greatest but don’t let that tear you don’t fit the requirements for the open position. You can expect to receive a drug test, background check, legal citizenship, and other requirements for the job. Hopefully this has given you a few helpful tips about a job interview.
“I’m a businessman. I’ve made my money supplying a popular demand. If I break the law, my customers are as guilty as I am.”
Alphonse “Al” Capone was a notorious American mobster based in Chicago. He became increasingly popular among the people of Cook County during the Prohibition era. Capone was the main man for bootlegging, the illegal selling and distributing of alcohol.
Capone viewed people as either potential customers or potential threats. He used his popularity with the press to help people see him as someone who was on their side during the Prohibition. He used this to his advantage to get what he wanted. Since Capone is majority Italian, the way he ran his mob was different than most. His men were very loyal, and if not they would be dead. Once, he had invited members from his mob whom he had found out had been aiding his rival gangs to dinner, and afterwards he had proceeded to tell them that he knew and he tortured them all night before killing them. Capone had a tendency to run things the old way while making a modern twist. He would host a soup kitchen for the press to see and at the same time he would be paying off police.
Uncle Al is still one of the most famous mobsters in America. He was only sent to prison on tax-evasion in 1931, four years after the Supreme Court deemed illegal income was taxable in 1927. He later died of a heart attack at his home in Miami on January 25, 1947.
With the most recent presidential election, people know that Hilary Clinton was almost the first female President of the United States. However, she is not only known for being the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. Others know her as the woman who was the source of an email scandal that took the country by storm and destroyed lives. The scandal was even made into a movie, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, which became a hit in 2016. Some members of the Democratic Party may give you excuses for why this scandal happened, although the movie may not mention her name, it still illustrates how dramatic and severe the incident was. This well-known scandal took place while Clinton was Secretary of State and decided to use a private email account instead of the already provided government email address. To some, it may not seem like an issue that she made the decision to use a private email account. Clinton choosing to use a private email address makes all of her emails unable to be tracked and put on record. Clinton, being familiar with the rules of the political world, knew that this was the case if she chose to use a personal email account. She was fully aware that she would be able to send and receive untraceable messages. She then used this personal email account to exchange messages regarding the attack on the soldiers in Benghazi.
After the incident, the government ordered that they be given access to her personal email account. However, Clinton had deleted some emails before giving the government access to her account. Emails that she claims were simply personal, but no one is able to confirm what was on those now deleted emails. The personal email account has also been traced to what happened in Benghazi. If you are interested in what exactly happened in Benghazi, I highly suggest watching the movie, it’s fantastic. Just keep in mind that it is a movie, and you may need to fact check some of the things that were filmed.
Now, back to Clinton and how she allegedly created a mess. There were emails sent to Clinton regarding the attack on US soldiers located in Benghazi. After reading the information she was given in the emails that were sent to her, Clinton did nothing to protect the soldiers. Since then, there have been allegations about what emails were actually sent and what she did about it.
From a communication security standpoint, businesses can learn that they need to highly encourage, and even force, the use of business emails when interacting with others related to the work place. It is called a private email account for a reason, it is meant for personal use. When a person is employed somewhere they are given a specific email address that is intended for use. Just as my academic advisor told me that she would only communicate with me through my school email account, that is how all corporations should conduct business. They should only communicate with each other using their business’s email address. As Clinton demonstrated, it is far too risky to not be able to document each interaction that happens, especially within the political world. Businesses can learn that in order to decrease the number of miscommunications and court cases, it is best for everyone if an employee only uses their work email in the workplace.
It’s 2017. Times have changed. People can be connected to their friends and family with a touch of a button now thanks to social media. Because of the vast amounts of people logging onto Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram each day, businesses both big and small have created their own social media platforms. Why do this? Why change the way customers find out about your company and products? What are the benefits?
Well-known companies and brands such as Apple, Hollister, and Wal-Mart have figured out the best benefit of social media: marketing. On Facebook, ads catch a person’s eye and take them to the company’s page. This not only promotes the business but also introduces it to new people. However, not many teenagers use Facebook as their main source of social media, so a business might consider making an Instagram account to attract the younger generation to their products. While marketing is a big part of a business’s interest in social media, companies also can use it for connecting with their customers.
Twitter is a wonderful way for a brand to know their customers wants and improve their business practices. For example, many fashion brands will post new releases on their account which allows their customers to comment, like, and share the post. This introduces another benefit of business on social media: feedback. Companies would know what they need to improve after reading through the comments on their posts, create a relationship with the customers, and know what they are excelling at. Though there are several other benefits of incorporating social media and business, marketing and instant feedback make combining the two worth the time.
Aside from the major sources of social media, businesses also advertise on successful blogs. My cousin Lauren Bradberry, who writes a style blog, had an unpleasant experience with Ipsy, a company that sends people make-up samples for a monthly fee. “I was put on a waiting list for an indefinite period,” explained Lauren. “Unless I shared their company on all my social media platforms, then I would be taken off.” Lauren cancelled her subscription because she thought Ipsy was being manipulative. From Lauren’s experience, businesses could learn that it is best to promote themselves on their own social media and allowing people to come across it on their own.
If anyone is thinking of starting a business or is looking for ways to improve one they have already created, social media is the key. It gets the company’s name out there and is more likely to be recognized. With social media playing an important part today, it shows that people are accepting of businesses having a respectful role. Several companies have already taken on the challenge of growing through social media, so why should you miss out?
Gary Vaynerchuk is a media expert. Vaynerchuk recently said in a Facebook video that he does not want to make a conventional video. He would rather make something people enjoy watching with cues, such as logos and objects or merchandise within those commercials. All forms of advertising have a place, but newspapers and inkblots, alone, will not cut it in our technology-driven society. Advertising styles have changed dramatically.
Black Rifle Coffee Company does an amazing job at selling products without directly advertising them. The veteran-owned and operated company makes funny and outrageous videos on YouTube and Facebook. The videos depict attractive women (hot chicks), guns, extreme sports, nice cars and everything else guys, like me, can’t get enough of. Below are three videos from BRCC.
John Willis, the owner of Special Operations Equipment (SOE) and James Yeager, the “MFCEO” of Tactical Response, have gotten famous by being unapologetic business owners. SOE makes gear like gun belts, chest rigs, rifle slings, etc. Tactical Response is a firearms-fighting school. Both Yeager and Willis speak their mind. When someone doesn’t agree with them, they will fan the flames. This gets the customer fired up. That customer then runs to forums and social media outlets to complain about either businessman. This draws supporters, like myself, to defend Willis and/or Yeager. Willis says that this model works because it is like a traffic jam. Everyone stops to look at the car with a flat tire. This slows down traffic, and more people see the flat tire (his name). The people then flock to his page by the hundreds to buy products. Yeager uses this model to get new students to sign up for classes at Tactical Response. They call this firing customers. By not wasting time on one bad customer, they can help two or three good ones. Both can be seen on YouTube and Facebook doing this very well.
Times have changes, and so have advertising styles. Rather than try to convince you why their product is better or tell you all about their products/services, they give you entertaining content that has subtle hints towards their business.
Is there a right way for a company to announce bad news? The answer is yes, even though bad news is never good, there is a good way of announcing it.
An example of someone delivering bad news the wrong way would be BP’s CEO Tony Hayward. When the BP oil spill that happened in the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward said in his speech how the oil spill was relatively tiny and that the environmental effects would be modest. This was a lie, the BP oil spill spilt billions of gallons of oil into the ocean and cost 11 people their lives.
Tony Hayward made the mistake of saying that a huge incident with massive environmental effects. This was a way for him to feel better about delivering such bad news to so many people, but it also undermined just how big the incident was.
There are many wrong ways to deliver bad news but there are also some guidelines to help deliver it properly. You always need to speak up and deliver the news as soon as possible. This means that there’s no hiding it or setting it aside for later. Secondly you need to make your statement accurate, don’t try to make it seem like a smaller deal than it is. Lastly, you need to say what your plan to do next is. You should never deliver bad news with no attempt at a solution. This causes people to panic a bit more trying to think of something to do.
Through all the horrible examples of people deliver bad news like Tony Howard, there is a proper way to deliver bad news. All you have to do is follow the steps.
Sources:
Andersen, Erika. “How Great Leaders Deliver Bad News.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.
y customers are as guilty as I am.” 
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