i

Already existing advertisements for the i, are not appealing to teenagers.



The advert does not have a social factor or anyone 'cool' representing them. It is mearly stating that the i can be taken anywhere and be read by anyone but all newspapers can do that. Maybe apart from the Sun because you would not want people to see you reading it.



“i is specifically targeted at readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers, and those of all ages who want a comprehensive digest of the news in printed form. i will combine intelligence with brevity, and depth with speed of reading, providing an essential daily briefing,” a statement from The Independent said.

This was a poster which was used as an outdoor campaign at the roadside, on bus sides in urban areas as well as across the train network, London Underground, Manchester Metro and Midland Metro tram stations. The campaign was directed by Treavor Beattie "with the aim of convincing the public that i marks a new concept in newspapers; an intelligent fast read for time poor commuters. The poster campaign will run a series of tag lines aimed at reinforcing this message: “i is all you need in the time you have”: “i is all you need for 20p”: “i is 20p”: and the grammatically peculiar “i is are you?” which harks back to an older campaign which stated: “The Independent. It is. Are you?”"

Andrew Mullins the director for the Independant stated:  “We are creating a newspaper for the 21st century that is designed for people who have a thirst for information and entertainment in the limited time that they have available. i is a reader-led newspaper with broad reach and intelligence.”

The i newspaper was never designed towards students but instead commuters. There is not a demand for a new student newspaper. Mullins was constantly being asked to create a newspaper that did not drown people in news and gave them the important tit bits they needed to enjoy a quick commute and leave them updated with current topics. It was for people people that did not read a newspaper on a regular basis but wanted to read quality and not quantity.

The i is Britain's first new national daily newspaper in twenty five years. The Independant has been loosing money since the recession but cheaper newspapers haven't been as badly effected. Is this the i trying to do both. "The UK's 11 major national daily newspapers have seen their circulation shrink an average 5.75% in the last year to 10.3 million copies a day, according to industry figures.The Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian have each suffered a drop in circulation of more than 10% over the last year. Sales of The Independent, which costs £1, have fallen to just over 186,000 a day from about 250,000 three years ago." The i only costs 20p meaning a much wider range of people will buy it and wont consider it when deciding what has to be cut from there shrinking shopping budget.


Of course when the Independant brought out the i newspaper they had to be careful that it did not take away business from themselves, they did not want the i to replace the Independant, just to bring back people's attention to newspapers, after so many people are just reading news on line. The i is colourful and is very similar to the Metro, it argues that it has recaptured the younger generations attention and that the 56 page newspaper will become a necessary in all young people's lives.The i has only three pages less football than the Independant, the i having seven, but much less on arts and politics. But will people really buy the i if the Metro is free?

The letter 'i' has become huge in recent years and there are so many products that use it. Apple being the main contender with the iPad and iPod. The Independant chose the letter i because it is derived from the word Independant but also because it wants to attract a younger crowd. For the younger generation who want journalism but do want to be seen with a hefty broadsheet. The Independant also stated that the newspaper was called i because it gave the impression that the newspaper was light and sharp. Straight to the point.


The promotional description of it contained lots of word like: intelligent, ideas, incisive, influential and informative. The i is trying to give people what they want, you can read the sections very easily in the i as they are colour coded. You are in charge when you read the i. There is no traditional way of reading it. People can get what they want from the newspaper quickly.

"Today's use of the letter "i" is much more sophisticated than early attempts to jump on the "cool" bandwagon, says Mr Gabay. It reflects the participatory nature of advertising, encouraging people to share knowledge of their products electronically or "like" them on Facebook, he says."

"This growing importance of the virtual world is the reason why "i", along with "blog" and "tweet" made it into Magazine readers' 20 words that defined the Noughties, according to lexicographer and Countdown regular Susie Dent, who was one of the judges. Language expert Tony Thorne says single-letter prefixes have been "trendy" since the 1990s, first with e-mail, then e-commerce and other brands such as Npower or M People."

Some comments I found on the internet about the i newspaper:

"I hate it! It feels like I'm constantly being dragged in to the i-life.. iPods, iPads, iPlayer... it feels like companies are using it to appeal to the 'youngsters' simply because Apple did and it became cool. Newsflash! I'm a 'youngster' and I hate it! I think it sums the world today and the me-generation.. i-this, I that.. it wouldn't ever have been a uPod, would it?"

Samantha Downes, Derby, UK

"In world of apparent over-exposure and mass-production of almost everything, this is a small marketing way of trying to make something feel unique to you. User-driven/created content, customisable gadgets and apps. It's just a way of trying to connect to the person rather than the people.

Jacob Barker, London"

barbie.

Three barbies are sold every second earning $3.6 billion a year. Barbie stands for the modern toy industry, she is a lifestyle brand. There is a strong rumour that there are more Barbies in America than people. Barbie is sold in 150 countries and is the only plaything to reach the world's top 100 brands above Jack Daniels and one below Fedex. She has had over ninety careers and the most prestige designers have created her clothes. Such as Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood, Givenchy, Armani, Versace, Ralph Lauren and Dior. 92% of Barbies clothes are re designed ever year, she stays in fashion with a constant turnover on money making accessories. 

Ruth Handler wanted her daughter to dream and have a better career than a house wife. Barbie was born in the 50's and the new generation was independent and did not need to stay at home they could become career girls, go to glamorous parties, wear stilettos and be high fashion. The bikini was invented in the 50's. Barbie allowed girls to be part of fashion after the shortages of world war one. The clever thing about barbie was that you could change her surroundings, hair, clothes even nail colour because she was just a mannequin, you made barbie who you wanted to be. A doll that allowed girls to become gorgeous and glamorous in which any way they felt. Barbie has always been updated to keep up with the changing trends, even her body type has been changed to keep with the nations idea of perfection. although if Barbie where a real person she would be so under weight she would not be able to menustrauate. Ken on the other hand has only ever been updated once which was not a success by Hollywood stylist Phillip Bloch to look hotter, Ken is better enjoyed when seen as a safe fatherly figure to the children. The average american girl owns ten Barbie dolls but only one Ken as he is seen as an accessorie.

Handler decided to please the children instead of the mothers. Mothers hated Barbie complaining she had 'to much of a figure', but young girls loved Barbie. Lilli an adult doll from a German cartoon is an illicit sex symbol. Some call the moment Handler met Lilli the most important moment in toy history. Lilli only four years older than Barbie is her doppleganger, apart from Barbie having no nipples. Long legs, bigs boobs, tiny waist, blonde hair, blue eyeshadow they both have sex appeal.

Barbie's life has alwas been turbulent and by the 1980's Barbie was looking old. Jill Barad saved the day and was at the time the highest paid women in the world getting $38, 000 a year. Barbie was reincarnated and her earning raised dramatically from $200 million to $1.9 billion. Barbie who had always disgusted feminists was now a symbol of girl power using the tag line 'We Girls Can Do Anything'. Barad always dressed in perfectly but mainly in a pink suit and sky scraper heels, she painted mattel in bright colours and lived in a princess masion.

Although Barbie has had competitors they have never reached such dizzy heights, until Isaac Larian invented a scary looking toy called a Bratz doll. Bratz were invented when Wal-Mart told Larian if he brought in  doll that could rival Barbie he had a deal. Bratz are targeting seven to ten year olds whilst barbie was targeting three to eleven year olds. Tween agers are a massive spending group. Tweens control over $1.7 billion dollors and are perfect for the toy market because they have short attention spans and easy spending money. Contempory American tweens have been proven as the most consumer involved, brand obsessed and materrialistic generation. Seventy five percent of tweens want to be rich and famous when they grow up. American children have bonded to brands by the time they are two. This has not made the country happy, an average childs stress level and anxierty levels are the same as children that would have been admitted to clinics for psychiatric disorders in 1957. Small children are being farmed to become consumers.

Bratz dolls are hyper sexualised and mothers that were once offended my Barbie's figure anow see her as a comforting figure. Bratz have been attacked, complaining that Bratz make the body seen as a "form of play". The positive thing about bratz in that the dolls are multi cultural. Bratz have the cool factor and come with endless accessories. They have bee stung lips and huge eyes. The head is much bigger than the body which is also a serious effect from being anorexic. Sixteen layers of paint are used to created the Bratz make up. When bratz first came out Larian was going from store to store trying sell these dolls and no one wanted them. His daughter yasmin said she liked them so he kept pushing and named one of the dolls after her. An advert for bratz was put on TV even though you could only buy them in very few shops. The advert caught attention and suddenly Bratz dolls were everywhere. They became the number one fashion doll in the toy industry.

Barbie in retaliation brought out 'My Scene' which was a collection of Anti Barbie dolls, tweens thought that Barbie was for younger children, therefore loosing the 'cool' factor. Yet tweens would still have Barbie back packs, pencil cases, they still loved the brand just not the doll.

My Scene was Mattel's answer. A Barbie with more attitude, plumper lips and more make up. My scene was a vehicle for girls dreams and frustrations. They were described as "sex in the city without the sex", although they do look like copies of bratz.

http://myscene.everythinggirl.com/home.aspx

Then came Flavas in 2003 having personal style, Mattel tried to use the huge surge of hip hop at the time to create dolls with tattoos, bling and exposed midrifs. Critics thought the doll was too nasty and edgy therefore it was discontinued within a year. Isaac Larian commented on the dolls "the only thing missing is a cocine vial".

Body Shop brought out this advirtisment which I think is a very healthy thing to do as children have so much pressure on them to be skinny and attractive. 

tulisa.

Our nation's obsession, the X factor has an advertising scandal.
Tulisa has a tattoo on her fore arm which says "The female Boss". The singer's signature move then she comes on stage is to raise her arm and show off her tattoo. Recently she brought out a perfume called 'The Female Boss' and has been accused of free advertising abusing her position on the X factor.

the cool factor.

In general reading a newspaper is not considered cool amongst students. If the i wants to become the biggest selling newspaper to students it needs to become cool. A brand that is considered cool is red bull, this is because they hold cool events and sponsor cool things. Red Bull sponsors snow boarding, skiing, extreme motor biking, F1 racing, rugby, ice hockey, and surf boarding.





There most recent red bull adventure was the Red Bull Fashion Factory it was launched for London fashion week hosting shows from elite designers,. Vivienne Westwood was very involved. It also gave many graduate students a well earned break into the fashion industry allowing them to showcase their work.

Another well known cool brand is Tennents. T in the park is eighteen years old this year and is one of the best, elaborate advertising campaigns ever. Hugh Tennent describes the event "with music, good times and my marvelous lager". Everyone knows about Tennents and it has become a Scottish tradition. Scottish people are very proud of their country and because it is well known for being Scottish, Scots are more likely to drink it. Even people that do not drink Tennents regularly will drink Tennents at T in the park because it is part of the legacy.



i needs to associate with something cool so that it will then become cool. Students will want to read newspapers if they are considered fashionable.  

We needed someway of making a popular event that is enjoyable for both genders and is related to i in someway. The Independant does not promote drinking, a festival was out of the question.

Our group came up with the idea of creating a comedy show, that could travel to all student unions in Britain. Taking inspiration from 'mock of the week' and 'have i got news for you'. A celebrity is needed to give the show publicity. Up coming comedians that are also students will give i the publicity it needs to be cool and young and in return give the student a well deserved boost required to break into the cut throat industry of comedy. A few names were batted around: Jimmy Carr, Daniel Sloss and David O'Doherty.



The tag line could be "its no joke, the i will become popular".

This also needs to connect into are other ideas. After research we discovered the i was not selling well because of bad positioning in shops and little advertising. A vending machine placed in student spots around the city combats this problem. Vintage American style vending machines will allow students to find the newspaper quickly and easily, with no other competition imposing. Perfect for a student with ten minutes to kill for the bus or half an hour till their next class.

People buy a newspaper as an experience. As the i wants to capture those who are not set in there ways about which newspaper they buy. They need to cash in on this experience. The younger generation does so much online that buying a newspaper and having ten minutes to yourself in your own little i world is very relaxing. Students spend very little time on their own, you live with lots of people, go to university with lots of people, go to a  crowded gym, perhaps they work somewhere hectic. Getting ten minutes alone, for some personal space can be very rewarding. A lot of people will read a newspaper when they are at their parents house, foot loose. It can be like a home comfort to read a newspaper. To feel the paper between your fingers and hear the russle as you turn a page. The i could be slotted into papers for free over Christmas so that all students read them while they are a their parents house and then hopefully will keep buying the light, biased free newspaper when they get back to student accommodation.

Future plans for the group: we have split into three groups. One will focus on the vending machine. Finding the right places for them and how to advertise for the comedy night on both sides. Group two are looking at stores to see if posters could be put up to advertise the i, cheaper tickets for the comedy night if you buy the i. A card board cut out of the comedian at the front door of the shop, holding a copy of the i. Research further into the physiology of why people buy newspapers, what section they read, how much they spend, etc. The focus is the comedy night for group three, creating posters and researching comedians.
 

"benetton calls on the pope for inspiration as its sales tumble"

i

http://www.independent.co.uk/i/
Brainstorming the i newspaper.
First impressions, that it was full of sharp articles which were not biased to any political party, non opinionated just factual. Perfect for traveling, a quick lunch break, or a single parent. It feels as though the i is a training tool. You read the i now but then take of your training wheels off and start to read the independant when your all grown up.
The uni building does not sell the newspaper which is not a good sign as they want students to be their biggest body of customers. The only place I have seen them on sale is Nisa and WHSmith but even then they were not at eye view and to find them you had to search for them. The logo is to one side instead of being a massive title across the top creating a problem. If the newspapers are in a messy heap you cant see the logo and therefore just pass it and pick up another more recognisable newspaper. One group had an amazing idea that you could sell them around campus in American style newspaper boxes. There is hardly any competition for i, the metro being the main obstacle. As i does not seem to get much funding it has instead a ridiculous amount of advertisement in it which brings down the level of quality. The guardian has a student ambassador for all university's in Britain which is a great way of getting the paper advertised by people who know the local community.
We were thinking to get the newspaper to become "the most read newspaper amongst the student market" we would need to do some research, such as: what sections of a newspaper do people read most? How much money do people want to spend on newspapers? Which people buy newspapers and why? The i doesn't want to target people that already buy a newspaper, they need to target people who do not find out why and then tap into this percentage of people.
Things we brainstormed that would make the newspaper sell:
Perhaps there could be a local section added into the inside of the i that could show student events going on in the area. It could have more sport and more fashion. A female i and a male i no sport in the female and vice versa. Student recipes, healthy food on a cheap budget. A competition for T in the Park tickets. A facebook page inside the newspaper, printing the best comments, photos, etc. It could become interactive and have competitions every week for students to write an article or create a piece of artwork for the front cover. There is so much undiscovered talent out there, that needs publicity.

volvic water.

A brand is a fragile thing, difficult to create and easy to destroy. 

The recent Loyd Grossman scandel will be intresting. The jar of Grossman in my cuboard was quickly thrown out by my flat mate. How will the brand survive? With competition being so fierce and Grossman being chosen for quality over cheap price. Could this destroy Grossman? 

"The two children struck down by botulism poisoning after eating a Loyd Grossman curry sauce are a brother and sister both aged under 10, MailOnline can reveal.

The children are being cared for in a Scottish hospital where they are said to be in a serious but improving condition.

They became ill after eating a jar of Loyd Grossman korma sauce, which comes from a batch of 47,000 that have been distributed across the country, and have now been recalled.

Mr Grossman, who developed the recipe for the sauces, was 'in shock' after hearing about the poisoning.

His agent Peter Schnabl told MailOnline: 'Loyd is very upset and distressed at the minute.

'It was a such a big shock when he was told about the illness of the children. He's devastated. It's all very upsetting.

'Loyd's not just putting his name to the products, it's a full involvement.

'We're furiously trying to figure out what has happened.

'Loyd will be leading the charge in finding out who's responsible. He's not happy about it.'

In theory, the cooking process, which involves boiling the sauce for more than five minutes, should kill any harmful bacteria.

Mr Schnabl said: ‘We are trying to find out exactly what has happened. As far as we are concerned the bacteria should have been removed in the production process."

 

 A brand is worn for status and if something happens to the brand it will die because it is no longer 'cool'.

"Abercrombie & Fitch is offering to pay Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and his fellow "Jersey Shore" cast members to stop wearing the brand on the show. The clothing company says in a news release that it's concerned that having Sorrentino seen in its clothing could cause "significant damage" to the company's image. Abercrombie says a connection to The Situation goes against the "aspirational nature" of its brand and may be "distressing" to customers.The Ohio-based retailer says it has offered a "substantial payment" to Sorrentino and producers of the MTV show so he'll wear something else. The company says it also is making the offer to others in the hard-partying cast."

On the side of a Volvic bottle, it states that you are not allowed to refill it. Of course everyone does it anyway, but it made me think. This is not a very environmetal attitude. But if somewas was to fill the bottle with something rank and you drank it by mistake. It could scar someone to never drink Volvic again, whenever you thought of Volvic you would think of that situation rather than the water. When I was in school my friend brought in a bottle of flavored water but filled it with vodka as a joke and now when I think of flavoured water, I remember my reaction of horror. It also means that Volvic makes less money because instead of just filling up your bottle you buy a new one. 

 

just one more thing.

Eduard Erlikh has amazing work. I find him very inspirational. Although some of his work is rude, you have been warned. http://www.erlikh.com/fall2003.asp

madonna.

"The English Roses is a 2003 children's picture book written by American recording artist and entertainer Madonna and illustrated by Jeffrey Fulvimari, which later became a series of children's books by both artists. The books are about the life of five schoolgirls in London and their problems."

Jeffrey Fulvimari is an emotive illustrator. I love the way he draws beauty so carelessly. 

http://www.jeffreyfulvimari.com/eng/

Tickle Me Elmo.

Chicargo's Ron Dubren big break came from Tickle Me Elmo. Dubren started his career as a doctor in research psychology but playing Scrabble one day with his wife he thought someone must have invented this, I am going to give it a shot. A few of his toys were bought into the ruthless market of the toy industry but none found fame and fortune.
Dubren's eureka moment came in the form of two laughing children on a park bench in New York. It made him remember the joy of laughing and brought back memories of being tickled as a child. Tickle me Elmo was not born yet though. Tickles the chimp was first and then Tickle Me Taz.
Tickle Me Elmo was taken to the toy fair and the reaction was not as good as Dubren had hoped although Neil Friedman decided to produce 30,000 of the giggling toys sold at $29.99. But Elmo was not a phenomenon yet.
Rosie O'Donnell is the person Dubren needs to thank. O'Donnell had a talk show on the TV that was devised for mothers. Throughout the show O'Donnell kept an Elmo doll on her lap and whenever someone is the audience said the word 'wall' she threw an Elmo toy into the crowd. 300 Elmo's where given away and that was the advertising Elmo needed. O'Donnell become the 'queen of nice' and has always been associated with the pop culture of Tickle Me Elmo.
The selling of these toys was described as a 'self feeding frenzy' and cashed in over 30,000,000 USA dollars.
In the USA the toy industry is huge. American families are getting smaller, but are spending more on their children. Parents have children when they are older and therefore have much more spendable income. Divorce is fantastic for the toy industry because parents 'guilt buy' their children more presents, the less they see them, trying to buy love. Even grandparents are spend happy as they were brought up in the generation where money was not an issue and accounts for 17% of the American toy industry today.
Children have shorter attention spans every year and therefore the toy industry renews 40% of the toys every year which creates a massive amount of waste.
Each christmas British chidren unwrap 2 billion pounds worth of gifts, every year the gifts having to out do the one from the year before. At New Yorks annual toy fair there are thousands of diffrent ideas for new toys, piles of plastic and electronic gifts.You want to ask yourself do children need all these toys? Of course they dont but the toy industry does.

glasgow.

Glasgow is an amazing city, one which you can't describe until you go there.

When most people think of Glasgow, especially outside of  Scotland, they imagine how rough and dangerous it is. People imagine Glasgow paved with skeletons. It has a bad reputation.

Our trip involved a long bus journey but finally we arrived. Merchant city was ours to explore. First impressions count for everything, the bus parked outside of an Armani store therefore mine was that Merchant city is posh, well off and a little bit snooty. Merchant city is the best place to wast away a day if you have a fat wallet.

Tourism is an something Glasgow wants, there are posters everywhere advertising the fabulous architecture you can visit. There are maps dotted around the city for whose who do not know their way. Although you probably wouldnt need a map in Glasgow because everyone is so friendly they would point you in the right direction.

Merchant City is made up of restuarants, shops and shopping centres. We visited the apple store while we were there which is a beautiful building. When you go in there are a number of things you notice. There are no prices on any of the items, you have to ask. I dont know if this is reminesnce of the fashion world 'price on request'. Or simply so you have an impulse to just buy something because you want it and dont stand there decidinding if your bank account can stretch to the luxury. It could mean that people who shop in the apple store are so rich they need to worry about money, they just buy what they want. Another thing is that there are credit card points on each of the tables displaying the laptops, etc. Is this so people impulse buy and just whip out there credit card and buy one? I thought apple where better than that. It was a thursday afternnon at about twelce oclock then I was in the apple store and yet there where more staff than customers in the store, each customer could have their own apple personal shopper with them. Personnaly i thought it was over whelming if you were simply browing by the sheer number of staff. The best part of the store was defianalty the building it was in, clearly carefully selected. It is a strange thing to notice but i alaso noticed that when you walked up the spiral staircase it was very easy to walk up. Pretty much just like walking on flat groulnd, lazy steps. Apple is defiantly a customer experience not just a shop.