Christmas In New York City

Disney FOX Deal Finalized?!

Pepsi Perfect? More Like Perfect Disaster

"All I want is a Pepsi"- Marty McFly to the virtual waiters at Cafe 80's from Back to The Future II.

That's what we all wanted, right? A bottle of Pepsi Perfect based on the film mentioned above? Well, that was easier said than done. As you were all aware, Pepsi made an advertisement before 10/21/2015 that Pepsi Perfect will be released in "limited supply". However, what they failed to do was provide clear directions. Outside of the folks that went to New York Comic Con earlier this month, most of us were out of luck. 

After promoting the drink, Pepsi failed to give us more details on where to buy it and what time. Only information they provided us was that it would be available on Amazon.com and Walmart.com. It wasn't until later this morning when someone on Twitter told me that it was "out of stock"

When I found out about this, I was in complete shock. I proceeded to let them know about their mistake on twitter.

@pepsi messed up big time by not giving clear directions regarding #PepsiPerfect. One way to fix this? Re-release the product

— Kalind Patel (@NYCKNP) October 21, 2015

Due to all of this fiasco, Pepsi is now under bad PR for this and they have no one to blame but themselves. What they should have done was market the product and have it available for more than 6000 supplies. For example, it could be around for the rest of October and early November. Because of how scarce the product was, it was very much in high demand. Another is to assure the people that more supplies will be around due to popular demand.

At the end, Pepsi needs to listen to their fans. In case you don't remember, there was a lot of hype regarding "Pepsi Throwback". When it came out, it was so popular that Pepsi re-released it again for limited time. Eventually, it was so popular that Pepsi Throwback became permanent and eventually became "Pepsi-Cola Made with Real Sugar".

Since the bottle is high in demand, Pepsi must re-release it again and gain back the trust of the paying customers. If they fail to do so, they will lose their loyalists to Coca-Cola and that is not best for business.

I also posted this on Instagram to shed light about this on my #WhatCouldveBeenWednesday photo.

#WhatCouldveBeenWednesday: #PepsiPerfect being marketed the correct way. Before today, #Pepsi announced that they would sell #PepsiPerfect as a limited supply on 10/21/2015 based on #BackToTheFuture Part 2. However, what #Pepsi failed to do was being thorough with directions & how to purchase it. This caused a lot of fans to get confused and angry as to why it was sold out so soon. This is nothing more than a PR disaster. Here's some information to know. On the right hand side is #PepsiCola "Made with Real Sugar". That's what Pepsi Perfect was really about. So instead of shelling out $500 on eBay, save a lot of money and buy yourself Pepsi w/ Real Sugar instead. You'll thank me later. #PRFail #MarketingFail #BackToTheFutureDay #BTTF

A photo posted by Kalind Patel (@knpkh3ster) on Oct 21, 2015 at 12:37pm PDT

Why is 2015 different from Marty's 2015- BTTF Theory

DISCLAIMER: The author of this blog is fully aware of the difference between fiction and reality. This is primarily a theory from the author on Back to the Future Part II.

Hello everyone. As you all know, October 21, 2015 is fully upon us. What is special about October 21, 2015. This is the year Marty McFly and Doc Brown come to the year 2015. However, the 2015 they visited is a stark contrast to our 2015. And here is a reason why. Before I dwell into that, here is a video clip of Doc explaining the "alternate reality"

Now, from what you see here, this is my theory of the "alternate reality" illustrated below. 

It starts at the year, 1985. On that year, Marty and Doc travel to the year 2015 to prevent Marty Jr. from going to jail. At that point somewhere in 2015, an aged Biff Tannen stole the DeLorean and traveled to 1955. From that point, the 1985 that Marty and Doc knew was gone because it was at that point where it became "Biff's 1985". Marty and Doc would travel to 1955 and burn the almanac.

                                     

At that point, their 1985 returned and Biff's reality ceased to exist. However, Doc's time machine took him to 1885 due to a malfunction. Marty would travel to 1885 to bring Doc back home, but at the end, it was only Marty who returned via DeLorean. From that point, Marty picked up Jennifer and took the car for a drive. From there, he encountered Needles. Needles dared him to a car race on the street once the traffic lights turned green. Even though Marty looked like he was going to race, he actually reversed the car and prevented his accident that year. From that point, the fax "You're Fired" that Jennifer kept a copy of was erased. 

                                    

Afterwards, the future had been changed so drastically due to the butterfly effect. The 2015 that Marty and Doc knew no longer existed.

Going back to what I drew up on the alternate timeline, the exact moment where Marty avoided the accident was when the timeline skewed somewhere creating an alternate 2015. Alternate for Marty and Doc, reality for the rest of us. This is the reason why there are no flying cars, people dressing unorthodox on the streets (unless if your name is Miley Cyrus or Lady Gaga), or the fact that hoverboards are only in beta phase.

What did translate from Marty's 2015 to this 2015 are watching multiple programs on one TV, video conferencing, making phone calls with goggles, thumbprint scanning along with many more. 

The moral is this. If you do decide to time travel, be very careful what you do because that can cause a butterfly effect on everything else later on.

- Kalind Patel

Advertising Week's #AWChat from August 11th- Expanded Edition

Hello everyone! This blog post is dedicated to +Advertising Week's #AWChat from August 11th. This will be an expanded edition as I'm not bound to the 140 characters on Twitter.

Q1: Another 9 million US homes will drop pay TV in favor of web services by 2016. Has advertising sufficiently adapted? Why/Why not? #awchat

— Advertising Week (@advertisingweek) August 11, 2015

Has advertising sufficiently adapted? It's hard to tell since anything can happen between now and later. Should they adapt sufficiently, absolutely. Throughout the years, advertising has adapted from traditional media to digital. Now that 9 million US homes are dropping pay TV in favor of web, advertising can still thrive under these services as long as they know how to target their audience.

Q2: It’s been said we’re in the middle of a new Golden Age of TV–are we also in a new Golden Age of TV advertising? Why or why not? #awchat

— Advertising Week (@advertisingweek) August 11, 2015

If this is the Golden Age of TV, sure. 10 years ago, time shifting, and reality shows were the norm of that era. Now, we are beginning to enter a time where using the DVR is discouraged in favor of watching programs live due to live interaction on social media. Also, scripted shows are starting to step up their game thus a renaissance has happened. Unlike previous years, notable successful shows have ventured into outlets that are not traditional television such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. 

Q3: If so many TV watchers are using Netflix/Amazon/etc to binge-watch/avoid ads, how will the TV ads of the future reach consumers? #awchat

— Advertising Week (@advertisingweek) August 11, 2015

As I mentioned before during the #AWChat last week, advertisers can have ads air before and after the program. Someone on twitter said during the chat Korea follows the model where no ads air during the program but "air in-between the shows". This is a model similar to PBS. No advertising is done during the show (except for speical circumstances), and are kept to sponsors who sponsor the show. Not only should the new outlets follow the model, but also certain traditional tv outlets. Now if only some sports such as the NFL would do a thing where there is limited commercial interruption.

Q4: How can creative best adapt to new paradigms of television viewing? What are some examples you’ve seen? #awchat

— Advertising Week (@advertisingweek) August 11, 2015

One example I have seen is the "second screen experience". Historically, WWE Raw used second screen experience to air original live videos to show the matches during commercial breaks or have exclusive interviews air on their WWE App. Although the original videos during the show have discontinued, the app still remains useful since they can rely on public vote for select occassions (although the public vote is subject to debate).

Q5: Live sports and special events aside, what current TV programming (if any) still compels you to “tune in” every week? Why? #awchat

— Advertising Week (@advertisingweek) August 11, 2015

Even though the show's season finale is this Monday, I would have to say Tough Enough. Reason was to see which contestant would get eliminated and how they interacted with the judges. Other than that, the only thing I see live every week are games from my favorite teams and live WWE programming. Due to the DVR and VOD, there has been less urgency to watch shows such as The Big Bang Theory, Suits, or Family Guy. However, anything can change by September. If there is a show that is considered must see for me every week live, it has to be a compelling show to watch.

WATCHESPN and DIRECTV's relationship is "Best for Business"

In case you have missed it, ESPN and the Disney TV Group have formed a partnership with DIRECTV to have their apps be seen for customers who are subscribers to DIRECTV. That means that consumers can now watch ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney XD, as well as their local ABC affiliate on their iOS, Android, or any other connected device.

This is a move that is considered "best for business". Yes I know that word is cliche, but this applies here. The reason why it's the best move because for so many years, WatchESPN was exclusive to cable providers and DirecTV customers were shut out from the experience. Prior to the announcement, DISH subscribers were added to watch the ESPN apps, but DIRECTV was still left out in the dust.

With the announcement, this will bode well for both parties. For ESPN, the number of apps downloaded will increase significantly. On DIRECTV's side, this can also serve well to customers who use the internet more often than watch television. After all, ESPN claims to be the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" while DIRECTV has the most sports channels out of all providers. Give me a good reason why these two can't get along?

More on the announcement: http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2015/02/espn-disneyabc-television-group-launch-watch-authenticated-products-directv-customers/

Time to Regroup and Rebrand

Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I posted on this blog. I believe the last time I ever posted anything on this site was back in June. After a long hiatus, I have decided to rebrand this website. That's right, this will no longer be a social media blog. However, that doesn't mean social media won't be talked about. It will just be combined with other topics such as advertising, tv, radio, etc.

Times are changing and it's time to become more professional.

Talk to you soon.

- Kalind

Happy Social Media Day!

Hello everyone! It's been a really long time since I posted on this blog (due to the fact that the Spring semester ended long time ago). Just wanted to wish everyone Happy Social Media Day!

Here is some information from Mashable about Social Media Day:

To learn more about it, click this link to find out: http://mashable.com/smday/

Social Media Professionals: Erik Manassy

Erik Manassy Profile

My Experience with Kean's Career Services

Most students who attend Kean University are there to pursue a degree in the field that they want to study. After that, the students would find a job that matches their degree. However, finding a job isn't always a guaranteed process. Fortunately, Kean University does have career services which help you find a job that you want. Here, I will talk about my experiences with Career Services in addition to the benefits of it.

The first time I have set foot inside the career center was back in the Fall Semester of 2011. At that time, it was my second semester at Kean University. Prior to that, I attended Middlesex County College from 2008-2010 and started at Kean in the spring of 2011. Going back to the topic, I went to career services during an appointment to meet with a mentor during the "Step It Up" program. From there, I went inside and it had a lot of books. Not only were books available, computers were also available if anyone wants to learn electronically. Here are some pictures below:

                                         

                                                             (Career Services- left side)

                                         

                                                            (Career Services- right side)

Even though I haven't visited Career Services a lot, it does help when you are applying for an internship or a future job. Last semester, I was applying for an internship for the current semester (or the semester that just ended). I spoke to my academic advisor about the internship I would be applying for. He said that I wouldn't be eligible for college credit due to GPA requirements, but he would definitely endorse me doing an internship without college credit. My advisor also mentions that resume building can be facilitated through career services by going in person or by visiting their website.

I went on their website, which is http://www.kean.edu/~career/. From there, I looked up samples on how a resume looks like. I then modeled my resume based on what I saw with a few minor adjustments of my own. Eventually I sent my resume to the place I initially applied for. At first, I was turned down, but that did not stop me from applying to another internship. Eventually, I was officially accepted into AECOM as an intern.

As an intern, I would gain experience as well as knowledge of how the corporate workplace would run from 9-5 every weekday. Not only would I gain employment experience, I would also learn how the commute going from New Jersey to Lower Manhattan feels. From my experience, it is a very long commute. If I didn't learn to build a good resume, I wouldn't be sitting here talking about all of this.

                                     (photo of Lower Manhattan, courtesy of Google Images)

Overall, Kean University's Career Services has it's positives and a need of improvement. The positives are:

• Website- In case people can't make the time to go there in person, a website is available to facilitate every need
• Career Fairs- Every year, a Career Fair hosted by Career Services would have various companies come in and talk to students on what the company is about as well as accepting contact information, resumes, etc.
• Workshops- each semester, a workshop is done where students can learn resume building as well as choosing a major for the undeclared students

The one thing that the university, as a whole, needs improvement on is having a course called "Transition to Workforce". The workshops are useful, but it mostly serves as a convenience. By having "Transition to Workforce", an entire semester can be dedicated to students in their senior year to adjust to life outside of college.

The Myth of the "Mainstream Media" | IVN.us

"The whole idea of a mainstream media is hard for anybody under 30 to understand. It is a term that describes part of a world that no longer exists."- Michael Austin, IVN.us

 Read More: The Myth of the "Mainstream Media" | IVN.us

Blog Post Outline- Revised

This will be the outline for my latest blog post for Career Services at Kean University:

Career Services Blog Post Outline

• Use first person words instead of third person since the blog is about personal experiences

Blog Post Pitch

The pitch I have for this project is to talk about Career Services at Kean University. What will be discussed is the benefits of Career Services as well as relating it to how I got my internship. Also, there will be a few suggestions on what Career Services can do to become a better tool for success.

(Subject to change)

Which Medium is More Reliable?

I saw this interesting question on my Facebook timeline:

Post by Independent Voter.

Social Media Professional: Part 1*

The person who I plan to interview for the Social Media Professionals Interview is none other than Erik Manassy. Manassy is the founder of Stoney Creek Creative where it focuses on digital marketing. Manassy is also known for his presence on social media since he does a podcast called "Jets Twit" where he talks about the team he follows very closely and uses  his social media accounts to interact with everyone. 

This relates to the subject of Social Media  since everyone uses it, but only a notable few can make an impact.

*- Subject to change.

Social Media Networks You Didn't Hear Of: Weibo

For those who haven't heard of Weibo, Weibo is a microblogging site that is similar to Facebook and Twitter. It's full name is Sina Weibo, but commonly referred to by the latter. Weibo is based in China and founded in 2011.

The website is primarily in Chinese and does not have an English page (although there are reports of an English Beta version being released). The aspects Weibo has taken from Twitter are the character limits when it comes to posting. Weibo, such as Twitter will allow a 140 character limit posting as long as you use the user name you are talking to as @UserName or #UserName. In many ways the layout is similar to Twitter since it has a pictures on the left suggesting who to follow, posts regarding the top headlines as well as advertisements. On the top right, there is a link that says "Facebook" which will allow you to connect your Facebook account with Weibo.

(on the photo above, it guides users on connecting their Facebook with Weibo)

Overall, Weibo is something that you haven't heard of because it is primarily based in China and does not have an English (or any other language) version of this page.
 

Compare and Contrast Yahoo News Digest and Yahoo News

For those who haven’t heard, an app from Yahoo was released exclusively for iOS devices called “Yahoo News Digest”. Yahoo News Digest is a news app that gives you news whenever you want to access it. However, what stands out from this app is that these news articles are basically summaries that you can read on your phone about the top story of the day. In addition, it has a vibrant color that makes it feel warm when you use the app. While you read the top story headlines, there is a countdown clock on the app that will tell you when the “Morning Digest” or the “Evening Digest” will be released on the app. It is a useful tool because news stories can change throughout the entire day and people who want to be up to date on what is going on can read these digests. The word “digest” is the key word when you use this app because it helps people who use the app easy to understand and user-friendly. This is a stark contrast to the Yahoo News on their main page. Yahoo News, on the other hand will give news on all topics throughout the entire day. In addition, one can access the articles on the web or on a mobile device (which is not exclusive to Apple devices. It can also be used on Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone). The similarities between the two news mediums are that they are both owned by Yahoo and will give consumers their “news of the day” story in addition to having every sub-section of the news. The major difference is that Digest uses more pictures to give a visual look while the main page uses more words.

(seen above: an image of Yahoo News Digest on iOS devices)

(example of Yahoo News on a PC)

Chapter 1: Now!

What is Digital Marketing?

Quote: "Digital marketing can be defined as the goals of your business, defining your customers, finding them and putting in motion a strategy to connect the two entities."

To read more:What is Digital Marketing?

Not all Social Media Platforms are Equal!

Excerpt: "A post on Pinterest with 68% females might have to have copy written or an image that would appeal to them, but on a site like LinkedIn, the copy would have to be more professional with a business feel and appeal to individuals over 35 years old."

To read more:Not all Social Media Platforms are Equal!