Tag / nativeadvertisements

by Kea

More Good Stuff Coming Your Way

Having fun scrolling through the Native ads we created? I sure hope so. There is some good material here, and the students are doing a wonderful job figuring out the language of advertising, marketing, and branding in a somewhat unstable environment. 

I have to say since I have started teaching this class, I do find myself sympathizing with companies a bit. We don’t live in a traditional world anymore, so traditional advertising strategy has to be adjusted to account for all this newness. It is not an easy task. Everyone needs different things and now, more than every, people are vocal about what they need.

This is what makes classes like this Strategic Communications course here at the University of Florida so great. It gives young business, telecommunications, communications, and advertising majors a chance to play around and figure it all out. ( did you notice my little sideways attempt at pitching the University of Florida? Native Advertising!)

We have some good stuff coming your way in the next few days. Take a minute to peek at our Native Advertising tag. A few of the students posted their native ads on the blog, and I think they did some great work.

Also, be on the lookout for more trade press release posts. Last time around, we had some interesting posts on Super Bowl game day eating habits, documentaries on Horror Noirand horror films, and a great short series of press releases on scandals in the international business world. Aside from being really glad about the fact that we are not talking about Jeff Bezos any more (there is such a thing as too much information), I am excited to say that the goodness keeps on coming from this class.

So far, here’s what you have to look forward too: If you are into podcasts, check out this writing on investment opportunities in the podcast industry. Interested in streaming shows, films and the like? Ian has a great post on the ways competition in streaming is making lasting changes to how we consume our films and television shows. Alli takes a critical eye to the Southwest strike that no one seems to be talking about right now, and we have another awesome post pondering life without plastic. Then there is this fascinating look into advertising fails committed by Prada, Burberry, and more recently Gucci. 

It’s weird that it needs to be said that Black-face is not trendy or fun, but here we are.

There is more still to come. Be on the look out for some great work!

-KRW

by nico102698

5 College Hacks to Save you Time & Money

1. Keep a Schedule of classes and assignments on your phone

Keeping a schedule of your classes and assignments on your phone can keep you organized by giving you notifications for upcoming events. Some schools even have the schedule available for download for integration on Apple and Google calendars. Both calendars have integration on all devices so your computer, phone and smart watch have can all the same calendar.

2. Ask for Student Discounts in Stores

Image Provided by Amazon

Many stores, especially ones around campus, offer student discounts, from movie theaters to restaurants, here’s a few to save you some money:

AMC Theatres: Students get a lower ticket price at select theaters.

Apple: Apple does special pricing for students.

Best Buy: Sign up for Best Buy’s college student deals to get promo codes emailed to you.

Cinemark: At participating locations, you can show your college ID to get a student discount.

Chick-fil-A: Get a free small drink when you show your student ID and buy anything at Chick-fil-A.

Chipotle: Get a free small drink when you show your student ID and buy anything at Chipotle.

Levi’s: Get an exclusive 15% discount when you join UNiDAYS.

MAC Makeup: Get an exclusive 10% discount when you join UNiDAYS.

Nike: College students can save 10% by submitting their email address.

PINK: Save 15% on your purchase.

Spotify/Hulu: Get 50% off a Spotify Premium account, which now includes a Hulu subscription.

TOMS: College students save 10% on TOMS.

3. Backpack Essentials

Image Provided by Target

Having the right gear in your backpack can save you multitudes of headaches on campus.

Here are a few Essentials:

Portable charger– For when you can’t find an outlet near you (bonus points if you have one that can charge your laptop)

Hand Sanitizer– Because you don’t know where your hands have been while on campus.

Portable Umbrella– To protect you and your electronics from the rain (Especially if you live in Gainesville like me, they call it Rainesville for a reason)

Water Bottle– To keep you hydrated on those sunny days and those days when the hangover hits you especially hard.

4. Go to School events

Image Provided by Pintrest

Going to school events can save you money on food and also lets you meet people and make new friends. Try to join clubs that interest you and that have common hobbies and interests as you, and always be on the lookout for flyers with event dates!

5. Bring a Skateboard to campus

Image Provided by The New York Times

College Campuses can be enormous, so having a fun, compact way to get around can be a lifesaver. The perfect college skateboard is the PennyBoard. Designed to look great, ride as smooth as butter and exceeded all your expectations. The Australian brand has 12-plus years experience to its name, Penny puts as much weight on the durability and the sheer fun of its boards, which is what it’s all about. Penny Boards have been a staple on College Campuses around the country because of its slim, lightweight, portable design that anyone can learn to ride on.

You can buy the Penny Skateboard here:

https://www.pennyskateboards.com/us/

Image Provided by Penny Skateboards


by ianmmeredith

The Beauty of a Split Second

A child gets a balloon in Hollywood Studios, in Orlando, FL

I’ve been taking photos of the people and places around me for as long as I can remember. When I was in the fifth grade, I got my first camera: a point and shoot Nikon that probably wasn’t worth more than $30. But the price of the camera never mattered. The brief moments and memories I captured had much more value. Over the course of the nine years since then, I’ve obviously gotten some better gear. I’ve amassed my own little collection of old film cameras, lenses, and film stocks, as well as my own ideology for taking the “perfect” photo. I love being able to capture a split second of nature, despite all of its volatility.

The skyline during a sunset on El Matador beach in Malibu, CA

I don’t only enjoy taking photos of landscapes, though. When I started writing a year ago, I began to fall in love with the idea of capturing human emotion as well. I started taking my camera with me everywhere. I constantly observe the interactions of my friends and family so I can find the perfect moment to take a quick snapshot of the beauty of human emotion. Some people throw their heads back a certain way when they laugh, and other people’s eyes light up when they get happy. The little moments like this hold so much meaning to me, and I love being able to look back on a shot from a few years ago and let all the emotion come flooding back.

Friends having a conversation at a bar in Hollywood Studios, in Orlando, FL

Photography is one of my only passions, and it’s one of the few things I feel proficient at in life. My friends and family frequently come up to me asking me to take photos for their next birthday party, or they tell me to make sure I bring my camera next time we see each other. Every time I get more film developed, we gather around and have a blast looking back at moments we might otherwise have forgotten about. These little moments that fade so quickly from our memories hold much more power than we initially believe, and I think that capturing them is crucial.

by tayquintin

Photo Courtesy of World Vision Non-Profit Organization

Feel Good, Do Good.

An abundance of individuals struggle to find their calling each day, but the question that needs to be explored is are humans truly interested in helping other humans?

For most people, yes.

Donating time to bettering our world and helping others who are struggling is a rewarding experience that helps people identify their true calling in life. We should celebrate those that commit their time to serving others who truly need it.

What are the benefits?

One of the most worthwhile results of serving others is the outcome in the end. Natural disasters hit countries every day, diseases take over entire populations and third world countries struggle to keep citizens alive due to lack of healthcare. Although the negative components of disasters in countries are extremely prominent, looking past the negative aspects allows humans to realize they can serve a purpose and help others. Additionally, non-profits are a great way to get involved in local communities near or far.

“Today, nearly 15,000 children under age 5 will die of mostly preventable causes, such as diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia.” -World Vision

How can one give to non-profit organizations?

Whether people donate large or small amounts, even a dollar has an immense impact on struggling communities. In some countries the economy is incredibly low to the point where children do not have access to education or educational tools they need to grow as individuals. With this being said, the countries that struggle largely are the countries that have undergone terrible natural disasters and influx of diseases that they can not overcome. These are the communities that need help the most. Whether it is donations or volunteering citizens have the option to dive in and help others. The beautiful aspect of non-profit organizations is the versatility in what they do. Health, education, clean water, and disaster are relief among some of the great strides non-profits make for struggling communities.

Get Involved

The biggest takeaway is finding a true interest in serving others. Think more about the people struggling the next time you buy something you do not truly need. Explore the options of your local community non-profits and what they offer that would allow you to feel good, and do good. If you are looking to help communities far away that undergo extreme struggles due to disasters evaluate how involved you want to become, and how much service you want to offer to others. Adventure is out there, and helping others will always be an option to make you not only feel better about yourself but feel better about helping others.

For more information on how to get involved in non-profit organizations for struggling countries visit: https://www.worldvision.org/our-work/health

by Oriana

3 Tips for Organizing Your Home According to Marie Kondo

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Keeping our houses tidy is essential for progress, peace of mind, and happiness. Clutter often builds up over time and it can be difficult to deal with when we have been so used to it for so long. Here are some tips from best-selling author and world-renowned tidying expert Marie Kondo on how to organize your home.

1. Organize by category rather than by location

Stop thinking about organization as something that has to be done a room at a time. Instead categorize your mess by: clothing, books, papers, “Komono” (kitchen, bathroom, garage, miscellaneous), and sentimental items. If you clean up by location, there’s a chance that you won’t realize that you have different places for things such as pens, batteries, appliances, candles, and more. By organizing by category, you will make specific locations for these items in your home rather than having some in every room of your house. If this gets overwhelming, you can even simplify it further and do smaller categories at a time. For example, if you are having a hard time organizing your clothes, start with just your trousers. You will find that this method will streamline your tidying keep your items organized for longer.

2. Determine which items “spark joy”

One rule that Marie always shares with her clients is that they must only keep items that “spark joy”. By this she means, physically pick up the item in your hands and determine how it makes you feel. If it makes you happy then it is something that you should keep. If not, you would probably be better off donating it or throwing it away. We all have the issue of keeping items around for so long because we feel like it could serve us a purpose in the future, but end up never using them. Holding on to these items ends up being more of a heavy burden rather than a tool. Everything in your household should be something that sparks joy, and only you can decide that.

3. Get it all done at once

Rather than tidying a little bit a day, it is better to just do it all at once and get it over with for good. You will never finish in this way because other things will always come up and clutter will pile up in other places. You are probably not going to get it all done in one day, but the quicker you get it all done, the easier it will be to keep your house organized. Marie Kondo says “Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever.”

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Watch Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix to see Marie help people declutter their homes and choose joy using the KonMari method. This show reveals the life-changing practice of tidying up, as Marie completely changes her clients’ lives in surprising and emotional ways.

SPONSORED BY NETFLIX

by graceubben

Broadway Hit ‘Waitress’ Is Baked To Perfection

Order Up!

The delicious new musical “Waitress” is the sweetest smash hit to grace the Great White Way. It tells the heartbreaking story of a young woman named Jenna Hunterson, who is silently suffering in an abusive marriage. Jenna spends her days as a waitress and gifted pie-connoisseur at Joe’s Diner, where she creates delectable pies and dreams of a way out of her unhappy situation. This show tugs at your heartstrings and takes you along for the ride as Jenna experiences some of life’s most sweet and sour moments.

The story opens up with a peek into the diner as Jenna is faced with the shocking news that she is pregnant. Devastated, she looks for a way out and sets her eyes on the Springfield Pie Contest. Winning the contest would provide her with the funds to start her new life. Throughout her pregnancy, Jenna becomes inspired by her circumstances. She creates new pies, each with a unique name, including the “I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie” and the “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie.”

Things get even more complicated when Jenna begrudgingly heads to the doctor to check up on the baby. It’s here that she finds out that her longtime doctor has retired, and she’ll have to settle for the handsome new gynecologist, Dr. Pomatter. As the two are making their introductions, Jenna offers him the “Marshmallow Mermaid Pie” she brought with her. As soon as he has a taste of the pie, a budding relationship begins to form between the two of them. This encounter inspires the “I Wanna Play Doctor With My Gynecologist Pie.”

Along the way, Jenna is confronted with some conflicting recipes for achieving happiness. She has to face some harsh realities and decide for herself what she wants to make of her one, precious life. This show is heartbreaking, empowering and beautiful. You will laugh, cry, and leave wanting a second helping. Fortunately, fresh, warm pies are baked during each show, so you can enjoy a delicious taste of pie as you experience this show for yourself.

Undoubtedly, Waitress is a story of female empowerment. This show takes us through Jenna’s pregnancy and her journey to leave her abusive husband to start a new life for herself and her newborn daughter. Her two fellow waitresses, Becky and Dawn, not only support and uplift her along the way — they also become her family. This show is about friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a delicious piece of pie. Waitress is baked to perfection by an incredible group of women. The music and lyrics are by Sara Bareilles; the book is by Jessie Nelson; the show is directed by Diane Paulus, and the choreography is by Lorin Latarro. Waitress stands out as the first musical in Broadway history to have an all-female creative team.

Waitress is currently running on Broadway, and a national tour of the production is making its way across the United States. The West End production of Waitress also just opened in London. For more information or to purchase tickets visit Ticketmaster.com or Waitressonstage.com.

by Julia

8 Reasons Baths Can Improve Your Health

As people get older many make the transition from soaking in a warm tub to standing under the pressurized water of a shower. Whether for convenience, perceived cleanliness, or even the feeling of hot water pressing down the back, we tend to start to perceive baths as too time-consuming that we only take part in as children. Some people are so repelled by the idea of taking a bath as an adult that they refuse to take one anymore with the belief that taking a bath is so dirty.

But what if you knew that taking baths has numerous benefits for your health?

There is a multitude of scientific evidence that proves baths can help with many aspects of our body’s health from muscles all the way to hormones. Our aging bodies need these health benefits more than ever, so why are we not taking advantage of staying healthy and getting clean at the same time? Below are some health advantages that taking baths can provide.

Water is always a great tool for exercise when you are moving around in it, but what if you could burn calories by simply sitting still?

According to Loughborough University’s Steve Faulkner, sweating in a nice hot bath can burn the equivalence of taking a 30- minute walk in calories!

Congestion is one of the most common and frustrating symptoms of a cold or the flu caused by inflammation in the nose.

Steam from a hot bath can help loosen the nasal passage by helping the blood vessels in the face in moving.

A study from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology even concludes the elevated body temperature given from a bath can help immune cells work and therefore prevent these viruses in the first place.  

Soaking chest deep in a warm tub can reduce pain and inflammation in the nervous system as well. This can lead to improved mood and reduce any stress or anxiety you might be experiencing.

There’s a reason people see soaking in a bath as calming or relaxing. Protecting the spine from pain or discomfort with relief by the temperature and pressure of a nice soak in the tub is crucial for the infamous back pain of adulthood.

A bath relaxes your muscles of course, but this important muscle is, in fact, working harder than usual.

Your heart beat faster much like the idea of burning calories through a warm bath, you’re getting that cardio in as well.

Heat from baths can also help with circulation and blood flow allowing an overall reduction in blood pressure. Research shows heart conditions, such as a stroke or a heart attack, are more preventable with reduced blood pressure.

Warm baths clearly provide many benefits to your health, but what about bathing in colder water?

Hormones such as the adrenocorticotropic hormone (release in times of biological stress) and other adrenal hormones can become more balanced and even assist infertility issues.

On the other hand, warm water baths can increase your happiness hormone- Serotonin.

Both cold and warm water baths can be useful tools for going to sleep.

It’ s been proven that colder body temperature will help induce sleep, but the same idea goes for taking a warm bath as well. The sleeping hormone, melatonin, is produced more at night when our bodies naturally drop in temperature.

By taking a warm bath before bed, this process of cooling down can happen quicker, therefore producing more melatonin.

Lavender scents are also beneficial in adding to your bath to aid sleep.

The pressure and temperature of immersing yourself from the chest down in warm bath water can aid in breathing.

The pressure on your body created from the water can contribute to heart exercise, allowing it to beat stronger and quicker. Oxygen intake also increases as the heart beats faster, so the warmer the water, the more your heart beats, and the more oxygen is taken in.

The steam from a warm bath is also a great way to clear both the sinuses and the chest.

Finally, our outer health can be just as important as our inner health.

It’s a no-brainer that immersing your body in a tub full of water can give it the hydration that it needs as the body is made up mostly of water. But, our skin, hair, and eyes are also enhanced with the minerals that occur in water by nature.

Adding other moisturizing oils, such as products with shea butter, can always help refresh and soften skin.

Add a little more fun to bath time by purchasing Lush Cosmetics’ bath bombs and bubble bars are sure to make any bath full of moisturizing oils and fragrant scents that can contribute to some of these as well and are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. As Lush is saving animal lives, they are also helping ease yours with easy to use and essential bath products.

There are at least eight reasons why baths can improve your health, so help your body through the process of aging by utilizing the benefits baths can offers.

by gabrielaharmon

How To: Spring Break

Hello friends! Spring Break is approaching and I am going to tell you everything you need to have the best, stress-free break! As work, projects and exams have been piling on, I have been dreaming of books and cool drinks by the water. I came up with the trifecta of vacation novel suggestions (if I do say so myself) that will make you completely forget about school and work.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

This is the first Struab novel that I have read and definitely not the last. The Vacationers is a filled with all the family drama that vacations bring (we can all relate on some level) and Straub tells the story beautifully and humorsly. I laughed, I cried.

A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter

I have never read anything quite like Salter’s A Sport and a Pastime. Salter tells a thrilling and intense story of a love affair between a Yale drop out and a young French girl. The novel is beautiful and brutal, and sets the standard for erotic fiction. Is it hot in here?

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

This novel is the longest of the three, but guaranteed to be the fastest read. Wolitzer tells the story of the friendship of six creative fifteen year olds and how different their lives become as they get older. Wolitzer created perfect characters that you are going to love.

Another absolute must buy for this break (really for all readers, all the time) is the Amazon Kindle. I read my last hardcover book last week when I spent $15 on a book and then accidentally spilled my entire coffee on it. After this tragedy, I treated myself to the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (it’s waterproof!!) and I then saw that the Kindle version of the same book is only two dollars. What have I been doing all my life? The Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for reading by the pool and in bed – the only two places I will be this break – because it has a built in adjustable light that lets you read indoors and outdoors. The Kindle also has built in Wifi, so in case you get through my trifecta of recommendations, you can download a new book without moving from your lawn chair. I know, I am no longer a purist, but I promise once you buy your own, you won’t look back.

PS. I also bought this adorable vintage Nancy Drew case for my Kindle. I am in love.

The theme for my suggestions for this break is complete escape, and what better way than with delicious, addictive fiction. If you aren’t traveling this break (I can, unfortunately relate), do what I do best and live vicariously through my favorite writers’ characters.

*Image by thats70 via Tumblr; Image by inefable-melifluo via Tumblr; Image by Josef Koudelka