BOC The Voice

I'am an Aspiring fashion Designer learning the ropes around the fashion industry. I have some experience in photography that will help along with my career. I know four Different languages Spanish, English, Japanese, and french. I love traveling a lot and seeing the many places life has to offer to start my career. Every place I get the chance to be offers a variety of doors to open. There are many opportunities and many decisions to make to get to where I need to be but I will see where life takes me. I love the unexpected because I never know where I will end up and where I will be. Many of my inspirations come from Japan. Japanese fashion is something thought out of the box, something unique and different. I believe in teamwork because without it you can't get to where you need to be. I love having friends and family by my side as I go along with my career. All the support and love I need come from my family and friends. Always have a positive attitude towards everything you do because it will help you get through anything that life brings. I try to be very positive in everything I do so I can keep going. The fashion industry is cut throat and has many obstacles but I’m very positive and know how to stand my ground. I have had prior experience within the fashion industry through internships and consistent communication that will allow me to open doors. The challenges I face is trying to stand out and get peoples attention. I know that to get what I need I have to be everywhere and every time to be within the spotlight. My hard work and determination will get to many places and will help me surpass and prosper in my career.

BOC Week 7 Retail Visit

Last week during my break at work I decided to visit Diane Von Furstenberg. While looking around the store was fairly small this gave enough room for me to see some of the merchandise. The floor plan of the store was a mixture of a diagonal floor plan and Straight floor plan. The clothes were all hung on racks and all of the clothes were set up next to each other. Around the back of the diagonal wall was another rack with pieces of clothing that made it mysterious and exciting. The colors of the store were bright and at the same time a bit dim. The atmosphere of the store was a sophisticated yet playful and luxurious that I felt very excited and interested in seeing the pieces.  The salespeople were fairly nice and approached me to assist me in anything. I talked to one of the salespeople about the history of the company. The young lady had given me quite a lot of information about the company that it made me love the brand even though I did not know what the brand was before I went in. The stores visual displays were very playful and very limited which gave the store an advantage of showcasing their pieces without overly exaggerating the window. I noticed that less product and displays add a higher end appeal to the store and also help it become more interactive with the customers as opposed to going into an H&M. I felt very connected to the store as well as the employees as we discussed more about the company and the store. The uniform for the sales employees were more of an upscale dressy uniform as opposed to a dressed down black look like Burberry employees. The colors in the store connected with the display window and I felt as this was done purposely to add more detail to the clothing. The store also had a television in the wall that showcased Diane’s collections and fashion shows which added more high class to the store.  Diane Von Furstenburg is not all about play it is about mixing playful with sophisticated to create a cohesive upscale look.

BOC Hawaiin Tropic

Hawaiin Tropic announced on the 23^rd of April 2013 that they will eliminate the bikini contest that has been running since 1983. The reason why the contest was eliminated was because it was not getting enough attention from women. Women make 70% of Hawaiin Tropic users and the reason for that is to be tan when summer comes around the corner. Danielle Duncan solution to this problem was to reinvent products that would appeal to today’s women. The contests were extremely popular among women during the 90’s because it was something new and appealing. After the 90’s the contests just slowly faded away and wasn’t not appealing to women but rather disgusted by the idea. The contests were catering more towards men which were not the people they had intended to target.  The brand will continue contests on Facebook rather than doing it on a beach where lots of men gather around to see these beautiful women.  The brand now will shift from tanning oil to sunblock “The modern Hawaiian Tropic woman,” quoted Danielle. The brands identity will now be more of understanding the importance of sun care to keep skin healthy while having fun with their family. Hawaiin Tropics good old day of undressing has gone out the window and has welcomed more clothing and covering up. In the meantime Hawaiin Tropic is looking for a new spokesman that will reflect the sensibility of the brand. The contest will continue on but in a different perspective which will offer the models to still be in the contest but without wearing a bikini. The requirements will only be a headshot and a brief essay on why they should be chosen and what qualities they have. The contest prize tarnished the brand image and was followed by sexual harassment lawsuits. “The bikini contests—staged a final time in Australia in 2012—were the last vestige of an era when men mattered more to advertisers”  which today the views for these contests are not as interesting as how they were back in the 90’s.

  

Sources: Weiss, Piper. "Hawaiian Tropic Bikini Pageants Are Officially Over, Thankfully." Yahoo News. N.p., 4 23 2013. Web. 24 Apr 2013. <http://shine.yahoo.com/beauty/hawaiian-tropic-bikini-pageants-are-officially-over--thankfully-191218701.html>.

BOC Week 3: Apple Juice Scandal

Beech nut was found guilty for selling apple juice that contained no apple juice at all or only water mixed with sugar and artificial flavors. Niels L Hoyvald and John F. Lavery stood before the judge in Brooklyn’s courthouse with nothing to say. Thomas H. Roche a prosecutor of the case  had said “''a classic picture of corporate greed and irresponsibility.'’http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/magazine/into-the-mouths-of-babes.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm . The company also had pleaded guilty the last fall to 215 counts of violating the federal food and drug laws. Beech-Nut agreed to pay a 2 million fine which was by far the largest ever paid in violating laws. In a previous press release Beech-nut admitted that it had broken the trust of many people. Beech nut had intended poisoned the population by using these kind of ingredients that were not natural. The effort to save money and be wealthy by increasing their sales had backfired on them and decreased their sales by 2 million and on top of that had 1 year of sentence in prison for violating laws. Inspectors touring the cohttp://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/magazine/into-the-mouths-of-babes.html?pagewanted=all&src=pmmpanies in 1982 had suspicions that companies were not including their natural ingredients. Jerome LiCari was so devastated and worried that he decided to quit the company after pleading to bosses about the issues they had at hand before. Lacking the test to prove the purity of the apple juice, LiCari could not prove that the juice was tainted. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/beech-nut-nutrition-corporation-history/. Through this scandal Beech-nut had significantly tarnished its reputation and had lost the trust of many consumers that trusted its brand http://www.clarksons.org/CrossCurrent/cc3206%20Pure%20Lies.htm. Today Beech-Nut still struggles to gain its target market back but still struggles today to gain the trust. It has tried multiple ways to promote their products and gain their value back from the 1980’s scandal. Now it is just a mere brand that has been forgotten about within the community.

BOC: Slip! Slap Slop!

Slip! Slap! Slop! Is a campaign that has launched from The American Heart Association to help promote skin cancer prevention. This campaign  is to remind people of the 4 ways to protect against harmful UV radiation. The first is slip on a shirt which consistently reminds people never to walk around without shirts when sun is out. The second is slop sunscreen and that reminds people to always wear sunscreen regardless of whether there is sun or not. The third is slap on a hat, any kind of hat prevents the sun from hitting the face and neck. Studies have shown that wearing a hat prevents people from aging as fast as an average person that does not wear a hat. Wrap is the last one that has been added to have people to wear sunglasses to prevent the sun from hitting the eyes which causes aging and darkspots. Many societies promote this campaign through media and educational activities to help people understand and learn. The national council on skin cancer prevention has designated memorial day to be “Don’t fry day” which pleads people to use the 4 ways to protect themselves from the sun.  The council also wants people to go beyond and use as many measures to protect the skin from UV rays that can harm the skin. The council also wants people to spend less time on this day especially during the hours 10am to 4pm when the UV rays are strong and become harmful. With this campaign a lot of research has been constructed to detect early harmful rays as well as methods to prevent sun exposure. Through all this research it has also helped access to quality care, screening, and prevention services. “The Society’s extramural grants program is the largest source of private, not-for-profit cancer research funds in the United States. Currently, 50 grants are funded for skin/melanoma cancer research totaling over $25 million” "http://www.cancer.org/healthy/morewaysacshelpsyoustaywell/acs-skin-cancer-prevention-activities." American Cancer Society Skin Cancer Prevention Activities. N.p.. Web. 16 Apr 2013. <http://www.cancer.org/healthy/morewaysacshelpsyoustaywell/acs-skin-cancer-prevention-activities>.