ELON JOURNAL

ELON JOURNAL

OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN

COMMUNICATIONS

Spring 2018

VOLUME 9, NO. 1

Joining the World of Journals

Welcome to the nation's first and only undergraduate research journal in communications. The website of the Council on Undergraduate Research lists more than 200 undergraduate research journals nationwide (). Some of these journals focus on a discipline (e.g., Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics), some are university-based and multidisciplinary (e.g., MIT Undergraduate Research Journal), and others are university-based and disciplinary (e.g., Harvard Political Review). The Elon Journal focuses on undergraduate research in journalism, media and communications. The School of Communications at Elon University is the creator and publisher of the online journal. The first issue was published in spring 2010 under the editorship of Dr. Byung Lee, associate professor in the School of Communications. The three purposes of the journal are: ? To publish the best undergraduate research in Elon's School of Communications each term, ? To serve as a repository for quality work to benefit future students seeking models for how to do

undergraduate research well, and ? To advance the university's priority to emphasize undergraduate student research. The Elon Journal is published twice a year, with spring and fall issues. Articles in the journal may be downloaded, reproduced and redistributed without permission for noncommercial purposes as long as the author and source are properly cited. Student authors retain copyright ownership of their works.

Celebrating Student Research

This journal reflects what we enjoy seeing in our students -- intellectual maturing. As 18-year-olds, some students enter college possibly wanting to earn a degree more than they want to earn an education. They may question whether communication theory and research have anything to do with their future. But they get excited at studying great ideas and topical issues. These published articles make us aware of the solitary hours that students spend in research and the untold hours in which student and teacher-mentor work together to revise a paper for public consumption. This journal celebrates the life of the intellect through undergraduate research. It represents the intellectual maturing that occurs by the senior year, reinforcing all that we think a university should be.

Dr. Paul Parsons, Dean School of Communications

Editorial Board

Thirty faculty members in Elon's School of Communications served as the Editorial Board that selected 10 undergraduate research papers for the 2018 spring issue.

From more than 100 research papers written in advanced School of Communications classes, 31 papers were submitted to the journal by Elon communications students through the encouragement and mentoring of capstone teachers and other professors in the school.

Professors who served as the Editorial Board were Lorraine Ahearn, Bill Anderson, Janna Anderson, Vanessa Bravo, Naeemah Clark, David Copeland, Vic Costello, Kelly Furnas, Kenn Gaither, Jessica Gisclair, Don Grady, Ben Hannam, Sana Haq, Dan Haygood, Jooyun Hwang, Jonathan Jones, Alex Luchsinger, Derek Lackaff, Harlen Makemson, Barbara Miller, William Moner, Phillip Motley, Tom Nelson, George Padgett, Paul Parsons, Glenn Scott, Michael Skube, Kathleen Stansberry, Amanda Sturgill, and Hal Vincent.

Thanks also go to Bryan Baker, who recorded the website's student introductions; Associate Dean Don Grady, who reviewed articles to help ensure the quality of the journal; and Tommy Kopetskie, who proofread articles and updated the publication's website.

Editor's Note

Among many topics covered in this issue, five articles covered the analysis of social media use. Two articles dealt with crime, while three others analyzed images, layout, and newspaper use, respectively.

After analyzing 540 live-tweets, Anderson found that still images had a positive impact on user engagement. The use of links and mentions, however, negatively influenced user engagement. Feinsot studied three digital marketing campaigns by Calvin Klein and concluded that the American fashion company succeeded in appealing to young Millennials through underlying themes found in each campaign as well as consumer engagement techniques employed on the brand's social media platforms. Jackson's analysis of 4,000 tweets on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes led to a conclusion that Type 1 diabetics more likely prioritize emotional support activities, in comparison with Type 2, especially in the area of discussions of giving and personal experience. Type 2 diabetics, however, prioritize informational support activities, such as diet/exercise, research, and lifestyle management.

After analysis of Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Steelers, MaGinn found that Facebook received more interactions, but Twitter had more posts. She also found that the Steelers had a better social media strategy than the Hurricanes regarding visibility and consistency. After examining video clips on the YouTube channels of Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert during the first nine months of the Donald Trump presidency, Rosen found that the hosts and the nature of their videos influenced the engagement of the audience.

Brehman analyzed five iconic images from the Black Lives Matter movement. She concluded that the photographs were iconic because they did more than mere documentation, reshaping viewers' collective memories to construct a new narrative about American policies, society, and identity. Thompson examined the trends in the layout design of feature articles in top two outdoor magazines. This content analysis found trends of symmetrical layouts, two to three columns of text per page, full bleed images on title pages, and types of fonts used for text.

Among the two articles about crime, Brainard analyzed the motives of individuals who post their crimes to social media outlets. She concluded that the rationale behind committing the crime and posting evidence of the illegal activities on social media outlets stems from human beings' drive to be recognized by others in their environment and their social media communities. On the other hand, Tinker investigated crime as a entertainment genre through a narrative rhetorical analysis of three popular pieces. This study found that the true crime genre has grown in the last three years due to a variety of circumstances, largely because of today's binge-consumption era. Anderson examined how education, income, and age are related to newspaper use, and whether education is a predictor for media platform preference. The study found a significant correlation between newspaper usage and education, income, and age.

Dr. Byung Lee Journal Editor

Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications

Volume 9, No. 1 ? Spring 2018

How Calvin Klein's Digital Marketing Campaigns

Attract A New Consumer Market

Ally Feinsot

5

Trends in Layout Design of Feature Articles in Outdoor Magazines

Helen Thompson

16

A Comparison of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Online Communities

Rachyl Jackson

26

Facebook and Twitter Variations Across Pittsburgh Steelers

and Carolina Hurricanes Social Media Platforms

Courtney N. MaGinn

35

A Comprehensive Analysis of Political Perceptions

of Host Negativity in Late-Night Comedy

Lindsay Rosen

43

Winning over Fans: How Sports Teams

Use Live-Tweeting to Maximize Engagement

Bryan Anderson

54

An Analysis of the Iconic Images from the Black Lives Matter Movement

Caroline Brehman

69

A Content Analysis of Crimes Posted on Social Media Platforms

Alessandra Brainard

82

Guilty Pleasure: A Case Study of True Crime's Resurgence

in a Binge Consumption Era

Rachel Tinker

95

Influence of Education, Income and Age on

Newspaper Use and Platform Preference

Bryan Anderson

108

How Calvin Klein's Campaigns Attract A New Consumer Market by Ally Feinsot -- 5

How Calvin Klein's Digital Marketing Campaigns Attract A New Consumer Market

Ally Feinsot

Journalism Elon University

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in an undergraduate senior capstone course in communications

Abstract

The rise of social media in the last decade has led brands to establish a strong digital presence to attract a growing, highly influential audience ? Millennials. This research studied three digital marketing campaigns by Calvin Klein, an American fashion company, and the tactics used to attract a sub-set group of Millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 25. The research concluded that Calvin Klein succeeded in appealing to young Millennials through underlying themes found in each campaign (self-expression, sexuality, digital generation/ social media, and pop culture) as well as consumer engagement techniques employed on the brand's social media platforms.

I. Introduction

The rise of social media in the last decade has led brands to establish a digital presence to attract a growing, highly influential audience--Millennials. By the year 2030, nearly 80 million Millennials in the United States will control the retail market, and much of their decision-making about spending habits will directly come from their social media usage. Millennials are the most active generation on social media, interacting with brands on a daily basis; a poll conducted by the Boston Consulting Group found that 52% of Millennials "like" a brand on a social network, and 39% post product reviews on their social channels (Barton, Koslow, & Beauchamp, 2014). It is imperative today for brands to monitor and actively engage with Millennials via social media, as their opinions could make or break the reputation of a brand with just one negative post on their social networks.

Calvin Klein, an $8.4 billion global company, has been marketing to audiences with simplistic, often provocative marketing campaigns for the last 50 years. Its most famous campaign was released in 1980; only thirty seconds long, it featured a 15-year-old Brooke Shields, who flirtatiously looked into the camera and asked, "You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." Since that controversial campaign, Calvin Klein has not only continued to shock audiences, but also has maintained a strong following that has seen the brand enter the digital age gracefully. As the global brand seeks to increase its sales in the next few years, it also plans to "increase its engagement with youth-minded consumers. . .[to] create an opportunity to build loyalty over the long-term" ("Calvin Klein," n.d.). Millennials are the future of the Calvin Klein empire, and through engagement with this audience via digital marketing, the brand will continue to stay relevant as a top lifestyle company.

Keywords: Calvin Klein, Millennials, Consumer Engagement, Digital Marketing, Social Media Email: afeinsot@elon.edu

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