Break the Chain of Counterfeiting
Contact Information:
breakthechainpr@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The International Anti Counterfeit Coalition and COACH Sponsor Counterfeit Event
NEW YORK, NY- May 14, 2007 – On May 10TH, 2007 Hunter College marketing students
organized a large, public event to educate college students on the perils of the global
counterfeiting trade and how they can make a difference. As part of Hunter’s Strategic Public
Relations course, with sponsorship from the IACC and COACH, the event was centered on a
fictional college student, “Heidi Cee,” and was part of a comprehensive anti-counterfeiting
campaign called “Break the Chain.”
Using guerilla-marketing tactic and drawing upon new technologies as well as web2.0
fundamentals, the students created an integrated marketing campaign that centered on Heidi
Cee to help communicate the issues surrounding the counterfeiting trade to the public. Posters
were placed around campus asking students to locate Heidi’s “missing COACH bag”. As the
story unfolds on the “Break the Chain” website, a woman returns a bag identical to the one Heidi
lost, in exchange for a large reward. The bag, however, turns out to be a counterfeit which
motivates Heidi to educate her peers about counterfeiting by using online tools in conjunction
with an on-campus event.
In order to generate interest in the Break the Chain even through Heidi’s plight, the students
spread information regarding Heidi and her story by a fictional blog the character kept on
Facebook and a Myspace page created in Heidi’s name. The online content provides the
background on Heidi’s story up to and after the “Break The Chain” event.
At the Break The Chain event on May 10th, oversized chains and posters carrying facts about
counterfeiting were posted around campus and give-aways with branded messaging about anti-
counterfeiting were distributed, as were printed fliers and postcards with facts regarding
counterfeiting. The students were able to gain experience in creating an integrated marketing
campaign under the supervision of industry professionals and to prepare for careers in
marketing and public communications.
For more information regarding the Hunter College students anti-counterfeit message “Break the Chain”,
visit
http://encounterheidi.blogspot.com/ http://myspace.com/lookitsheidi
http://www.youtube.com/BTCHeidi http://www.facebook.com/ Search: Heidi Cee
The students of Hunter College strive to educate the consumer population at Hunter College
about the counterfeit marketplace and the consequences of buying fakes. The campaign is
produced in cooperation with the IACC and is sponsored by COACH.
###
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
OFFICIAL BREAK THE CHAIN VIDEO
I finally uploaded it! Tell me what you guys think, because I personally think my friends did an amazing job <33! this was played at the Break the Chain event on campus last Thursday. We've all been busy writing term papers and/or studying, so all the media is trickling in slowly. More pics to come!!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
whoa!!
first off, let me start by apologizing for not being there today! my uncle had a stroke Wednesday night and we all had to drive out to jersey to be with him. Crappy timing right? Everything is ok now, hes fine... his lip was paralyzed but hes slowly regaining feeling and movement now =D
Well I wasn't about to let that get in the way of ruining my anti-counterfeiting event! The show must go on! My friends all told me it was awesome. WE had allll those posters up, and were giving away free olive garden food along with tshirts, keychains, and water bottles!.So many students flocked to our table, they tell me it was a madhouse. I realize most were probably just there for the free stuff, but I'd like to think that the fact cards my friends gave out helped to at least raise some awareness about the issue of fake goods, medicines, and mechanical parts.
Greg and Sarah tell me everyone was asking questions about our campaign. Its good to know we are educating people about a relatively little-known problem. My only regret is that I wasn't there :(
Well I wasn't about to let that get in the way of ruining my anti-counterfeiting event! The show must go on! My friends all told me it was awesome. WE had allll those posters up, and were giving away free olive garden food along with tshirts, keychains, and water bottles!.So many students flocked to our table, they tell me it was a madhouse. I realize most were probably just there for the free stuff, but I'd like to think that the fact cards my friends gave out helped to at least raise some awareness about the issue of fake goods, medicines, and mechanical parts.
Greg and Sarah tell me everyone was asking questions about our campaign. Its good to know we are educating people about a relatively little-known problem. My only regret is that I wasn't there :(
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Going over a friend's later to see if we can make a slideshow for the event... maybe some cycling pics of fake stuff versus real stuff. He knows flash so hopefully we can make something worthwhile :) hahaha how funny would it be if the Melanie girl happened to walk by tomorrow during the event? She'd probably get mobbed... muahaha dont mess with Heidi! A ton of facebook invites went out yesterday, so feel free to drop in and bring some friends! But come early if you want the free stuff.... cant vouch for how long thatll be available...
eeep! one more day.... so exciting. ttyl guys gotta run to class
eeep! one more day.... so exciting. ttyl guys gotta run to class
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Final preparations!
So after a week of frantic rushing, im proud to say we got the space for our event! Hunter gave us the ok to host it this thursday afternoon on the 3rd floor skywalk! Now all we have to do is pimp it out hehehe. Stop by if ur walking through, there might be some surprises =x
Other than that life has been peachy. Its weird... sure i have a pile of work/finals within the next two weeks, but i dont really care. Ive already put in library time, I'll be good. Quick question: Final papers or final exams? Which do you prefer? Im going with exams.
Other than that life has been peachy. Its weird... sure i have a pile of work/finals within the next two weeks, but i dont really care. Ive already put in library time, I'll be good. Quick question: Final papers or final exams? Which do you prefer? Im going with exams.
Monday, May 7, 2007
lol syracuse kids are crazy
I just got a call from my friend Diana... she went upstate for the weekend to visit a friend at Syracuse. Anyway there was some sort of end of the semester party or sumthin, and get this:
These freaking kids were having refrigerator races. She told me they spent all day taking the doors off old fridges, hollowing them out, and painting them them. So each team has 1 member sit inside the fridge, with the other 4 behind it pushing. Lol so i say to her "Oh wow so they attached wheels to the bottoms?" and Diana goes, "no".
So apparently they were literally just pushing/dragging fridges with people in them down a hill... lol wtfff
shes gonna email me a video when she gets back home. ill post it. Ughhh i need a red bull soo bad. later!
These freaking kids were having refrigerator races. She told me they spent all day taking the doors off old fridges, hollowing them out, and painting them them. So each team has 1 member sit inside the fridge, with the other 4 behind it pushing. Lol so i say to her "Oh wow so they attached wheels to the bottoms?" and Diana goes, "no".
So apparently they were literally just pushing/dragging fridges with people in them down a hill... lol wtfff
shes gonna email me a video when she gets back home. ill post it. Ughhh i need a red bull soo bad. later!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Recovering
Most of the weekend I spent doing work for my classes. . . we're in the final stretch now so hitting the books is a must! Although, I did work an early shift at the bar last night for some extra cash and then hit up a house party at my friend Waseem's apartment - amazing place with a sick patio and he is just the best host ever, so cute too. My friends and I spent half the night out there chatting away sipping on Margaritas because of course last night was Cinco de Mayo. We also couldnt help but admire all the really cute guys, it is so great to be single sometimes but of course I miss Adam.
Anyways, my friends and I are still working on the campaign. Everything is coming along great for the event and we are working on sending another press release out as a reminder. My girlfriend Charlotte is going to come over tonight and help me make some finishing touches and of course the fact tags will be going up shortly around campus to spread awareness about the issue of counterfeiting in addition to the event. Anyways, I have to get back to work! I will continue to keep you posted, sorry I am just sooo busy!
Anyways, my friends and I are still working on the campaign. Everything is coming along great for the event and we are working on sending another press release out as a reminder. My girlfriend Charlotte is going to come over tonight and help me make some finishing touches and of course the fact tags will be going up shortly around campus to spread awareness about the issue of counterfeiting in addition to the event. Anyways, I have to get back to work! I will continue to keep you posted, sorry I am just sooo busy!
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Progress
What a long day of work! I was able to send out the press releases today so everything is going well. I am having the gang over tonight for drinks and a movie just to relax I think were going to watch The Holiday. We all deserve a break, especially since finals are coming up! Gotta run to Blockbuster but before I forget here is the picture that we took of the fact tags, we are still working on them but just to get the idea.
Moving Along
So the gang and I are moving along smoothly on our Break the Chain campaign. We finished making the fact tags today after a very confusing trip to Home Depot, we looked like lost puppies walking into that store, although I do have to say it seems like a great place to pick up guys!! Luckily we were able to get help and be in and out pretty fast. We also reserved the event location at Hunter – 1-2:30 in the skywalk on the 3rd floor of Hunter on Thursday May 10, if your around come! We were able to get funding thanks to Coach (which is just so crazy and SOOO COOL!) and we are working on getting a large supply of give-aways such as key chains, t-shirts and more. Shari is handling all of this due to her experience which is such a big help. We will also be sending out the press releases tomorrow. I will post a picture of the Fact tags shortly. I am so beat, what a long day and I have to go to work tomorrow. Better get some rest.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
This is so crazy!
Check out this article in the NY Post the other day, my girlfriend Sarah brought me the article because she has been helping me with my campaign. I was able to find it online and thought I might share. Counterfeiting really is a biger issue than we think.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012007/entertainment/fashion/knock_it_off__fashion_serena_french_post_fashion_editor.htm
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012007/entertainment/fashion/knock_it_off__fashion_serena_french_post_fashion_editor.htm
Ok, so we came up "Break the Chain (of countefeiting)" as the tagline. I figure the counterfeit market is like the drug market in the way that it's a huge chain: the stuff gets produced in shady factories outside the US, then gets distributed down the ladder until it finally reaches places like China Town. Well, if we can convince people not to buy fake stuff, we will be breaking the chain of demand. Without demand, the counterfeit factories in China would be shit out of luck b/c u can't produce supply when there is no demand for it. Any good?
Oh! We also came up with a way to make the event better than all those lame ones that are usually held on campus. Instead of setting up a boring table and handing out flyers, we designed these cool fact cards. We're gonna attach them to chains and hang them all over the place. Reminds me a little bit of those Truth commercials. Joey is running out to get them printed today, I'll post pics later!
Oh yeah, and food. Nothing attracts grubby college kids like free food/drinks. I know this girl that promotes for Redbull, I'm gonna call her up and see if she can provide some. But thats enough of that, I don't want to air out too much of our plan... ull just have to be there to see the rest! Ermm, I'm not sure when this is going down yet... calling the school to see when we'll be allowed to do this thing. Laterrr!
Oh! We also came up with a way to make the event better than all those lame ones that are usually held on campus. Instead of setting up a boring table and handing out flyers, we designed these cool fact cards. We're gonna attach them to chains and hang them all over the place. Reminds me a little bit of those Truth commercials. Joey is running out to get them printed today, I'll post pics later!
Oh yeah, and food. Nothing attracts grubby college kids like free food/drinks. I know this girl that promotes for Redbull, I'm gonna call her up and see if she can provide some. But thats enough of that, I don't want to air out too much of our plan... ull just have to be there to see the rest! Ermm, I'm not sure when this is going down yet... calling the school to see when we'll be allowed to do this thing. Laterrr!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
oh the sweet smell of progress
The food just got here, so we're taking a breather. We've already designed a bunch of posters, and are still working on a cool catchy slogan that has to do with counterfeiting. Anyway, time to eat.
So I have been hung up on this lately and i decided to do a little research on counterfeit bags and discovered that
- counterfeiting is linked to criminal activity (big surprise)
- linked to child labor (where they probably slave for 2 cents per hour)
- it takes away from the economy because the guys selling the fake stuff are non-legit and never pay any taxes
- It is ripping off someones artwork! Im sure Coach pays A TON of money for designers to come up with all those pretty designs. Meanwhile, all counterfeiters have to do is come along an rip off all their creativity.
- Theres a business in counterfeiting pharmaceuticals, airplane parts, and car parts... stuff like that could kill people! Wtf would happen if I went to the car shop and they installed freakin counterfeit brakes on my car?!
U should google the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition... its where I learned most of this stuff. The have pictures that show you how to tell a real from a fake. They have a bunch of other companies that have joined the cause... lol kinda ironic, but COACH is on the list too!
It really got me thinking that I would like to get involved. I want to hold an event somewhere at Hunter. This is really the perfect opportunity to step in and make a difference. I already put up those missing posters up with the help of my girlfriends (thanks Allie and Jess!) I know this really must sound crazy but I am so angry at this point I might as well channel my energy into fighting against this garbage. How dare she give me a fake bag?! Maybe this will get the message out to Melanie – fakes are lame. So first I called a group of my girlfriends during my break to run my ideas past them and to make sure I didn’t sound like I had lost my mind. They were totally supportive and (oddly enough) wanna help out. One of them, Shari, works in PR so she knew exactly what to do. She told me that she would help me write up a press release and send the message out to the Hunter newspaper and all that other good stuff. I'm worried because if this is really going to work we need to make it happen soon because school is almost over– she said to me, “listen, gather a group or your friends and we will get this done.”
Sooooo I made the nerve racking phone call to the IACC. Once I get my heart set on something I am beyond dedicated. The woman that I spoke with at the IACC was so cool and understanding. After speaking with her for about 30 mins she said that the IACC would gladly support the campaign, she took my phone number and e-mail address and said she would call her contacts at Coach to see if they would contribute to the project. She was very optimistic that they would. She said she'd call back before the end of the day.
Anyway 5 of my friends are coming over to help me right now. We're gonna have a little brainstorming party hehe. They're gonna help me plan this all out, and in exchange I shall buy everyone Chinese food. ☺Eggrolls for all!
Whew... it feels so good to have the ball rolling on something
- counterfeiting is linked to criminal activity (big surprise)
- linked to child labor (where they probably slave for 2 cents per hour)
- it takes away from the economy because the guys selling the fake stuff are non-legit and never pay any taxes
- It is ripping off someones artwork! Im sure Coach pays A TON of money for designers to come up with all those pretty designs. Meanwhile, all counterfeiters have to do is come along an rip off all their creativity.
- Theres a business in counterfeiting pharmaceuticals, airplane parts, and car parts... stuff like that could kill people! Wtf would happen if I went to the car shop and they installed freakin counterfeit brakes on my car?!
U should google the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition... its where I learned most of this stuff. The have pictures that show you how to tell a real from a fake. They have a bunch of other companies that have joined the cause... lol kinda ironic, but COACH is on the list too!
It really got me thinking that I would like to get involved. I want to hold an event somewhere at Hunter. This is really the perfect opportunity to step in and make a difference. I already put up those missing posters up with the help of my girlfriends (thanks Allie and Jess!) I know this really must sound crazy but I am so angry at this point I might as well channel my energy into fighting against this garbage. How dare she give me a fake bag?! Maybe this will get the message out to Melanie – fakes are lame. So first I called a group of my girlfriends during my break to run my ideas past them and to make sure I didn’t sound like I had lost my mind. They were totally supportive and (oddly enough) wanna help out. One of them, Shari, works in PR so she knew exactly what to do. She told me that she would help me write up a press release and send the message out to the Hunter newspaper and all that other good stuff. I'm worried because if this is really going to work we need to make it happen soon because school is almost over– she said to me, “listen, gather a group or your friends and we will get this done.”
Sooooo I made the nerve racking phone call to the IACC. Once I get my heart set on something I am beyond dedicated. The woman that I spoke with at the IACC was so cool and understanding. After speaking with her for about 30 mins she said that the IACC would gladly support the campaign, she took my phone number and e-mail address and said she would call her contacts at Coach to see if they would contribute to the project. She was very optimistic that they would. She said she'd call back before the end of the day.
Anyway 5 of my friends are coming over to help me right now. We're gonna have a little brainstorming party hehe. They're gonna help me plan this all out, and in exchange I shall buy everyone Chinese food. ☺Eggrolls for all!
Whew... it feels so good to have the ball rolling on something
update on fakeness....
OK SERIOUSLY. I CAN'T DO THIS. I CAN'T LET THIS GIRL GET AWAY WITH THIS. -MELANIE- I will always remember that name!
I don't really believe in revenge, but if I do ever run into her on campus, or anywhere else, that BIATCH is going down!
First of all, why would anyone ever purchase a fake bag. I have always thought carrying something that was counterfeit would make me feel like a POSER. I believe in authenticity, realness, and TRUTH in everything. I always laugh at the tourists that go to Chinatown to buy fake Louis Vuitton wallets and other counterfeit items.
I feel nauseous. I want to vomit in this horrible, fake fake fake bag. Do you know what fake material smells like? SHIT. Actual shit. It makes me feel like shit just sitting next to it.
Anyway, I'm still gonna continue posting up reward money for my bag. I dipped into my savings (sorry mom) for more reward money, because as I said before, this bag is invaluable to me. If I had a puppy, I would give him up for this bag. Really!
Now do you all understand the PAIN I'm going through? It's making me CRRRRRAZZZYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHERE THE BIATCH PROBABLY GOT MY NEW FAKE BAG:
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