In Response to Joe's Post: "Product Placements In Movies"

I think product placement is a great idea for marketers. Like Joe said, so many people don’t even watch commercials anymore so that has become an ineffective way to market to consumers. Even before taking this marketing course, I would notice when certain products would keep appearing in movies or TV shows. I can’t help but wonder if these product companies are sponsoring the movie ensuring to get face time. I was always curious how producers chose which type of candy or which brand of soda a character would eat in the movie, but now I understand that it’s all about product placement. I’m not sure how effective this could be though. Like if you see a character in a movie drinking a Pepsi, is it really going to make the viewer want to go out and buy a Pepsi right that second? Probably, but will they actually go? Most likely not. It’s a good way to get the viewers attention but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will spend their money on the product. Can you think of  a way to guarantee that the viewer will purchase the product?

Domino's Pizza Hero Game

Domino's Pizza has a special carryout deal for Monday-Wednesday: Carry out a large 3-topping pizza for just $7.99 each. The video is the commercial they are running for this deal. It is proposing that customers should play the pizza hero game for the iPad in order to ‘test’ their pizza making skills and become Dominos Pizza Chefs. I don’t think dominos will really hire the customers who receive high scores in the game, but it’s a fun way to get customers involved in the process. Do you think this is an effective way to market Domino's Monday-Wednesday Carryout Deal? What are some other unique techniques they could use?

TNT creats an "Add Live Action Drama" Button

This is a commercial put on by the television channel TNT. It’s a spoof on Staples’ Easy Button. Watch the video:

I think this is a great way to advertise that TNT ‘knows drama’ like their slogan reads on any tv commercial and at the end of this video on the banner. The music captures you and it’s really the type of music played in a movie where you just can’t take your eyes off the action. I’m guessing for the people who are actually involved (in the background, watching all this go on) are probably pretty scared throughout the action. All in all I think this is an effective and hilarious way to advertise TNT. Do you think an experiment like this could happen in the US?

In Response To Christine's Post: "Coca-Cola's New Marketing Idea"

Do you think that this type of advertisement will be successful? Do you think the company will lose more money on this advertisement than gain money? Do you think they should place hugging vending machines for Coca-Cola in the United States?

I think this is a totally out-of-the-box way of promoting the Coca-Cola soda, and not in a good way. I think it will be successful in that a lot of people will get a lot of free drinks out of the machine but that doesn’t mean Coca-Cola is going to make money on it. I definitely believe they will lose a lot of money for this marketing move. With such a well known brand name drink, I don’t see why they would decide to have a free drink dispensing vending machine. It’s not like they are in need of getting their name out there. Who knows, maybe Coca-Cola just got bored of selling the drinks for money and decided to throw in a free machine. Maybe they thought no one would actually hug a vending machine for a free drink. This just goes to show how technology is affecting our lives. It must have cost a lot of money to create a vending machine that has sensors on it to tell when someone is hugging the machine versus just walking by. It’s interesting that they would come up with such an idea, but definitely not a way to bring in cash. Would you ever hug a vending machine for a free soda? What other unique ways could Coca-Cola use technology to sell their product?

In Repsonse To Rebecca's Post: "Sales Promotion"

Do you think that this is the best way for a car manufacturer to sell their products? Would you be willing to purchase one of these cars for this sale? What do you think the car companies could do to get more customers to purchase their cars?

I think having a low monthly payment is a good way for a car manufacturer to sell their car. But I think it also depends on the age of the customer because a lower monthly payment means paying for more years. Younger consumers may be more apt to take this deal because it’s cheaper now and they aren’t necessarily thinking about how long they will be paying for this car. Whereas adults are thinking about how long it will take them to pay off this car because they have mortgages and other large bills to pay. Another way car companies could get more customers to purchase cars is to completely lower prices! Cars are too expensive, especially in this economy. More and more people are buying used cars and junking them after a few years instead of paying for a new car for the next fifteen years of their life. I also think it would help if car companies recycled more of their materials, or at least made it more known how they are doing so. “Going Green” is such a huge theme these days that it’s perfect for car companies to use to reel consumers in. Have you ever purchased a brand new car? If so, what was the experience like? Are you still paying for that car?

New 13-inch Tablet by Toshiba

There are three new Toshiba tablets arriving June 10^th this year, allowing consumers to pick their size: 7.7, 10, or 13 inches. The 2.2 pound Excite 13 will have a large touchscreen that comes at the starting price of $649.99. Here, Toshiba is using the “product quality” method to set the price of their new tablet. By setting the price so high, they are sending out the impression that their product is high-quality and well worth spending the extra cash. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of perks for the price tag. The tablet’s large screen offers a high-resolution display with laptop-like resolution of 1600 x 900 and it also has a very powerful processor for a tablet. But does the high price match the market for a tablet of this size? A 13-inch tablet isn’t something you can use just anywhere. It seems like this product would only be used around the house or as a replacement for your laptop. Toshiba thought of this by offering a stand for the tablet, making it easier to use in the kitchen for recipes. Compared to other tablets at a much smaller size, do you think Toshiba made the right move with making a much larger screen? Do you think the price tag will turn consumers away from the product?

Burger King Troubles

Recently Mary J. Blige was in a commercial for Burger King’s new Ranch Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps, in which she made a cover of her hit song “Don’t Mind” with lyrics altered to be about the sandwich. This was supposed to be seen as a good move by Burger King to capture customers with the hit singer, but it blew up in their face. Bloggers and Blige fans were upset about the commercial claiming it to be racist and offensive. With this news, Burger King quickly pulled the commercial claiming licensing issues but this makes marketers believe the restaurant chain is in deeper trouble than we’re seeing. Five years ago, Burger King was the second largest fast food chain in the U.S. but now Subway and Starbucks have taken its spot. The real problem for Burger King is that they have no marketing strategy or brand. If you look at the other fast food chains, you’ll see that they each have a specific brand they hold:

McDonald’s – convenience food

Starbucks – coffee lovers

Subway – healthy fresh food

Wendy’s – the ‘burger with integrity’

Burger King – ????

It seems as though everyone has figured out which path to take in order to be equal competitors, except for Burger King. Personally, I don’t even think of hamburgers when Burger King is mentioned, I think of chicken sandwiches because that’s what I’ve always gotten. And as a child, it took me a while to realize their logo was shaped to look like a hamburger. Burger King hasn’t done a great job at setting their brand. Do you think Burger King can get the company out of this rut and back in the competitive market? What are some marketing strategies they could use to get back in with the big league fast food chains?