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?

In Repsonse To Lyndzi's Post: "Top Brand In The World"

"When you see the Apple symbol/logo what do you think of? What are your first thoughts that come to mind about the brand or product?"

When I see the Apple logo, I automatically think of iPod’s and technology. The sleek white/silver apple makes me think of technology and the future because of its simplicity. And whenever I think of what the future will be like, I think of a world that is completely in control by Apple where everything everyone owns was created by Apple. I don’t think this idea is too far-fetched either. Look at what Apple has already done to take control. The company has only been around for nearly forty years but has changed the technology industry tremendously. Even just from 2000-2011, there has been a huge increase in the amount of Apple products that you see everywhere. They make it a big deal to be a household name. What is your favorite Apple product and how has the brand/product made a difference in your life?

In Repsonse to Emma's Post: "Logos"

"Does the size of the logo make a difference to you when you're purchasing an item?"

I definitely think the size of a logo affects whether or not I would buy an item. While reading Emma’s  blog, I was also thinking of Aeropostale as an example of logo size because they usually have “Aero” written largely across the sweatpants or sweatshirts. This makes me not want to buy that item because Aeropostale is seen as such a young store. I prefer to buy clothes that have the logo very small in the corner, like American Eagle, Hollister, or Abercombie & Fitch have it. Because I spend so much money on the clothes, it is important to me to have the brand logo on the item somewhere. Similar to this is another type of logo that these brand-name stores use: the back of jeans pockets. I’m sure these companies would be happy to know that when I see a pair of jeans on someone, I look at the back pockets to see where they got them. Like the Nike swoosh or the Hollister seagull, the designed stitching on the back of jeans is another way of branding the product. Can you think of another way these stores brand their items so well?

Branding

On Thursday of this week, William Faulkner from Logopak came into class to talk about product branding. I also found this article that says consumers usually follow their gut when choosing a brand. The article relates this to dating websites and how people choose a compatible mate by following their gut and not using the rational list of personality traits given by the matchmaking website. This relates to how consumers choose products and which brand they use because, like William said, there usually isn’t much of a difference between brands; it’s all based on emotional feelings toward a product or brand. Brand managers should think more about how to win over consumers in a way that makes them feel comfortable in their decision to buy your product. When was the last time you chose a certain brand over another? What was the basis of your decision?

In Repsonse to Lyndzi's Post: "Marketing in a Consumer Market vs. Business Market"

Do you think companies in a consumer market spend more money on marketing than companies in a business market?

Yes, I do think that companies in a consumer market spend more money on marketing and advertising than those in a business market. In her post, Lyndzi stated various reasons and methods of advertising for the two different markets and I agree with what she said. In a business market, the focus is more on beating out the competitors and promoting why your product is worth using over another very similar product. And in a consumer market, the focus is on choosing your brand or product over another company’s. The type of products that are being marketed in a consumer market cause those companies to spend more money on marketing. For example, if they are selling a can of soda, they are marketing to everyone who might drink soda. But for a business market, they may be selling a fax machine, and in that case they would only market to offices. Business markets don’t have to spend as much money on tv commercials or creating eye-catching interesting ads. Have you ever decided to buy a product solely because of a commercial you saw?

Domino's vs Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut and Domino’s have always been direct competitors in the pizza industry. Relatively, the two companies are the same. You can get an inexpensive pizza pie quick and anywhere in the country and it will always be the same no matter where you order it. Some people would even consider Domino’s and Pizza Hut to be fast food restaurants because they guarantee the order will be ready or delivered within a short amount of time. In Chapter 3 of our textbook, we went over the competitive forces in the marketing environment. Pizza Hut and Domino’s fall under the category of Brand Competitors because they serve similar food items. But looking at the average annual revenue between the two restaurants, Domino’s surpasses Pizza Hut by about $750 million despite Pizza Hut having almost twice as many locations in the United States. What are some of the reasons that you think Domino’s is so much more successful than Pizza Hut?

Mass Effect 3 In Space

In an attempt to boost the hype for the new video game, Mass Effect 3, EA Games has decided to launch multiple copies of the game into space a week before the game’s release. The point of this was for fans to search for the copies when they landed back on Earth. Each of the games contained a GPS tracking device and fans were told to follow the coordinates to find the games. Once the game was found, they were able to keep it and gain a full week of play before it came out in stores. This sounds like a very nerdy version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket scavenger hunt. And it seemed to work for the most part. Games were found in Las Vegas, New York, and London but two games were lost in a dense forest in California. What are some marketing reasons for why the company would go through such extremities for the launch of this new game?

In Repsonse to Professor Johnson's Post: "The Case of John Smith"

Questions: Should John smith sell the names? (Be sure to answer the poll to the left of this post.) Also, Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue? Go to the AMA website (American Marketing Association) and look at their Statement of Ethics. What in the Statement relates to John Smith's dilemma?

I don’t think that John Smith should sell the names to the car dealership. Even though this would help the car dealer a great amount by giving him names of prospective buyers, it would be wrong because the people who took the survey were most likely told their names would be kept private throughout the survey process. The American Marketing Association’s Statement of Ethics provides information on ethical values a company must uphold. One of which is honesty. It would not be honest of John Smith to hand out the names because the people who took the survey would not know about it. It’s unethical because John Smith would be breaking consumer relationships. Yes, John Smith may have to lay off some employees in his company, but isn’t that the company’s fault that they don’t have the money to keep employees? There are other ways for John Smith to make the money to try to keep employees, what do you think they are?

What's Gotten Into American Idol?

American Idol has been on the air for eleven years now. Some would say it has dragged on long enough with the new similar shows “The X Factor” and “The Voice”. These newer singing competitions seem to be more focused on giving ‘nobodies’ the chance to change their lives and make something of themselves.  Has American Idol changed from a singing competition to some sort of talk-show? Is the show focusing too much on the quirky people who audition instead of the talent that’s out there?

In Response to Christine's Post: "Comcast's New Streampix"

"Do you think Comcast will be able to compete against Netflix who already has a solid base of customers?  Is their simple marketing strategy of making their product less than Netflix enough to make them successful?"

I am not a user of Netflix or Comcast Xfinity, so I’m no expert on the benefits of either program. But knowing what Netflix provides and what Comcast is attempting to provide, I can see Comcast being able to compete with Netflix fairly. I feel that with Comcast having the lower price and essentially offering the same thing will cause many Netflix customers to switch companies. I also think it was a great move on Comcast’s part to make the Streampix free for existing Comcast clients. If anything, that will help deter people from ever signing up for Netflix. Are there other markets that have up-and-coming competitors?

In Repsonse to Christine's Blog Post: "Red Bull Commercial"

"Do you think this ad is the best way to market an energy drink?"

Yes, I think this is the best way for Red Bull to market their energy drink. They have taken their slogan and ran with it, using it in every way possible. I think the ads about “Red Bull giving you wings” are better than the “anything is possible” ads but as long as they continue to use both, I think they will continue to be successful. I like that they are changing things up by moving on to an inspirational commercial instead of humorous ones. I think the commercial that Christine posted is moving and encourages you to believe that you could be the athlete you’ve always wanted to be by drinking Red Bull. What other marketing strategies could Red Bull use to promote their energy drinks?

How Diet Companies Utilize New Year's Revolutions to Gain Members

Each year when New Year’s Eve rolls around, you know you are bound to be asked what your resolution will be for the upcoming year. Most answers you’ll hear are losing weight, quit smoking, and eat healthier. Many dieting companies take advantage of this time to promote their weight loss programs. So far just this year, over $124,000,000 has been spent on weight loss programs in the United States alone. And even more is spent on advertising for these companies to market their plan. But, on average, these New Year’s resolutions to lose weight don’t last more than a few months. This is why most diet companies will increase the promotion of their weight loss program again around February/March (spring break time). And again before the summer begins, hoping that everyone is captured by the idea of getting the “beach body” they’ve always dreamed of. What was your New Year’s resolution? And have you stuck to it?

In Response to Christine's Post: "Superbowl Ads"

“Do you think showing the ads before the game was a good marketing strategy or not?”

Many of the companies that created special Superbowl commercials released them on the internet before the game started this year. I think this wasn’t the best idea on marketers’ part. Many people who tune in to the big game don’t even care about football, the watch for the good food, half time show, and commercials. In fact, about half of the people who attended the superbowl party I went to admitted they were most excited for the commercials. It’s possible that with those especially funny commercials available ahead of time, viewers may have been lost from the game; therefore viewers missing other commercials put on by the same advertisers. If the commercials for the superbowl were just every-day commercials, do you think less people would tune in to see the game?

T-Mobile Valentine's Deal

This new commercial by T-Mobile follows the same idea as the others, the beautiful girl in pink with the short dress telling you about deals that the phone company is having. T-Mobile’s most recent commercial is for Valentine ’s Day, promoting a phone sale for February 11^th. The commercial starts out with a man dressed as cupid saying that he wanted to surprise his girlfriend, but the T-Mobile Girl suggests he give her a smart phone from T-Mobile because they are on sale for the holiday. And then the narrator continues saying that all phones are FREE including smart phones. But if you look really close and you pause the video, you’ll read that the phone is only free with a purchase of a 2-year contract. Is this false advertising or just really good marketing? Because technically the actual phone will be free on that day but you have to pay at least $100 for the two year contract.

In Response to Christine's Post: "Importance of Surveys"

At the end of Christine's post she proposed the questions, "What type of surveys do you take? How do you think marketers can get more responses from customers?"

Christine mentioned in her post that she doesn't enjoy taking surveys and only really takes them after ordering a product online. I actually love taking surveys. Absolutely love it! Almost every time I order a product online I will fill out the customer survey about the product in order to help others decide to buy it or not. And on the other side of the survey, I often read customer reviews before buying an expensive product because I find them useful. So I understand how this information can be useful for marketers to know how to improve their product if necessary. I agree with Christine that having an incentive would help marketers get more people to take surveys. I may not go as far as to say a gift certificate but I think a discount would work sufficiently. I think a lot more people would be willing to take a customer appreciation survey or stay on the line for telephone surveys if they were guaranteed a 10% off coupon. Do you think customer surveys are affective or a waste of time for the company?

"Say Yes to the Dress" But At What Price?

I watch the show Say Yes to the Dress frequently with my mom when I am home from school. Like many women, I enjoy the show because I like to dream about my future wedding dress. But does the show portray the wrong image about wedding dress prices? On the show, the bride meets with a consultant to discuss budget and the type of dress they are looking for. Research has shown that the average price tag on a wedding gown from Kleinfeld’s is $4500; quadruple the amount that the typical New York woman spends on her dress. Whereas, the average wedding dress price at David’s Bridal is only $550 (which is still expensive for one day!).  So why is it that women feel the need to spend so much money on one dress? Moreover, why are women so willing to fall for the wedding industry’s marketing schemes that weddings need to be extravagant and expensive? I think part of it is relationship marketing: establishing a long-term, mutually satisfying buyer/seller relationship. When a bride goes to Kleinfeld’s to buy her wedding dress, the consultants do everything in their power to make that bride look as beautiful as possible. They build up the relationship to help encourage the bride to purchase the ‘dress of their dream’. When in reality, that bride could probably find a similar dress for half the price somewhere else. I think Kleinfeld’s is a successful company because they have a centralized organization and they focus on finding that dream dress for the bride. They establish performance standards and actually match up to those standards by doing whatever they can to make the bride happy. This definitely helps encourage brides to spend those extra thousand-or-so dollars to find the perfect dress. Can you think of another company that is so successful because they are good at what they do?

In Response to Nicole’s Post: "Why a Course in Marketing?"

At the end of Nicole’s blog post, she asked the question “What do you think is the most important reason why one may take a class that does not have to specifically do with their career path?”

I think it is very important for students to take courses outside of their major, like ISP courses at Keene State. By taking courses outside of your interest, you broaden your horizon of knowledge. If anyone has ever said that they learned absolutely nothing after completing a semester in a course, I don’t believe them. Whether you enjoy the subject or not, the professor or the reading materials in the class are going to teach you something you don’t know and it will most likely be something you can take with you for the rest of your life. For example, last semester I took an environmental studies course on food and health. I didn’t think I would learn much in the class and besides, what did that have to do with management and accounting? Absolutely nothing, but I learned so much on healthy food intake and the importance of choosing the right foods.

I think the same goes for a marketing course. I think students who are not management majors or minors could benefit from taking a marketing course. No matter what your career path may be, you will always need to sell yourself to a prospective employer. You will always need to prove that you are worth having as an employee.

What are some courses you have taken outside of your major? And did you learn anything worth while?

5 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know about Marketing

Whether you’re planning on pursuing a career in the marketing field or if you want to become an entrepreneur, the knowledge of marketing is very useful to have. There are five things you need to know in order to be successful in your company.

1. Understand Your Market:
By understanding what market your product lies in, you can better solve a problem in that marketplace. Ask questions like “How does my product solve a problem?” and “Are people willing to pay for my product?” in order to test your knowledge of the market. 

2. Define Your Goals:
Along with your goals, you need to define yourself. You need to know who you are, what you are, and what you are not. You must figure out what you want to accomplish before stepping into your career or creating a product. At this point you already know that there is a need for your product in the marketplace. It’s up to you to also figure out how you can fulfill that need.

3. Understand Your Customers:
You also need to understand who, individually, is in need of problem-solving. Know who you want to market to and who can benefit from your product.

4. Create Your Brand:
Your brand is how people (customers) relate to your company. This is how you are perceived in the marketplace. Plan your marketing strategy in advance and make sure that every marketing activity you do works towards the same goal. A good goal to have is to persuade your customers to buy your product. This usually happens through advertising. Advertising is best when you figure out what your brand is!

5. Your Marketing Should Lead To Sales:
You must track your success and your failures. If your marketing plan fails, you need to know why! If marketing activities do not drive sales then you need to figure out where you are lacking and build up that part of your plan.

Can you think of a company that didn't follow these guidelines, and failed because of it?


SOURCE

Marketing Mix: The Four P's

Within the marketing mix, there are four P’s: product, place, promotion, and price. If I were to consider myself to be the product in order to try to market myself to a future employer, I would use these four P’s into consideration.

The first topic is product. I am the product. Here I would describe my strengths in the workplace such as my patience, organization, and drive to succeed in any challenge I face. I work well with a team as well as individually. I would also tell the employer about my past work experience and talk about some of the qualities I gained from working within those environments.

Place: In this section I would talk about where I live and how close I am to the job.

Promotion: Here I would use personal selling to market my skills I have for the company in order to get the promotion. I would show how I have progressed in previous jobs through examples and also mention references from employers.

Price: Here I wouldn’t name a desired salary from the potential employer. I would let them know that I was open to any salary in order to get the job. Because even if I received a low wage, I could always work harder to achieve a higher pay.

This sounds like it is similar to a resume, which it is. Within a resume, you market yourself as a product to try to 'sell' yourself to an employer. Have you ever thought about the marketing mix when looking through your resume?

The Difference Between Marketing, Advertising, and Propaganda

The three words “marketing”, “advertising”, and “propaganda” are very similar words and I don’t think there is a big difference between the three. I think advertising is how you make a product appeal to the consumer. This pulls the consumer in and engages them in the product through commercials, songs, or sometimes celebrities. Marketing is how the business plans to send the message out that they have a new product to sell. Marketing and advertising are nearly the same, but advertising is more along the design side of things. The marketing plan figures out the cost of a new product and if it is worth creating. Propaganda is like bad press. Sometimes advertisements can be propaganda in that the commercial might not be completely true or it might be leaving out some important details. Which of these do you think is the most effective to sell a product?