Alexander Wimmer's

This post is in response to the external blog post ” Understanding the traits of online shoppers to drive conversions “. After reading the blog post regarding the behavior of online shoppers- many things popped into my head. One of which was my automatic nature to group myself into one of the groups that they describe- of which, varied depending on my mood, when surfing the web. The interesting statistic that only .03% of all site visitors categorized as “Big spenders” make up 30% of the average online retailers revenue is huge- This statistic alone puts huge emphasis on the importance of online presence and environment in regards to marketing.

Categorizing your online customers that visit your website- enables you (the vendor) to make changes to your marketing strategy based on the overall trends in behavior exhibited by these customers on a consistent basis. Imagine finding ways to convert just another .01% of the total online visitor population into big spenders, that small change alone would have drastic effects to your overall revenue. This includes finding ways to accommodate the “shopper in a hurry” so that they can checkout fast enough without having to enter a bunch of useless user information.

Attacking this situation from a marketing perspective using such things as the four P’s, may have some effect as breaking down the user population may help you better market to a certain place that may yield better buying trends. When breaking down information to specific and clearer categories- it makes it evident to both the vendor and its respective marketing team, what needs to be altered and changed- in the hopes to increase this conversion rate of online visitors.

Sources:

http://econsultancy.com/ca/blog/63735-understanding-the-traits-of-online-shoppers-to-drive-conversions

http://blogs.earthlink.net/tag/shopping/

When I first heard that we were going to be doing a video presentation, the first think that popped into my head was “oh my” (with somewhat of a negative connotation). However after working through the processes of creating the script, getting to know my group over the term, and gaining marketing knowledge- it made the whole experience enjoyable.

I found that I gained lots of important skills through the course of this assignment- some of which include the ability to speak better in front of my peers, as well as learning how to edit our filmed footage. Including marketing tactics and such things presented in our previous assignments into a film, I knew would be a challenge, this is due to the mass amount of information we would have to turn into a 7 minute or less video. After our filming, we uploaded it to the computer and began cutting extra footage.

We ended up with a 14-minute video- and we knew we would have to start cutting stuff out. We held a group meeting and decided on what stuff we were going to cut out and ended up being able to get the video to the right time. Additionally some more important skills that I will take away from this, is my ability to create a short movie, using programs such as final cut pro, and iMovie- as well as my ability to be creative with subject matter in a means to create something that as a group we found funny and entertaining. I had a great time on this part of project, and my previous thoughts of “oh my” were changed.

Sources:

http://exposurehd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Screen-shot-2010-07-14-at-14.25.10.png

http://www.macblend.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iMovie_Training.png

When you think of Old Spice, there are two things that come to mind- their over bearing deodorant smell, and of course their hilarious and effective ad’s. The ad’s that were released at the beginning of the NFL season were nothing but a continuation of the already great series of old spice commercials. Wieden + Kennedy definitely knocked it out of the ballpark. These ad’s were aimed at evoking consumer emotions- such emotions include surprise as well as joy (surprised that NFL players use and love old spice, and happiness and joy that you can be like them by using the same deodorant). In my opinion Old Spice did a great job creating a clear channel of communication to consumers of its products through these types of ads. Their terminal values are thoroughly expressed no matter the length of the ad, being anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 seconds-these values include smelling good and living a fulfilled life. Which is only tribute to the fact that these ad’s are able to convey so much while being so simple. Furthermore, Old Spice is able to connect with a new consumer group- identifying with the NFL and thus with all of its fans, ranging from all ages and types of people, who envy these sports stars such as Wes Welker and Jerod Mayo as celebrities and more so role model’s.

Sources:

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-old-spice-perfects-stupid-funny-parody-jingle-nfl-spots-152196

http://a.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2013/09/3016834-inline-i-2-old-spice-nfl-bar-soap.jpg

Have to many credit cards? Do you have to carry around a massive wallet bursting at the seems? Your problems will soon be solved. Coin has created a product that is the solution to this problem, “Only Coin” is essentially a smart card, like a smart phone- it has the capability to basically do anything- but in regards to the world of credit cards. 

It saves all your individual credit card information and allows you to have unlimited amounts of cards, all synced into one. I feel that even though the product is ingenious, it will have trouble-gaining traction- due to the questions of security alone. The company needs to do a better job of mass marketing its product and making sure that it answers questions regarding security. Even though the company is in early stages of development, it has done little to market the product itself- everyone is looking for something to solve the problem of too many credit cards, thus this product could be huge if it gained more public support. This could be the product to start a snowball effect of other technologies that incorporate the null need for actual credit cards- however without proper marketing to the masses to gain recognition that the product even exists further than crowd funding efforts. The product will fall short of its huge potential to capture the entire new market of card-less wallets. On a different note, the company in my opinion has done well on the promotion side of things- setting up a pre-order system which offers the coin at half price, in the means to fund future production- however the underlying problem still exists, nobody really knows that the product exists.

Sources:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/dfb7409cf5a9f23292474846ab024c77/tumblr_mw9pv9ivXl1qzmturo1_500.png

http://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2013/11/14/coin-tries-to-make-credit-cards-history/

Logan’s blog post Ron Burgundy Presents: The Dodge Durango has discussed both the promotion and product of the new Dodge Durango ad’s, which include Ron Burgundy as a marketing aid. In my opinion what needs to be taken from this, is the extreme importance that lies with creating a mutually beneficial partnership- where both parties benefit largely from one marketing campaign.

It is that of a double edged sword- in which it combines the comedy of Ron Burgundy which draws the viewer in to listen, as well as providing a strong product to talk about. The ad’s flip’s the viewer back and fourth between thinking about what Ron is saying, and instilling certain aspects of the car that set it apart from others in its market. I find that this is the most effective type of ad you can have- As infusing humor and fun in an audience only draws them closer to what the ad is saying. In most situations the purchasing of a product in the viewers mind, comes from their perceived value of the product- which in this ad is enforced via examples of the super specific “0.1 cubic feet of storage, 12 volt light bulb, all in beautiful injection molded thermoplastic olefin,” that Logan has pointed out in his post. Adding some value to a previously thought “normal glove box” in the eyes of any possible future customers. Another thing that this ad does very well, which Logan pointed out is its ability to connect the Durango, with todays social trends of Anchorman being a must see movie- and thus putting the Durango in a position of a must see car for people in the market for a nice SUV.

Sources:

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/bbzWhrrF4FSJIWaQB35mZQ–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYwMA–/http://listings.zenfs.com/en-US/cms/autos/Boldride/Dodge-Durango-Ron-Burgundy.jpg

Ron Burgundy Presents: The Dodge Durango

http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1019713/ron-burgundy-wants-you-to-buy-a-dodge-durango

Due to the latest introduction of the E-Cigarette, Blu’s ecig has begun to capture a large part of today’s market of both smoker’s as well as non-smokers. With the idea that these new ecig’s do not pose any known health side affects- people feel that it is the perfect “sexy” alternative to the already popular cigarette- however with the ability to smoke wherever you like.

With the company recognizing the advantage of the celebrity appeal, they’re marketing campaign consists largely of Stephen Dorff and Jenny McCarthy. With Stephen supporting slogans such as “Take back your freedom” to enforce that you can smoke wherever you want. Posing the internal question, if the celebrity is doing it, it must not be bad- as we have as a society adopted celebrities as role models. Ethically speaking- this company is still selling a product that may prove to pose serious health effects. 

However who is to say they are doing anything bad in the first place? After all there are currently no studies that show that smoking one of these cigarettes is anymore dangerous than drinking a glass of coffee. Playing off this position of “not knowing” allows them to market these ecigs as not harmful to the body or to those surrounding you. Is this ethically incorrect? Some may say yes, and on the flipside some no. Abiding by the law, and marketing to the best of a companies ability is what the objective is for any marketing team. In my opinion this marketing is ethically correct until such studies arise that say otherwise- in which case the marketing plan will be changed to abide by new rules.

Sources:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114868/e-cigarette-ads-should-discourage-tobacco-use-not-promote-it

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/ad_gallery/P150