Month: November 2010

YO YO YO Party people in tha House! Diz week I’ma be reppin fo all my homies who’s goin buck wild in da club. We be repositioning da blog yo! Talkin bout some shizzle that gonna be stickin in yo mind for realz. Dat ol blog style wuz wack so we be disassociatin n targetin some new peeps jus to get dat money talkin hella fresh new consumas! Erbody feelin dis now, but we gots to make sure we ain’t gona be losin dem other real followas from b4 cause dat would be lamesauce totes mcgoats!  Yo check it, I was chillin at the crib peepin dis otha blog for real n some hella fresh ideaz be up in dat joint! U gotz to be gettin down wit diz my boi Alexey, he be reppin that new audi R8 in his poppin blog.  But check it, it be hard to write like diz n yo makin me think bout how u need to check yoself to be sure u gonna be able to reposition yo productizzle. We ain’t gotz them resources to be writin diz err week cuz my head hurts dawg! Yo n Ima be straight, I ain’t be thinkin errbody be feelin’ diz new style n we ain’t be considerin dem consumas we been losin cause those peeps gonna be dissociative wit diz social reference group. Whateves, peep diz double rainbow vid from youtube.  Diz rainbow gots some real marketing goin on wit some differentiation n it’s own song dat’s one ballin rainbow. K dawgs n dawgettes I’ma go be hittin dat book up keep up on yo readin peeps. Da Don out. Peace

*Tune in next week for a normal blog- sorry for this one!

I think an important aspect of initiating action from consumers is creating a sense of urgency. This type of advertising throws a wrench in the consumer decision process by indicating to people that they may not have time to search for alternatives. We see this all the time with “Limited time offers” or “While supplies last” advertisements that are meant to induce customers into buying as soon as possible. This is a good way to compel unsure and undecided consumers that now is the time to buy, before the sale is over! Personally, I feel that if I know I am going to buy a product there is no sense waiting around; I might as well buy it now and start enjoying my purchase sooner. But many people like to take their time and go through all the steps of the consumer decision process, so this type of campaign can be effective for giving these people the motivation they need to complete the purchase. There is a furniture store down the street from my house that has had a “Closing sale” with “Up to 40% off!” for about two years now, and surely enough, my dad bought a couch. These tactics work but may scare off weary consumers who aren’t ready to consider making an important decision quickly.

On another note, I recently read Vaidas’ blog, and found it quite interesting. Vaidas has created value for his readers by making his blog consistent; his readers know what to expect when they read it.  Each week, he talks about something in marketing that has either angered him or made him happy. I like how he used this theme to differentiate his blog from the others and make it more fun to read.

As remembrance day approaches, we take a moment to pay our respects to those brave young men and women who sacrificed their lives to protect our freedom. At least, most of us do. Eddie Bauer, however, is trying to cash in on this special day by having a “Remembrance Day Sale”. Needless to say, this has become a public relations nightmare that the marketing team behind this idea didn’t foresee. Many people are disgusted at the companies’ attempt to cash in on the holiday. This could have been easily avoided if the company just advertised the event as a good cause, and donated a portion of the profits to war veterans. They did not intend to disrespect our fallen soldiers, but they did. This emphasizes the need to carefully think out all promotional events and the possible outcomes that can result. Short term profits are not worth the long term repercussions of a ill advised marketing scheme that may tarnish the reputation of the company forever. People are talking about boycotting Eddie Bauer, and this organization needs to act quickly by donating their profits to veterans to prevent this from happening.

Hey All!

I’ll start this post off with a joke:

“A man is exhausted after a long day. He decides to go to bed and right just as he slides into his bed he hears a knock at the door. After getting up to answer it he sees that it’s a snail who then says to him “Hello, would you like to buy some magazine subscriptions?”

Furious that his sleep has been interrupted he winds up, and kicks the snail with all his might.

Two years later.

The man is sitting at home, watching television when the doorbell rings. He gets up to answer it, and it’s a snail who says to him “What the f@*k was that about!?”

My point here is that everyone loves and  remembers a good joke. Marketers can capitalize on this if they can get everyone talking about how hilarious their advertisement is. Funny commercials are not hated like most, but embraced. Millions of people watch the Superbowl every year just to see the hilarious ads that the big companies have come up with.  These comical ads can be much better for keeping a brand name in the minds of the public for longer periods of time. However, they may not be for everyone. As we saw in class, a new to the world product should be use an approach that lets people know about it’s benefits first. But companies such as Coca-Cola have the luxury of producing ads that focus on reminding people about their product instead of informing them. I think that these unique commercials and advertisements are by far most effective for an established brand, but not for everyone.

How can smaller companies compete with larger firms with seemingly infinite amounts of resources? They do have a significant advantage by marketing at the grassroots level. Companies like Lululemon have successfully made their name by immersing their representatives in the community. But the advantages of being small and flexible do not compare to the abilities of large corporations with their expensive campaigns that can reach millions of people in a very short time. A small company will likely know more about their immediate environment than a company that makes decisions from hundreds of miles away from the consumers they are trying to reach. Both levels of marketing have their own advantages and disadvantages and the challenge is for firms to balance a large budget with a campaign that still feels personalized. This external blog gives some great ideas for smaller organizations trying to market themselves effectively (Duct Tape Marketing Blog)