Category: Uncategorized

The Greatest Lesson I learned from someone was that hard work and perseverance will be rewarded. I learned this from my mother, who raised me by herself after my father and her got divorced. She worked long hours and it definitely made a large impression on my own work ethic. Eventually, she was rewarded with several promotions and considerable pay increases. She never failed to show me that these achievements were directly related to the hours of hard work she put into her career.

I have learned what my strengths are through this class. It forced me to look within and determine what I have to offer a potential employer. I have realized that one of my strongest assets is my ability to communicate effectively. Not that I was unaware of this ability before I took this class, but this experience has certainly helped me realized how to use this characteristic to my advantage more so. I have learned how to leverage this ability to my advantage better and use this has helped both my personal and professional development.

I watched the new movie “The Other Guys” the yesterday and noticed how product placement has definitely changed over the years. From the famous Reese’s Pieces placement in E.T., an appearance that was not paid for, to companies paying to get their product out there any way possible. These companies truly believe that any advertising is good advertising. One character in the movie owns a Toyota Prius, and he is constantly ridiculed for owning a car that is not manly. I believe that Toyota still paid to have their product appear in this movie just to remind people of their brand. There is, of course, also reference to the amazing fuel economy of the vehicle, and throughout the movie the vehicle appears to be indestructible. I found it interesting that a company would agree to have it’s vehicle portrayed in a negative way through such a widespread medium as film. Product placement is effective because the people watching these programs are not expecting to see advertising, so they are paying closer attention than they do to say, a commercial. This is another good example of how modern day marketing is about creating brand recognition and thinking of more creative ways to get the attention of consumers who are becoming better and better at tuning out promotional activities.

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)

Value based marketing?

As I think about most infomercials in general, I wonder how the marketing team must approach these products that are to be sold not in stores but by calling in and ordering. First, usually there is an issue with the actual product. It just simply isn’t as amazing as they can make it look on television, so they try to entice people to buy the product through extravagant demonstrations. When people buy these products, they are usually disappointed by their inability to replicate the convenience and performance that they saw on the advertisement. So I wonder how these products fit into today’s value-added marketing system. It seems many of these companies have no desire to produce a good that is actually useful, they just want to make it look like it’s useful so that they can sell as many as possible. So is it the job of all marketers to add value, or are some just trying to give the illusion of added value to increase sales? Isn’t that their job? It seems there is a dark underbelly to the marketing world, where taking advantage and misleading innocent people is commonplace.

-Brent

Marketing is part art form and part science. Even the best, most thorough research cannot completely guarantee results. Dealing with constantly changing attitudes and trends means that timing is of the upmost importance. The best campaign in the world may not be successful if it is launched at the wrong time. For example, an ad launched selling baby chimp dolls- one week after a lady was attacked and mauled by Travis the chimp in a highly publicised event. Often, it’s impossible to stop the promotion before it’s too late. Marketers should always try to consider the worst case scenario and have a contingency plan or means of pulling an ad campaign as quickly as possible. At least that’s what I think!

I know from personal experience that one of the oldest types of advertising is still one of the most effective. I am talking, of course, about word of mouth advertising. For years I worked for a construction company that relied solely on word of mouth advertising to sustain demand for their services. The power of this type of advertisement cannot be underestimated as I have seen first hand how it helped transform this organization from a small family run business into a multi-million dollar enterprise. By providing excellent service or products you are leaving a lasting impression and creating advocates for your product that will become ritual purchasers. More importantly, they will likely recommend your company to others in the industry and eventually the word will spread like wildfire. People are more inclined to respond to this type of advertising because they are more likely to believe someone who isn’t trying to sell them something directly. Also, it is free.  Of course, it is impossible to get word of mouth advertising without having initial clients must be acquired through other types of advertising! Another good blog you should check out is Amanda Woo’s (link to the right)