Marketing is one of the specializations in business that I am interested in. I found an article on Forbes looking into how three companies, GE, Burberry, and Heineken, market their products and brand in their respective competitive industries. The world is evolving into a more face-paced and technologically reliant place where advertising techniques from a decade ago does not work anymore. Consumers function differently, and as what we learned in class, individuals are overloaded with information from various platforms including television, billboards on the highway, newspapers, and our phones. It makes it difficult for a firm to reach out to the consumer and fully persuade them that their product is the best. In this era, marketing directors must be creative and use what Forbes describes as “multiple disciplines” in order to engage and win the hearts of consumers. 

From the pre-readings for class 8, I learned that consumers do not pay attention to information that is inconsistent with their knowledge and personal experiences. I believe that the best method to persuade a consumer is to give them a positive and memorable experience of the product. Heineken does just that. Offering consumers an experience is an effective approach because they can form their own opinion on the product, which is ultimately the most reliable and trustworthy to the consumer themselves. Furthermore, it is definitely more engaging for the consumer. It stands out and makes them remember more than the product itself as an experience involves emotions.

I wonder what is more important: letting a consumer experience the product itself or letting them experience the brand values. Looking at the example mentioned in the article, Heineken did not offer out beers to people on the street (like what Red Bull often does). Instead they associated their name to the idea of community by asking individuals to try and quiet down strangers in a busy park in NYC. Now which is more effective? Does letting a consumer experience what the brand as a whole create a longer lasting relationship?