“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” (Henry Ford)

While many dislike the idea of team projects, I actually enjoy the process of collaborating and working with other people. And in many times, this time particularly, it led to a more successful and rewarding result.

The team assignments this term allowed me to apply marketing knowledge learned in class to a real company, refined my research skills through doing situational analysis, and allowed me to meet new friends. Like any other team experience, working with others posed challenges such as coordinating meeting times, managing multiple priorities in- and out-of-school since team assignments usually take more time, and coming to agreements through heated discussions. However, it was these conversations that enabled me to gain different perspectives, and prompted the team to build on each other’s strengths.

Furthermore, the video was an especially valuable experience. It allowed us to be creative and forced us to think out-of-the-box to make an engaging and informative video. Because none of us had made videos before, the assignment gave us the responsibility to learn by doing through trying out different softwares and ways to present. Everyone had so many ideas. And since there were limitless ways to make the video, we found ourselves discussing rather than doing. In the end, it was a fun process incomparable to usual presentations, but next time, I will know to start earlier so we will have plenty of time for discussion and to work on the project.

To summarize, my top takeaways are:

• solidified marketing concepts
• enhanced teamwork skills, and
• FUN AND LAUGHS.

Thank you Tamar – you made marketing one of my best courses this year!

From this article on Brand Channel, “Tide Pods seem to be very good for Procter & Gamble, but some observers believe they’re killing the rest of the detergent industry.”

Tide Pods prevent overdose of laundry detergent, and thus, saves costs for households and benefits the environment. As one of the most widely-used laundry detergent brand, Tide has numerous products available for consumers. From powder and liquid to detergent for dark clothing and softer clothing, there’s pretty much everything you’ll need. 

Even with such dominance in the market, Tide faces competition from eco-friendly brands such as Seventh Generation and Green Works who have established their name with environmentally-conscious consumers. This new product demonstrates that P&G wants to position the Tide brand closer to its environmentally friendly competitors  in order to stay competitive in an industry that is in the maturity stage of the product life cycle.

At this point, I do not agree that Tide Pods are killing the industry:

• Consumers still like to use bottled detergent at home and follow cap measurements because it is cheaper. Hence, “doses” are not a solution to excessive use. Rather, if they were aware that they were using more detergent than required, they’ll learn to follow the measurements.
• Pods are convenient and great for travelling, but most consumers don’t see the value of spending more on this product for daily use.
• Consumers who use eco-friendly products will still choose those brands because it is the chemical-free component that makes them stand out. Tide Pods does not offer this benefit.

What is your opinion? Are Tide Pods killing the detergent industry? Will we have an entire new industry on pop detergents? Or, is this product an innovation of laundry detergent that will push the industry back to its growth stage?

As if Google NoseBETA, end of Youtube, and treasure maps weren’t enough, I came across another April Fool’s prank – American Eagle Outfitter’s Skinny Skinny Jeans.

“If jeggings are too baggy, these are perfect.”

A spray-on denim made out of the softest spider web, these super eco-friendly, technically- scientifically- jeans allow you to do lunges and any kind of physical activity. They’re the new jeans. AEO successfully tricked shoppers into trying on and buying the product, before they finally announced that it’s not real.

This actually seems like a cool product that would look appealing on girls, not so much on guys. Personally, I wouldn’t buy it, but I do see a future in products like this. From flare jeans, to the classic bootcut, trending skinnies, and now ever-popular jeggings, I don’t see why designers wouldn’t be thinking of ways to make jeans tighter and more importantly, more comfortable. No wonder customers were intrigued by the Skinny Skinny and curious to give them a try.

All joking aside, the pranks made me question the credibility of advertisements. If companies are able to persuade its consumers to consider fake products even when they release them on April 1, how easily could an unethical company deceive consumers on a regular day? It also made me aware of the power of promotions from strong brands. Take the example of Google. After the creation of Google Glass, I no longer doubted technological companies’ ability to make products that we had never imagined. As a result, I wasn’t a tint surprised when they announced the Google Nose, I just wow-ed (maybe I’m too gullible).

Nevertheless, the companies were definitely very smart in embracing the first of April to generate buzz. What do you think? Did you find the pranks fun? Annoying? Interesting? Do you know of any other April Fool’s pranks?