Month: February 2011

Retail

Live the Second Life before the first!

Post author By Kate Dai
Post date February 24, 2011
No Comments on Live the Second Life before the first!

Businesses explore options to save money and get marketing statistics and feedback from a large group of people when launching new products. Traditional methods such as surveys and test markets can be costly. Now, with the introduction of Second Life, they can get it all virtually”.

Many companies, such as Telus and Starwood Hotel, are picking up on how useful it is as a test market for products and to gain valueable feedback. The virtual world of real users enables them to bring forth more innovative products and designs that would be too costly and risky to test in real life.

Businesses have no limits to what they can create and test in the market. However, packaging, delivery, and other aspects are limited in the virtual world. For example, smaller packaging of food products (such as the smaller coke cans you can now buy) for elderly people (or children) that cannot eat as much is very difficult to test in Second Life.

If Second Life continues to expand its reach to customers worldwide, its popularity amongst businesses will sky rocket as it becomes the world’s cheapest and safest test market for products.

Uncategorized

Audi – all in one

Today in class, we were taught about positioning. A company has to set there goal of either be first in the category, or be the first in the segment. There is an audi commercial that really left me with a great impression when I first saw it.

Here is the ad:

As we know, the public generalizes each brand with a certain selling point. Alfa Romeo’s selling point is design, Volvo’s is safety, BMW’s is sportness, and Benz’s is comfort. In this commercial, Audi claims that it has all the best features of some of its competitors put into one car. In other words, Audi delivered a message to the audience that it is the number one in the car industry among those competitors. (Why buy the others when you can have the best of all of them in one car?) The ad defines Audi’s motives and featured components leveraging the strengths of its competitors to better itself. A bold and strong positioning statement.

Entertainment Retail

Walt Disney’s Value-based Marketing

Post author By Kate Dai
Post date February 3, 2011
No Comments on Walt Disney’s Value-based Marketing

Taking comm296, we have learned that determining market segments are essential for companies to develop marketing strategies. Finding the way to reach these segments effectively and efficiently is a crucial factor of a company’s success. The Walt Disney Company is a great example that uses value-based marketing to be successful.

Disney land, for example, target people of all ages through charging different age groups different prices for entry. Differentiating among the customers is smart because Disney has a broad target market. This strategy matches with Disney land’s vision: make everyone happy and improve the world. Disneyland provides all its customers with unique and entertaining experiences. In addition, having affective family theme related advertisements on TV and magazines are another approach of value-based marketing.

Recently, Disney has partnered with MasterCard by signing a six-year contract; European MasterCard holders can get discounts in Disney stores, in Disneyland Paris and on Disney films. This new deal shows the segment that Disney focuses on right now is adult. By cooperating with MasterCard, Disney will be able to gain new customers and maintain old customers. This is also value-based marketing because Disney tries to convert new customers to advocates, and it tries to build a stronger network and business adventage by having MasterCard as a partner.

The Walt Disney Company has expanded its existing operations by diversifying into live-action film production, television, travel and online media. Nowadays, it owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network, cable television networks, merchandising division, and eleven theme parks all over the world. Without a doubt, Disney has established itself as a leader of the family entertainment industry proven by an average annual revenue of 36,370 millions for the past five years.