Maddie Erjavec's Blog

Mountain Equipment Co-op Storefront
Source: newswire.ca

Although time consuming, challenging, and frustrating at times, the Comm 296 Marketing Project was a cool and rewarding experience. Over the course of three different projects and by discovering every single fact, characteristic, and operating technique of our company, I felt that I got an inside look at the career of a professional marketer. I learned through a hands-on experience how to sift through endless information, find facts that are significant, and then identify the marketing mix and create a formal marketing strategy.

In retrospect, I think that one of the most important things that contributed to my enjoyment was the company that our group chose to evaluate. After much deliberation, our team agreed with confidence that Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) would be an awesome company to research and delve into, and we were totally right. I felt a connection to the company’s core values, which I realized is essential to successful marketing. It is so much easier to be sincere and passionate about the work you are creating if you can identify with the company. When applying for jobs and internships, I will always remember this lesson.

In terms of the final video project, I thought it was a nice change of pace from the usual end of term presentation. Producing a video gave our team the opportunity to design a formal presentation without the pressure of public speaking. It also allowed us to watch the video countless times to make sure that our ideas, facts, and important points were outlined in a effective and cohesive way.  Overall, I’m glad the project is over, but I’m also really proud of the work our team put together and what we learned while doing so.

A QR code developed by Ralph Lauren. If scanned consumers gain the chance to win two court-side seats at the 2012 US Open men’s finals!!
Source: money.cnn.com

QR codes, a type of matrix barcode that users can scan with a smartphone to gain immediate access to additional information, have been rising in popularity in the marketing world. However, Jay Baer from Convice&Convert has pointed out in his blog that only a number of firms have actually used these codes effectively to market their products or services. If used correctly, QR codes can work wonders for a company by effortlessly redirecting a consumer to what is relevant (i.e. connection to a website with a longer and more targeted sales pitch), but many marketers are failing to do so.

For example, Baer highlights the pointlessness of a QR code in a magazine ad. The reasoning behind it is that the only thing the code is doing is replacing a URL. This doesn’t add any value to the consumer, especially because a computer or tablet is likely to be nearby. Instead, he emphasizes the importance real-time marketing when using QR codes, and this resonated with me.

The Macy’s QR Code
Source: money.cnn.com

I completely agree with Baer, and think that QR codes can be a powerful marketing tool if they are real-time, meaning they directly add value to a consumer’s experience through additional information or insight. An example of this is when Macy’s placed QR codes in their store displays. These codes enhanced shoppers’ experiences because they linked to a number of short videos featuring celebrities giving fashion advice. They also provide them with latest trends and inspiration from style icons and designers. Not only does this add value to consumers, but it also increases conversion rates for Macy’s. If other businesses used Macy’s as an example when creating QR codes, I think it would give them a huge competitive advantage.

My personal favorite! Scan it to enhance your experience while reading my blog 🙂
Source: seattlemet.com

An interpretation of the effects of advertising on children.
Source: nytimes.com

In Marianna’s blog post The Parent Trap, she highlights how easy it is for marketers to indirectly “trap” parents into buying certain products by targeting their children. Specifically, she uses a Nutella commercial to highlight how some food companies advertise their products as healthy options to draw in children and their parents. Children, drawn in by the deliciousness of a chocolate spread and major players in the decision making process at home, will in turn convince their parents to buy this product despite its terrible nutrition facts. I agree with Marianna that this is a “sham” and can be considered unethical marketing.

My interest in this topic inspired me to do a little more research, and I found that advertising to kids causes other consequences that I consider to be much worse. Yes, unhealthy foods are a threat to the world’s young population, but what about alcohol?

The New York Times recently featured a study on alcohol advertising and its effects on kids and teenagers. According to the Journal Pediatrics, alcohol advertising increases the chances of underage drinking and is also associated with higher levels of drinking problems, missing school, and violence.

The number of children using social media has increased drastically in the last few years.
Source: sosemarketing.com

I believe this reflects a major flaw in the values of alcohol companies. Marketers should take a much more cautious approach to advertising harmful substances, making sure they’re only targeting appropriate market segments. In particular, they shouldn’t use social media and TV advertising because the majority of people exposed to such advertising are kids, teenagers, and young adults who can be negatively affected by consuming these products.

Without a doubt, the importance of social media in the world is growing significantly. In fact, Social Media Today reported that 1 out of every 6 minutes online is spent on a social networking site, and users of Facebook, LinedIn, Twitter, and Tumblr have grown at increasing rates. Additionally, Jeff Bullas highlighted that if Twitter were a country, it would be the twelfth largest in the world, three million new blogs surface on the Internet every month, and five million images are uploaded on Instagram everyday.

            Such massive amounts of consumers spending time on social media sites has changed the way marketers are building their brand reputations and communicating with customers. My question is, are these social media sites helping to improve the way companies market themselves, or are they just an nuisance that make a marketer’s job more difficult?

            After reading an interesting article on Neilson Newswire, it became clear to me that social media plays a key role in the consumer decision process. Many consumers use various websites to discover, learn and share information about products or services through product reviews. Customer ratings and reviews has actually proven to be an amazing help to companies, as 61% of consumers share their experiences solely to give recognition for a job well done. Only 25% of consumers partake in writing reviews to punish companies.

Overall, I believe that social media is actually helping marketers build their brands because of the number of positive messages spread about by consumers. Additionally, many companies find negative reviews extremely valuable, as it highlights aspects of their product that need improvement. Also, businesses can have their own Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and other sites in order to spread messages with consumers and gain a larger follower or fan base.

Article: How Social Media Impacts Brand Marketing

Image source: SM WordPress

Beyoncé and advertisements, the two best parts of the 2013 Super Bowl. (Source: http://www.super-bowl2013.net/)

Yesterday, about 108 million people dedicated their Sunday afternoon to watching the Super Bowl. I jumped on the bandwagon solely to watch Beyoncé perform at the halftime show and to enjoy the best commercials aired on TV all year. However, about 10 minutes after I settled into the couch with about 20 avocados worth of guacamole I remembered I no longer lived in Seattle anymore and the best part of the Super Bowl wasn’t broadcasted in Canada.

While the 49ers were loosing to the Ravens (haha), I was thinking about all the ads I was missing out on, and how the Super Bowl is a tremendous marketing platform for a wide variety of companies. Once I got home I made sure to catch up on all the commercials I had missed, and did some research on how marketers can guarantee their advertisements will be successful.

Stephanie Vozza stated in an article following the Super Bowl that in order to be profitable, advertisements must: have a call to action, be different, highlight a unique selling proposition, take advantage of every opportunity, and use timely messaging. Personally, I totally agree with her. In particular, I think commercials are the most effective when they stand out and are memorable. This is because a memorable ad will place the brand into the retrieval set during the consumer decision process. An advertisement with a strong enough presence has the potential to eliminate other alternatives a consumer might be considering. Additionally, highlighting a unique selling point is absolutely critical for a commercial. It showcases to the consumer exactly what value and benefits the product offers and why they should need/want it. Even if not aired in the Super Bowl, all marketers should acknowledge these elements when designing an ad.

That said, here are some of my favorite ads:

Budweiser’s “Brotherhood”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o2prAccclXs

Volkswagen “Get In, Get Happy”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0xPWAtaa8

Companies all over the world regarded the 2012 Summer Olympics, which took place in London, England, as a tremendous marketing opportunity. According to Statista, the 2012 Olympics reached a record number of views, at 4.8 billion viewers worldwide.

Beats by Dre, Great Britain eddition

Additionally, National Public Radio deemed the seventeen-day sporting affair the most watched television event in U.S. history. The vast coverage and broadcasting of the Olympic Games generated an extremely coveted marketing prospect for companies, causing the International Olympic Committee to create strict sponsorship and marketing rules. Firms commit to million dollar deals in order to gain official sponsorship rights and advertise at the event.

However, without paying for sponsorship rights, Beats by Dre (a headphones and HD sound-system company) “skirted strict rules on marketing by sending British team members special versions of the Beats range branded with union flag colours” (The Guardian.co.uk). Dr. Dre, founder of Beats by Dre, also quietly sent numerous special versions of his headphones to Olympic athletes including Michael Phelps, Laura Robson, Tom Daley, and various other competitors.

Because Dr. Dre had no sponsorship rights for the 2012 Olympic Games, his “under the table” advertising strategy is considered ambush marketing. His eye-catching headphones were spotted at many events over the seventeen days and successfully captured the attention of millions of spectators. This type of marketing has happened a number of times in the past, and raises interesting ethical questions. Is it right to capitalize on an event without paying sponsorship fees? Can Beats by Dre really be punished for giving out free products to hardworking athletes? There are many mixed beliefs on ambush marketing, yet this event certainly raised the attention of IOC lawyers and Panasonic in particular, an angry official sponsor of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Various Olympic athletes sporting Beats by Dre

Article: Beats by Dre Ambushed, Wins the Olympics

While Chevron was drilling an oil well off of the northeastern coast of Rio de Janeiro, a leak started spewing oil into the surrounding waters. Since it began on November 7^th, is it estimated that 416,300 liters of crude oil has settled on the ocean floor. According to Carlos Minc, the incident was an “environmental crime” and “could have been avoided” (CBC News). Due to this, the government of Brazil has imposed a $28 million fine on Chevron.

This event is just one example of how companies can easily neglect ethics while making decisions. In this case, although Chevron knew about the spill right away, they hid information and did not act until ten days after the oil started spilling. Chevron did not uphold their responsibility as a company to care for nature, and this is probably due to the amount of financial pressure they were under at the time. Either way, it is still ethically wrong to conceal information about such a large detriment to the environment.

To prevent more occurrences like this, the Brazilian government will be using part of the reparations to increase the monitoring of the surrounding oceans. This will be crucial in the future because of the recent findings of offshore oil.

Article Source: Chevron faces $28M US fine, Brazil official says

It has become a trend for large businesses to embrace technology in order to increase profits and customer satisfaction. Like Stacey Abmiotka said in her blog, integration of social media will give companies a “competitive advantage over the rest of the market” (Abmiotka). For example, Starbucks has increased their use of technology in order to stand out against other coffee shops.

On Tuesday, November 8th, the company launched a new iPhone app that allows customers to pay for their drink with their cell phone. Supposedly, Starbucks has gotten feedback that customers would like a faster way to pay for their purchases, and this app will do just that. The company believes this will help their boost customer loyalty and convenience. Coffee drinkers can manage their virtual account from anywhere, use the store locator to find directions to the nearest Starbucks, and view the entire menu to plan which beverage to order.

Using social media has become a number one way to attract customers. It creates efficiency and simplicity that is necessary for a busy consumer’s lifestyle. Companies who have neglected the use of technological innovation will soon be left behind unless they adapt to the new trends.

Sources: Starbucks launches iPhone app in Canada

Blog Source: #sold: Social Media Selling Your Home

While skimming over my homepage, a Yahoo blog by Randy Nelson caught my eye. A young middle school boy named Thomas Suarez has become one of the youngest people to develop apps for iOS devices. After reading his story, I was absolutely astonished by his success and entrepreneurial spirit. Inspired by Steve Jobs, this young boy delivered an eloquent speech at TEDxManhattanBeach and has opened a whole new technological world for himself and his peers.

Since kindergarten, Suarez has been familiarizing himself with computers, and different programming techniques from Python, C, and Java. He stared his own company, CarrotCorp, which invents different iOS apps. Two of his most successful apps have been Bustin Jeiber, an game similar to whack-a-mole (except the mole is replaced with a picture of Justin Beiber) and Earth Fortune. Also, he established an App Club at his middle school where other kids can learn how to write programs.

Suarez’s success should definitely be motivation to other young entrepreneurs. Personally, I think his work ethic at such a young age is very encouraging. I will be looking out for Thomas Suarez  in the future, because I believe he has the potential to add innovation to our technological and business world.

Blog Source: Junior high app developer is a pre-teen tycoon in training

One company that I consider to be entrepreneurial is Vera Wang. Before opening her store, Vera Wang spent many years in fashion. She worked as a senior fashion editor for Vogue for sixteen years, and then became design director of Ralph Lauren for two years. During this time she developed her own sense of style and gained sharp knowledge of the fashion industry, which then prompted her to start her own company, Vera Wang.

She first opened her business at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City, developing a collection of wedding gowns known for “sophisticated drama, feminine detailing, and a modern approach to bridal design” (Vera Wang). She was instantly prosperous, designing gowns for numerous celebrities including Chelsea Clinton, Victoria Beckham, Kate Hudson, Kim Kardashian, and many more. Because of her success, she expanded her business by designing new lines of fragrance, accessories, shoes and houseware. Vera Wang’s company is unique in the fashion industry because it is driven by “artistic, modern and luxurious design and style” (Vera Wang). The high quality of clothing and customer care evoke an immense amount of consumer appeal, making Vera Wang an extremely accomplished entrepreneur.

Sources:

Definition of an Entrepreneur

Vera Wang Website

More About Vera Wang