Month: January 2013

The blogs posted on the Disney Parks Blog website cater towards a very targeted audience: Disney’s most dedicated customers. People who visit the parks often are interested in finding out more about what is happening on a daily basis. So, by reading posts by the numerous authors and viewing the colourful pictures, they become tempted to go and visit the park and see everything for themselves.

With the launch of Mickey Check for Kids’ meals at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort, Disney is certainly aware of the psychological factors that influence consumer behavior (needs/motives, attitudes, perception, learning and lifestyle). An article written by Pam Brandon, a Disney Parks food writer on the official Disney Parks Blog website, goes into a bit of detail on the new icon found on menus that makes it easier to spot healthier food items. In addition, numerous tempting photos are included.

 One is definitely going be hungry after walking around a Disney park. It would be nice, though, to have a choice on what to eat. These days, consumers are interested in living a healthy lifestyle, which starts with how they eat. Menu items with “limited calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar” are all targeted towards those concerned parents who only want the best for their kids. People are aware of the food groups and what constitutes a healthy diet and so details about this information is an important selling point. Complete meals that receive the Disney check sign need to include “at least three of the following food groups: fruits and vegetables; low-fat dairy; whole grains or lean protein, beans, eggs and nuts.”

Image source: http://www.healthhabits.ca/2012/06/05/disney-war-childhood-obesity/

Good marketing, as our textbook (Grewal, D., & Levy, M. (2013). M: Marketing (3rd Ed). McGraw-Hill Irwin.) states, “requires thoughtful planning with an emphasis on the ethical implications of any of those decisions on society in general.”  Ethics, then, is certainly important for the success of any business and its reputation, attracting customers to the firms’ products as well as attracting potential employees and investors. Unethical behavior, on the other hand, does quite the opposite, damaging the firm’s reputation and making it less appealing to customers, employees and investors. There are many different types of unethical behavior in business from false advertising and unethical pricing practices to unfair treatment of employees.

I found an interesting article where a marketing ad was viewed as sexist. In the UK, a television commercial was shown for a supermarket called Asda. In it, a mother carries out numerous Christmas tasks for her family, including doing all the shopping, attempting to transport a huge Christmas tree, wrapping oddly-shaped gifts,  cleaning the house, and preparing a huge turkey dinner. Although Asda probably intended it to be a very light hearted and fun commercial, it was interpreted by many to be offensive.  It received “a furious backlash” over its sexist and stereotypical content. Mums aren’t the only ones “behind every great Christmas” or are always in the kitchen. Although, in my opinion, this ad is more truthful than scandalous, as this different article argues. Many businesses want to stand out and therefore might take risks and push boundaries. It just goes to show how much planning must be involved in the marketing process. You never know who might be offended.

Here is the video of the ad: