Month: February 2011

If you read Graeme Law’s blog,  you will read about the idea that social media marketing will not be as necessary in the business world as its recent progress has suggested. Instead, Graeme believes that communication mediums like linked in, twitter, and facebook have been overestimated in their abilities and have no intrinsic way of describing or measuring their value. However, I disagree.

Interestingly enough, I would like to back up my own views with… Grey’s Anatomy. After watching one of the latest episodes, I am convinced that social media will be increasingly valuable across even more businesses and industries, as a communication method. In season 7’s episode 13 (called ‘Don’t Deceive Me’ – watch it for a better idea!) twitter is used directly inside the operating room while surgeries are being worked on. In fact, the idea was initiated by one of the chief residents as a way to tweet to students the steps taken during surgeries she performed, like a high tech version of ‘in-class’ notes. Then, an intern took the idea one step further by bringing her Blackberry directly into the operating room, so she could tweet each step in real time . Quickly, many doctors from different schools were following the progress of Seattle West Hospital’s various surgeries, even suggesting advice and new methods to the working surgeons during times of complication. For example, when it was realized that the patient needed a heart transplant fast, someone from a different city responded to the tweet saying that her hospital had an available transplant with the proper characteristics, and that they could send it by air to get it to the patient in time. These actions were taken and of course the patient was saved. A little unrealistic? Maybe. Just a Hollywood production? Sure. But is it so hard to hope that the new-age word of mouth suggested by this show may actually progress into something real and life-saving?

Before reading my blog, please take the time to watch this short video:

As you can see, Sun Chips launched a new addition to their placing strategy (from the 4 P’s). The company has altered their packaging to redirect their segmentation and appeal to a broader audience by capturing the eco-friendly target group. However many existing consumers have fought against the innovation by sending in complaints about how noisy the new 100% biodegradable packaging is! Is the idea of ‘saving the world’ really too daunting of an idea, or are people just that lazy and self-absorbed? Personally (and unfortunately) I believe it is the ladder: where so many individuals prefer to spend their efforts writing about petty complaints like how to preserve the precious silence of their chip bags just so they can munch away without being noticed (and therefore judged), instead of focusing their efforts on real issues like how to be environmentally responsible.

Despite this, it is clear that there are some consumers out there who do respect the idea of being eco-friendly. A few comments responding to the YouTube video express their frustration: “You know what’s noisy? Garbage trucks making extra trips to overflowing landfills” and even: “people are so dumb. I have an idea. How about we just get rid of all the f***ing snack foods all together. That way, we will save the earth and save ourselves from being fat asses at the same time.” (I apologize for the swearing – their words not mine!)

Ultimately, which strategy would be more sustainable for Sun Chips? To respond to the unhappy consumer feedback to retain it’s current market share, or to continue with the biodegradable idea in the hopes that they will gain more eco-friendly consumers that they will lose frustrated/lazy customers? –Oops, you don’t get time to think this one out, because Sun Chips has already decided to discontinue its biodegradable packaging of its travel size bags for most of the flavours.

It is true that the major mistake of the Production era was assuming that just because products are new, they will sell themselves. However, maybe that idea holds some merit. What got me to reconsider were Target’s ads. While scoping YouTube to watch more besides the three (relatively unique) ones we saw in class, I realized how little information they actually offer, and that the majority of their ads just have you laughing at the “Crazy Target Lady”. Really, she is crazy (see Crazy Lady- No Oversleeping). See the ads I have posted for your self. The thing is, Target’s ads do not need to push their products on anyone because well, everyone loves Target as a brand anyway. Instead, their ads are carefree, witty, and affective (appeal to viewers’ emotions), with very few cognitive bits. In fact, the most information they offer is having the crazy lady sing low prices to a Christmas tune (see Crazy Lady- Prices), or when the title of the latest deal drops down and a voice-over says nothing but its date and time (see ads Crazy Lady- Holiday Spirit and Crazy Lady- Gingerbread). I think the whole reason companies spend so much energy, advertising, and money on supporting their brand’s image is to achieve this whole idea: Products really can sell themselves. Think of it this way: how often have you gone to a store, walked right down the aisle to the exact product you want, without looking at any alternatives? This is because the brand is so strong, reliable, and familiar to you. With this, the brand has enabled this product to sell itself to you, just by sitting on the shelf and looking pretty at your local store.

Ultimately though, I think when a company has the ability to feature a crazy character in the majority of their promotions, that’s when you know that products can in fact, sell themselves!