I found Adfreak’s article about Etch A Sketch very interesting (http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/etch-sketch-declares-itself-apolitical-new-ads-139270) . Etch A Sketch’s marketing campaign includes declaring itself as apolitical, which takes advantage of an opportunity to be involved in the political discussion during a time when politics is a hot-button issue. It is a good marketing tactic because like the article said, it does not alienate any political groups. By talking about politics, Etch A Sketch has differentiated itself from other toys whose marketing campaigns are targeted toward children. Etch A Sketch focuses on parents and adults as it’s target market, since children usually don’t care or don’t know about politics. Many young children these day may not even know about Etch A Sketch, so I think it was smart to appeal to an older target market and include the product in political discussions, therefore reminding the adults about the product they may have forgotten about so that they will buy it for themselves or their children. This has proven to be successful, since the toy “has seen sales jump 1,556 percent since last week, when Mitt Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom called the Romney campaign ‘almost like an Etch A Sketch’ that could be rebooted for the fall campaign against President Obama.”

Since this is most likely not a sustainable tactic, Etch A Sketch should consider options for future marketing campaigns so that it is not forgotten about again. Etch A Sketch is a very basic toy and has many direct and indirect competitors, so one suggestion I have is to upgrade the product by expanding the features of the product such as adding knobs that allow the user to draw in different colors. Another suggestion has to do with price, place and promotion. Etch A Sketch should partner with various retailers such as Walmart who will promote the product in their store advertisements and in stores, by placing them in a noticeable and easily accessible location such as the end of the aisle, and offering them at a discounted price.

I found fellow classmate Annie Lui’s blog post (https://blogs.ubc.ca/annielui/2012/03/11/296-blog-3-marketing-behind-kony-2012/) about KONY 2012 very interesting because I had seen the video and witnessed the tremendous impact the video has had on social networks and the web in a short amount of time. I agree with Annie that Invisible Children effectively used viral marketing.

By distributing their video online, it was able to be viewed instantly by people all over the world. The video was quickly spread through word of mouth and online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. This was partly because of the influence of social factors. After seeing someone in their online social network post about Kony 2012, someone else would be influenced to post about it and so on, in order to fit in and stay in the loop.

Out of the 3 key strategic marketing lessons Annie listed, I think Invisible Children did the 3rd step ( Put the audience in state, and then move them to action) the most effectively. By showing in the video the growth of the son of one of the leaders of Invisible Children and talking about family, the video builds a personal connection with its viewers. It also draws out the sympathetic side of the viewers by showing images of injured children. At the end of this touching video, the audience is asked to take action. Empathy, which is a part of interpersonal influence, can be a major influence on consumers so I think this was very effective. Many people shared the video or donated after watching it, increasing global awareness.

In terms of increasing awareness about Kony, Invisible Children has definitely been successful. However, when it comes to raising funds and actually overthrowing Kony, there are many forces in the marketing environment that must be considered. Backlash from some members of the public forces, whether or not Kony 2012 gets support from political forces, as well as the influence of economic and cultural forces will all determine the extent to which Invisible Children will be successful in raising financial resources and overthrowing Kony.

McDonald’s Egg McMuffin was a pioneer in the breakfast sandwich category. The jingle “I’m lovin’ it” from many McDonald’s commercials is well known, but if I have previously seen any marketing campaigns specifically for the Egg McMuffin, they were probably mundane because I can’t recall any. However, the new advertisement for it definitely sticks in my mind. After reading the article at http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/egg-mcmuffin-ad-egg-mcmuffin-ads-137501 and watching the video McDonald’s Egg McMuffin Of, it seems the advertisement is memorable to many consumers. Another version of the advertisement at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-YXRQdBwoE has already garnered over 100,000 views after being uploaded on January 6, 2012. The campaign utilizes product and promotion from the marketing mix. By promoting the quality of the product through the repeated use of the phrase “the Egg McMuffin of,” as a shorthand for superiority, the video has helped McDonald’s customer-managed relationship and create value for some consumers. It has caused many consumers to go beyond being a customer and interact with the company as well as others through Facebook and Twitter. These consumers have become advocates for the product, through jokingly or not promoting the phrase and product.  The phrase has been mentioned around 11,000 times on Twitter and 1,200 on Facebook.

This advertisement has helped the Egg McMuffin stand out from the increasing number of alternatives from competitors. It has made me want to purchase an Egg McMuffin. Based on the advertisement alone, I probably wouldn’t become an advocate because what I liked about the video was that it was humorous but it will become stale. I think this tactic is effective, but won’t last very long since the phrase will eventually lose its novelty and consumers won’t find it as humorous if it is used in more advertisements. McDonald’s will need to reconsider their strategy and find a sustainable competitive advantage if they want to continue building lasting relationships with their customers and be able distinguish themselves from their competitors.