In Response to Ethan Gage's Post

How long will it be before people no longer have PC's, and only have smartphones?


Having recently read a similar article of this subject a few weeks ago, I completely agree with an initial statement of your post. It is a matter of when the PC market will fall, not if, but I believe that the PC market is pretty well established in the workplace and that will help it last longer that it should. Many business environments have employees that rely on a desktop computer in their office or work space. It is firmly implanted into business culture that you have a personal computer at your desk. Smart-phones are the future, but I believe that it will take a while for businesses to adjust to that and adapt it into their culture. That is the main source of staying power that the PC market still has. With that said, I can still see PCs becoming extremely obsolete in the next twenty years or so.

T.G.I. Friday's Mobile App

T.G.I Friday's just launched a mobile app for smart-phones that allows customers to find T.G.I. Friday's that are close to them, view an up to date menu, and even pay for their meal while inside the establishment. This application is usable at over 300 locations and in innovative in terms of its functions.

This new T.G.I Friday's app really impressed me. What a way to innovate the restaurant business! People are always on the move. I myself recall being in restaurants and being held up by a waiter or waitress because we had to close out our bill. With this new app, it is no longer a problem. T.G.I. Friday's is sure to see a rise in sales due to this app as far as I can see. People who are pressed for time but still would like to have a sit down meal will come to T.G.I. Friday's because they know that this app is available. Overall it is a clever way to innovate the market and attract more customers. It is an idea that I myself would have never thought of. People are always trying to eliminate wasted time from their busy schedules. What other ways could the restaurant business possibly become more efficient and attract more customers?

Here is the article on T.G.I. Friday's new mobile app:

http://www.dmnews.com/tgi-fridays-launches-mobile-app/article/238643/

In Response to Aislynn's Post...

Why is it that just because some wealthy people can afford a lifestyle comfortably that the middle and lower income classes feel they need to live that way too? What are other ways to feel rich that doesn't relate to money?


The way I see it, society has corrupt itself on ambition. People these days don't always have an effective grasp on what comfortable living is.Society has influenced people to be brought up so materialistically, and everyone is just a product of their environment. As the in-class video mentioned, "keeping up with the Jones'" is no longer the social norm. People have been brainwashed into believing that material possessions will bring them happiness from what society has told them instead of from their own personal experiences. There are plenty of other ways to feel rich besides money and they mainly reside with your friends and family. Why do you think "keeping up with the Jones'" was so acceptable? Its because family values actually mattered to people. That's why middle class was okay. People were able to provide and spend time with their families.  

Digital Marketing

Being interested in the expanding concept of digital marketing, I read and article online that talked about the direction of technology's involvement with digital marketing. Direct Marketing News took a select group of senior marketing officials and put in a room together to discuss this topic. The main digital styles of marketing are social, mobile, and video. One particular official talked about the rise in time spent on social media as opposed to the rapid decline of time spent on email. Another official talked about a major goal in digital marketing to be brand awareness.

After reading through this, the previously stated points caught my attention. First of all, of course social media is taking over for email. Email is inefficient. As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, society is looking for efficiency whether it be in the product or the advertising. Digital marketing's future is in social media because of its growing popularity and the fact that it is instant. Its not like email where you have to send out an email to bunch of people and wait for them to read it. Social media advertising can be put right in front of someone's face.

An official at this meeting also mentioned a major goal of digital marketing being brand awareness. This caught my attention because it made sense, but I had never actually thought about it. Through my experiences, brand awareness is everything when someone is learning about a product on line. No ones going to purchase a product they've never heard of before, especially if it has to be bought online. Brand awareness is everything to companies that sell online so people can be comfortable with their brand. But is brand awareness everything when it comes to digital marketing or is there another factor that has a major part to play?

Here is the article I read:

http://www.dmnews.com/data-technology-crucial-to-digital-marketing/article/233832/

In response to Georgianne's Post...

Was it just timing or was it the unwavering persistence in promoting the Kind Bars?


After reading this post on the KIND bars, I can't help but see it as a little bit of both. The creator of the KIND bars believed in his bars and was more persistent than most people can be with a new product. His unwavering persistence definitely had a part to play in finally being offered a chance to sell his product in Starbucks, but I believe it was timing that ultimately had the final say in whether his product would get its chance. Business markets are ever changing and inconsistent. I personally see this as Starbucks trying to increase sales with a new type of product. Being the large company of chain coffee shops that Starbucks is, they are always striving to be competitive in the market. This played a major role in the KIND bars getting their chance, but if the creator had not remained persistent, his product may have not still been around to get that chance.

Personal Computers Declining

I recently saw an article on direct marketing news that talked about the decline of PCs in the market. Personal computers are becoming outdated due to the the rise in mobile technology. It all began this past Thanksgiving when Black Friday show a massive increase in mobile sales and a rapid decline of PC sales. Experts are beginning to see the fall of the personal computer and this past Black Friday it became obvious. Personal computers are becoming too inefficient for society.

After reading this article, what I see is a market changing. At first, PCs were the main type of computer that everyone had. Now society wants to be mobile. The personal computer has adapted into a more compact version of itself. Smart-phones nowadays are equaling and even exceeding the computing power of the average PC. Why would people want to sit down and look at a PC when people can be so busy nowadays.

It comes down to that. PCs are inefficient and the market is adapting to the demand of society. The way I see it the traditional PC is on its way down, but is there any way that producers could possibly innovate the PC to make it more desirable to consumers?

Here is the Direct Marketing News article:

http://www.dmnews.com/will-mobile-drive-more-e-commerce-revenue-than-pcs-readers-respond/article/233732/

In Response to Ethan Gage's Post...

How important is having a well known face for an organization?


Personally, I believe that having a well-known face on your organization is vital to marketing and advertising. It is essential to the branding process of commercial goods in services. Various organizations use distinct figures to help benefit their good or service's reputation. For example, the athletic company Nike uses a wide array of professional athletes to promote their sportswear. Nike has used sports icons such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong. Using these professional athletes entices the target market of Nike because it shows sports figures that many people look up to as inspiration and motivation. Well-known faces are vital in attracting customers and establishing a brand.

Advertisements in Schools

I recently was watching a video on over-consumption in American society. It talked about several aspects of advertising and marketing. One specific marketing trend caught my eye. It was the extent of advertising in public schools. School is supposed to be a place where children gain knowledge for their future. It shouldn't be crowded with the outside interests of corporations.

Children are young and impressionable. We should be giving them the wrong idea in any sense. For example, in the video there was a school taking advertisements from various candy and soda vendors. I am very against this type of marketing because it is one of the main reasons we have such high rates of obesity in America. We shouldn't be putting the idea in a child's head that its okay to eat junk food like that.

But there is a gray area in all of this. The school that was taking these advertisements was doing so for funding. The city it was a part of was not providing an adequate budget for the public school. Was it acceptable for this school to accept the funding from these advertisements? Should advertisements that send children the wrong message even be allowed in schools in the first place?

In Response to Aislynn's Post...

Do you see Wal-Mart approaching a declining stage? Is it fair to say that Amazon is a direct competitor of Wal-Mart? 


Personally, I am not sure if I see Wal-Mart in a declining stage at this point in time, but I am sure of one thing. Wal-Mart's way of doing business is harming this economy. I do think Amazon is a competitor of Wal-Mart for one main reason. Amazon offers prices that can be very competitive to Wal-Mart's, and they do in a more sustainable way. Amazon allows people to sell their own things over the internet as well as the selling of Amazon's retail products. I believe this is a more dominant strategy, but it pales in comparison to Wal-Mart's established big business strategy. 

Starbucks Tries Something New

If you were to hear the name Starbucks, what would you think of? Various types of coffee and pastry perhaps, but what about wine and beer? I read a recent article in the Los Angeles Times that writes about the well-known chain Starbucks introducing alcohol to their menu. 

The issue I have with this is that what Starbucks is introducing as a new product is completely outside their target market. Traditionally, I see Starbucks as more of a breakfast on-the-go establishment like a Dunkin Donuts. Their target market mainly consists of those looking for an early morning pick me up.  Instead, they are attempting to enter a market where the players are already well-established. In my opinion this is a bold move. Starbucks intends to first introduce this at a few of their establishments as a test. Then they will expand the new product if there is success. But I wonder, what would prompt a business to extend their product line so far outside their typical target market?   

Marketing Beer to Women Article

I forgot to attach the article about marketing beer to women. Here it is:

http://www.lfpress.com/life/eat/2012/03/23/19541401.html

In Response to Evan Woolcott's Post

If you saw a bunch of people wearing "Blue Moon" shirts, and you were intoxicated, would you be encouraged to buy that beer?

I personally enjoy drinking different types of beer instead of drinking the same cheap Keystone or Bud Light all the time. So if I were to see someone with a Blue Moon t-shirt on and I was going to get beer, then that might influence my decision making because it would make me think about how much I enjoy Blue Moon.

On the other hand, I know many people that do not care much for other kinds of beers or just flat out don't want to spend the money to get a nicer beer. In the end, I believe it really depends on the person and they way they like to enjoy a few drinks. Its more of a lifestyle thing.

Marketing Beer to Women

I recently read something about the beer industry and how they market to customers. Primarily, beer is marketed to men. Advertisement for beer has a very masculine feeling to it whether its Keystone's "Keith Stone" or Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man in the World". Beer has never been directed towards women and I myself am under the impression that the majority of women don't enjoy beer as much.

An article in the London Free Press writes about the demographic and lifestyle assumptions that go into marketing beer to women. One type of beer they mention is called Uptown Girl. This beer is a light beer that comes in a slightly smaller bottle and contains minimal calories. First of all, this beer directly refers to women in the name. This makes it look specifically for women. The slightly smaller bottle is there to make the beer less filling. This refers to an assumption made by beer companies that women cannot drink as much beer as men. Also, this beer only has about fifty calories, which is a very low amount for beer. This assumes that many women are conscious of the calories they intake.

If this marketing strategy works then its great for beer companies. After reading these changes made to beer based off these three assumptions I wonder, do these changes made assume to much of women and could these stereotypes be seen as offensive to women?

In Response to Jaycelyn's post...

Should Google have made this switch or should Google have kept the Android Market as it was?

Social Ad Success

I recently found this article online about a man  named Jim Olenbush, a real estate agent in Austin Texas. One morning this man was reading his newspaper and saw an article saying many Mexican families are fleeing to the USA as of late. He immediately used this news to his advantage and took out an ad on Facebook for his real estate business. As a result he netted 1.1 million in sales for his real estate firm as a direct result of his Facebook advertising and all it took was a mere $400 dollars spent on ads.

The popularity of social networks is having a very dramatic impact on the business world. Initially, social networks were just a way to stay in touch with people from a distance, but as of late they have become a modern marketing marvel. The majority of people in the United States is on Facebook along with the rest of the world. Firms can now determine their target market through social networking. Jim Olenbush took out an ad for real estate in Austin, Texas because of what he read in the newspaper. He anticipated his target market and absolutely nailed it. Personally, I've never paid much attention to the advertisements that go up on social networks, but if Jim here can do it so easily, whats the chance of paper-based marketing becoming a declining method in business? And what effect would that have on how we do business?

Here is the link for the article I read: http://socialfresh.com/social-network-advertising/ 

Marketing Through Senses

When walking into a store that sells any type of good, I can't help but wonder what products i'll see closest to the entrance and which ones will be located at the back of the store. There has to be a reason why products are placed where they're placed. This is most apparent in stores like supermarkets. When I walked into a supermarket the other day, the first thing I did was smell the aromas of freshly cooked bread. The bakery was located right at the entrance. This makes plenty of sense so people are enticed by other senses besides sight. The next thing I notice is the produce section directly in front of me. It is a very open area so it is quite easy to see all of the fresh fruits and vegetables. The lack of processed food in my initial view at the entrance of the store makes sense. Besides obvious nutrition, these fresh foods also have something that these packaged foods do not. They have the distinct smell of fresh food. When I first realized how the use of smell in the entrance of a supermarket is part of marketing it fascinated me. Marketing can be proven more effective through targeting other human senses besides sight. For instance, retail stores like Macy's don't just have clothes in them. They sell items like perfumes that people enjoy. Also, wholesale stores like Costco use free samples to help market some of their goods. This is using taste to help market a wholesale product that is often packaged instead of freshly made. These are my examples but I don't know. Are there any other major ways products are marketed without the use of sight besides these ones I've stated here?

Marketing Flops

I was viewing an online list of the biggest marketing flops in history, and I can’t help to discuss the ones that really caught my eye. For instance, one of the products was Smith and Wesson Mountain Bikes. When I saw this it just made no sense to me. Smith and Wesson has always made guns. Whatever caused them to believe that mountain bikes from Smith and Wesson would catch on is beyond me. I don’t see how the two are related. I wonder why upper management approved this? After all, gun and mountain bikes consist of target markets that are not even similar to one another. This just didn’t seem logical.

Another item on the list was Microsoft Web TV. This was a service in the mid-1990s that allowed people to get an internet connection through their television set. The reason this caught my eye was because having internet access through your TV is quite popular nowadays. The list states that one of the reasons this product failed is because of extensive customer service issues. I believe that this product’s concept was merely ahead of its time. Technology was not yet sophisticated enough to support such a concept and that is the main reason Microsoft Web TV flopped.

McDonald’s Arch Deluxe sandwiches were also included on this list. When I saw the explanation to this marketing failure it seemed obvious. The McDonald’s Arch Deluxe was meant to be for customers who preferred a more sophisticated sandwich. McDonald’s target market is mainly customers who want a quick burger on the go. This example caught my eye because it was another example of a company trying to venture outside its target market and just ending up with a failed product. Why do companies choose to expand their target market so drastically instead of easing into more closely related products?

Here is the link to the site where the list of marketing flops is located:  http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/top-25-biggest-product-flops-of-all-time/3662621/

Car Commercial Marketing

Recently, I was watching television and I came across a commercial for the 2012 Nissan Frontier. The commercial showed a 2012 Nissan Frontier driving down a snowy slope. At the bottom of the screen it states, "Fantasy. Trucks can't snowboard. Do not attempt." While watching this commercial I began to wonder, why does this car commercial market its product with something it can't actually do?

Yes, it is true that it was exciting and interesting to watch a truck slide down a mountain, but in no way did that entice me to buy a 2012 Nissan Frontier. The commercial expressed no features of the actual truck. This confuses me because I believe that not marketing the features of the actual product are hurting Nissan.

Car commercials should express what the average car buyer wants to see. Through my extensive personal viewing of many car commercials, people nowadays are looking for a more practical car. People are looking for safety features that will protect them and the others in the car with them. Take the commercial for the new Volkswagon Jetta for example. This commercial expresses a level of safety and family values that many consumers find endearing. I believe that a commercial like this expressing the safety features of the car is more valuable in marketing than a commercial of a 2012 Nissan Frontier doing impossible things. But is there some value in marketing to parading around a car doing fictional stunts?

Here are the links for the two car commercials:
2012 Nissan Frontier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95bpVJJlI6s&feature=related  
2012 Volkswagon Jetta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtYPhBK61d0

Product Orientation and Need-based Products

Many companies have to market their product in order to achieve adequate sales, but there are a few exceptions to this ideal. Following a product orientation is surely a risky business. Not catering to the wants of consumers is very dangerous indeed. Many would look at this strategy as impossible. How could a company that does not cater to its customers be successful?

I’ll tell you how. The key to this is a need based product. It is true that the consumer wants and wants, but what about what the consumer needs? The only types of large-scale companies I can understand following a product orientation with success are the ones that provide a product or service that everyone needs.

My example of this is electric companies. Electric companies need not market their electricity to others in order to get customers. The majority of the modern world uses electricity and there are few companies to get it from, especially in the United States.

Product orientation works here because we have a modern day monopoly. Electricity is essential to almost everyone. They can’t afford to question its provider, nor can they look elsewhere to another provider. A system like this works for most, but is there any other type of large-scale company that has a product orientation without the use of need-based products?

Opinions on Marketing Terms

 What is the difference, in your opinion (don’t look up definitions) between marketing, advertising, and propaganda?

Based on my current knowledge, marketing is the process of a vendor making a product or idea aesthetically desirable to a consumer. This idea can be implicated on either a small or large scale, from small businesses to large multinational corporations.

In my opinion, ideas such as advertising and propaganda are somewhat part of the overall concept of marketing. For instance, advertising is a general form of marketing. It is when a vendor tries to make a product or idea desirable to the consumer by showing them how useful it is. A typical form of advertising is a commercial on television. Television ads for products such as cars often make the viewer aware of qualities such as safety features and price. Both of these categories are very valuable to a person interested in buying a car.

My idea of propaganda is that it is when the qualities being used to persuade a buyer are made more desirable than they actually are. This can usually be in the form of an exaggeration or by not including important details about a product or idea when it is being advertised.

Through my opinions, these three terms seem to be a subcategory of the next. If that is incorrect, what qualities separate marketing from advertising or marketing from propaganda if there are any?