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/