Response to Eric's Stumble Upon post

I think companies could use Stumble and get very good results. The site gets high traffic and once you're on it it's pretty hard to stop. I think if marketers and companies decided to use the site and maybe throw on some logos or a brought to you by or whatever it could really help them become more popular and reach a fan base they normally wouldn't have.

Starbucks After a New Market

Starbucks has long been the brand that people associated with class or money. That image has served Starbucks very well for years but they're now after a different image and a different crowd. No longer do they want that guy who writes in public Starbucks is now after the average middle of the road coffee drinker. Seattles Best Coffee the small brand that Starbucks acquired 8 years ago is after the average joe coffee drinker. The Person they've placed in charge of the operation is hoping that a simple bag with out a logo and just numbered to distinguish the types of coffee with work. The bags are numbered 1 thru 5 to help customers distinguish between light roasts and dark roasts. The idea behind the campaign is to capture the people who like generic coffee which Starbucks is not. Do you think that this new campaign by Starbucks to try and capture the section of the market that they've alienated for so long work? Do you think the idea that making the bags look generic will work?

Below i've included a few pictures of the bags for a reference

In Response to Abby's Kindle Blog

I think the lower prices might draw in more customers. Now Im not very familiar with e-readers or the books you can get with them. But I've always wanted to see maybe e-readers being used in college for books. I always thought that it might be a cheaper option and if offered I think students might prefer it. Hopefully as prices drop more students and colleges will start to realize the potential and start moving towards e-readers instead of textbooks

Is Your Website Self-Absorbed?

I stumbled onto an article on Marketingtoday.com that talked about websites being too self-absorbed and how it can affect how possible customers react. It was interesting to read because I personally have never experienced a website like that but after reading I decided to see if i could find one. After a while searching I still couldn't find one but it got me thinking about the campus mom project and his website. I was wondering if his website could possibly be sending potential customers away. At first glance I didn't think so but I think that it may be something to definitely look into. An optimized website that is easy and fun for customers to use is far more effective. Do you think the campus mom website could use some work? If so what would you do to make it better.


http://www.marketingtoday.com/emarketing/0305/narcissistic_web.htm - The article from Marketingtoday

http://www.campusmomlaundry.com/  - The Campus mom website in case you haven't seen it

In response to Lia's Starbucks

I can't say I'm a fan of Starbucks or coffee for that matter but I am a fan of the Starbucks approach to marketing. I couldn't agree more with the fact that Starbucks changed it up by not advertising on TV and really relying on their customers to get the Starbucks name out there. They've managed to become a big name business while still being that low key cool spot look and feel. Starbucks has continually been able to come up with ways to keep their patrons coming back whether it be the wi-fi or the atmosphere people definitely seem to love the place. Starbucks has also drawn attention to itself in another way that I think is quite interesting. People love to hate Starbucks! Whether it be the guy writing in public just so people can see, or the stuck up attitude that comes with being a Starbucks customer, people love to point it out. However in doing so they just draw more attention to the company so good job Starbucks you've managed to get yourself out there with out really advertising kudos to you.

Baseball's Epic Beard

Brian Wilson is a closer for the San Francisco Giants known for his beard and personality. Major league baseball has some new ad's out  in honor of opening day. The commercials being aired feature Brian Wilson's beard and it's strange inhabitants. In one commercial there are ninjas fighting in his beard and in another lumberjacks cutting down stalks of hair. The point of the advertisement is to draw attention to MLBalwaysepic.com a site that has just recently come to light. I think the ad's are great, Brian Wilson is quite a character and to have him (and his beard) featured in a commercial adds a nice funny side to baseball a normally fairly serious sport. The reason I chose this ad is because normally I'm not a very big baseball fan, but after seeing the ad's and interviews with Brian Wilson I'd be lying if i said I didn't want to watch more baseball. With that in mind I can't help but think that maybe others around the country are finding a new interest in america's past time. Are these commercials working for you? Do you think this new funnier side of the MLB would help attract some new audience members or maybe repel the older more traditional ones? Just in case you haven't seen the new commercials or interviews with Brian Wilson, i've included some links below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIlyu6ZGWI8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c4R-_0gMEw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC52rkgkNgU

The Science Behind Labeling

After talking about labeling in class this week I got to thinking about just how important labeling is. I mean obviously it defines one product from another, it tells us what it’s supposed to do, and it’s supposed to appeal to us the consumer. That last part is the thing I decided to focus on, how packaging appeals to us. Companies spend millions on research figuring out what it is exactly that we desire in a product. They’ve gotten so good at it that it’s down to a science; everything about packaging is specifically designed that way. What color it is, the size, the outline, all arranged perfectly to make us want to buy.  I mean why not? If I were a CEO of a giant company I’d do everything I could to try and make that buying process that much easier, that much quicker, that much more pleasant. The problem is do you think there’s a point where they may have gone too far? These companies are beginning to tap into sub-conscious response mechanisms when designing packaging or whatever that we can’t control. During Christmas shopping stores play faster Christmas songs to try and make people un-easy and in a rush, they want you in and out. They want you to pick up that over priced present and to not have a second thought about buying it.  This isn’t the only example there are examples everywhere of companies using tricks like this to make that buying decision easier for us! I guess my point is do you think it’s ethical for companies to do this kind of thing. Is this borderline subliminal messaging? Sure we have free will we can always just say no, but in my opinion the odds are stacked against us. What do you think, should there be some limit, or do you think companies should continue to these kinds of things?

My Favorite Marketing Campaign

When you start an advertising campaign you're sure to make your product look the best. That's how advertisers have done it most of the time however Dos Equis decided to do things a little differently. They introduced the most interesting man in the world, a character who has seem to have done it all. Whether it be climbing mountains hunting treasure, or speaking perfect french in russian. the interesting part about this campaign is what he says at the end of the commercial. He calmly tells the audience that he doesn't always drink beer but when he does he prefers Dos Equis. What advertiser would say to its customers that well if you're thinking about drinking a beer maybe you should try a Dos Equis. When most others make it seem like using there product is the best thing you could do. Nonetheless it worked Dos Equis has seen significant sale increases since the ad aired something along the lines of 32%. Does the ad work for you if you do drink beer or do you think it could have been better? Also have you seen any successful campaigns similar to Dos Equis? If so what.

The My Best Segment Site

I entered my zip code into the site thats supposed to tell me exactly what kind of people live near me and i was surprised at how kind of on it was. I didn't think it would be anything near what the city of Somersworth was like but it was it got it almost spot on. The older Somersworth community with a bit of a rustic feel to it, as I was reading i could picture people i know that fit into those categories.  It's interesting to think that there are sites that can do this sort of thing. My question is how do they do it? Do you they send a crew or take surveys? Whatever they're doing it's working at least it is here.  It's interesting to think about what you could do with information like this, marketers could get there advertising to the people they want to and not those who would disregard it. Tools like this could be extremely useful to someone trying to find a certain group of people or maybe someone just doing research. The site could be better though I think, imagine a site that not only has just some general description of the people that live in an area but a site that has fairly detailed information about the area. Where they shop, when they shop, what they're buying, the type of people that live there, demographics, etc. all information a budding business or a huge corporation could use. Do you think a site like that could ever exist? why or why not.

In response to Jordan

I think they might, Japan is a far more health conscious country then we are clearly. But when all of the sudden these people are exposed to the same kind of crap we eat problems start to rise. In today's culture everyones looking to save money, and once they save that money they want whatever they payed for that instant. It's no longer about quality and craftsmanship it's about how fast can we as a company shove stuff down peoples throat. How can Japan ever hope to have a chance if McDonalds a company known for being unhealthy is suddenly spending millions to try and figure out how to make them eat? I think if not careful then maybe Japan could have obesity issues like we have in the states. Do you think Japan is doomed or do you think they have a chance to not become the next obese country?

Bi-Winning

Some people might think it's more important to have people see them as a shining example of good. Charlie Sheen however is quite content with people seeing him for the way he is a recovering addict. I chose this to blog about because it's a great example of the social networking phenomenon and because it's relevant i think to marketing ones self. Most companies go out of there way to ensure they have a shiny sparkly image that no one could slander. However Sheen is here telling the world that "he bumps seven gram rocks". You would think that this would ruin his career but it's doing the opposite. Sheen has become more popular after this interviewed aired then I think anyone thought he could or would. He recently set the world record for fastest time to reach one million followers on twitter when he did it in 25 hours and 17 minutes. He plans to pitch products on Twitter now because of this which i'm sure he'll get paid for. This approach obviously couldn't work for everyone but it has for him and he's making the best of it. What do you think after seeing this interview are you more of a Sheen fan or less? Just incase you haven't had a chance to see the interview I've included a link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5aSa4tmVNM

In response to Nicole Perry

I agree with you, I think sometimes people often look past the benefits of things just  because of some other factor that is probably less important to the general public but more so to them. In your case a wind farm I think is a great idea. I'm all about trying to lower global carbon emissions and trying to get to a state where we can be carbon neutral. I think another example of something like this is the electric car, sure they're good for the planet but people think they look bad and who wants to drive a car that sounds like a hair dryer? I think people as a whole are opposed to change and often find excuses to delay it, but as times things must change as well.

We want it now

This weekend my roommates and I decided to get Netflix. Netflix is a service that allows you to stream movies instantly from home with out having to buy or rent it.  I'm sure most people are aware of this however most people aren't aware of what it can do to your life. Since my roommates and I got Netflix we've done nothing but sit and abuse it all day long. Most of us had homework but found it impossible to get anything done with Netflix now in out lives. After a few days of this we decided that it wasn't the movies we were addicted to it was the fact that we could watch whatever whenever. The more I thought about it the more it made sense, how often do you pick one thing over another because of how fast or convientent it is? The faster cell phone, faster car, faster internet service which would you choose the faster and more convenient or the slower more time consuming one? Don't get me wrong not all things are supposed to be fast but in some industries its important, and this trend of being able to deliver instantly is taking over. Netflix almost put Blockbuster out of business because people preferred to have the movie now and not have to go and pick it up. More and more banks are offering online bankins which gives users more options and abilities then they did before. This new trend is becoming a must for some businesses we as american consumers are no longer happy with services that can't keep up with our busy lifestyles. The internet has changed the world allowing us to pack more into less time and making it easier to do so. As technology changes and becomes more advanced we want or businesses to advance too. Are you happy with this change in business or do you prefer to go out and do your shopping, banking, or socializing?

In response to Kayle

I agree, I think people who publish books are often looked on as very smart successful people when in fact you're right anyone can publish a book. The problem with this is that since anyone can publish, anyone can put any kind of crap that they consider helpful material into the hands of people who more often then not think its genius. That's a problem because then you have all this info floating around that may or may not be relevant. On the marketing side of things though it makes perfect sense to publish a book. Like you said it build credibility and depending on the book does these people gain fame. This in turn results in sales and customers that hang onto every word that the author says. So if were up to you would publish something that may be less then accurate to get the benefits?

Man vs. Machine

Recently Ken Jennings and Watson a super computer went head to head in Jeopardy. Your classic man vs. machine, david vs. goliath. Unfortunately or not depending on how you look at it the machine won. Watson  the super computer made by IBM beat the jeopardy champion. Now this is big news for the company that's had commercial's talking about the project. The project was supposed to be ground breaking a computer designed to be able to compete in the game jeopardy that requires quick thinking and smarts. The company that designed Watson IBM also makes computers, now in my mind this great publicity why not buy a computer from a company that designed that? It makes perfect sense, if i was a customer looking for a good computer I would choose the company that designed the computer that beat Ken Jennings. IBM's marketing in this instance was great in my opinion. Air commercials that show what the company is doing and how it's advancing. I'm sure you've all seen the commercials from IBM showing how exactly they're making the world a better place.  They're effectively building a reputation for themselves which in turn is building customer confidence in the company which results in more sales hopefully. All in all it was a great move by IBM another story about letting the technology do the hard work.

In response to Erica Murray

I think that with the internet being such an integrated part of most peoples lives now a days using social networking sites as marketing tools makes a lot of sense. How many people can you think of off hand that are either on Facebook or twitter and how many of those people use or visit that site everyday? With that much traffic it makes a lot of sense for companies to advertise on Facebook or twitter. If I was a company looking to get customers I'd be sure to try and post something on a site that see's something like a million visits a day. With that in mind does it make sense for companies to eventually phase out older methods of advertising and focus more on internet users?

Strange Strategic Window

This weekend is Super Bowl weekend, the big game of the year. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched TV events each year and brings in a lot of companies looking to get their ad time in.  Playing in this year's super bowl are the Green Bay Packers and The Pittsburgh Steelers. Now most people are aware of the rap artist Wiz Khalifa an artist from the Pittsburgh area whose popularity has been taking off recently. Now what do Wiz Khalifa and the Super Bowl have in common you ask? Not much except for what I think is an interesting strategic window/ coincidence.  For those who don't know what a strategic window is it's a "short period between specific events during which there is an opportunity to capitalize on a marketing situation" (answers.com). The people taking advantage of this window are both the Steelers and Wiz. Most people are familiar with one his recent songs that has become pretty popular Black and Yellow. Now this song came out awhile ago at about the start of the season and was a good song but nearly as popular as it is now. The interesting part is that as the Steelers did well the song became more popular because the Steelers organization adopted the song as a kind of anthem and Wiz has obviously benefited from this. Now this Sunday if the Steelers win by chance the song will be heard not just in the northeast where Wiz is most popular but worldwide! People all over the world will be exposed to this song  boosting Wiz's popularity to new heights. I thought this was interesting when I heard it because Wiz made this song as a pittsburgh anthem of sorts not just for the Steelers but at the time couldn't have known the success the steelers would experience this season. So by making this song Wiz and the Steelers organization have benefited by bringing in new fans and customers. Now the question I have is could Wiz a Pittsburgh native have known this was destined to happen or was this just some grand coincidence?

The Four P's and Job Hunting

If you're trying to find a job and put yourself out there it might be helpful to consider the 4 P's when doing so. The 4 p's or Price, Promotion, Place, Product, can really help you figure out how to market yourself to a company so you can be successful within that company. I can say that I haven't done this in the past and often find myself in positions where I'm getting paid but I'm not happy with either what I'm doing or where I am.

By using the 4 P's you can put yourself in a better position. So before applying to you're next job consider these.

Product: You are the product, you have to figure out a way to market yourself to a company as effectively as possible. For example say you were applying to a management job at a small production company you wouldn't want to say that you've never done anything with business or management. Instead, before you go in for the interview find out what the company is about and what kind of people they hire and then market yourself that way.

Place: Think about the place you're trying to apply to. A vegetarian might not do so well as an executive of a slaughter house. In my opinion this is the most important factor, if you put yourself in a bad position from the start there's not much hope for you at any company. Apply and put yourself in a spot where you can perform well and show your skills.

Price: Pricing yourself can be hard at times because you want to price yourself competitively but also fairly. You can't walk into an employer and demand 100,000 plus for your services. before applying do some research and find out what starting employees in similar fields of work make.

Promotion: This is pretty important, how do you want to promote yourself to a future employer. Do you want to walk in dressed appropriately and aware of what you need to say to this employer to make them want you? Probably, you have to consider the fact that the interview is an opportunity for the employer to see what you're all about. Are they dressed right, do they seem professional, do they seem like they want to be a hardworking member of my team? By thinking about how you want to promote yourself before walking in you up you're chances of getting the attention of the employer.

What is the difference between marketing, advertising, and propaganda

What is the difference between marketing, advertising, and propaganda?
I think the difference between advertising and marketing is that marketing can be a lot of things. Marketing is a strategy, that a company could come up with to achieve a certain goal. In other words if I was the CEO of a company I could try to come up with a marketing plan that would raise profits by 25% and help make the company more known. Advertising however is a bit different. Advertising is a tool you could use to get to that goal. For example a company may take out a billboard or maybe a magazine page to help get customers to come in. Propaganda is like advertising except I think that in most cases the information involved in the ad's is biased. An example I can think of is the Nazi propaganda during WWII which depicted jews, gypsies, and soviets as lesser people that were ruining germany which in turn gained support for the Nazi's. All in all I think all three are methods of delivering information whether it be a scheme a picture or information about a subject.