Marketing

                   In this weekly blog post I want to discuss how employers can benefit from marketing by posting job openings. An employer has to educate themselves on the right type of marketing to target the right type of employee. For instance if an employer advertises a job opening on Instagram, one could argue that their target audience is young between 18-30. Just as an employer who advertises on Monster or Indeed might have a better chance of reaching an older audience. If an employer wants to reach an older and broader audience, they could use the old fashioned print method. Also targeting other non-job related sites could be equally successful. I have seen Job postings at the bottom of Walmart.com and Amazon.com. A firm can benefit greatly by hiring the right marketing professionals that knows all these tricks and tips.

Guerrilla Marketing

           The definition of guerrilla marketing is innovative, unconventional, and low-cost marketing techniques aimed at obtaining maximum exposure for a product. Recently big and small business have used guerrilla marketing. Although it is a technique historically associated with small businesses. If a small business can execute it well, it can be low cost but reach a high percentage of a targeted audience. Some examples of successful guerrilla marketing campaigns are The producers or the Blair Witch film, they created so much buzz about the movie. Then created a website and fictitious story line for the character The Blair Witch. They were just 4 college students who created this movie. Another successful guerrilla marketing campaign is Coca-Cola's Happiness campaign where the video was shot at St. Johns University, where cameras were hidden, to catch the reactions. The machine dispensed more than cokes. In fact the Happiness Campaign has been so huge for Coca-Cola that they are still using it now.

           The point is although guerrilla marketing can be a great way to gain brand recognition for small businesses, if big businesses use this type of marketing thy stand a greater risk of a bigger failure and they have more to lose. They could lose billions for a campaign gone wrong. Whereas smaller business that get less exposure can quickly bounce back from a bad campaign. And even a bad campaign might still get their name out in the public for being so bad. I think big business should leave the guerrilla marketing to smaller business that do not have such a high marketing budget. 

PUBLIC MANIUPULATION

             This week we learned about public manipulation or as I consider it the effects of propaganda. The video showed how in the late 1950's there was a stigma against women smoking. The nation felt that smoking was a mans 'thing' and it showed that he had power. Well tobacco companies began to make print ads and commercials with women smoking, the video even showed a clip from I Love Lucy of Lucy smoking. Back then it was a sign of power for women as well. Towards the end of the video we saw how even public relations affected president Eisenhower's decision to consider Guatemala a threat to America. Even though this was a very small country with limited resources, through public manipulation the President came under pressure from the American people to handle the Guatemala situation.
                 The power of manipulation is still used today, although I think our mind sets as Americans have changed to not follow a crowd,but to be independent thinkers. We are still manipulated through print ads, main stream media, and radio broadcast. 
      

Marketing

                           I really enjoy  the marketing aspect of business. My previous college required me to take 2 marketing classes. I fell in love with it, we were required to create Powerpoint presentations and a group business idea. We created flyers weekly for a specific business idea. As of now I am only pursuing my Associates Degree so there is really mo degree plan that has an emphasis on Marketing. But when I graduate and find employment I will highly likely go back and obtain my Bachelor's degree with an emphasis/ major in Marketing. This is the passion that I have found for my life. I even find myself creating flyers when we need something at work. Or making my sons projects for school better by including a Powerpoint presentation with them.

Factors in deciding location

            In this weeks information the focus was on location of a business. I didn't realize how many factors go into really opening a business.There was even included a math model that helped factor things such as traffic and proximity to highways. These are things I had no clue about but once studying about it, it made perfectly good sense. So I learned that a business doesn't just open. Especially a huge business like a Walmart.  They must look at these business plans. They take into consideration local economy, electricity prices, tax breaks, wages, workforce readiness, and technology. This explains to me why a local Walmart has been placed where it is in our community. In what I first thought was s stupid location. But after studying all the information its a genius location. They built on land that was for sale and vacant for many years. Its right off of an interstate and a mix of homes and restaurants are located in the area. There was enough room for them to add their gas station, and their gas prices are always the lowest in town. They then leased locations around them and made it an outlet mall. Business boomed because everyone knows people are going to shop at Walmart. So shortly after a movie theater went up, a hair cutting salon, and other restaurants. This place is now booming! And its all because they first had a business plan. They saw the big picture, unlike me.

Doing it right

            In this weeks blog post idea one great topic was a car service company. Similar to the example provided we have a local repair shop that has under-priced all nearby service companies. Their oil changes are $19.99, brake service is $69.99 and they do free diagnostics( to name a few services). I think they are successful in their business they are always so busy. Of course I cant see into their books they have been around for over 10 years. They began cutting prices when the economy started to go bad. They did this as a relief to their customers and they were so successful, with new business that the idea and prices stuck. They gained loyal customers and customer appreciation. Even though I have free oil changes for life on my vehicle I still occasionally go here. They are local and $19.99, plus a fast service cant be beat. I have spent 4-5 hours waiting on my free oil change at the dealership. So its worth it. The workers are professional and the shop operates like a well oiled machine. 
              Not only do they change your oil they top your other fluids off for free and look around and recommend any future repairs. I think even if they were to go up on their prices that their customers would stay and remain loyal. They have been so successful that they have opened up two other nearby shops. So even if they raise their price to the price of competitors, such as Walmart and Express, I personally will continue to give them my business. Because they did something that no other local shops did which is help the local community out. They support their community and we support them. Their name is scattered everywhere from our ballparks to ad space in out local yearbooks. 

BRANDING!

             In this weeks blog entry idea we were given many examples of celebrity branding. All these brands I have heard of before. After playing the branding game I was actually surprised at how many brands I knew even though I have never used or purchased their products before. If I had a product I would definitely try to use a celebrity to market it. It seems in today's world people are obsessed with celebrities and anything they touch turns to gold. Many celebrities have a second career off of branding that is more lucrative than their actual career. Just like George Foreman, I can name a few others like Michael Jordan with his shoes, Susanne Summers with the thigh master (and many other inventions), Paula Deen and family actually have many restaurant chains around the United States. One in particular is in the Tunica, Mississippi hotels and casinos. Her and each of her boys, and her husband each have a restaurant inside a huge area. The are each individually named (even though I cant remember the names). Her's is down home southern cooking, her husbands is fresh fish and seafood (cause that's what he likes), one son has a BBQ style restaurant, and the other healthy type food. But without the branding of Paula none of these restaurants would exist. So even the branding of a particular celebrity can lead to branch off ideas. Although she is off of Food Network, and Walmart dropped her. I still see her on other networks and on HSN or home shopping channels still selling her products. So celebrity endorsed branding is the way to go for me.

mass marketing?

         In this weeks blog post entry the idea was given whether or not we should segment our marketing or attempt to target everyone. After watching the videos and reading  the chapter in the book. I definitely see that targeting a specific audience is the way to go. I think when trying to mass market to all consumers it is very difficult, and more often than not unsuccessful. I actually read that mass marketing is not long term and they have a 2%  response rate and are on the decline. 
       In our upcoming elevator pitch, my business idea and elevator pitch is geared towards a segmented consumer. When trying to come up with ideas I could not find a way to pitch my idea towards a mass audience. I am excited for my elevator pitch and proposing my business idea.

Changes, changes, changes?

            Earlier this week Facebook announced that it would 'finally' release the unlike button. Facebook was excited for this announcement. I personally feel like it is the biggest mistake ever! I think it will lead to even more internet bullying. First Facebook needs to get 'real users' numbers in I do not know anyone in my age group who still has a Facebook account. According to researchers younger users use Snapchat, Instagram, and other social sites. Then if Facebook acknowledges that some users have several pages,or they have pages for their pets, or even fake pages (for whatever reason). But Facebook truly got down to the actual active users the world would be shocked. I personally think that they know but they don't want to say so they wont lose sponsors, endorsers,  and stock prices wont drop. I know when I did have a Facebook account one of the reasons I left was because it seemed everyday they changed something it it was becoming hard to navigate. They didn't care because they were on top of the world so thy ignored consumers complaints about the frequent changes. Also when inappropriate photos or things would float across my timeline and I would report it to Facebook they would always say the picture was okay and didn't violate any policies. 
          
           In the world of internet bullying and people being able to hide behind a computer this dislike button is bad news. It will make bullying that much easier. Maybe a teenager post a photo and class mates hit the dislike button, so the photo has more dislikes than likes. I would think that teenager would just delete their page. The same goes for businesses big or small. I would think a small business would be more inclined to just leave Facebook because of the negative publicity. So I think the dislike button will make a lot of users leave Facebook, either in anticipation of button or once they see the negativity of the new feature. Whomever at Facebook who came up with this concept is crazy. Although Facebook is marketing it as a way to show support like when someone dies or when someone post something sad. We all know it will quickly be misused. I will just sit back and watch, say no to the Facebook thumbs down icon.

Inventions ahead of there time

            In our instructions for this weeks blog post we were given several ideas. The one that grabbed my attention was inventions that were ahead of there time and how Apple many years before had the idea for the Ipad tablet. As I researched this, some reports say that apple had invented an Ipad prototype some 10 years before the Ipad first hit the market! Its hard to say when the right time is to release a product. I know there is research, study groups, and surveys that can be conducted. But how does one fully know when is the right time? I think if you have a great marketing team and flood the market with the product it could be successful. I can relate this to the idea of Tide Pods. Tide was the first company to invent the pods. They marketed it to not only women but men. Their slogan was "take the guess work out of laundry". They successfully convinced audiences that anyone could do laundry just add one tricolor pod and it had all the detergent, the pre-treater, and the stain remover in one and add it to  the laundry. I remember when they first hit the market we even received a small 5 pack sample in the mail to try along with a coupon for $4 or $5 off. (Of course now it would be unheard of to find a coupon for $5 off. But Tide hung in their and had great sales. I think partly due to the fact that the target audience was male and female. After some time of being the only pods on the market. Now when I walk down the laundry isle nearly every brand has pods. Nearly each brand offers a liquid, a powder form, and the new pod forms of their detergent brand. Five years ago who would have ever guessed that we would simply throw a small pod into a load of laundry and walk away? But Tide's research and development team did. Then they had a great marketing strategy.  Even now I still see the Tide pods advertised everywhere. This invention followed our new busy lives. The washing machine and dryer have become one touch and energy efficient and the laundry detergent has become one drop. Now if we could just get someone to market a way to fold the clothes! (which is my least favorite part of laundry) 

 

        We were asked in this chapters assignment do we keep a log of good ideas somewhere. I do I keep them on my laptop but i can also access it from my phone or tablet. Most are ideas for websites names or business ideas. When it comes to the business ideas I try to find a business concept that I could improve on or I look at what is around me within the medical field and write down ideas on how to improve it. 
      
       With this weeks blog post I wanted to point out something that I actually find great advertising. My sons school has an issue with fundraisers such as selling gift wrap or selling cooking or candles. Mainly it doesn't generate enough revenue. Chances are most kids have siblings within the same school which presents as a problem. They discourage door to door sales for safety reasons, which even if they did it would be redundant because the neighbors have kids, which are also selling the same items. So his school which has a lot of students but the community is relativity small has teamed up with pretty much all our local restaurants and 20% of all sales from a particular night of the week (usually Tuesday's) goes to our schools, they even keep a jar by the cash register for extra money that customers would like to donate. And the turn out is always great. From a marketing standpoint even if customers do not go to the restaurant for this purpose the money from each sale still goes to the school. It is genius! Then as a neighborhood they spread the word to local churches and business and often times church groups show up after church. Or businesses will order everyone dinner for their offices to support our schools. Both the restaurant and the school wins, as it brings more patrons into the restaurant and the revenue to our school. Because of the success of that idea different departments within the school have branched out with creative ideas. The band has teamed up with a store within our local outlet mall and the band receives 10% of the proceeds. Again genius cause even if customers are just shopping and have no idea about the school, the band still benefits. By the band advertising for the store it is a win-win situation. The school sends out the emails and texts and a prerecorded message to every number that you have provided them with for your child. Between the two different schools my son has been in and the schools that other family and friends attend this is the only one that has these types of fundraisers. 

What were they thinking?

The position of these two signs is awful. The top one is promoting health and discouraging childhood obesity, even by suggesting that the Food Stamp program may help. I can only assume by providing families with money for fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of fast food. Then directly below is a sign for McDonald's one of the biggest fast food chains in America. We know that too much fast food has been linked to obesity. This is a marketing fail. Whomever rents these signs should have a clause so this sort of thing will not happen. These two signs should be nowhere near each other.

Really?

I found this and had to include it. It is marketing gone wrong. An employee should have taken this sign down to avoid any confusion. How mad would you be if you pulled up to your favorite restaurant and this was the advertisement? I wonder if they advertised the free tacos in advance? The reason this really bothers me is because this seems to happen to me all the time. Especially with the local news. I watch the news at 4:30am- 7am every morning. (I am not home to watch midday news) But I watch the 5 o'clock news and nothing is ever mentioned. But on the 10pm news I hear "today the Birmingham Zoo had free admission for everyone" or "Krispy Kreme doughnuts had buy a dozen get a dozen free all day today". Or "today you could have received a free dental screening from 8am-5pm" It just burns me up inside. If these services are free or reduced for the public why not mention them at 5 am, or better yet a few days before. I am not sure if the news is the problem or if its the establishments not giving the information until late.

This advertisement is all wrong....

This is an advertisement that Regions Field in Birmingham produced.  In my opinion this is a horrible job, I have no idea what is being advertised here. It seems like an ad for kids with the cartoon pictures but its clearly not or the beer wouldn't be there. If I was marketing this event, I would do away with the pictures of the old cars. There is also something weird about the fireworks and the operation lifesaver being listed on the same flyer. I would redesign it with a picture of hamburgers, hot dogs, sodas, and nachos etc. (all in one picture) an actual picture at the top corner. Then a picture of real fireworks at the bottom corner. With something like come celebrate with the Barons in the middle. At the bottom of the flyer I would list all the sponsors such as operation lifesaver, and Teds used cars. I would remove the 'catch phrase' Thirsty Thursdays' and the beer mug, to me it narrows down a certain demographic which is not good for business. I would want for everyone to feel comfortable coming to a game. Thirsty Thursdays sound too frat like or like rowdy drunks will be there. The single mom will stay home, the church group won't attend. The high school will be too uncomfortable taking school aged kids there.