In Response to Brooke Callaway

Do you think K-mart has a clever way of keeping viewers interested in what they are trying to sell?

I think that Kmart has a great way of advertising their service by intriguing the costumer.  When most people watch commercials on TV or online they mostly will not even pay attention.  This is an ad where it grabs your attention quickly and makes you pay attention to what they are trying to tell you about.  The commercial is trying to use a play on words to catch the listener, and for myself it worked.  I think that ideas like this are great ways to grab the listeners attention and make them pay attention to your commercial.  On the other hand I can see how some people may be offended by the commercial or think that it is inappropriate, but ultimately if it grabs the attention of its viewers that is that matters to the company.

Do you feel that this type of commercial may have a negative affect on the company at all?

How to Market with Tumblr

http://business.transworld.net/128720/news/marketing-with-tumblr/

Social media is a huge form of communication today, and marketing your product or service through social media is a great way to get your company out there.  This article talks specifically about Tumblr, a blog site which is said in the article to be the 32nd most popular website in the world.  The article gives the most likely new market some tips on how to successfully market your product or service on Tumblr. Probably the most useful tip I found was "create content that people will share".  Tumblr and all other social media sites are all about sharing things with one another, and that is what makes them popular.  If you create something that other people will want to share then you are getting your idea spread throughout the site.  People want to read and see things that interest them and can easily look your post aside if it does not meet these ideas.  It seems simple to post things that people want to see but some companies are not able to do that, which probably why someone wrote this article in the first place.

How often do you share a companies post on social media? Do you think this is a good form of marketing?

In Response to Jade Brulotte

Would you invest your life savings in an idea you were fairly confident in?  Or would you have to be completely confident?

I feel that the if you are confident in your marketing plan and strategy that is just as important as being confident in the idea.  I'm sure people have see products or infomercials that seem ridiculous and you ask yourself, who would ever buy that? But the reason why these products are successful is because they were able to create a marketing plan that makes people feel that they need or want that product.  Also in the same sense you could have a great idea for a product or service but if you have no idea how to market it then there is no way that it is going to be successful.  Overall. I think that it comes down to the marketing plan rather than the idea itself.

What other factors make a product or service successful?

Marketing Trends

http://www.forbes.com/sites/thesba/2013/01/23/5-surprising-marketing-trends-for-2013/

This article talks about 5 surprising trends in marketing that have taken place in 2013.  The one that I found most interesting was that they believe that marketing campaigns will not be as popular now, at least for the time being.  It is known that marketing campaigns as been very popular and very successful for many companies, but Forbes believes that this is not the way things are heading.  They believe that because of the new "mobile" world and the aspect of social media that campaign marketing will become obsolete. You would need to plan a campaign months in advance and they're argument is that everyone is doing things in real time today because of all the social media sites.  It is believed that companies will focus on this "real time" marketing by using these mobile sites, instead of a planed out campaign.  This new real time marketing will make it possible for people to see their advertisements immediately online.

Do you feel that this idea is true? Will marketing campaigns become obsolete or stay popular? 

In Response to Will Redding

I think that this can be very helpful for Best Buy.  By starting this price matching people will not need to shop around and can buy more products in the store at once and not have to go to other places.  I think it will help them financially because even if they are selling products for cheaper than desired they will overall be selling more products, which will make up for and hopefully overcome the difference.  Another reason why I believe this will be successful is because the Home Depot has a similar policy and it has worked out very well for them.  They have and meet and beat policy where they will be a competitors price and then beat it by an addition 10 percent.  Although there are some restrictions it had worked out very well for them.  They are the number one home improvement store so they are obviously doing something right.  Although Best Buy and Home Depot are two completely different companies this policy I feel can greatly help Best Buy.  This will create more people coming into the store and more products being sold.  It make take time for it to catch on but I do feel that it will be successful.

Do you feel these price matching policies work better in the long or short run?

Self Marketing

Like we talked about in class self marketing is very important when getting a job.  With all the new technologies out today it can be very easy to promote yourself in a good way and also a bad way. LinkedIn is a great way to keep connections with previous business partners and can be very helpful when getting a job.  Also employers are likely to look someone up on Facebook or Twitter so it has been put out there that people should watch what they are putting on the internet.  This is no news because people should be aware of it anyway, but in the job sense you want to marketable to employers and somethings on these pages are definitely not.  Also when going on job interviews and things of that nature you always need to look and act professional.  When the man from Northwestern Mutual told us about some of his interactions in interviews I find it hard to believe that so many people do not know how to dress for an interview, but obviously it happens.  I feel like many people get the job because of their self marketing.  An employer could find 100 people with the same qualifications as you but you need to be able to sell yourself.  If you are not able to do that then there is no way that people would want to hire you.  
http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2010/01/10-truths-about-self-marketing-like-it.html

This website talk about ways to self promote yourself and what you should and should not do.  Some things are simple and common sense but others not so much.  It always helps to keep looking for news way to improve on self marketing. 

Have you ever had a situation where someone clearly stood out to you because of how they marketed themselves? How does this make them more appealing? 

In Response to Drew

How do you feel about Walmart's pricing strategy? Do you think that it is clever?

I feel like Walmart's pricing strategy is very successful. They are able to make the costumer see that their prices are different from their competitors.  Although their prices are not much lower they are able to catch to costumers eye to see that they are different.  I know that I have bought items from Walmart that have only been many a dollar or 2 cheaper than the competitor next door.  I also know that I have drove around from Walmart to Target and other stores to saves maybe only 2 dollars.  This marketing can be very persuasive to people like me who are willing to save any dollar that you can.

Do you buy products that are slightly more expensive at a store rather than cheaper at another for more convenience?

Dr. Pepper Snapple

Dr. Pepper Snapple company is one of the leading companies in the soft drink business.  They are able to stay a top company because of their wide variety of products.  I feel like their wide variety of products makes them a successful company.  Although Dr Pepper is one of their biggest products, what makes them successful is that they are able to access many different  people because they carry so many different types of beverages.  I feel that companies that carry many different products in their line have to best advantage.  If they are able to carry many different products in their line then they are more able to create new products.  By having many different products it makes it possible to generate a new product and have people be willing to try it because they carry so many different products.  This is why i feel Dr Pepper Snapple company is successful.  They have many successful beverages so if they create a new beverage their costumers will trust what they create because it comes from a company with a successful  product line. 
Would you buy a new product from a company that you know have satisfied you in the past?

In Response to Jake Atherton

If Spring break was labeled under a different name, that didn't bring up the idea of warm weather, would it have a different effect on college students?

I feel like this would have a huge effect on college students.  The idea of spring break in college kids minds is going someone warm with all of their friends and drinking and having fun.  If it marketed different like more conservative vacation spot like museums and educational things it would appeal to people other than college students. Although there are programs like alternative spring break, which are very popular, when anyone thinks of spring break you think of young kids in Mexico.  This is very appealing to college kids because what they want to do is have fun and go to the beach.  I am sure that around this time of year vacation sites will advertise more social scenes and club scenes of a vacation spot than the educational aspects of a certain area.  

Do you think the traditional idea of spring break will ever change?

Social Media Marketing

http://www.brafton.com/news/social-media-marketing-and-fries-how-mcdonalds-monitors-social-chatter-for-brand-success

This article talks about how companies like McDonald's take part in social media marketing.  This article explains that it is more complicated than it seems.  There are regulations and laws which says which tweets or comments the company can and cannot endorse.  They explain that McDonald's is a companies that plans as they go with their social media marketing.  They seem what is trending and popular and go from there.  This has been very successful for McDonald's   The article also says that companies that do not take part in this type of marketing will fall behind soon.  They believe that this type of marketing is the new things that is making companies even more successful.  They believe that social media marketing is the new way to gain new consumers and more brand loyalty.  
 Do you think that social media marketing gives companies a bigger edge in the competition?

In Response to Tammy Chou

Which category of new product do you think is the most popular, why? Do you think by looking at the new product of Diet Pepsi with its new packaging it would target you to buy the product?

I think adding to a new product line is the most popular.  I think this because if a product line is successful it will be much easier to add a product with the same trusted name.  This trusted name makes it possible for the new product to succeed.  I feel with products like soda a new packaging would not target me to buy the product.  With sodas people know what they like or don't like and usually will not try something new just because of packaging alone.  If someone drinks Coke I don't think that they are going to try Pepsi just because of a new can.  New packaging could be using for other products, I just feel that when it comes to soda a new packaging will not help sales.  

What products do you think could benefit from new packaging? 

Cause Related Marketing

I have noticed lately that it seems like many products have some form of cause related marketing.  One example that comes to my mind is the Save Lids to Save Lives, that Yoplait yogurt does.  The program says that each lid that is returned they will donate 10 cents for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  This is obviously a good cause and most people would want to help cure cancer, but obviously it is a marketing plan in the long run.  I have not looked for into the program than just what the website says but for many cases there are loopholes where the organization does not receive all the money that is implied.  Because this program has been going on for a while I believe that it is a good program that is in place, but others are not always like that, like product RED we talked about in class.  This was short lived because it seemed they made the money they wanted to make and then were done with it. 

Do you feel like these marketing plans affect how you buy products, and do you look into whether or not all the money goes to the cause?

In response to Will Ferguson

Do you think personalized ads are good or bad? Why?

When it comes to the internet I do not mind the idea of personalized ads.  Some people get very angry about the fact the Facebook is taking your history in order to find ads the fit you, in my case I would rather look at ads the relate to me than random ads on the internet.  There is no way to avoid advertising on the internet so why would not you want it to be about something that interests you?  I do understand people's arguments that it is an invasion of privacy what Facebook is doing, but they do this in order to find ads that may interest you.  I would much rather have an internet with no advertising so I can do whatever I want on the internet and not look at ads all day, but I know that this is never going to happen.  This is why I do not mind that Facebook tries to make ads that relate to you.  In the long run I would be much more interested in ads like music or clothes that interest me, than say cars or housing that does not.  It is not the most ideal situation when it comes to the internet, but for me it is the most reasonable one.  

Do you pay attention to online advertising or just ignore it? Why?

Advertising in Movies

http://www.cracked.com/article_16574_the-10-most-shameless-product-placements-in-movie-history.htm

We have all seen advertising in many movies but this article makes it clear how far companies will go when it comes to getting their products seen in specific movies.  When watching a movie sometimes you do not even notice the advertising of products that is taking place, but after reading this article it becomes very aware of the advertising in the movie industry.  In the article they specifically talk about reeses pieces in the movie ET. I am sure that many people have seen this movie and never though anything of the fact the ET is attracted to reeses pieces. I know that for me watching this movies would not make me want to buy or not buy their product.  But, in this article you can see how far companies can go to put their products in a feature film.  People go to the movie in order to see the film and not buy products so does this advertising really work? At least for myself I feel feel that these advertising have no affect on me in movies, but obviously companies would not be doing this if they did not see an increase in sales once the movie has hit theaters.

Do you think that advertising in movies has a large affect on the viewers?

In Response to Tammy Chou

Can you think of a time where you purchased something that targeted your lifestyles?  Were you satisfied with this product?

I remember at one point a while ago a kept seeing commercial for a face wash on TV it seemed like every time a commercial came on.  It seems like all beauty product commercial are always really appealing and look nice (at least to girls).  At this point in time, I had run out of the face wash I normally used and when I went to CVS, I saw the new product and figured why not?  It has been on all the commercials.   I honestly do not even remember what brand or type it was which shows that I was affected by their marketing plan.  I had seen so many commercials that were appealing to me that I bought the product when I could have easily gotten nearly the same thing for less expensive.  I would not say that I was satisfied or dissatisfied with product it left no affect on me.  I guess you can say I am the type of person that is just willing to try something new.  I am sure if I saw a huge difference in my skin I would have kept buying the product but it did not do anything different than a generic face wash would have done for me.  In this companies case I was their target market and it made me buy their product.  I am sure many people have came across the same situation when seeing the same commercial over and over again that they think why not just try it?

Do you feel companies insistent advertising are to get your initially buy, and not for the quality of their product? 

Grammy Advertising

http://www.decodedscience.com/the-grammys-2013-the-financial-winners/25728

In the article "The Grammys 2013: The Financial Winners" they talk about how advertising during the Grammys is much less expensive but is growing in popularity.  They explain the huge price difference in commercial slots from this past Sunday's Grammys to last Sunday's Super bowl.  (3.8 million vs. 800,000 per 30 sec commercial).  It is explained that the commercial price and the viewing number of the Grammys had increasingly increased over the past few years.  At first you would think that there is a much different target market between the Grammys and the Super bowl and that could be the reason but the huge increasing in 30 second slot prices.  However, because the viewers have increased over the past years it may make companies rethink their strategies in advertising during the Grammys.  It has always been well known that the Super bowl commercials reach millions of viewers so it is a no brainer for companies to want to advertise, but know it is seen in the past few years that companies are wanting to broaden the viewers of their commercials.  Football and music are very different so it can be understood why there are different companies advertising between these different programs, but with rising viewers would it make since to start advertising in other genres?  I think that the rising price of commercials during the Grammys is because of the fact the companies that would not normally advertise during the Grammys are trying to take advantage of the increasing viewers, which would also increase in the viewers of their commercials. Are companies trying to reach a different target market by advertising during new TV programs?  

Satisfaction vs. Value

Are customer satisfaction and customer value interdependent or mutually exclusive? Can satisfaction occur simultaneously with low customer value?

Depending on the product you are buying I feel satisfaction and value can be mutually exclusive.  Normally you would think that a high value product satisfies its costumers.  An example would be an iPhone.  Most people would see an iPhone that is a product with high value and high satisfaction. Although some people may not always be satisfied for the most part iPhones have high satisfactory rates.  This can lead people to believe that the reason why people are so satisfied with iPhones is because of their good quality and value.  I feel like the reason people pay a lot of money for high value products is because they want to be satisfied and that comes with value.  I feel that there are times when satisfaction can occur simultaneously with low value.  The times that I think can happen is with products that are not high end products in the first place. An example would be products like toilet paper or paper towels. You can choose to buy the expensive brands or you can buy the stores brands. After using both some people are not able to tell the difference so they care satisfied with something that is of lower value.  But with products that are going to cost you a lot of money you would want something that has good value because most people do not want to waste their money on low end products.