WeeK 6 EOC: Me x 3

Things that I have bought for myself that represent who I am would be a pair of Hello Kitty headphones, I love and enjoy cute things. I feel it fits my personality and shows off a bit more of my personality. Hello Kitty is a pop culture icon that I have grown up with and have always liked, Sanrio's top seller was Hello Kitty. She took the world by storm with her simplistic design and her millions of looks and outfits that make her so flexible in fashion and for every child, especially girl, to enjoy her and represent them as an individual.

"Ad man Rosser Reeves said a company should develop a unique selling proposition (USP) for each brand and stick to it. Each brand should pick an attribute and tout itself as “number one” on that attribute. Buyers tend to remember number one better, especially in this over-communicated society." -Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing   

Another item I have bought is a Nightmare Before Christmas messenger bag. I bought this because it's one of my favorite movies of all time when I was little and because I needed a new backpack to carry my notebooks and things every day for college. I didn't want just any backpack, I wanted something that looks interesting, nostalgic, cute, and creepy. Any other backpack, I felt, just wouldn't convey my personality or my interest, nor would it help me 'stand out' from the many mundane cliche backpacks other students carry sometimes. People will see that I have a bit of a dark humor and can be a little creepy because of my backpack.  

"Dividing a market into smaller segments with distinct needs, characteristics, or behavior that might require separate marketing strategies or mixes." -Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing   

My last item  is Marvel Superhero sticker sheets. I bought these because I wanted to customize my ipod and computer with superhero stickers. Why should superheroes be for men and men alone? A girl like me can enjoy superhero comicbooks just as much as any guy. I read comics, I enjoy the art and the stories, and who hasn't seen or grown up with Batman, Superman, Captain America, or Iron Man? So I decorated my stuff with these stickers, I personalized my things with stickers that I enjoy and I like adding more to them about the things I enjoy

"Dividing a market into different age and life-cycle groups." -Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing   .

Week 5 EOC: Super Bowl Commercials

" Brands are more than just names and symbols. They are a key element in the company’s relationships with consumers. Brands represent consumers’ perceptions and feelings about a product and its performance—everything that the product or service means to consumers. In the final analysis, brands exist in the heads of consumers. As one well-respected marketer once said, “Products are created in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.” "


"Brands vary in the amount of power and value they hold in the marketplace. Some brands—such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Disney, GE, McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson, and others—become larger-than-life icons that maintain their power in the market for years, even generations"

"The aim of the entire value delivery system is to serve target customers and create strong relationships with them. "

- Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing    


This commercial is great because it's charming, it has iconic characters that we have grown with when we watch coca cola commercials, it shares that frustrating moment sports fans or just people in general can relate to when watching a sport and we just want to scream or growl with frustration, and it has a wordless message we immediately grasp; 'Even if the game isn't going as well as you'd hoped, there's always something to look forward to.' I like this commercial for those reasons. It has the polar bears that we immediately identify with a cold bottle of Coca Cola. This adds an emotional attachment to the product because these polar bears have been in most commercials with Coca Cola, and I've grown up watching and drinking Coca Cola most of my life because I loved these bears. They also show a very human emotion that anyone can relate to, that disappointment of seeing your team lose or fumble or something and the reaction most of us have. In the end, the message that is understood, that even if you lost or something didn't go right, it's okay and things get better with a cold drink and good friends. The point, Coca Cola brings you happiness from a disappointing moment. That's the message, that's why this commercial is good. It's selling happiness in a bottle.

Week 4 EOC: Business vs. Consumer Buying Behavior

tbc

WEEK 3 EOC: My Demographic

I am part of the Millennial demographic. The Millennial generation is said to be more greedy in a sense where it's all about personalization. 'Me, my' are the new pronouns for us. Comfort and ease with knowledge of technology is also a big deal. Born in a technological era, Millennials are used to being bombarded with advertisements and information, new waves of social medias and entertainment and gadgets to improve or lull our minds on a daily bases. Money status motivates the Millennial generation. The education bar is raised to where a high school diploma just isn't enough anymore. We are forced to go to college and get a degree, a good degree, in something if we wish to be successful. Because they're 'greedy', it causes them to work harder for what they want.

I am part of this demographic, I have to say it's all pretty much true. I have grown to understand and use technology on a daily basis, but due to lack of financial stability and my culture I am not familiar with fancy gadgets and things. I am fluent with the knowledge of internet, social medias, and computer programs that my Baby Boomer parents lack. I am 'greedy' and I do prefer personalization of things. I do not consider myself an American, I'm a Chicana. I have a pride for who I am and what I am and I prefer everything I do, say, own and etc. to reflect that. After graduating high school I immediately enrolled for college. I knew, subconsciously without realizing it, that a high school diploma isn't enough. I am the first person in my family to graduate high school and go to college. Money status does in fact motivate me, I am driven to be successful because I want to gain financial stability for myself and hopefully a family someday. I crave financial stability. I am definitely part of this generation demographic. No doubt about it.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

Some companies sell consumer products for good. In 2008, Yoplait started to sell yogurt with special lids for breast cancer. General Mills also changed their recipe in order to rid of the rBGH hormone, which is linked to breast cancer. Dannon also followed General Mills' example which resulted in more dairy companies changing their products to be rBGH hormone free, raising awareness and raised $2 million to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This is a huge deal, especially since Yoplait and Dannon are the leading yogurt companies.
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Dawn dishwashing detergent also have sold products for good, selling bottles and donating $1 for each bottle sold to help International Bird Rescue and The Marine Mammal Center. They've donated over $500,000, and bottles of detergent, to these two organizations to save animals who have been caught in oil spills and clean them up in order for them to survive. They’ve been marketing their efforts on television commercials, the internet, and radio. Dawn is the leading detergent, having millions of loyal consumers.
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Johnson & Johnson sells wound care products to donate for the Red Cross. They also deliver said products to the Red Cross as well. In 2007 they released a product for the treatment of burns with the introduction of the only self-adhering hydro-gel pad available to consumers. The company has been delivering products to aid the Red Cross for over 125 years.
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I think most companies should be like this. Reach a target audience or consumer group and donate a percentage of sales to help make a positive difference in the world. I mean, why not? They earn profit, help their target audience feel good about helping others and then they themselves help and make a difference, plus their company now has a positive image to the public media. That boosts sales and profit. So it's all a win-win situation. You do good, you have others feel good, and you look good while doing it.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

"But the fastest growth is likely to come in mobile gaming, said Tuong Nguyen, principal research analyst at Gartner and co-author of the report, in an e-mail interview. He predicted that the sales and use of hand-held gaming consoles, including those made by Sony or Nintendo, would slow as young gamers opted for a smartphone or tablet instead of a dedicated gaming device."
 -New York Times

"Since the days of the PSP, the mobile gaming market had shifted remarkably. The advent of the iPhone had materially changed both what portable games meant and what prices people were willing to pay for them. Nintendo had moved from DS to 3DS and even with its new screen it hit significant problems in this area; the 3DS was nothing but a mild curiosity to many until last Christmas when the lure of a strong slate of Nintendo first-party software launches lured consumers back to Nintendo"

"With Internet ready TV, the PS4, phones, tablets, cameras, MP3 players all needing to talk to each other, by far the biggest part of Sony's puzzle is the software services piece. Whether on my phone, my tablet, my TV, my PS4, my Vita, or my camera, there has to be an interface and a store that works and easily, conveniently, quickly, stores all my information under one account - basically all the things that Apple does very, very well. No matter where I am or what I'm doing I need to be tethered to "my Sony life".

-gamesindustry.biz

In my opinion Xbox is now a dog mostly if it's without the Kinect feature. Without it, it doesn't do well in the market. Games for Xbox don't sell much on the market anymore. Facebook games are popular, mostly cashcows but they're headed to becoming dogs because it's starting to be a passing fad. However the Xbox live is a definite cash cow, from what I understand, because of the appeal of internet gaming. PS3 is also a cash cow, mostly because people can see blue-ray movies and stream movies on netflix and more. It's popular and it brings in money, it sells pretty well but people don't use it for gaming very much. Few games do sell but from what I gather, but people use it mostly for watching movies. Question marks will be newer systems, such as the so-called PS4 which goes by Orbis. Possibly PC gaming such as World of War Craft since those are more likely to be for total nerds with high-tech computers and tons of cash. IPhone is the hottest thing mostly because it's so easy to stream and download video games on them, plus mobility is a plus. Most games on iPads and mobile devices are stars because being able to play wherever you go is a definite plus. People like to be entertained anywhere and everywhere they go now.  The PS2, I still have one, is a definite dog, it’s been long forgotten and left to rot in the dust. Nintendo game cube as well. The Wii is a cash cow, definitely. It’s still selling games, it‘s very popular and tons of fun, it appeals more towards casual gamers. I’m not entirely sure where the PSP lies now, but I figure it’s safe to say it is a question mark going to dog I think.