Public Awareness Annoucements

Do this get your attention? The idea of living above the influence means that you are leading a healthy lifestyle without drugs and alcohol. The above the influence advertisement campaign is directly marketed at teenagers, but also gets the attention of adults. Even though parents have been through the difficulty of teen years as well, times do change and pressure seems different. I just need to ask, do the ads really help?

It is important that the campaign does not advertise any sort of fun that can be associated with drugs and alcohol, but instead market how destructive the behaviors can be. Abusing a substance can lead to failing yourself, school, losing trust from your parents and friends, and eventually losing hope. What needs to be remembered is that there can always be a way out, and for this reason, I like the ad campaign.

I am hoping that the campaign will start advertising the destructive behavior of suicide. There is a lot of literature on drinking and driving and how addiction can ruin a life, but what about when someone feels as though all hope is gone? It would be really great to see this addition to the team.

Another way that the campaign can be increased is spreading awareness throughout college campuses as well. Maybe the campaign could have speakers that talk nationwide to various high schools and colleges so that there can be a personal effect on what the campaign is trying to accomplish.

Would you go to a campaign like this?

In respone to Laurie Whalen

"What are the different ways you do or have heard to save money?"

 Laurie talks about different ways that people save money, particularly with groceries. I have to say that I am a bargain shopper. Why buy something at full price when it is bound to go on the sale rack (i.e. electronics, clothes, etc.)? I became a more frugal shopper once I realized the value of a dollar and how far that can go, especially when you are a college student.

Some people believe that one has to just buy a few good pieces of clothes for example instead of having a closet full of items that one rarely likes. When it comes to items such as electronics, one must buy something that is affordable, practical, and has a good value. Hopefully you aren't going to buy a BMW when your kitchen appliances are on their last leg... but who knows. Some people think differently than I do.

Since I am always on the hunt for a good bargain, here are some websites that I have come across of that have saved me a few bucks:

•  glasses: zennioptical.com
• shoes: shoedazzle.com, justfab.com
• magazines: type into google, "Free magazine subscriptions" (I got a free 1 year subscription for W and Cosmopolitan magazines
• city coupons: groupon.com
• housewares: ikea.com

These are just a few of the websites that come to mind. It is exciting to receive a deal on something when you were planning on spending more. As Laurie mentioned in her blog, cutting coupons is a great way to save. Take the fifteen minutes to browse the Sunday newspaper and you could save some dough!

Marketing for Free?

As we are studying through our marketing analysis of Campus Mom Laundry, a marketing budget can be used quickly and may not be the most efficient way of connecting to a direct group. With the introduction of Facebook, a marketing budget can now be stretched since an account is free.

Some ways that Facebook can be used for a business:

-update customers with new information (directed at the business)

-enlighten the viewer about news articles

-create a unique interactive experience

-make connections to other sites (business website or blog)

-hold basic information (address, phone number, hours of operation)

This list is not completely exhausted, but it is a start. Facebook can also help businesses make immediate updates and communication with customers and clients. This will show that the business is technologically saavy as well as interested in having the company flourish.

Would you use a business that did not have a facebook?

Response to Diana Schaller

I guess my big question is what would you do if you were being pressured to remove your commercial from the air during a show? Is it worthwhile to submit to the pressure of parental groups? Why is it so necessary to respond to them and do they really have enough power to hurt your business?

Watch this first 

 Now that you have watched the Skins trailer, I think it is reasonable to see why so many parents are upset. Even though that trailer was shown in Canada, the show is identical. I have to say that I attempted to watch the show when it came out because MTV put so many advertisements throughout their other programs that I figured, why not? Within the first fifteen minutes of the show, I was not only confused by how the teens were behaving. The show opened with a teen fighting with his parents, then proceeded to setting someone up to lose his virginity, and by the end of the show, there was a girl that had attempted suicide via prescription pills.  Is that how teens are talking these days? I sound old when I only graduated from high school in 2008 and for crying out loud, I am still in college.... how many things can actually stop me in my tracks and be upset? After living in dorms with communal bathrooms and a forced triple, I would say not many.

The phrase goes, "No press is bad press," but what if the show gets pulled? Then I think that is some bad press. As for the companies that are advertising throughout the show, I would be on the fence. Guaranteed there is a demographic that will be watching the show and the commercials, but will that be promoting what the show is? I would submit a press release stating that the company does not have any affiliation with the individual show, but rather the network as a whole. I would also state my concerns to the network. No matter what though, the company will stay in business. Especially a huge franchise business like Subway. They will not be going out of business just because of this one show, but it could potentially hurt their bottom line. I believe that every person is a potential client, therefore a company needs to behave accordingly. Marketing is where a company is supposed to establish the type of demographic that they want their product or service to be selling to. With that said, if teenagers is the demographic, I say go for it and continue advertising.

Customer Service!!! Come out, come out wherever you are!

Lately all I seem to notice is how poor customer service is. What happened to lollipops at the bank window, or a free piece of cheese at the deli counter? Am I being irrational or has customer service taken a nose dive? I cannot seem to understand why businesses are allowing their employees to treat customers poorly. Recently I ordered a jacket from a Forever 21 which is also online. I purchased the jacket over the internet (on sale!), but when I received it, it just did not fit correctly. I loved the jacket, so I placed the jacket in the bag, instructed the store to send me a different size, put all the given paper securely taped to the bag, but then noticed that postage was not paid for. Strike 1. After three weeks I had not received or heard from the store. Strike 2. I call them. The customer service representative explains that the return policy for their franchise is that there are no exchanges, just refunds. This meant that I had to reorder the jacket (without any sort of discount) and wait for this one to arrive. Strike 3. You can only imagine how frustrated I have been with this company. I believe that this was poor customer service. How can there not be more customers complaining to this multi-million dollar corporation? There was clearly no sort of customer relationship being built, but instead rethought on my end. This is also a classic example of production orientation. Even though it was not necessarily the production manager's fault, but rather the company policy.

In my opinion, customer service will never go out of style. Building strong customer relationships will then build repeat customers. And repeat customers means referrals. If a business markets incredible customer service, like L.L. Bean does, the customer remembers this and wants to purchase many of their products from there regardless of price. It seems like common knowledge to the marketer in me.

In response to Laurie Whalen's post

"Companies use different means of propaganda in order to attract their customers to their product.  Propaganda uses facts of the product selectively in order to make their product more appealing.  Some people think this is false advertising however it is just a way for companies to make their product look better in order to make sales."

Companies use drastically different means to attract customers to their product. Even though they are selectively chosen, it is still the consumers job to see through propaganda in order to make the most intelligent decision on the product or service. When I put "propaganda" into YouTube, majority of the links are on Hitler. Even though it is used during war time, that is not the only setting. The following link explains what propaganda is as well as some art to illustrate how marketing companies use propaganda. The Art of Propaganda

The 4 P's of Marketing Yourself

When going in for an interview it is important that you think of yourself as a product. You are selling yourself to a company in hopes that they will "purchase" you as a good investment for their company. You want to market yourself with your best characteristics being the most distinct. As part of the interview process, it is important that the place factor is thought about. Where exactly do you want yourself to be? Not only on the hierarchy of the company but also the global location. It just does not make sense to work some place where it would be more of a hassle to work in the ideal location when your commute is over an hour away. Distribution is important. You can use resume sights like monster.com to put your statistics out there on the internet. Another factor that is important is price. You do not want to sell yourself short in order to get a job. You have worked hard for your education, therefore you deserve the best. The right job will show up, even if that means that you have to work at a mediocre job until that day comes. Last, it is important to promote yourself. You want to look at yourself in a positive light by highlighting your best personality traits, but by also humanizing yourself. An interviewer understands that no one is perfect and that you have a life, but you want to show them is that regardless of your personal life, you will put your best foot forward in making the company better. In preparation of the interview, you should ask yourself why this company is a good fit for you. You should promote yourself in dressing appropriately as well as speaking grammatically correct. No company is going to hire you if you show up sloppy or speak with a weak vocabulary. After analyzing the four p's, what other word could fit into this chart?