Teamwork

The importance of teamwork is stressed throughout MSU. Every business class has teams or groups in order to promote teamwork and creating associations with other students. I just found some fun pictures with fun quotes, celebrity promotions, and true team building inspiration for all of us who are working with our teams.

The use of Star Wars caught my attention, I know it caught yours!! I love Star Wars!

The Simpsons, o so true, so true.

What a great movie! Of course all of my friends and I can recite the movie Boondock Saints from memory, if I had a teamwork inspirational poster with these two actors on it...I may be more inclined to listen.

For all the dog lovers in the world, you may not know what happened to the cookies or brownies that were on the counter, and perhaps you may never solve the mystery.

Marketing Marketing Class

Yes, I know the title says "Marketing Marketing Class." It sounds a bit redundant, however, I really want to try and push this marketing class (or pull, depending on the demand). I was sitting at work today thinking of a post for the blog and all of a sudden an idea popped into my head...write a persuasive arguement to try and market marketing class.

To start off I would like to thank Prof. Austin for all of her hard work at designing this class. I found that I learned more through this internet course than if I had been attending class. Everything about this class is about time management and personal goals. My goal for this class was to never fall behind. Even when I went to the great state of KY for my vacation, I was still blogging, I was still taking exams, and I was still taking quizes. You know why, because this class is worth the effort.

Marketing class means more than advertising. Marketing is a way of figuring out how to reach a goal. If your company is striving to improve public relations, there can be a plan for that. If the company is trying to increase it's market share, there is a systematic approac for that. If the company is looking to branch out and increase customers, there is a plan for that.

Marketing class is a way to learn about your gifts of designing and persuasion. It is about finding out what people want and then figuring out how to give it to them. It is about learning how to develop relations with your customers in order to keep them coming back and creating brand loyalty.

Marketing class is learning all about economics, finance, and design. Every piece of this class can be applied to real life situations, with real companies, and real potential to make a profit.

Internal Reference Price

I have this beautiful piece of artwork hanging in my room that is a scene of trees with various colors, including: red, orange, green, yellow, and brown. I absolutely love this painting because it is so large and it fits with the color scheme of my room. Plus, for some reason, it gives my room a completed feel.

I enjoy this painting so much, however, I want to explain my decision making process, as a consumer, in order to discuss how I came to paying $98.00 for a piece of artwork. As anyone would know, living on a college student budget does not exactly allow for these large expenditures.

When I was reading in the textbook about internal reference price, a lightbulb lit up. I understand exactly how I reasoned myself into making a semi-large purchase on something that I probably should not have purchased.

The short version of my decision making process:
1. This is a very beautiful painting.
2. It is expensive, however, all other pieces that I have seen in this magnitude are far more expensive than $98.00.
3. Will it fit in my truck?

As you could have already understood, I bought this painting after all of those tough (and not so tough) decisions. Overall, I think that internal reference price comparisons really help the consumer understand how prices relate to each other, how items relate to each other, and how we are constantly using this tool to make decisions on our purchases.

(Of course I included a picture of the painting, in order to demonstrate the magnitude of the artwork)

Premium

There are alot of deals offered by companies with comparable merchandise that are similar to a box of cereal. It does not matter to children what kind of cereal it is, as long as there is a prize inside. I find that most transactions that I encounter do have these premium options where there is a little something to sweeten the deal.

Today I decided to plant my garden, so went to a local nursery and bought my plants. By the way, for anyone interested in gardening, the local nurseries are the best place to buy plants. They are grown in Montana, so you know that they will grow in your garden, as long as you water it.

I was interested in buying a large tomato plant, since it is so late in the season, but I did not have a tomato cage to go along with it. I asked the attendant what would be the best way to manufacture my own cage. Instead, he offered me a deal. He said that if I bought one of the plants that they were selling (of course the more expensive plant), he would give me a cage for no extra charge. Thus, my cheap brain lept into the air and of course I took him up on his deal.

It is amazing that one simple gesture of offering a free cage would create brand loyalty. I decided at that moment that I was going to buy all of my plants at this nursery, instead of shopping around. It is a message to all of the future marketing students that you never know what can create brand loyalty and how effective premium options are to customers.

(Just as a side note, I included a picture of my garden so that I can show all my readers my amazing tomato cage!)

Barbie: The Correct Message For a Target Audience

As many people would assume little girls play with Barbies and dolls, while little boys play with trucks and tools. Of course, there are exceptions to each stereotype, just as there are perfect examples of each stereotype. As a little girl I remember playing with Barbies and thinking how I want to be pretty just like them when I grow up.

The target audience for Barbies would be little girls who like to play with dolls and fit the standard stereotype previously listed. They have so many different products that are a line extension of the original Barbie dolls. For example:

http://products.howstuffworks.com/educational-electronic-toys-article.htm

A Barbie laptop to promote educational fun.

http://www.sugarscape.com/main-topics/fashion-beauty/423664/beauty-buzz-barbie-make

A Barbie makeup set, specifically targeted to an older target audience called "The Glamorous Gal."

Obviously, there is the standard Barbie doll that all us girls know and love. With all these products used to target younger girls, what does this Barbie doll image do for the girls who play with the dolls. I know many of you readers would say that I am beating a dead horse since this topic has been covered and discussed over and over again. My concern is that the way that Barbie is promoted and reaffirmed through these little girl's eyes can be done in a tasteful way and a not so tasteful way.

http://collider.com/barbie-movie-in-production-because-girls-deserve-brainless-toy-based-features-too/8107/

Instead of focusing the advertisements on clothing, fashion, hair, or makeup...consider activities. For example: skiing Barbie, gymnastics Barbie, "Fun in the Sun" Barbie. I feel if there was more emphasis in the idea of having fun playing with the Barbie instead of the way that you can make Barbie look, it would decrease the potential of having a negative effect on girl's self image.

FYI: Little fact that I found while researching for my blog are the following statistics, all found from MySistahs.com, if Barbie was a real person here would be her attributes:

1. Weight: 110 lbs
2. Bust: 38-40 inches
3. Waist: 18-24 inches
4. Hips: 33-35
5. Height: greater than 7 feet
6. Barbie would have to walk on all fours since her proportions are so unrealistic.

Creating the Right Atomosphere=$$$

Everyone knows that McDonalds has red and yellow colors to help promote the feeling of hunger and a feeling of urgency. There is alot of psychology in the color of a fast food restaraunt and the design of the establishment. For instance, most McDonalds has a playground for kids in order to attract families to their establishment.

http://thestamp.umd.edu/Food/McDonalds


Also, check out some other opinions and articles concerning corporate design.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/28/colors-in-corporate-branding-and-design/

At the local drinking establishment, Plonk on Main St., they have clusters of seating areas promoting socialization. They have dim lights to promote a sense of closeness with the current company. Also, they have an option to sit out on the patio and enjoy the sun. Instead of the crazy, beer drinking, and energetic feeling of most of the bars on Main St., there is a feeling of sophistication. There are many drinks that I have tried, and yes I am old enough to drink, that I would not have tried in any other establishment besides Plonk. As a suggestion, the chocolate martini is wonderful.

http://www.plonkwine.com/



One promotional technique that I never realized before was the technique of introducing certain smells into the building or outside of the building to promote a certain mood. When I was reading chapter 17, it discussed different companies that utilize all different senses in order to create a specific atmosphere, including scent. Unfortunately, when I am walking by the movie theater, all I want to do is grab a bag of popcorn. It is amazing how well your buying habits are attuned to different smells. Popcorn smell=fun movie nights with the girls, the smell of cleaning supplies always makes me think of Saturday mornings cleaning my house. I wonder what type of impression I portray when people walk into my residence? Is it the clean smell of bleach or the calming smell of lavendar that my guests notice?

http://www.diabetesmine.com/2011/06/ask-dmine-diabetes-friendly-popcorn-bg-targets-for-type-1s.html

Personal Selling: Is it worth it?

I know alot of my friends are actively participating in some sort of personal selling gig where they become consultants for some company and they sell products underneath them. Some examples include:

My aunt and cousin sells Avon.



Also another similar type of personal selling/personal marketing is selling jewelry specifically, instead of selling comestics and jewelry-like Avon. It's called Lia Sophia.

http://www.networkmarketingelite.com/lia-sophia-is-it-a-scam/

I know many people that use these type of business ventures to increase their income and support their families. Is it worth it? I, personally, would run out of people to try and come to my jewelry parties, there is only so much Mary Kay or Avon that I can sell to my family. Selling to customers in person requires alot of capital up front, alot of patience with the customers, and alot of creativity trying to figure out how to get your name, as a consultant, in the market place.

We had a Mary Kay consultant come into my place of work and leave her individual business cards in the magazine holder in the waiting room, without our permission, in order to obtain some customers. I personally think it takes a special type of marketer to be able to make any money with these type of ventures. What do you think?