Marketing Blog

Guerrilla Marketing

2009-04-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is a great example of guerrilla marketing. Guerrilla marketing is when consumers are "ambushed" by advertising in unexpected places. Mr. Clean chillin in the cross walk definitely counts as guerrilla marketing. When guerrilla marketing is effective it creates a buzz about the product.

Who would have thought that you could learn so much from alcohol?

2009-04-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

These three products are examples of compliments. When the demand for one goes up, the demand for the other two goes up. In fact, Baileys and Jemeson Whiskey are often sold together as a package. This is an example of price bundling.

Payment Pricing

2009-04-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Infomercials are known for using payment pricing for their products. This occurs when the price of the product is broken out into small amounts that are payable over time. In many infomercials, you will hear them say something like, "and for just three easy payments of 29.95 this giant vat of useless crap can be yours!" This makes the consumer think that the price is more do-able.

Pepsico

2009-04-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

All of these products shown are owned by Pepsico. Pepsico uses an individual brand strategy for their products. This means that they use a separate, unique brand for each different kind of product. Some of the many brands that Pepsico owns are, Pepsi, Deit Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Starbucks Frappuccinos, Lipton Iced Tea, 7up, Tropicana, Products, Gatorade, Propel Fitness Water, Aquifina, Quaker Oats, Lays's, Doritos, Ceetos, Fritos, Fuffles, Tostitos, and Slice. Thats a lot of brands!

WTF is a VCR?

2009-04-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

In the past 10 to 15 years, VCRs and video cassettes have been slowly pushed into obsoletion by DVDs and DVD players. When DVDs first came out, VCRs competed for a little while, but then people stopped buying them. After awhile, only "laggards" purchased VCRs. Laggards are the last 16% of the population of adopters of products.

The worlds largest reseller?

2009-03-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wal*Mart is a good example of a reseller. A reseller is a company that buys finished products and resells, rents, or leases them to others for a profit. Wal*Mart does this, and does it very well. They may even be the worlds largest reseller.

Product Innovation

2009-03-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

The iPhone is a great example of product innovation. Who would have thought of a phone that could do all of that shit?! Well...I guess Apple did. This innovation must be making Apple a bundle.
The iPhone is currently in the "innovators" category of adopters; however, it is probably close to crossing into the "early adopter" category.

Packaging, its important

2009-03-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Packaging of a product can be very important. Fridge mate boxes of soda came out a few years ago to solve the problem of fitting bulky soda boxes into the fridge. Fridge mate boxes make it a lot easier and more convenient for customers to enjoy their favorite carbonated beverages.

Target Markets and CRM

2009-03-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

Charles Schwab is another company that knows their target market. Charles Schwab has recently been airing commercials showing people talking about how their brokers don't pay attention to their needs or even know who they are because they are not multimillion dollar clients. Charles Schwab has been marketing their business to monetarily smaller clients. These kinds of clients have become Charles Schwab's target market. In order to manage these clients, Charles Schwab uses a customer relationship management system. The system keeps track of their clients' personal information and interests so that relationships can be built with their clients.

Target Market

2009-03-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

This picture is part of a popular Samuel Adams commercial. This guy is one of the Sam Adams' brewers. He is talking about all of the great beers that are brewed every year. Sam Adams seems to know their target market. They market their beers to people passionate about beer, such as beer brewers and beer conosours.

Inelastic Demand

2009-02-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

Gasoline is a great example of inelastic demand. People are so dependent on cars that they will pay just about anything to fuel them. If gas prices weren't regulated, companies like Exon, Shell, and Chevron would easily be able to make a fortune...well more of a fortune than they do now.

Futuristic "take-out"

2009-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

The movie, "The Fifth Element," gives a glimpse into the future of take-out. This flying window-to-window chinese food vendor makes getting take-out even easier. Instead of going to the drive through window, the food comes to your window. I think the creators of "The Fifth Element" are on to something.

Convenience sells

2009-02-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

Putting small items like soda, candy, gum, and magazines right by the check out counter makes it more likely for consumers to purchase these products. The convenient location results in more sales of products like these.

Price, a heuristic?

2009-02-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

Winco does a good job of pointing out which products are on sale to help shoppers make quicker decision of which brand of the product they want to buy. They are ultimately trying to make the low price of a product into a heuristic. It works on me...but then again I may just be a cheap bastard!

BEER, my one and only true friend

2009-02-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

Winco has strategically placed their beer all the way at the back of the store in the hopes that consumers going on a beer run will see something else that they need while they are walking through. Placing a large stack of beer at the end of an aisle is also good plan because consumers that do not intend to buy beer may see the conveniently located stack and decide to pick some up. This is one of the four P's - PLACE.

Kleenex - anti-viral

2009-01-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

Kleenex is offering a differential benefit by incorporating an anti-viral agent in their tissues. For this reason, a lot of consumers will be driven to buy this product. It looks like its on sale too...what a deal!

TGI Friday's - Diversification

2009-01-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

This is a great example of a diversification strategy for market growth. TGI Fridays has made a new product and they are selling it to a new market. It looks pretty tasty too!