In Response to Chris Cheevers Post "Mobile Marketing"

Mobile marketing is definitely on the rise due to technology in phones, computers, i pods etc. If marketers begin to increase advertising through text messages and other mobile ways of communicating I too will find it very annoying. I can see it happening in the near future though because  phones is where the people are. Everyone I know has a phone and receives text messages on a daily basis. In order for mobile marketing to take place though there should be restrictions on what advertisements are being sent out and who receives them, but that will be hard to monitor because once its out in the mobile world who actually knows who will see it.

Do you think mobile marketing will be more common in the near future?

Global Management

Managing in a global work environment definitely requires a unique set of skills to adapt to various cultures besides the one your comfortable with. Globalization has increased dramatically in the last couple years as markets get bigger and companies expand to different parts of the world. IBM for example has been sending executives to Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to get to know more about the decision makers in those markets and how IBM can adjust to better there future. IBM is trying to get ahead of the game to learn about emerging markets because they know if they want to continue to be successful they will have to win more contracts from small and medium sized businesses overseas, not just the large ones. Today's global business environment makes the job of the manager more complex and difficult. Few businesses are immune from globalization's influence as they expand into new markets, outsource across borders and encounter foreign competitors. The most difficult skill that managers must develop is different communication styles for each culture, that is extremely important because what one country thinks is the appropriate way of doing something could be very different from another. For example in Latin America most of the time business transactions are done over time, based on trust. As a manager you won't be able to just fly down there say what you need to say and expect immediate results, patience will be needed. In China the concept of micromanagement is the applied. Generally speaking, direct reports expect to receive specific directions and detailed explanations from their managers, not broad goals.  It is very important as a manager to learn about the different cultures you will be around or else it will only lead to jumping to the wrong conclusion causing failure. You need to get to know the people you are going to be working with just as you would anywhere else. Managing within a different culture is really only an extension of what managers do every day, and that's working with differences.
What do you feel is the most important quality a manager must have when working globally?

McDonald's Getting Bigger

Not surprisingly McDonald's is getting bigger in other countries in the world, but this time they are going to Japan a place where a healthy eating and lifestyle are a way of culture. Japan has a strong reputation of having one the healthiest countries in the world by staying away from fast food and focusing on smaller portion sizes and other options like rice and fish, but not this time. McDonald's Holdings CO is Japans top restaurant chain by number of stores rolled out its Big America 2 campaign last week, featuring four burgers named after U.S. locales. All four of the burgers are over 550 calories and not a typical meal you would expect on a Japanese plate but it is becoming very popular and I expect Japans obesity rate to increase within the next couple years. In tough economic times people go for the cheap food like McDonald's because you get more for your dollar even in a traditional country like Japan. As many flaws there are with McDonald's they have always had a very strong marketing campaign which is why they operate in over 100 countries and 6 different continents worldwide and have been very successful doing it. Every time I see a advertisement for McDonald's either on TV or somewhere else the people always look like there having a great time and the food looks really good. It makes people want to go there just because of the enjoyment of eating a big burger is perceived to be. There are a lot of social irresponsibility when it comes to the fast food industry in ethics and the environment. Factory farming is a huge issue that is not often recognized because people don't take the time to go behind the scenes and question what is in the food there about to eat. A lot of the time all that is cared about is how fast they will get the food and how good it tastes. The way McDonald's operates is not changing because not enough people are demanding that there should be change and more healthier options available so there just making a smart business decision and staying with what is working and operating the cheapest and most efficient way possible. I don't see Japan being anywhere near the U.S in obesity rates but it is hard not to predict a increase when more fast food chains are available and people are going to them regularly. If more and more fast food chains keep opening up worldwide there could be some dark days approaching for both the health of the people and the environment. Do you think Japans obesity rates will ever be close to the U.S?

response to Eric Bergstroms "super" marketing

I completely agree with your main point that marketing owns the Super Bowl. Advertisors spend 3 million dollars for a 30 second commercial on Super Bowl sunday because they know that it could potentialy make or break there company. This is a event that marketers would be crazy not to put forth there best effort to promote the right way because over 100 million people tune in for the super bowl almost as if it were a holiday. Studies have shown that about 25% of people that watch are doing so just for the commercials alone. Throughtout the years the underline strategy of how Super Bowl marketing was done is to keep the commercials under rap until the game to keep people wondering, but in 2011 the strategy seemed to switch due to social media like facebook and twitter. For the first time some campaigns were aired before the super bowl and will continue to be aired weeks after as well. There are crowd-sourcing campaigns that draft fans into contributing to the broadcast ads, Facebook efforts, and Twitter-based stunts to build bonds with consumers. The Volkswagon Darth Vador commericial generated 6 million views 2 days before the Super Bowl and will continue to be watched after. The marketing strategy in 2011 may have changed the way marketers expand there campaigns in the future. Do you think that is a better idea to get your advertisement out there before Super Bowl or keep it under raps till the game?

In response to Erics All State post

"Do you think it is helpful to add comical material into advertisements"?

I agree with Eric that advertising commercials in a comical way helps a lot to grab the attention of the target market especially when it is about subject that is not very interesting to begin with like insurance. He specifically talked about All State insurance and how they market to middle aged adults by being funny and creative. All State claims that they are taking a stand in behalf of there consumers by delivering a simple message that highlights the benefits of having All State. It seems that being comical is the most effective way for insurance companies to market. AllState is not the only one i have seen Geico do it for years along with Statefarm and Aflac. Geico and Aflac both use their well known Duck and Geico to grab the attention of customers and Statefarm just used creative humor. All in all i believe that being comical in your advertisements is effective and helps promote a product by making people laugh. Do you think more and more businesses will start going towards this approach?

Applying the Marketing Mix to the job market

A substantial part of finding a job is coming up with the right questions and finding the answers about your own personal ambitions along with what your future employer wants as well. Using the marketing mix is a great way to come up with the important questions before your job search starts so finding the right fit becomes simpler. Just as marketing executives use the marketing mix to promote products and services, job seekers can apply these four elements to there job search. The marketing mix is made of the "four P's" which are Product, Place, Promotion, and Price.

Product- The product in this instance is you, your skills, knowledge, and abilities that you are trying to sell to potential employers. It is arguably the most important of the 4 P's because without yourself it obviously would not be possible to apply price, promotion, and place. It is very important to ask yourself what your strengths and weaknesses are because  those questions will come up in the job interview and also can be used when looking for a job that will fit well. Finding characteristics that make you unique among competition for a job is very important so you will stand out like listing prior jobs, education, leadership skills, and accomplishments.

Place- There are several questions you need to ask when talking about the Place that you work. First you need to figure out a location that will make you happy. Do you want to be New England? Out West? Down South? At is also important to realize what type of job that you want. Would it be better for you to always be on the go? Or would a more traditional office job be more appropriate? When I have looked for jobs in the past how far it was away from my house was one of the most important aspects because of how expensive gas was. If my job was more then a hour or so away it would make it very difficult to accept the job.

Promotion- Figuring out how to market yourself well will increase your chances of getting the job and help you realize if the occupation is the right place for you. Promotion is done after you figure out the questions about yourself so you can then market what you have to offer that will be beneficial to your possible future employers. It is all about convincing them that you are the best fit for the job. Promoting should take a lot time and thought to efficiently sell yourself. Expressing your strengths and weaknesses will help the employer know if it is you that he wants because he is basing his decision on what you bring to the table.

Price- The price is basically finding out how much you want to charge for your knowledge, skills, and ability. It is not entirely in your control because a job that pays less then what you expect still pays more then no job at all. Especially in the times of this economy people are willing to accept less money for work and employers know that. It is important to figure out your opportunities for the future as well the present. Is there a chance of a pay raise? What do I have to do to increase my salary? If there is commission on selling a product that will motivate your that much more to work harder and achieve your peak performance.You cant over price yourself, but you need to know a reasonable price of what your worth for your work.

The marketing mix is a great way to help yourself figure out what you want from a job and how to express that to potential future employers. It involves the controllable factors in which you need to find a job. Product, Price, Promotion, and Place are factors that will put in on the right path to find a job.

Which of the 4 P's do you feel is the most important when putting yourself in the job market?

The difference between marketing, advertising, and propaganda

A lot of the time people will get confused with marketing, advertising, and propaganda when running there business but there are some significant differences that if recognized along with doing market research can put a a company on the path of substantial growth. All three definitions go hand in hand with one another because they all have a away of getting information out to people but how that information is presented makes the distinct difference.

Advertising is the paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promotion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers.











Marketing is the systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.
 


Propaganda is  the use of information that only supports one idea or cause.

 

To simplify things advertising is a single component of a marketing process and most of the time is the most expense aspect of marketing. It involves getting the word out to the people about a product or service usually by TV ads, billboards, newspaper clippings, and the internet. Advertising is considered the most important part of marketing but without a good marketing strategy advertising will only go so far. Advertising occurs when the product has already been made and now needs to convince a market target that it is worth there money. Most of the time advertising occurs when a company knows they will be reaching a large audience like the World Cup, Super Bowl, or a very busy highway. Marketing is considered a campaign that is designed to create awareness of products, services, and brands. Marketing believes in building strong customer satisfaction. Marketing has many aspects besides advertising like sales, distribution, pricing, media relations, customer support, etc. All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goal. Marketing is a process that takes time and can involve hours of research for a marketing plan to be effective. Think of marketing as everything that an organization does to facilitate an exchange between company and consumer. Propaganda is a form of communication or advertising that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community towards some cause of position. Propaganda always has a very noticable opinion in its approach to convince a target. Unlike regular advertisements that promote a direct product propaganda aims to sway views usually in a negative way. Most of the time propaganda is used in politics because peoples views and opinions in a political sense are always changing due to propaganda. Propaganda really started to take off in the World War 2 era. The main difference propaganda has over marketing and advertising is that its mainly opinion based and can use false statements to change peoples minds.

Marketing, avertising, and propaganda all relate to each other because they deal with people and promoting products, but marketing is the big picture while advertising and propaganda are just aspects of it. Advertising is way to get a product noticed usually with something that a lot of people will see and hopefully will be interested in. Propaganda is a way of advertising usually to change a persons opinion and can sometimes not be totally true. Marketing is the process of creating, distributing, promoting, and pricing of goods or services.

Do you feel that propaganda is ethically right in some ways or do you think it should not be allowed when marketing?