Wrapping Up

I have really enjoyed this class and I can't wait to continue on my Marketing journey. It has been an interesting approach to learning using this blog and I might take the idea into some of my other classes. For the first time, I have been able to walk away from a course and be able to answer, "When will I ever use this?"

I also have some peace of mind knowing I have a major now!

Same ol, same ol

I saw the new Kool Aid man commercial on TV and it reminded me of the day we saw it in class. While a lot of Marketing is constantly changing to meet the needs of the consumer, some advertisements have stayed the same for years. The Cadbury Bunny Egg commercials is one example. I remember seeing that ad as a kid and you can tell from the quality that it is an older edition; however it is still relevant. The Christmas M&Ms commercial where the red M&M and Santa faint at the same time still runs during the holidays. I think as a marketer, it  is important to stay up to date, but I think more success lies in something that can stand the test of time.

While you were out...

Sadly, Dr. Philhours was out this week.

Dr. Mello was our substitute for the week and he touched on Supply Chain Management.

I was shocked to hear that Logistics Management is the second highest demanded job in the business world falling behind Forensic Accounting. (I will more than happily pass that one up!) It is something that I found interesting and might even consider looking into.

Hallmark

My sorority was hosting a Mother's Day Brunch this weekend so you what that means! I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon shopping with my mom. Of course, we had to visit my favorite store in the mall, Hallmark.

Hallmark is known for its cards, or at least that's the first thing that comes to my mind. While strolling through the card section, something caught my eye that led me to think of class. Hallmark has added two new sections; Online Couples and Same Sex Couples.

It shows how Hallmark is trying to keep up with the changing target markets. The same sex one wasn't the surprising one to me, but the online couples. I saw a wedding card that started with "They met online..." and I was just beside myself.

Traditional dating is almost a thing of the past. Online dating is no longer for the sad and lonely It has become the norm. People are just so busy, they don't have the time to find a mate in the old fashioned ways.There are now more dating sites and more publicity for the subject in general. Whether you are a farmer, a Christian, black, or Jewish, there is a dating site for you! If you wait long enough, Hallmark will even have a card for your special situation as well...

Go vote for your favorite now!

In high school, it was a part of the curriculum to read Fahrenheit 451 which turned out to be an enjoyable read. While discussing the book with my dad, I expressed my fear to live in such a world that Bradbury wrote about. To that my dad replied, "We already do."

It is almost as if we live with interactive walls in our living rooms with a mailed script in our hands to play along with. "Reality" TV, game shows, and online contests are basically the images Mr. Bradbury predicted. It was an unsettling thought considering how the novel ended, but I guess in terms of Marketing, it is a great strategy.

After completing the homework with Frito Lay as the video case, this image came to mind again. In the video case, and weirdly at the current moment, they hosted an online interactive contest with its consumers. At the present moment, they have three new chip flavors to choose from and the decision is left to the consumers to pick. Eva Longoria is the beautiful spokeswoman selling the idea to fans to log on and vote for the flavor they want next.

It's a great tool because it allows the consumer to feel valued and thats the purpose of Marketing, right? To create value? It can be daunting at times to watch the change in technology, but as a future marketer it is also very exciting! As long as we can keep our books, I'll be just fine.

shifting online

As I'm watching my favorite show on Hulu.com, I notice how much advertising has changed. When I first visited the site, my exposure to ads was one every commercial break. But, the more I frequented the site, the increase in ads appeared. I now watch three to four ads every commercial break. They are the same ads I would see on T.V. so the experience is almost the same. Unlike T.V., I can customize my ad experience. With every ad, I have a sidebar that asks if the commercial is relevant and if I want to swap ads.

I've also noticed the change in YouTube. In years past, I don't remember having to watch ads before my searches, but now there is at least one ad that plays before every search. They've even added advertisements at the bottom of the screen while the video is playing. Promotions via the internet is the best way to keep the public's attention. Schedules are getting crazier and technology is getting more advanced. With the ability to stream videos not only online, but in the palm of your hand via tablet or phone, it is important to keep up with the change. Netflix, the Hopper, and other video outlets all now offer online streaming as a bottom line packaging deal. We're in the digital age now. Even my Grandma has a Facebook...

Creative Marketing

Wednesday was a very eventful day to say the least.

I was attacked by kidney stones... spending four and a half hours in the emergency room at NEA Baptist Hospital. Luckily, I was able to pass it two days later.

All that to say, I recently saw an advertisement for NEA Baptist on my Facebook wall about its new building location. I thought it was really cool how they set it up like a movie trailer. It caught my attention and I'm excited to see the finished product. I enjoyed the suspense they put into the theme. The new building is going to be incredibly bigger than the current building.

The ER staff was surprisingly pleasant and very helpful so I hope their new building is wonderful.

The small world of social media

I find it interesting and a tad bit creepy to see how integrated marketing is with the buzz of social media. It is a great outlet to advertise and catch the attention of consumers. It can also feel invasive.

I recently tweeted, "Suddenlink commercials are obnoxious." Mind you, there were no hashtags mentioning Suddenlink, I didn't @ them in the tweet, no direct communication was made towards them. Within the hour, Suddenlink tweeted at me, "Thanks for the input!"

I almost felt like someone was watching me from a dark corner alleyway or something. It's a great reminder to always be aware of what you post because anyone and everyone can see it.

It's a smart strategy to capture the true feedback on products/services since most people, including myself, are not paying attention to how closely our posts are being monitored.A company with a good Customer Relationship Management plan could make great use of this marketing strategy. Just make sure not to be too creepy.

Hey, I learned that in my other class!

Call me nerdy, but I get really excited when I get to see the material in different classes overlap.

Last Thursday, my Leadership class decided not to meet; instead we were instructed to attend one of the seminars hosted by the Multicultural Center's Women's Leadership Conference. Being the Business Major, I chose Finances 101.

Chad Chadwick was the guest speaker and he presented on personal credit. He opened the floor for discussion and we started shooting off questions. One woman asked, "Why do stores offer different credit cards? Why isn't one generic card enough?" I piped in, "Because of Marketing. Each store can 'reward' you for shopping with them. Victoria's Secret can send you coupons when you hit a certain spending limit to entice you to buy more, but if you just had a regular Discover or Visa card, you would miss out on those deals." Chad told me I was right, something I always like to hear.

It also ties into the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) method I learned last semester in Management Information Systems. CRM allows you to gain data that helps you provide services/products that your customers want, provide better customer service, resell, close deals, and most importantly retain customers. That flows hand in hand with Marketing whose purpose is to create, communicate, and deliver value.

I love how in Business everything relates to one another. The different majors are more like parts of a whole rather than independent fields.