EOC Week 7: My Biggest Challenge

My biggest challenge in creating the marketing plan is the development of the idea. ‘What do women want?’ was the question asked in Mad Men. For me, it’s ‘what do people want out of vodka?’ What in-laid desires do people have when it comes to alcohol consumption? For me, this is the most important focus of any marketing plan. Without a product that people want, no money can be made. We have often talked in class of how the auto industry isn’t producing relevant products. I don’t want to fall into the same thinking. It is true that marketing can boost a product to greatness from nothing, but it all must start with a product that people want. I think that after I have pinpointed my product and the market to which it is assigned, I can begin to determine the other aspects of the plan. Product, to me, is the most important of the four Ps. The challenges I face after the determination of the product will not be difficult to overcome. With further knowledge of my product, I can begin to tackle the pricing, promotion, and place.

Vodka Pitch for Marketing Plan

Nothing warms you up on a chilly day better than a nice cup of hot apple cider. Now, you can enjoy the adult version while curled up on your sofa. Our Vodka Cider Mixers are a great way to spice up your average cup of cider. It’s simple. The mixer is a tube that on one end contains a shot of vodka, on the other end is the powdered cider mix. Just add the mixer to heated water and you have the perfect drink to heat up any cold winter night.

Pricing for the mixers will run mid-range. The consumer will pay slightly more than they would for a regular cider packet. The product will be sold mainly in grocery stores to stress the idea that this is a product that is perfect for an evening at home. I am going to market to baby boomers. This generation, in my opinion, enjoys more leisurely activities and is not interested in attending night clubs. To promote this product, I will be looking at tying my product to cold weather and to the idea of relaxing in the warmth of your own home.

Week 6 EOC: Rapid Retailer by SRAL Corporation
April Jorgenson, Shantay Reaze, Lana Cunningham, Rebecca Shapiro

Our product is an interactive shopping network that allows shoppers to find a specific item within a mall. The program will give you detailed information on sizes, colors, and styles based on your advanced or generic search. This program will then tell you which stores within the mall carry these items. Our product will cater to shoppers who are crunched for time or need to find a certain item quickly and efficiently. The kiosks will allow shoppers to place items on hold, print wanted items, and suggest similar/related items.

Strengths:

· Convenient for shoppers with time constraints
· Ability to place items on holds via kiosk
· Increase sales by suggesting similar or related items
· Bring in customers by informing them of stores’ merchandise

Weaknesses:

· Added cost in ink and paper when printing shopping lists
· System is dependent on a network and susceptible to issues
· Wait times in a high volume environment
· Product is only marketed to serious shoppers (not leisure shoppers)

Opportunities:

· Malls will see an increase in sales due to preventing customer frustration
· Stores have opportunity to expand customer base by informing new customers of products
· Ability to get customers into stores as opposed to strictly internet shoppers
· Opens door to a new type of shopper; one who hates shopping but needs a product
· Market towards people shopping for gifts (unfamiliar with stores that carry those products)

Threats:

· Internet shopping
· Catalog shopping

This product is revolutionary in that it will provide customers with the ease and convenience that they get from using the internet with the thrill and excitement that comes with the shopping experience. They will also be able to physically see and try-on the product before their purchase. This eliminates unwanted returns and customer dissatisfaction that often come with internet or catalog purchasing. This benefits the store by bringing in new and existing customers and allowing for up sell opportunities.

Our product will be marketed towards malls and other retail spaces. It will be the responsibility of mall management to determine quantity and location placement.

Week 5 EOC: What My Classmates Think About Advertising vs. Marketing

“…marketing and advertising complement each other. Although they are fairly different, both are needed in creating a successful business.” (Shantay Reaze: http://fashionistafyi.blogspot.com/)

“It’s a sign of the times when a company with as strong of a marketing strategy as Starbucks is having financial difficulty.” (Lana Cunningham: http://lulucunning.blogspot.com/)

“Marketing can make you come back for more and more. They want to continue to keep you satisfied and keep coming back to their product.” (Cierra Esparza: http://ccmarieproductions.blogspot.com/)

What do these three quotes have in common? I think the major take away is this: Your business will fail without a solid marketing program in place. Lana’s point is well-made. If a company like Starbucks is having trouble (with their strong marketing strategy), what chance does your business have without one? I think what my classmates are trying to say is that marketing will determine the success or failure of your company.

How many of us have thought that an amazing product alone could draw the masses? I know that I have fallen into that mentality on occasion. While this is a nice thought, it simply isn’t realistic. Strong marketing and advertising need to be in place before a product can take off. My classmates and I agree that these concepts go hand in hand. In one of my fashion classes, we discussed the fashion cycle which was based on five key steps: introduction/growth of a product, the acceleration and saturation of the product, the decline, and finally the obsolescence. Without the right combination of marketing and advertising, your product may never get past the introduction phase much less saturating the market. Just like Cierra said, “Marketing can make you come back for more and more.” A product, no matter how great, will simply not be successful without a successful (and realistic) marketing plan. Just ask the ambitious CEO of Webvan or the creators of Virtual Boy. Don’t recognize these names? There is a reason behind that. Learn from it.

Week 4 EOC: Advertising vs. Marketing

“Though advertising cannot change consumers’ deeply rooted values and attitudes, advertising may succeed in transforming a person’s negative attitude toward a product into a positive one.” (MKTG, Lamb, pg. 228)

Anyone who has seen Mad Men knows that Don Draper can be very persuasive. He targets feelings, emotions, and tugs at the inner workings of your psyche. He does this for one purpose: to sell something. For the ad executives on Madison Avenue, advertising is an outlook, it’s how something can be manipulated. For those in marketing, advertising can sometimes be a dirty word. In other instances, it can be viewed as the most important aspect, but without a solid marketing plan, the product will not be successful.

The true difference between advertising and marketing is that marketers focus more on the needs of the consumer. Advertising seeks to create awareness and persuade potential customers. In the instance of the Mad Men episode, Draper and the heads of Lucky Strike Tobacco Company have no regard for their customer’s health. They are only interested in changing the public attitude from a negative to a positive. In this case, from “dangerous” to “toasted.” This was also true of the Makin account. Sterling Cooper and Don Draper were only interested in the money associated with the account, not necessarily in meeting the customer’s needs. These ideals can lend themselves more towards advertising.

Taking a step back and analyzing, we can see that advertising is a huge part of the “marketing pie.” Without advertising, marketing will not be able to run smoothly and vice versa. It is the way that advertising is carried out (for the benefit of the customer or not) that can determine how well a company is performing in the marketing arena. A brand following will come from satisfied consumers. These consumers will be satisfied through quality products and customer service.