Toblerone Chocolate

Toblerone Chocolate

Toblerone wants to step up in the social media aspect of marketing, and they put me and my group in charge. We wanted to create something interactive for all of the Toblerone fans. Toblerone created a flavor called salty almond, and we asked Toblerone fans to come up with their own flavor combinations. Using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, consumers would pick a favorite flavor of theirs and send a message to their friends asking them to complete the flavor combination. A vote would take place to find out what flavor the consumer wanted to become a consistently made Toblerone flavor of chocolate. Before we picked the top flavor, we would have an event that featured the top three flavors in the competition. We would have fans show up to the event in order to taste the three flavors before voting for the winner. In the process, our social networking sites would increase in popularity.

Interruptive Television Advertisements

Interruptive Television Advertisements

You know that commercial that is just always on? And, because of its frequency, it becomes super annoying. I watch a lot of Oakland Athletics baseball games on TV and every commercial break there is a Sleep Train mattress company commercial. Sleep Train’s advertisements are annoying to start with, but when you ad the fact that there are 15 to 20 of them during the course of the game, it becomes overwhelming. This is interruptive advertising, and it is awful.

It is in a company’s best interest to take advantage of the advertisement opportunities television provides. With that being said, it can come back to haunt a brand. I will never order a mattress from Sleep Train because I cannot stand the thought of ever listening to their stupid jingle ever again. So for this particular company, interruptive advertisements have not paid off.

But I am just one consumer. There could be someone out there who thoroughly enjoys Sleep Train’s ads and buys from them because of it. This is why interruptive ads can be very useful. If, by shoving a product down a consumers throat, and making their brand the first one that pops into the consumer’s head when their product type is of need, then the advertiser has won. The interruptive ad has done its job.

iPod Dock Toilet Paper Dispenser

iPod Dock Toilet Paper Dispenser

Have you ever been bored when handling your business in the bathroom? Ever wish you could jam to your favorite songs in the process? The iPod Dock Toilet Paper Dispenser would solve these problems.

But how can we market it to get a mom to buy it as a housewarming gift? My group and I came up with some ideas. For the radio ad, some Elvis Pressley music and a male announcer voice telling the audience to claim their “porcelain thrown” and be king of the bathroom again would be a good ad. We thought trying to market the product as somewhat of a gag gift would be beneficial. For the television spot, a man uses the product and becomes champion of the bathroom, as shown below.

New and Innovative Forms of Advertisement

New and Innovative Forms of Advertisement

Television commercials, radio spots, print ads, billboards, etc. We’ve seen all of these types of advertisements many times before. Nowadays, a consumer can be looking at one of these ads and not even fully realize he or she is trying to be persuaded into buying something by the company. The advertising industry needs new mediums to attract people’s attention. Things more exciting than your average television commercial or magazine ad.

This advertisement by Chevy is basically a billboard ad, but it is different. It stand out. There is a huge electrical cord that is plugged into the building. It is impossible for people driving or walking by not to see the advertisement. Also, it emphasizes the car’s main selling point: it is electric.

This next form of advertisement is a flat screen television that is in the ground. Have you ever seen those flat screen televisions advertising things in airports or banks? Of course you have. But do you really pay attention to what they are trying to say. I don’t, at least. Because this television is in the ground - and people can walk right over it - it is more likely to garner their attention.

It is outside thinking like this that can really boost an advertising campaign.

Bringing Back the Typewriter

Bringing Back the Typewriter

What the heck is a typewriter? Oh yeah, it’s that old machine that no one uses anymore which allows you to type letters and documents. With all of the technology used nowadays, the typewriter has become obsolete. Me and my group decided to bring the typewriter back into the fold, and this is how we’ll do it:

Nostalgia will be used a lot. After all, the typewriter is an ancient artifact of a product that will surely produce memories of previous experience in people. My group felt that the use of family in our advertisements will be beneficial. For example, a commercial featuring a grandfather writing a letter to his grandson or granddaughter using a typewriter can show people it is important and nice to stay in touch with family members, and using a typewriter can be a good way to do it.

We would use television commercials, magazine ads, and billboards. Our slogan would be, “Putting thought back into the conversation.” This slogan emphasizes our main goal with typewriters: slowing people down from the new, fast-paced, technology-driven world. No more “lol” or “ttyl” with a typewriter. It’s time for us to slow down and have real conversations, and the typewriter can let us do that.

Nostalgia in Advertising

Nostalgia in Advertising

What are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of nostalgia marketing?

There are many advantages and disadvantages when using nostalgia in advertisements. One of the major advantages is its use of pathos, or appealing to one’s emotion. A commercial that reminds the viewer of a happy or fun time when using their product holds a lot of power. It will undoubtedly increase the chances a consumer purchases the product. With that being said, the use of emotion can go both ways. If a commercial reminds the viewer of a sad time or experience it will hurt the chances of him or her buying the product.

Are there some products or brands for which this strategy may not be successful? Why not?

It may be a bad idea for some brands to use nostalgia in their advertisements. Newer brands, for example don’t have a history of its product to appeal to a consumer’s emotions. You cannot reminisce about something that does not have a history.

Selling Jeeps to Seniors

Selling Jeeps to Seniors

How does Jeep market its adventurous automobiles to an older demographic? Our group came up with a few ideas.

First things first, we had to choose which automobile to market. We felt the Jeep Grand Cherokee had a lot of things to offer to seniors. First of all, it is safe. That is something that seniors value immensely, and therefore, our campaign would feature a lot about this information. It also includes a lot of luxurious features that seniors would appreciate. Heated seating and a built in GPS system, just to name a few.

People think of 50-70 year old people as brittle, non-risk taking individuals. Not people who would normally drive a Jeep. However, we felt that this group of seniors wants to break that trend. They want to prove that older people can be adventurous and have fun, too. This is something we wanted to incorporate into our campaign. For example, we would have an advertisement that shows older people hiking, walking on nice beaches, or camping. Then the ad would explain how all of these things are possible, and simple to do, in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Selling Jeeps to seniors is not the easiest thing to do, but with a little creativity, it can be done.

Harley-Davidson Case Study

Harley-Davidson

Question 1: Do you believe brand communities like Harley-Davidson result in greater involvement with the brand?
- To me, it is obvious that the community created by Harley-Davidson is very beneficial to the company. It creates a large group of people who discuss, use, and share stories about the product. This allows the people involved to feel as though they are part of the company or brand themselves and makes them lifelong consumers of the product.

Question 2: What elements of the Posse Ride do you believe enhance the meaning of the brand for the riders?
- The Posse Ride allows Harley-Davidson consumers to become attached to the product emotionally. On the Posse Ride, members meet other members who share an interest in Harley-Davidson motorcycles. On the tour they, “…participate in several other tour activities with the other members often entertaining each other with stories about the adventures they’ve had with their Harleys.” These shared experience have one common denominator: Harley-Davidson.

Question 3: Should Harley-Davidson get more involved in the ride or would that dilute the ride’s meaning to the participants?
- Harley-Davidson is handling the Posse Ride exactly how it should. The Harley-Davidson brand has created its own culture, and the people involved are free to do what they want inside that culture. The freedom and companionship that comes with owning a Harley is what is meaningful to the participants.

Question 4: In addition to experiences such as the Posse Ride, what other ways could Harley increase involvement in the brand?
- Something that comes to mind is having a contest where members design their own Harley motorcycles, and the winners example is created and sold. Harley-Davidson races could be fun and unique too.

The Failure of the Zune

In 2006, Microsoft launched a product that they thought would rival the iPod called the Zune. The Zune was an electronic product that did pretty much everything an iPod does. The thing is, it wasn’t in iPod. It wasn’t cool. It did not appeal to the consumer as much as the iPod did, and because of this, it failed.

There are three things that influence consumer behavior. They are external influences, internal influences, and post-decision processes.

External influences are the culture in which the consumer is surrounded. There is no question that in America, and the vast majority of the world, Apple products are hip and popular. Apple’s iPod was a hit. Everyone, myself included, had to had one. In terms of popularity, the Zune never stood a chance.

Internal processes are the motivations and reasons in which a consumer would want or need to purchase a certain product. The Zune is definitely more of a wanted or desired product than a needed product. With that being said, there are a lot of consumers that wanted portable music playing devices. The problem the Zune faced in trying to attract these consumers was its better, more popular big brother, the iPod.

Post-decision processes are what the consumer does with and thinks about the product after buying it. Since I have already been comparing the Zune to the iPod, I will do it some more. The iPod has a camera, the Zune does not. The iPod’s battery lasts 40 hours, while the Zune’s lasts 33. The iPod’s screen is slightly bigger (HowStuffWorks.com). As you can tell, the Zune just doesn’t stack up with the iPod. Consumers will realize this and it will hurt sales.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/zune-ipod.htm

World Wildlife Fund's use of Digital Technology

“WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of our planet’s natural environment, and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature” - World Wildlife Fund’s website.

Sounds good to me. Sign me up. As you can tell from the quote, the World Wildlife Fund is a non-profit organization whose goal is to permanently conserve the natural environment of planet Earth. So how do they let their voice be heard? Many ways, and digital technology is one of them.

WWF is very big on Facebook with over one million likes. It uses Facebook to ask for donations, ask people to sign beneficial petitions, and educate its followers on current environmental issues. It also posts disturbing photos that poke at the emotions of its followers. WWF also uses Twitter in a very similar way. The organization has 230,000 plus followers on Twitter.

WWF has its own website that explains what the organization does, gives information on current issues, and explains how people can help. Here is the link to the website:

http://wwf.panda.org/

The link to WWF’s Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/WWF?fref=ts

Rose Petal Cottage

Rose Petal Cottage

What is wrong with the advertisement?
Where do I begin? The playhouse is clearly only for girls. The problem lies with what the children are asked to do with the playhouse. They can bake, they can clean, they can do laundry, or they can take care of a baby. All of these things are the domestic chores of a stay-at-home wife. Allowing little girls to play in this manner is conditioning them to accept the role society deems acceptable for them. The children are being raised to believe that this is what women are supposed to do.

What can be done to fix the advertisement?
My group came up with a few ideas to make the advertisement less gender stereotypical. First, add boy children to the ad. In the original, there were only girls, so adding male children will help. Next, change the coloring. The colors of the playhouse were very soft, pastel-like pinks, yellows and purples. Very girly colors. Adding some darker blues and reds will solve this problem. Finally, adding some new activities to the house would help too. Things such as an office or a den or a garage.

The product is meant for girls, but it is advertised and used in a sexist and unacceptable way.

Gender Stereotyping

Gender Stereotyping

Food, beer, sports, and girls. That’s what every guy wants, right? An advertisement for Bennigan’s baby back ribs clearly believes this is true. The ad solely contains an attractive woman wearing a referee outfit holding a plate of ribs. That’s it. Is this ad effective? Probably. Is it ethically right? Probably not.

This ad takes women and food and puts them in the same category. It makes women seem as if they are like food or watching sports, or in other words, just another pleasure or luxury for men. The ad states, “The best rack in town” which is clearly referring to both the rack of ribs and the woman’s breasts. The objectifying of women is something that is far too common in the advertising world, and this is a result of the power sex appeal holds.

Racial Stereotypes in TV or Movies

Racial Stereotypes in TV or Movies

Does the show you’ve chosen reflect racial and gender diversity?
The television show I have decided to focus on is called Lost. The show debuted in 2004 and ran for six seasons. An airplane crashes on a deserted island and is left with about forty-five survivors. It is up to them to use what the island provides them to survive until rescued. The group is quite diverse in many ways. There are many white people, from both Europe and America, some black people, Asian people (one who cannot speak English), and some Latino people. However it seems as though there are more men on the island than women, and there is only one child. Diversity is important in a television show because the show needs to attract a broad audience. An audience of many different racial and gender backgrounds. For example, if there are no black people on the show, a black person could be less interested in watching it, and that goes for every race. This show does a good job of making it interesting for both male and female viewers.

Are there any racial stereotypes in the show you’ve chosen?
There are absolutely stereotypes in the show. The leader and protagonist of the program, Jack, is a white male doctor in his thirties. He is rich and smart and powerful, and of course…white. Sayid is a former Republican Guard member for the Iraqi military. The middle-eastern man is very good with computers and technology, and is often looked at to find some way to connect with people off of the island in hopes of rescue. Shannon is a beautiful young white female on the island. She does not help contribute anything to the other survivors. Instead she works on her tan and continues to apply make-up. And finally, Kate, is also a young beautiful female on the island who everyone seems to like. The thing is, Kate is a convicted felon who was being transferred to another prison on the plane. Because she is a beautiful female, a convicted felon is the last thing people think she is. Stereotypes are everywhere, and some do more harm than others. As a society, we have to show the power to not completely buy in to the stereotypes of today.

Racial Stereotyping in Advertising

February 23rd 2013

Racist Stereotyping in Advertising

Companies will do just about anything to sell their product. But does that make it okay for their advertisements to be racially stereotypical? In my opinion, some stereotypes are okay but there is a fine line that can be crossed. People need to understand that this world is filled with stereotypes, and just because some are exploited more than others, it does not mean they are true. Some people say that Asians are more advanced at mathematics, but the fact that this notion is being said a lot does not make it true 100% of the time, and therefore there is no reason to be offended. With that being said, there are stereotypes in advertisements that are completely unnecessary.

A lot of racism in advertisements took place in the 1960’s and earlier when racism was very prevalent. However, there are still racists advertisements that come out every now and then. A print advertisement for Dove body wash for women that came out in 2011 crosses the line. The ad shows two pictures of skin, one looking scaly and dry and the other soft and moisturized. The word “before” is on the dry picture and the word “after” is on the moisturized one. The problem with that ad is the three women and the order they are in. It starts with the dark woman, next to the word “before,” then next is a little bit lighter woman, and then finally there is a white woman next to the word “after.” The advertisement makes it seem as if having lighter, whiter skin is better or more beautiful.

I believe advertisers should have ethical responsibilities. They are given a medium that is capable of reaching a huge audience, and with that comes responsibility. It is immature and unethical to use racial stereotypes in advertisements, as it may not even make the product sell better in the first place.

Semiotics

February 13, 2013

Apply semiotic analysis to three advertisements: one television, one print, and one outdoor.

The goal of an advertisement is to entice a consumer into buying a product. There is a trick called semiotics that help advertisers do this. Semiotics are signs and symbols placed into advertisements that trigger an emotion or feeling from the consumer. An ad that executes semiotics well can make the consumer desire a product without really having a need for it.

State Farm insurance launched a few television commercials that featured a “magic jingle.” A person who was in some sort of predicament would sing, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” and a State Farm insurance agent would appear. This gives the consumer a comfortable feeling, as if State Farm has there back should something ever go awry. Some of the commercials also have another person try to get help from their different insurance company, who is no where to be found. This makes State Farm look much more dependable.

When the iPod came out, Apple launched an outdoor campaign featuring colorful billboards. The advertisement featured a person listening to an iPod and dancing. The person was completely black, and the background was a solid color. These billboard advertisements used the fun and wild aspect of dancing and music to entice consumers.

A magazine ad for Longines, a watch company, makes two different images look similar in a semiotic way. A woman dressed in a very fancy and elegant dress is next to a watch that is positioned to look just like the woman. This makes the viewer think the watch is very fancy and elegant, just like the woman. The advertisement is completely black and white which adds to the elegance.



Popular Brands

February 7th 2013

Why is a particular brand important to you? What is its relevancy?

Brands are a popularity contest. There is usually one brand, or in some cases a few brands, that sticks out from the rest of the brands in its field. It is more popular, hip, fashionable, and sometimes just a better product. Some people argue that they are immune to the whole brand hoopla, but I think they are lying to themselves. Everybody has one brand he or she would pick over another. I think mine is Mercedes. One day I will own a Mercedes automobile. To be quite honest, I cannot even tell you why I want one so badly. I have just always looked at that particular auto brand to be superior than the other luxury car brands such as BMW, Lexus, Audi, etc. A friend of mine thinks BMW is better, and he is not wrong, nor right. Brands are just a matter of opinion. I am from Northern California where a particular brand of coffee reigns supreme. Dutch Bros. coffee is a chain of drive through coffee shops that range from Northern California to Southern Oregon. There are about 400 (slight over exaggeration) of them in Redding, California, where I am from. I rarely drink coffee, and that puts me in the minority. I cannot check Facebook or Twitter without seeing someone post, “Just got Dutch Bros., sooooooo gooood!” or, “Got my Dutch for the day, I am set.” Dutch Bros. is ridiculously popular. I have no doubt in my mind that the company’s popularity allows them to dominate the Northern California coffee industry. People don’t go to Starbucks in Redding, they go to Dutch Bros. Gaining popularity is the most important thing a brand can do.

Dietmar Dahmen’s Advertisment Presentation

January 30th 2013

Dietmar Dahmen’s Advertisment Presentation

I was fascinated by a lot of the things in Dietmar Dahmen’s presentation. First off, he was very professional and efficient. Every word he said correlated with the slide that was showing, down to the very second. Sometimes the word on the screen would change as Dahmen was saying it. I could tell by this that he had given this presentation many times before and had mastered it, in a professional and humorous way. He started off the presentation by talking about what people are interested in right now and how it applies to advertising. He used words such as “nowism,” or only being interested in things happening now, and “firstism,” which is having the desire to be among the first to own a certain piece of new technology. There were a lot of methods of advertisement used in Europe and not the United states that were very interesting. For example, “my-vertising” puts the targeted individual or group in the actual advertisement. This naturally makes the targeted consumer much more interested in the advertisement, and thus, much more likely to buy the product. I believe Dahmen showed the class an Ikea magazine with a picture of a family he is friends with on the cover. There is no way that family would ever get rid of that magazine, because they are on the cover! That is awesome! Dahmen’s presentation was smart and inspirational. As time was running out Dahmen was frantically trying to get his last thoughts out, and as he did, one quote in particular stood out to me. “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success” - James Cameron. This quote not only applies in advertising, but everywhere. Exceptional job by Dietmar Dahmen.

What excites and disgusts me about advertising?

January 27th, 2013

What excites and disgusts me about advertising?

Usually the first thing that comes to people’s minds when talking about advertising is television commercials. Many people cannot stand them, cannot wait to get back to the show he or she was watching. I will admit that I am the same way, with an exception. I love commercials that make me laugh. If a company’s commercial makes me laugh I am ten times more likely to buy their product. I am majoring in sports management, but my second choice would have been advertising. There are actually quite a few exciting aspects of advertising. For example, I believe there is a lot of strategy and planning that has to go into an advertisement. A company has to know what their product is and who will be interested in it, and they have to plan their advertisements accordingly. One ad in particular sticks out to me. Dr. Pepper has come out with a soda called Dr. Pepper 10. The slogan for the soda is, “Dr. Pepper 10 - it’s not for women.” The television commercial is like it came straight from an action movie, to appeal more to a male demographic. The thing is, I just do not understand how a soda can be marketed for one specific gender. Both genders drink soda, so why target just one? Dr. Pepper wants to sell as much soda as they possibly can, but I think they are going about it the wrong way. That’s the fun thing about advertising, though. I am not sure how successful the Dr. Pepper 10 soda actually is. It may be flying off the shelves. I haven’t bought a Dr. Pepper 10, though, and I was who they were targeting.

-Nathan Brown