The Persuaders

The Persuaders” takes a look at advertisers today and their attempt to break through the clutter and connect with their target consumers. People have become numb to the traditional ads and commercials, so companies are having to do things to resonate in consumers’ minds. Challenges like DVRs makes it even harder for products to be seen, so advertisers are having to find interesting and intelligent ways to stand out and not get lost in the white noise of traditional advertising. Guerrilla marketing and product placement in movies and television shows are two great examples of ways to do that.
Additionally, brands are hiring companies that solely spend time trying to analyze what goes on in the minds of these consumers and how these companies can more strategically connect with them, whether it is specific words, colors, or even subliminal techniques. For example, Dr. Rapaille was hired by a fragrance company, among thousands of his other Fortune 1,000 companies that he has worked with, to use his three step technique in order to find the consumers’ unconscious needs which drive consumption.
His three step process begins with first relating to a consumer’s reasoning. He says that, “people have no idea why they choose what they choose and I have to get to the bottom of it.” He picks a word and then has the focus group think of all other words they think relate to that word. This reasoning starts with the cortex. Dr. Rapaille says that this step is crucial because it lets each individual feel proud about how smart they sound within the group. This is important because in order to get to the core primal state, these feelings and emotions must be gone. Between the first and second steps there is a break in the testing in order to let everyone regroup.
The second step appeals to the emotions of the focus group. Here he says, “Tell me a story as if I were a five year old from a different planet.” In this step the individuals don’t feel the need to be logical or intelligent. While going through this step they get confused and lose sight of their purpose which Dr. Rapaille says is a very important step in the process as well. After the second step is over they take a long break again.
The final phase taken by Dr. Rapaille is to appeal to the primal core. In this phase the testers enter the room to find all of the chairs missing with pillows in their places. Everyone is asked to lie down and jot down notes about the first time they experienced the word that they are trying to understand. This is the key to the reptilian hot buttons. He also comes up with a secret “code” that enables a company to sculpt, create and check their products. This code has been beneficial for Boeing in developing their new 2009 Dreamliner. The code was used for development of new airplane seat covers, new overhead bins, and other top secret alterations throughout the plane.
Song airlines, which is a branch from Delta Airlines, is another company that has hired a professional marketer and brand manager, Andy Spade, in order to help differentiate their products and services from other airlines. They seek to invent a new culture around flying. Their target market is “Cari” a strong working mother with three children, a working husband, SUV and Sports car, who shops at Target and Nieman Marcus. They are differentiating their product with organic products, low fares, and more entertainment. Additionally, their use of bright colors and flow-like themes is exhilarating, and in my opinion brings a fresh look to the airline business. Their “emotional” road to promoting song is creative, but some employees say they need communication that drives commerce, not just emotion. I think that Song has a great idea going for them, especially in an industry that has such a negative connotation. It seems like they are bringing the Apple and Google corporate culture into the airplane world, and I really like that. On the other hand, I know it is to their huge disadvantage that Delta is doing poorly and they are their mother company. Ultimately, I think that sales will follow if Song keeps doing what they are doing; they just need to remember to keep their costs as low as possible because their marketing budget is decreasing by the minute.

The In's and Outs of Marketing Research

“Kenna’s Dilemma: The Right- and Wrong- Way to Ask People What They Want” by Malcolm Gladwell is a very interesting piece of writing that talks about the troubling faults, mysteries and difficulties of retrieving consumer research and information about products in the marketplace. Although all of the lessons throughout the article are important for researchers to understand, I think the two most important lessons are learned from the Pepsi versus Coke challenge for market share and from the Christian Brothers Brandy and E & J Brandy example.
The Pepsi Challenge demonstration of marketing research is interesting because it brought consumers to the forefront of making a decision on camera about which cola was better tasting. This was controversial for Coke because not only were they losing market share, consumers actually thought Pepsi’s products tasted better during these quick sipping taste tests. Because Coke’s reputation was heavily based on its “secret recipe,” Coke felt as though they had to react quickly in order to maintain their leadership in the market. New Coke was produced, favored in pre-market taste tests, and was launched with much confidence. And what did Coke achieve? Nothing. Failure. And Why? Listen carefully: I think that for marketers to grasp the understanding of consumers’ beliefs, feelings, and opinions about a product they have to throw all of the rules of marketing research out the window, but in a strategic manner. In any research project a marketer needs to know that numbers are reliable, but they are not and will never mean everything in every scenario, and should not trigger every marketing decision that is made within a company. This example, in the exact opposite way, is extended in the Aeron chair market research. Aeron’s rankings for look and comfort during product research were low and unpromising, which is opposite of what happened for New Coke. They were doubtful that it would be successful but extended it to the market anyway. It became a huge success and now can be found in office buildings across the world. I used one all summer in my internship, (although it may not be the Aeron brand because of the increased competition for the “skeleton chairs” in the market today,) and I found it very neat to read about the chair’s history. My case in point is that Coke and Aeron experienced first hand how market research can be very wrong about the success of a product and marketers need to take this into consideration which may mean to follow their gut instead of their gadgets.
The other important lesson that should be learned by marketers is that a simple change, such as the size, shape, color, font, or label on a bottle or package could be the determinant of which brand succeeds in a competitive landscape. I know that if I am apathetic or not loyal to a brand, I almost always pick the combination of best price for quality and quantity, and then my second variable in choice is the appeal of the packaging for the product. This is especially important in alcohol purchases because most of the lower level liquors taste the same, and so on as you travel up the ladder to “top-shelf” products. The bottle of the product is a sort of staple to a person’s fashion sense and can be a trendy accessory when walking into a party. Christian Brothers conducted market research on their products because there were exact and reliable quantitative ways to understand why they are not performing well against a certain competitor. All marketers should really analyze their own mind processes in making decisions, along with the market research, in order to find the critical downfall of a product in order to make it better in the long run. For example, I am not loyal to any certain bottled water. The other day in the store I chose to buy Glaceau Smart Water because of the packaging. It was interesting and I felt “modern” when holding it. I have no doubt that this company has obtained positive reinforcement about their packaging, and thus will continue to use their sleek bottle.

My Paper Topic

As of now, my topic for this paper is going to be the consumer electronic industry and its use of marketing to understand consumer behavior, underlying buying decisions, why people upgrade, switch brands and want the “top” new products even when a better one is going to come out in a few months. I want to examine the entire industry, but want to focus mainly on Apple products for innovation and customer loyalty. I think this is an important segment of the consumer electronic industry, especially with their huge outbreak into the phone industry. The whole campaign and brand has changed the way we look at phones TOTALLY. I want to know how Apple does it.

I chose this topic because my my electronics and my phone are a very important part of my life. I use my iPod almost everyday, if my laptop died it would also be the death of me, and my cell phone is my little security blanket. Also, this personal entertainment technology is an interesting topic because it has grown so much in the last fifteen year that, as consumers, we are still relatively unaware of why and how we should purchase the products that we do. For example, are we buying the new products because of word of mouth or a great marketing campaign? Or do we like the product itself or the affiliation to the brand? Or why do we need the newest product when something better is sure to come out if we wait? Also, are these consumers using online reviews and other forms of accessible technology to gain insight on these products? One technology’s ability to drive sales for another technological product is such a staple of how our generation works in deciding purchasing decisions. It is pretty amazing, really! Additionally, I chose a specific focus on the phone industry because I have always had slim pickings for which phones I can afford, but I always want the best one on the market. I use my phone a calendar, for texting, for pictures, for an alarm and for phone conversations to keep in touch with people all across the United States. It is my life! It has always been hard for me to go into the Verizon Wireless store when I know that there are phones that I like from other companies such as Sprint, AT&T, Cingular, etc. I also only upgrade when I am eligible for a free phone so I do not have the limitless options that many other people have. This is why it astonished me that so many people across the globe, and that I know personally totally gave up their service to buy the iPhone…even when they couldn’t afford it.

This is a great topic for my Customer Insights class because I have a limitless number of people to survey in my target market to better understand what they love about their electronics, what gets them to buy or upgrade, and why they chose the phone they did, especially if it is the iPhone. I also think it will be a good topic because the research and online articles about the electronic industry are plentiful. I will be able to find scholarly articles about technology without any trouble. I think that I will be able to reach the core of consumers beliefs.

I found lots of articles on the iPhone, but I chose to post this personal article (possibly a blog) http://searchengineland.com/apple-iphone-craze-a-search-volume-look-11569. It has some statistics on the demographics of people who have visited the iTunes website, who have searched the iPhone on search engines and other links to blogs and articles about this piece of technology. Although I am definitely going to take time to research on a more broader level of technology purchases, I think that this is a good start in showing the demographics of the iPhone purchasers. I can’t wait to find out more about my topic through thorough research. Maybe by the end of the paper I will have convinced myself to buy some sort of new technology. Who knows!

Segmentation at its best

I found the perfect article about segmentation that relates to our class. Cha Ching! It is an article from the New York Times Web site titled “Disney Aims for the Boy Audience With a Cable Channel and a Web Site.” The article is based around Disney’s new cable channel, Disney XD, and new Web Site that launched Friday, February 13th, 2009. Their specific target market is boys ages six to fourteen who are into video games, sports, and television. Disney stated that their success with the movie “Cars” opened their eyes to the youthful male segment. This segment has potential spending power of $50 billion dollars globally that can and should be utilized. Additionally, this expansion into the world of boys is smart and strategic on Disney’s part because there is a clear gap in the market for teen male entertainment. The article mentions that Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network have successfully reached out to this segment. Research shows that 40% of Disney’s viewers are male, so they are hoping to hit this market with a big bang and large influence in 2009.

According to the article, Disney is going to “offer action-adventure programs and youth-oriented sports news provided by ESPN (which is owned by Disney) and a Web site offering games, music and social networking tools.” The music that they use throughout the launch is going to be not only from Disney’s internal label, but from artists across many decades in order to attract kids and their dads. Disney feels that if the dads of this youthful segment can relate to Disney XD, that the kids will have an exponentially higher attraction to the brand as well.

I thought that this article was interesting because we just finished talking about segmentation in class, especially in our group project target market choices. One of the segments that a group chose is the male youth, specifically middle school and high school. This group’s in-depth description about youthful boys is very applicable to the research and assumptions that I’m sure Disney is attempting to analyze, understand, and embrace with their new campaign and launch of Disney XD. I think their new television channel and interactive Web site will be very successful in targeting this market because young boys find value in being independent of girls, and being viewed as tough-guys. Also, if these shows catch on, their popularity will spread like wildfire because when something is considered cool among peers in this segment, then everyone within this segment thinks it’s the best thing that has ever happened in their little world!

For Disney to correctly segment and market to six to14 year old boys, they need to understand what TV plots and story lines interest this group. The article tells us that the first show that they expect to make it big is “Aaron Stone.” It is a live-action program about a boy who leads a secret double life as a crime fighter. The other new series is a comedy called “Zeke and Luther” that contains two boys who are trying to become world-famous skateboarders. “Phineas and Ferb,” a show that is already on the Disney Channel is going to be moved to Disney XD. This will hopefully help loyal watchers of this TV show to transition right on over to Disney XD without any road blocks.

The way I see it, if Disney can find a way to create a male Hannah Montana then they have success in the bag. He doesn’t need to be a rock star, or even a musician. What he does need to be is relational, applicable to their lives and somewhat of a hero to these boys who are growing, confused, and looking for fun. I think Disney can do it; they always find a way to a kids’ heart. Or at least they found their way to mine!

Paradox of Choice

Barry Schwartz’s speech titled “Paradox of Choice” provided many insights about how our Western society has changed throughout the last 100 years. I want to start off saying that I deeply agree with his theory, having been a victim and an observer of the choice phenomenon. To provide a basis for those who have not listened to the podcast, Barry believes that the Western Hemisphere and its people (that’s us!) have been on an endless pursuit to maximize our freedom. This ideal has helped achieve many positive social and civil rights movements, led to industrialization, capitalism, and ultimately freedom of choice. How can we complain?
But we are and with good reason. The consequence of increased freedom is excessive choice which causes increased disappointment with our choices and ourselves. Obviously there are good things that come from increased choice such as efficiency, driving the weaker competitors out of the market, and the possibility of finding a better product that fits you or your family (even if its not until the second try…or sixth.) Barry says that the negative effect of an overwhelming number of choices is that it “produces paralysis instead of liberation.” We are no longer able to make a quick and easy decision.
This actually happened to me this past week when I was instructed to go pick up some more dog food for my boss’s dog. I’m not sure if it was idiotic of me not to ask what kind she wanted but really, who would have known all of my choices! There were literally 12 different brands each containing about nine different categories of food. Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. Blue Buffalo Large Breed Dog Food. Pedigree plus Healthy Heart. Nutro Max Beef and Rice Dog Food. Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blends (what does that even mean?)… And the list goes on and on. Finally, after scanning the isle for literally thirty minutes grabbing one bag and putting it down to grab another that I would soon be equally disappointed with I began to realize that it was just a dog. But then again, it was my boss’s dog and I did not want to disappoint my financial benefactor. Ultimately, I made my decision only to wonder if it was the “correct” one. The point is not whether the dog liked the food, which he does because he seems to be enjoying it just fine; the point is that it shouldn’t have been that hard or taken that long. I shouldn’t have been that disappointed in myself for possibly purchasing the wrong brand of dog food.
Secondly, he says that increased choices lead to escalation of expectations, only to be let down in the end. I disagree. I believe that increased choice can and may lead to the ideal of perfectionism and disillusionment but that this is not the case most of the time, especially if you know exactly what you want. With increased options we are given not only options from one designer, brand, store, boutique or mall but of a wide variety and assortment of them. The key is patience in shopping and diligence in making sure you find the product that best fits you. It may be a girl thing but I enjoy my pursuit to find what purchase will make me the most fulfilled. The problem arises when the consumer has a money constraint. For example, this Christmas I really wanted tall brown boots. I knew exactly what I wanted them to look like and after searching many stores, I found them! If I were able to afford the boots, I do not feel that I would have had any buyer’s remorse or feelings of discontent. I ended up buying cheaper boots that were also satisfactory to me. My problem was the money constraint, not my escalation of expectations.
The paradox of choice is all that our generation has grown up with. In a way, I think that our generation relishes in the fact that choice is available. We may handle it better than our parents can because we have grown up being inundated with marketing, products and choice. On the other hand, maybe I am too young to understand or not old enough to be tarnished by the phenomenon yet. Time will tell my friends, time will tell.

Marketing: Always Needed, Ever-Changing

Marketing as a whole has changed enormously throughout the past few decades, mostly because of the changing expectations of Generation X and Y and the invention of the Internet. Being part of this movement, both as a marketer and a customer, has made me realize my natural roots in traditional marketing because of my “baby boomer” parents, while it has also heavily influenced me through more interactive and customized marketing campaigns that target the newest generation. These integrated campaigns are intriguing and effective because they take us directly to a product or place that we already want to learn about or see, and do so in an entertaining way. In other words, they catch our attention in more ways than just a television commercial. Because consumer expectations have changed, marketers have had to use customer insights and well-executed segmentation plans in order to ensure the success of a product and the sustainability of a company. This segmentation can occur in many ways such as targeting certain demographics, social groups, personal interests groups and many more.
The three mediums of information that we were instructed to read before this blog,…(Wow, my computer still doesn’t recognize the word blog, talk about an “out of date” marketer!) were interesting to me. In regard to “MySpace Generation,” I feel that my generation as a whole was described pretty well, but that it was a very wide and possibly outdated generalization. I say this because I do not know very many people my age at all that have a MySpace account anymore. I add in the “anymore” because I think that many of used to have MySpace accounts until we came to college and signed up on Facebook.com. This seems to be the most popular social networking site among all my college friends. People that still have a MySpace keep it open strictly to use the music networking and band searches in order to find new bands. Also, I think college students are spending more than an average of 2 hours a month on these social networking cites, or maybe that’s just me!
The “Generation Y” article was my favorite because I think it is spot on in describing the customers of Generation Y (which I am not really counting myself in.) I say this because I was intrigued and influenced by the Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm Nike ads as a child; I loved those athletes! I had Michael Jordan Air Pumps and a Mia Hamm jersey, which I can’t believe I just admitted, at the age of ten. My point is that those ads were effective on me and many of us that fell right at the end of Generation X. Nowadays, I have two siblings who enlighten me on funny Youtube videos, who are heavily influenced by their friends, and who are striving to be different; clearly a product of Generation Y. I truly agree that they need to be marketed to in a very different way than ever before, but the answer of how is going to be different for each product and will be ever-changing. This is what I love about marketing.
I worked at an online marketing internship this summer in Los Angeles that focused mostly on viral, interactive online applications for marketing campaigns. We were continuously brainstorming goofy, off the wall, crazy ideas that we thought might create a buzz and an incentive for the teen generation to grab hold of. It is no longer blogs and forums that readers visit, its Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, and interactive, in-person marketing… if you ask me!