AT&T and TOMS shoes

The AT&T commercial features Blake, the chief shoe-giver at TOMS shoes. Blake claims he needs a network with great coverage because for every pair of shoes his company sells, they give a pair to a child in need in other areas of the world. It would be impossible for TOMS to do so without a network that works around the world. The commercial continues with "More bars in more places. AT&T: the best coverage worldwide." The adverstisement is beneficial to both companies. It successfully informs the viewers of TOMS brand and their mission, and shows company employees handing out shoes to exited children in another country. AT&T capitalizes on this image of good will since this image is featured in its commercial, and makes it clear that AT&T helps TOMS stay in touch during the company's travel.

Victoria's Secret Mother's Day Campaign

Heidi Klum announced Victoria Secret's Mother's Day sweepstakes this morning on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. To participate in the sweepstakes, women can log in to the Victoria's Secret Web site and write about funny childhood stories that happened with their mother and talk about how much their mother means to them. The winner and her mom will be flown to New York City with airfare and hotel paid for, and will win a Victoria's Secret Shopping spree. I thought this was interesting. Victoria's Secret is trying to capitalize on Mother's Day and the special bond between mother and daughter and attach those feelings to its brand image. The announcement of the campaign by Heidi Klum on national TV was well planned.

Product Placement in the Cereal Isle

I went to the grocery store tonight and as I was buying my usual breakfast cereal I noticed the well-planned and deliberate product placement on the shelves. The more flavorful, sugary cereals marketed toward children were on the lower shelves where they were in reach of young kids. These boxes tended to be brightly colored with cartoon characters on them. The more plain, healthier cereals where placed higher on the shelves where more adults would see them and grab for them. I know when I go to the store, I never know what cereal I am going to choose beforehand. I assume product placement and the amount of visibility can influence people's purchase decisions. Marketers want their products to be very visible so that adults and children will make impulse decisions on products they otherwise might have overlooked.

Pepsi Max for Men

I saw a commercial the other day for Pepsi Max, a product that I have never heard of before. After watching the commercial, I understood why. Pepsi Max is a new diet soft drink targeted specifically toward men. The commercial showed multiple men being put in odd situations and getting injured. However, instead of being seriously hurt, they each shrug off the pain and say "I'm good." The deep-voiced announcer then follows with" Men can take anything, except the taste of diet cola, until now. Pepsi Max: the first diet cola for men." I though this was interesting. The commercial clearly appealed to men's masculinity and tried to convince men that they could maintain their dignity while drinking what some may consider a traditionally feminine drink. Pepsi wanted to market the idea that Pepsi Max is different from the other diet drinks. It is manly. I can't help but wonder what a "masculine" diet soft drink would taste like.

Tigo y Claro: Guatemalan Phone Companies' Marketing

During my recent trip to Guatemala, we did a lot of driving through both cities and the vast countryside to get to various locations for our daily medical and dental clinics. Through all the time I spent gazing out the window during these drives, I could not help but notice the vast marketing campaigns for two Guatemalan phone companies. These companies are Tigo and Claro. I can guarantee that no matter what Spanish language capabilities one has, they would remember seeing these signs after a trip to Guatemala. They are extremely noticeable and line the streets and the store fronts of both urban and rural communities alike! Some ads are painted on expansive walls while others are posted outside multiple store fronts. Nearly every store or food shop has one of these signs. Some of these ads are simple and just say the brand name. This capitalizes on the fact that these brands are so well known in Guatemala that no explanation of their benefits is needed. Other ads use witty phrases such as "Todo quiere hablar CONTIGO," meaning everyone wants to talk with you. All of the ads, whether they just included the brand name or a witty phrase, looked very similar and used the same colors. After I started to pay attention to the vast numbers of these signs, counting them as we drove by was almost comical. This two companies and their marketing campaigns resonated with me because I have never seen such a visible and expansive marketing campaign that is so apparent and dominant in a region.

Starbucks & AT&T

I was walking through the mall yesterday and I passed by an AT&T stand with a a prominently placed advertisement. The advertisement was promoting AT&T's coverage network. The advertisement featured a smiling Starbucks barista in a green apron who had lined up 4 sizes of Starbucks cups, from small to large, to represent having "full bars" when you have full network service on your cell phone. This ad is similar to other AT&T promotions; however it caught my attention because Starbucks' logo was prominently placed in the advertisement for another company. I assumed that Starbucks and AT&T had formed some type of a business partnership. Upon further investigation on the Internet, I discovered that in 2008 Starbucks and AT&T reached an agreement to bring free Wi-Fi to Starbucks coffee shops. This partnership further expands AT&T's Wi-Fi network, while benefiting Starbucks' Card holders who take advantage of 2 hours of free Wi-Fi service per day.

Old Spice Swagger Commercial

I was watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday when an commercial for Old Spice came on. The advertisement was for Old Spice's new product, Swagger. The advertisement featured LL Cool J who claims that Swagger helped him with the ladies. The ad shows a younger LL Cool J awkwardly approaching a beautiful woman and then squealing as he nervously walks away. He claims that was the old him before he started using Old Spice's Swagger. Now he is nicely dressed in a white suit, full of charisma, and has classy music playing. All thanks to Swagger.

In addition to being funny, I thought this commercial was interesting because I generally associate Old Spice with being a product for older men. With the introduction of this new product, Old Spice is trying to reach out to a younger market, and do so by using LL Cool J as a spokesperson to appeal to a younger audience. Through this advertisement and new product introduction, Old Spice is trying to change its image.

Coca Cola Song

As I was driving home to the west side a week ago, a group of us were in the car in the middle of nowhere listening to someone's iPod when a new song came on. The four of us were surprised because it was an older song that none of us had heard in forever. As we were trying to figure out how we knew the song, someone shouted out "It's the Coke song from that commercial!" And we all laughed because we knew exactly what commercial he was talking about. We tried to name the artist but none of us could remember. It was simply the Coke song. This just shows the power of marketing and advertising that years after the commercial was aired we associate the song with the Coke commercial but cannot remember anything else about it. It turns out the song was "Starry Eyed Surprise" by Paul Oakenfold.

Pink SunSilk Bottle

I was shopping at Dissmores the other night with my roommate and as we were walking down the beauty isle she was immediately drawn to the bright and colorful SunSilk Bottles on the shelf. She picked up the pink shampoo bottle, commented on the color, and said she wanted to try this product next time she needed shampoo. She explained that although pink isn't usually one of her favorite colors, lately she's been drawn to it and she has bought a lot of pink items recently. I thought this was interesting. It speaks to the power that physical characteristics of a product have on sales. Although she didn't know much about the specific shampoo type, she had already made up her mind that she wanted it before ever reading or investigating further.

Red Baron

This image was on the back of a Red Baron pizza box that I had bought earlier. I thought this was interesting because Red Baron and Toyota had established some type of marketing partnership, and these are two companies that I generally do not associate together. The contest included a variety of prizes, including pizza for a year and a $60 gas card, with the grand prize being a Toyota Prius for one lucky winner. I believe you had to enter a special code online after purchasing the pizza to qualify. This contest caught my eye because of the large placement of the Prius image on the back. I don't normally expect to see a car advertisement when I turn a pizza box over. Additionally, I thought the marketing partnership between the companies was interesting. I wonder if the collabortation between Toyota and Red Baron ended up being beneficial to both companies.

Behavioral Targeting Techniques

After reading this week's chapter about consumer behavior, the section about behavioral targeting techniques resonated with me. Behavioral targeting techniques is when marketers can watch what you do online and then tailor the advertisements that appear on certain web sites to products you're actually looking for. For instance, last spring I was researching study-abroad opportunities online and the various companies associated with it. During that time, the advertisements that appeared next to my facebook and myspace pages were almost all study-abroad related. I thought this was a strange coincidence until my friend mentioned the same type of thing was happening to her. This chapter put a name to something that I had noticed earlier in the year. I thought this was interesting.

Safeway Club Card Emails

I received an email this past week from Safeway with the subject heading "Carolyn, six new specials picked just for you." I have gotten these emails in the past, but have never given them much thought. I generally delete them before ever reading them, just disregarding them as promotional marketing information that doesn't pertain much to me. Well, after sitting in class and hearing Dr. Featherman talk about Data Mining and how companies will send out promotional material to customers tailored to each customer's specific preferences, I decided to open it and check it out. Sure enough, it included it included items that are similar to products that I have bought in the past, like milk, bread, and vegetable party trays. But even more mind-boggling to me, it included a 2 for $4 discount on Eggo Waffles, which is something I buy nearly every trip I make to Safeway! I thought this was interesting. I never realized that Safeway, and other companies, look at what I buy as a Club Card Member and then use this information to offer deals to entice me to buy more of the same product. It's a little strange to think that there are special computer programs that anaylze my purchasing habits, but I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I'm actually thinking of running up to Safeway later in the day, and I might just have to buy some Eggo waffles that I know are on sale!!

Markel Coffee House Sleeve

I bought a latte at the Markel Coffee House in the lower floor of the CUB last week. When I grabbed a coffee sleeve, I noticed that it had an advertisement for the WSU Education Abroad Fair that was scheduled to take place the next day. This caught my attention because I thought it was a clever way to draw interest to the event. It was informative as it included all the important information on the sleeve that anyone would need if they wanted to attend, including the website if they wanted to obtain more info. I thought putting marketing on a coffee sleeve was a smart, yet tactful way to advertise and promote an event. This was the first time I had noticed this type of marketing until Dr. Featherman brought in a similiar example to class the following day. I did not attend because I have already studied abroad (I was not the ideal target market for the ad), but it did successfully inform me about the event.