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!!