EOC Week 9: The Dark Side of Marketing

FIFA has made headline news of their officials being arrested for fraud by the US FBI in Switzerland. The dark side of marketing, well if I never knew this about FIFA until now they did a good job hiding in the dark until now. FIFA is the world's largest soccer non profit organization that hosts the World Cup. This is breaking news that just happened over the weekend so there is much more to come.

http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/watch-john-oliver-skewer-fifa-offer-deal-sponsors/298835/

This is the sports entertainment equivalent of the Fall of the Roman Empire, corruption from top to bottom and no light what so ever. What is interesting is John Oliver's video within the article states that if FIFA's sponsers were to pull their support that FIFA itself would fall, if the FBI failed to exploit FIFA's corruption.

Most people are shocked by the news in many ways, mainly ackward, but this dark shadow in sports is a deathly truth of how misleading marketing can become, even beyond advertisement. With FIFA being a nonprofit it is possible that we may see international soccer disappear until a new organization can gather the same crowd: with a lot of marketing to recreate the broken image of soccer.

EOC Week 8: Esquire Survey Charts

Here are some sample Excel charts from an Esquire survey about how men drink alcohol. I did learn   that when you have fewer items for a chart, your chart selection greatly decreases.

EOC Week 7: Final Project Pitch

The company that I'm working with is Barnes&Noble Bookstore. I called the store on Stephanie in Henderson and spoke with the store manager by quick pitching the project. He told me that I would have to write a letter to corporate first, but he added that he would be more than happy to help me with my project.

The reason why I chose Barnes&Noble Bookstore is because of two reasons: the store is in dire need of help to stay alive, and the memories I have of Barnes&Noble as a child. The problems I am focused on are based on why the store is losing massive profits, and finding a way to add profit in an area that would make money.

What I'm proposing is:
Selling comic books and having a comic section.

WHY?
People are interested and looking into buying these products. Also, with Marvel movies scheduled to come out in theaters there is at least a 2 year time frame to make a huge gross profit on comic books. A few reasons why this would be successful is: people are going to buy the comic and read the stories before watching the movie, this demographic will attract young adults and children so this will help direct book sales towards the kids section simultaneously, and Barnes&Noble doesn't have a comic section.

People are looking for a comic store that they know won't close down and will carry titles that they adore. If Barnes&Noble can make a partnership with Disney, DC Comics, and more, then advertised that they now sell comic books near a superhero movie screening, I strongly believe that this will help increase sales, bring in new long term customers, and carry on into different areas of the store where sales can increase based on demographics. Also, this is to help stay away from the Nook for a while since focusing on it now is not working or making Barnes&Noble any profit.

After I get the green light from Barnes&Noble corporate I am going to work with the store on Stephanie in Henderson to help create a section for comic books, and try to make is so that minimal rearrangement of other sections is possible. If this is successful I want to push this out to every B&N throughout Las Vegas and Henderson, then throughout the country where people are likely to buy comics.

Week 5 EOC: The Web's New Gold Mine: Your Secrets

With data mining and cookies from websites becoming common knowledge, the issue of privacy not being private anymore concerns most people and would drive some of them up a wall. From my perspective, I have these things to share: the government has been gathering our personal information since post WWII, the Patriot Act after 9/11 is a policy that granted access to this black hole for the 21st century, and you don't need to feel like a vulnerable victim when you participate.

"An Intranet is a company's private data network that uses Internet standards and technology.¹³ The information on an Intranet—data, graphics, video, and voice—is available only inside the organization or to those individuals whom the organization deems as appropriate participants. Thus, a key difference between the Internet and an Intranet is that security software programs, or “firewalls,” are installed to limit access to only those employees authorized to enter the system. Intranets then serve as secure knowledge portals that contain substantial amounts of organizational memory and can integrate it with information from outside sources."

Since WWII ended and the baby boomer generation it should be no shock that this group of people, who control most of the government and election ballots, are the ones driving the steering wheel of wanting to know who's around them. A paranoid bunch of old people in Congress, reminding the youngsters of how not knowing who your enemy could be, may have sparked a concern of wanting to know more about the private life of others. If I saw Hitler, I might be a bit scared as well.

"Cookies, in computer terminology, are small data files that record a user's Web usage history. If a person looks up a weather report by keying in a zip code into a personalized Web page, the fact that the user visited the Web site and the zip code entered are recorded in the cookie. This is a clue that tells where the person lives (or maybe where he or she may be planning to visit)."

This activity on escalated and became public after the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Al Quaida, who was at the time lead by Osama Bin Ladin. Though the US tensions between this organization began in the late 1970s with the first President Bush (George W. Bush), it really hit home when the World Trade Center was attacked. With the second President Bush (George H.W. Bush) passing the Patriot Act, out of rash fear, what we deal with today at a micro level (like website cookies and having to choose incognito windows) is the end result of a strain of fear and tension from US enemy countries.

"Data and information can be delivered to consumers or other end users via either pull technology or push technology. Conventionally, consumers request information from a Web page and the browser then determines a response. Thus, the consumer is essentially asking for the data. In this case, it is said to be pulled through the channel. The opposite of pull is push. Push technology sends data to a user's computer without a request being made."

What it's developed into today and how detailed it is, as the WSJ article has entailed, it is no mistake that it's quite dangerous having such information of you being sold without your knowledge. There is a reason why Facebook was sued by the US Government $17 billion for privacy invasion for the sake of advertising. If that doesn't scream that you are a product, then I don't know what will. How I feel about it is that the government listening into our personal lives is not new and very out of our control. And honestly, the only way to get rid of this problem is by eliminating the Patriot Act, on which a decision will be made in June 2015 of if this type of activity should resume or cease.

EOC WKII: Sample Survey

1. What gender are you?
2. Which age group do you fit in?
3. Which job would best describe your income level?
4. Which vacation activity would you prefer?
5. If you could choose a perfume for a Christmas present, which would you choose from below?
6. Do you own any perfume/colognes?
7. Which word appeals to you the most?
8. How much are you willing to spend on one ticket item?
9. Which clothing store would we be most likely to see you in?
10. If you were offered a free designer brand perfume, which would you choose?

WIEOC: What to Expect From this Course

What do I expect out of this course? Three simple words: thorough statistical conclusions. Having a depth understanding of your target market is the secret to developing the best product with the highest profitability possible. What most companies tend to overlook in marketing is the balance between profit and consumer need. Hysterically, most companies think more profit comes from less of an understanding of these customer needs, only to find out when it's too late that the opposite is more true.

During the time of Ancient Greece and antiquity, one of its best philosophers gave a good plan that reflects market research of the consumer:  

"First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end. –Aristotle"

These beautifully put together words is the core, goal, and value of what marketing research aims for to achieve success during times of trials. To solve these questions one must not forget the reason why we do market research; hinting to the latter mentioned core, goal, and value.

Speaking of core goal values, to simplify what I expect out of this course is the direct answers and understanding of the target market. The scientific method being dominant in this field for problem solving, in depth conclusions cannot be drawn without the core goal values of the consumer and the company. Authenticity of the company's mission statement seems to be the end product of what I expect from this course, and honestly it should be.

“Consider the fact that maybe…just maybe…beauty and worth aren't found in a makeup bottle, or a salon-fresh hairstyle, or a fabulous outfit. Maybe our sparkle comes from somewhere deeper inside, somewhere so pure and authentic and REAL, it doesn't need gloss or polish or glitter to shine.” 
― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

If I were a cosmetic company and saw this during my research, I would do something more than just make a product to counter what the consumer said to try and boost my sales. The more proper response would be to create a campaign, or socially responsible movement, to help create what the consumer feels within them. If creating a product was necessary, I would whip up a book that explains the different herbs and ingredients of make-up and how the consumer can personally use these ingredients. This will help create a positive response to a consumer need, while opening up to a new demographic and adding a new service. Strengthening the brand image is achieved with thorough statistical conclusions when it comes to market research.

To sum everything together of what I expect from the class, these are the top expectations:

• Meeting company mission statement 
• Authenticity of brand image
• Strengthening customer relations and brand image

These three steps will help develop the extensive, detailed, and slightly personal understanding of the consumer and how to properly go forward with delivering a product that means something to your demographic. I hope  my expectations are clear as to what I expect from this course.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.Steve Jobs

Citation of Quotes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/28/inspirational-quotes/
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/authenticity
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/expectations.html