Product

"Product Quality  is one of the marketer’s major positioning tools. Quality has a direct impact on product or service performance; thus, it is closely linked to customer value and satisfaction. In the narrowest sense, quality can be defined as “freedom from defects.” But most customer-centered companies go beyond this narrow definition. Instead, they define quality in terms of creating customer value and satisfaction." (Armstrong 214) The quality of Man Lotion must be excellent if we want to keep the customer loyalty we are working so hard to obtain. If men are going to go to the trouble of buying something, it had better live up to the expectations that got them off the couch in the first place. "Total quality management (TQM) is an approach in which all the company’s people are involved in constantly improving the quality of products, services, and business processes. For most top companies, customer-driven quality has become a way of doing business. Today, companies are taking a “return on quality” approach, viewing quality as an investment and holding quality efforts accountable for bottom-line results." (Armstrong 214) Constant product development is key to maintaining quality. As new skin care technology becomes available, our scientists will be developing ways to appropriately implement it in to our products. There can be no corners cut on the quality of our products or our brand, as those are what keep our customers loyal.

Target Market Strategy

"A marketing strategy consists of specific strategies for target markets, positioning, the marketing mix, and marketing expenditure levels. It outlines how the company intends to create value for target customers in order to capture value in return." (Armstrong 57) The target market for this product is men. We hold a high postion in this market, because the majority of similar products are marketing toward women. Women are mainly the customers of a household, buying food, beverages, laundry soap, cleaning supplies, linens, clothes for the family, and all beauty products used in her home, whether by her self, her husband, or any present children. Our goal is to convince men of the value of buying and using lotion for themselves. There are some options out there exclusively for men, but none that particularly stand out as manly. "Through concentrated marketing, the firm achieves a strong market position because of its greater knowledge of consumer needs in the niches it serves and the special reputation it acquires. It can market more effectively by fine-tuning its products, prices, and programs to the needs of carefully defined segments. It can also market more efficiently, targeting its products or services, channels, and communications programs toward only consumers that it can serve best and most profitably." (Armstron  By concentrating on men as our target market, we can better adapt the advertising campaign to them.

SWOT Analysis

"Managing the marketing function begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation. The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)." (Armstrong 55) One of this products key strengths is it effectiveness at capturing it's audience's attention. The name of the lotion (Man Lotion) is straightforward and encourages the target market to use it. The hardest part about selling this lotion is that it is geared toward men, and men don't typically use, let alone buy lotion of any kind. "The goal is to match the company’s strengths to attractive opportunities in the environment, while eliminating or overcoming the weaknesses and minimizing the threats." (Armstrong 56)

Objectives

"The first step is to set advertising objectives. These objectives should be based on past decisions about the target market, positioning, and the marketing mix, which define the job that advertising must do in the total marketing program." (Armstrong 386) It is important to advertise this product in a way that will appeal to men. The psychological triggers for stimulating thoughts within a man's brain are different than those of a women, so creating a campaign that caters to those differences is vital. A commercial that features a man transforming from a hideous being in to a man that most women would desire would accomplish the task of gaining male understanding and recognition.  "The overall advertising objective is to help build customer relationships by communicating customer value."

Mission Statement

As a company our goal is to provide a simple, easy to use moisturizer with out all the froofroo-ness of other lotions. You're a guy, so why would you want to smell like a teenage girl? You don't. You're a dude; why would you want hands that feel like you let your wife chain you inside an exfoliating mud bath for a week? You wouldn't. You're a man, and we understand that just because you don't want dry, cracked skin doesn't mean you want to look or smell like you've spent your entire life picking hillside daisies. Man Lotion provides your skin with the hydration it needs, with out the greasiness it doesn't. The best part? It doesn't smell like something your wife picked up at the local Perfumes-R-Us! Its light scent won't make you feel like you're about to be stripped of your man-card, and it will keep your hands in tip-top shape for all those manly things you do.

WEEK 7 EOC: PITCH

Image from http://www.limediva.com/products/Man-Lotion-8-ounce-%252d%252d-Because-Men-Need-Their-Own-Stuff.html

Gender pitched advertising is an extremely important aspect of marketing. How do you get a specific gender to buy something they never knew they needed? The answer always has to do with the opposite sex. Whether it is men and women trying to look and smell better for the opposite sex, or if its women buying things for their men so they look and smell better period. But what makes a difference when marketing individually to men and women?  We know that most of the advertising agencies pitch toward women, because they hold the most buying power. What then gets the attention of men as consumers? The same that gets their attention as men: women. A man is much more likely to purchase a product if he thinks it will make him more attractive to women.  In advertising a lotion, in order to get men to buy it I'd imply that he'd get all the women as the result of using the product. I'd shoot a commercial of a hideous man, with a misshapen body and dry, cracked skin. Once he's used the lotion I'm trying to sell, however, women would flock to him and make him feel like the most desirable man on earth. It'd be a huge production, with the deformed man walking the streets of a city while women glimpse him and run away screaming. Once the lotion transforms him in to the sexiest man alive, all those same women would be next to him vying for his attention, or even grabbing him and kissing him. Once the man touches the bottle of lotion, a bunch of sped up flashes of enticing scenes signify his transformation in to a hunk, ultimately leading to his being bombarded by the women who were avoiding him.

EOC Week 6: 9 Apps

Ever since the iPod came in to existence, it has dominated the mp3 market. Since then Apple has

EOC WEEK 5: Best and Worst Superbowl Commercials

The Superbowl has become one of the most celebrated American traditions in the United States. Every year it is one of the most viewed programs on TV, and people flock together to watch their favorite team compete. Hundreds of dollars are spent on parties to view the game, but oddly enough the commercials are just as anticipated as the actual game itself. It has become somewhat of a ritual to save the best commercials for the Superbowl, and securing airtime in this coveted prime-time spot is extremely expensive. One would expect the companies advertising would pull out all the stops for such an expensive and highly watched time slot, but this year the ads just didn't stack up to other years' creativity. One ad in particular, an obnoxious and distasteful commercial for HomeAway, left a bad taste in many viewers’ mouths. The sight of such a realistic baby being catapulted in to a window, then sliding down the glass, did indeed cause a reaction, but not a very good one. The sight of infants being harmed is hardly a sound marketing strategy to bring in new customers. On the other hand, the latest Volkswagen commercial aired featured a young child expressing what every child at some point dreams of. This commercial was smart because every adult remembers the times as a kid when they played "make believe". The commercial as a whole makes the company look good and advertises the car well. This has quickly become one of the most popular and most viewed commercials of this year’s Super bowl, due largely in part of the fact that the score and theme of the commercial, Star Wars, is known and loved by consumers. Utilizing those, along with the feeling of nostalgia, Volkswagen created an fresh new idea that still touched the hearts of viewers.

WEEK 4 EOC

The consumer market consists of all the people that purchase items or merchandise for personal use.  There are entire jobs devoted to the study and analysis of the consumer market to determine consumer buyer behavior. Consumer buyer behavior is the all of the reasons why, when, and where people purchase the items they want.  Many factors determine why consumers make the purchases that they do, and a brief description would never to it justice.  Demographics and psychographics categorize the areas of study where consumer buyer behavior is analyzed. Demographics refer to the age, gender, income, education, race of consumers, whereas psychographics refers to the consumers’ values, ideas, feelings, and culture. All of things affect the way customers make purchases. There are fives stages to the buyer decision process: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and postpurchase behavior. Need recognition is when a person recognizes the need for something, due to either internal or external stimuli. Information is not always sought for once the recognition of the need has arisen. It depends on the convenience of the situation and the complexity of the need. Once the consumer has enough information, they can consider evaluating other alternatives, or they can skip straight to the purchase decision, depending on the consumer and the frequency with which they purchase the item needed.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money For Good

Most companies want to make money. Scratch that, all companies want to make money, assuming the company is not a fraudulent business created as a façade for tax scams. It may not be their absolute number one priority, but it is definitely up there at the top of the list of things to accomplish. It is well known that the best way to make money is to provide a quality service or product that is in high demand, or that will be in high demand in the very near future. Not many companies, however, are created solely to make money to help other people. Blake Mycoskie brought a new meaning to social responsibility when he created an entire brand of shoes for the sole purpose of providing impoverished families in third world countries the shoes they had lived with out for their entire lives.  Children could be seen in the dirt roads kicking around a ball with naked feet, they’re toe’s rough and bleeding from the constant abuse of the harsh terrain. Mycoskie had the brilliant idea that if he could involve the public by providing a quality product, that he could build an entirely self-sufficient “charity” with out having to ask for donations or financial support from other philanthropists. The result of his generous endeavor is TOMS shoes, the mission of which is to give away a pair of shoes for every shoe purchased.  It is inspiring to see one individual create a movement that is independently helping solve such a long term economic crisis in countries that don’t get the needed relief from their own government. Mycoskie is definitely showing the world that money can be made for good, and that people will actively participate in the betterment of others’ lives if others if the means are there.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographic

I am a Millennial. A Millennial is one of the 83 million people born between 1977 and 2000. We are the age of the computer, the age of technology. Cell phones, laptops, the internet, and social networking are not just luxuries, they are a way of life. Generation X is playing their part in the world right now, shaping it for when the Millennials take the reigns. We are the future. Our education is the cornerstone for what will come to pass in the social classes, governments, and economies of the world.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

Marketing can make or break a company, or even an entire industry, as a whole.  As evident in the declining video game industry, an industry that is nearly self marketing due to the simple fact that it is entertainment.

Good Customer Service

Good customer service is the key to success in any business. A business is made to serve a certain clientele, and if those clients aren’t happy, what is the point of the business? Customer service can be the obvious, such as being respectful to the customer, or it can be subtle, like offering a bottle of water, or wrapping the purchased item. It also means listening to your customer, and having the product knowledge to help meet their needs. Sometimes people only have a general idea about what they want, so by having the knowledge of what you can offer them you are doing them a service. People want to know that the person helping them isn’t a complete idiot, and its not about just being there to take their money from them, its about upholding the standards the business wants to be known for. Customers also want to feel comfortable. Another key aspect of good customer service is the way a customer is treated. “Remember that every time that you, your employees, and your colleagues make contact with a customer – whether its by email, phone, written correspondence, or a face-to-face meeting – the interaction leaves an impression with that customer.” (“Ten Rules for Great Customer Service” AllBusiness.com 1999-2011) Ultimately, if you know your customer, you will know what they need.  Providing good customer service is the responsibility of every single member of any business, company, team, or public serving entity. If the standards aren’t created, then they can’t be enforced, and if they can’t be enforced, they won’t be upheld. Overall, good customer service needs to be a business-wide commitment; otherwise, it just becomes an empty promise. “Sales without Customer Service is like stuffing money into a pocket full of holes.” –David Tooman (CustomerServicePoint.com 2003-2009)

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

There are many aspects of the fashion industry that draw people to it. It calls for creativity, individuality and commitment in order to succeed. I love the constant evolution and revolution that is ultimately based upon one undeniable factor: people. I’m a people watcher. Its fascinating and rewarding to watch how individuals translate style in there own unique way. People always need clothes, and the styles of those clothes are always changing. Making a living around giving people the chance to express themselves in this ever-changing world is what I enjoy most in life.  It’s a fast-paced, balls-to-the-wall, instinct driven career and I love every minute of it. "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
-Nelson Mandela