My Ad

Implementation Evaluation Control

It’s time to introduce my ad to the market. After thorough analysis of the market at hand I have come up with magazine ad to represent my product. “Through implementation, the company turns the plans into action” ( Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 55). Which I have done. However no one can tell exactly how their product will do before the product is out on the market, but research will give a simulated idea. With putting my ad out there and judging by the feedback I receive, I will be able to tell how well or how bad my product is perceived. This will tell me how well I marketed it and if it was done correctly. My “measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities” Will allow me to take “corrective action where needed.” (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 55) In doing so I will be able to see where what parts succeeded and what parts failed. From there it’s a matter of putting together something that will work better the second time around. Until then though this is the part where I let go, sit back, and watch how well I put things together.

Price

When pricing a product its important that you pick a proper price. You don't want to throw people off by an intimidating high price nor do you want to come off too cheap with a low price, but "if the consumers perceive that the company's product or service provides greater value, the company can charge a higher price."(Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong & Kotler pg. 280) Either side of the range will cause people to ask questions. Is this good quality, will it last me? Along those lines. My product of Kitchen tools has to fit into a market that is plaque with cheap inferior products. My kitchen utensils are of higher quality so the price will reflect that. However, it won’t be a ridiculous amount more, just minor. The way I see it my Kitchen Tools should cost $55.95. It says I'm not cheap, but nor am I expensive. It's a good in between price. It will also be competitively priced which “involves setting prices based on competitors’ strategies, costs, prices, and market offerings” (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 280). My price has just that in mind; the competition.

Promotion

Simply put a promotion is the "activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it" (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 54). The best way to promote a product like kitchen utensils would usually not be in a magazine but putting my ad in a men’s magazine it would generate the right type of attention needed for Kitchen Tools. However there is a lack of sex appeal for my ad. Sure I could have gotten a woman for my ad but that wouldn't be the right way to go for this. My product focuses on men and them cooking not what a woman can do with a new set of utensils. Plus a good looking female is just a distraction from what you're trying to sell, and I don't want that. Well come to think of it any female would be a distraction. In my promotional ad you don't actually see my product that I will be selling. There's two reasons for that. There is no such product that exists that I am aware of expect for my photo shopped image further down. The other reason it also invokes them to seek out more information on this new product called Kitchen Tools. Granted a lot of Americans are lazy I'm not sure how far they would actually go for their information so I might be hurting myself on that one. Overall I feel the ad portrays my product well. You have a man (me) standing in the kitchen in front of the stove while holding a utensil. Meanwhile there’s all his tools on the floor. Both sets. One automotive and the other kitchen. Their getting combined together in the tool box. You could say their mixing it up, which is the actually what it is “marketing mix consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product” (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 53). Which is what my product is all about combining the best of both of worlds into one and giving the market what it wants. The saying "Now men can make a proper mess in the kitchen too" is referring to the cooking that will get done. However since it's proper it wont be bad. There’s a little humor to it which is good element to add to almost anything. Sex may be the big seller but humor isn't too far behind.

Distribution

When distributing a product sometimes it's best to widely disperse your product and other times it's better to select where it's going. This upholds product value and remain a little more exclusive. Sure "stocking the product in as many outlets as possible" (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler pg. 324) will give you the most widely known product but to simply become a "Wal-Mart brand" for example and sit on one of there shelf’s at one of there many stores isn't going to cut for my product though. With the product going to less places more focus can be put on the distribution channels there are. “Companies often pay too little attention to their distribution channels, sometimes with damaging results” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler pg. 321). This won’t happen with my plan. I will keep the companies close that I plan to distribute to. That way relationships will be easy to follow. Then with keeping my product to only certain types of stores the consumer won’t have a product with spending money on my product and not worry about seeing it at a place like Wal-Mart for a cheaper price.

Product

The first and most important element is the product, without it the company has nothing. You can have all this great research into it and believe it's the best. It can also have all flashy advertising, and celebrity endorsements In theory it should be the best but if it doesn't meet the expectations of the market or the consumers then it fails. “Product means the goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market” (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg.54).With my product Kitchen Tools it won't be a normal product for any gender to use them but manly the men. It is gear towards them because they are made as if they were tools. The handles are shaped like screwdrivers, socket wrench handles and so on. It could be expanded to allow for other handles to be made as well. This will apply to buyers because "consumers see products as complex bundles of benefits that satisfy their needs" (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler pg. 211). The benefits to new cooking utensils can range from wanting to cook more because its fun to cooking better due to be properly equipped.

EOC: Week 10 What Channels are you going to do to get you product noticed?

If a product isn't noticed all it will do is sit on a shelf collecting dust. My product will not fall victim to that. For my type of product the best way to get it to the consumer would first be start at the producer then go to a retailer, then finally into the hands of the consumers. It's a relativity small kitchen product so it doesn't need quite as much "coverage" as say a camera would. Which is perfectly fine because of what it is. Then comes actually putting it in the right location meaning store. “Companies often pay too little attention to their distribution channels, sometimes with damaging results.”(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management, Armstrong and Kotler pg. 312) Where's it best suited? Away from the competition, or close to it? Sure each spot would have it's own benefits but in the end you have to pick what fits. Along side the competition would most likely be the best because people will be looking for that certain type of thing already. I don't want the consumer having to go out of the way to find it. Then also knowing how other similar products fair in stores will give me an idea of how mine might do as well. So I can use their experience to my advantage. Less money spent on market research, more available to spend else where.

EOC WEEK 9: Three Mission Statements

After looking through all my classmates Blog I narrowed it down to what I believe are the top three ones. Here they are in alphabetical order starting out with Eric Arquileta he got down to business describing what the company is about and what it stands for. I got the message of quality. His backpacks will be standing the test of time. The next one by Kayleigh Bloomfield I noticed right off the bat that hers was to the point. It got down to the specifics of what she was trying to state and held the same overall feel throughout her mission statement. All the while writing with authority. I know her underwear for men will marketed right and be comfy all at the same time. The third mission statement that I came across that I liked was Ray Otero’s. His mission statement clearly states two sides to his product eliminating odor while maintaining an environmental safe product so no aerosol items. Which I feel created an overall good tone about what his product stands for. I know his product of Febreeze odor eliminator will be one with cleanliness in mind. I picked these three because I believe they all have done a splendid job. A quote that fits these is “An organization exists to accomplish something and this purpose should be clearly stated.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, Gary Armstrong 2011 pg. 39) All three have done just so.

EOC Week 8: Disastrous New Products

There are products that are thought up but should never see the light of day, but yet somehow they make it to the consumer market. Now the one’s you’re about to reading about it I guarantee would never make it to stores but just the idea of them is enough to get you to think about what if.  Something that meets those criteria is skunk perfume. Everyone knows that it would just be a horrible idea but I wouldn't be surprised if something actually came up with it and tried to market it even though it smells absolutely horrible. I picture them as being a foreigner though, someone from Europe most likely. Don't hate that’s just how I picture it. Another disastrous new product that wouldn't make any sense at all would be a spiky volleyball. It just wouldn't work to play with. Sure it might look cool, but the only safe place for it would be on a shelve collecting dust, and what would be the point of that? Something that might be a little more particle but still disastrous could be a computer mouse made out of a real dead mouse. You could just have the top portion of it with bottom left to glide on surfaces. The buttons would still be there underneath the skin but there wouldn’t be a scroll wheel on it because it just wouldn’t work too well. The mouse wouldn’t last too long because it would start to decay and stink unless it was persevered so it could last. It’s a little disturbing at the thought of using a once live mouse to control your computer. I know I certainly wouldn’t use it.

Target Market Strategy

The target market for my product would be of course men so logically it would be a good idea to put it where men shop. The problem with doing that not all men do the shopping. So now it would have to be a place where both men and women can be found shopping, because a woman might want to pick it up for her boyfriend of husband. “The marketing manager’s aim is to find, attract, keep, and grow target customers by creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value” (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 9) This fits because it could also appeal to women who want to buy something for a man in their life. If I had it my way it would be in all stores that fit that criteria, but since I can't a good place to have Kitchen Tools would be a place like Sears. Seems like it would fit in with what the store already sells, and it's not a cheap store nor is it expensive so my product would fit right in. Since there is an “art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them” (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong and Kotler, pg. 9) I will have to pick my main market wisely.

SWOT Analysis

My product Kitchen Tools has both it's pros and cons, just like any other product. For my strengths the product will be innovative never before has a kitchen utensils been combined with tools. So we have the edge on the competition there. It was also be affordable, and good quality made in the good ol' USA, not from China. Another plus will be the warranty, if it breaks we'll replace it. As long as we deem it wasn't due to improper use. For my weaknesses since it is an older product with a new twist, it will have to be promoted differently as not to confuse it will items of the past. So there’s more costs there. With knowing my, “overall evaluation of the company’s strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).” (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 55) I can make a better judgment call on what to do.

Objectives

The four main objectives for my product of Kitchen Tools, is to get men to buy the kitchen untensils, to improve their cooking abilities, to impress others with new founded skill, and eat better. This objectives can be achived through making the product appeal to men right off the bat. If it doesn't grab their attention fast they'll lose interest very quickly.With the next objective you may ask, "how will it improve their cooking?" The answer is it will not directly improve it but by practicing they will develop the neccessary skills for them to succeed with it. Now with the next objective it will be better if their is lady around the house that usually does the cooking. Since the man will be part taking in the activity as well this will take a load off of her and as long as the food isn't half bad she should be impressed unless she is expecting too much. The last objective of Kitchen Tools is to eat better, with cooking for yourself and not going out to fast food and even sit down restraunts you know what it is going into your food. While these objectives may just seem product related, "the broad mission leads to a hierarchy of objects, including buiness objects and marketing objectives" (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg. 43). These all lead to the final product. These objectives have lead me to the final product which will still be an on going thing. Since "research and design is expensive and requires improved profits to plow back into research programs" (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong & Kotler, pg.43). I will use my funds to not only improve my product but to expand as well.

Mission Statement

Mission statements are meant to give an image of what the comapny is trying to achieve with their products or services. In our marketing book it says, "Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace." ( Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, Gary Armstrong pg. 40) I beleive my mission statements covers those points. The point of my Kitchen Tools product will be to get men into the kitchen to enjoy cooking with their tools. This will be done with utensils that they will have fun using. These will simulate real garage type tools but will be solely meant for kitchen use due to being actual utensils. Not only will men have fun using these products to cook with, but they will be impressing the ladies with the ability to handle the tools so well. This will be due to the fact that their already familiar with them from such places as the garage or construction work. We here at Kitchen Tools Inc. find it very important that men know how to cook well, and with the amount of research put into our product we have found one of the downfalls has been utensil design. We’re not guaranteeing you will cook better, because we can’t promise those sort of things, but if you buy our wonderful product you will learn proper technique and you will go on from there to learn how to cook impressively.

EOC: Final Project Pitch

Thinking of products for men isn’t the easiest thing to do even though I am one myself. However, I got to thinking what don’t men have in the house that they like to use? The answer is tools. But of course these aren’t automotive tools or anything like that, but tools in which to cook food with. Men love to eat well; of course some women do too but some men just go crazy and need to eat the best. So why not create a cooking set that is built for a man? There’s nothing feminine about it all, men just simply need their own set of utensils and things for the kitchen. You can’t go wrong with shiny stainless steel; men love this stuff along with black and other darker colors. Nothing bright, and vivid here, those types of colors don’t come to mind when thinking about tools of any sort. Think of a nice set of kitchen utensil; now picture them with various tool handles as the grips and such. BOOM you've got yourself a great set of mens tools for the kitchen.. Now let’s come into terms with reality here, woman are going out on their own to work now and men are left with the challenge of coming up with what’s for dinner. So let’s impress our ladies and Cook like a man, she may not let us bring our outside tools into the house but now we can finally make a proper mess in the kitchen.

EOC Week 6: 9 Apps

It's all about the apps these days. What's the newstest, coolest app that's taking the market by storm? They can be free or paid for doesn't matter, but their usually cheap. Now of course along with the good theres also the bad, the pointless, and the ones that just don't do crap. Too bad we can't just flush those out and replace them with something that's actually useful or entertaining.
Anyone that has an iPhone knows what Angry Birds is. This has earned itself the title of #1 paid app for the apple app store. Who knew that slinging birds at green pigs that steal eggs could be so much fun? Another good app would have to be the The Weather Channel I look at this everyday to figure out the local temperature, and even all the way back in IL. My third choice would have to be Netflix. It's great! I can watch movies wherever, whenever I want. Sure there are other apps that may be more useful, and do things, but for me these are what fits.
When you think of the worst apps, what comes to mind? I think of stupid fart apps. Yea sure their a little funny at first but they get old real fast and annoying. Another stupid one is called Hold The Button. That’s pretty much all it is. You’re just supposed to hold your finger on the screen for as long as you can. That’s dumb.. Then a third one is special because at three dollars its completely stupid when I’ve seen similar apps for free. It’s called Shout It, and it displays big scrolling text across the screen. Sure it might have a few other things with it the free ones don’t but at three dollars why spend it when you can get virtually the same for free??
All these good and bad apps have me now thinking about what sort of apps I would create. The first one I thought of was a diet and calorie nutrition tracking app. However instead of having to search for the food you would have the ability to scan the barcode or take a picture of the nutrition facts and then it would log it as part of your daily intake. Another one would be America’s Most Wanted this would display all the bad guys that are wanted around the country for the more serious crimes. Lastly they need to make a mario game. Even if it was just a remake of one of the games from Super Nintendo it would be ok. However I don't think apple and Nintendo will be partnering up anytime soon to make such a thing happen, and thats a shame..

EOC Week 5: Best and Worst Super Bowl Commercials

Let's be honest here, we watch the Super Bowl manily for the commercials. It doesn't matter who is playing; people will generally tune in to catch some of the great ads the companies pay millions of dollars to play during the game. This year it wasn't as good as others unfortunately, however the best one for me had to be the  Tommy Chevy Silverado ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwgJzNHvJ-c For me it made me think of my friend Tommy back in IL because he's always doing something stupid. I happen to be texting with another friend from back in IL at the time of the commercial and he brought it up as soon as it was done airly and we laughed about the similarities. It's ads like this Chevy one that connect with consumers like me on a personal level and get the attention they need. That makes for good marketing. Now their are also the commercials that are just no good and you wonder why would anyone think that up? A commercial that fits that description is the Go Daddy Joan Rivers ad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htFlkfjOkNA Really who thought of that? Who wants to see Joan River’s fakeness on a hot body that isn’t hers, because there is no way her body looks that youthful. Obviously their trying to use sex to sell their product which is a dot.com business that provides domain names. But why go out on a wire and use Joan Rivers?? They should’ve just stuck with Danica Patrick and the other good looking women they use. I don’t understand their marketing technique at all. Maybe it’s meant to entice us in an distrubing way? I’m not sure. They should’ve used the real girl Tabitha Taylor. Now that would be worth taking another look at.

Week 4 EOC: B2B vs. Consumer Marketing

When it comes to business the customer is always right. The thing with that is who is the customer? Well it can be a everyday common person or it can be another company. Big businesses do deals with other companies to get what they need. Let's take GE for example, here is a company that has been around for a long time, and has their hands in more than one proverival "cookie jar".
Obvisouly those cookie jars are other businesses. Why deal with the little people when, “most of GE’s business comes not from final consumers but from commercial and industrial customers across a wide range of industries.”(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10^th Edition) Sure they still market to the little people, but that’s only a small percentage of their final figures. With marketing you have to let your consumers know what you make and that takes advertising. Before today I had no idea that they dealt with trains or even media. They just don’t market those areas to people outside of business because we the average people don’t need to own them or have them managed. With that it mean that they only have to advertise a certain part of their business to the general public. The industry already knows what they have to offer. This gives them more room to deal with their bigger clients since big business is more what this company is about. “The reach of GE’s businesses is reflected in our expansive line of products and services that span many industries and customers worldwide.”(http://www.ge.com/products_services/index.html) Everything from trains to healthcare, and almost everything in between this company has it covered.

Week 3 EOC: Donation

Donating organizations have been around for some time now, doing good by giving to the less fortunate and helping them out is the name of their game. One of those companies is McDonalds. I may not find their food at all pleasing in fact I find it all to be disgusting besides a Mcflurry but that’s besides the point. They actually do good things when it comes to helping out people, and families in various ways around the world. While this is a charity and not a company that outright donates for different causes, it still does a lot of good. On the Ronald McDonald House Charities website is say that their mission is to, “is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children.” (http://rmhc.org/who-we-are/mission-and-vision/) What their doing is making sure children all over the world have the care they need to pull through whatever they may be going through. The way they make this work is by accepting donations from the pubic as well as from private sources then they take that money and put it where its needed. All their programs set out to make the children and their families feel the most comfortable through their difficult times. These programs aren’t only in America but are also in 52 countries. So their doing good around the world. Helping out people who need it the most., keeping the families by their children so they can provide the strength to their young ones. It’s really a great practice they have going on here. Their very right to recognize that kids need the most help to pass through the hard times, and this is a charity donation program I hope continues on giving to those who need it.
　

Week 3 EOC: My Demographic

People would say that since I’m 23 I would fit into the category of Millennia’s and they would be right. That’s the correct demographic that I fit into. According to our marketing book, “The Millennial’s were the first generation to grow up in a world filled with computers, cell phones, satellite TV, iPods, and online social networks.”(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10^th Edition)  I’m all hip when it comes to fancy new technology. I know the next big thing that is supposed to come out when and when it’s going to do to the market in terms of how it will revolutionize it. I’m also into gaming, which not too many age groups indulge in other sure you still find the older crowd doing it too, but not as much as the 20 sums. Something else that the text goes into is how Obama got many Millennials to go out and vote for him by appealing to the younger crowd and getting their vote because he was “understanding” of them and could market to them well. I’ll tell ya right now that I don’t like the guy, but this isn’t the time or place to talk politics really so I’ll leave that for another post possibly. With my age group comes responsibility you have the younger age group looking up to us, but then you also have the baby boomers looking down on us while we try not to mess up and make ourselves look bad. It can be really difficult at times to represent our group the Millennials well when you hear about people my own age doing so much wrong. It doesn’t matter though, I don’t want to be any younger or any older right now. I’m just fine the way I am.

Week 2 EOC: Video Games

The market for videogames flocculates from time to time, just like other leisure’s, these are put on the back burner for less costly forms of entertainment sometimes. However videogame makers are figuring out ways to lower prices of their systems, to maintain a level of competition with all that’s available including other video game systems. To keep in line with the economy, “The price cuts are responses to weakening consumer demand, but they have come relatively late because the console makers have to adjust their inventories and also reduce the costs of the electronics inside the machines.”(http://venturebeat.com/2009/08/27/console-price-war-finally-arrives-as-microsoft-cuts-xbox-360-price-by-100/) Lets face it, Microsoft, Playstation, and the Wii don’t get along. They all want a piece of the market. Now there’s an even newer contender; Apple and all it’s cheap game apps. This throws a whole nother aspect to it. Now you have stationary vs. portable play anytime games. It means different things for different people. Some would much rather sit down and play on a big screen than squint at an iPhone’s small screen. All of them will cost some initially but they start to differ when it comes to the price of their games. “According to analysis from 148apps.biz, the average price for an iPhone game is currently $1.24”(http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/App+Store/news.asp?c=23163) This is really cheap when you compare them to console games that are at $60 when their brand new. It depends on what you want to buy though. Are you in the market for portable, playable whenever or do you want to sit down in front of a nice big TV and game away? Just remember that someday the replacements will come out for the existing system and the trend will happen all over. Each one lowering their prices to get the edge on the other.

Week 1 EOC About Me

When I was a young boy growing up I wanted to be a paleontologist, and have a blast digging up dinosaur bones. Every young child has dreams of what they’ll grow up doing. The chances of them actually making a career out of those childhood dreams are relatively small I’m willing to bet. There’s nothing wrong with that though. We grow and develop all the while our interest change, that’s just life. For me this so called path I have taken that has gotten me to where I am now. Hasn’t been the most direct path but it has made me who I am. As a child, photography was never on my horizons. Sure I liked to take pictures as a lot of kids do, but I never thought I would be pursuing it like I am now. Simply put I was at a loss at what to do for awhile then I came upon high school and I started thinking since I like cars so much, why not go to school to learn how to work on them? I went on to go to Universal Technical Institute for automotive repair, enjoyed it, learned plenty, and graduated. Started working in the field for a little bit and it just wasn’t the same. It started losing its appeal quickly. I continued on and all the while I was picking up my camera more and more often. I only had a point and shoot camera, but I knew I wanted a DSLR so I could take even better shots. So I stepped it up to bigger camera. Started taking more pictures and before I knew it I was going back to school and taking photography classes. I knew this was something I wanted to continue even more. I had an even better feeling about it than when I was working on cars. Sure they are totally different but something about cameras has become more appealing to me. I can still incorporate cars into it by taking pictures of them. When you’re able to combine two loves into one, it’s a great thing. Another part of photography that I have gotten into is fashion modeling shots. Taking pictures of an attractive woman is a great thing. Don’t think I’m one sided about what gender I would shoot though, I just haven’t worked with any men so far. It all equals more business, which is of course what I want. As for what type of business I actually want I’m not sure. You can either work for yourself or work for someone else. Each has their own pros and cons. Come to think of it it’s possible to do both which would be even better. It would be twice the work, but it would be worth it. You’ve got to push yourself for what you want. No one is going to hand it to you, as nice as that sounds there is no reward in it. No sense of accomplishment. Also no respect, which is very important. I’ve got to gain that, by working at the bottom and climbing up through the ranks. It will be worth it though in the end. When you do something you enjoy it makes it that much less of a job, and that’s what I’m going for here. I couldn’t be the type of person that comes in daily just to sit on their ass and stare at computer screen all day, every day. My job will get me out there doing various type of shoots, and then the editing which I like to do as well. Of course this is talking ideally. I’ve got to put myself out there now, network and meet the right people.

Top of Form

Week 1 EOC Great Customer Service

My last great customer experience would have be when I took my car into the dealership to have some work done this past December. It started when I first noticed my differential lights were lit on my dash, so I took it in, and there was nothing visually wrong with anything. They topped my diff fluid off and told me to keep an eye on it. No money exchanged hands. Shortly after that I heard the dreaded “death whine” which means my transfer case was starting to go out. I took it back in where they confirmed it for me that I indeed needed a new transfer case. I was pretty unhappy by this point but they assured me that once they heard back from the warranty rep they would begin working on it right away. That eased my mind some. However, there was still the matter of what I was going to do for transportation seeing as my car was down. Again the good folks there came through and got a hold of enterprise for me. The rental car was gonna be on them as well. From there it was on to enterprise that was just a little ways down the street nonetheless they picked me and got me a car fairly quick which was a pleasant experience. Seeing as I thought it would take awhile. Two days go by, and I get phone call saying my car is done; its ready to be picked up. I take the rental car back, get a ride over to the dealership, and there I find my car all fixed up. I then signed some papers and that was it. No money at all for the parts or labor. The dealership knew that, “the key to building lasting customer relationships is to create superior customer value and satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to be loyal customers and to give the company a larger share of their business.(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corportation,10 Edition, pg. 19) That is all very true they have a loyal customer now.