In Response To Rebecca's Post...

Do you think an experiment like this could happen in the US?

I personally think this is a hilarious commercial put on by TNT. The advertisement is very unique and I have never seen a commercial like it. In that sense it is very eye catching and grabs one’s attention right away. The commercial completely captures TNT’s slogan “We Know Drama” in a very creative way. I think it would be great to see an experiment in the U.S. yet honestly I don’t think it would be able to happen. With all of the laws and regulations set by our government I feel like something like this would end in multiple law suits or an idea for a commercial like this would get turned down right away. However, I do think it would be neat to see commercials in the U.S get more creative like this.

In what way do you think a company could make a creative commercial like this?

In Response to Joe's post...

Do you think it's a good idea for marketers to use product placement?

I think product placement in movies is a great way for companies to market their products. Like Joe had mentioned in his post, most people today don’t like to watch commercials and previews, where most product advertisements occur. People like to get right to the movie or TV show they are watching and with the technology today, people can do this. Many people like to watch their TV shows online and sometimes there may be 30 seconds worth of advertisements, if any. Also today we have things like Netflix where people can go right on their TVs or laptops and select a movie and it starts right away with no previews. DVDs also have a feature that lets you skip previews and get right to the main menu where you can start playing a movie and I along with many other people I am sure do this. However, if the product is places right in the movie or TV show there is no way the consumer can avoid seeing it. It’s right there. Also if people see their favorite actors or actresses using a certain product like Coca Cola for example, then those viewers may want to start drinking Coke. 

Can you think of a product you saw in a movie or TV show multiple times and then went and bought the product?

Using Fragrances as a Marketing Tool...

Have you ever walked by a store and smelt a pleasant ambient scent that drew you in? Many stores, retail in particular, are using this marketing technique to influence consumers buying decisions. Multiple experiments have revealed that a pleasant fragrance positively influences consumers’ affective reactions, evaluations, and intentions to revisit the store. The only downfall of this marketing tactic is that scents in the store may not be desirable for all consumer types, especially if a company has a broadened target market. For example, I am attracted to the scent that comes from the Abercrombie store yet my mother is not. When she goes into the store to purchase an item for me as a gift her shopping time in the store is shortened due to the smell. On the other hand, as a younger consumer who is drawn to the scent my shopping time when I am in the store is prolonged because I do enjoy the scent and it doesn’t bother me; the scent motivates me to keep shopping. Strategically manipulating the store environment via ambient scents is an inexpensive yet effective way to positively influence consumer behavior; however, the decision to diffuse a scent should be based on the target audience.

Can you think of a store that has drawn you in because of a pleasant ambient scent? What do you think the target market of that store consists of?

In Response to Joe's Post...

Do you think Billboard Marketing should be a top choice for marketers to use?

I think billboard marketing should be a choice for marketers to use depending on the target market. People who see billboards are mostly driving on the highways, through major cities in cars. For the most part they are going to have middle to upper income levels since they will need to own a car, so it wouldn’t make sense for a company with a target market consisting of consumers with lower class incomes to use billboards for advertising their product or service. Also, if a company’s target market consists of younger children whom don’t have the ability to drive, then the company should probably consider using a different form of marketing that could actually reach their target market, rather than a Billboard that may not be seen by younger children. However, I think billboard marketing should definitely be a top choice for marketers to use if they know their target markets will see the billboards because it is very cost effective and efficient.

Can you think of a Billboard that you saw once that really caught your eye? What about the Billboard made it appealing to you?

Odd-Even Pricing...

Have you ever had more of a desire to buy a product priced at $19.99 rather than $20.00 thinking that you were getting a good deal? Or what about when deciding between two brands of the same product you bought the $20.00 one rather than the $19.99 one thinking the $20.00 one was of better quality? This is a popular psychological pricing method known as odd-even pricing based on the belief that certain prices are more appealing to buyers. This method involves setting a price in odd numbers, just under round even numbers, to make people think they are getting a better deal. Or if a company is looking to present an image of high quality for their product they may decide to price the product at even levels, which is also known as prestige pricing. Prestige pricing is another psychological pricing method that involves setting a higher price to ensure higher quality compared to a lower priced product. An example of this would be a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses is usually priced around $150.00 as opposed to a cheaper pair that one may find at Walmart priced at $9.99. Ray Ban prices their sunglasses at a higher price ending in even numbers to promote high quality and Walmart prices the sunglasses at $9.99 to promote a bargain.

Can you think of a product you recently bought because it was priced in odd numbers? When buying it did you think the price was lower than it really was?

In Response to Rebecca's Post...

If this trend continues, what kinds of things will you do in order to cut back on the money you spend weekly on gas? Do you think that people will change their lifestyles to save money? 

The increase we have seen in gas prices already is astonishing. Yesterday when I went for a walk in the morning I saw the price of gas to be $3.99/gallon and when I walked by the same gas station just 3 hours later it had already gone up to $4.02/gallon! As Rebecca stated in her post, gas has an inelastic demand for it since people need to purchase it no matter what happens to the price. I do feel however that even though the demand for gas is inelastic, people will try to cut back on consuming it by carpooling and taking other means of transportation. Recently I took the Amtrak train to Burlington, VT from Brattleboro, VT and the price of a ticket each way was only $12 making the roundtrip to be $24. When I drove to Burlington from Keene about a month ago I spent about $50 in gas total. Taking the train is clearly much cheaper than driving a car and I will now try to take the train whenever I can in order to cut back on the money I would be spending on gas. I definitely think other people will start trying to change the way they go about their daily lives in order to conserve gas.

What is another major product you can think of with an inelastic demand? If the price of this item increases do you think consumers will find ways to conserve their overall use of the product?

Top Brand In The World

As of the start of 2012, Apple Inc. became the top brand of the world putting Google in second place. The value of the enterprise is at $350,257 million and Apple's brand value is worth over $70,605 million, up about $40,000 million from 2011. Apple sells everything from smart phones to digital music and is best known for its Macintosh computers and iPods, iPhones, and iPads. Apple is the most valuable technology company, surpassing Microsoft. Microsoft dominated the business world providing goods and services that satisfied the needs of businesses, yet Apple's focus is on satisfying consumers wants and needs and this clearly generates the largest revenue. There are four distinct components of brand value which include reputation value, relationship value, experiential value, and symbolic value. Apple has become the most successful brand because they possess great value within these four components. Apple is always improving it's products and coming out with new versions of products that sell well. This helps create a great brand loyalty which Apple has with each of its consumers and has given Apple a good reputation value. People rarely complain with their Apple products and people have such a good experience with their Apple products that when a new version is released, they demand it and this has given the brand a good experiential value. Consumers find the Apple brand to be very reliable, and Apple provides good value for the money that is exchanged for their products which has helped establish a good relationship value with its consumers. And lastly, the Apple brand has a symbolic value which consists of being "the best of the best". When people see the Apple symbol on products they know that the product is   an Apple product and is of high quality and is worth a good amount of money.

When you see the Apple symbol/logo what do you think of? What are your first thoughts that come to mind about the brand or product?