End of Semester Thoughts

With finals rapidly approaching, I thought it would be prudent to give some final thoughts regarding this semester and how this marketing course has changed my views of things. Looking back on this semester, which has gone by very quickly, I realize how wrong I was about the whole subject of marketing. I originally thought it was a simple concept, easily explained by the 4 p's: price, product, promotion, place. I was so, so wrong about marketing. Marketing is not all about getting consumers to purchase a product using advertisements, even though that is a big part of the subject, but relies heavily on creating value that will in turn lead to a relationship with consumers. Developing a relationship with consumers is paramount in marketing because there is nothing more profitable than creating positive customer relationships. Such relationships will result in not only their business, but their friend's and relative's business as they spread the word about how your product is worth the purchase. I have learned that creating value for customers is the bane of marketing's existence because it allows for the rest of the marketing mix to be useful. With value there is no consumer and in turn there is no profit. 

Taking a marketing course has also opened my eyes to the schemes of marketers through various forms of media. I will never be able to watch a television program again without thinking to myself, "who are they trying to target with this ad?", or "why would they choose to air that advertisement during this show?". My days of watching television like any other person not schooled in the ways of marketing. Even though I have always had a vague idea that advertisements were aired on certain channels purposely, I never fully realized that a lot of money was invested into that ad spot. Marketing is a huge industry that generates and invests millions of dollars for companies. This was a fact that I was not aware of before this course. I did know that marketing was an investment but I did not know the analytics that played such a key role in creating a marketing strategy. Going into the course I did not expect to be using excel as often as we did to compare profitability as well as organize data to make it more easily readable. 

No matter what I do in my life, the things I have learned in marketing are for sure going to follow me and continue to help me understand how businesses work. There is no secret that businesses rely on their marketing teams to capture market share and bring an increase of profitability to the company. The better marketing team a company has, the more capital the company will be able to invest in themselves and other business endeavors. As this blog comes to a close I would be remiss not to mention the value of the NewShoes simulation, which gave a realistic look of how a marketing team interacts with different markets and costs of marketing. The simulation was very helpful and I would not have taken as much out of this course without completing the simulation.

Thanksgiving or Christmas?

As we approach Thanksgiving, some might get the impression that we have skipped that holiday and have moved right on to Christmas. Advertisements and stores have skipped over any sort of Thanksgiving themed ads and have already started marketing their low prices for gifts that you will need more than a month from now. It seems as if every year the seasons go from Halloween, a commercially powered holiday, straight to Christmas, the most commercialized holiday on the calendar. Every year I am disappointed that turkey day gets no love on the television and every year I am left wondering: why doesn't Thanksgiving get any airtime.

To answer my own question, the reason that Christmas is marketed in late October and early November is because businesses have become aware that people shop for gifts during the offseason when the prices are still low. Because Christmas has turned into buying and receiving gifts rather than its original religious origins, it is important for stores to gain a large increase in sales around the holiday. Christmas is historically the most profitable time for many retail stores and because of this they need to demonstrate their value to prospective consumers before any other stores can persuade them. The reason Thanksgiving is not nearly as celebrated or advertised by companies is because there really is no way for stores to profit. The only people that may make a profit because of Thanksgiving are grocery stores and kitchen ware sellers. Other than those two sellers, there really is no other markets for Thanksgiving. If it was custom to give gifts on Thanksgiving, we would start seeing Thanksgiving advertisements in July.

All of this being said, I still like to argue that my favorite holiday of them all is Thanksgiving. It just does not get more simple or more American than gathering with family, eating a large dinner in the early afternoon, then sleeping all day while there is football on the television. Thanksgiving to me represents the American dream. Family, food, football is all you really need in life. Not that I have any grudges against Christmas, it really is a great holiday, its just that there is too much hustle and bustle around the holiday to actually relax. Of course everyone likes receiving gifts, but there is always that awkward time when you receive a gift that you do not really like and have to blatantly and awkwardly try to muster up any fake feelings of joy you can. Receiving a bad gift is equivalent to giving someone a pity laugh after a bad joke. Everyone knows the sentiment is fake and everyone feels awkward that they had to witness such a fake moment. Nevertheless, people still seem to love Christmas.

Maybe it says something about me that my favorite Christmas themed movie is "The Grinch". Not the old, cartoon version, but the new version which stars Jim Carrey and the girl who kinda looks like Taylor Swift. The Grinch has it right though, people put way too much stock into gifts and material possessions instead of gathering with family, which is what holidays should be about. All I'm saying is Thanksgiving is the best holiday because it is the most simple.

Twitter and Marketing

I just wanted to take a minute to discuss how important Twitter has become, not only for marketing, but in every aspect of life as well. It is well known that social media has altered the business landscape greatly, but I argue that Twitter has had the greatest impact. Whenever networks want to gauge public opinion on a certain issue, they tweet out a question and watch how their followers respond. Whether it is CNN asking about the markets or some political issue, or ESPN asking about sports, Twitter has become very important for businesses. As I sit here and watch Bloomberg, hey have gone to Twitter twice for a public opinion poll; one poll asking about Obama, the other asking about the recession in Japan. No matter what the question, businesses feel comfortable turning to Twitter.
 
If you have ever been on Twitter you might be surprised with the trust some companies have with this network, because there are a lot of idiots on Twitter. And I mean A LOT. Anybody who has ever had an account can tell you that Twitter is often used as a platform for people to voice some of their most biased and ignorant opinions. Every now and then, there is a controversy regarding a Twitter outcry that sheds a negative and racist light on people. When the Bruins lost to the Capitals on an overtime goal scored by Joel Ward, who happens to be African American, in the playoffs a couple years ago, ESPN highlighted racist tweets sent by Boston fans. These tweets not only embarrassed the city of Boston, but showed the dark underbelly of the twitter sphere. When it comes to Twitter you take the good with the bad, I guess. What is used as a medium of free-thinking and group discussion can often breed hate and ignorance.

Twitter has also become very important for businesses attempting to target certain markets. If you choose to follow a company or product on Twitter your timeline will be filled with ads that are similar to the products you have followed. For instance, I followed a financing company and now I frequently get ads on my timeline of other companies similar to the one that I have followed. Now it is a little off-putting that they are able to track whatever I do, but I cannot argue that it is good marketing. Every commercial you see ends with a voice saying, "follow us on Twitter", which is surprising because I did not realize many non-millenials used the app. Business men and women rely on Twitter now for quick news. By quick news I mean a quick headline or recap of the story without actually having to read a 500 word article. They have the option to read the article if they wish, but often they are checking Twitter on the go and do not have time for a long read.

On a personal note, my father has recently joined Twitter because of the easy access to news. In a business environment, being able to gain access to the most update info is key to stay ahead of the markets as much as possible. My dad follows only financial companies and his kids, but I would be willing to bet he pays more attention to the financials.

The Brady vs. Manning Debate

Unless you live under a rock, or just choose to ignore media outlets altogether, you have heard about the great rivalry between Quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. These are two of the most decorated and revered players in the current NFL and because they are so great, every sporting news outlet decided to hype this game up as much as the Superbowl. Brady and the Patriots ultimately overcame Manning and the Broncos, but it did not come without a full week spent talking about whose legacy is better than whose. The two players were analyzed ad nauseam throughout the week and people like me, even though a huge supporter of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, had to turn off ESPN, if only for a brief moment. The meeting of the quarterbacks highlights how the PR machine in sports works, focus on the best players on each team and hype their match-ups to no end. Obviously, this can get extremely boring but because so many young men and women who watch sports flock to Sportscenter, ESPN never really loses viewers.

                                                 The infamous Brady/Manning post-game handshake

It is obvious to see that ESPN blatantly has their favorite players they like to focus on much more than others. LeBron James is a player that, no matter what sport is in season, will be talked about on a daily basis. This alienates viewers, you either love LeBron, or you detest him. This all happens for  reason though, ESPN is a business and works closely with the sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NFL, etc.), and for the leagues to profit off of merchandise, they need to have merchandisable players. ESPN shoves these players down our throats in order to create household names whose jerseys will fly off the shelves. ESPN is a business and like any other business they will do whatever they need to make a profit including talking about the same subject hours on end. They disguise this tactic by having multiple shows where people debate on the subject. The shows may be different but the cast of the show continue talking about the same topics as Sportscenter. As you can see, some people get frustrated by ESPN, but ultimately never stop watching the network.

All of ESPN's tactics were on display this past week when they were trying to advertise the rivalry between the two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Seemingly every ESPN employee and their mother was debating who was the better player, the one with the most Super Bowl rings(Brady), or the one with all the gaudy stats(Manning). Brady ultimately ended up trouncing Manning's team, which did not end the debate for ESPN. The network was able to generate more hours of programming from this outcome by continuing to talk about the pairs' history with each other and how Manning's legacy will be affected by his head to head match-ups with Brady. In all of this talk about Brady and Manning, it was hard to remember that there were actually 14 other games played this week.

Personal Branding

If I were a an athlete, a celebrity, or anyone notable of any kind, I would make it paramount to have a public relations team in charge of building me up to the public. Everywhere you look, celebrities are doing things to create a brand for themselves in the public sphere. Whether it be having a PR rep run your twitter or Facebook account, or going on evening talk shows to promote a movie or album, there is never an action taken by celebrities in front of a camera not related to marketing. It seems like every PR firm is an expert at manipulating the masses to create an identity for their client.

A sterling example of this identity creation is Beyonce, aka "Queen Bey". For some reason girls around the world adore Beyonce, even buying products that have the slogan "Beyonce has the same amount of hours in the day as you do". Sure, she is a mother, a singer, and sometimes and actress, but it is not like she has to struggle very hard to get something she wants. She is married to Jay-Z, one of the richest men in music business, and has been making money for herself since her times with Destiny's Child. I am not trying to diminish any of her accomplishments, just simply trying to comprehend how she turned into Superwoman in many people's eyes. Her marketing team is brilliant, creating enough of a buzz about the woman herself to allow her album to reach number one on the charts without a leading single or video. That type of success is unheard of today in the music industry, and it is all because her fans have bought the idea of Queen Bey.

After watching a short documentary produced by ESPN about football player Brian "the Boz" Bosworth, it is evident that sometimes creating an alternate identity for yourself can actually be detrimental to your brand. The Boz was a linebacker for Oklahoma in the '80s, an ostentatious, flashy guy who cut his hair and created controversy before every game. This image worked for him his first year, but eventually he became consumed in the brand and let it take over his life and cause him to lose his career. But along the way he was able to market himself and profit off of his anti-hero persona. His company produced shirts that contained anti-Boz rhetoric on them and sold them to opposing fans when his team would play them. Everyone in the stadium wore them because he was so hated. Although he did have astounding abilities on the football field, he let his agent and his marketing team control his life to the point that he was no longer Brian, but only "The Boz".

                                                         The Boz in his prime at Oklahoma

Seemingly ones of the only celebrities who does not let their social media accounts be monitored by a PR team is singer Rihanna. She constantly posts raunchy pictures of herself on Instagram, says vulgar things to people who talk trash about her on Twitter, and is always in the headlines for something. This works for her however, because she has accepted her role as the bad girl of hip-hop. She is almost the opposite of Beyonce marketing wise, but she has embraced this and gained from it gained many fans. I'm not sure if she and her PR team have decided this is the route she should take, or if she is a PR nightmare.

Marketing in the Music Industry

I, like millions of other people around the world, enjoy listening to music. But I have come to realize how large of a role marketing has in the music industry, whether creating a commercially successful artist or name-dropping the artists' favorite brands. For example, there are a million struggling artists with real talent not being able to make money with their music while rappers who can barely rhyme make millions. Why is this occurring you ask? Marketing is why. Marketing is the reason for everything. If a musician is able to create a brand around himself and create value for the listener they will for sure sell albums which will lead to tour dates, which will ultimately lead to profits. A prime example of this phenomenon is the rapper French Montana. French is the farthest thing from the most talented rapper but because he is charismatic and endorsed by the right people, he has been able to build a brand around himself while creating value for listeners.There is a flipside to this coin however, as immensely talented artists stay under the radar and never achieve success that they may deserve.

                                                           French Montana displaying his wealth

Also, branding in the music industry is very important. Rappers often brag about all the expensive things they buy with their money, giving listeners an implanted idea of lavish things they should aspire to own. Many clothing brands have benefited greatly from this. One listen to A$AP Rocky's song "Fashion Killa" will make you want to splurge on a fashion trip in Paris. Artists love bragging about the things they can afford and that will not stop as long as there is branding involved.

Product Placement

  Watching television nowadays is equivalent to sitting down and reading a coupon book. No matter what, without fail, there will probably be ten minutes of actual programming followed by a bevy of advertisements. This is to be expected though, because television ads are the best way to reach the most amount of viewers. Not only can you reach a vast amount of viewers you can target who you want based on the program. For example, every Sunday during the NFL season there will be beer commercials, truck commercials, and insurance commercials. This is because the main viewers of these games are American males that like trucks, beers, and money. On the other hand, you watch an episode of Gossip Girl (not that I know from experience), you will probably see make-up or other commercials that target females.
   Marketers are incredibly clever for doing this approach because it is so efficient. There are no wasted commercial slots on television because all the advertisements are uniquely tailored for their targets. As I sit here and watch NFL games I have counted a beer commercial every break in action, as well as a commercial for Fantasy football. I have previously blogged about the NFL being a cash cow, but it is absolutely ridiculous now. Next Sunday the NFL will be hosting a game in London, an untapped market for the American game. I am interested to see how the locals will react to our sport, as there have been previous attempts to create a franchise there. My prediction is that the two teams will play a mediocre game and the NFL's attempt to expand their product will ultimately fail again.
   Some advertisements make me depressed when I realize what kind of audience is being marketed to. While watching daytime television during what would usually be a work day, it is easy to see that companies are marketing to the unemployed. For instance, there are always commercials for technical schools and places that give patents. Also, late night commercials make me feel guilty because they are targeting the depraved adult market. Comedy Central is notorious for advertising raunchy videos that are only available to be bought by adults. Long story short, I plead with viewers to analyze what commercials they see when watching their program and to whom the commercials are intended.