This semester flew by really fast. I can’t believe it’s the end of the semester already and I am writing my last blog for this class. I really enjoyed how the class was organized. It was very different from all of the other classes I have taken at UT. A typical class is usually to attend the lecture, read the book, and then take the exam. But this class was different in the aspect that it was not based on how good you can memorize for a test but actually to your ability to apply the material you learn in class by doing a project throughout the semester.
As I said already, this class required us to apply what we actually learn in the class to our group project. And because of that I understood what the meaning of “’Customer Insight” is. I realized and learned how important it is to gain the insights about consumers on any future product/services that is going to be launched in market. It is also very important to gain the insights on the current product that is already out in market because it helps the marketers to understand the pros and cons of that product and it also tells that if there is a need for any changes or upgrade to apply to the current product to better fulfill the customer’s needs. I also learned how important it is to actually understand the “key insights” for to better emphasize the needs of consumers. Key insight requires looking at the big picture, rather than looking at small pieces, so the product can fulfill all the requirement necessary for the particular segment. Prior to taking this class I knew that marketers do research on how to apply and satisfy the needs of the segment they are targeting but I did not know the actual process. And it was interesting to learn all the steps of how to gain insights on a specific segment and then apply it to make a product that meets with all the segment’s needs and wants. I am also using the skills I have learned throughout the class and throughout the project to write my final paper.
Another concept I learned throughout this project was about the importance of using the right kind of method to do gain the insights from your segment and then evaluating the results to use it to create a product. This project made me realize that using the right method is really important to get the accurate information. For example for our 14-15 year old girls, we used photo journals, focus group, and interviews. Depending on our segment we chose these methods to gain our insights. Photo journals were very helpful in deciding what these girls liked and disliked. By doing a focus group we were able to see how girls are influenced by other girls when giving answers to our questions. We were able to see if the answers were depended on one girl who dominated the group or not. By conducting the personal interviews we were able to see if the responses were still similar to the answers received in focus group or not. But the answers of girls were about the same from both methods. The photos they provided also showed similar themes. If we were to maybe use surveys as a method to gain our insights, I don’t think it would have helped much. With surveys they are maybe not telling what the truth is and they might make up answers. Also it’s a hassle to read and mark/write your answers rather than just telling or speaking personally. It is also very important that once you gain all the insights you need to evaluate them properly. If you understand their needs and wants clearly then you will be able to provide the product that assures all their requirements.
Working with group for this class was a little different from working on any other class group projects because I feel this group project involved a lot of communication among each other. It also involved everyone to suggest ideas so that the product we make in the end is excellent. We also had a lot of ethnic/cultural diversity so it was interesting to sometimes go off topic and learn about other cultures. Our diversity was also helpful for the project because we were able to incorporate that into our insights as well. We had an interesting finding that no matter which background these 14-15 year old girls are from they do have similarities. As far as the class goes it was interesting and I felt I was free to ask or express my opinion in class. The class was very friendly and I think that made this class have a lot more interaction between students and professor. Compared to other classes I have had, professor sometimes make it either hard to approach them or either make the class boring so a lot of students don’t participate in class discussions, but this class did not have any of these issues and students were more than happy to participate in class discussions. I did not learn as much from the group, besides working with each group member and listening to the ideas they provide for the group, than learning from the class. I learned more from class and whatever I have learned in this class will always be useful for me later in life.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Blog 9
I randomly clicked on Brian Burke’s name as I was going through the list of names. I know him; he is in my group, so I ended up choosing him. As I scroll down his page I saw his #7 blog titled “Facebook.” Since I had written a blog on Facebook earlier I decided to read what he had to say about Facebook.
I am a regular user of Facebook and I get really frustrated when Facebook does all these changes on their websites. One thing I had not noticed myself, but I thought was interesting reading from Brian’s blog, was that they customize the ads on your Facebook page depending on your personality. When I wrote about the Facebook ads on one of my earlier blogs, I had mentioned that those ads do not appeal to me. I don’t even pay attention to them and neither do my friends. I knew Facebook is selling and letting others view our information but I had not paid attention to that they customize your page according to the information you provide on your Facebook page.
To see if the above was true, I did a little experiment. I noticed the ads playing on my Facebook page for 10-15 minutes and wrote down what I noticed. Some of the ads that were displayed on my page were about games, several ads on flight all around US, several ads on things related to fashion, apartment search, photography, style, organic foods, purses, makeup, acne treatment, salon ads, a lot of ads related to Hindi movies and music, fly worldwide, tea, and art related ads. When I compared to some of the things I have listed on my information page, not all, but many of these are related to things I have listed on my personal information page. I have listed things like I like art, tea, fashion, and I am a lot into Hindi movies and music. I don’t know why I got so many ads related to flying here and there. I did not put traveling as my interest on my personal information. But I have been talking about taking a trip to Pakistan in summer on my friends’ wall. So are the advertisers looking at the wall post and that too that carefully? That is creepy. I would not mind if another friend of mine who is listed as a friend on my Facebook comes up and tell me the things I am talking about with my friends on Facebook. Since I am talking about it publicly I would not find it creepy if any of my friends come and tell me. But when an unknown source does things like that, you feel as if you are being stalked!
I do agree with Brian when he mentions that Facebook should have notified its users what they are doing. They are always doing things on their own without telling its users. I am very conservative when it comes to other people having access to my information. Like Brian said it would not be a problem if Facebook had asked us or informed us about selling our information to these advertisers. I would rather be volunteering to give my information about my interest to others if I was asked, rather then just doing it through a sneaky way. It not just loses the trust but also makes me want to disown that thing. I have sent Facebook several negative emails about how I don’t like some of the changes they are doing, but like usually they never reply back. It was interesting to see that they have replied to me when I have had problem viewing any part of the Facebook page or having problem with any application, but when I sent them comments about what I don’t like about their changes, but they never reply back. Instead they just send an automated email saying some thing like “Thank you for writing to us. Due to heavy email we will be unable to answer individually. Please check our website for your answers.”
I sometimes feel that Facebook is making so much money out of us by doing nothing! There are a lot of users who would want to stay connected with their friends through Facebook. It is an amazing social network because I have all my friends from all the parts of the world on it. But by doing things in a sneaky way Facebook might lose its users. It will not be overnight but if people began to freak out they will not use Facebook. It will then become a page where user might join using all the fake information. I think Facebook should be really careful. They have reached far enough in making their website popular and profitable but they should not forget that all the users on Facebook have made it happen and they should pay attention to their privacy.
I am a regular user of Facebook and I get really frustrated when Facebook does all these changes on their websites. One thing I had not noticed myself, but I thought was interesting reading from Brian’s blog, was that they customize the ads on your Facebook page depending on your personality. When I wrote about the Facebook ads on one of my earlier blogs, I had mentioned that those ads do not appeal to me. I don’t even pay attention to them and neither do my friends. I knew Facebook is selling and letting others view our information but I had not paid attention to that they customize your page according to the information you provide on your Facebook page.
To see if the above was true, I did a little experiment. I noticed the ads playing on my Facebook page for 10-15 minutes and wrote down what I noticed. Some of the ads that were displayed on my page were about games, several ads on flight all around US, several ads on things related to fashion, apartment search, photography, style, organic foods, purses, makeup, acne treatment, salon ads, a lot of ads related to Hindi movies and music, fly worldwide, tea, and art related ads. When I compared to some of the things I have listed on my information page, not all, but many of these are related to things I have listed on my personal information page. I have listed things like I like art, tea, fashion, and I am a lot into Hindi movies and music. I don’t know why I got so many ads related to flying here and there. I did not put traveling as my interest on my personal information. But I have been talking about taking a trip to Pakistan in summer on my friends’ wall. So are the advertisers looking at the wall post and that too that carefully? That is creepy. I would not mind if another friend of mine who is listed as a friend on my Facebook comes up and tell me the things I am talking about with my friends on Facebook. Since I am talking about it publicly I would not find it creepy if any of my friends come and tell me. But when an unknown source does things like that, you feel as if you are being stalked!
I do agree with Brian when he mentions that Facebook should have notified its users what they are doing. They are always doing things on their own without telling its users. I am very conservative when it comes to other people having access to my information. Like Brian said it would not be a problem if Facebook had asked us or informed us about selling our information to these advertisers. I would rather be volunteering to give my information about my interest to others if I was asked, rather then just doing it through a sneaky way. It not just loses the trust but also makes me want to disown that thing. I have sent Facebook several negative emails about how I don’t like some of the changes they are doing, but like usually they never reply back. It was interesting to see that they have replied to me when I have had problem viewing any part of the Facebook page or having problem with any application, but when I sent them comments about what I don’t like about their changes, but they never reply back. Instead they just send an automated email saying some thing like “Thank you for writing to us. Due to heavy email we will be unable to answer individually. Please check our website for your answers.”
I sometimes feel that Facebook is making so much money out of us by doing nothing! There are a lot of users who would want to stay connected with their friends through Facebook. It is an amazing social network because I have all my friends from all the parts of the world on it. But by doing things in a sneaky way Facebook might lose its users. It will not be overnight but if people began to freak out they will not use Facebook. It will then become a page where user might join using all the fake information. I think Facebook should be really careful. They have reached far enough in making their website popular and profitable but they should not forget that all the users on Facebook have made it happen and they should pay attention to their privacy.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Paper Outline
I) Introduction
For my paper, I plan to study how Tide, the laundry detergent, markets it self and holds its top seller position. With a lot of competition form other laundry detergent what are the marketers of Tide doing to make Tide the family choice. What are the strategies used mainly on their target market, women, by marketers to to get a better understanding of the purchasing decision about detergents.
a. About Tide
b. Target market
c. Building confidence/credibility
d. Presentation
e. Any negative aspects
f. How is it different from other products
I) Body
a. About Tide
i. What Tide is, their goal
b. Target market
i. Women
ii. Provide examples of what women are saying about Tide
iii. Examples of how Tide conducts their research
1. (Article) They went to fields and asked women
c. Building confidence/credibility
i. They are not focusing tide as just a detergent, but rather making tide a part of a family member
ii. Different variety of tide offered. By offering varieties they are satisfying individuals’ needs as well as building the relationship with customers. Because tide offers variety they are not sending their customer to other brands to satisfy their needs. Some of the examples of their variety are:
1. Tide with Bleach
2. Tide with Downy
3. Tide with Febreze
4. Tide with HE (its designed strictly for HE washing machine)
iii. The benefits to consumers by offering a lot of variety
d. Presentation of tide
i. Color scheme
1. Bright colors, happy feeling
ii. Offers, coupons, awareness
1. (Article) they had a deal for limited time at Home Depot that if you purchase Washing Machine and a dryer you will get a year of supply of Tide.
e. Any negative aspects
i. Since Tide is my favorite brand for laundry detergent, it doesn’t mean that it has no flaws. In this section I will talk about any criticism Tide is getting in the market.
ii. Negative comments about Tide from consumers. Why they don’t like Tide?
f. How is Tide different from other products
i. Comparison of examples with different detergents
ii. Is Tide the only choice for removing all types of stains?
1. From all the research I have done so far, it seems like a lot of people like Tide when they compare it to other laundry detergent , but most of them are talking about Tide because of the fresh smell it leaves in their clothes
III) Conclusion
i. What I learned from the research
a.Interesting findings
ii. My opinion
a. How accurate were my predictions about Tide
b. Did my opinion about Tide change at the end of the research. I chose Tide over any other detergent because my mom always buys it. Did i form my own opinion after doing a research.
iii. Relating it to customer insights- How all the research helps the marketers understand the consumer behavior / buying patterns / their decisions of purchasing laundry detergent.
Concerns
Am I headed toward the right direction?
Since I chose a specific topic, and from your feedback earlier on the blog, I don’t want to make it seem like a love letter about Tide. Based on that is my outline okay? I am trying to make it like an informative paper and then in conclusion I will talk a little bit about my opinion and why I chose to write it.
I am afraid if I will reach the 10-15 page length for the final paper. However, I do plan to bring in a lot of examples will that be all right?
Do I need to add something else/talk about other points?
Some Sources
http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6295673182&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6295673185&cisb=22_T6295673184&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=303830&docNo=7
http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6295673182&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6295673185&cisb=22_T6295673184&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=8093&docNo=9
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/11/tide-detergents.html
http://www.pg.com/science/innovations_detergent.shtml
For my paper, I plan to study how Tide, the laundry detergent, markets it self and holds its top seller position. With a lot of competition form other laundry detergent what are the marketers of Tide doing to make Tide the family choice. What are the strategies used mainly on their target market, women, by marketers to to get a better understanding of the purchasing decision about detergents.
a. About Tide
b. Target market
c. Building confidence/credibility
d. Presentation
e. Any negative aspects
f. How is it different from other products
I) Body
a. About Tide
i. What Tide is, their goal
b. Target market
i. Women
ii. Provide examples of what women are saying about Tide
iii. Examples of how Tide conducts their research
1. (Article) They went to fields and asked women
c. Building confidence/credibility
i. They are not focusing tide as just a detergent, but rather making tide a part of a family member
ii. Different variety of tide offered. By offering varieties they are satisfying individuals’ needs as well as building the relationship with customers. Because tide offers variety they are not sending their customer to other brands to satisfy their needs. Some of the examples of their variety are:
1. Tide with Bleach
2. Tide with Downy
3. Tide with Febreze
4. Tide with HE (its designed strictly for HE washing machine)
iii. The benefits to consumers by offering a lot of variety
d. Presentation of tide
i. Color scheme
1. Bright colors, happy feeling
ii. Offers, coupons, awareness
1. (Article) they had a deal for limited time at Home Depot that if you purchase Washing Machine and a dryer you will get a year of supply of Tide.
e. Any negative aspects
i. Since Tide is my favorite brand for laundry detergent, it doesn’t mean that it has no flaws. In this section I will talk about any criticism Tide is getting in the market.
ii. Negative comments about Tide from consumers. Why they don’t like Tide?
f. How is Tide different from other products
i. Comparison of examples with different detergents
ii. Is Tide the only choice for removing all types of stains?
1. From all the research I have done so far, it seems like a lot of people like Tide when they compare it to other laundry detergent , but most of them are talking about Tide because of the fresh smell it leaves in their clothes
III) Conclusion
i. What I learned from the research
a.Interesting findings
ii. My opinion
a. How accurate were my predictions about Tide
b. Did my opinion about Tide change at the end of the research. I chose Tide over any other detergent because my mom always buys it. Did i form my own opinion after doing a research.
iii. Relating it to customer insights- How all the research helps the marketers understand the consumer behavior / buying patterns / their decisions of purchasing laundry detergent.
Concerns
Am I headed toward the right direction?
Since I chose a specific topic, and from your feedback earlier on the blog, I don’t want to make it seem like a love letter about Tide. Based on that is my outline okay? I am trying to make it like an informative paper and then in conclusion I will talk a little bit about my opinion and why I chose to write it.
I am afraid if I will reach the 10-15 page length for the final paper. However, I do plan to bring in a lot of examples will that be all right?
Do I need to add something else/talk about other points?
Some Sources
http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6295673182&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6295673185&cisb=22_T6295673184&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=303830&docNo=7
http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T6295673182&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T6295673185&cisb=22_T6295673184&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=8093&docNo=9
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/11/tide-detergents.html
http://www.pg.com/science/innovations_detergent.shtml
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Free Blog
Since we are offered another free blog I decided to write on what I am currently busy doing - finding tickets for visiting Pakistan this summer! This summer my family has decided to visit our family in Pakistan. Everything has been planned, what gifts to take, what to do there, locations to visit, which restaurants to go etc. But the most important thing that stays undecided is the tickets! We are planning to fly during summer, in June-July. Because of the summer season the tickets are ridiculously high. As we do our research and ask all the airlines we don’t find anything below $2,000 per person. It is total of 5 of us in my family and that means spending about $10,000 just in tickets. I have observed this before that just because of the tickets people changes their plans of visiting their home countries. Because of the high prices just for the tickets we all began to do our research for choosing the dates for travel and the airline.
My family usually doesn’t fly all together because we all like to go different places. My mom and my younger sister prefer to go back to our home country during summer. While my youngest sister and I like to go places within States or Canada. Because my mom has always flown to Pakistan in summer, she has always used Emirates Airlines. Emirates Airline is ranked five stars in service, experience, and for comfort. Emirates Airline is not a cheap airline but because it’s just two of the family members traveling, we don’t freak out about the prices as we are now. Looking from the marketing perspective Emirates Airlines took over what used to be ranked #1 choice of Pakistani travelers, PIA (Pakistan International Airlines).
The reason why people chose PIA over any other airline was because it used to offer a direct flight only from New York. Since the growing population of Pakistani’s are all over the States, PIA started their flights from other destination as well. PIA used to offer only one stop, in London, in between Houston to Karachi, Pakistan in comparison to other airlines which offered multiple stops in several countries. The travel distance is already too much. It takes about 24 hours from Houston to Karachi, Pakistan and the only thing PIA offered was the direct flight to save some time. I think they were marketing their service by saying we provide the “Pakistani feeling” but that doesn’t mean you skip meals and provide horrible service. The way Emirates Airline took over was by providing something PIA lacked the most - Customer Service. I always read reviews for PIA because for some reason I wanted to work for an airline. My aunt used to work for PIA and so I always had something to complain to her about the airline.
From the reviews, I read that people were happy they are saving some time by having a direct flight but are not appreciating the service offered. My personal experience with PIA was horrible. They skip meals, they are not available when you call them for help, and they are out of almost everything you ask for. Emirates Airline not only offers a great service, but it also offers a direct flight from Houston to Dubai and then Dubai to Pakistan all in less than 24 hours. (from my family member’s experience) Because of their great services they provide to their travelers, Emirates Airlines took over what Pakistani’s or more like what my family prefers. My mom and my sister just love the experience of flying in Emirates. They said the appearance of the plane is neat and clean. There is always help available from flight attendants. They provide you with meals according to your choice and according to where you’re going. Not only that, once you fly with them they subscribe you for their newsletter. They send you little things such as stickers, hand bands, and they also give mileage points. Once you reach up to that certain mileage points, you can redeem it for a free ticket. With all these great services provided to us, Emirates became our number one choice.
Now going back to the issue of tickets and pricing, like I said Emirates is not cheap! The tickets they are offering are $2,000 per person. As we were worrying about the tickets prices because it’s five of us traveling this time, we heard about this new airline in competition to Emirates, Qatar Airways. It was good news for us because they are offering alot lower prices than what Emirates is offering. Doing the research on Qatar Airways we found out they are also good in services. Their planes are new, clean, and flight attendants are very friendly. Because of this, my mom and sister have already bought tickets with Qatar Airways. And as I suspected the Qatar Airways did cause Emirates to lower their prices!
It’s really interesting to see how industries of any kind can be harmed by competitors and how the competitors can also cause others to change their decision. I believe it’s really important for an airline in their industry to be updated with what’s going on and find strategies to either keep themselves in the good position or make it better. With Emirates Airlines, I think it’s going to be challenging for Qatar Airways to compete with them. Since Emirates is already well known and have a strong image in peoples mind, it will take time for Qatar Airways to compete with Emirates. Even though my mom and sister have chosen Qatar Airways for the first time, they might not choose it for future. Since it is new to the US market at this point, we don’t have many reviews to read and decide. And like I mentioned earlier Emirates Airlines is lowering their price and so I will choose to fly Emirates. I have never flown in this airline and from what I have heard about their services, I look forward to have an experience.
My family usually doesn’t fly all together because we all like to go different places. My mom and my younger sister prefer to go back to our home country during summer. While my youngest sister and I like to go places within States or Canada. Because my mom has always flown to Pakistan in summer, she has always used Emirates Airlines. Emirates Airline is ranked five stars in service, experience, and for comfort. Emirates Airline is not a cheap airline but because it’s just two of the family members traveling, we don’t freak out about the prices as we are now. Looking from the marketing perspective Emirates Airlines took over what used to be ranked #1 choice of Pakistani travelers, PIA (Pakistan International Airlines).
The reason why people chose PIA over any other airline was because it used to offer a direct flight only from New York. Since the growing population of Pakistani’s are all over the States, PIA started their flights from other destination as well. PIA used to offer only one stop, in London, in between Houston to Karachi, Pakistan in comparison to other airlines which offered multiple stops in several countries. The travel distance is already too much. It takes about 24 hours from Houston to Karachi, Pakistan and the only thing PIA offered was the direct flight to save some time. I think they were marketing their service by saying we provide the “Pakistani feeling” but that doesn’t mean you skip meals and provide horrible service. The way Emirates Airline took over was by providing something PIA lacked the most - Customer Service. I always read reviews for PIA because for some reason I wanted to work for an airline. My aunt used to work for PIA and so I always had something to complain to her about the airline.
From the reviews, I read that people were happy they are saving some time by having a direct flight but are not appreciating the service offered. My personal experience with PIA was horrible. They skip meals, they are not available when you call them for help, and they are out of almost everything you ask for. Emirates Airline not only offers a great service, but it also offers a direct flight from Houston to Dubai and then Dubai to Pakistan all in less than 24 hours. (from my family member’s experience) Because of their great services they provide to their travelers, Emirates Airlines took over what Pakistani’s or more like what my family prefers. My mom and my sister just love the experience of flying in Emirates. They said the appearance of the plane is neat and clean. There is always help available from flight attendants. They provide you with meals according to your choice and according to where you’re going. Not only that, once you fly with them they subscribe you for their newsletter. They send you little things such as stickers, hand bands, and they also give mileage points. Once you reach up to that certain mileage points, you can redeem it for a free ticket. With all these great services provided to us, Emirates became our number one choice.
Now going back to the issue of tickets and pricing, like I said Emirates is not cheap! The tickets they are offering are $2,000 per person. As we were worrying about the tickets prices because it’s five of us traveling this time, we heard about this new airline in competition to Emirates, Qatar Airways. It was good news for us because they are offering alot lower prices than what Emirates is offering. Doing the research on Qatar Airways we found out they are also good in services. Their planes are new, clean, and flight attendants are very friendly. Because of this, my mom and sister have already bought tickets with Qatar Airways. And as I suspected the Qatar Airways did cause Emirates to lower their prices!
It’s really interesting to see how industries of any kind can be harmed by competitors and how the competitors can also cause others to change their decision. I believe it’s really important for an airline in their industry to be updated with what’s going on and find strategies to either keep themselves in the good position or make it better. With Emirates Airlines, I think it’s going to be challenging for Qatar Airways to compete with them. Since Emirates is already well known and have a strong image in peoples mind, it will take time for Qatar Airways to compete with Emirates. Even though my mom and sister have chosen Qatar Airways for the first time, they might not choose it for future. Since it is new to the US market at this point, we don’t have many reviews to read and decide. And like I mentioned earlier Emirates Airlines is lowering their price and so I will choose to fly Emirates. I have never flown in this airline and from what I have heard about their services, I look forward to have an experience.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Persuaders
Oh the video is finally over! It was very long and I did not enjoy every part of the video. The part that grabbed my attention the most was when an African American man was being surveyed for bread. I think his expressions were absolutely worth watching!
Dr. Rapaille’sThree-stage Technique
Dr. Rapaille’s insights were great. He believed that his three-stage process allows him to understand the customer’s actual needs. I really enjoyed the way he described the three-stage process which includes: (1) Past reason, (2) Through emotion, and (3) Primal core.
First step in the three-stage technique is the “Past reason” which starts out with the cortex part of the brain. As we see in the video Dr. Rapaille starts out the first step by organizing a focus group. To break the code for “luxury” he involves an activity and asks all the participants to say any words that come to their minds when they hear the word “luxury”. As Dr. Rapaille said, people think they are very intelligent and by conducting such kind of an activity, he is giving a change to all the participants to show their intelligence. At this stage the answers do not matter as they can say whatever they want.
Second stage is the “Through Emotions.” At this stage Dr. Rapaille asks all the participants to think from a different perspective and to do so he asks all the participants to tell him a story as if they were talking to a five year old child from a different planet. At this stage participants are not trying to be intelligent or logical, they just think from a five year old perspective. At this stage they don’t understand what they are doing anymore. While all the participants are confused Dr. Rapaille does his observation.
Third stage is the “Primal Core.” This is the most important stage of the three stages. This is the stage where all the decisions take place. In this stage Dr. Rapaille removes all the chairs from the hall and replaces them with pillows. He switched off the lights and asks everyone to relax and think about the first experience they had with what they are trying to understand. After a while he switched the lights back on and asked all the participants to write about their first experience. This step of the process takes the participant years back and thus creates the primal core.
An example of his finding was the code word for the SUVs. After his intense research he comes with the code word for SUVs which was “domination.” He advises the SUV makers to make the vehicle big and tint the windows. He tells them to give the customers what they are looking for. When I think of this car example I do agree that people want bigger space in car. I prefer my car to be spacious so that when more then one person sits in the car it is not too crowded. I also prefer to have a car that has tinted windows.
Song Airline
I think that all the ideas Song Airline had were great. They tried a lot of new things and as always it’s a big risk when you start something new that differentiates from the current trend. Their target market was mainly women. They provided great services such as organic food, Dish Network Satellite TV, and low fares. Because their target market was women, they focused on children as well by making the seats bright and colorful. The way they hired their employees was different. Instead of interviewing the applicants they auditioned them to see how well they fit in the “Song.”
With all these great and new features I think Song Airline should not have emphasized on women only. If this airline had still existed, I would have definitely wanted to try it once, but I don’t think I would fly in this regularly. With the ads I saw in the video, it seemed like its going to be some airline only designed for mothers and their children. I don’t think I would want to spend the entire time on the flight with kids making noises, as it is the plane is noisy it self. Because of this image, I think a lot of the travelers ignored the airline. They could have emphasized on the women but they should have also considered other travelers as well.
Dr. Rapaille’sThree-stage Technique
Dr. Rapaille’s insights were great. He believed that his three-stage process allows him to understand the customer’s actual needs. I really enjoyed the way he described the three-stage process which includes: (1) Past reason, (2) Through emotion, and (3) Primal core.
First step in the three-stage technique is the “Past reason” which starts out with the cortex part of the brain. As we see in the video Dr. Rapaille starts out the first step by organizing a focus group. To break the code for “luxury” he involves an activity and asks all the participants to say any words that come to their minds when they hear the word “luxury”. As Dr. Rapaille said, people think they are very intelligent and by conducting such kind of an activity, he is giving a change to all the participants to show their intelligence. At this stage the answers do not matter as they can say whatever they want.
Second stage is the “Through Emotions.” At this stage Dr. Rapaille asks all the participants to think from a different perspective and to do so he asks all the participants to tell him a story as if they were talking to a five year old child from a different planet. At this stage participants are not trying to be intelligent or logical, they just think from a five year old perspective. At this stage they don’t understand what they are doing anymore. While all the participants are confused Dr. Rapaille does his observation.
Third stage is the “Primal Core.” This is the most important stage of the three stages. This is the stage where all the decisions take place. In this stage Dr. Rapaille removes all the chairs from the hall and replaces them with pillows. He switched off the lights and asks everyone to relax and think about the first experience they had with what they are trying to understand. After a while he switched the lights back on and asked all the participants to write about their first experience. This step of the process takes the participant years back and thus creates the primal core.
An example of his finding was the code word for the SUVs. After his intense research he comes with the code word for SUVs which was “domination.” He advises the SUV makers to make the vehicle big and tint the windows. He tells them to give the customers what they are looking for. When I think of this car example I do agree that people want bigger space in car. I prefer my car to be spacious so that when more then one person sits in the car it is not too crowded. I also prefer to have a car that has tinted windows.
Song Airline
I think that all the ideas Song Airline had were great. They tried a lot of new things and as always it’s a big risk when you start something new that differentiates from the current trend. Their target market was mainly women. They provided great services such as organic food, Dish Network Satellite TV, and low fares. Because their target market was women, they focused on children as well by making the seats bright and colorful. The way they hired their employees was different. Instead of interviewing the applicants they auditioned them to see how well they fit in the “Song.”
With all these great and new features I think Song Airline should not have emphasized on women only. If this airline had still existed, I would have definitely wanted to try it once, but I don’t think I would fly in this regularly. With the ads I saw in the video, it seemed like its going to be some airline only designed for mothers and their children. I don’t think I would want to spend the entire time on the flight with kids making noises, as it is the plane is noisy it self. Because of this image, I think a lot of the travelers ignored the airline. They could have emphasized on the women but they should have also considered other travelers as well.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Blog 5
While reading the Pepsi vs. Coke in “Kenna’s Dilemma” an advertisement randomly came in my mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLiBszzKmqw
It was interesting to read about Pepsi vs. Coke and with their battle of becoming number one drinks, this advertisement came in mind. The advertisement is really funny and rude at the same time.
“Kenna’s Dilemma” had great points which mentioned great examples that marketers can use when it comes to studying about customer insights and experience. One of the interesting points mentioned in the reading was whether if you test out the product for a period of time before making it your ultimate choice or should you decide by just taking a first look at it. The example given in the reading was between Pepsi and Coke. This battle of Pepsi vs. Coke happens in my family every time! My sisters like Pepsi because it’s sweeter than Coke. I like Coke because I like my drink to be a little strong. I can’t drink Pepsi after a few sips because it’s too sweet for me. Because Coke is a bit strong it gives me time to enjoy my drink slowly. Pepsi after a while turns so sweet for me that I can drink it almost like water. Also, the taste of Pepsi turns nasty after a few sips.
From the reading, I would like to agree that you should definitely try the product for a while before making it your final choice. An example of the Sip test that I can think of is comparing Dove chocolate with Ferrero Rocher chocolate. Dove, from its packaging, looks so yummy and seems like I can eat this chocolate forever! I love their packaging. The packet is brown with different pictures of chocolates, depending on the kind you want. The dripping of chocolate and the feel of the paper on the packet attracts me alot! The paper they use is so smooth and the chocolate melting pictures makes it look like smooth and delicious! I end up buying the chocolate but I cannot eat this chocolate for long! I can have a bite or two and it gets very sweet for me afterwards. It’s a good yummy bite, but I am a chocolate lover and I want to eat more than just a bite!
Comparing Ferrero Rocher to Dove, I don’t like their packaging. It’s not appealing to me at all. There are no pictures to allure me and even the packaging is simple. I did not eat this chocolate when I was first offered from my friend. I finally tried it since my sister was eating it in front of me. I loved it from the very first bite. I ate all three pieces of chocolate she gave me. It gives me a nice flavor, the outer part of chocolate is crispy and there is melted chocolate in between with hazelnut. It not too sweet and I can eat the entire packet at one time. I think it is really important that a product stays in market for long term. A sip test might not be enough to keep the product in market for long. Just because customers liked the first bite/sip of the product, they will like to consume the entire product. I have reduced buying Dove because I feel it is a waste of money if I cannot eat the entire chocolate.
Another interesting lesson was about packaging of products. I think it is really important that you market the product according to the product itself and then according to the location of market in which you are selling. I say this because I remember going to CVS with an international friend of mine from India. I was sick with cold and cough and wanted a medicine for myself. While I picked the “night time” tablets, my friend told me the medicine seemed bad and I should not buy it. On asking her the reason, she said the packaging was too dark and gives her a sad feeling. The colors are black and blue which are too dull and so I should stick with the day time medicine. According to her the “day time” medicine was better looking with bright sun shining. It was really interesting to see how the views on packaging differ from one country to another. With the “night time” medicine I had a feeling of a nice relaxing sleep while she had the feeling of sad and unhappy mood.
For me packaging plays an important role. I go by what looks pretty and appealing to me. I don’t eat alot of Dove chocolate but do use Dove beauty products such as Dove body lotions and soap bars. Dove offers a great scent and leaves my skin feeling really smooth. I have to use lotion every day and almost every two three hours, especially for my hands. Now I do know that Dove lotions are my number one choice for lotion. Regardless of the kind of lotion I choose, I will still be offered a great scent and the smooth feel. With that being satisfied I like to choose my bottle in Green, because green is my favorite color, while my sister picks Purple, because purple is her favorite color. Now talking about the soap bars, I am satisfied that no matter which Dove soap bar I choose I will be offered a great scent and will feel a clean smooth skin after using the soap. I NEVER choose their maroon soap bar nor lotion. The color just looks ugly and I don’t feel I will be satisfied choosing it. I like soft colors and that is why I go for more light colors like light orange with flowers or light green with white. Even though I know they all provide with the same thing I want, I go with the colors and packaging of a product.
I think it is really important for marketers to see how they package their products. Who they are going to market this product to? If it’s a young target market they should do the research on which colors are happening among young generation. Packaging does make a product either a success or a failure. Like the example I gave of my friend, she would probably never buy the “night time” medicine and maybe if the marketers offer the same packaging in India it might not work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLiBszzKmqw
It was interesting to read about Pepsi vs. Coke and with their battle of becoming number one drinks, this advertisement came in mind. The advertisement is really funny and rude at the same time.
“Kenna’s Dilemma” had great points which mentioned great examples that marketers can use when it comes to studying about customer insights and experience. One of the interesting points mentioned in the reading was whether if you test out the product for a period of time before making it your ultimate choice or should you decide by just taking a first look at it. The example given in the reading was between Pepsi and Coke. This battle of Pepsi vs. Coke happens in my family every time! My sisters like Pepsi because it’s sweeter than Coke. I like Coke because I like my drink to be a little strong. I can’t drink Pepsi after a few sips because it’s too sweet for me. Because Coke is a bit strong it gives me time to enjoy my drink slowly. Pepsi after a while turns so sweet for me that I can drink it almost like water. Also, the taste of Pepsi turns nasty after a few sips.
From the reading, I would like to agree that you should definitely try the product for a while before making it your final choice. An example of the Sip test that I can think of is comparing Dove chocolate with Ferrero Rocher chocolate. Dove, from its packaging, looks so yummy and seems like I can eat this chocolate forever! I love their packaging. The packet is brown with different pictures of chocolates, depending on the kind you want. The dripping of chocolate and the feel of the paper on the packet attracts me alot! The paper they use is so smooth and the chocolate melting pictures makes it look like smooth and delicious! I end up buying the chocolate but I cannot eat this chocolate for long! I can have a bite or two and it gets very sweet for me afterwards. It’s a good yummy bite, but I am a chocolate lover and I want to eat more than just a bite!
Comparing Ferrero Rocher to Dove, I don’t like their packaging. It’s not appealing to me at all. There are no pictures to allure me and even the packaging is simple. I did not eat this chocolate when I was first offered from my friend. I finally tried it since my sister was eating it in front of me. I loved it from the very first bite. I ate all three pieces of chocolate she gave me. It gives me a nice flavor, the outer part of chocolate is crispy and there is melted chocolate in between with hazelnut. It not too sweet and I can eat the entire packet at one time. I think it is really important that a product stays in market for long term. A sip test might not be enough to keep the product in market for long. Just because customers liked the first bite/sip of the product, they will like to consume the entire product. I have reduced buying Dove because I feel it is a waste of money if I cannot eat the entire chocolate.
Another interesting lesson was about packaging of products. I think it is really important that you market the product according to the product itself and then according to the location of market in which you are selling. I say this because I remember going to CVS with an international friend of mine from India. I was sick with cold and cough and wanted a medicine for myself. While I picked the “night time” tablets, my friend told me the medicine seemed bad and I should not buy it. On asking her the reason, she said the packaging was too dark and gives her a sad feeling. The colors are black and blue which are too dull and so I should stick with the day time medicine. According to her the “day time” medicine was better looking with bright sun shining. It was really interesting to see how the views on packaging differ from one country to another. With the “night time” medicine I had a feeling of a nice relaxing sleep while she had the feeling of sad and unhappy mood.
For me packaging plays an important role. I go by what looks pretty and appealing to me. I don’t eat alot of Dove chocolate but do use Dove beauty products such as Dove body lotions and soap bars. Dove offers a great scent and leaves my skin feeling really smooth. I have to use lotion every day and almost every two three hours, especially for my hands. Now I do know that Dove lotions are my number one choice for lotion. Regardless of the kind of lotion I choose, I will still be offered a great scent and the smooth feel. With that being satisfied I like to choose my bottle in Green, because green is my favorite color, while my sister picks Purple, because purple is her favorite color. Now talking about the soap bars, I am satisfied that no matter which Dove soap bar I choose I will be offered a great scent and will feel a clean smooth skin after using the soap. I NEVER choose their maroon soap bar nor lotion. The color just looks ugly and I don’t feel I will be satisfied choosing it. I like soft colors and that is why I go for more light colors like light orange with flowers or light green with white. Even though I know they all provide with the same thing I want, I go with the colors and packaging of a product.
I think it is really important for marketers to see how they package their products. Who they are going to market this product to? If it’s a young target market they should do the research on which colors are happening among young generation. Packaging does make a product either a success or a failure. Like the example I gave of my friend, she would probably never buy the “night time” medicine and maybe if the marketers offer the same packaging in India it might not work.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tide my choice...
I have always loved Tide to wash my clothes. It is funny to say but my "main" reason is not because it is a better care for your clothes over any other detergent. My reason to choose Tide over any other detergent is because it smells awesome! But, I do not deny that it is a great product which washes your clothes without damaging them and keeping them clean and soft. My mom is the one who does shopping for all the household items. If Tide wasn't a great product, she would have never purchased it again. Along with great care, I choose Tide because of its smell. I am so addicted to its smell that there has not been a single day where I have not smelled it. If I go to any store that carries laundry detergents, I will go to that aisle just to smell it. Because of my everyday passion for Tide I decided to do my paper on Tide laundry detergent.
I think it will be interesting to do this paper because I will get to study mainly the household women who take decision for day-to-day household products. I will get to study and learn their purchasing decision on laundry products. Everyone loves their clothes, especially if its one of your favorite and you definitely want to take good care of them. I want to research more on the reasons, if any, why women chose Tide or any other brand over Tide. The reason I am choosing the household women/ moms is because they are the one who are always concerned about the best care. Whether it's in health, food or anything else they want to stay in the best hands.
For this paper, I plan to research articles on Tide’s marketing strategies to sell their products over any other brand. I plan to read reviews that people post for Tide. Also, I plan do to research for this paper by interviewing my mom and her friends in order to get some primary data. My mom thinks I am never interested in any household activities, so it will be something I can do to make her happy. Along with that she is always screaming at me for smelling Tide and makes up all kinds of terrific things that can happen to me, health wise. I always have to hide from her when I smell Tide, but for this paper I will have an excuse to smell the products even more!
While searching the web, I found some interesting articles on Tide. Out of those, one of the articles is this one;
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3i74e046bb4149b4ce86bd69ccbcbd3b2b
This article is titled "Tide's New Beauty Secret" which talks about how combining the product, Tide, with other fabric protectors such as Downy can be beneficial. The article talks about the new "Tide Total Care." This new combination of Tide will offer the most essential things that are beneficial for washing clothes. It will clean thoroughly, protect the original color, preserve the shape, maintain finishing, enhance softness and fight stains. I also visited the website www.Tide.com and noticed how their website is designed. I think the website is great in listing the products. You not only look at the specific product it offers, but you can also view the comments by people. It also has an option that offers customers to look up stain solutions and how to wash them. On the homepage they are currently advertising and asking for opinions about the Tide Total Care. I think the homepage is designed in a very user friendly way with all the latest products being highlighted.
I feel Tide has done a great job with combining other clothes protection products to offer the customer one bottle that carries all the needs. They offer several different choices for customers. Some are Tide with Downy, Tide with Febreze, Tide with Bleach, Tide for cool water, Tide Pure Essential with Baking Soda, and Tide Simple Pleasure. This was not enough that they are now offering products for H.E (high efficiency) washing machines, which uses less water as compared to the traditional machines. They are offering Tide with bleach, Tide with Febreze, Tide with a touch of Downy for H.E washing machines. I think this is interesting how they are marketing so many different products for different kinds of clothes by combining them with each other. I was fascinated to see how Tide in a way is marketing for H.E washing machines.
I feel this is a very interesting topic. I want to learn what the household women have to say about all the different kinds of choices Tide has to offer. I want to read and learn more on the future products Tide has to offer and if people would be ready to accept them.
I think it will be interesting to do this paper because I will get to study mainly the household women who take decision for day-to-day household products. I will get to study and learn their purchasing decision on laundry products. Everyone loves their clothes, especially if its one of your favorite and you definitely want to take good care of them. I want to research more on the reasons, if any, why women chose Tide or any other brand over Tide. The reason I am choosing the household women/ moms is because they are the one who are always concerned about the best care. Whether it's in health, food or anything else they want to stay in the best hands.
For this paper, I plan to research articles on Tide’s marketing strategies to sell their products over any other brand. I plan to read reviews that people post for Tide. Also, I plan do to research for this paper by interviewing my mom and her friends in order to get some primary data. My mom thinks I am never interested in any household activities, so it will be something I can do to make her happy. Along with that she is always screaming at me for smelling Tide and makes up all kinds of terrific things that can happen to me, health wise. I always have to hide from her when I smell Tide, but for this paper I will have an excuse to smell the products even more!
While searching the web, I found some interesting articles on Tide. Out of those, one of the articles is this one;
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3i74e046bb4149b4ce86bd69ccbcbd3b2b
This article is titled "Tide's New Beauty Secret" which talks about how combining the product, Tide, with other fabric protectors such as Downy can be beneficial. The article talks about the new "Tide Total Care." This new combination of Tide will offer the most essential things that are beneficial for washing clothes. It will clean thoroughly, protect the original color, preserve the shape, maintain finishing, enhance softness and fight stains. I also visited the website www.Tide.com and noticed how their website is designed. I think the website is great in listing the products. You not only look at the specific product it offers, but you can also view the comments by people. It also has an option that offers customers to look up stain solutions and how to wash them. On the homepage they are currently advertising and asking for opinions about the Tide Total Care. I think the homepage is designed in a very user friendly way with all the latest products being highlighted.
I feel Tide has done a great job with combining other clothes protection products to offer the customer one bottle that carries all the needs. They offer several different choices for customers. Some are Tide with Downy, Tide with Febreze, Tide with Bleach, Tide for cool water, Tide Pure Essential with Baking Soda, and Tide Simple Pleasure. This was not enough that they are now offering products for H.E (high efficiency) washing machines, which uses less water as compared to the traditional machines. They are offering Tide with bleach, Tide with Febreze, Tide with a touch of Downy for H.E washing machines. I think this is interesting how they are marketing so many different products for different kinds of clothes by combining them with each other. I was fascinated to see how Tide in a way is marketing for H.E washing machines.
I feel this is a very interesting topic. I want to learn what the household women have to say about all the different kinds of choices Tide has to offer. I want to read and learn more on the future products Tide has to offer and if people would be ready to accept them.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Ads on Facebook
I thought it would be much easier to write something for this blog but I was wrong. After paying alot of attention when I could not decide on what to write, I decided to take a break.
Taking a break for me means getting on Facebook. So I got on Facebook and started browsing through my friends’ pages and I suddenly noticed some advertisements on the right side of the page. I got an idea to write my blog for this week, and decided to write about advertisements on Facebook. I looked online and found some articles which I thought were interesting. I came across an interesting article named “Can social networks make money?” Even before reading this article I had a personal opinion that Facebook advertisements do not capture its user’s attention. I myself do not pay attention to the advertisements on Facebook and just out of curiosity asked few of my friends if they do. They all answered no!
After reading the article, my opinion about advertisements not making money on Facebook was correct. The article mentions that with increasing number of users on social networks like Facebook and Myspace, marketers thought that it would be great idea to capture the attention of alot of customers. I was surprised to read that US advertisers will spend $755 million on MySpace and $265 million on Facebook this year.
Like the article mentioned, I do not think marketers on Facebook with their advertisement are capturing the attention of its users. Facebook has a lot of young generation users and they are not interested in looking at the ads displayed. I also agree with the article that not all the members on Facebook are active users. If people like me, who are regular users of Facebook, do not pay attention to the ads, how will the ads capture those who are not regular users?
I believe the reason we don’t pay attention to the ads on Facebook is because our main goal is to stay connected with friends. Speaking of my experience itself, I hardly pay attention to the ads. Even after noticing the ads, I do not remember clicking on the ads a single time. I do not think these advertisements are actually needed on Facebook. I will rather pay attention to ads on Yahoo.com or any other search engine than Facebook. The reason is because when you are on other websites such as Yahoo.com, you tend to look at news, games, gossip or ads. The reasons you get on those websites are because you want to be informed with new things. But with social networks, the focus of its users is mainly toward socializing with friends.
Like I said ads on Facebook don’t work but I also believe that if right kinds of ads are displayed on Facebook it might make a difference. An interesting thing I read was about Pizza Hut launching an application on Facebook so that the users can order pizza without leaving the Facebook website. I think this is a great way for Pizza Hut to advertise their pizza. The reason I think they might be successful is because pizza is something alot of young generation consume. I think depending on the right product for right people is really important. With majority of users on Facebook being the young generation, it is likely that a Pizza Hut application will work. Many a times, me and my friends order pizza online because we find it easy and quick.
Another way to attract its users, Pizza Hut does other promotions like drawing $50 gift cards if you order pizza online. I think that’s a great way to attract anyone who likes pizza.
Looking at Facebook currently, I see three ads being displayed. One is about a website where you can display your art. The other is about fitness and third is about an online degree course. None of these interest me, but if I had seen stuff like get pizza for $5 or save $5 on cosmetics etc I might have taken some interest. Displaying ads on Facebook is just not enough. Until the word is completely out that “xyz’s” application is on Facebook, they should advertise it on their official website. This means that if Pizza Hut is going to launch an application on Facebook, they should not just advertise it on Facebook but on their actual website pizzahut.com. Because alot of Pizza Hut consumers are going to their official website to order the pizza and if they see the Facebook advertisement on the official website, it’s more likely they will remember.
I think it was really interesting to read about the new emerging way of advertisement. I believe Social networks like Facebook and Myspace can be profitable on advertisement only if they research and advertise the right products.
Taking a break for me means getting on Facebook. So I got on Facebook and started browsing through my friends’ pages and I suddenly noticed some advertisements on the right side of the page. I got an idea to write my blog for this week, and decided to write about advertisements on Facebook. I looked online and found some articles which I thought were interesting. I came across an interesting article named “Can social networks make money?” Even before reading this article I had a personal opinion that Facebook advertisements do not capture its user’s attention. I myself do not pay attention to the advertisements on Facebook and just out of curiosity asked few of my friends if they do. They all answered no!
After reading the article, my opinion about advertisements not making money on Facebook was correct. The article mentions that with increasing number of users on social networks like Facebook and Myspace, marketers thought that it would be great idea to capture the attention of alot of customers. I was surprised to read that US advertisers will spend $755 million on MySpace and $265 million on Facebook this year.
Like the article mentioned, I do not think marketers on Facebook with their advertisement are capturing the attention of its users. Facebook has a lot of young generation users and they are not interested in looking at the ads displayed. I also agree with the article that not all the members on Facebook are active users. If people like me, who are regular users of Facebook, do not pay attention to the ads, how will the ads capture those who are not regular users?
I believe the reason we don’t pay attention to the ads on Facebook is because our main goal is to stay connected with friends. Speaking of my experience itself, I hardly pay attention to the ads. Even after noticing the ads, I do not remember clicking on the ads a single time. I do not think these advertisements are actually needed on Facebook. I will rather pay attention to ads on Yahoo.com or any other search engine than Facebook. The reason is because when you are on other websites such as Yahoo.com, you tend to look at news, games, gossip or ads. The reasons you get on those websites are because you want to be informed with new things. But with social networks, the focus of its users is mainly toward socializing with friends.
Like I said ads on Facebook don’t work but I also believe that if right kinds of ads are displayed on Facebook it might make a difference. An interesting thing I read was about Pizza Hut launching an application on Facebook so that the users can order pizza without leaving the Facebook website. I think this is a great way for Pizza Hut to advertise their pizza. The reason I think they might be successful is because pizza is something alot of young generation consume. I think depending on the right product for right people is really important. With majority of users on Facebook being the young generation, it is likely that a Pizza Hut application will work. Many a times, me and my friends order pizza online because we find it easy and quick.
Another way to attract its users, Pizza Hut does other promotions like drawing $50 gift cards if you order pizza online. I think that’s a great way to attract anyone who likes pizza.
Looking at Facebook currently, I see three ads being displayed. One is about a website where you can display your art. The other is about fitness and third is about an online degree course. None of these interest me, but if I had seen stuff like get pizza for $5 or save $5 on cosmetics etc I might have taken some interest. Displaying ads on Facebook is just not enough. Until the word is completely out that “xyz’s” application is on Facebook, they should advertise it on their official website. This means that if Pizza Hut is going to launch an application on Facebook, they should not just advertise it on Facebook but on their actual website pizzahut.com. Because alot of Pizza Hut consumers are going to their official website to order the pizza and if they see the Facebook advertisement on the official website, it’s more likely they will remember.
I think it was really interesting to read about the new emerging way of advertisement. I believe Social networks like Facebook and Myspace can be profitable on advertisement only if they research and advertise the right products.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Paradox of Choice
After listening to the Barry Schwartz's podcast I began to realize that we battle with making choices regularly in our every day life. Whether it's going to class, going out with friends, shopping or eating, we battle with choices all the time.
There were arguments where I agree with Barry Schwarz, but there were also moments where I felt maybe that's not true. I agree that more choices make us confused. There are so many options we have and we don’t know what to choose. But I feel the choices are given for people's comfort. I am a kind of a person who would spend the time to pick out a product that I feel will be best for me. I don't feel that if I pick something which doesn’t suits me later on will make me blame myself. It[s something I thought would work for me; I will not blame myself for it but rather take it as a bad experience. After that experience I know what is not right for me. With choices given I can always go back and choose something different, compared to if I have limited options I have to live with what is being offered. For example, I use a different face cleanser than my sister or my friends do. Why? Because all of us have different skin. My sister uses the same brand, Oil of Olay, but buys it for dry skin. I buy it for oily skin. If I use her cleanser it makes my skin even oilier and makes me look horrible. Now with choices given, we both are happy with the way our skin looks and we are satisfied with the product. If there was only one face cleanser, it would have only made those people happy whose skin type it worked best for. Another example can be Tylenol for pain relief. If you have any kind of muscle pain you take the Tylenol. But if you get allergies, flu, or cough, you buy the Tylenol that is specifically designed to cure your specific symptoms. That is why I think choices are great.
There was another interesting point made in the podcast was that the more choices we have the easier it is to regret. With so many choices given we are less satisfied if what we buy turns out to be something we maybe don’t like. I do feel it is true to an extent but it depends on how you look at it. For example, if you want to go buy a digital camera, they come in many brands with many different features. Now how do you decide what you want? I think a lot more people these days read reviews or talk to the people who already have used the product before making a purchase. I think reading reviews online or talking to people who can give you a good advice will make it easier for you to decide if it’s really something you want. My friend recently bought a digital camera. Even though she knows a lot about technology she read the reviews, spoke to other people for advice and then decided what she wanted. She is happy with the choice she made and she loves taking pictures with that camera.
As we are moving ahead in this world, each day brings a new choice because the market has something new and better to offer the next day. Barry Schwarz used a great example of jeans in the podcast. I am going to use the same example to describe my experience shopping for jeans. I used to have a tough time picking a pair of jeans that fit me good, or the style I wanted. There was always something I did not like. I was too picky. With all the choice I have now, I can find almost a perfect jeans for me. There is a wide variety of style, new sizing options; if you preferred a specific kind of brand they are offering more choices as well. My biggest issue was with sizing. If, for example, a pair of jeans is designed a certain way, it will not fit me perfect. But now with all the choices I have, I can pick something that just not fits me well but also gives me a chance to try new things. By trying new things that look good on me gives me an opportunity to be someone who I want to be. I choose the way I want to look rather then looking similar with everyone else.
This was a really interesting podcast. I really enjoyed listening to what all he had to say. His points mentioned were great about how choices make people miserable. But there is not really a right answer. I fell its how you look at it, and I think choices are great!
There were arguments where I agree with Barry Schwarz, but there were also moments where I felt maybe that's not true. I agree that more choices make us confused. There are so many options we have and we don’t know what to choose. But I feel the choices are given for people's comfort. I am a kind of a person who would spend the time to pick out a product that I feel will be best for me. I don't feel that if I pick something which doesn’t suits me later on will make me blame myself. It[s something I thought would work for me; I will not blame myself for it but rather take it as a bad experience. After that experience I know what is not right for me. With choices given I can always go back and choose something different, compared to if I have limited options I have to live with what is being offered. For example, I use a different face cleanser than my sister or my friends do. Why? Because all of us have different skin. My sister uses the same brand, Oil of Olay, but buys it for dry skin. I buy it for oily skin. If I use her cleanser it makes my skin even oilier and makes me look horrible. Now with choices given, we both are happy with the way our skin looks and we are satisfied with the product. If there was only one face cleanser, it would have only made those people happy whose skin type it worked best for. Another example can be Tylenol for pain relief. If you have any kind of muscle pain you take the Tylenol. But if you get allergies, flu, or cough, you buy the Tylenol that is specifically designed to cure your specific symptoms. That is why I think choices are great.
There was another interesting point made in the podcast was that the more choices we have the easier it is to regret. With so many choices given we are less satisfied if what we buy turns out to be something we maybe don’t like. I do feel it is true to an extent but it depends on how you look at it. For example, if you want to go buy a digital camera, they come in many brands with many different features. Now how do you decide what you want? I think a lot more people these days read reviews or talk to the people who already have used the product before making a purchase. I think reading reviews online or talking to people who can give you a good advice will make it easier for you to decide if it’s really something you want. My friend recently bought a digital camera. Even though she knows a lot about technology she read the reviews, spoke to other people for advice and then decided what she wanted. She is happy with the choice she made and she loves taking pictures with that camera.
As we are moving ahead in this world, each day brings a new choice because the market has something new and better to offer the next day. Barry Schwarz used a great example of jeans in the podcast. I am going to use the same example to describe my experience shopping for jeans. I used to have a tough time picking a pair of jeans that fit me good, or the style I wanted. There was always something I did not like. I was too picky. With all the choice I have now, I can find almost a perfect jeans for me. There is a wide variety of style, new sizing options; if you preferred a specific kind of brand they are offering more choices as well. My biggest issue was with sizing. If, for example, a pair of jeans is designed a certain way, it will not fit me perfect. But now with all the choices I have, I can pick something that just not fits me well but also gives me a chance to try new things. By trying new things that look good on me gives me an opportunity to be someone who I want to be. I choose the way I want to look rather then looking similar with everyone else.
This was a really interesting podcast. I really enjoyed listening to what all he had to say. His points mentioned were great about how choices make people miserable. But there is not really a right answer. I fell its how you look at it, and I think choices are great!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Generation Y
It was interesting to read the article “Generation Y” and to listen to the podcast on "The Myspace Generation." After reading the article and listening to the podcast, I realized that I agreed to most of the qualities which were mentioned and I believe are very true to the Generation Y.
The podcast speaks very well about how the Generation Y is different in many aspects from the previous generations. Most importantly, we the Generation Yers, are far more enhanced in using technology than the previous generations. As college students, the last thing we do before sleeping is use our laptop to check our e-mails, browse different websites, or to check Myspace/Facebook. I know a lot of my friends who go to bed after being on Myspace/Facebook till late in the night, tend to get on facebook the first thing in the morning. I would agree with those who believe that social networks like Facebook and Myspace are a great tool to communicate among friends. I have Facebook account and it was recommended by a lot of friends.
Initially, I thought I can live without joining Facebook, but occasionally there would be conversations about friend’s Facebook wall posts and while my friends had conversations about it, I would feel left out. So, I finally ended up joining Facebook and I am glad I did it. It keeps you connected with your friends all over the world. I feel, no matter which part of the world my friends are, I am always connected with them. Also, I believe social networks like Myspace and Facebook are great platforms for marketers to understand the present young generation and the one coming ahead. We make profiles to tell others about ourselves. We post and communicate with our friends “publicly.” Whatever we post on our friend’s wall can be viewed by everyone. You can say there are insights available for marketers on each and every Facebook page. We talk about things from what we like to what we want to see in future products. We talk about what is “cool” and the most wanted in the today’s market.
These days, it’s not only the laptop we carry, but many kinds of portable technology with us every day! I remember I started using cell phone in high school, which was a simple phone that could just be used for calling or texting purposes. In these past few years, looking just at the cell phone, we see a great amount of change in them. They are far better in features, for example, more storage, slim, and there is a wide variety of brands and kinds to fit your style. I was amazed when I first found out about the internet on cell phones. I personally like the I-Phone. I think it’s a small gadget that offers different kinds of technologies summed up in one. To begin with it’s a cell phone and furthermore you can store music, videos and browse the internet. With access to the internet you can do anything from watching movies online to playing games or even checking your e-mail. It replaces the basic needs for a computer and you can have access to it any time anywhere.
I feel it is really important for marketers to research the current trends in advertising so as to get the attention of the target market. Being a part of Generation Y, I feel this generation is always looking forward for new inventions. We are not only ready to adopt new things, but are also willing to create a demand for new inventions. If new inventions are marketed in an appealing manner, we will definitely try out the product.
The podcast speaks very well about how the Generation Y is different in many aspects from the previous generations. Most importantly, we the Generation Yers, are far more enhanced in using technology than the previous generations. As college students, the last thing we do before sleeping is use our laptop to check our e-mails, browse different websites, or to check Myspace/Facebook. I know a lot of my friends who go to bed after being on Myspace/Facebook till late in the night, tend to get on facebook the first thing in the morning. I would agree with those who believe that social networks like Facebook and Myspace are a great tool to communicate among friends. I have Facebook account and it was recommended by a lot of friends.
Initially, I thought I can live without joining Facebook, but occasionally there would be conversations about friend’s Facebook wall posts and while my friends had conversations about it, I would feel left out. So, I finally ended up joining Facebook and I am glad I did it. It keeps you connected with your friends all over the world. I feel, no matter which part of the world my friends are, I am always connected with them. Also, I believe social networks like Myspace and Facebook are great platforms for marketers to understand the present young generation and the one coming ahead. We make profiles to tell others about ourselves. We post and communicate with our friends “publicly.” Whatever we post on our friend’s wall can be viewed by everyone. You can say there are insights available for marketers on each and every Facebook page. We talk about things from what we like to what we want to see in future products. We talk about what is “cool” and the most wanted in the today’s market.
These days, it’s not only the laptop we carry, but many kinds of portable technology with us every day! I remember I started using cell phone in high school, which was a simple phone that could just be used for calling or texting purposes. In these past few years, looking just at the cell phone, we see a great amount of change in them. They are far better in features, for example, more storage, slim, and there is a wide variety of brands and kinds to fit your style. I was amazed when I first found out about the internet on cell phones. I personally like the I-Phone. I think it’s a small gadget that offers different kinds of technologies summed up in one. To begin with it’s a cell phone and furthermore you can store music, videos and browse the internet. With access to the internet you can do anything from watching movies online to playing games or even checking your e-mail. It replaces the basic needs for a computer and you can have access to it any time anywhere.
I feel it is really important for marketers to research the current trends in advertising so as to get the attention of the target market. Being a part of Generation Y, I feel this generation is always looking forward for new inventions. We are not only ready to adopt new things, but are also willing to create a demand for new inventions. If new inventions are marketed in an appealing manner, we will definitely try out the product.
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