Hello Returning and New Readers of Teach the 4 Ps.
We have been writing this blog for almost 10 months now — and it features more than 240 posts. With a new semester right upon us, we write this post to highlight a “Top 10″ list. These always seem to do well at other blogs. The list features some past posts that you might find useful going into the new semester. [New to the blog -- click on the gold type to link through to the original post.]
For more entertainment, viral campaigns are always fun. We try to give you a little background on a campaign so you can show the video and discuss it intelligently in class. The hottest campaign of late is Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” We have posted on it several times, see “Old Spice Campaign Smells Like a Sales Success, Too.”
An oldie but goodie (in viral video old goes back more than six months) is the “Coca Cola Happiness Machine.”
Are you planning to use more video in your classroom? Are you embedding video directly into your PowerPoints? If not, you might find this post helpful – “Embed YouTube Videos Directly In Your PowerPoints.”
Do you want to talk about the economy’s impact on consumers? See our post on “Schizophrenic Consumer Behavior” which links to a recent BusinessWeek article.
It is not all fun and games — in your class or on our blog. There are links to tons of relevant content and examples you can use in class. One of the great features of the blog is the ability to click on “Categories” (see list to the right of this article). If you want to talk about social responsibility in one of your first class sessions, you could click on “Social responsibility” in the list on the right and link to all of our posts with this category from the last year.
What about Facebook? What will it do next? They are certainly trying to monetize the more than 500 million Facebook users. Try being a text book writer – by the time you write something and it comes out in print, Facebook is being used differently. So we post a lot on Facebook. To keep up on Facebook and marketing, see the tags to the right and click on Facebook to see all related posts.
Come back to visit the blog often. Oh, and consider making comments on some of our posts — or send us feedback. Sometimes it is lonely authoring a blog and text book — let us know if we are connecting with you, if you have suggestions, or comments. Thanks.
This article “The iPad Leads Apple to the Elderly” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, August 12, 2010) describes how the ease of use of the iPad appeals to the elderly. The examples are mostly from Japan — where a fast growing elderly population make it a prime target market. The examples here work when talking about opportunities (chapter 2 in our books), demographic trends or market segmentation.
You might ask students: What else Apple could to do make the iPad more appealing to senior citizens? Encourage them to think about each of the 4 Ps. [NOTE: This article has also been posted over at our “Learn the 4 Ps” blog for students.
Customer referrals have a powerful influence on business buyers and consumers. We have previously reported on the Nielsen survey that found recommendations from others as the most trusted source of information. Articles in Inc. are usually practical — and this one fits that bill. In “How to Get Customer Referrals” (August 27, 2010) you will learn how to get referrals as well as when and how to ask for them. We all talk to our students about the power of word-of-mouth, but we should make sure they understand that marketing managers can influence customers to offer more referrals.
This Wall Street Journal article, “Luring Shoppers to Stores” (August 26, 2010 – non-WSJ subscribers may have to click here and choose the WSJ.com link) and video (see below) describe how retailers are leveraging technology to try to get customers in their stores.
The high tech POP (point-of-purchase) might provide nice examples to use when discussing technology and the external market environment, promotion, and/or retailing. The video is only 2:44 and might be nice to show in class. We have a great new video coming with the 18th edition of Basic Marketing (October 2010) that focuses on a related trend of digital signage.
B2B has always utilized custom communications — usually through the sales force. But now more and more B2B companies are trying to provide content that is useful and meaningful for its customers — often on their websites. The forthcoming 18th edition of Basic Marketing (October 2010) really emphasizes this as a source of “publicity” and “found media” (as customers typically search for and find it online). BtoB Online has a nice article, “Committed to Custom,” (August 16, 2010) that reports on this trend.
Lexmark International is one of the world’s leading makers of computer printers had a problem. While slow to come around, the trend to the paperless office is real. That trend significantly reduced demand for printers. So Lexmark adapted — and offers its customers services to help them print less. Lexmark helped Coca Cola save $11 million over five years — and sold them 3800 new mostly Lexmark printers.
This article, “After a Jam, Lexmark Turns to Services” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, August 26, 2010) provides examples for use when talking about goods and services or the product life cycle — as printers settle well into market maturity stage. It is also interesting to think about this change in the context of personal selling — where Lexmark no doubt had to change its personal selling strategy to a consultative selling approach.
When David Aaker, one of the world’s foremost experts on branding, writes a short article on “Why Are Strong Brands Strong?” (Marketing News, August 30, 2010) it is certainly worth a read. Not sure this link will stay up — I found it through an online search. If not, check out your Marketing News subscription (if you are a member of the American Marketing Association) or your library.
This TED talk from Dan Cobley links physics concepts like Newton’s second law, thermodynamics, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, and more with marketing. Cobley makes the physics concepts accessible and uses some interesting marketing examples to make his points. There are lessons for branding, advertising, positioning, and more. The video, “What physics taught me about marketing: Dan Cobley on TED.com” (TED, August 27, 2010) is only 7:39 — check it out below.
I enjoy listening to the podcast by The Ethicist - Randy Cohen at the New York Times. This Q&A involves reader questions about the ethics of a particular situation and Cohen’s answer (often quite witty) follows. We developed a similar Ethics exercise in our books — with a bit more nuance to make it a little more debatable. But the value is Cohen’s analytical responses. This question comes from an employee who works at a company developing iPhone apps — who is asked to post favorable reviews of all new apps from his employer – “Impersonating a Reviewer” (New York Times, The Ethicist, July 30, 2010).
You might use this as an in-class example. To make it more interesting, assume perhaps that everyone knows that its major competitor does the same thing. Does that make it more ethical? [NOTE: Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps - our blog for students of marketing.]
Here is the latest take on the ethics of marketing to disadvantaged consumers. Nestle has begun sailing a “supermarket barge” down the Amazon River and its tributaries. The company has adapted some of its products with cheaper ingredients and smaller packages — to offer them at prices low-income shoppers can afford. Sounds like good marketing — adapting the marketing mix to fit the needs of a target market.
Not so fast. The program has drawn criticism from many corners — showing the power of a few prominent voices on the internet to influence public opinion. This article in the Atlantic “Nestle Barge to Ply the Amazon, Bringing Ice Cream and Rage,” (June 21, 2010). The debate raises interesting ethical and social responsibility questions. It also raises questions about Nestle’s strategy and implementation of this project.
This issue might be discussed one one of the first few days of school around issues of micro- and macro-marketing (we cover these in chapter one of our books — along with social responsibility). It also provides a nice ethical debate to have in the segmentation and targeting chapter.
Lexmark International is one of the world’s leading makers of computer printers had a problem. While slow to come around, the trend to the paperless office is real. That trend significantly reduced demand for printers. So Lexmark adapted — and offers its customers services to help them print less. Lexmark helped Coca Cola save $11 million over five years — and sold them 3800 new mostly Lexmark printers.
Here is the latest take on the ethics of marketing to disadvantaged consumers. Nestle has begun