teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

I am not sure this really counts as subliminal — but that is the term that ABC News used — so I have an excuse for being sensationalistic as well.  Technically subliminal means “a sensory stimuli below and individual’s absolute threshold for conscious perception” (see Wikipedia – Subliminal stimuli).  The subject, and its effects, remain controversial — see the Wikipedia link for more information.  I digress, no matter the title, our students will enjoy the topic.

The video below (direct link to video:  “Grocery Stores Using Subliminal Marketing,” ABC News, September 23, 2011) addresses how supermarkets merchandise and display products to influence consumer choice.  People are typically conscious of these stimuli — but may not recognize the role of each in getting us to open our wallet or pocketbook a bit wider. I used this video today as an example of psychological variables that affect  consumer behavior.  The video will also work for retailing or promotion for point-of-purchase.. The video is only 2:08, but you do have to put up with a :15 advertisement at the start, so you might want to cue it up before class.

Mercedes Benz has struggled in recent years in its battle with other Germany luxury carmakers — both BMW and Audi now sell more than the fabled German icon.  This BusinessWeek article, “A Mini Mercedes with Big Ambitions” (September 22, 2011) describes the B-Class, smaller and more affordable Mercedes Benz — which targets a “younger, hipper clientele.”  The move is an example of expanding a product line downmarket. The decision has implications for Mercedes positioning and brand equity.  There are also questions about promotion to a new target market.  This is also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

This video, “Product Placement Goes Digital” appeared over at Slate.com (September 14, 2011).  The video clip briefly highlights the technology used to digitally place products into television shows after the show has been produced (or even after it has already run on the air).  The video alludes to some ethical issues that might be brought out in a follow-up class discussion.

The video might be a nice addition to your discussion of advertising or integrated marketing communications — as it shows how advertisers and programmers are responding to increased DVR use (and consequently greater zipping through commercials on television).  We have also posted this at Learn the 4 Ps.

‘Tis the season to sell, sell, sell.  Retailers, and marketing managers more generally, are always looking to give the consumer a reason to buy.  So today we have a couple of articles that show how that works.

First, an article in the Wall Street Journal that describes how retailers create 13 (or more) shopping seasons as a way to encourage more impulse shopping.  There are a lot of great examples of retail promotions in “A Season (or 13) for Shopping” (August 17, 2011, non-subscribers may need to click here).

My second article on seasonal promotions taps into the recently ended Islamic holy month of Ramadan.  International examples are always nice to add as class examples — and I don’t see many examples from the Middle East.  This article in BusinessWeek is short and offers taglines and explanations for campaigns from McDonalds and Tang among others.  See “Islam’s Holy Month:  A Time for Self Promotion” (August 25, 2011).

Finally a great B2B example we can share.  Good B2B examples are just hard to find.  And this one comes from Brazil — so it is international, too.

Problem:  A printer in a big city has tons of competition — how can they get their customers’ attention & interest?

Solution:  Check out what Brazil’s ArtCenter did to get the attention of a advertising agencies in Sao Paulo.  The creativity showed that they understood their customer as well.  Another fun example to show on the first day of class perhaps — or when you are talking about promotion and want to show an unusual B2B example of direct marketing in an international context.

I am always looking for good B2B or even better a great B2G (business to government) example.  This article, “Flogging Flak Jackets in War Zones” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, August 4, 2011) describes how salespeople for some defense contractors will get out into the field — literally into a tank in Afghanistan in one case here — to better understand their customers needs.  While there are dangers, there can be big benefits for defense contractors as identifying urgent opportunities can help avoid the Pentagon’s bureaucratic purchasing process.

The article provides a very interesting example to use in the organizational buying chapter — or when you are teaching personal selling and sales management.

Increased competition results in the need for more sophisticated marketing tools.  This article describes the pressure on many college athletic teams (particularly the big revenue sport of football) to sell more tickets.  A growing number of college athletic departments have turned to telemarketing — many outsourcing the task to a specialist firm with commissioned salespeople.  Many of our students will be interested in the context, but it might also be interesting to talk about the fine line that many colleges have to walk with respect to their marketing efforts.  Read “Marketers reshape how college teams sell tickets” (USA Today, Auguts 5, 2011).

This article and example could be used as a first day of class marketing example as students could relate to the context, or use it when you discuss competition or personal selling.

This is a great case study for a creative, clever, and contemporary campaign put together by the Droga5 advertising agency for Bing.  The 3 minute video tells a great story that will work well in a class on integrated marketing communications.  The case study includes details on the results — which are nice for students to see.  Of course most of your students are in the target market for the campaign and will be familiar with hip-hop artist Jay-Z. We also posted this at Learn the 4 Ps.

As consumers get better at avoiding traditional advertising, marketers keep looking for better ways to get their message in front of consumers.  Enter social gaming — games on sites like Facebook.  P&G’s Bounty brand of paper towels appears prominently in Electronic Arts’ Playfish social game “Restaurant City.”

Often times marketers will just stick their product into a game just to build awareness — even if there is no connection to the brand.  At least in this case Bounty’s appearance in the game reinforces its positioning.  Players who unlock rolls of Bounty towels are able to clean more quickly than the standard paper towels.  They can also unlock a Bounty janitor who is 30% more effective at cleaning than the regular janitor.  A tie-in with Facebook helped Bounty gain more than 500,000 new fans at its Facebook page (how can more than 1.2 million people “like” a brand of paper towlels on Facebook?).  Read more at “P&G’s Bounty Picks Up Fans From Social Gaming” (AdAge, June 30, 2011)

Regular readers of T4Ps know that we enjoy Seth Godin’s pearls of wisdom.  In “The ethics of sunscreen,” Godin argues that consumers need regulation to protect them from greedy, self-interested companies.  He uses the behavior of firms that make sunscreen as his example — though he suggests it generalizes to all firms.   I think Godin’s arguments hold up best for credence goods (products for which the utility is almost impossible for a consumer to assess – even after consuming the product). For a contrary view, check out “The ethics of sunscreen” at Often Wrong Never in Doubt (June 27, 2011).  What is a firm’s responsibility?  What are consumers’ responsibilities?

The articles might stimulate a discussion of marketing ethics and regulation in the product or promotion units.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.