teachthe4ps.com - teaching the 4 ps

Have you been following Zappos over the last few years?  Well we have.  The online retailer (not just selling shoes anymore) is known for its “Wow” customer service and quirky culture (see “Zappos knows how to kick it,” Fortune, January 22, 2010).  They have recently come out with a new television advertising campaign (see below) and they are moving into video sharing.  Looking for more?  Link through to read more about Zappos and its founder, CEO and “2009 SUCCESS Achiever of the Year,” (Success Magazine, March 2, 2010)  Tony Hsieh.

I like to talk about Zappo’s when I get into retailing.  I like to show students how one or two retailers have developed marketing strategies that work — and walk through the target market and four Ps.  I start by confessing to my students that fifteen years ago I told students that shoes would probably never be sold over the Internet because of the need to try them on (what did I know?).

You can walk through the marketing strategy — starting with big efforts at customer retention — so a major target is current customers.  Especially with shoe buyers, customer retention is key — since their returns will be much lower than new customers.  They keep customers with phenomenal customer service.  Prices are reasonable.  For Promotion, the great customer service generates word of mouth.  Promotion also utilizes advertising (see example below — that probably targets new targets and customer acquisition) and now I can add a discussion of online video.  Place befits a quick tour of the Zappos website – where you can demonstrate more Promotion with the customer reviews of several products.  you can also talk about free shipping and returns when you are talking about Place policies.  And Product is interesting as the firm has a very wide selection and now sells a lot more than shoes.

The day after the Super Bowl there are plenty of pundits ready to crown the best and worst ads shown during yesterday’s game.  Plus, there are plenty of sites dedicated to crowning fan favorites — see “Super Bowl Ads 2010” at the Wall Street Journal (I don’t think you need a subscription here), which as of this writing ranks the Audi “Green Car” as tops based on the votes of WSJ readers.   Probably the grand daddy of Super Bowl ratings, the USA Today Ad Meter (which uses a panel of 250 adult volunteers) had the Mars’ Snickers with Betty White at the top (we embedded that ad below).  Here at “Teach the 4 Ps”  used the Media Curves widget (see post below) — it’s online voters ranked the Budweiser Bull #1.   All these sites include links to all the ads.  Among pundits, you might enjoy reading reviews of the ads from Seth Stevenson at Slate.com, Stuart Elliott at the New York Times, or Bob Garfield over at Advertising Age (subscription may be required for this last one).

By the way, I would love to hear how you use these ads in class.  I usually show a couple of the AdMeter’s top rated ads and one of the lower ads.  I explain the research methodology used by USA Today.  Then I ask students why the top ones are “better.”  Eventually, I ask how we should judge these ads — and use it to bring us back to Promotion objectives.  If the objective is “likeable among a large cross-section of Americans” then these ads score well — but maybe the goals are to drive purchase, build awareness, or inform a particular target market.  This points out that these “popularity contests” may not be the best metric for judging the success of these commercials.

I really like this Toyota commercial. It is entertaining but also makes a clear point about Toyota’s hybrid engines. The ad simplifies and demonstrates benefits for a pretty complex topic. It would make a great complement to the very popular video case on the Toyota Prius (in our books’ video package). The video goes well in the Product chapters.  After showing the video, which describes new product development for the Prius, a professor might ask how this product could be advertised.  After some discussion, the ad below might be shown.

Verizon continues to run ads that promote its superior 3G network.  The 3G network allows simultaneous speech and data transmission at higher speeds — it is what you need to surf the web from your phone.   We have reported on this subject in a previous blog post (the previous post now includes links to articles on the subsequent legal battle).

This is a great example of a marketer identifying a competitor’s weakness (AT&T’s 3G network has significantly less coverage than Verizon and is a source of complaints of many iPhone customers).  Of course part of the goal is to distract customers from Verizon’s own weakness — Verizon doesn’t carry the most popular smart (surf the web) phone the Apple iPhone (although its recently Droid has received some positive reviews following its recent release.   The ad below is Verizon’s latest salvo in the battle.

UPDATE 11-22:  AT&T responds to Verizon.  How well do you think it works?  Who is winning this battle?  And should AT&T be replying to Verizon?

This article presents some of the interesting challenges marketers and advertising agencies will have with the new electric cars coming out over the next few years (“Selling the Electric Car,” Adweek, October 5, 2009).  My students are showing more interest in sustainability and green products.

How racy do you want to be in your class?  This CNN video clip (“’Save the Boobs’ ad too sexy?” 1:50,  CNN.com, September 24, 2009.) discusses a television ad promoting breast cancer awareness.  The ad has a strong sexist tone, but good intentions.  Such a provocative ad also gets publicity – witness the attention given it by CNN and no doubt other media outlets.  Do the ends justify the means?  You can find the commercial without the CNN commentary on YouTube.

“Brandweek’s Grand Marketer of the Year ’09: Joel Ewanick of Hyundai” Brandweek, September 14, 2009.   This is a great package of story, audio, and video content.  The article describes how Hyundai came to understand that customers weren’t buying new cars because they feared losing their jobs.  So Hyundai promised consumers that they could return the car if that happened.  Below you can see the television commercial Hyundai used on the Super Bowl to launch the program. The program resonated with consumers and spurred sales.

“Verizon ad – There’s a Map for That – HD version,” (0:31)  YouTube.com. Most of our students have cell phones – and this is a market they tune into.  Of course Apple has its “There’s an App for that” campaign to promote the applications available for iPhone users.  AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, has been criticized of late for its poor network – which happens to be one of Verizon’s strengths.  This ad provides a current example of competitive advertising.

UPDATE (11-3-09) – AT&T sues Verizon for the ad.

UPDATE (11-19) — Maybe that lawsuit was not such a good idea.  “AT&T’s Verizon Lawsuit Gives ‘Map for That’ Ad New Life,” AdAge.com, November 19, 2009

UPDATE (11-19) — “AT&T Loses First Legal Battle,” at Slashdot.com

Teaching Tip:  Do you want to add online videos to your PowerPoint presentations?  There are different ways to achieve this, but the following process is simple and effective.  This technique requires an Internet connection in your classroom.

1. Start by copying an image from the Internet (see other Teaching Tip in this newsletter).  I often get the logo of the company in the video.  You can also insert a PowerPoint shape.
2. Then go to the website where the video you want to show is located.  Double click on the web address so that the whole address is highlighted.  Choose the “Ctrl” and “C” keys to copy the address.
3. Go back to your PowerPoint and right click on the image.  Choose the “Hyperlink” option.
4. In the window that opens, click on the blank next to “Address:” and use “Ctrl V” to paste the address in.
5. From Slide Show mode, you simply click on the image and the web page will open up (this might take a few seconds).
6. You can then control the web page – perhaps choosing to show the video clip full screen if this is an option at the website.
7. Warning:  be sure to test this in your office – and on the computer you are using in class.  You want to make sure that sound is working and the site loads properly.