Ringing in the cash
During the holiday season, the Salvation Army is more present than ever. They boost advertising through the radio and online communications like AOL and Yahoo in order to raise money. Who doesn’t feel like giving in the spirit of Christmas?
Each year they launch their Red Kettle Christmas Campaign (http://www.ringbells.org/) where volunteers ring bells outside of popular retail locations nationwide. This is the sixth year they have an online Red Kettle in order to encourage a person’s family and friends to easily make donations online.
This week they are launching the bell-ringing iPhone application in order to gain more from the younger generation. With this application, the 99-cent fee goes directly to the charity and it makes the iPhone have a ringing bell sound each time a user shakes their phone. They also have almost 8,000 fans on Facebook and more than 2,000 followers on www.twitter.com/SalvationArmy.
This year they have also teamed up with JCPenny for the online Angel Giving Tree program (http://angel.jcpenney.com/) where web-users are able to give gifts to children in need virtually.
The Salvation Army is branching out to reach all ages, which is why it’s so important they target younger people through digital channels. Their traditional direct-mail outreach is outdated and they are continuing to pursue ways to reach all types of audiences. More and more people are getting comfortable with spending or donating money online, making the Salvation Army in the right path for gaining a direct response to success this year.
The following is an interesting video about how one bell-ringer literally struck gold this week.
Shoppin’ around the Christmas tree
The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for almost every person living in America. It brings everyone together to indulge in gingerbread cookies, spend quality time together and most important: exchange presents. Normally, retailers would be exhausted from the hundreds of people who pass through their stores at this time of year, but with the way the economy has been looking that isn’t necessarily the case this year. While plenty of people will still take the time to go shopping, not as much money will be spent. Stores are forced to have as many markdowns and sales as possible in order to have any hope of making a profit this season.
In our final storytelling project, we have taken the time to capture what it’s really like in the shopping setting today. We take a trip through Woodfield Mall to admire the festive decorations as well as take the time to talk to a woman who works at a kiosk about how sales have been doing this year. In addition, we will catch up with a few Lewis students to ask how their shopping has been going this year. Although it’s brutal out there, people will continue to follow tradition and make purchases for their friends and family, and we are going to share these experiences on tape.
Look out stores, here we come
Every year Thanksgiving marks the start of Christmas season and with that comes the biggest event all year for both shoppers and retailers: Black Friday. Because of the bleak economic situation, stores are trying harder than ever to get people in their stores by offering freebies, discounts and social media to promote the insane deals. How many people decide to splurge this weekend may determine whether or not things are turning around economically. According to the L.A. Times, sales last Christmas season were the worst they have been in the past 40 years.
Several stores started their sales early online and places like Toys R Us are opening at midnight on Thanksgiving and giving each customer a box of Crayola crayons with their purchase. People can find the best deals on the official black Friday website www.bfads.net. This includes information on when stores begin their deals, what the hot items are this season and electronic buying guides. So set your alarm clocks, bundle up, and try not to get trampled this weekend as you make your early Christmas purchases!
People eagerly awaiting for Target to open in a previous year. Hopefully this Black Friday will be just as promising.
The cheaper the better, at least for consumers
November 18, 2009
During the current economic situation, companies need to focus on their pricing of products. Raising the prices too steep would easily turn away consumers but dropping it shallows the profit margin for the company. This is not only a concern for people who directly buy products but for retail or wholesale stores as well.
Costco recently refused to restock any Coca-Cola products due to a price dispute. Because they are one of the biggest wholesale stores in the nation, their business model strives for them to offer lower prices to their customers than other stores. Coca-Cola, one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world however, is striving to keep their profit margin at a specific level, no matter what.
According to Emily Fredrix and Sarah Skidmore from the AP Food Industry, Costco has been very open to consumers about this dispute by posting signs in stores and announcements on their website (www.costco.com) stating that “Costco is committed to carrying name brand merchandise at the best possible prices. At this time, Coca-Cola has not provided Costco with competitive pricing so that we may pass along the value our members deserve.”
Although this is not a regular business-to-business occurrence between a producer and supplier, both companies value each other’s products and services and hope to continue working together once the pricing issue is resolved. But until then, enjoy buying your Coke products at Costco because once they are out, they’re out until the two companies can shake their hands in an agreement.
Costco is a huge purchaser and supplier for Coke products, an unresolved dispute could only hurt both companies.
The new age of video-renting
How often can you say you can get exactly what you want and when you want it from a company? The red boxes you can find outside of grocery stores strive to provide just that. Today, movie rentals are being moved from in-store locations to technology-savvy websites that allow customers to pay a monthly fee in order to get their top flicks. But even in that instance, there is plenty of turnover time before the mailman can bring the DVD to your door. More than 50 million shoppers are turning to a more convenient approach.
Redbox was founded by McDonald’s in 2002 and has 17,000 kiosks located in front of stores like Walmart, Walgreens and Kroger. They allow customers to rent a movie for $1 per day, they accept all major credit cards, and get brand new movies in every Tuesday. Redbox provides much lower prices than Blockbuster and more intimacy than Netflix. Not only that, their locations are convenient enough to draw customers into other stores as well and people can search their site for what movies they do have at Redbox.com. Who could beat that?
In this day and age, innovators need to look one step ahead to predict what customers will want. Gary Cohen, senior vice president of marketing for Redbox knows how to do this, “I have always tried to find a product I believe in and understand what other people think of the product—the good, the bad and the ugly—then find the uniqueness and drive that message home.”
A customer taking a quick stop at Redbox to get the movie of her choice.
Before you dig in, read the menu
Business is booming in growing economies across the world especially in countries including China, India and Brazil. Since things are moving slow in the US, wouldn’t it make sense for a Chicago-based pizza place who is looking to expand to just pack up a restaurant as it is and put it in a country like Brazil? Not necessarily.
While there are thousands of businesses that have already gone international, it is important to know the country you are about to enter in—especially when food is involved. Not only should different tastes be considered, a business needs to keep in mind dietary restrictions, traditions, and even things like the weather. McDonalds has been able to adjust its menu according to different cultures throughout the year. For instance, in India beef has to be replaced with lamb because cows are considered sacred animals that shouldn’t be eaten; and in places like China someone may be able to get rice as a side if they aren’t in the mood for greasy fries.
Brazil doesn’t have as many picky-eaters, but it is hot in South America. The pizza place may want to consider that and put air conditioning in the restaurant location in order to bring in happy consumers. In addition, it is important to realize that their big meal is during lunch hours instead of dinner so the hours of operation would be appropriate and prices might have deals during that time for family lunches.
As much as expanding internationally could benefit a company, it could take years of research and preparation in order to make it a success.
All this carnival in Rio de Janeiro is missing is some American pizza
Put your mouth where the money is
Ever since childhood days, no one can deny how much they enjoyed the satisfaction of winning. Regardless of whether or not it was a race, or game or answering a question right in the classroom, people love to be on top. More and more, companies are using promotions and sweepstakes to build their brand loyalty and keep consumers interested in their products.
One of the most famous and reoccurring games include the McDonald’s Monopoly, which promotes both McDonald’s and Hasbro. The came consists of customers receiving playing pieces with certain menu items that correspond to a standard Monopoly board. If a person is lucky enough to get matching game pieces, they can be turned in for money and prizes, and there is always a grand prize for the person who collects the most costly properties on the Monopoly board. Providing customers with an incentive to win something is almost a sure way to get them to continue purchasing their items.
Other promotions include Subway Scrabble, which uses the same idea as McDonald’s Monopoly and My Coke Rewards or Pepsi Stuff. Coke and Pepsi both print codes or information on the inside of their product packaging in order for customers to purchase the product to see their chances of winning. Prizes include anything from a free soft drink to adding points that can be redeemed for a bigger win. Several stores like Coldstone may also use special cards to bring customers back and punch holes until it fills up and a sweet treat is rewarded.
There are an unlimited amount of opportunities for businesses to build their customer loyalty. Enticing people to spend money on purchases for a chance to win one of millions of prizes usually can do the trick.
Jingle all the way
Don’t you hate it when you can’t get that annoying jingle out of your head? Why do companies choose to irritate people who would potentially buy their products? The answer: because you probably still will.
The best advertising practices make sure that the consumer knows the product well enough to remember it, regardless of when and how. Back in the 90’s, it would be uncommon for a child to not have the Empire Carpet phone number memorized thanks to the catchy tune that was added to it and it would be just as unheard of if any American today didn’t know Subway’s latest five dollar gimmick.
The same is true for slogans; a good slogan is like a good song that you never forget. Once a company gets a saying for their brand out the right way it is sure to stick with buyers forever—sometimes even long after it’s retired. Most people can say they know all of these:
Just do it
- M’m! M’m! Good!
- The quick picker upper
- Is IT in you?
In case you live in a box, each of the above slogans represents Nike, Campbell Soup, Bounty paper towels, and Gatorade. Each of these has been around for several years, which makes it easy for the company to reinforce them and help consumers remember it over time. Also, from my own personal knowledge two of those four have a jingle associated with the slogan to make it even more impossible to forget.
The moral of the story is that a company doesn’t need a fancy advertising campaign, they need something that is catchy, something that is easily repetitive, and something that consumers will hold on to.
This doublemint commercial demonstrates another tune that has been around for decades.
Blast from the Past
As the most recent recession plows on, marketers are turning back to the good old’ days with concepts and themes of how their products were portrayed in past years. Retro marketing commonly resurfaces as the economy takes a dip and situations seem grimmer as a way of saying “We have been there for you in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”
Companies are now starting to use retro marketing to bring back the feelings that people got when they saw and consumed products in their younger years when finances were less of an issue and troubles seemed farther away. By re-introducing old campaigns to hit consumers’ already-existing emotional touch points, getting to know the consumer is critical. Brands, products and pictures of days-gone-by are being brought back to remind people of the cheerful memories they have associated with a company. As Andy Gutowski, co-founder and partner of the marketing and branding company Object 9 states, marketers can conjure up very powerful associations for their brands by connecting with consumers’ emotional touch points.
Examples of companies who are turning back time with their marketing techniques include vintage cereal box designs by General Mills and Allstate Corp. launching a “Back to the Basics” television campaign that portrays their survival throughout the past 80 years. In January, Pepsi-Co redesigned the packaging to fit the 60’s and 70’s, showing off groovy patterns and advertising. The only drawback of retro marketing is that marketers want consumers to have that feel-good recognition without reminding them of something their grandmother would by. Products need to still have a “new” and “cool” feel to provide the incentive to purchase. The best bet marketers have is to grab the highlights of the past to light a fire in the present.
The most recent Pepsi-Co Throwback groovy logos put a sunny-spin on the sugar-based sodas.
How Sensual… I’ll Take One!
Walking down the street you may see two ads for the same product; lets say it’s an advertisement for fresh fruit. The first one has a bronze and beautiful girl on it running across the field towards a handsome shirtless man holding a fruit basket in the foreground. The woman’s long tresses are waving behind her and a look on her face like she is ready to devour the first piece of fruit she grabs from the man. The second ad contains an average looking man, shaggy brown hair and a little overweight, holding an apple and giving a thumbs up with the other hand, grinning a crooked-teeth smile. Which would be more likely to incline you to pick up your produce?
To put it simply: sex sells. It brings out sexual appeal and there is no doubt that sex and intimacy has had its place in advertising throughout the past few centuries. In the 1800’s, tobacco ads were covered with images of naked women. Today, models pose provocatively in high-end clothing and magazines are filled with sexy Calvin Klein and Victoria Secret pages. People are naturally more drawn to a picture of a long-legged girl than a puppy. Men are because they are attracted to it and women are because they might envy it.
According to Max Levit, managing partner of Partners & Levit Advertising, these types of ads appeal to people because they are able to grab attention but must be used in good taste because it establishes a reputation for the product or brand. Certain companies like Abercrombie & Fitch have a black mark on their advertising because their magazines are thought to be too scandalous by some people. As a result of this, several groups boycotted their products and could put a dent in the company as a whole.
If done tastefully and creatively, sexually appealing advertisements can sell products better than any other method and will be continued to be used in the next few centuries to come.
