Reflecting On The Process

The Basics

Course objective one was "to examine and convey basic and emerging marketing concepts and terminologies." I believe I can say quite confidently that this objective has been accomplished. Not only can I easily name and define basic concepts, but I have learned to identify them by viewing and analyzing daily commercials in class. I think the marketing news presentations also helped me identify and understand basic marketing strategies that are happening all around us constantly. 

Understanding 

It was one thing to learn about the marketing mix and consumer behavior, and another to actually understand it. The marketing mix started out as four words that started with a P and if I'm completely honest, for something so simple it wasn't that easy to grasp right away. It wasn't until I had to identify and explain how the four Ps were being used in the advertisement I chose to present on, that I finally understood it. All advertisements use a combination of the marketing mix, some are very obvious but others are more creative. For example, I chose the Super Bowl 52 Tide Ad. The product was made abundantly clear through the constant line of "its a tide ad," however the product itself wasn't ever shown. In terms of promotion, they used an opinion leader, a friendly face from the hit TV series, Stranger Things to get the message of clean clothes across. These two Ps were the only ones used, as it wasn't necessary for tide to put the place because Tide is just about everywhere and the price is not an important part of their marketing strategy.

This assignment also made me think more about target markets. Every business major knows that "target market" are business buzzwords, but it really is one of the most important pieces in creating and maintaining a marketing strategy. You must know who you're selling your product to. It is important to segment the market as well. A company can't run generic ads everywhere, it would be a waste of money and resources. Instead they must tailor their advertisements to the crowd they are trying to reach. They must capture the attention of their ultimate consumers. This became apparent by analyzing the Tide ad and many others in class. For Tide they tailored their commercial to Super Bowl fans by making spoofs of classic Super Bowl ads that fans know and love. They were commercials related to the young adult and older population. They didn't mimic kids commercials because kids don't do laundry. Rather, they recreated, beer and soft drink ads to cater to the younger population that are taking charge of life and doing laundry. They also did classic family commercials for the mom that does the family laundry, and car commercials for the working parent who wants the thrill of a new car. They even went as far as making a fake pharmaceutical ad with elderly men and woman to target the older generations, because they need clean laundry too. Overall, it is easy to identify and see that Tide made their ads with the purpose and intention of getting through to the right consumers.

                                                      "It's A Tide Ad" -Tide, Super Bowl 52

Recognition 

The third objective, recognizing the importance of the consumer and the need for consumer orientation seems like a no brainer. However, there is in fact a bit more to consumer orientation than the classic saying, "the customer is always right." A consumer oriented company puts the satisfaction of their customers at the core of every decision they make. Some firms keep their consumers in mind in every aspect of their business, from customer service, the product itself, to how they are discarding wasteful materials at the end of the day. All in all, it is about trying to meet their customer's long term wants and needs. This is reassured and made evident by looking at companies like L.L. Bean, whose main goal is to have top notch customer service. What helped me better understand this concept was the video shown in class about Zappos and how they go to insane lengths to ensure the best customer service possible. In fact one of Zappos slogans is "powered by service." This has helped Zappos differentiate and grow as a company. It ensures brand loyalty which is vital for most firms to stay in business. Without their amazing service, Zappos may not have the customer loyalty they have today which means thousands of customers taking their business elsewhere.

Action

Another objective, and perhaps the most important was having the opportunity to put marketing into action. Learning terms and strategies in the classroom is one thing, but then actually developing them on your own really puts it into perspective. Our Knockout for a Cause event gave me the opportunity to design and create a marketing strategy unique to our project. We defined our target market and built a plan of action around that using a small budget and college student resources. We utilized social media and ran an ad campaign on FaceBook and GoFundMe. I designed our team logo and flyers which was more than just a picture, it embodied our event and charity all while still appealing to our target market, the college student. We got to see part of our plan fail and fully realize just how difficult it is to stay on track and implement a marketing strategy. Our final report for the event gave us the opportunity to analyze the tools the we used and how effectively we implemented them and how well our target market reacted. Taking marketing action tied all the pieces together and helped me better understand how everything in marketing fits together and how the marketing mix is truly the foundation of effective marketing.

Personal Contribution

Marketing has helped me really see that basically everything companies do is intentional, from the packaging of Chobani yogurt cups, music in the background of a Budweiser commercial, a Starbucks press releases, to Wendy's twitter posts. This understanding allowed me to positively contribute to the class as I found it fun to try and find the hidden meaning and clues in different ads and better understand a company's strategy. I found it easy to be engaged in the material because it relates to everything around us. I started the semester with the intent to learn how to better market my business's product and future endeavors, and I know for certain I learned the steps to do so.