Digital Communication Trends- TSN

1. An example of online advertising would be all of the businesses that advertising on the side bar of websites like TSN, Facebook, Google and Yahoo.  Companies pay for advertising spots on certain websites that their target market may visit.  Another example of this would be sporting good manufactures such as Reebok, Bauer and Under Aarmour, who like to advertise on websites that sell all sorts of sporting good such as prohokceylife.com, goaliemonkey.com and sportchek.ca.

2. TSN offers mobile applications on all smartphones called TSN mobile which ables the user to know scores and updates on their favourite teams and sports.  This app is also available on tablets.  They also have QR codes around the web that will link the user to the TSN website.

3. Examples of advergaming can be found on miniclips.com and on Facebook.  Businesses use Facebook to promote their business and by having a fun game to play that includes their product in it is all good for the company.  A really good example of this would be logo games on Facebook and apps.  In the game you need to put a companies logo to the companies name.

4. TSN uses social media to help promote their business.  They have both a Facebook page and a Twitter page which promotes their business.  Also, all of the broadcasters on TSN have their own Twitter accounts where they post updates in the sporting world, usually linked in with TSN.

5. Every year TSN does a Kraft Celebration Tour which in when they have a contest and people vote to have their town host a live TSN broadcast.  They do ten different town in ten days and it is the most watched TSN shows of the year.  Each town chosen gets a $25,000 donation from Kraft to help rebuild or renovate current sport facilities in the area.

6. There are many compnaies all over who use viral marketing to gain their busines popularity by using humor.  Here is an example of Viral Marketing from Geico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HItwu7PNdNo&feature=player_embedded

Hi-Tec Case Study

1. In this article, a unique selling point means that their product offers something different and unique from their competitors product.  This is meant to set their product apart from their competitor's in a positive way.

2. Hi-Tec's values in the marketing messages include; "proud, as Hi-Tec delivers more than their competitors," ,"honest, as products deliver on their promises," ,"fun, as it works creatively to provide positive solutions," , and "hungry, as there is always a desire to improve products."  These values relate to creating a USP because they are stating what is good about their company and saying that they are better than anything out there.

3. Hi-Tec adapts its marketing mix by creating new targeting markets.  They have the junior market which is a sector the offers hard-wearing shoes, an outdoor sports market which offers high performance footwear, and a specialist sports market which focuses on niches markets.

4. In my opinion, I believe that the methods that they are using are affective because their product is being see where it needs to be seen.  You`re obviously not going to advertise running shoes on the food network, you are going to advertise somewhere where your target market will be watching.  They have covered all the places that their target market could be watching, which is a great thing to be able to do.

5. After reading and evaluating the benefits of Liquid Mountaineering, I have an idea on how to link this to another promotional activity.  Since this campaign is relative to nature and being repellent to water, they could link it to eco-friendly footwear.  This is a very popular subject right now in the world, everyone is worried about their ecological footprint and this is something that would be beneficial to everyone

The Price is Not Right

On July 27, 2006, Grafton-Frasor Inc. was charged with false and miss leading pricing.  This company owns clothing stores such as Mr. Big & Tall, Tip Top Tailors, and The Suit Exchange.  They have been caught raising their initial prices really high before they go on sale to make it seem as though the item at the new price is a great deal.  On the price tags of these items, stated the regular price and the sale price but in fact the item was never sold for the regular price.  The payment that was put on them was $1.2 million, $1 million for the administrative penalty and $200,000 for the Bureau's Inquiry.

7 Mian Types of Promotion

Personal Selling

Advantage: with this type of promotion, the seller is able to better connect with the customer on a more personal level
Disadvantage: with this type of promotion, it is very expensive to have a seller go to individual houses.

Direct Marketing

Advantage: with this type of promotion, it is cheater for the consumers because they can get coupons and information about the company without having to go the the actual store.  this is also very cheap marketing for the company.
Disadvantage: with this type of promotion, the customer my develop a negative view towards the company because they may feel annoyed that they are getting emails from them.

Advertising

Advantage: with this type of promotion, the message gets across the best and easiest because everyone reads the newspaper, watches TV, listens to the radio and reads magazines.  By connecting with this many people, the company is able to get their message across.
Disadvantage: with this type of promotion, the audience may become annoyed with the constant advertising especially when watching television.  Some people change the channel when advertisements come on.

Public Relations

 Advantage: with this type of promotion, a company can really show their customers their positive details about their company through a third-party.
Disadvantage: with this type of promotion, a company has no control over what exactly is being said about their product or company, which can be negative.

Sponsorship

Advantage: with this type of promotion, your logo can be viewed by millions and millions of people and it helps you associate a company with other businesses through whatever your sponsoring.
Disadvantage:  this type of promotion can be extremely expensive.

Sale Promotion

Advantage: with this type of promotion, customers may have a sense of urgency to buy the product since there are usually a time period on the sales.
Disadvantage: with this type of promotion, customers may see the product as low quality since it is on sale and at a lower price.

Digital Communications

Advantage: with this type of promotion, it is cheap, easy and fast to get a message across to your audience.
Disadvantage: with this type of promotion, it is very easy to send the wrong message since it is just a click of the mouse away.

Example 1

Shreddies had a brilliant extension strategy when they had a huge marketing campaign promoting their new product.  The funny thing is that it wasn't new, they just changed the packaging.  By saying that they had a new product, they were able to make a new marketing campaign that increased the longevity of their product.

Example 2 

Kellogg's mini-wheats cereal has use the technique of slightly changing their product and packaging.  They changed the flavour of their cereals to try and gain back some lost appeal for their products.










Example 3

To extend the product life of Jell-O, instead of only making Jello-O powder, they began making Jell-O pudding cups.  This helped to renew the brand awareness and increase the profitability of Jell-O.







Example 4

Doritos is a perfect example of a company who continually uses extension strategies to lengthen their products life cycle.  The major strategy that they use is making new flavours.  they are always creating new chip flavours that are really tasty.

Product Mix/Product Line/Product Item/Product Depth

Apple Product mix

Blackberry Product line

Apple Product item: Iphone 4S

Product Width: Apple

The product width for Apple would be Ipod, Imac, Iphone, and Ipad

Product Depth: Apple
The product depth for Apple's Ipod would be Ipod touch, Ipod shuffle, and Ipod Nano.  These products can range in memory for 4GB to as much as you want.

The Product Life Cycle

1. A fad- pet rocks- I believe that this product did not last very long because it is not a very good  idea.  I have a hard time trying to figure out how it became popular to begin with.  I see no attraction in having a pet rock and do not understand why people did.  The founder was able to sell over 1.5 million pet rocks.

2. Long Lasting product- Ketchup-  I believe Ketchup has lasted as long at it has because it has a solid company producing it.  Heinz is very popular when it comes to food.  I also think that Ketchup has lasted so long because it is an ingredient that goes on everything.  With the increase in popularity for fast food products such as hot dogs and hamburgers, there is an increase in Ketchup sales too. 

 3. Tech Product- Ipod Nano- This product is made by Apple.  I believe that this product lasted a fairly long time because when it was released, it was the newest and most innovative piece of technology on the market.  The popularity of this product eventually went down because of the introduction of the Ipod touch.  Apple basically had the best product out there and then made it bigger and better.

Luxury Brands

Ferrari is a luxury car dealership that has been producing sports cars for many years.  Most of their vehicles are built in Italy.

Price range: $190,000-over $500,000

They sell their cars and accessories online and in dealerships.  The accessories that they sell start at $5 and goes up.  They sell watches, jackets, t-shirts, shoes and many more memorabilia.  Since the target market is so small, it is hard to open a lot of dealerships, and since their products are so expensive and desired, people are willing to travel to the big cities to pick out their dream car.

Their target market would be older, wealthy males and females, and young wealthy males and females

  These products appeal to me because they are luxurious and stylish.

People would be willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money for theses products because they are stylish, luxurious, and a lot of people dream about driving one.  It's all about the dream.  People grow up wanting to own a fancy sports car. 

This is a picture of basketabll star LeBron James standing beside his Ferrari.







,

Under Armour SWOT Analysis

Strengths: powerful brand identity, focus on product performance, simple merchandising story, customer satisfaction, and a proven management team and culture focused on innovation.

Weaknesses: very limited product line, narrow focus, considered a male targeted brand, lack of customization opportunities.

Opportunities: new market opportunities, more competitive prices (lower), more outlet stores, new trends always come up, exoand into new markets.

Threats: competitors suchs as Nike, Reebok, and Adidas, customers budgeting may turn them away from their high prices, substitute products on the market, low price importers.

Mass and Niche Marketers

Mass Marketers: Walmart, CocaCola, PepsiCo, Costco, Target, K-Mart, Canadian Tires, Mcdonalds, Zellers, and Sears.
Niche Marketers: Victoria Secret, LuLulemon, Starbucks, Lids, Starlet, Coffee Cravings, Viagra, Mr. Sub, TNA, and Quiznos.

Lamborghini

 

Lamborghini

Product

• hand made, know for quality, reliability and technical excellence
• luxury sports car

Price

• the price of a lamborghini ranges from $170,000-$380,000, plus upgrades.
• this is a very expensive car brand and is bought buy customers with an insane amount of disposable income

Place

• lamborghini dealerships are located in very busy areas.
• there a only three lamborghini dealerships in Canada

Promotion

• lamborghini uses very little advertising because they have such a well known brand that if someone is buying one, they have planned to buy it for a while.
• the people that can afford one of these cars would know they want one, they wouldn't see an advertisement and they decide they want it.

Consumer

• the typical consumer of a lamborghini would older male, in his mid to late 50s, or a younger male that has a very high income.
• these consumers would live in big cities or outside big cities
• very high income, with a high level of education

Competition

• direct competitors- Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin
• indirect competitor- Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Toyota, jet skies, four-wheelers
• these companies are indirect competitors because the consumer could save a lot of money if they bought the cheaper porducts.

Competitors

Market Leader: An example of a market leader would be Apple in the smart phone industry. 

Market Challenger: An example of a market challenger would be Nike as a challenger to Under Armour. 

Market Follower: An example of a market follower would be Bing for an online search engine.

Market Nicher: An example of a market nicher would be a Pro Hockey Life who only specializes in hockey equipment.

Nike vs Under Amour

   

    After looking at these two companies I have a couple recommendations for Nike and Under Armour.  My first reccomendation for Under Armour is to widen their product range.  They are mainly into performance clothing such as compression shirt and shorts.  I think if they produced more regular clothing, then they would see the number of customers grow.  Another recommendation for Under Armour would be to lower their prices a bit.  I know when I a shopping for clothes, I sometimes shy away from Under Amrour because of the high prices. 

    A recommendation that I have for Nike is to advertise a bit more.  If I were to think right now of a recent television commercial for Nike, I would be able to come up with one.    

    Overall, I think that Nike has the competive advantage because of its wider range in products, lower overall prices and stronger brand name.  I think that Nike is above Under Armour in every category except for performance athletic products.  Once Nike gets better at this they will be 100% better than Under Armour.

Shreddies

   A product that I found that has had an increase in demand in the past couple years because of their marketing is Shreddies.  A great idea from  their marketing team was to advertised that they had a new product called Diamond Shreddies which were the exact same thing as the original Shreddies but rotated to look like a diamond.  They had to change nothing in the manufacturing process, except for the change in the design of the box so this was a great idea that didn't cost a lot of money to do.  By doing this they were able to market their current product by saying that it is a new and reinvented product. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV6xrmm2mII&feature=player_detailpage

Millennials

There are many different stereotypes when it comes to the 'Millennials.'  Most of these stereotypes are very accurate.  After reading an article I agree with the fact that we are team-oriented and we like to socialize.  In another article I read that it said that millennials spend most of their money on food, technology and personal care products which I agree with.  I wasn't able to find anything that seems untrue about me and this generation.   

Commercials

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn3mktl30iw&list=PL67F02D5D32D11083&index=36&feature=plpp_video

Your Consumer Profile: M & Ms commercial

Segmentation Factor	Specifically:	How you would be described?
Demographics	Age	Less than 30
	Gender	Both
	Income	Disposable
	Family Life Cycle	Any
	Other?
Psychographics	Lifestyle	Social, young
	Taste in Music	Party music
	Attitude towards health	Too young to be concern
	Celeb you most admire	n/a
	Sports/fitness involvement	Casual
	Extracurricular activities	n/a
	Other?
Geographics	Urban, Suburban, Rural	Urban and suburban
Behavioural (you may want to think of a particular product that you use often or is new to you)	Benefits sought	Good social snack
	Loyalty	m&ms
	Usage	Regularly
	Occasions	snack
	User Status	n/a
	Other?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3bqbJduK2w&list=PL67F02D5D32D11083&index=25&feature=plpp_video

Your Consumer Profile: Suzuki

Segmentation Factor	Specifically:	How you would be described?
Demographics	Age	Under 40
	Gender	Male
	Income	Middle class
	Family Life Cycle	family
	Other?
Psychographics	Lifestyle	Looking for thrill, likes to have fun, mid aged men
	Taste in Music	Rap/hiphop
	Attitude towards health	N/A
	Celeb you most admire	50 Cent
	Sports/fitness involvement	N/A
	Extracurricular activities	N/A
	Other?
Geographics	Urban, Suburban, Rural	All
Behavioural (you may want to think of a particular product that you use often or is new to you)	Benefits sought	Fun car
	Loyalty	Suzuki
	Usage	Often
	Occasions	When you need to drive
	User Status	n/a
	Other?

Your Consumer Profile: Doritos

Segmentation Factor	Specifically:	How you would be described?
Demographics	Age	Under 50
	Gender	Male
	Income	Disposable
	Family Life Cycle	Family
	Other?
Psychographics	Lifestyle	Sense of humor, lives with family,
	Taste in Music	N/A
	Attitude towards health	Casual
	Celeb you most admire	N/A
	Sports/fitness involvement	N/A
	Extracurricular activities	N/A
	Other?
Geographics	Urban, Suburban, Rural	Urban and suburban
Behavioural (you may want to think of a particular product that you use often or is new to you)	Benefits sought	good snack
	Loyalty	Pepsi, Doritos
	Usage	Often
	Occasions	Snack
	User Status	n/a
	Other?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pkl_briuB0&list=PL67F02D5D32D11083&index=51&feature=plpp_video