McDonald's in Japan

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703791904576075450692538030-lMyQjAxMTAxMDIwMTEyNDEyWj.html

The author of this article believes that McDonald's is going to corrupt the healthy people of Japan with its high calorie burgers and in the way that it advertises promotions. As much as I dislike McDonald's (haven't eaten there in 10+ years), I don't see their strategy as wrong. Playing off of the culture's beliefs and interests is a really important part of marketing.

On the flip side, I don't think that it's really fair to offer only unhealthy choices. Imagine a group of kids going to McDonald's together (in Japan). If one kid orders the Idaho burger and another kid is trying to opt for something healthy, a lack of choices (as well as peer pressure) will force the child to go with the high-calorie burger, only due to lack of choice. Why should a company only offer unhealthy options when it can appeal to a wider audience with a variety? It seems unnecessary to me.

Are we similar, culturally, in how we want something that is only available for a limited time?

In response to Tom Jennings

Do you believe that the Domino’s Focus Group commercials were affective?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgwPw59iqhw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t23sgF4Bl7c&NR=1

In some ways, I do think that the Domino's commercials were effective, but first you have to know that Domino's, as a company, has been doing really well lately. The deals that they have recently (in the past year) put out there, have resulted in much higher sales. In my opinion, the more deals they offer, the more they increase sales.

The focus group commercials were a lot about the improvements they made in their pizzas, but of course the deal was stuck at the end of the commercial -- two mediums for $5.99. Also, I added two youtube clips (sorry about the sound on the second one). One of them talks about the milk from in domino's cheese and the other talks about the tomatoes that they get from California and how their website shows where they got every ingredient.

Either way, the commercials lead you to act -- go to the store or go online to check out where we get our ingredients... then order a pizza.

Were they actually effective? I'm sure they were just because people were hearing the name Domino's. At the same time, I think some people felt the actual way they filmed the focus groups were kind of weird (the walls moving), and didn't say much except that they brought unknowing consumers into a room and showed them that they were actually at a farm.

Have other companies adopted this strategy? Would they?

Green Marketing

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/marketing/a/greenmarketing.htm

Many companies have chosen greener paths, but are they truly green if they market themselves in a green way? I think before reading this article, I felt that the little factoids about being green vs. not being green were less of a marketing strategy and more of an environmentally thoughtful education of customers.

However, I do believe now that companies should use green marketing whenever possible. People should feel responsible for the ups and downs that are a result of their decisions. This doesn't necessarily end at education of social responsibility/green-ness, but it also may benefit companies who utilize green marketing. If you think about it, customers will likely remember the company that seems socially responsible - I know I do - and will be more likely to be repeat shoppers. Anything that a firm can do to differentiate itself from its competition will lead to a positive result.

My only question is whether or not this article really describes green marketing or whether it describes green washing. Is it more about preserving the environment or about marketing to people? I understand the concept of showing that the firm is "green," but by replacing plastic bags with paper bags, how much help are you really giving? I feel that you need to be green in all that you do as a firm, but you can take little steps to achieve the goal of being green.

Is the article really "green" or is it "greenwashing"?

In Response to Cristy S.

Do you think that you would want to raise a family in a small town or a big city? How could Rindge market towards a different target market?

I think I would like to go to a big city, but I hate to see children in a big city with their parents.. it seems like a very artificial place that lacks the "bubble" that kids might might need. I feel that a lot of people should feel the need to move somewhere less blunt. Small towns seem to help develop manners too, which is tougher to see in a place like NYC or Boston. The fact that you can walk somewhere in Keene and people smile and say "hi" makes a big difference.

Rindge could market towards people looking to build a family and help reinforce positive parental "teachings" I guess. I think that Rindge could also work on improving its amenities before it can fully develop itself as a marketable place. I personally do not know that much about the area, but from what I've seen it is very peaceful and quiet. It's close to ski resorts and it's a great escape.

What does Keene do to market itself, other than the college? Why do people stay here after they graduate, for example?

Marketing The Sound Of Music Resort

My mom is always trying to find things to market our business (my family owns a candy store), and she recently got an e-mail about how older businesses are finding new ways to market themselves, especially to people who are connected by social media.

The Von Trapp family is from the movie "The Sound of Music," and there is a resort-home in Stowe, VT that is an attraction for many fans of the movie. They found that there were defined seasons of tourists instead of steady visitors, so they changed their way of drawing in customers by being more connected through social media and by emphasizing stories from the family. They then chose to make a new package to draw in new customers.

The package allowed customers to meet a real member of the family if they stayed at the hotel. Many customers who hadn't yet been jumped on the deal, proposed during the quiet season. Now they have loyal customers who come every year who might otherwise not have visited.

"At a time when many hotels close up for the month, the "Meet the von Trapp" deal started driving new business. It was business that dropped right to the bottom line. And it was business that turned into repeat business."

How could we use this kind of deal to drive those not fully motivated to buy Campus Mom's services? Is it the fact that we don't have a great deal figured out or is it just the lack of awareness? How can we track our progress (in the case of this family, they used google adwords) ?

In Response to Chris Cheever

Now my question is are these corporate and technological geniuses over idolized? Or are people not looking past the face of these companies?

My answer to this question is... YES! They are over-idolized. I think that even technological "geniuses" are people, too. Sometimes they're a little over the top in their actions and attitude. Should we idolize them? Well, should we idolize anyone? I do think that it's important to have role models, but putting people on a pedestal means that it will lead to some kind of disappointment, and I don't mean to be cynical, but look at Steve Jobs now and his place in Apple. When Steve Jobs leaves Apple (and that seems to be in the near future), the company will suffer unless they can find another person like him, not just because of his genius, but because of his ties to the company and his image within Apple.

What other companies might have this problem? How many other CEO's do you know the name of?

Is LinkedIn the way to market yourself?

First off, here's my LinkedIn account: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=73233958&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro I use it and I like it for networking, but thus far I haven't had much action on it.

First of all, why do we need to utilize networking to find the right people? I think it's because when we network, we hope that all parties are happy with the end results, and there is almost a guarantee of that. When we're recommended for a job by a friend, it builds our own confidence and makes us more comfortable. LinkedIn, which is basically made for networking, is a way of marketing yourself and being proactive about your career.

When you market yourself, you have to think about place, price, promotion and of course the product. The product is you, and LinkedIn gives users tons of space to basically fill in a brag sheet about themselves. As a user, you're able to talk about your experiences, download your resume... which brings me to promotion. You're marketing yourself and you want to look good. LinkedIn allows you to do that with your own personal expression on your resume but also in your profile. The place is important and LinkedIn has a section for that. One thing that I could never imagine is someone marketing themselves using their "price" or pay expectations from employers.

Is there anything that fulfills every part of the 4 P's when you are the product as the employee to be? How do consumers (or, in this case, employers) use LinkedIn to find that perfect candidate and how does marketing yourself play into that?