The Overspent American

In class yesterday we watched a very interesting video about the endless cycle of consumerism in our country. I don't think anyone knows exactly when or why we switched from the regular work schedules of the past to people working up to 80 hours a week. The video seemed to explain that do to our increasing spending habits, we work to compensate for that spending. The more money you make the more money you're going to spend.

After facing some of the questions we were asked to answer, it seemed evident that we really changed in 2003 when the "new consumerism" traits started to occur. This new consumerism is a result of companies simplifying their marketing strategies and blasting consumers with multi-media advertisements. Since people generally aspire for a lifestyle that is hard to achieve, it makes sense that people are willing to work 80 hour weeks in order to live the lifestyle of the "Gates's."

The problem with this is that since the mansion you purchase, sports car you drive and designer clothes you wear are tangible objects, they physically show the rest of the world how successful you are in a subliminal way. The people that see that you have these things do not know how much money is in your bank account. Or how much debt you have on your credit card. So, consumers in our country are constantly bringing on debt in order to purchase these flashy products in order to achieve the sense of prosperity that they have longed for.

In our modern day, it is apparent that the "Overspent American" is getting worse. Do you think that things will continue on that path? When will it eventually be too much?

In Response to Molly Keereweer...

What other troubles may Volvo face by hiring their new spokesman mainly to gain customers of young and Chinese populations?

Jeremy Lin has definitely been getting his name across due to his famous "Lin-sanity" term. But, I am not sure if this is going to be as successful of a marketing plan as Volvo thinks it can be. My reasoning behind this is that Jeremy Lin is so new to the NBA. He has hardly had enough time to really make an impact in the game. Plus, by using someone who is still currently playing in the NBA may pose some difficulties. For fans that are opposed to the New York Knicks this could be a reason not to buy a Volvo. 

On the other hand, it could be successful to the Asian community. There has been a very high volume of Asian's attending the NY Knicks games at Madison Square Garden recently. They seem to have a lot of pride in the fact that Lin has been so successful. So, the advertisements could reach out to them well. 

Athletes have always been a popular choice for promoting products. Do you think that Jeremy Lin is the right decision for Volvo's new marketing scheme?  

Can Dollar Shave Club Cut Gillete?

After this years Superbowl a lot of the students in our class posted about the different advertisements that aired during the game. One of the advertisements that had its debut was the Dollar Shave Club. The Dollar Shave Club's ingenious commercial explained how can get quality razors and razor blades for only $1 a month. Now, months later, people are wandering if they really have what it takes to take on company's like Gillete and Shickk that are already so implemented in the razor market. Well, this article explains how this comedic approach to men's hygiene could take down the leaders.

Due to Dollar Shave Club's marketing techniques hit the public hard. Entrepreneurs are betting that they can make it because they raised over $1,00,000 in seed funding. They also signed up 12,000 members in 48 hours after their debut commercial.

Could it be possible that by creating such a joke-based commercial it created a larger impact than if they tried to sell their product more seriously? What type of marketing strategies should other companies learn from this?

In Response to Tyler Mcwhirk...

Are we ready to fully rely on technology? Or should we at some point say maybe things are not too difficult and we do not need so much extra in life? 

We cannot deny the inevitable. Technology is something that is growing at such a rapid rate that sometimes we can't even look back on how drastically things are changing in our society. To take an example as simple as movies. Just a few years ago VHS movies were the common source of movies in a household. Now, people are watching Blue Ray movies on their Blue Ray player connected to their flat screen plasma T.V. Efficiency is something that our society is obsessed with.

Now, take this example and reflect it towards coffee such as Tyler did with Starbucks. Coffee used to a drink that was simply, "coffee." You could go anywhere and just get a cup of coffee. Now, there are tons of flavors, types and variations of the sort. Plus, there are places such as Starbucks that offer prestigious cups of coffee for the staggering price of around $5. This alone shows how innovation is constantly around us. The fact that Starbucks is creating mobile payments in their drive through locations does not surprise me.

Starbucks needs to think strongly about their marketing for this because it could get to the point where it really is too much for a cup of coffee. Sure, Starbucks has their certain target market of people. But, if Starbucks gets too into the technological side of things, they could lose customers. I know that when I have been at Starbucks a few times, it is nice to see that the baristas know exactly what they are doing and specialize in coffee. If Starbucks slowly takes out the amount of human interactions with the customers, they will no longer provide a service but a product. Most consumers will not pay as much for a product as compared to a service.

Do you think that it would be better for a company such as Dunkin' Donuts to invest in something like mobile payments? Would it be more successful than Starbucks?

 

Yahoo Lays of 2K Workers.

The only surprise I got after reading this article was the surprise of actually seeing the word "Yahoo." I haven't seen or even thought about Yahoo in quite some time. Of course Google is way ahead in the game but it seems even Bing is having more luck getting their name out there than Yahoo. So, why the layoffs?

In the article, CEO Scott Thompson explains the reason for them. He said he wants to create a new Yahoo that is, "smaller, nimbler, more profitable, and better equipped to innovate." Although this sounds like Yahoo really knows what they are doing, it most likely has to do with the fact that they have been constantly having flat revenue growth and a declining number of hits.

It seems that Yahoo's marketing may actually be one of the large problems that got them into this mess. When Bing first came out they were advertising all over the place. It seems hopeless that they could ever surpass Google but they are definitely gaining a good reputation. They even made their way onto the MTV show "Ridiculousness" with Rob Dyrdek. Google has been making more and more innovative moves within their company as well as obtaining YouTube. Google has also been advertising greatly.

So, why is Google advertising more than Yahoo when Google is obviously more successful? This question should have been addressed by Yahoo marketers already. They have failed to find their way into television ad's or any billboards while there competitors are doing so frequently.

Since this wave of layoffs is just the beginning of Yahoo downsizing, what do you think that Yahoo could do in the future to market better and attempt to create some new sources of revenue?

In Response to Molly Keereweer...

How might this credit card have an effect on past, present and future customers?

In regards to Living Social, this could be a fantastic marketing concept. The fact that you questioned the past, present and future customers is very wise considering all of the the different times of customers will be effected by this move. 

For the past customers they could find this change to be a great reason to go back to Living Social. If there was something about the company that they didn't like before, this may be a good reason to go back. For the present customers it opens up a whole new world to Living Social that they have never seen before. Innovation is absolutely key for every business to succeed because society is general is constantly wanting something new. The future customers could now finally begin to see Living Social as a company that is worth looking into further or even to invest into. 

This idea that Living Social has is actually quite close to something that we talked about in class as an idea for Monadnock Buy Local to try. By having a set card for your customers to shop at certain stores, it opens up more business to local businesses or in Living Social's case their affiliated stores, as well as creating loyalty with the customers and producers alike. 

All in all, this has the potential to really get Living Social out there as a successful company. Do you think it would be easier to have a card like this for a company like Living Social or for a local initiative like Monadnock Buy Local?

Texas Rangers Would Like You to Pay $26 for a Hot Dog

Anyone who that has ever been to a MLB ballpark or any other professional sporting arenas has experienced over priced food and beverages. But, in this article, it explains how the Texas Rangers are now planning on taking that to a whole other level. With their new $26 hotdog. They need to create multiple marketing strategies to their consumers if they want to be able to charge this kind of cash for something so simple. Of course, it isn't any regular kind of hotdog.

This hot dog called a "Boomstick," named after the bats that Nelson Cruz uses, is going to have over a pound of beef, cheese, chili, onions and a special bread flown in from France. The question is, do consumers at ball games really care about that stuff?

The prices before this were already very high and people were willing to pay the amount because going to a professional sports game is considered a special event for most. But, this is preposterous. The Rangers are also attempting to serve Asian food, but only when Yu Darvish is pitching. It is clear that the Rangers need to re-think their marketing strategy for their food and beverage services.

In my opinion, they should be attempting to lower the prices in order to bring in more customers in general. After all, the main source of income they make is from the tickets themselves. It would be something different if the New York Yankees boosted their products, which they in fact have, but the Rangers do not have nearly the amount of money or fan base to bring in as many customers to the game.

Would you pay that much for a hot dog at a baseball game? Do you think the Rangers will be able to make money from these price raises or actually lose money from it?