EOC: Week 10: What are the benefits vs the features?

What are the benefits of eating from the Veggie Van you ask? Not only are our precious customers eating healthy and savory food, but they're also having a great experience! Our truck itself brings joy to any place! With our always decorated Veggie Van you can have a small snack, or eat a great lunch without worrying so much about calories like you do with other places who are not nearly as healthy as us. Our vegan burgers, cakes, drinks, and snacks are all heavenly to the mind (can't think on an empty stomach), body (very healthy food!), and spirit, because our food will lighten you up for sure!

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

            The Veggie Van will sell %100 vegan foods for different occasions or seasons of the year. Around Valentine’s Day the truck will sell a meal with a Valentines Veggie Burger (Ketchup, red pepper, tomatoes, and the veggie patty of course), a sweet tea or lemonade, and a cupcake. Or around St. Patrick’s Day we will serve different meals with green veggies, green teas and drinks, and Irish coffee cakes. But, we won’t only do seasons we will also do special event themed food. For example: If the Warped Tour is coming, we will sell punk themed vegan foods around places where young people hang around (since most of Warped Tour is young). In an event like that we would sell veggie cheese burgers, soft drinks, and Vans themed cupcakes like chocolate cupcakes with black frosting and a skateboard cookie on top or purple sprinkles. People will be able to hire us for parties and private events and they’ll be able to choose what they want us to serve at the event (but it has to be % 100 vegan – it’s what we do). The Veggie Van will definitely be seen at local food truck festivals and maybe even festivals in other states. Though the food will look different all the time, our menu is simple: Veggie burgers, drinks, vegan snacks, and cupcakes. And we will offer a combo which includes a veggie burger, drink, and snack or cake. Finally, The Veggie Vans mission is to bring the joy an ice cream truck brings to children, but in a healthier, but delicious, and very unique way to people of all ages.

Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

It seems social media is getting bigger and bigger. I read on the article: Brand Ambassadors: Employing Real Customers to Get Out the Word that enthusiastic customers of Jet Blue Airways were found online and became ambassadors for Jet Blue. They got to fly to New York to get some training, and back home they would make special events like walks for charities that were supposedly sponsored by Jet Blue, even though the budget for the events are only $50. One event which sounds very fun is Blue Day where people dress up in blue costumes and sometimes even paint themselves blue so they could have a chance at winning a free round-trip voucher! I would love to have one of those at the Art Institute! I love dressing up And free traveling! According to the article: "Marketers select their brand ambassadors very carefully, based on customers’ devotion to a brand and the size of their social circles. They sometimes search blogs and online social networks to identify individuals who are already functioning as brand advocates. Once selected, the ambassadors are trained with real brand knowledge to go along with their passion for the brand. The ambassadors then tap into friends, family, groups, and broader audiences through personal conversations, blogs, live events, and online social media.For the ambassadors, it’s often a labor of love more than a paying job. Rewards include product samples, gifts, discounts, and token cash payments. Perhaps more important to many brand enthusiasts, they get insider access to company information, such as new products or services in the works." (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 143)

Facebook is very big in social media. With over 750 million users "More companies are trying to find new employees, threatening traditional job boards and competing with LinkedIn Corp., which has dominated the online professional networking arena." Honestly, I think it's a great idea for employers to go on people's Facebook. It shows them who they really are, and what they're really like. Though, there might be some things that employees don't want their employers to see; or their parents, which is why I keep mine private.

EOC Week 4: Consumer Vs Business Marketing

"In some ways, consumer and business markets are similar in their buyer behavior. But in many other ways, they differ a lot." (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 136)

1. The main difference between business and consumer marketers is their target. While business marketers sell to businesses, consumer marketers sell directly to the customer (or consumer). "The American consumer market consists of more than 300 million people who consume more than $14 trillion worth of goods and services each year, making it one of the most attractive consumer markets in the world. The world consumer market consists of more than 6.8 billion people who annually consume an estimated $70 trillion worth of goods and services." (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 136)

 2. Many consumer marketers advertise products that people might enjoy, but don't necessarily need. But for business marketing, it's different. Businesses want to, and need to buy.

"Most consumer advertising offers people products they might enjoy but don’t really need.  How many subscription promotions, for example, sell publications that the reader truly could not live without?  If we subscribe, we do so for pleasure - not because the information offered is essential to our day-to-day activity.

But in business-to-business marketing, the situation is different.  The business buyer wants to buy.  Indeed, all business enterprises must routinely buy products and services that help them stay profitable, competitive, and successful.  The proof of his is the existence of the purchasing agent, whose sole function is to purchase things." (The 7 Key Differences Between business-to-business and consumer marketing, Robert W. Bly)

3. Consumers don't need as much information as a business does. Businesses have to be very sophisticated when buying products.

"Business-to-business copy talks to a sophisticated audience.  Your typical reader has a high interest in - and understanding of - your product (or at least of the problem it solves).

Importantly, the reader usually knows more about the product and its use than you do.  It would be folly, for example, to believe that a few days spent reading about mainframe computers will educate you to the level of your target prospect - a systems analyst with six or seven years experience.  (This realization makes business-to-business writers somewhat more humble than their consumer counterparts.)

The sophistication of the reader requires the business-to-business copywriter to do a tremendous amount of research and digging into the market, the product, and its application.  The business audience does not respond well to slogans or oversimplification." (The 7 Key Differences Between business-to-business and consumer marketing, Robert W. Bly)

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics - MINE

“The U.S. population stood at over 305 million by the end of 2008 and may reach almost 364 million by the year 2030. The single most important demographic trend in the United States is the changing age structure of the population. The U.S. population contains several generational groups…the three largest groups [being] the baby boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials.” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 71) 

“The post–World War II baby boom produced 78 million baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Over the years, the baby boomers have been one of the most powerful forces shaping the marketing environment.” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 71) I wasn’t born between 1946 and 1964, I was born in 1992, so I’m obviously too young to be called a baby boomer and be among their group.

“The baby boom was followed by a “birth dearth,” creating another generation of 49 million people born between 1965 and 1976. Author Douglas Coupland calls them Generation X because they lie in the shadow of the boomers and lack obvious distinguishing characteristics.” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 73) Generation Xers were born between 1965 and 1976. Although I was not born around that time, I am somewhat like Generation Xers. According to Marketing: An Introduction, Generation Xers: “seek success, [but] are less materialistic; they prize experience, not acquisition.”, “For many of the Gen Xers that are parents, family comes first—both children and their aging parents—and career second.”, and finally, “They tend to research products before they consider a purchase, preferring quality over quantity, and they tend to be less receptive to overt marketing pitches.”

Millennials: “Born between 1977 and 2000, these children of the baby boomers number 83 million, dwarfing the Gen Xers and larger even than the baby boomer segment.” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 73) Though in ways I am like the Generation Xers – probably because I was raised by Generation Xers – I feel like I would fit in better with the Millennials because they are my generation and, “This group includes several age cohorts: tweens (aged 9–12), teens (13–18), and young adults (19–32).” (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 73)

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

“U.S. videogame industry sales fell 10% in June, as the sector continues to suffer from online competition and tepid consumer demand. Sales of new videogame hardware, software and accessories dropped to $995 million from $1.11 billion in the year-earlier month, according to NPD Group. “ (http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110715-706990.html) Obviously, the video game industry isn’t doing as well as it used to, but at the same time it’s expanding. With phones becoming “smarter”, and access to devices where one can play video games becoming wider, more and more game developers are attempting to make games that are not only more easily accessible – cheap, handheld, apps – but that can also be big hits. A great example of one these games is Angry Birds.  “With a combined 250 million downloads across all platforms the game has been called “the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far”. (http://www.abstract-thoughts.com/tech/angry-birds-factsfigures-links-for-all-platforms/) And it only took eight months to be created by only four people. Looking at the video game industry with the Boston Consulting Group Approach, I’d say older versions of consoles, like the original xboxs and playstations are the dogs because not many people buy them anymore. The question marks are the video games for the consoles because they require a lot of money to make them, and more (for ads) to increase their sales. Big hit video games on the other hand are cash cows for game consoles. If there aren’t good video games for a console, let’s say the Wii, then not many people are going to buy them. Consoles need hits so that people take interest and buy them to play the video game. So big hits produce a lot of money for the consoles. And at the moment I’d have to say handheld games, like Angry Birds, are the stars because they are cheap, fun, and are getting a lot of attention. And according to an analysis, “the market for apps on mobile devices such as phones and tablets has come into its own as a part of the entertainment content market.” (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35923/Analysis_Is_The_US_Video_Game_Industry_Really_Declining.php).

Bryan Ramirez

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

"Many sellers make the mistake of paying more attention to the specific products they offer than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products. These sellers suffer from marketing myopia. They are so taken with their products that they focus only on existing wants and lose sight of underlying customer needs. They forget that a product is only a tool to solve a consumer problem."(Marketing: An Introduction, pg. 7) Selling very popular and great products, Apple can easily be one of these companies. But, they have proven to me that they are not like that at all. Yes they are professional, but they are also very friendly. In the year 2010 when the iPhone 4 was going to come out, I was one of the many who waited outside their store to get it first, and what Apple did when the sun came out in the early morning was unexpected to me. They got their employees to run outside and get us even more excited and then offered us free breakfast! They also provided people with umbrellas because after the sun came out it was clearly getting hotter outside, which doesn't make customers waiting in a long line all night feel any better. And they even paid people to give out small ice creams, also free! Apple really did their best to show their customers hospitality with their positivity and refreshments. That, to me, is really caring about your customers and a great way to show it. And to this day, I consider that one of my best great customer service experiences ever.