Could it be? Is it almost spring? Breaking out the sundresses

Vermont is the arctic I swear. This winter couldn't be much colder. I don't know what made me decide to come to Vermont (kidding, I love SMC) but my goodness it is frigid. Thankfully, it's starting to finally warm up. I better not jinx that, but it is supposed to be in the mid 50's all next week! Sundress season is finally here.

If I were a marketer for a retail company, this would be my favorite time of year. Everyone is so sick of snow and cold, so breaking out the new retail is perfect marketing. Having different advertisings and ways of marketing to the target markets is crucial at this time. Working for Victoria's Secret, this is the time of year when we start re-introducing bathing suits to our floor sets. As soon as March 20th, the first day of spring passes, that's the true sign of warm weather coming our way. With new shorts and sandals hitting different stores throughout the malls the advertising and marketing of the products are more than important. 

As the semester comes to a close, we are really cramming a lot of information into the next few weeks. We were just assigned a video promotion for sustainability. My partner Charlie and I are thinking we would do it on the environmental sustainability of Smugglers' Notch. Being only 45 minutes away, and a "green" mountain, we think this would be a perfect example for us. The next few weeks will be very busy and packed with work, but I cannot wait for the semester to be over 

Spring Break Recovery

Spring break; came at a much needed time. I really needed a break from all the work I've had lately.   Seeing my family and not having to worry about papers or tests was definitely a relief. Getting back into the swing of things for school was not easy though. Coming up to the end of the semester, professors are really packing a lot into our schedule. Another fun thing over the break was I turned 20! About time I'm not a teenager.

Break was good since I got to get some new spring apparel. Shopping with my mom is one of my favorite things (and it doesn't hurt when brings her credit card). Pricing was one of the main issues that my mom and I got into. She didn't see the value of me buying a pair of $120 J Crew jeans, where I did.

I felt that this really related to what we've been leaning about in class, between pricing and finding the proper point where customers can still see value. There are different aspects of pricing that consumers need to be more aware of. Producers of these different products try to keep the price point to where customers will still be willing to purchase the product, but at the same time, producers need to make a decent profit for themselves.

Also, we are learning about the foreign markets. In a homework assignment, we compared the advantages of four different countries, with things such as masculinity, prices etc. It was a very informative assignment to see what the different countries value and see fit.

God Budweiser, you got me teary eyed again

I don't know how heartless you have to be to not find the Budweiser commercials ridiculously adorable, but I don't want to find out. Honestly last year with the Clydesdales finding it's owner in the parade, to this year having horses AND puppies. I mean come on, they're asking for me to actually cry. I'll give it to them, their marketing strategy is flawless, I don't even like beer that much and I'd drink it just from the commercials. That's how marketers do it.

The commercial starts has a sensitive side, as well as the "manly man" reputation of a heavy beer, which attracts all audiences. I always wait to see what tricks they're going to pull out of their sleeves. They're unreal, and genuinely entertaining to watch. Definite tear jearker, even for the boys (don't lie to yourselves).

COME ON. Just adorable. Who doesn't love puppies? 

The general consensus is the same, everyone loves their commercials. I recall from previous super bowls, Budweiser used to not pull your heartstrings. They used to use these two beautiful twins and appeal sexually toward men. Honestly, the song they wrote was really catchy, and I still know all the words to it (i'm just really embarrassing all the time) but the audience it was appealing to was really finite and specified to men. 

I like the puppies better.

I think that the change in their marketing strategy makes a huge difference because I know if I were to ask anyone tomorrow about the commercial, they will know exactly what I'm talking about. And not for anything, but it's creating huge publicity for the commercial, because if someone hadn't seen it, odds are they will be running to the internet to check it out. Inadvertently, Budweiser is creating a whole new audience that it wasn't reaching before. Honestly pure genius. 

So it's week two and I'm freezing. All the time.

Week two: Feels like I'm in Antarctica 

            Another week of marketing class down, and quite frankly I’m still very intrigued with the class. The more I go to class, the more I genuinely enjoy the class. To be honest, I've never had a class I really looked forward to going to. It's very different when you have something you're really fascinated in. Only problem I’ve been running into going to these classes is the weather. Holy Moley it is FREEZING in Vermont. Today it’s a balmy -9 so clearly I’m not leaving my bed for the day. Also, I have some exciting news! As of Friday, I’m a declared business administration major with a concentration in Marketing! I’m really excited to finally be taking some of the steps to becoming a real person (as weird as that sounds)

         So this week in marketing was particularly hard for me since I had to present chapter two. Ally, my partner, and I had to go through the chapter, pick out some main topics, and then from there had to design a lesson plan type of presentation. We played three games, which I’m almost positive, made most of the class hate us since they had to get up at 9:45 in the morning when they’re all half asleep. To start off we talked about the four P’s of marketing and played a game. We put the four P’s up and took sup-topics from each and had the students match them up. Game went smoothly except for when Ally and I totally forgot one of the answers. Oops. Then Professor Popovitch had us switch the students to their laptops and go on the McDonald’s website. We went through and asked for examples of cash cows, question marks, dogs and stars. That went really well and it was good to get a look at the way things actually apply to real life.         

            Next week we have our first test on Thursday. I’m nervous because the first test is always tricky since you don’t know how a certain professor tests. It’s only on the first three chapters, which aren’t bad so I’m not too worried about it. I also have my TED talk on February fourth. Which by the way, I cannot believe it’s already almost February! This year is flying by and I keep feeling like I’m forgetting to do some assignments. I guess I just need to try and be on top of my game more. Oh well.

            All in all, I think that this week was good; I really enjoyed working with Ally in our group, although it was hard having to go first. I like getting my presentations over with, but I don’t like having to be the first one. When someone goes in front of you, you have a chance to almost have the waters be tested for you. I also liked learning about the different parts of chapter 2. The deeper we get into the marketing class, the more I know I’ve made the right decision for my concentration with my 

Learning the tricks and trades of Marketing

            Marketing has always been my favorite aspect of business. Between the customer relations, and thinking of ways to intrigue the customers, there’s just something so fascinating about it. Working in retail, I’ve had plenty of experience in the customer relations’ field, as well as the basic knowledge of the different ways customers react in certain scenarios. Marking is a crucial part of the way business are successful in making profit.

            Throughout chapter one of the textbook, basic marketing skills were outlined, as well as the marketing process. First off, marketing was defined as “the process by which companies create value for customers and building strong relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.” The goals of marketing are to attract new customers by promising superior value as well as keeping and growing current customers by delivering satisfaction. Companies want to create customer lifetime value, which is defined as the value of the entire stream of purchases a customer makes over a lifetime of patronage. When a company obtains this value, they have created a customer for life, meaning they will continually make a profit off of this customer. The importance of this is that one happy customer will tell their friends about their satisfaction, creating new business for your company.

There are five basic steps in the marketing process, which are used to create customers for life. The first step is to understand the marketplace and customers’ needs and wants. Secondly, companies must design a customer driven marketing strategy. The third step is to construct an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value. The fourth step is to build profitable relationships and create customer delight. The fifth and final step is to capture value from customers to create profits and customer equity. All of these steps are crucial in the basic marketing strategy. The four P’s of marketing are equally as important. The first P is product. You must have a product that fits the needs and wants of the customer. Second P is price. The price needs to be on point, not being too high or being too low. The third P is placement. As I’ve recently learned, everything in a store is placed there for a reason. The place where the product is put can have an enormous impact on the profit for the company. The final P is promotion. Having a promotion, such as buy one get one is a good idea when your company doesn’t seem to have as much hype as it needs to be successful.

All in all, I’m very excited to see where this marketing class takes me, and what I can learn from it. Being a business administration major, and wanting to go into the field of marketing, this class is going to be an eye opener for me to see what I want to do for my career path. I’m more than excited to work in my group and to have hands on experience with this course which I can apply my skills to my career. The more I learn about marking, the more interested I’m becoming, making me very excited for the future.