Cheap Marketing

Many of us in the management program have dreams of one day, opening our own business. One of the difficulties with opening a business could be the sometimes extraordinary cost of advertisting.  So what do you do before you have enough money to pay for billboards and television advertising?  One way to create advertising buzz is through direct email from real people.  Potential customers are more likely to read emails that they do not view as "spam."  Your email could read a little bit about your product or service, but brief enough that the customer will actually read it.  Another way to increase advertising is to perform 'webinars,' which are online instructionals on how to use your product/take advantage of your service.  Another way to boost advertising would be to give away free product.  If it's good, people will talk about it and you wil gain a customer base.  (Let's just assume your product is actually good.) :)

What other ideas do you have about cheap/free advertising for new startups?




Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225799

Response to Colin's Post

Do you believe that there should be laws in place to stop this? Also (if you are against the above mentioned practice) in America why aren't there laws that don't prevent models from having unofficial physical requirements?

I do not think that there should be laws in place to prevent companies from choosing employees based on physical appearance.  This company is using a particular gimmick in order to create an image to sell seats.  If that is how they want to present themselves, then that is acceptable.  As Colin said, there are image requirements for models to work in the United States, and that is because the fashion companies wish to project a particular image.  This is just an example of a business strategy.  n

How Ford Uses Social Media

Ford has been on the forefront of using social media to advertise to customers in a variety of ways.  Firstly,  Ford uses Twitter to allow Twitter users to talk about Ford.  In 2009, Ford recruited 100 people to drive the Ford Fiesta, with all expenses paid by Ford. They were then asked to update thier experiences on both YouTube and a website set up by Ford dedicated to the movement. This was an excellent idea to show other potential buyers what real people thought of the vehicle.  Another way Ford has used social media is through a character created to start a dialogue with the public on social media.  This creates more of a conversation than Ford just talking at people.  Therefore, more people will be likely to pay attention.  A third way that Ford uses social media is by creating Facebook pages to celebrate and give credit to Ford's fans.  This creates an image of Ford drivers as fun and therefore the Ford  brand becomes desirable.

To what extent do you think companies should use social media in comparison to other forms of advertisement?

Response to Colin's Post

A company asking for a zip code is just another tool they use to better understand and target their customer. Do you believe that companies should be allowed to ask for zip codes or do you think it should be considered personal information and why?   

Yes, I think that zip codes are considered personal information because it allows companies to send advertisements and catalogs to the geographical area that you live in.  Though this benefits the company by the ability to track sales and target certain geographical areas, it violates the customer's privacy.  Customers should not have to give thier zip codes, but should have the option in case they do want to receive advertisements and catalogs from the companies in question. 

Video App "Vine"

Vine is a an app used for creating short six second videos that get posted to Facebook or Twitter. This can potentially be used for marketing because it provides inexpensive means to reach out to social media.  The short lenghth of the video can be viewed as a positive or negative trait.  A positive aspect would be that the user that views the video will only get to see the main points that you wish to convey and (hopefully) remember those main points.  A bad aspect of this short length could be that if you need more than six seconds to make your main point, it may be totally useless for you.  Another huge benefit of Vine compared to other video app services is that it starts creating a video instantly, and is very simple to use.  You just have to press a button to start and lift when you are finished.  This means minimizing the time that goes into these advertisements and therefore thier expense.  A disadvantage of the Vine app is its negative reputation due to an inappropriate use within a few days of its introduction.  This lead to Vine being rated as a '17 and up' app, which limits use.

Do you think Vine would be a useful marketing tool? Why or why not?

Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225872

Response to Lindsey's Post

How else do you think technology has changed the way products or services can be marketed? Do you find internet advertising more successful or less successful?

I think that technology has changed a lot about how products or services can be marketed.  Technology has opened doors for business to track potential customer's internet habits, adapting their advertisements to more accurately target groups.  I think this is both a good and bad thing because it begins to raise questions about privacy and how much information about you that really want these companies to have access to.  I think internet advertising is more effective because companies can accurately target the specific groups of people likely to react to their advertisements in a positive way.  Google knows I shopped for boots on the internet, so now I get constant boot advertisements which may lead me to buy a new pair of boots even though my last pair is fine.  Internet advertising leads to more buying and selling opportunities. 

Response to Corporate Branding Article

I found this article to be fascinating. The author is right about political branding.  I think that this is a brilliant idea for presidents, however, not as good of an idea for America.  When a politician creates a brand of his/herself, that becomes an idea that can stick to the public's mind.  This image may very well be sustained despite actions which counteract that particular brand image.  I also think that when people can easily attach on to a particular image, or brand, they are much less likely to actually do the research to discover what is really going on.  It's very easy to find on the internet about things Obama has done that are the complete opposite of what he said he would do.  There are many appalling events that have happened in his presidency, and I very rarely hear the average person discussing these events.  Most people I know believe that the president is doing and acting in the way he promised, or they don't care at all.  I find the author has an interesting point when she says that young people who rallied for him during the elections will become jaded and less likely to vote again.  I believe that a lot of these young people aren't involved enough to know exactly what is going on, and many of those who do know will give up on politics for at least the time being.

Question:  How do you feel about the relationship between President Obama's actions and the brand image he portrays?