Apple

How can one write a marketing blog without at least one entry on Apple? They are the cheese to the macaroni that is marketing. They are the KING of kool when it comes to their products. It all starts out with music. Many kids these days believe that music is the center of the universe (I'll admit, I am one of these "kids"). What better way is there to have the universe in your hand than through a small portable device? Not to mention that you are incredibly cool for having this "gold" in your hands. Everyone has seen the commercials. iPods are COOL (sure, there are other music players out there, but EVERYONE has an iPod, so you should too, right?). You have only the music that you want, and as much as you can cram in the device. Don't worry, all iPods come in various shapes, sizes and colors to fit your fancy. Personally, I have an iPod Nano (for running of course) as well as a 64 gigabyte iPod Touch (because, well, I feel as though I need a lot of space for future listening abilities).

So you have your iPod, and you're stoked. Then you decide that it is time to get a new cell phone. If you are used to having your iPod, why not make the transition into the mobile world easier, and just get an iPhone? It is the only sensible choice.

Soon enough, you are in need of a portable computer type device, so you go to the tablet section. Well lookey there! There's an iPad - just like your iPod and iPhone, but bigger and better. That choice is easy too.

On to the laptops. Seeing as you have all other Apple products, you might as well get a Mac, right?

So here you are, with all of your thousands of dollars invested into one company without a second thought. If this is not marketing perfection, I don't know what is. Good job Apple. You get a big fat slap on the back.

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie and Fitch claims to be an "All-American" company with "All American" clothing. Sure, this may be true. But the ethics of the company are anything but. As a company that refuses to produce clothing higher than size large, apparently their target market is skinny people. Pricing is another issue - people with low income cannot afford the clothing. As it turns out, this was all part of the marketing plan. There is a certain image that the company wants to preserve - that of beautiful, skinny, well off people. SO. This kid decided to post a video about the issue that is Abercrombie and Fitch. He proposes his own ideas as to how to fix the ethics of the company...

Though this does scream INTERVENTION! it is also a slam towards homeless people, giving them the role as the gross people of society that would make Abercrombie and Fitch most mad to see in their product.
He makes great points though. There is something wrong  

Target Marketing

How do companies decide on their target markets? This is an honest question that I have found myself contemplating many times. Customers are the most important part of any company (as the Marketing book by Pride and Ferrell keeps telling me). The more commercials I watch, the more perplexing the question gets. Apparently beer drinkers are funny people who like football and horses.
   
<- Budweiser horse
 

Oh, and only men drink beer. I have yet to see a commercial promoting women to drink beer. How odd... 

To this day, I still don't know what Go Daddy is, but apparently it is a company that is supposed to have a male dominated fan-base... 
  
This woman is excruciatingly beautiful, it's true. But I don't look at her and feel obligated to go to the website to see what she's selling. (As a matter of fact, I find the idea of looking at her website almost scary.)


Even businesses that should be promoting women to shop in their stores are becoming increasingly male dominated for the audience. Why would I want to go to Victoria's Secret after seeing this ad? To feel extra bad about how much I don't look like this woman? ... I'll pass :) 

Are women getting lost in being targeted for marketing? Women's undergarments should not be designated to a male audience. 

-As I said in my first blog post, I am just one woman thinking out loud about marketing. But my question persists - how do companies choose their target markets? And are these targets being chosen correctly? I believe the question is worth contemplation!  

Microsoft Being Strategic

Microsoft has taken off on their own tangent when it comes to commercially promoting their new Windows 8 product. Not only are they bringing in new-age "dubstep" music to open the ears of their young target market, but they are also pushing the boundaries of political issues such as gay marriage. 
The following link will bring you to a gay community news article about this commercial!  In the article, the writer Joe Morgan speaks to the CEO of Microsoft about the efforts to encourage "diversity in the workplace" in the advertisement. I think that the efforts of the commercial are brilliant in terms of opening the eyes of the public to not only the Microsoft product, but political issues as well. 

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/microsoft-embraces-gay-marriage-new-ad140313

Here we go!

This blog will have a focus on business marketing, and what goes on in my head as I learn about it during my online summer class. 

I have never blogged in my life, but I enjoy writing and thinking out loud, so I'm assuming that blogging will be my cup of tea!