A Few Words

For this exercise we were supposed to text two of our friends asking them to send us the name of a random inanimate object. I sent this message to my best friend Karen who now goes to Indiana University and a friend from work this summer, Harry, who goes to Michigan University. It was pretty arbitrary how I chose these friends; they were just the first ones I thought of. It was extremely interesting how quickly they responded. I got both of their answers within 3-5 seconds. I guess this task was more interesting than all of the other messages I send, which usually take a few minutes to get a response. The other interesting thing I observed is that both of these friends immediately responded with the name of an inanimate object that was in their plain sight. Since we are talking about creativity, it was interesting to observe how my friends generated their “random” word, which turned out to be in not such a random way.

Word One (from Karen): Skateboard

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a skateboard is long greasy hair. Just kidding, but it is hard not to see a picture of that “skater boy” we all used to know. I also think about all of the different parts of the skateboard: wheels, wood, grip material, painting on the back, metal axels, complete with ugly skater shoes that make your feet look huge. (I think the shoes must be some kind of skating requirement, otherwise who would wear them…) Mostly when I think of skateboards I think of the type of people that use them and the activity that they use them for.  I think of people zipping past me on the sidewalk, or sneaking into parking garages at night to skate, or the skate park that was next to the pool where I grew up.

Word Two (from Harry): Knife

I originally thought this word was really strange, but Harry clarified his choice for me: “I swear I’m not a serial killer, I just happen to be cooking!”  This brought up an interesting point about the knife. A knife is such an integral part of our lives, yet it has a pretty bad rep. I guess its one of those things where you can use the power it gives you for good or for bad. (Although I’m not sure how the “good” compares to the “bad.” i.e. a well filleted fish vs. a dead person.) Regardless, when I think of a knife I think of the many different uses it has: chopping, slicing, cubing, spreading, cutting, etc. I also think of the more unconventional things we often use our knives for: opening packages, getting the hot toast out of a toaster, looking under the pantry door to check for aliens, opening letters, etc. All around the knife is a pretty interesting tool with many uses.

Now comes the part where I am supposed to come up with ideas to combine the two random objects. Let me just say, a knife and a skateboard aren’t seemingly related in any way. The temptation to cheat and get a new word was high, but I refrained.  I will work on combining the products as a whole, and if I run out of ideas for that, I will combine parts of them.

•       Skateboard with a knife holder- although this immediately sounds a like bad/dangerous idea
•       Skateboard with knife wheels- like a giant pizza cutter? Maybe this would be more feasible if it were a smaller version, like a miniature skateboard with wheels made out of blades that you could use to slice things (getting more leverage than just a normal pizza cutter)
•       Skateboard that is also a knife sharpener
•       Skateboard with a knife design painted on the bottom
•       Knife with a better grip handle- using the grip material from the skateboard so it wont slip out of your hand
•       Knife holder on a skateboard- so you can move it around your counter more easily?
•       Knife with the handle painted to match your skateboard paint
•       Special knife that helps you replace the grip material on the skateboard
•      Skateboard with a knife attachment on bottom- maybe used to trim the grass/ weeds?
•       Knife with retractable wheels in handle- maybe could make dicing easier
•       Skateboard wheel on a knife handle- if you put the knife handle through the middle of the wheel, and slid the wheel all the way to where the handle meets the blade, this could provide protection for your hand or a little extra weight to help you chop, or a guard so the knife doesn’t slice your counter

That’s pretty much all I can do. I can definitely see how some creative product designs could come from the combination of two seemingly unrelated things, but no such luck today. I did my best, but I don’t think any of my combinations are particularly marketable

(or feasible for that matter.)  I gave it my best effort, and I do think it was a valuable exercise in creativity. Maybe in the next few days I will think of something more promising… never say never! 

Paper Topic- First Thoughts

For this blog, I will begin to discuss my first thoughts on our current report paper. I will be finding something interesting to me, and connecting it to class concepts. As a marketing major, I have always thought about the industries I may end up in. Sifting through all of the different types of marketing, I have always been drawn to marketing alcohol. As such, I am thinking about writing about the relationship between customer insights and the alcoholic beverage industry. I guess they do always say write about what you know… (Mom, if you are reading this I’m only kidding!)

  

This topic will have a range of things I can talk about. I think it will benefit me if I narrow the topic a little. Initially, I am thinking of narrowing down to the beer market. Within this I will be able to talk about trends in consumer choice, target market, recent innovations in marketing, different segments within the market, differentiation techniques, and many more. I am interested also in talking about the ethics of the marketing tactics. By design, this industry walks a fine line between promoting their product and promoting over-consumption. There is also a lot to explore with buying patterns. I would love to look at the usual times of purchase, the things that usually accompany a beer purchase, and the amount usually bought. It will be interesting to explore the consumption patterns and buying habits in relation to age, and type of beer. For example, as people age they are more likely to spend more to get quality beer, and they probably buy in much smaller quantity. I think that the marketing of beer can have a lot of relations to customer insights. I would like to look at how they currently assess the effectiveness of their marketing, and make suggestions of how to further incorporate techniques we have learned beyond market research.

Aside from these ideas, I do have a lot of questions that have bubbled up:

·      What are the current legal limitations of marketing beer?

·      Are there any observational techniques for assessing the effectiveness of the marketing?

·      How is the overall market segmented?

·      How do the beer companies work with the indirect channels (such as supermarkets and convenience stores) to carry through the entire experience?

·      How do they establish brand loyalty when consumers seem to change with age?

I think this topic is most interesting to me because marketing alcohol is unlike any other product. With beer especially, there is very little differentiation. In fact, many people cannot tell the difference in blind taste tests. As such, the marketing is completely based on that special sauce of consumer experience. Marketing beer must be very interesting because you are trying to establish an experience that consumers will be drawn to. It is also a very interesting market to interact with. With a market of mostly young males, you can definitely tell their primary interests just by watching the ads. I have always thought that I could enjoy working in the alcoholic beverage industry as a marketer, and this topic will certainly give me the opportunity to explore that interest further. Aside from that, I think it will just be a fun topic to look further into.   

Like I said, I think this can have many connections to customer insights. For example, last January I had the great pleasure of watching the super bowl at a frat house. Let me tell you, as a marketing major, it was a truly inspirational experience. I felt that I got an amazing insight into the reactions to advertising through watching a large group of men react to the super bowl ads. If observational techniques like this are not already used, I would definitely recommend it highly. Especially during the beer ads, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the reactions, and trying to understand insights through the grunts. I think that the marketing of beer, since it is a product that has little differentiation, requires deep insights into the customer’s mind.

The first current topic that reached out at me as I was writing this entry was the controversial marketing tactic where Bud Light used college colors on their cans to boost sales. This touches on many different things, including the ethics behind marketing beer. I am interested to learn more about what insights led them to this unique tactic. I think that this marketing action is very insightful of the target market, and their uses of the product. When are college students buying beer… chances are game day is a safe answer. If they can build that positive connection, then the use of Bud Light could extend beyond games.

Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125081310939148053.html