Final Blog Post

Hi all,

            Sadly, this will be my last blog post for my marketing class at Saint Mikes. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being able to deliver current marketing events to you as an audience. The topic of my last post will be centered on reflecting upon the objectives and outcomes of the BU 215 course. Below are four objectives and one outcome that I believe are can be tied in with the work I have done this semester.

1.     To examine and convey basic and emerging marketing concepts and terminologies:

            This objective was covered in many different ways throughout this semester. I was able to pinpoint two specific types of assignments that really encouraged the student to learn marketing techniques and concepts. The first assignment was the weekly chapter quizzes that took place every Monday. These quizzes tested our knowledge on various terms seen in the textbook. They also sometimes included data from the charts included within the text. With all of this information combined, it helped to set up a base and pinpoint study areas for the larger exams. The second assignment was this marketing blog. In this blog, I was able to take concepts learned in class and tie them into current events. An example of this is my post about Instagram. With knowledge acquired from the text, I was able to use terms such as “market space, primary data, and environmental scanning” and speak from a marketing standpoint.

           

2 .    To study and understand the marketing mix, target markets, consumer behavior, service marketing, social media marketing and the strategic and financial implications of marketing decisions on the other functional areas of business

3.     To have the opportunity to put marketing into action via team and individual projects, research, reports and presentations:

            In our marketing class, each student was expected to give four main presentations in front of other students. The presentation’s topics included information on 50's or 60's ads, current marketing news, and a Ted talk. The ad presentations included may topics found throughout the material studied. Some specific examples of topics covered were the 4 P’s and recognizing the target market. This gave us the opportunity to apply what we had learned in class to a real life situation. We were also expected to use other marketing terminology found on our own, to describe these ads. Although the ads were very beneficial for practicing marketing terminology and various public speaking techniques, the Ted talks took it to the next level. The criteria for these talks was very clear and concise. We were expected to give a presentation lasting exactly 3 minutes. In addition, the person giving the presentation was to be dressed in business attire. Much like the ad presentations, the talks needed to include terminology discussed in class. The Ted talk really helped to simulate a business situation where time constraints are present and proper attire is needed.

4.     To set personal and professional goals and positively contribute in an engaged class.

5.     Application Outcome: Formulate innovative solutions to solve marketing problems in a variety of settings:

            The best opportunity for the application of formulating innovative solutions to solving marketing problems was through the “Marketing for a cause” assignment. This assignment required a team, randomly assembled, to compose an event that would raise money for a nonprofit organization. As you can probably already tell, it was far from flawless to plan this event. My team ended up coordinating a “Costume walk” with the proceeds being donated to “Hope happens here”. This is an organization started by students here on campus that focuses on spreading the word about the subject of mental health. During the planning process, our team was faced with various complications in which solutions were needed. Examples of situations containing marketing problems and their solutions were as follows:

-       How are we going to market the event?

·      Facebook, Snap chat, Instagram, Etc.

·      Sitting at tables in front of the dining hall for a “pre-registration” option

·      Posting flyers around the entire campus

·      A costume contest after the walk

-       How can we make the price appealing to our target market?

·      Set the price as a commonly carried US bill, $5

·      Include a “Hope Happens Here” wristband with registration

-       How can we obtain donations as prizes for our contest?

·      We ended up sending people to various organizations/ companies and

     personally explaining the details of our event in hopes that they would be

     able to give donations.

·      We received donations from Vermont Flannel, Metro Rock climbing gym,

     Eddie Bauer, Lulu Lemon, and Dunkin Donuts.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my content this semester, and wish everyone a happy holidays!

- John Isola

                                     Works Cited    

http://www.peppershock.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/maxresdefault.jpg

http://gretchenrubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/quiz-.jpg.jpg

https://www.auswebdesign.com.au/wp-content/uploads/engine-marketing.jpg

http://marketingmix.co.uk/content/uploads/marketing-mix.jpg

http://roryvaden.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Goal-Setting.jpg

Twitter Cuts?

            Hi, I see you’re back again for another dose of marketing news! This week I’ve decided to stay on the topic of social media, specifically targeting Twitter. I discovered an article while browsing the web, looking at events going on in the world of marketing. It’s main focus stems from a statement saying, “Twitter’s sales and marketing divisions are taking the hit for the job losses, as it looks to become ‘more efficient’ and profitable in 2017”(Roderick).  This post will be focused on where Twitter is in the product life cycle and actions they have taken to give their platform a new spin.

           

So what’s exactly happening…?

             As a company, Twitter is cutting 9% of their workforce globally. The sectors in which this will affected the most consist of the marketing and the sales departments. Over the course of 2017, they are really hoping to spark user interest, become more efficient, and ultimately see better profit. In cutting the portion of their workforce with less value, they hope to have a steady income to fund those of higher value.  

The Product Life Cycle

            The product life cycle is described as, “The stages a new product goes through in the marketplace: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline”(Roderick, 244).  After a company is first revealed, it enters the introduction stage. This stage is supposed to be a time of slow profit because of the fact that the company is still being introduced. If all goes as planned, the company then enters the growth stage. The growth stage happens after there is a vast knowledge about the product and sales start rapidly increasing. This is the time period where repeat purchasers, or people who purchase the product more than once are seen. During this stage, competitors also become present. These competitors cause the initial company to aggressively price their products. The company may also think of other ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors. All of which are great examples of a company attempting to gain the competitive advantage within the industry. With the growth stage coming to an end, the maturity stage begins to set in. This happens when the growth begins slowing down and consumers show loyalty to certain brands. If profits just aren’t present and the company begins consistently loosing money, it enters the fourth and final stage. This is known as the decline stage, where the product can either be dropped or no longer marketed.

How does it relate to Twitter?

            When Twitter originally entered the social media business, their introduction stage was not approached efficiently. Although they generated “$436 million” in the first yearly quarter, they were still taking a “$162 million dollar loss” (QZ.com). This trend continued with twitter never being able to turn a profit. Their platform has essentially been in the decline stage since the beginning. With this being said, you can now see why Twitter would want to make the 9% cut out of their workforce and begin concentrating on being profitable.

                Twitter has recently taken action in order to make their company profitable by striving to give a personal experience. They have started doing this by implementing a live video feature. This function is able to serve users in the US as well as the UK. It can stream sports highlights live, during the game, keeping fans updated. Twitter also decided to partner with the NFL to live stream 10 of their games during the season. In the future they also expect to be able to make user timelines specific to the information and only the information that interests them.

            Although Twitter is stuck in a long pattern of loss, they are taking steps in the right direction to be profitable. These new functions will hopefully keep their loyal users content while also bringing in new customers from various target markets! I wish Twitter all the best in their quest for success but sadly, that’s all I have time for today. As always, check back next time for more intriguing marketing news.

Works Cited

https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/10/27/twitter-makes-job-cuts-as-it-ups-focus-on-personalisation/

http://qz.com/393814/twitter-has-lost-more-than-1-billion-since-it-went-public/

http://www.sporttechie.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/twitter-live-streaming-1.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/47/Twitter_2010_logo_-_from_Commons.svg/1024px-Twitter_2010_logo_-_from_Commons.svg.png

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2016/10/22/20161024_TWTR.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/2665844e8bf3c92ccd3e91456517e83435d7624a.gif