Week 5 Midterm EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

Using bloggers as brand ambassadors has become a new marketing strategy to reach a bigger demographic and show the product or service from a different perspective globally. Bloggers have created their own platform to document and display their talents/hobbies of travel, fashion, writing, music and food. Most bloggers become social with other people in the same cyber web industry and then develop a group of readers that follow their website and support their movement. “Companies such as JetBlue, Sony, Microsoft, and McDonald’s, among others, are now developing a new breed of brand ambassador programs that organize and supercharge consumer-to-consumer interaction about their brands” (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition. Pg. 143. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online). Brand ambassadors have a way of speaking about a product to their readers without shoving an advertisement down their throat. Their blogs show the power of peer-to-peer communication and how to reach a person that you can trust to be honest in their product reviews. As a Sony brand ambassador you are given a camera for free and “They were then encouraged to show the camera to friends, associates, and anyone else who asked; hand out discount coupons; and blog weekly about their travel and picture-taking adventures on dedicated Sony microsite” (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition. Pg. 143. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online). Some employers are looking to social networks like Facebook over LinkedIn post job listing for potential employees, it’s believed that candid’s are 50% more likely to apply though Facebook. “The company also plans to pilot a new Facebook application that will allow them to search for candidates on BranchOut Inc.'s Facebook app which, similar to BeKnown, builds a professional networking layer on top of Facebook and has more than 2.6 million monthly users, according to AppData.com” (http://online .wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903885604576490763…). 

Week 4 EOC: The Cult of Apple

For me getting dressed can be a complicated and dragged out process. I organize my closet so I can see what my options are but most of the time I forget what is in my dresser which is full of clothing. I also struggle with knowing how certain garments look together and most importantly how the outfit looks on me. When I do decide on an outfit 99% of the time I change it because I hate how the garments look on me, or I don’t have the right shoe or most importantly things just do not match. This process can go on for about 30 minutes to an hour and sometimes I just walk away to clear my mind because going through my closet can become stressful and I just want the perfect outfit.

To solve my problem I would create an app that would make trying on clothes and browsing my closet easier and faster. My app would be called Kawaii Kloset and contain photos of all of my garments, shoes and accessories that I own also including a photo of myself in my underwear as if I was in the dressing room. Kawaii Kloset would allow me to try on outfits tell me if it was kawaii or minikui in Japanese which means cute or ugly. Once I have selected an outfit I can walk to my closet choose that particular outfit then I can proceeded with my hair and makeup. Kawaii Kloset would then remove the garments from my closet, put them in the laundry basket and then alert me when it becomes full which means it’s time to wash my clothes.

Kawaii Kloset will save me time during my getting ready process and allow me to actually see all of the articles of clothing that I own. Kawai Kloset is only 99 cents and I can stay in bed while choosing my outfit of the day. 

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

My demographics would be Millennial or generation Y. After reading about my generation I am 100% a product of a baby boomer who has given me skills from her era that I can use with my technology knowledge. As a Millennial the use of technology is a way of life and there is a natural comfort with digital technology. “The Millennials were the first generation to grow up in a world filled with computers, cellphones, satellite TV, iPods and online social networks” (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition, Pg. 73). Now that I am an adult I have realized that growing up with technology has been a gift and a curse to my generation. The art of being social amongst others is lost with my generation because of the over use of technology, but not for me. I enjoy interacting with others in person also attending and hosting social events but sadly everyone wants to appeal to us differently. “The millennials are bombarded with marketing messages coming at them from all directions. And rather than having mass marketing messages pushed at them, they prefer to seek out information and engage in two-way brand conversations” (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition, Pg. 73). Political campaigns and automakers are using the generational marketing technique to appeal to different demographics. The reason for this is so companies do no loose the support from other generations while gaining the support of a new generation. “Barack Obama was the first presidential candidate to be marketed like a high-end consumer brand” (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition, Pg. 73). Barack Obama presidential campaign succeed in reaching the millennial group through his campaign and his website was optimized for millennial appeal. The use of generational marketing helped young people turn out the polls with fully 66 percent favoring Obama.