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. 

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

People always think the beauty and fashion industry never gives back and all they do is create products to make more money. In 1985 the cult Canadian brand was created and are known for being fearless and outspoken when it comes to their makeup products. Years later, the founders of the company Frank Angelo and Frank Toskan collaborated with MAC artist to create the MAC AIDS Fund to provide help for the community living with HIV and AIDS. “Since 1994, MAC has raised over $270 million primarily through VIVA GLAM products” (http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/partners/organizations/mac-aids-fund.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/). For every lipstick sold, 100% of the profits are given to men, women and children around the world living with the disease. “The idea of VIVA GLAM was to celebrate life and the outspoken attitude of the company” (http://www.macaidsfund.org/theglam/campaignhistory). The fund brought awareness to a disease that was effecting all ages, all races, and all sexes. They use celebrities as spokespeople for their national campaign in addition the spokesperson is given creative power to create the color of the lipstick and lip glass that represent them. The spokespeople they choose are heroes we look up to for their personal triumphs and positive influences on the communities. There have been over 20 spokespeople my personal favorites are Ru Paul who was the first spokesperson, Cyndi Lauper, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Elton John. “We’re working to ensure that under-served and marginalized people and communities, including sex workers, injection drug users and gay men have access to the prevention, treatment and care programs they need and deserve” (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2242865/The-270m-lipstick-Product-fueling-MACs-fight-AIDS-Nicki-Minaj-fronts-new-Viva-Glam-campaign.html). 

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group- Video Games

The video game market is growing at a rapid pace which is a curse and a blessing at the same time. With this growth a progressive fall in the market is soon to happen. Console creators such as Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, Nintendo Co.’s Wii and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation are all stars in this market that require heavy investments to finance their rapid growth. Newzoo predicts that "at this pace, global revenues will reach $107 billion in 2017" (http://www.polygon.com/2015/4/22/8471789/worldwide-video-games-market-value-2015). The games associated with these consoles are additional cash cows for the market outside companies like Activision, MTV and EA are creating games that are leading the industry and making it hard for others to compete. Digital distribution and PC gaming is exceeding expectations while free-to-play continues to be a huge factor in the PC gamers market growth, “The big surprise is that an upfront payment business model still seems to do very well” (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-28-pc-gaming-market-to-exceed-usd25-billion-this-year-dfc). In the long run the big trend to watch out for is the blurring of platforms between the new consoles and the PC, there are a lot of games that are released on the big named consoles and PC’s. Some believe the launch of new consoles systems will help grow the PC game business because they produce the same games and it’s another platform for developers. The biggest competitor of them all is the release of mobile gaming which is becoming an alternative gaming source and an interactive gaming experience. Google Play’s Android market and Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad have become the largest games platform by market share in the world. With games starting at 99 cents and some that are free is forcing big console creators to create mobile versions of popular games so they have a place in the mobile gaming market. “As the market has grown, its interactivity with other platforms has become more important, and the inherently cross-platform nature of the new digital games market means that understanding what happens on mobile is vital for what that means for other devices” (https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/mobile-games-market/). TV's are becoming the question mark, where social gaming is on the rise, but will people purchase a TV and the device to participate in this type of gaming ?  

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

My name is Avery Simone I am an Innovative artist with a passion for all things color. I am a fashion industry professional pursuing a career as a Creative Director for a magazine or luxury retail company. Developing content for my website and interacting with my readers is very important to the success of my career. I draw inspiration from fashion narratives that tell an artistic story with beautiful clothing. Taking risk with various textiles and fabrics comes natural to me which adds to my personal style, that is a combination of street chic and vintage accents.  I embody dynamic versatility and have the most amazing styling capabilities which keeps everyone waiting to see what I will put together next. I am fully dedicated to my craft and consistently reading and learning new things to keep myself in high demand. My positive mindset and charismatic personality allows me to grasp opportunities and sets me apart from the rest. As a fashion business professional that is determined to impact the industry I also strive to inspire others to pursue their dreams and stay true to themselves.  

Week 1 EOC: Best Customer Service

The best customer service I have ever received was from my recent order with an online store called Venus. They are a woman’s clothing store that specializes in affordable trendy clothing for the woman who cares about the fit of her clothing weather she is skinny or has curves, Venus is for every woman. My mother purchased a few dresses and a pair of shoes for me and had them sent to my apartment. Since I was out of town my mother called my apartment building the make sure my package was still at my door turned out it was not which meant someone stole it. My mother quickly called Venus and explained what happened she told me they would send a replacement package, it was not a problem and it would be sent next day air. “Customer relationships and value are especially important in today’s tough economic times, when more frugal consumers are cutting back and spending more carefully” (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition, Pg. 4). Once I returned home from my trip there was a Venus box at my front door and a note from UPS saying they missed me and will be back tomorrow, I called my mom and asked her what was going on. Turns out my apartment building office never checked to see if the package was at my door the woman said her knees hurt, so I took it upon myself to handle this double package situation. After explaining what happened and making an exchange for the dresses that did not fit over the phone with the customer service representative at Venus, she was happy to give me tell me how to ship the replacement package and my exchanges back at no cost to me and they will take care of the shipping cost for new items to be sent to me. She was polite, attentive and never got flustered with the situation she actually made it quite easy to fix.