Week 10 EOC: What channels are you going to do to get your product noticed?

 “The company’s channel objectives are also influenced by the nature of the company, its products, its marketing intermediaries, its competitors, and the environment. For example, the company’s size and financial situation determine which marketing functions it can handle itself and which it must give to intermediaries. Companies selling perishable products may require more direct marketing to avoid delays and too much handling.” (Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., printed page 322.) Being a small local Brewery the cost of distribution and marketing is a big deal, while it takes money to make money it is still important to maintain the bottom line. As a local brewery we plan on using our own people and trucks to deliver our products to the local retainers we serve. This serves two purposes for us as a company we can deliver our products at comparative prices rather than pay for that service, the second reason is that we can use our truck for free advertisements as we deliver our products. We will also be utilizing the internet thru internet ads to bring people to our website where they can learn how and where they can purchase our product, one of those ways is right from the website and have it delivered right to their front door. This service is of course for local costumers only, but serves for another advertising opportunity for us as a company. “Multichannel distribution systems offer many advantages to companies facing large and complex markets. With each new channel, the company expands its sales and market coverage and gains opportunities to tailor its products and services to the specific needs of diverse customer segments.” (Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., printed page 320.)

Week 10 BOC: 1960 Volkswagen Lemon Ad

The 1960 Volkswagen Beetle ad that changed everything, you might be wondering what I’m talking about well let me explain. Volkswagen created an ad showing a 1960 VW beetle titling the ad or car rather as a lemon. This sounds like a dumb way to advertise, but to Volkswagen they saw the opportunity to use a negative word to capture people’s attention and cause them to stop and look at the magazine ad. When you stop to look at the ad and then start to read you find that Volkswagen explains to the reader how they inspect every car and what detail they put into producing a top quality product. I think that it was a brilliant way to advertise and see how it can be an effective why bring people in and interest them in their product.
"VW's approach is an education for anyone who makes or approves advertising. What's remarkable is that messaging created in 1963 has the power to convince you you're in the right dealership today. Can you imagine the work you're approving now supporting your brand in 2055? Just think of amortizing the cost of an ad over all those years." ("Pure Gold for Marketers" http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/community/columns/other-columns/e3ib1f5c256ca1b29dde7444e7d8ef8bdd2)

Implementation Evaluation Control

“Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 280.) The implementation of any plan is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we at Natures Blend Brewing Company put all or our research and strategy into play in the real world. If we have developed a proper business and marketing plan we should start to see our company grow as costumers learn about and try our new brews. “Organizing the sales force around customers can help a company to build closer relationships with important customers.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 418.) We at Natures Blend believe that all of our customers are important and strive to build those relationships through our service, quality, and value for those customers. “For effective implementation and control, the marketing plan should define how progress toward objectives will be measured. Managers typically use budgets, schedules, and performance standards for monitoring and evaluating results.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page MP2.) This statement is true for us here at Natures Blend Brewing Company we believe in being the best in service and experience and the only way for us to keep up with this standard is by consistently evaluating and monitoring our processes both internally and externally. By doing this we can achieve our goal, which is not to be the very best but to be the brew that people drink when gathered around with friends and family. We are a family based business that believes that thru the bringing the family back together and creating moments and memories we can be the makers of our own legend, as well as the legends of those who drink our brews. So come join us and start creating your own legend today.

Marketing Mix - Price

“What principle should guide decisions about what price to charge relative to those of competitors? The answer is simple in concept but often difficult in practice: No matter what price you charge—high, low, or in between—be certain to give customers superior value for that price.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 280.) At Natures Blend Brewing Company we are a service provider we don’t just sell a beer or lager, we sale an experience like no other. We off the chance to be a legend, a legend of your own making and the experience of bringing the family back together one backyard BBQ at a time. We offer our products in a four, eight and twelve pack, the four pack for our signature brew the “Autumn Harvester” is priced at $6.99 for a four pack, $9.99 for a eight pack and $14.99 for a twelve pack. “Economic factors such as a boom or recession, inflation, and interest rates affect pricing decisions because they affect consumer spending, consumer perceptions of the product’s price and value, and the company’s costs of producing and selling a product.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 284.) Factors like the economy are one of the reasons for us here at Natures Blend to do market surveys and to poll our customers. By listening to our costumers we can gain a competitive edge and find new ways to develop, promote and price our products giving our customers the most value for their experience with our company and its products. We at Natures Blend stand behind our product 100% with satisfaction guaranteed. That is why we stand behind our motto and believe “Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today."

Marketing Mix - Promotion

Promotion of a new product or company can be both an exciting and difficult time. Promotions are meant to do just that promote that brand or product, yet if done in the wrong way can turn away potential customers. “The point is that promotional pricing can be an effective means of generating sales for some companies in certain circumstances. But it can be damaging for other companies or if taken as a steady diet.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 294.) At Natures Blend Brewing Company we promote our products online and in the good old fashion way, by word of mouth. We also offer promotional items to go along with the sale of our products. Some of these products include things like mugs, t-shirts, key chains with bottle cap removers, etc. “In developing a sales promotion program, a company must first set sales promotion objectives and then select the best tools for accomplishing these objectives.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 432.) Our sales promotion objectives are to introduce our new brand in an every growing market. We at Natures Blend Brewing Company we believe by delivering superior experience and product our customers we promote our product allowing us to focus our marketing materials to the internet and places that people can access information about our company easily. By doing this and offering some simple give away items we believe that we can gain a foothold in the marketplace and expand our market shares in our niche market. “When the economy sours and sales lag, it’s tempting to offer deep promotional discounts to spur consumer spending. In general, however, rather than creating only short-term sales or temporary brand switching, sales promotions should help to reinforce the product’s position and build long-term customer relationships.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 433.) Our goal here at Natures Blend Brewing Company is not just to build long-term relationships, but rather life time relationships.

Marketing Mix - Distribution

“A company’s channel decisions directly affect every other marketing decision. Pricing depends on whether the company works with national discount chains, uses high-quality specialty stores, or sells directly to consumers via the Web.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 312.) As a small brewery we at Natures Blend Brewing Company will be utilizing the web for a majority of our distribution needs. Being a small company our focus is to cut out as much of the middle man as possible to be able to provide the most value for our customers. We are a neighborhood brewery selling most of our products to the local marketplace, yet with the power of the internet we are able to ship our products around the world. “In today’s global marketplace, selling a product is sometimes easier than getting it to customers. Companies must decide on the best way to store, handle, and move their products and services so that they are available to customers in the right assortments, at the right time, and in the right place.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 328.) Like many small breweries our distribution needs are not great, the majority of our distribution needs are to the local or regional marketplace. As our company grows and the need arises for greater distribution needs we will then look into distribution companies to move our products. For now we will employ a few individual that will do our distribution in our local area.

Marketing Mix - Product

“Developing the product concept into a physical product in order to ensure that the product idea can be turned into a workable market offering.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 251.)
So if you haven’t guessed by now my product is an alcoholic beverage made in part with the apples similar to those that Johnny Appleseed planted and became a Legend for. Our signature apple brew here at Natures Blend is a lager style beer, made with many of the traditional Lager ingredients with a twist of our own. We wanted our brews to have a nice blend of traditional taste mixed with apples and spices. We also brew all of our beers in the lager style utilizing the cooler temperatures and longer fermentation period to bring out richer flavors. We use a bottom fermenting yeast as is typical when brewing a lager and we also filter our lagers to make sure we remove any impurities left behind in the aging and fermenting process. Most people may or may not know that water is the largest ingredient in any beer product. So naturally we choose to get our water from a source high in the Rocky Mountains, when the water matters only the best and tastiest will do.
“Companies that market experiences realize that customers are really buying much more than just products and services. They are buying what those offers will do for them.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 210.) Here at Natures Blend we understand that fact and offer our customers not another new beer or lager, but the experience of making their own legends and special experiences with family and friends. Become part of the Legend, try our signature lager the Autumn Harvester with it's rich and bold flavors and nearly 5% alcohol ratio it's perfect for hanging out with the family and friends.
“Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today.” - Nature’s Blend Brewing company

Target Market Stragety

“After evaluating different segments, the company must decide which and how many segments it will target. A target market consists of a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 186.) This is true for us at Natures Blend Brewing Company as a small company just starting out we know if will be extremely hard to compete with companies like Coors or Bud, the big dogs. However we feel that in the smaller family oriented market that we have choosing to go after we can compete with them in. Our vision of bringing back the family community as well as the family style block parties is not something the big dogs are currently going after. A lot of their money and marketing is in marketing their product to everyone everywhere. We at Natures Blend believe that by delivering a superior product both in taste and experience at a lower or evenly matched price we can take over this niche in the marketplace. “Some attractive segments can be dismissed quickly because they do not mesh with the company’s long-run objectives. Or the company may lack the skills and resources needed to succeed in an attractive segment.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 186.)
“Using a concentrated marketing (or niche marketing) strategy, instead of going after a small share of a large market, the firm goes after a large share of one or a few smaller segments or niches.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 188.) This is the approach we at Natures Blend have decided to use in our debut to the marketplace. Just as Johnny Appleseed was a legend of his own making we at Natures Blend Brewing Company want you to join us in creating a new legend. “Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today."

Week 9 EOC: Three Great Mission Statements

"A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization." (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 39.) The three blogs with what I think are the best mission statements are Ernie Stepp, Edgar Levi Annon and Staci Woody. These mission statements seem to be well thought out and have some meaning to them. Edgar looks like he put sometime into his research of what a mission statement was and then spent the time to make it his own. Ernie seemed to have a clear vision of the mission statement for his company and had some good quotes to support his thoughts. Staci has a well thought out mission statement that defines her brand or business in the market place. The only thing about staci’s mission statement I had an issue with was that it doesn’t appear that she used any quotes to support her mission statement from the book. On the other hand Edgar has a small mission statement and some really large quotes from the book. After looking through the mission statements (the ones that were posted) these three seemed to be headed in the right direction from what I can tell. “Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 40.) I think with a little refinement these three mission statements can and will be able to do just like this last quote states.

Week 8 EOC: Creative Content Final Project

As a photographer the creative content I will be creating will be along those lines. I will be creating a logo for my new company as well as a label for my new beer. I will also be creating a magazine ad for my project to introduce my new brand to the marketplace. I will be taking some photographer of existing bottles then using photoshop to create my label so that I can print it out and put on the existing bottles. For the ad I will be taking a photograph my new beer the product shot fashion. I will be incorporating the motto of the company which is “Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today" into the ad as well. The ad will be a single page ad that would be able to fit into many different types of magazines. Using the tools I have acquired over the time I’ve been at school as well as the one’s I learned before coming to school I hope to be able to produce some nice creative content for my project. I have a general Idea of what I want to do such as the ad, the product label and the logo now the hard part for me will be finding the right amount of time to get it all finished in time. Having a Scottish heritage I plan on incorporating that into the design of the logo and the label.

SWOT Analysis

“Marketing planning involves deciding on marketing strategies that will help the company attain its overall strategic objectives. A detailed marketing plan is needed for each business, product, or brand.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 56.) As talked about in the book this marketing strategy should have a SWOT analysis done to help direct the company which direction would be the best place for their new product in the overall market place. SWOT analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats. At Natures Blend Brewing Company we feel as though our strengths are being a small brewery offering a new refreshing product to a niche market. Our strength will lay not in the mass marketing or selling of our product but our promotion of selling a special experience to be shared with family and friends. This also could be our weakness in that we are going after a niche market within the bigger marketplace. Being a small company utilizing a smaller niche market is having the opportunity to have a larger impact with more direct marketing and advertisements. Everyone at some point in their lives has wanted in some way to become a Legend or have those great experiences with family and friends that last a lifetime. We at Natures Blend Brewing Company offer the opportunity of doing just that with every case of our product we sell. “Planning good strategies is only a start toward successful marketing. A brilliant marketing strategy counts for little if the company fails to implement it properly.” (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing, Printed page 57.) For a company that is just starting out it is critical that the marketing strategy is not only implemented properly, but for the company to utilize that plan and adapt it as the market changes. Being a small family owned brewery we do not have the ability to change and adapt to the market place as easily as a large company does. This is why utilizing the niche market within the marketplace is essential to our success, as well as having a solid marketing plan.

Business Objectives

“Marketing plays a key role in the company’s strategic planning in several ways. First, marketing provides a guiding philosophy—the marketing concept—that suggests that company strategy should revolve around building profitable relationships with important consumer groups.” (Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., Printed page 47.) At Natures Blend Brewing Company the marketing concept or philosophy is not to be the very best but to be the brew that people drink when gathered around with friends and family. We are a family based business that believes that thru the bringing the family back together and creating moments and memories we can be the makers of our own legend, as well as the legends of those who drink our brews. “Customer value is the key ingredient in the marketer’s formula for success.” (Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., Printed page 47.) The key ingredients in our brews are not the items used to create them, but the service and quality that we provide to our customers. We here at Natures Blend Brewing Company do not measure our success by how much money we make or how many products we sell, but instead by the feedback we get from our customers. Just as in our mission statement we are a family brewing company and that family extends to all of our customers and vendors. The legend of Johnny Appleseed is a role model for our company he set out with a simple objective and that was to plant enough apple trees so that no one would ever go hungry. We at Natures Blend Brewing Company have a simple objective and that is to spread joy and cheer back into the ever growing world. We plan on doing this just as our mission statement says by bringing the family back together like in the vintage days of Johnny Appleseed. Families are not just those who are blood relations, families are good friends, neighbors, our communities. At Natures Blend Brewing Company everyone is family. So come join us and start creating your own legend today.

Business Mission Statement

“Forging a sound mission begins with the following questions: What is our business? Who is the customer? What do consumers value? What should our business be? These simple-sounding questions are among the most difficult the company will ever have to answer.” (Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., Printed page 39.) Here at Nature’s Blend Brewing Company our business is not making beer, the beer is a by-product, and our business is bringing people together to join us in creating a legend of their own making. Nature’s Blend Brewing company believe at its core its motto which is “Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today.” Our target market is not to be the beer company that everyone drinks to have a beer, but to be the moment that people want to drink with their family and friends. We are a family oriented company trying in a small way to bring back the vintage days of family backyard barbeques and block parties. The vintage days like in the days on Johnny Appleseed where the community was a close to family as was one’s own brothers and sisters. Johnny Appleseed spread apples seeds across the country with the intent that no one would go hungry if there were apples to eat; at Nature’s Blend Brewing Company our intent is to bring the family back together with each moment spent together. “Products and technologies eventually become outdated, but basic market needs may last forever.” ((Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., Printed page 40.) Just as marketing needs may last forever, moments spent with family and friends lasts forever and what better way to make them last then by creating your own Legend. “Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today.” - Nature’s Blend Brewing company

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

The apple tree has been around since the beginning of time. Archeologists have found carbonized remains of apples dating back to the Stone Age. For centuries the apple has been referred to in manuscripts and texts, in fact Old Saxon manuscripts dating back into the 15th century talk about apples and cider. Some of the earliest English colonists even began bringing apples trees to the new world to replace the crab apples found in North America. By the early 19th century apple orchards had been established throughout what were then the American colonies. A man by the name of John Chapmen set out in the early 1800’s to rid the world of hunger by planting apple trees and so the legend of Johnny Appleseed was created. Johnny Appleseed is estimated to have travelled some 10,000 square miles of frontier country planting apple orchards as he went. This is just one of the many legends surrounding the apple. Many medical remedies are also made from the fruit and bark of the apple tree.
Nature’s Blend Brewing Company offers a unique brand of brews from our own apple lager to an old world apple moon shine, all of which are brewed with the same types of Apples that Johnny Appleseed planted. "The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction." (Marketing : an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., printed page 5). At Nature's blend brewing company we take this marketing strategy and our customer relationships very seriously and by providing a top quality product, as well as superior value to all of our customers we will become the next favorite brew in America and around the world. “Legends are not born, Legends are made. Become part of the legend today."

Week 6 EOC: Me Times Three

First of all I have to say I do not spend a whole lot of time on using personal care Items. I shower, brush my teeth, put on deodorant like any other guy. I can’t say that I am excited or even have a favorite type of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, or even soap. I am a stereotypical male who uses whatever is available.
This being said I suppose I will start with the soap that is currently in the shower. I believe the brand is dial and I couldn’t tell you what the scent is, just that is smells good. The bottom line for me is that it lathers well, enough so that I can shave with it and that it makes me feel clean. Yes I know surprise no I do not use shaving cream, just good old soap. I think like most soap product dial is marketed towards the female gender using Demographic segmentation. “Demographic factors are the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, printed page 177)
Another personal product that I use is that of Colgate toothpaste, could it be cause of its fresh mint taste, or because it leaves my mouth feeling clean. To be honest it’s what on the bathroom. Yes typical male I know, but if it isn’t broke don’t fix it, my wife buys it I use it. Now I could be wrong with this but I think that Age and life-cycle segmentation could be used to market toothpaste. “Consumer needs and wants change with age. Some companies use age and life-cycle segmentation, offering different products or using different marketing approaches for different age and life-cycle groups.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, printed page 178)
My third personal product would have to be my electric shaver or beard trimmer. Why because I think its fun to use and it’s easy to use. It is a Norelco made by Phillips and it is a rechargeable hair trimmer/ cutter. I use it to either change my appearance or just easily trim up my beard. For the price it has given me good value and if it were to quit working I would buy another one. “Included in the potential user group are consumers facing life-stage changes—such as newlyweds and new parents—who can be turned into heavy users.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, printed page 182) This is where I think a product like this may be marketed as well as with other markets. User status has a lot to do with a product like the hair trimmer mostly because people start to use or reuse a product like this when they have life stage changes

Week 5 EOC: Health Care Reform

Why should we reform health care in the United States of America? After looking at the numbers released by the Us Census Bureau on health care statistics it looks to me like the health care industry is doing a good job covering most Americans. For example 98.5 percent of Americans over the age of 65 are covered under some kind of insurance at some point during the year and 82.2 percent of Americans under the age of 65 are also covered by insurance at some point during the year. In households with married couple families nearly 90 percent of the husbands, wives, and children are covered by health care are some point during the year. In other households 86.3 percent of individuals are covered by insurance at some point during the year. Some people will argue that income is the reason for health care reform, according to the percentages given by the federal government 84.2 percent of people making less than $25,000 a year are covered by insurance during the year.
So how can it be that we need health care reform to make health care more affordable when more than 80 percent the lowest income class is covered by insurance and 90 percent of the highest income class is covered by insurance during the year. In my opinion from the numbers given by the US Census Bureau it appears to me that most of the American people are covered by some kind of insurance during some point during the year. While it would be great for every person in America to have insurance during the year, it looks to me that the health care industry is doing a pretty good job already, at least from a numbers stand point. While things could be improved I do not believe that a total overhaul of the industry is warranted at this time. To find more information on the percentages and numbers found in this blog post go to http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032007/health/h01_001.htm.

Week 4 EOC: Advertising is based on Happiness

Happiness –
What makes us happy with the items we purchase? Is it that we feel we got more than what we paid for or is it that the item we purchased worked the way it was supposed to fulfilling the need we had? For example a few years back I was looking to buy a new camera I wanted to upgrade into the SLR digital world of cameras. So I began researching different brands and prices versus functions and all that goes into making a purchase of high dollar amount. After doing my research I chose to stay with the brand I have shot with for years, which happened to be Pentax. I still have that camera and shoot with it on an almost daily basis. The camera exceeded my expectations and if I had to do so I would buy it all over again.

Dissidence –
On the opposite side of things, the last big purchase that I made that I ended up not being very happy with was when I bought my wife a new minivan. We looked at lots of new cars a few years ago, needing enough room and seats for seven people. We already had a suburban so my wife wanted a new van to replace the older van we had. After finding one, albeit on the high side of our price range, we had it for just a few weeks before it broke down for the first time. This first time was due to a sensor in the fuel tank that wasn’t working correctly and showing fuel in the tank when it was actually empty. After having that fixed a few more weeks went by before one of the sliding doors started malfunctioning. To make a long story short the van had problem until the day we turned it back in. This was definitely an Item that I had some buyer’s remorse over.

Week 3 EOC: Internet Privacy vs Market Research

As an internet user I believe I should have the ability to have my privacy not only protected but kept out of market research for companies to buy and sell to the highest bidder. According to an article on Forbes.com titled How Much Privacy? A company called ComScore Networks is a marketing company that is using the internet to capture marketing research in a manner that some might consider to be wrong. In the article ComScore says “its participants are willing exhibitionists, happily selling their online privacy for gift certificates and free screensavers. But two computer scientists are raising new questions about comScore, claiming that company tracking software is being installed without consent on an unknown number of computers.” (http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/07/internet-security-research-tech_cx_ll_1208comscore.html). I think that this is an illegal way to find and research people’s personal marketable information. According to an article writen by Lorrie Faith Cranor, "The Internet and computerized databases make automated collection and processing of information particularly easy and convenient. In fact, for the typical Web site operator, it's easier to collect information about Web site visitors than to figure out how to configure a Web server not to collect that information. As a result, there are now zillions of databases silently collecting mostly innocuous "click-stream" data from everyone who surfs on by." (http://lorrie.cranor.org/pubs/networker-privacy.html).

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

There are many companies out there that true try and help those in need, some of them do it thru donating money, some do it thru service and service oriented projects. I found a company that decided to try and help people through hair. Hair may seem like a weird way to help people and at first you may not even think how hair could help anyone, but like groups like locks of love Pantene chose to use their presence in the hair cut shops across the country to help people who have cancer. “Pantene Beautiful Lengths encourages women and men to grow, cut, and donate their hair to make real hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.” (http://www.pantene.com/en-us/beautiful-lengths-cause/default.aspx). Pantene had the perfect opportunity to get hair donated for their campaign seeing how they are a hair care product used in many salons and hair cut places already. In fact “the campaign has received more than 24,000 donated ponytails and more than 3,000 free wigs have been distributed through the American Cancer Society’s nationwide network of wig banks. Compare that to the 2,000 wigs created over the past 10 years by charity Locks of Love.” (Marketing: an introduction / Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler. — 10th ed., Printed page 88). This is why I chose to write about Pantene, because if you have ever know anyone who has had cancer something as simple as a wig to cover up their head while they go thru radiation therapy it is a huge deal. I had an aunt that past away from breast cancer and before she died she depended on a wig such as the one Pantene is helping to make and for the short time before the end it seemed to make a huge difference in how my aunt felt about help personal outward self.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

The Star - According to NPD “the group found that console sales jumped 4% compared to last December, with the Nintendo Wii unsurprisingly leading the way with 3.81 million units moved (up from 2.15 million the previous year). That's followed by the collective DS offerings at 3.31 million and, somewhat surprisingly, the PlayStation 3, which racked up sales of 1.36 million (its first time cracking the one million mark) compared to the Xbox 360's 1.31 million.”(http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/15/npd-wii-leads-video-game-industry-to-biggest-sales-month-ever/).

The Cash Cow – According to Gamepro.com “The entire NPS unit posted a sales and operating revenue of 325.9 billion yen ($3.7 billion USD), up 32.4 percent over the 246.1 billion yen posted this same quarter last year. Losses in the unit also shrank from 36.7 billion yen ($420 million USD) to 3.8 billion ($43 million).” (http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/215974/playstation-sales-bolster-sony-earnings-quarter/). This is why I believe that the Sony brand and the play station is a cash cow.

The question mark – According to an article written on pcmag.com Apple’s IPad is taking gaming seriously. “RALEIGH, North Carolina - Apple's iPAD tablet computer hasn't been out a week yet but there are already over 830 video games that have been developed to suit the large format, high definition, multi-touch screen. That number doesn't even include the nearly 25,000 iPod Touch and iPhone games that will also play on Apple's latest gadget which is a mix between a smartphone and a laptop but also clearly aims to cater for the growing numbers of gamers. "The iPad is the fourth step in the gaming evolution," said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president of publishing at Gameloft. (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362384,00.asp). This is why I think that Apple will become a major player in the video gaming industry.

The Dog – According to softsailor technology and review “Microsoft has just posted its Q4 2010 earnings and things are way better than they were last year as the Redmond-based company has announced a $16.04 billion revenue which is a 22% increase over the last year.” “According to Microsoft, Xbox and Zune services made $679 million operating income from the total $5.93 billion operating income. Microsoft’s net income for Q4 2010 stands at $4.52 billion, while profit stands at $3.25 billion.” (http://www.softsailor.com/news/34073-microsoft-q4-2010-earnings-posted-16-04-billion-revenue-3-25-billion-profit.html). This is why I think that Microsoft and the xbox are the current dog of the industry.

Week 1 EOC: excellent customer service experience

An excellent customer service experience that I have had was the last time I went to Red Lobster for all you can eat shrimp with my wife. The wait time for a table was short and the hostesses were friendly. The tables were clean and we did not have to wait long for our server to come to the table to take our drink order. After receiving our drinks our waiter took our order and also took a second order so that he was ahead of the game when placing our first refill order. Our waiter came back often to check on us to see how we were doing.  We never had to ask for drinks and our waiter was always ahead of us with reorder. Infact he was so far ahead of us with reorders we had plenty to take home and have for lunch the next day. To me this was excellent customer service and a very pleasant experience. Here is a quote from our book that I believe goes along with my excellent customer service experience. “Customer relationships and value are especially important in today’s tough economic times, when more frugal consumers are cutting back and spending more carefully.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, Page 2 or printed page 4)

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

I am a freelance photographer who specializes in landscape, nature and life's little moments. I am also in the process of starting a studio to be able to shoot portraits, still life, food, and a variety of other things in a controlled environment. I have also shot weddings and other events. My passion for photography started at a young age watching programs like National Geographic and reading the magazines, or looking at all the photographs. I also grew up in the outdoors and have a passion for preserving the outdoors for others to see and admire as well. It is my goal to one day work for National Geographic.  A photograph documents a moment in time, that moment can be something like a couple’s wedding or a never before seen animal or plant. As a photographer my goal is to help others see things in nature or themselves in a way they have not been able to before. As a freelance photographer I plan on working for National Geographic and when I’m not traveling the world I will be working for myself in my own studio.