Blog Post 10: Recap

Throughout the semester, we have covered various marketing topics. Some have been more exciting to me than others.  My favorite three concepts are:

1.    Branding

I was very interested in branding a company, and also rebranding. Branding is a time consuming but essential aspect that requires a lot of thought and creativity.  A catchy slogan, an eye-catching logo, or a memorable name could set one company above its competitors. All of these features of a company are crucial when trying to gain and hold consumers attention. Rebranding is a time consuming and expensive process but can be essential to keep a company’s marketing platform up to date and relevant for their customers. Like mentioned before, branding is a combination of the company name, logo and slogan that help identify their products as unique. Rebranding can be a reconstruction of any or all aspects of branding.

2.    Product Mix

I have already discussed product mix using Husqvarna. A company most people would associate with chainsaws and yard equipment that actually produces a variety of products beyond that. When we look at the product mix for any particular company, we first identify product lines and then what makes up each of those. Product lines are determined by which products meet the same needs or can be used together or otherwise grouped together. Another company with a large product offering and an interesting product mix would be Bic. Bic produces products such pens and pencils but also razors and lighters.

3.    Pricing

When we discussed pricing, we learned about approximately 15 different pricing strategies.  From bundle pricing, selling more than one product in the same package, to odd-even pricing, setting a price that it slightly less than an even number, there are many approaches that can be used. Through first hand experience during a simulation where we sold backpacks, I was able to see the affects of some of the numerous strategies. At one point in the simulation, my team redesigned our backpack and sold to a new target market. Upon introducing our company to a new market, we used prestige pricing and set a price slightly higher than our competitors. We saw some success from this. Prestige prices generally represent a higher quality and can give you the upper hand on some consumers not worried about getting the lowest costing item. At another point in the simulation, we decided to lower our price. We took into account the idea of odd-even pricing and chose $29.00. This price was not the lowest in the market but essentially a price at market level. This price choice was in attempt to offer our backpack at a price consumers were used to and would be comfortable with. Through the simulation and other course work, it is easy to see that pricing is a HUGE piece of marketing and can vary greatly depending on which strategy is being used.  

Blog Post 9: Husqvarna

I was recently informed that I company I associate with chainsaws sells much more than just orange chainsaws.

Husqvarna, a company started in 1689 producing muskets for the Swedish Army, has since became a company known for producing many products.  Most commonly, Husqvarna produces and sells chainsaws, trimming equipment, ground care equipment and lawn mowers. The Husqvarna website shows only those main products despite being a producer of much more than that.

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/

Some of their products that surprised me are:

Sewing Machines:

Since the late 1800s, Husqvarna has been producing sewing machines of all levels. After looking up the history of the products, I found that the reason for making sewing machines was because the demand for firearms was decreasing. The sewing machines, produced in Sweden, can be bought around the world.

http://new.husqvarnaviking.com/en-US

Bicycles:

Husqvarna produced its last bicycle in 1962 after approximately 66 years of production. Although this makes the bikes harder to find today, they were very popular in their time.

Motorcycles:

A newer addition to Husqvarna’s product mix is Motorcycles. After first producing bicycles, in 1903 Husqvarna released their first motorcycle. Husqvarna motorcycles have been designed and used for motocross since the beginning. In 2014, the motorcycles featured blue, yellow, and white, a Swedish color scheme.

http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com

Rifles:

Although after reading up on Husqvarna’s history and realizing that firearms are what started the company altogether, I was still surprised to find out that they produced and sold rifles.   First, the company strictly produced weapons for the military but eventually they produced firearms for civilians as well. The company produced many different types of rifles that are still sold and used today.

Since 1689, 325 years ago, when Husqvarna was founded to produce rifles for the military, the company has had one of the most interesting series of events unfold and produced more products than I could have ever imagined. From the most well known orange chainsaws and lawn equipment to the Swedish colored dirt bikes, this company has practically done it all. In addition to the numerous products I have already discussed, Husqvarna once made kitchen equipment too. Their 325 year journey is fascinating.

Blog Post 8: All About Rebranding Projects

All About Rebranding Projects

Recently discussed in my Marketing class, the process of rebranding a company really caught my attention. There are many reasons why companies might decide to rebrand including reputation, relevance since the world is always changing, and to stand out from competitors

AT&T:

Back in 2010, AT&T set out to rebrand their company. Their reasoning was to attract more to people taking on the digital age lifestyle. Their rebranding project resulted in a new slogan, “Rethink Possible” and a new logo. Through the new slogan, the company feels like it is expressing its values as well as communicating to consumers.  Although the company is still using the logo from 2010, the slogan has been changed recently to “Mobilizing Your World”. The change happened again for the same reason, remaining relevant in today’s world.  

Applebee’s:

I don’t know about anyone else but I feel as though every time I go back to Applebee’s something has changed. Back in 2007, the company had a nearly complete makeover, which included a new logo, newly designed restaurants and new uniforms. The company has used a handful of slogans that I can remember. First, “Eatin’ good in the neighborhood”, then “Together is good”, followed by “There’s no place like the neighborhood”, and most recently, “See you tomorrow”.  Applebee’s is in a competitive market with other casual dining restaurants and staying new and unique has helped them to succeed.

UPS:

A less recent but still incredibly successful and relevant rebranding project is that of UPS. Back in the 90’s, and still today, UPS competed with FedEx as well as the Postal Service. By introducing their slogan, “What can brown do for you?” and recreating their logo to be more eye catching and modern, UPS saw great gains in their profit margins.

Price Chopper:

Less than a month ago, Price Chopper announced that they would be changing their name to Market 32. Although it will take more than 5 years to renovate all of the stores, the company has already begun a handful of renovations. The company’s goal for this project are to have a name that better reflects their strengths, and the improvements that they plan to continue to make.

Blog Post 7: Power of a Famous Face

A marketing technique that we are all aware of is Celebrity Endorsement. Some of the companies most well known for this include Nike and Gatorade but it’s an incredibly popular technique used by tons of companies in different markets.

Why do companies pay celebrities to endorse their products?

Celebrities help to make ads memorable. When viewers can place a name with an ad, they're more likely to remember the ad.

Along with being memorable, the famous faces can help the ads to stand out.

By using a celebrity, companies can make their products look prestigious. If it’s good enough for a celebrity, it must be good.

By adding a celebrity to an ad, a company might be able to reach a new audience. For example, a sports fan may see an athlete on an advertisement and become more interested in the product he or she is endorsing.

Some celebrity endorsement examples:

Derek Jeter has endorsed many products over the years. He is an incredibly well-known athlete who many people look up to and respect. 

Gillette, Gatorade, David

Michael Jordan has been a celebrity endorsement used by Nike for many years. As most of us are aware, his brand Air Jordan, is part of Nike. Jordan has also appeared in many other companies ads including Wheaties and Coca Cola. 

Other Examples:

Jennifer Aniston, Smart Water

Brad Pitt, Chanel 

Jessica Biel, Revlon

Blog Post 6: Throwback Products

FADS: Fads are products that tend to not be incredibly useful but are very popular only for a short period of time, meaning sales generally rapidly increase and rapidly fall. Although sales drop drastically, that doesn’t mean the product is entirely removed from the market.

Some fads that come to my mind include Furbies and more recently, Silly Bands. Through some research and thought I have found several products to share that will hopefully bring back some memories for any readers.

Although the lifetime of these products varied, it is easy to spot the similarity- each products lifetime was ended abruptly by a sudden fall in sales. Like I said before, fad products don't usually have very important uses and generally don't fulfill the serious needs of consumers. Nevertheless, they oftentimes bring joy to consumers for a short period of time. 

  

Blog Post 5: All About Burton

For this blog post, I’m going to focus my research on a company that I personally am rather loyal to and certainly support. 

As we get closer and closer to winter, some mountains already having received their first snowfalls, my thoughts continue to be about snow and snowboarding.

One company in particular that I’ve purchased from in the past and will continue to purchase from because of the quality of their products is, Burton.

Burton was started in 1977 by Jake Burton in Londonderry, Vermont. The first board he sold was called the Backhill. Since then, the company has expanded and become the largest snowboard brand in the world.

“Our commitment is to make Burton as respected for our environmental and social impact as we are for our products.”

Target Market: Due to the specificity of the types of products Burton offers, mainly snowboards and other products for snowboarding such as bindings, boots, and clothing, the target market is specific too. The target market is snowboarders. Because Burton sells youth equipment as well, it’s important for them to target the younger generations and their parents too.

Social Responsibility: “We have a responsibility to the sport we pioneered - and to the people and environment that sustain it.” Burton is a very socially responsible company. They recognize the climate change issues and take them very seriously. They support many different environmental organizations including Protect Our Winters. Since 2008 Burton has been striving towards using more sustainable materials and making eco friendly decisions. Their involvement in protecting the Earth is fascinating.

Product: Burton’s main product is snowboards. Nowadays, they make a large variety of boards. They have boards for men, women and youth. Their boards are designed for certain styles of riding as well, such as a park board or an all mountain board. In addition to boards, Burton offers a variety of boots, bindings, apparel and accessories. All of their products are designed to attract the same target market, snowboarders.

Place: Burton’s products are marketed and sold worldwide. Burton has it’s own stores including the one in Burlington. Burton goods can be purchased in over 4000 stores, in addition to it’s own. Burton’s products are also available through many store websites online.

Promotion: For promoting their company and its products, Burton sponsors riders such as Shaun White and Hannah Teter. Burton also has sponsored terrain parks including a park at Killington. Burton supports young riders in a program called Learn to Ride. Burton has paired up with many organizations to get their name out in other ways too.

Price: As far as snowboards go, Burton’s prices start out at around 300-400 dollars and increase up to $1500. Their apparel lines also have a range but they tend to be higher end jackets and pants, making them more expensive than some other brands. As far as for the specific market they are in, the prices are similar to competitors such as Ride.

Burton is a company that others should strive to be like. Their products are high quality, built for performance but also built to last. Their company is very respectable and its growth is encouraging. From Jake Burton’s garage to around the globe, Burton has been an incredible success. Their interest and concern with the environment is very reputable as well.

A piece of advice: Know the companies you are supporting! Do the research and enjoy whatever it is you decide to buy.