questions and answer

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1.Watch the following Ted Talk about Data Mining and then comment…is it ethical for marketers to use this data. If so, when and  under what circumstances, if not, why? Where is line of acceptable usage? What is the solution for the consumer? For the marketer? Is highly targeted/tailored marketing (about a very well-understood consumer) a valuable service?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgWie9dnssU#action=share    Many marketers use age to segment a population. Pepsi for example, has always targeted a younger consumer (The Choice of a New Generation), while Lincoln is typically an older consumer’s car (although I did have a friend in school who bought a Lincoln Towncar and then proceeded to drive like a little old man in it).  Age cohorts, or generations, are groups of people who are a similar age and have matured in a similar time and environment. Because these individuals are growing up and experiencing the same events at the same age, they develop similar value systems, cultural heroes (John Wayne for your great-grandparents, JFK for your grandparents, Steve Jobs for your parents (that may be a stretch, but you get the idea). Because of this coming of age together, there are certain characteristics and likes/dislikes that marketers can pinpoint across Generations, and use those characteristics to design successful marketing mixes. Below, I discuss characteristics of the three most prominent generations in the marketplace today. Baby Boomers: Baby Boomers are those individuals born between 1946 and 1965, and are also known as “The Woodstock Generation.”  The Baby Boomers marked a huge population surge that happened worldwide as a result of troops coming home at the end of WWII. Apparently, wives and husbands, very happy to see each other, began their families soon after the soldiers’ return.  The Baby Boomers were the largest age cohort the world had ever seen, and because of their size they revolutionized fashion, politics, consumer attitudes and sexuality and continue to change society’s perceptions of what a certain age group is supposed to do in every life stage they enter.  Baby Boomers in the US number 77 million, which is 27.5% of the US Population. Their size, paired with their enormous wallets, means marketers can’t ignore the Baby Boomers and as Baby Boomers approach retirement, marketers understand that they MUST change their thinking about how to market to older consumers—because the Baby Boomers refuse to conform to past generational patterns and remain very young at heart. For example, the old way of thinking was that once a consumer reached age 50 they were set in their ways to the extent that trying to get them to try a new brand was a waste of time. However, Baby Boomers are very open to new experiences (and are trying new careers and new spouses as divorce rates go up for this age group), and 52% of Boomers say they will try a new brand, which is the same percentage of all population groups willing to try a new brand. This opens the opportunity for marketers to “win” Baby Boomer loyalty from an existing brand. Baby Boomers as a rule don’t consider themselves old and would be offended to be offered something for “old people.”  Wise marketers focus on strategies of living better, not just living longer.  Generation X: Generation X are the first kids of early Baby Boomers, and a much, much smaller generation than either the preceding Baby Boomers or the following Generation Y. The early Baby Boomers were very career oriented, and as a result, Generation X is often called the “Latchkey” Generation because they typically looked after themselves while Baby Boomers worked long hours. Early on, Generation X was called “the Slacker Generation” and accused of laziness and poor work ethic. However, Generation X watched parents give their lives to companies only to be laid off during all the downsizing which happened during the late 80s/90s, and continues today. This generation approached work much differently (Gen Y does as well), and was unwilling to commit their lives completely to work. Today, Generation X members are in their 40s and 50s and have proved themselves to be smart savers and hard workers-many are purchasing their first homes. However, marketers have generally ignored Generation X because the size of this generation just isn’t large enough to have huge impact on the sales of any product in the future. Generation Y: Generation Y is another monster age cohort, nearly as large as the Baby Boomers at about 72 million. Although different sources will always vary in the start and finish dates of generations, typically Gen Y is thought to consist of individuals born from 1976-1995. Generation Y consists of the later children of the Baby Boomers, who put off having children until later in life and as a result of being more financially secure were able to devote quite a lot of time and money to their children.  Generation Y is large enough to seriously hurt a marketer if the Generation decides to snub a brand, and unlike other Generations, Generation Y is extremely marketing and technologically savvy at an early age. Marketers have to work harder for their loyalty than for any other generation in the past. Other characteristics of Generation Y include being very culturally tolerant, family-oriented, impatient, and very environmentally conscious.  Generation Z now is getting the attention of marketers. Many of you may belong to Generation Z.  2. What information can you find about characteristics of Generation Z and how to effectively market to Generation Z? Keep in mind that these summaries/traits of the generations above are just that…generalizations and are not meant to describe every member of these groups in detail. Rather they are guidelines that marketers may operate from. For the generation you identify with/belong to, what do you think are fair characterizations? Conversely, what do you think marketers have wrong about your generation?    3. Crossing into new cultures is a very high risk scenario for marketers, and there are countless examples of companies that have made foolish (to downright stupid) mistakes in not understanding language or cultural issues for a new market before they entered with their products/services. What examples can you find of cross-cultural marketing blunders (of which there are a disturbingly large number)? What was the chief element of the culture that marketers misunderstood in your example? How should marketers have approached the situation differently?     Chapter 11 talks about word-of-mouth and social media, and how effective word-of-mouth can be. Today, you hear a lot about “viral” videos–videos that have content that is so funny, shocking, or heart-warming that the videos are shared by millions of people.    Occasionally, marketers themselves produce viral campaigns or videos–campaigns that become shared by millions organically, and thus the brand message of the company is extended far beyond any purchased media on the part of the advertiser.  4. What viral marketing campaigns can you find (post examples, please!)?  What do you think makes a “viral” video or campaign? There’s no perfect answer here; if I knew the exact formula for making something go viral, I would be doing this post from my own private island. What were the results of these viral campaigns for the brand/company?     Religion has long been a taboo subject for marketers and there is limited research available on how religion influences consumption beyond the obvious need for or avoidance of certain foods and certain products. However, where we do talk about religion sometimes is how marketers get into trouble when the use religion in advertisements; particularly humorous ads. Faith/religion is a sensitive subject for many consumers and there are many examples of how marketers/businesses have angered consumers by poking fun at religion or by ignoring the wishes/ideals of a religious group that is their target market.  5. Can you find examples of marketing campaigns that used religion in some manner? Can you find out the result for the company (for example, did they go over well or was there backlash)? -Do you feel that companies should or should not cater to the religious beliefs of their target market? What is the risk in doing so? In not doing so? -To what extent should the religious beliefs of company owners be reflected in the marketplace (i.e. think Hobby Lobby or Chick-fil-a and the semi-recent p.r. over their stance on issues such as providing birth control to employees/funding groups that actively worked against gay marriage, etc. )? What is the danger of, or advantage of, this sort of behavior from companies?