My News Choice

I feel watching the daily news or nightly news is just way more feasible for me and my lifestyle as a college student. Watching the local news station is convenient for me because I can tune in to things that I want to listen to or easily turn the station when I feel it' something that doesn't relate to me.

New York Times and BBC have too much of a complicated layout to me. Although News Week breaks down each different category depending on your interests I feel I don't really have the time to fish for information. The local news is usually to the point and updated with current information.Although one thing I do not like about local news is the way sometimes they will keep you waiting on a breaking story until the news is almost over. By that time I'm frustrated and ready to stop watching completely.

New York Times and BBC both have a lot more than what the local news offers. they have news on what's going on all over the world including if you want to archive and read about past events. I also like the way you can look up sports events, access weather, health, science, whatever you decide you want to read about. You don't have that option with news on television.

Reading national and local news is something I never really thought about doing unless I just happen to be on the Internet on my phone and I see a news heading that really catches my eye. Reading news more often like New York Times and BBC is something I definitely might start doing just be a little more informed on what's going on in the world around me. As much as I access the Internet a day I really need to catch up on ad least 5 minutes of daily news!!!

What's In Your News?

There are many different ways that people receive their daily news. New York Times and BBC are two of the many popular sources for receiving news. I prefer to watch my daily local news to receive information about current events and issues that effect my life. I like to watch my local news because it is a habit. I like the easy access of turning on the television versus going onto the Internet and searching for information.

I like to watch my local news however, New York Times and BBC offer more options to viewers. While observing the websites I had more control on what topics I wanted to read immediately versus waiting on the news anchor to talk about it. On New York Times website they have many categories that can relate to different people's interest. There were blogs about different topics. I also like that they had a list of the most popular topics because that helped me realize what topics were recognized the most. BBC had the option for viewers to listen to the news by audio.

Overall I believe that the New York Times and BBC are good sources to receive news. They have the current news topics on their front page. These sources are helpful for viewers who can not wait for their local news or they want to know about current events immediately.

Halloween Serves As a Great Advertising Vender

I have noticed that Halloween is not only a big holiday for children but for adults too! When I was younger I saw costumes that reflected just a few characters such as pumpkins, witches, ghosts, and clowns. There are more costume selections that are offered now. Adults have decided to join in on this holiday by having costume parties, and dressing in character on their jobs. Halloween has become a day of advertisements for many brands and celebrities. I saw several people dressed up as celebrities. Some people might have dressed as celebrities because they are fans, or they just wanted to poke fun. While others noticed different costumes, awareness and reinforcement of a particular person or a product was developed at that moment. So whether you thought about it or not you gave your character great publicity as you went out last night which was a great benefit for the various brands!!

Advertisements......How Effective Are They?

Today in my intergrated marketing class we disscussed ad messages and their effectiveness towards consumers. As we observed several commercials we were able to determine the different messages that brands were trying to reveal to consumers. My favorite commercial that we watch was the "Magic of Macy's-Morning". I enjoy watching this commercial because Macy's does an excellent job of telling the consumer about the different brands that they have at their department store. Many department stores offer different name brands, but Macy's will be the first to "pop" in my head because of this commercial. You can view the commercial at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ud92ZLccrY

I learned some specific points that make advertisements effective:

• they are understandable
• they have recall & recognition
• relates to the target market

Avatar???

Well honestly I thought I didn't know what an Avatar was until I recalled back to a day my friend pulled up her Avatar on her computer. I thought it was really cool and looked just like a mini image of herself but I was not to interested in finding out what exactly this Avatar was all about!! I feel Avatar is really creative and fun but I don't think yahoo has done such a great job of letting it's users really know what Avatar is about and stands for. I know it's suppose to represent me when I'm sending an email or IM but what's the purpose and why should I use it? Maybe it's just me but sending emails and IM's are not at the top of my list as things to do so maybe Avatar is not marketed for me anyway. But for the people who enjoy creative, innovative technology and spending all day on yahoo this is perfect!!!
I feel yahoo should definitely advertise Avatar more to all ages. Maybe put a advertisement on yahoo homepage, or create an article about what Avatar is exactly and why we should use it. They could also do like a little sample trial where your able to create this Avatar without setting up an account but just playing around with the different features to get people interested in really creating one for themselves.

Yahoo Avatars!!

The unique advantage about using Yahoo email accounts or applications is that you can create an avatar. Avatars are cartoon figures that an user can create that represents their identity for free! There are many options for avatars that includes different color hair, color eyes, color skin, hairstyles, and clothes. I have created my avatar to be a reflection of me. My avatar is a college student. She is shown with her books in her hand standing in a library because that's where I am or should be a lot during the school year!

I enjoy having the option to change my avatar. I am able to put different outfits on her and show her in different scenery. I think that this is a great opportunity for college students to participate in because it is fun and you can create your own person. College students also like to engage in different technological activities. I have noticed in my class that a lot of my peers did not even know what an avatar was. I think that Yahoo needs to market this feature that they provide. More college students will become interested in creating an avatar if Yahoo:

• make college students more aware of avatars by advertising ads on facebook and my space
• include more background scenery that is relevant to the target market
• provide popular clothing trends for the avatars to wear
• create phrases for avatars to be able to say

These features can help add more buzz about avatars because people will be excited to show and tell what they have created!

Vogue Goes to India!

The fashion bible known as, Vogue is looking for new customers so they decided to promote their brand in India. Vogue wants to encourage guilt-free consumption for consumers in this country.The magazine is going to be 400 pages that includes ads from Gucci to Louis Vuitton.
If the brand succeeds there will be great potential for growth because the population is constantly increasing in this country.
The obstacle that Vogue might face is the consumption of magazines in India. According to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation, about 6 million people subscribe to magazines out of a population with over a billion. Vogue has to market this brand so well that the consumption rate for magazines will increase. They should put there magazines in places where their target market goes to on a regular basis. The cover of the magazine can promote more people to become interested if they see someone who is very influential in their society on it.Vogue has a lot of work to do in India to make sure that they will become a successful magazine. What kind of marketing ideas do you think will help with the success of India's acceptance to Vogue?

Three Things Successful Firms Offer Customers

When you walk into your favorite discount, clothing or grocery store you might not consciously think about why you go there so often. The reason why you might go to a particular store on a regular basis is because they offer at least one of the selling factors that a successful firm must provide to consumers. As you read the following factors think about which best relates to some of your favorite stores!!

• Something Different: Whether we realize it or not we want to be different. Sometimes original and common items are just broing. Successful firms have learned that consumers desire things that are unusual or exclusive. Urban Outfitters is agreat example of a clothing store that offers different clothing that shows creativity and vinatge styling. Some grocery stores like Harris Teeter offers different types of cheese, wines, and breads that other grocery do not have.
• Something Better: When customers become disastified with a product or service they immediatley look for something better. A firm can observe their competition and offer the same service or product with an extra benefit. Firms can also promote the idea that they should be chosen by having sale promotions and the same products that others offer but with a higher quality.
• Something Cheaper: Consumers like to save money, so many firms have become successful with promoting the idea that they are cheaper. A discount store such as, WalMart has done an excellent job with positioning their company as the best place to go when you want something cheap. Firms usually make a large profit when their known for low prices because they recieve high volume of consumers.

Which firms can you think of that advertises the idea of being something different, better, or cheaper?

Celebs in Trouble.... Is the Media Going to Far?

So in class the other day we were given the assignment to write about a celebrity that is on the verge of ethical or unethical and tell how if we were their branding manager how we would help the celeb generate or continue to generate sales. So when brainstorming about this topic I started thinking about all of the celebrities that have been or are in trouble right now as we speak for doing something unethical.

Now by no means am I a football fan but I cant help but listen to the never ending story on NFL Star quarterback Michael Vick who was arrested for dog fighting. Now I don't agree with dog fighting by any means and I know very much so that this is unethical but I cant help but to notice all the attention he is getting over something millions of people do everyday, he just got caught! Vick has lost tons of endorsements because of this which is a lesson in it self and continues to be put on the plate of criticism because of a sport many people do on a daily basis. Now I know I'm playing devils advocate a little bit because I know he was wrong for allowing dog fights to take place in his home but is it really worth him going to jail over? I would have to absolutely disagree. There are far worse things being done in this world than just someone allowing dogs to fight for a hobby.

I really feel because of his celebrity status their trying to make an example out of him. He has been suspended from playing football and may even serve jail time! I just think it's kind of crazy.

I don't know........ sometimes I think being a celebrity can do you more harm than good. Yes Michael Vick is wrong and very unethical in his judgement but where do we draw the line and realize celebrities are human too they also make mistakes and all this controversy over Vick dog fighting I feel can be placed into putting people who do far worst things in jail.......

What do y'all think about the Michael Vick Story and his charges that may lead to jail time?????

Where Can I Shop for Appropriate Clothes if I'm a Tween?

In America some of the top consumers are between the ages of 8-12 , known as tweens. Tweens are usually able to persuade their parents to buy them things that they want. In the clothing retail market there are some mixed messages sent out to this age group concerning what type of clothing that should be worn.

Some retailers have clothes that are considered to be too sexy for young girls. For example you are able to find thongs and breast pads in a tween store. Wow, what dad wants to buy their little girl such intimate apparel?Graphic tees are very popular with some negative logo designs printed on them. Having this type of material for tweens might encourage them to act as an adult. At this age you may want to feel mature but you should still enjoy your childhood. There is no anticipation to becoming an adult if you can purchase the same things that they can!!

Another issue for the clothes that are targeted to this market is "baby stuff". Some of the apparel looks like it is designed for a two year old but made in the size for a nine year. Although a tween is still young they are two old to act like a baby so they should not look like one.

There is an issue for creating appropriate clothes for this age group. Right now the clothes are from one extreme to the other. To help this problem designers should take the time to study this age group behavior and design the "right" clothing. Maybe there can be a variety of more graphic tees that have positive and relative logos on them, and other types of clothing made that parents would feel comfortable when buying for their child.

Wal-mart Going From Cheap to Chic!!!

We've notice lately by watching commercials that Wal-mart no longer has the cute little smiley face that continues to lower Wal-mart prices. They don't want to be considered only cheap but they also want to be considered a store with good quality. Wal-mart's launch of a new higher priced clothing line ended in a negative outcome because consumers did not associate them with being a place to shop for expensive clothing. Think about it, do you really go there to buy clothing or low cost household products, groceries, school supplies, and toiletries? Wal-mart has been so successful in making consumers feel like its the best place to save money and now its shows more of the serious commercials with employees really excited about working for Wal-mart instead of customers saving money.

Wal-mart has done such a great job by drilling in our heads that it is a place where you will find the lowest prices that it seems silly to think that you can go in Wal-mart and find a nice going out outfit. We think that they should stick to what they do best by being a store that's known for great prices. Suggestions that we feel will help Wal-mart:

• A more organized store layout



• Cleaner environment



• Better customer service



• Knowledgeable employees

In Wal-marts new gas commercials they focus on saving customers money on gas, which is another thing we associate with Wal-mart now (cheap gas). Overall Wal-mart is always going to be considered a place to really bargain shop! Wal-mart will probably lose a majority of their customers if they continue to raise their prices and add expensive priced clothing or their just going to lose money (like they did previously) because nobody is going to buy it.

Vera Wang going Mass Market

Our thoughts on the first day of class were pretty open-minded. We had a interesting debate about Vera Wang and her new clothing line that's suppose to launch in Kohl's stores. Some of the thoughts stated in class were it would help her increase awareness among all types of shoppers. Others stated that she would lose crediability among her loyal customers because her name won't be so exclusive anymore! What are some of your thoughts about this?