Our Profiles Have Eyes

www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27798/

We've heard it a hundred times, "Be smart about what you put on your facebook page." This seems like good advice, but marketers don't want you to be smart, they want you to be... you. That way they can market to you in a way that will actually reach you. Psychologists are getting so good at breaking down and analyzing social media profiles that they can determine personality type with no other input. This is just one more example of how marketers are turning to the electronic world. It would appear that we cannot escape being "watched" without eliminating almost all social network or electronic interaction.

Is This Really Worth It?

I'm sure that we all have wondered at times, "Is any of this college stuff worth it?" Especially during weeks like presumed "dead week" and finals week, this seems like a common question. With the current economy and the behavior or employers, this seems an ever increasing sentiment of college students. This article is interesting because it highlights how college grads are meeting a difficult job market and not finding what they hoped. With roughly half of grads being unemployed or underemployed after graduation, it is hard to be optimistic about what awaits us. Good luck Seniors!

Graduation is not all it is cracked up to be

Find Meaning

What does any of consumer behavior teach us without meaning? Nothing. Whether it's in the application of these concepts and ideas towards our careers, or just how we apply them to our own consumption patterns, without meaning, it's all useless. This meaning does not necessarily mean that we need a "higher power" at the root of our decisions or some existential endeavor. All meaning needs is some sort of purpose behind it. Without meaning, why care? Without meaning, why would we even look into consumer behavior?

Everyone Sees Something Different

An interesting video on how different people react to the same stimulus and how to change or adapt to different audiences.

The Silence is Killing Me...

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/unplugged/quietest-place-earth-mutes-sounds-messes-head-212556719.html

This article is incredibly interesting. We are so used to the constant noise that we experience everyday that silence causes our minds to create or amplify what little there is when noise is absent. As stated in the article, companies like Harley Davidson even use this room for testing their products noise without outside interference taking effect. Similar to the film The Persuaders, we are constantly bombarded by stuff everyday. It turns out, the way to rise above the noise or stand out may not be in being the loudest or most noticeable, but rather being the quietest?

Gender Traits and Stereotypes

The commercial below is a great example of making a product sex-typed. I find it humorous how a handlebar mustache is presented as awkward for most situations, but when it comes down to it, it's a symbol of pure strength, which then turns the awkward into the magnificent. It is great how they try to utilize a mustache that is rarely seen ( or pulled off for that matter) as a symbol of masculinity to associate with beer. Beer always seems to find those things that make a man a.....well, a man I suppose.

Expectations

Why do I buy things? Because I expect them to do something. That something will be a task and the tasks can be from a variety of areas from fixing something else, to filling a "void." Essentially, I buy because of what I think the product will provide/do, and not necessarily because of what I know it will do. One example of this expectation theory is in the Coke vs. Pepsi battle. Both brands have had their own taste tests in which they find that people prefer their own soda. This is possible because Pepsi does a blind taste test and Coke does a test in which the subjects know which sodas they are consuming. Coke dominates Pepsi in the known category because people expect Coke to be better. Coke is the classic beverage, the age-old traditional beverage, and when people know which one it is, they expect it to be better, and then experience it as such. So, do expectations actually influence our experience of a product? Absolutely. If I think that something is the best, and then experience it, I will probably think that the experience was actually better than it really was. I'm sure we've all had this experience.

Oh Waitresses..

This weekend I had the pleasure of grabbing a beer at a restaurant/bar with a couple of friends and just enjoy their company. Who wouldn't want to do that? But, like many experiences, we had a waitress who decided she wanted to "hang out" with us at various times during the evening. Now, as far as waitresses go, she was not an annoying, overly-intrusive, obnoxious one, however she was also our waitress and not our friend. This may seem cold, and it is, however she was trying to blur the lines between a market relationship and a social one. I think they probably do this on purpose. Once they infiltrate the social norms of finances, all of a sudden a simple 15% tip seems too harsh to put upon a "pal." We stop valuing them as simply providing a service and thus providing them with an adequate tip based upon their level of performance (a marketing norm). And thus, we end up paying a $2.00 tip for a beer that cost $3.50, roughly a 57% gratuity. Why? Well she was our "friend" and friends don't go stingy on each other right?

Viral Videos and the not so pure cause

If you haven't seen the Kony 2012 video, you are one of few. In only a week, the viral video highlighting the recruitment of child soldiers by Kony shot to 90,000,000+ views. As many jumped on the bandwagon, it became interesting to watch as the film's creator/producer/founder of Invisible Children was arrested. While this video commentary above is humorous, it is also an interesting commentary into how we jump on board with causes and things we see so many others agree with, while not truly knowing what is going on.

I have also found it quite interesting to find many people who are against America's role as world police and sending troops all over the world suddenly posting that we need to send more troops to find Kony and play that world police role that they so decidedly will advocate against in other situations.

Collaborative Consumption - "Sharing is Caring"

Seeing as this last week we had assignments with focus on consumption, I saw this as a fitting topic. Though the book does not discuss this concept, Ms. Botsman has some interesting incites and ideas concerning collaborative consumption. This consumption is different in that it is a shared experience. Shared her does not mean that two parties are buying something to share (though this would be collaborative consumption), but rather how do people share the experience and collaborate together to solve problems. I think that you will find the video below interesting.

Brands that become the Product

This last week many of my friends, and even myself, became ill. It is not a fun experience, but one that most people have. When I went to the store to get some medicine and some "Nyquil," I actually did not purchase any Nyquil. Instead, I purchased the identical (in ingredients and treatment) store brand. But even beyond this one that I bought, there were at least 5 identical products possible from different brands in this category. However, Nyquil has become the name of the product. I do not say, "Hey, I'm going to go grab some Kroger Nightime Cold Remedy." Nyquil has branded the entire category as its own name, so that as soon as someone is sick, they think of it. This concept obviously transcends product lines and categories. I'm sure everyone has heard of the Kleenex example. Many people use the term Kleenex to talk about tissue paper. If you just listen, you may hear someone ask, "Would you like a Kleenex?" Kleenex is, however, simply one brand that makes tissue paper. But, they have (similarly to Nyquil and nightime medicine) engrained their brand name into consumers' minds so that their brand became the term used by many people to describe the product. What more could a marketer ask for? If the consumers automatically say your brand name when they are thinking, truly, of a product category, you've won. Now, some people, such as myself, then think we can "beat the system," and thus purchase the non-brand name products of such items. Of course, it may also be that I am merely a college student, and cannot afford those brand names.

V-DAY

This last week, we survived the 14th of February, that's right- V-DAY. I'm not one of those crazy people that either loves Valentine's Day more than anything, nor one of those people that despise it with my very core, and thus call is Singles Awareness Day (SAD). It is nothing more than a simple "holiday." The main issue I have with Valentine's Day is that it says that on 1 day in particular we should tell people how much we value them, and quantify that love with some sort of gift (i.e. chocolates, flowers, jewelry, etc..). To me, the "spirit" behind V-Day should not exist just once a year, but year-round if the feelings expressed are sincere. What I find amusing is the way companies can exploit this once a year occurrence for gains. I just know that somewhere in a large office a large man in an incredibly expensive suit just smiles away because he works for Hallmark. Hallmark is just one of many companies that instills a sense of fulfilling the desires and needs that people require on Valentine's Day. In the video below, you'll notice that Valentine's Day is not directly referenced or mentioned. However, I saw this ad (and variations of it) numerous times in the week before Valentine's Day, and have yet to see it since. The idea is that we (the consumers) need Hallmark's cards and products in order to tell the people we care about how we feel. Call me crazy, but while cards are nice and sentimental, I tend to enjoy and find more sincerity in telling people how much I care about them face to face, and more than once a year. I am not bashing Hallmark. In fact, I believe they are geniuses. They have achieved what marketers desire. They have convinced consumers that something entirely unnecessary is a need and not just a want. It works because it appeals to the most irrational aspects of us: our hearts (another way of saying our emotions).

So, I don't know how to say this, but I'm sort of a BIG DEAL...

The ridiculousness of this student's cover letter is awesome. While it is funny to laugh at and think how absurd his rationale behind putting some of the things he wrote in it, it is also rather bothersome to think that some people would find this sort of thing acceptable. Looking at employers as consumers of employees and interns, it is quite entertaining though that not only did the original firm find this particular candidate's letter humorous, but they also forwarded it along to several other firms to partake in the laughter. It's almost another example of video advertisements that go viral, but do not actually benefit the firm behind it (think Old Spice). While this student's name and cover letter went "viral," it definitely did not do so in a manner to benefit him.

Below is the article and student's cover letter:
I'm Kind of a Big Deal

The Super Bowl? That's so American...

If you have grown up in America, lived in America, or perhaps even heard anything about America, odds are that you have at least become aware of the strangest occurrence in this great nation. It is not kids dressing up for free candy, a belief that a fat old man in a suit (supposedly jolly) sneaks into your house, nor the disturbing spiral towards a nation of obesity (though this and what happened last Sunday may be linked). No, what I am talking about is something much more strange : The Super Bowl. What we find is an event that somehow influences almost everybody in America. Ranging from the "die-hard" football fanatics that have to watch the game to the "hipster" crowd that does something else simply because watching the game or partaking in festivities would be too normal or mainstream, the nation changes for a day. Those that watch the game find themselves utterly disappointed in the actual sporting event (unless your team miraculously makes it, which being from CO and loving Tim Tebow, my team obviously didn't make it) but instead find themselves drawn to the commercials. Observed in the film we watched in class, The Persuaders, ads and commercials are now becoming the entertainment. I can think of no better example than the Super Bowl. When else do we have people gathered around televisions in such quantities for the mere purpose of watching something that intends to sell a product or service to them? In the attached website, it can be found that there were 111 million viewers this year alone, while only 38 million viewed PResident Obama's State of the Union Address just days before. The American Consumers are asking to be spoon-fed these advertisements.

No, I can not think of many more strange events that occur in this country than the Super Bowl. But, perhaps that's the "dream"? Come to America, get the house with the white picket fence, and then trash that house every February with friends, family, beer, pizza, chips, and a party with half of its attendees utterly upset and the other half in total bliss.

I am not saying that I did not watch (because I did watch, and I did enjoy the commercials). I just merely find the entire charade (including my own desire to participate) very strange. Attached is a link that highlights some outrageous and funny facts concerning this year's Super Bowl.

Super Bowl 2012 Facts and Figures

The Fun Theory

The concept of choice architecture is an alluring one. How are the everyday things around us presented in a   manner designed to inhibit certain responses? This idea is expanded upon greatly in Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. When dealing with such minute issues, or rather amusing or healthy trends (such as the below attached video), this may not seem like such a big deal. However, given the complexity and applicability with matters on a much more grandiose scale, how far is too far in "nudging" people in one direction?

Simply by making the stairs into an interactive music medium (piano), 66% more people took the stairs vs. the escalator. Though obvious in its allure and appeal, this is a great, simple example of how adding little things can make people change even the smallest decisions or choices.

Misconceptions

In many facets of my life, I have believed "facts" that I have held true simply because they were considered common knowledge or because somebody I trusted unvailed them to me. It is amazing to me how simply and effortlessly I will believe something (or rather fall for something in ignorance) that has very little, or no, support. Why do I do this? Why do others do this? I would like to think that it is because I trust the people that have told me these things, but could it stem from something deeper? Perhaps a simple desire to think that what is presented to us should be correct? When watching this video, I began thinking, "Great, now I get to see all of these facts that are untrue." There was not a doubt in my mind that these myth-"busters" would be true. However, by the end of the video, I could not definitively conclude that anything said was true either. Once again, I became a victim of my desire to believe what is presented to me without substantial support. Not only did that take a hold of my intution, but then it played on the common sentiment of cynicism. I partly wanted to believe the video because of the idea that, "Well, these things are from society, and anything from that society should be questioned, and is probably incorrect." While a degree of accepting things at face value, and a level of skepticism or cynicism, is healthy, where do we draw the balance? Where do everyday interactions that are presented to us draw upon either, or both?

Individuals Becoming the Company/Brand Personality

This video has an interesting idea as to where the brand personality is coming from. In class and from the book, the idea that the brand conjures a personality from its products or services (or even tradition), is prevalent, but the idea that perhaps the individual people in the organization are creating the personality is not addressed. Considering the multiple means of communicating and reaching different people, this is an interesting idea. Will people determine the personality of a companity or brand from its products or commercials, or rather from the interactions with the people that comprise it?