Post #15: New Blog

Hey,

I just wanted to thank you for reading. The blogging process has been a lot of fun, and, although I may have had low inspiration at some points and have been in a time crunch because of the busyness of the end of the semester, I have really come to see the value of having a blog, especially as a personal branding tool. I have plans to continue blogging about life in general, possibly for a long time.

It has been great to learn about marketing this semester and to be able to apply my knowledge to all of this personal branding stuff. I feel I have a much more informed perspective about myself and "how and why" I should continue to let people know what I am up to. I have one more year at Saint Michael's, and I am optimistic that it will be a great year. Thank you for reading, I'll let you know when I decide about the next step in my blogging career. Special thanks to Professor Popovich for a great semester, all the members of my different groups, Brendan, Laura, Katie, and Josh, and to Kevin. Take care - you always have my best.

Truly,

Tim

Post #14: Reflection

Hi all,

This semester has been informative, and has really helped me to consider personal branding. Before the semester started, we were given a reading assignment. We were given the option of four books, and I picked the book called BrandingPays by Karen Kang. That book was the inspiration for the focus of my blog, and it has given me a new perspective of marketing and of myself.

In terms of time in class and the semester’s assignments, particularly group projects, I have learned about marketing from so many different angles. The simulation that we completed was a great way to link all of the different parts of a business – mostly marketing and finance. I usually am not fond of group projects, but the simulation was a great group project. Each decision that we made was exciting because of the competition. We had many opportunities to present in class, and I enjoyed all of the TED Talks that we reviewed in class.

In addition to the idea of personal branding, capturing value has been another phrase that has stuck with me throughout the semester. I named my blog How and Why to Capture Value because we learned that the end stage of marketing is to capture value. What does it mean to capture value? In marketing, it means that the product or service sells itself. A successful marketing campaign will enable the product or service to sell itself – people will want it because they have to have it. The same principle applies to personal branding – that’s what I’ve been trying to get at through this blog! I think that a person can be likened to a product which fits in a certain industry, has a certain price tag, and needs to be promoted in many ways in relation to its target market. People can capture value once they assert themselves as the expert in their field or the best at their job. Just like a product, that reputation is typically the result of a long period of research, development, and time in general. BMW didn’t become the Ultimate Driving Machine overnight. Similarly, I know it will take me a long time to become the expert in whichever field I may choose.

To conclude this blog, I will leave you with this – the final words from BrandingPays: “’You have to develop a brand because everyone needs to develop a brand to be successful,’ Doreen advises. ‘You have to have all the qualities. You have to look the part, look professional and be pleasant. You have to have the communications skills.’... ‘You may have the best content in the world...but you have to figure out how to sell and communicate it in a way that people will buy and appreciate it.’ The same can be said of personal brands.” I hope this blog have helped you to find some of those ways that will allow you to sell and communicate your brand.

Best of luck always,

Be on the lookout for another blog,

Tim

Note: The text that I refer to throughout the blog is Marketing: An Introduction, in its 11^th edition, by Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler.

Post #13: Personal Branding in the Real World

Hello,

So, I’ve been talking about all of this personal branding stuff, but is it really applicable in the real world? What types of situations might personal branding apply to? Well, I would like to talk about an event briefly to illustrate how personal branding can really be a valuable tool.

On Saturday, April 26^th, I attended the 2014 New England and Canadian Maritimes Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (program -check out page six). I was there primarily to give a presentation regarding a summer research project, but I was also there to network. Before I went, I was unaware of what to expect. However, I wanted to be as prepared as possible so that I would give a good impression. So, I wore a suit and tie, I brought business cards, and, of course, I practiced my presentation many times.

I woke up at 6:00am that morning and arrived at Boston College for the conference at 8:45am. The first round of papers started at 9:00am, and I heard two interesting papers – one regarding inculturation, the other regarding the Eucharist. It was nice to get a feel for how the sessions worked, and now I felt more confident about my presentation at 1:15pm.

The rest of the conference continued with the keynote address, which was a presentation by a professor, and then it was time for lunch. Lunch was followed by the business meeting and then the rest of the day consisted of presentations. I left at around 6:00pm – it was a long day.

Despite it being a long day, I think it was well worth it. The first two connections that I made were with two Boston College graduate students. One of them happened to be friends with a friend of mine from Saint Michael’s, while the other was presenting at the same session as me. Then during lunch I sat with the convener of my session and she was very interested in my study. We talked at length about my findings and the relevance that they held for the ecumenical landscape. One of the other connections I made was with the same professor that gave the keynote address. She happened to be on the committee which reviewed the submissions, and she let me know that I was the only undergraduate at the conference – pretty cool. We exchanged business cards and moved on.

Even though I only connected with a few people, I think I marketed myself well. I set myself apart in a positive way because of three distinct differentiations. First, I dressed up. Many of the graduate students there dressed respectively, but I was the only one in a suit and tie. Second, I was the only undergraduate there – I took a risk by submitting my paper and it certainly worked out. Finally, I attended for the entire day. Many of the presenters would arrive for their presentation and then leave. I made sure to attend for the entire day and actively participate in the other sessions by asking questions of the other presenters. The conference was a great chance to brand myself. I hope that you will identify ways to do the same. I think a good place to start would be to look into different events in your field for the next academic year – you never know where different connections will lead you. Take me for instance – I ended up studying religion and going to a religion conference through a business professor. Anything can happen!

Best always,

Tim

Post #12: Direct Marketing

Hello again,

This is going to be another short post because all of these topics are blending in. In chapter fourteen of the text, there is an emphasis on direct marketing.Here are the various ways of direct marketing as mentioned by the text:

Face-to-Face or Personal Selling

Direct-mail Marketing

Catalog Marketing

Telemarketing

Direct-Response Television Marketing

Kiosk Marketing

Online Marketing

The first and last are very important and have already been mentioned in previous posts. The five in the middle do not apply very well to personal branding. Personal selling, direct marketing, and the promotion mix have such similar aspects. Despite this, I wanted to have individual posts for each of them to drive the point home that marketing yourself on the personal level is very important. Whether you talk with another person face-to-face, or you post on Facebook, every interaction is important.

Only a couple more posts - make sure to tune in!

Tim

Post #11: Personal Selling

Hi everyone,

As our textbook remarks, ‘personal selling is one of the oldest professions in the world’. It is an art that has certainly been fading, but I think it is absolutely worth discussing here, especially because it pertains to personal branding. People do not usually go door-to-door to sell appliances anymore, but selling oneself is still a necessary ability.

Throughout this blog, the topics that I have addressed have been mentioned essentially as guidelines for personal selling. Target markets, crowdsourcing, and deciding which markets to enter are all different ways to look at personal branding and selling. This is going to be a short post because I am in a time crunch, but I do have an idea for you. Go back through the blog and look at what I have said about personal branding. Does it make sense? I have applied much of what I have learned in marketing class to personal branding. Personal selling is a function of all of the product mix because you need to know everything about the product (you), but you also need to be willing and ready to discuss it with others. That is what I am trying to provide a model for - willingness and readiness to discuss yourself with others: that is how you build a personal brand and capture value. Comment with questions if something doesn't make sense.

Best,

Tim

Post #10: The Promotion Mix

Welcome back,

Chapter 12 of our text describes the Promotion Mix. Here is a a bit of information about each one:

Advertising

In the personal branding model, advertising could consist of web presence on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Social media has been a focal point of many marketing campaigns, and many companies have more than just a social media intern these days – they have large teams managing their social media platforms looking for any online mentions of their company or product. For personal branding, social media sites are a powerful tool. They give people an identity online and allow people to create an image for themselves online as the result of many posts and pictures online. All of those activities add up to create a reputation online. All of those posts can be thought of as sales promotions.

Sales Promotion

Our text indicates that sales promotions coincide with the short-term. Therefore, these could be thought of as posts you might make on Facebook or LinkedIn, or any tweets you make on Twitter. These posts are small promotions of yourself and your thoughts. Even if you are simply going for a laugh, it is really a sales promotion. I used Facebook, as many of you know, to promote this blog over the middle of the semester, and I also posted it on LinkedIn a couple times. When you post on Facebook, know that it is an opportunity to get a message out to many people – be careful what you post.

Personal Selling

This is nearly a synonym for personal branding – more detail in the next post.

Public Relations

Essentially, this pertains to keeping a solid reputation. Being able to head off rumors and build a good image are what makes for good public relations. This is very important in terms of establishing a personal brand in the public eye. After building up a reputation with individuals word will travel into the community and a personal brand will have to be managed more carefully.

Direct Marketing

This is the most important in the personal branding world. In two posts I will go over Direct Marketing in detail.

All in all, I think social media is a very valuable tool if it is used wisely. It is really a personal branding platform in many ways, so go out and use it!

Tim

Post #9: Deciding Which Markets to Enter

Hello,

I hope you are well. This week in class we went over chapter fifteen, which discusses global marketing. Much of the text describes how marketers need to prepare for the differences in culture if their company wants to market internationally. In previous posts I have discussed communication and the importance of tailoring messages for certain markets. That importance holds true for the international market and, of course, for you in all of your markets.There is a section in the chapter titled, “Deciding Which Markets to Enter”, and although it explicitly explains this decision process for companies entering the global marketplace, I’m going to put my usual personal spin on it.

This is a post that should prove to be helpful for students of all disciplines because it will provide a perspective on how to approach the looming decisions of the uncertain future. To provide this perspective, here is an account of my recent years of decision-making:

I decided to attend Saint Michael’s College because it fit my criteria – small, New England, Catholic, liberal arts, business program, music program. I decided to be a business major because it fit my interests. After my first year, I decided to add a major in religious studies and a minor in classics because they both fit my evolving interests. These academic decisions were all based on what I was interested in at the time. And my interests evolved as I became involved in more and more subjects and extracurricular activities, and as I met new people.

One major point that I have is that all you have to act on are the interests that you have right now. I came into college as a business major, and now I am planning on studying theology in graduate school. I have always decided which markets to enter by acting on my interests at that time. I think that trying to speculate what you might be interested in is risky business. Why not go with what you are already interested in? It is also risky to be confident in your career path without having an experience in that field - act on your interest to see if you like it. Another major point, as illustrated by my personal experience, is that you should expect your interests to change – especially while in college. I have heard that up to 80% of college students will change their major (at least once). Therefore, if you haven't changed your major, ask yourself, "Why?" I'm not saying that you have to change your major, but it is interesting that four out of five students will.

So don’t always focus on the job market. Think about all of the markets that you have the option to enter in college. Act on the interests that you have right now. Focus on developing the product – you – before you decide to enter a certain job market. Make sure you can be comfortable adapting. When you decide which markets to enter (internships, summer programs, majors, colleges, graduate schools), act on your current interests. You will never know your future interests until you act on your current interests.

Enjoy the week,

Tim

Post #8: Crowdsourcing

Welcome back,

First off, I hope you like the new layout. If you have any comments about it, please let me know! This week was chapter eight – my chapter. My group presented the chapter in class, and we used some interesting websites (thanks Professor!) to illustrate the concepts. One of the websites is called Trendhunter.com. This website is dedicated to finding the newest trends because their philosophy is that anything mainstream isn’t a trend anymore. The feature that we used is their New Ventures and Start-Ups section, and we had students look through the different ideas and identify which ones they might invest in.

The concept we were aiming to highlight was the New Product Development Process. The steps in the cycle are:

In particular, we wanted to illustrate idea generation and idea screening. Our textbook mentions that usually a company will have to go through hundreds or even thousands of ideas before it finds one that it wants to pursue. And then once a company has found an idea, their will most likely be hundreds of versions of that one idea. It is often a long process (those are just the first two stages).

Another concept that I think is worth mentioning is crowdsourcing. It goes along with idea generation and it simple means to invite broad communities of people – customers, employees, independent scientists and researchers, and even the public at large – into the new-product innovation process. One story of crowdsourcing that I found to be very interesting is in regards to Netflix. When Netflix was having trouble with the user interface for its Cinematch recommendation feature, it offered a prize of $1 million for the best solution. Netflix ended up with 51,000 ideas – that’s $19.60 per idea! To get 51,000 people working for your company is absolutely remarkable in my opinion. It’s a whole new level of capturing value!

So, the next question, hopefully naturally by now, is, “How can Tim tie this into personal branding?” In the spirit of viewing yourself and your ideas as a product, crowdsourcing can be of valuable application. It certainly ties in with communicating your brand with others in order to promote it, but the focus is more on refining than promoting. The New Ventures and Start-Ups section is a perfect example. The ideas are not only being promoted, but they are being screened and refined. Ideas receive ratings of popularity, activity, and freshness. The only thing missing is a feature for people to provide direct feedback.

The main point that I want you to consider is that crowdsourcing is a critical concept. It's a lot like taking a survey. I think it especially helps the development process in terms of identifying if the product is realistic, if there is a need for it, and if it is worth developing. If you are still buying into the product = you concept, then I want to emphasize the idea of refinement again. Crowdsourcing can help you to be constantly improving your ideas, brand, and life, I would argue, by leading an effort of staying current - trying to be a trendhunter. If you can know what the trends are in your industry or field, you can be ahead of the game. But if you can know what the trends are in other industries and fields, it will inform your understanding even more and refine your ideas and decisions. I find that to be undoubtedly true having been through nearly three years of a liberal arts education. When you see the many different ways of how different facets of life are connected, it can really change your perspective.

I hope that makes some sense. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I would write, "If you want to improve your personal brand, learn as much as possible about as many subjects as possible (crowdsource!) so that you can be aware of where you fit best and why." Get as many perspectives as possible so that you can appeal to as many perspectives as possible and create the best version of your product - you! That is certainly an angle of how and why to capture value.

Truly,

Tim

Post #7: Packaging Your Brand

Hello there,

For this post, I’m going to test out another metaphor. Continuing to view a person as a product, I have tried to relate four product attributes to the product that is you and your ideas. I think packaging lends a particularly interesting perspective.

Branding

It has come up in previous posts. In fact, just a couple posts ago I wrote about my own personal brand. I think the core of branding is understanding who you are and what you have to offer. To use Karen Kang’s example, the largest part of branding is the cake. Now I’ll move on to the icing. But before that, click on the picture for one of my favorite moments in cartoon history.

Packaging

The icing starts with how you present yourself, and, even more importantly, if you present yourself. In my experience, I've observed that many people don’t like to and sometimes dread talking about their ideas. I used to be one of those people, just ask my family. I never liked to talk very much. My sister would even get frustrated with me because I would never talk about my day at school in any detail. “How was your day, Tim?” “Good.” “What’d you do?” “Nothing really. Just had my regular classes and then practice.” “What did you learn in class today?” “Oh, not much.”etc.

It was a painstaking process just to get me to give any detail about anything. My dad, on the other hand, will tell you all sorts of information without even being asked a question. I’ll call home some nights and he’ll just start taking about his day. So how do you package yourself? Are you like an ink cartridge where someone will inevitably need to find scissors before they even try to open? Or are you like a bag of chips?

If you are reluctant to communicate your good ideas to others, your good ideas will not be communicated to others – not too good. So, my big point here is to be conscious of opportunities to share information with others. Provide details, don’t wait until the third or fourth question to say what you want to say – you might not even get that many chances. Even more of a problem is that you might not want that many questions. In that case, you are in need of a larger perspective change or more confidence that your ideas are good. At any rate, be mindful of your packaging and how accessible you make your brand to others.

Labeling

Similar to packaging, I’d say labeling is the idea of how inviting you make yourself appear, and how you dress. Consistency is important. You never know who you might meet during any particular day. Think about it.

Product Support Services

This concept is not nearly as applicable because it is basically defined by customer service after a purchase. What I will relate it to is staying in touch with “customers” after you have talked with them about your “product”. Don’t be afraid to ask for an email address (or find it) and try to stay in touch with people who express an interest in your ideas. After I concluded my high school career, I sent an email to nearly every teacher I had had since preschool, to express my gratitude and my future plans. I still hear about that today because they appreciated it so much. The main point is not that I’m some goody two-shoes, it’s that staying connected is important and that generally people like being connected – look at Facebook or LinkedIn.

So keep identifying what your ideas are, make sure you have accessible packaging, present yourself consistently, and know that people like to hear about new ideas. I think the packaging piece is particularly worth thinking about.

Until next time,

Tim

Post #6: Target Marketing Strategies

Welcome back,

For this post I’m going to describe the four different target marketing strategies that a company might employ in order to market their product, service, or idea. I’ll define each one and then give my take and recommendation.

Undifferentiated (mass) marketing

A market-coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer. The Super Bowl commercials are always using a this type of strategy because their audience of over 100 million viewers, although most likely football fans, is undifferentiated.

Differentiated (segmented) marketing

A market-coverage strategy in which a firm decides to target several market segments and designs separate offers for each. This strategy would be seen by a company like Match.com. Their segmentation may be as simple as men and women, but it will make their commercials different, on ESPN they will advertising by showing testimonies from women, and probably vice versa for say TLC.

Concentrated (niche) marketing

A market-coverage strategy in which a firm goes after a large share of one or a few segments or niches. Going back to ESPN, many beer companies clearly have concentrated marketing strategies because they are always targeting the same large share of a niche, like male sports fans.

Micromarketing (local or individual marketing)

Tailoring products and marketing programs to the needs and wants of specific individuals and local customer segments; it includes local marketing and individual marketing. Local marketing in defined by tailoring brands and promotions to the needs and wants of the local customer segments – cities, neighborhoods, and even specific stores. Individual marketing is a term for tailoring products and marketing programs to the needs and preferences of individual customers. An example for this customized products, such as jerseys, jewelry, and trophies.

Now, I think each strategy has it's pros and cons. However, I want to share an observation about their relationship. I think that there is clearly an evolution to these strategies, starting with micromarketing and ending with undifferentiated marketing. Take Nike, for instance. Nike started with their founder, Phil Knight, selling sneakers from the trunk of his car. Now, he's the 56th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $16.3 billion. So, Nike started with micromarketing, and now it has commercials everywhere.

Target marketing strategies are really just ways to show how popular a certain company is and how far-reaching their products and services are. Some companies stay at the micromarketing level, and sometimes that is where those companies want to be. Many landscaping businesses would fit here. The other examples are above if you'd like to revisit, but I want to focus on micromarketing because that is what people usually use to market their ideas, and their personal brand. I think that for personal branding, people must focus on micromarketing, and the idea of customization. Know your audience when you want to talk about yourself - it's like tailoring your resume for a certain position. Above all, have an idea of which strategy you ultimately want to use. In other words, decide how popular you want your brand to be. To begin moving into the upper level target markets, I think targeting "investors" is the natural next step. For companies, that usually means trying to get more capital, but for those of you buying into this personal brand concept it means gaining interest and connections with people who will talk about you and promote your ideas. Below is a video that sums things up fairly well. If anything, the last minute provides a good perspective.



The big lesson here is to go out and get investors. If you really have an idea that you are passionate about, and I know most people do, chances are that others can become passionate about it, too. My last post was all about my personal brand and what I am passionate about. Now I just need to continue telling professors and making more connections until I find a professor that will buy into my idea and help me to carry it out - I need investors. My dad is going through a similar process with a bookstore that he recently took over. It is something that he is passionate about, and as he continues to tell others in the community, he gets more and more investors - people who buy into the idea of his bookstore and what it can provide. So, be confident in your brand, go out there, and get some people to invest in your ideas - I hope you'll have as much fun with it as I am.

Best always,

Tim

Post #5: My Personal Brand

The material in chapter five is very similar to my previous post, so I have decided to discuss my goals for this semester – one of our alternate prompts to work with. Ironically, I will be providing more information about myself, which is what personal branding is all about. So here’s my personal brand:

My name is Timothy Nagy. I am a junior at Saint Michael’s College, majoring in business administration and religious studies, and minoring in classics and medieval studies. Most people will say, “Oh, well that’s an interesting combination! What are you planning to do with those degrees?” I used to tell people that maybe I could go into business ethics or managing a non-profit organization. Today, I am very focused on the religious studies route.  So what can I do with this personal brand?

Well, I have a few goals in mind. First, I’ve got to finish up the project that I mentioned in my previous post. The research has been completed, now I’m just trying to write it all up in a paper. Once I finish the paper, which has to be by the end of the month, I am planning on submitting it to the American Academy of Religion’s regional meeting for the Northeast and Maritimes. Fairly ambitious, but I’m optimistic. If it is not accepted, I will look for other journals and conferences to send it to. The main goal is to get my work published.

My second goal is to find a good summer program that will improve my research skills and my graduate admissions chances. The best program that I’ve found so far is this - http://cer.berkeley.edu/training. The only problem is that it’s in California. Otherwise, it’s really a great fit. Take a look at the poll question to the right and tell me what kind of program I should look for.

My third goal is to go to graduate school. I’ve been doing some research on what types of programs are out there, but the process is going to take several months to finalize. I am trying to keep all of my options open, but I’ve narrowed things down a bit. As of now (these things can change frequently), I want to study pneumatology, and I want to take an ethnographic approach to future research. Ideally, I would like to either stay in the northeast, or study in the UK because many of their programs are shorter.

Those are my primary goals for this semester. Notice I didn’t mention classes at all, but I am certainly committed to earning good grades this semester, and, more importantly, adding to my knowledge. For my marketing class in particular, I hope to keep learning about how I can best market myself so that I can make my primary goals as achievable as possible. Ever since I started the semester by reading Karen Kang’s book about personal branding, BrandingPays, my perspective has been focused on personal branding. I hope this blog has been at least somewhat helpful for you in terms of improving your perspective on how to present yourself to the world and improving the chances of achieving your goals. Have a great week! -Tim

Post #4: Ethnographic Research

Hello there,

Yes! Ethnographic research! For this post I am going to discuss ethnographic research, it's importance in marketing, and, at the same time, give a glimpse of my experience with it.

Ethnographic research, in many ways, is the practice of going into a community or culture that  is foreign to you and learning about it. Ways of learning about it could be through immersion or interviewing, but it cannot be done well from the computer. A huge part of ethnographic research is being in the field and learning from experience.

In marketing, ethnographic research is defined as: "A form of observational research that involves sending trained observers to watch and interact with consumers in their 'natural environments'." Companies send researchers into stores to see what people buy and how they interact with their products in the store. They hope to get a better idea of how consumers react to their product. From there, they can make the packaging stand out, or whatever the case may be.

My experience conducting ethnographic research was a bit different. This past summer I receieved a grant from the Saint Michael's College Alumni Fund for Undergraduate Research. My proposal was to investigate the relationship between a person's religious affiliation and their approaches to decision making and conflict resolution. To do so I planned out an ethnographic model with my advisor. We chose two churches in Amherst, Massachusetts, one Catholic and one Baptist, and we chose a two-tiered interviewing process. The first interview would be a focus group so that I could learn about each church community separately. Then I would interview each participant one-on-one about a particular decision they had to make or a conflict they had to resolve. After that, I would be able to identify any similarities and differences. I will tell you what I found in one of the next few posts, just so you have something to look forward to. What I will say is that Catholics and Baptists, at least in Amherst, Massachusetts, approach their decisions differently and appeal to different values.

Ethnographic research is a very valuable research tool. It has helped me to change my perspective after just one study, and I hope to conduct many more studies in the future. In terms of tying this into personal branding, I think the most practical application is to use ethnography to determine where you fit in. Once you know your talents and what you want to do with them, you can start to look for an industry to persue. You can start by looking at job descriptions online, but you'll never know what your actual tasks will be until you start asking people what they do. An ethnographic approach can give you a new perspective whether you interview ten people in a focus group, or if you go and have a conversation with a professor or business leader. Either way, go and have a chat!

Best always,

Tim

Post #3: Super Bowl Ads

Hello once more,

This week my professor assigned a special objective for blogging this week: analyze the Super Bowl commercials with the 4 P’s. At first, I wasn’t too enthused because I used the 4 P’s last week, and because I have been trying to emphasize personal branding. However, after watching the commercials (and the Seahawks domination!), I think this will be a good lesson in how companies try to appeal to you as they spend millions of dollars for these ads. To show the differences, I’m going to focus on the ads from different automobile companies.

If I remember correctly, the first ad was for the new Maserati Ghibli. The ad was one minute and thirty seconds long, and for the first minute and ten seconds a little girl talks about “waiting until they get sleepy,” “coming out of the shadows,” and then it’s time to “strike” - then they introduce the product. After looking at the commercial again, I identified the metaphor of other car companies getting sleepy and then Maserati coming out of the shadows and striking with the Ghibli, but I’ll admit I didn’t realize it the first time. So why did I remember this ad? I think it was just because it was so much longer than most ads, and maybe because I was confused by the two distinct parts of the ad.

Product – Maserati Ghibli

Promotion – Abnormally long commercial, “quietly walk out of the dark...and strike”

Place – First Super Bowl commercial

Price – Estimated $12 million for the commercial, price of car not mentioned

Chevrolet had two means of appealing to you. The first was humor with the bull being transported to the farm with all of the cows. The second was much more emotional as a couple traveled across the countryside, the wife silently communicating that she had overcome something by reaching for her husband’s hand. This ad was made in conjunction with the American Cancer Society. Both ads were a minute long.

Product – Chevrolet Truck (no specified model)

Promotion – Humor and emotion, teaming with American Cancer Society to raise awareness

Place – First half Super Bowl commercials

Price – Estimated $16 million for the two commercials, price of car not mentioned

Humor was used by Volkswagen, too. Their ad was my favorite of the car ads because it was simple, yet effective. The message was that once a Volkswagen reaches 100,000 miles, “a German engineer gets his wings”. After the driver of the VW tells this to his daughter, the attention goes to the VW plant where engineers start sprouting wings of different sizes. Then the daughter says, “Yeah dad, and I ‘m sure at 200,000 miles, rainbows shoot out of their butts.” And sure enough, they show one extra surprised engineer. Here’s a link. 

Product – Volkswagen (no specified model)

Promotion – Humor, “that’s the power of German engineering”

Place – First half Super Bowl commercial

Price – Estimated $8 million, price of car not mentioned

Other ads included Chrysler with Bob Dylan as their spokesman. This ad came late in the game and was not very memorable, but now I associate Bob Dylan with Chrysler – doesn’t make me want to buy a Chrysler though. Kia had an ad with Morpheus from The Matrix trying to redefine luxury, and then singing Nessun Dorma, the classic opera song made famous by Pavarotti. Toyota also had a memorable ad with the muppets and Terry Crews.

My main point here is that there are many different approaches to grabbing one’s attention. I like humor like many others. Some like suspense, others like emotion, and, of course, sex sells. The bigger question remains, Do these ads significantly increase sales? Here's a perspective on that question. In the meantime, I'll try to see if that's true throughout the week, and I'll let you know soon.

Best,

Tim

Post #2: The Marketing Mix

Hello again,

I hope you enjoyed the week. The marketing concept that I want to give a self-oriented twist this time is the marketing mix, which most marketers know as "The 4 P's". The P's are Product, Promotion, Place and Price. Companies use this mix of tools to produce the response it wants in the target market. So, before I explain the 4 P's, my first question is, "What response do you want in the target market?" Personally, I want my research (a product in some sense) to be found interesting in the academic community. After that, I want graduate admissions offices to respond by admitting me - but the academic community is my first target market, and my first priority (patience, Tim, patience). At any rate, I hope you have a target market in mind before reading the next section.

Product

The goods and services combination the company offers to the target market.

What are you trying to sell? What do you have to offer?

You really need to know what you have to offer - maybe even before you know what your target market is. You need to know it from front to back, side to side, from every angle or perspective you can think of. For the people that you talk to about your product (or service, or idea, or talent), you will be remembered by what you say - so get it right the first time!

Promotion

The activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it.

How can you best promote your product, service, or self? 

This is a very essential step because no one wants to waste time. Particularly in promoting yourself, I think of steps like using social media, dressing well, and being prepared for small talk (elevator pitch). I employed all three of those last week. I posted links to this blog on Facebook and LinkedIn, I dressed professionally (I think I wore a tie three times), and I shared my research project during small talk with around half a dozen people. These are small steps, but they add up. Through my interactions, I've been asked to present my research at Board of Trustees meeting! What approach do you think is best for you?

Place

The activities that make the product available to target consumers.

Where do you want to be known? What groups and audiences do you think need you? How can you best make yourself available to put your promotion strategies in place?

Social media is an answer for this, but I don't think it is a very good one. If you have something that a certain community, field, or company needs, you must make yourself available in person, too. Attend meetings, join groups, subscribe to newsletters, do research - something that will show your interest to your target consumers (potential employers, graduate schools, etc.). For instance, if I want to go to a particular graduate school, I can't just take a tour. I need to research it, contact potential faculty mentors, and ideally make some connections before I apply. This is perhaps the most difficult step because you must have confidence in what you offer in order to feel confident in making yourself available to promote it.

Price

The amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product.

I think the question here is, "What compensation do you deserve for your product, service, or what you have to offer?"

I almost left price out because it isn't a top concern at this point for me, but it is one of the 4 P's, so I kept it in. The compensation could be monetary, it could be recognition, it could even be financial aid. Focus on the first three P's and then we'll worry about it later.

I think that applying the marketing mix to personal branding is a good way to approach the way you market yourself. I hope that you will think about what you have to offer, where you can promote it, who you can promote it to, and how you can promote it. I'll be back in a week.

Truly,

Tim

Post #1: Welcome

Welcome,

My name is Timothy (Tim) Nagy, a junior at Saint Michael's College, and this blog is going to track my journey through BU 215, a course in Marketing. I'll make sure to add more about me throughout my posts, and here's a link to my LinkedIn account if you really need to know more now, but I want to jump right in and tell you what I hope to communicate throughout this blog. My main mission is to tell you "How and Why to Capture Value," and hence the title. However, before I can do that, I'm going to engage in the process of critical reflection so that I can show you the concepts that I encounter in class, assess their validity based on 'real-life' experiences, and then identify how they have altered my perspective on marketing. My perspective has already changed after one week, so I am excited to keep changing and hopefully start changing your perspective as well.

The first change that I have had regards my view of myself. After reading BrandingPays: The Five Step System to Reinvent Your Personal Brand, by Karen Kang, assigned over winter break, I began to think of myself as a product of sorts, complete with many different features, a certain style, and, most importantly, something to offer. The BrandingPays system is a way of marketing oneself, and that system has already helped me one week into the semester.

As I continue though this course, this new view is going to be with me the whole time because, as I plan to pursue graduate school, I will be focused on marketing myself and not products or services. One term that we have already come across in class is target market. I will simply define it as the groups or regions of people that will benefit most from your product, service, or, of course, your self. One 'real-life' experience that I can think of is Subaru. While they have dealerships across the United States, Subaru's target market is clearly New England because, due to the driving conditions, particularly in the winter months, their cars meet the area's needs. If they tried to sell their cars in Texas, it probably would not go so well. Therefore, it is important to identify who you should market to. In my case, the target market is the graduate schools that will benefit most from me. So, I will need to identify programs, potential faculty mentors, and degree offerings. What is your target market? As always, that can be for your product, service, or self.

One more term I want to add is marketing itself. Marketing is defined as the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. And so, traditionally, capturing value from customers is really the main objective of marketing. Capturing value from customers is getting to the point where customers become loyal to a certain product or service, and they begin to market the product for you through their loyalty in their everyday interactions. Essentially, when you have captured value, your products and services begin selling themselves. There are fourteen more weeks for me to figure out how to master this art, but for now I think the 'why' is clear. The next post will be in roughly a week. In the meantime, I hope you can identify what you have to offer and who you think needs it most, then we'll keep plugging away at the 'how'. Enjoy the week. -Tim