A Response to Greg Matthews

To answer your question on why our generation, that being the Y generation, is opposed to or wont fight against music piracy is the fact that we are all so lazy. We all form opinions and ideas but rarely take the required steps to back them up. We all want short cuts and will keep the status quo as long as its in our favor.

The Case of John Smith

In my idea of right I feel that John Smith should sell these names, he does have a research marketing business and that's is the idea of his business. I say, if the $8,000 is enough to cover costs or other expenses he would be foolish not to. However, as the AMA is concerned, the sale of names may be unethical. In terms of fairness the AMA states that they will reject manipulations and sales tactics that harm customer trust. I do not however feel that this is a common dilemma and that business (i.e. online and phone businesses) trade phone and email contacts regularly.

Response to Cody Crawford's "Product Concepts"

Cody's Question was "Which of the three discussed forms of branding would be the most successful in a target market for Generation Y? (Individual, Family, Co-branding).
      I feel that for Generation Y who are now becoming young adults Family branding would be the most advantageous, even though individual branding allows one company to individualize numerous product lines, Gen Y'ers are in the era of trends and they like to flaunt what they have. so having a product with high demand and a known logo or name will draw in Gen Y'ers that have to have the newest hottest item.

Network Marketing

      Network marketing is nothing new to the world of marketing, however in the past 10-12 years there has been a sizable increase in popularity in the radical style of marketing one products. Most commonly seen within companies such as Avon and Mary K, Network Marketing utilizes its customers or "Company Partners" to do the marketing for them rather than to compete head to head on the shelves with competitors. How this system typically works is as follows, when a customer signs up to become a "company partner" they are now eligible to be a paid promoter for said company. This "partner" buys a set amount of product from that company and then (varying on the company) will either sell of their purchased product or pitch the idea to family and friends to obtain referred customers to earn money from that company.
      Now unfortunately, this style of marketing has received a bad reputation over the years and will be often considered as a "Ponzi" or Pyramid" scheme. In a majority this is entirely false! with exceptions to those few. the newest and in prediction, most successful, network marketing plan is used be VEMMA, a nutrition company based in Arizona. Vemma started with primarily a successful liquid vitamin with a goal to bring health the the younger community. With that they formulated an energy drink that contained this liquid vitamin and decided to use that to branch out into a younger demographic. While using this style of marketing, from personal experience  "company partners" can become extremely wealthy and create a sound business for them selves with little to no risk.

A direct channel to consumers is and ongoing asset...

    With the rapid growth in technology and the lighting quick passage of information companies are now looking to a more direct channel of marketing... the consumer. Like never before companies are looking directly to their reliable consumers for ideas, creativity, or even experimental products. This way of marketing which is increasing in popularity is know as "Crowdsourcing" which described in an article as being a way of soliciting a crowd for those creative ideas and product submissions.

    Through 5 steps a company can receive directly reliable information into current and future products. These 5 steps include On-Demand Participation, Deep Targeting, Rewards and Reinforcement, Meaningful Scale, and Measurability. Do you all agree that this is the most advatageous way to market current and new products? If not, what would be a better alternative solution?

For more on the 5 Steps to Crowdsourcing, read this short article...

The Future of Marketing is Crowdsourced

   

Response to Suzanne Koval (DPS)

Suzanne asks "Would you buy a new product from a company you know has satisfied you in the past?" My answer is yes, and I feel I can speak for the majority when I say that. Customer loyalty is one of the strongest assets a company has when introducing new products. Repeat customers are a tool that a company will use to cheaply market a new product via word of mouth. Companies with a large marketing mix will have the easiest time with this form of customer loyalty.

Response to Will Ferguson's "Sexism vs. Marketing"

To answer Will's question, "Do you think gender specific marketing is sexist?" I say no, gender specific marketing is simply a form of market segmentation. I too have been involved in many heated debates on this topic. In the end it all depends on what the company is trying to accomplish, when a company or business introduces a product they most certainly know who their intended buyer is going to be which causes them to tailor their advertisements. In these arguments sexism shouldn't be the only thing in question, for example, a product intended for the black community.

How do ethnic groups fair in market segmentation?