Connecticut Science Center

Saint Patrick's Day is known for it's extravagant parades, rowdiness and Irish food and drink. The Connecticut Science Center decided to use the parades to their advantage, making a huge dinosaur that roared and had informational banners on it. They knew that this parade drew nearly 75,000 people and they knew that this would be a good way to get their business known. 


The Connecticut Science Center is approaching its third year anniversary and they used this parade to get out their mission of having a hands-on museum which saved people from traveling to New York or Boston to see this type of interactive museum. The banners featured information about the museum, including a picture of the distinctive building. The museum plans to use these banners on their building, in order to reuse them instead of getting rid of them.


 



Can you think of another company that has advertised in a unique way? Can you think of any other marketing tools the museum could use to get their name out? 

In Response to Nichole's Post

In Response to Christine's Post

Christine's Question: Do you think the directors made this controversial ad to increase recognition and buzz over the premier?  Is this an example of marketing gone too far?


On Christine's blog this week, she posted the following link and asked the question listed above. 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYVPrP4AXQo


I watched this ad and I don't believe that it is supposed to be reflecting 9/11, as the article stated. This ad does show a man falling, but I don't think it is supposed to be reminiscent of the dark period of the 2000's. I think that Mad Men made the ad in a way that they think will interest their viewers to watch the show, not to become a controversy or insult anyone.


There are plenty of ads that have gone too far with their marketing, but I don't think that this is one of them. I think that this ad just has something to do with the plot of the show, not with the history of the United States.


Can you think of an company/ad that has gone way too far?

Facebook: Is It Sexualizing Young Girls?

In a recent Yahoo! news story, the author, Lylah Alphonse, poses the question, "is Facebook sexualizing young girls?" The article goes on to talk about younger, middle school age girls, Grace, Jordan, and Lily, who talk about how getting "likes" on Facebook mark a person's popularity in their schools. This causes them to only video chat when they look perfect or wearing skimpy outfits while taking pictures for Facebook.


The role models these girls look up to, like Miley Cyrus, have gone from clean and innocent to sexy and skimpy. This makes the girls feel as though they need to look inappropriate in order for people to like them. The more Facebook "likes", they believe, the more people actually like them. 


Do you think that Facebook is appropriate for girls in middle school or should it be limited to a certain age?

In Response to Maggie

Maggie's Question: People think that the money they earn is all worth it at the end of the day, but is it really?? Why do people work at jobs they hate??

Maggie posed this question on her blog this week after writing an article about bosses taking advantage of their employees. I have been in the work force for the last six years and I have dealt with many different types of employers. Working is important, especially in our world, where the economy is a roller coaster ride and we never know when it will dip and jobs will be unavailable. I think that people who have a job need to keep that job until they find another one if they want to support themselves. I know that some jobs may make people unhappy, and if you are so unhappy that you are depressed all the time, then by all means, you should quit. But if you are just unhappy as in you don't like doing the menial tasks you do, you should hold onto your job and search for another at the same time. 

I think that the economy and the uneasiness about the job market is the reason people stay at the jobs they hate. They need to support themselves or their families and they feel like their unhappiness is worth the money they receive in order to do this. 

What do you think people who hate their jobs, but need to keep it, can do to improve their work experience? 

Apple's Market Value

Apple is well known for selling iPod's, iPad's and Macs. Recently, they have become well known in the marketing industry when their market value hit the $500 billion mark. Not many companies have ventured towards this mark and those who have reached it tend not to stay in the $500 billion range. Shares for Apple now cost $544.17, which is up 1.6% from its previous price.


Apple is one of only six U.S. companies that has reached this phenomenal milestone, alongside Exxon Mobil, now worth $411 billion, and Microsoft, their biggest competitor, now only worth $267 billion. Apple reached this bar because of their extreme sales and profits, and their worth is 15 times what their profit was last year. 


What do you think other companies, such as Microsoft, would need to do in order to compete with Apple?


Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/apple-market-value-hits-500-billion-where-few-have-gone-and-none-have-stayed/2012/02/29/gIQABzs8hR_story.html

In Response to Johnson's Post

Questions: Should John smith sell the names? (Be sure to answer the poll to the left of this post.) Also, Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue? Go to the AMA website (American Marketing Association) and look at their Statement of Ethics. What in the Statement relates to John Smith's dilemma?


 I do not think that John Smith should sell the names because that is going against the privacy of those who took the survey. The American Marketing Association addresses that companies need to foster trust with their consumers, and avoid discrepancies in the delivery of distribution. This means that if John Smith was to sell the names to the car dealer, he would be breaking the basic code of ethics that each company needs to follow. 


Though it will be hard for John Smith to have to lay off employees due to the lack of money, selling the names is not a good way to make money for the firm.


What ways do you think John Smith could raise money to keep his employees?