Response to Allison Rays "Music on Clothing Commercials"

Do commercials with catchy songs tend to have a greater, longer lasting effect on you? Does it make you picture the product in the commercial every time you hear the song? For me, it leaves a long lasting impression in my head of the product when it is correlated to a song I like, does it do this for you?

Commercials with catchy tunes to tend to get my attention more, for better or worse.  Whether or not i actually care about the product being displayed ill tend to remember the commercial. However,  I don't believe its ever had an impact on my purchases.  I don't tend to picture the product in my head however i do tend to remeber the general theme but it does not leave a lasting impression.

Personal Product Promotion

The more I look around the more I see people with huge brands over their bodies.  Girls walk around with pink or coach written everywhere.  Guys have large Nike swoops or or Under Armor Signs plastered on their clothes.  I'm all for supporting something you enjoy or a school you go to, but why purchase something that simply acts as a billboard for a company that has no interest in you.  its gotten to the point that its almost hard to find apparel that isn't littered with brands and slogans.

What do you think about the brands on apparel?  What impact do you think it has on the people that see the brands?

Response to Roland Rumrills "Product Placement"

 Does product placement make a difference for you?

As mentioned in the blog above it seems that you cant watch 5 minutes of television without seeing a famous item placed in the shot, and by no means is that coincidence.  As to whether or not product placement matters to me, it truly depends.  In cases when it is corny and thrust in my face no, such as when characters mentioned there craving a certain type of fast food chain or drink.  However sometimes mores subtle placement can work.  Mac computers for instance are constantly seen on television programs an movies.  These computers however are rarely mentioned, you just see you favorite character using the product in their everyday routine.  this particular type of placement does seem to make a difference to me whether i notice it to or not.

New Jersey Opening "E-Book" Libraries

Certain Districts in New Jersey have begun to allow students access to E-Book Libraries.  an E Book is the term commonly used to describe books viewed on computers or tablets such as the IPad or Kindle.  Students in The Thompson School district will be allowed to rent certain text online from the school libraries, enabling them to view them on their tablets.  Other libraries such as The Middletown public library are allowing members access to e books on their website.  Universities and colleges often make much of their library content available online to students as well.

Do you think that E-books will become more popular are perhaps eventually eliminate the need for books or physical libraries at all?

How do you think this will impact the way companies market their Books in the the future.

Response to Allison Rays Web Products Free Shipping

Have you ever gone to buy something online, and once you see the shipping price decide not to buy it anymore? Are you more likely to search for a product offered on a website with free shipping site wide, rather than a website not offering free shipping site wide?

I often shop online especially for clothing or school books.  Most of the time i do get free shipping but there are many occasions when i get a product and see the shipping price and decides its jsut not worth it.  I would definitely be more likely to buy something if i knew it came with free shipping.  I would even settle for a deal like spend more then $25 and shipping is free.  However a website that does charge for shipping would not stop me from visiting or purchasing from the website.  I do believe that shipping costs do influence customer purchases overall and should be studies by marketers.

Branding in America

As we have discussed in class brands play a huge role in how consumers act. this is evident when we hear things like Q-tips and Bandaids.  these products true names are cotton swabs and adhesive bandages but more people know them by their brand name.  Brands as mentioned in the Huffington post article have now taken a role in politics.  People are willing to pay much more for products with brand recognition.  so why not apply this theory to politics.  Simply by advertising Obama as the young persons candidate, and dubbing the slogan "Change" Obama was able to build of massive support.  the idea of Obama is not only that of a individual president but a simple of change and "moving forward".  The Obama brand will most likely carry far past his presidency and be remembered more of as an idea then an individual.

Do you think that Brand recognition comes only from advertising, or do the products also meet the standards the customer wishes better then available substitutes?

Response to Kendra Copithorne Globalization Relative to Businesses

What do you think is the biggest risk of becoming an international business? Do you think the benefits out weigh the risks of becoming an international business? 

As Kendra pointed out there are an infinite amount of variables that can affect a company going international all of which can cause it to fail.  I believe the biggest risk of a company going overseas is failing to understand the culture differences from country to country.  For instance as mentioned earlier in class when Disney tried to open a park in Paris, EuroDisney, they failed to realize a few cultural differences.  Mainly they failed to realize how frugal the french people are.  they also failed to serve alcohol in the park which had a huge cultural impact on the french.  this can easily happen to any other company.  Any food company opening in india must understand that pigs are sacred and are not eaten, well someone marketing in a predominately muslim country must know that muslim disapprove of alcohol.  Although all these cultural factors will affect the way a company does business i strongly believe companies should make an effort to expand overseas.  Just the sheer size of the market should allow them to find a way to be profitable.  the benefits will far outweigh the risks, if marketers can understand the culture and advertise appropriately.