Know Your Audience

advantages and disadvantages of nostalgia marketing?
     When it comes to nostalgic in advertisement I believe it can  be either a blessing or a curse. If used in the wrong context, an idea can easily fall flat on its face. But if showcased in an authentic fashion, the marketing plan will definitely flourish. Taking the costumer back to the "simple days" intrigues them and overall brings excitement to the intended target. Furthermore, if a company tries to demonstrate a product as something it just is not, then the customer will pick a part the Ad easily and see it for what it really is, a fake. 

     For example one company that really takes nostalgic seriously is Jordan Brand. Micheal Jordan is globally known and a basketball icon, some even believe he is the greatest of all time. With his shoe line they are consistently "Retroing" his signature shoes that he wore back in his NBA days, this meaning re- releasing classics in traditional and modern color ways. Being a branch of Nike, Jordan Brand has been the most successful counterpart in their entire line up. So successful that other companies started replicating their marketing strategies. For example, Reebok has recently released retrod Shaquille O'Neal shoes. Though he just recently retired, the mixture of his name, advertisement and brand loyalty helped the marketing plan tremendously. Nostalgia strikes again in the footwear world.  
 










(Jordan 1 ad releasing this holiday season)

     On the other hand Nostalgia can also fail to market something, simply if the item or brand is not vintage. You can not pass off something that is not true to itself. Example when it comes to technology, the industry is always growing and if you don't change with the times you will get left behind. Imagine if the iPhone tried to advertise there product as nostalgic. The smart phone is just way too new and complex to start a vintage campaign.  With computers, the item has a history that dates further down the road, But being technology I still don't think it would be smart idea to do a Nostalgic marketing approach. 
  
     This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. It just does not do it for me. This Ad just does not show case the product, yest it shows the evolution of the computer, but what does the new product pose. Where is the bells and whistles. It is vintage but it is also old. when being nostalgic, I believe you still need to be modern at the same time. Innovation should not be over looked.   

H.O.G questionair

1. Harley owners group is a great example of a brand community, and I truly believe that it does have its advantages. When an individual is accepted into a community it makes their very existence more enhanced, at feeling a part of something much more bigger than yourself is always a plus. It creates a bound that consumes ones life style.

2. Riding together as a pack, collecting memorabilia  and being offered exclusive membership motor services are all part of the sweet community Harley manages to provides. These are few of the perks that demonstrate and enhances bran loyalty.

3. Harley should definitely should expand there club. The larger the group the more pride people will have in its community. basically, the more the merrier. Plus profit will continue to grow with is good as well.  

4. Besides the Posse rides I believe having a bike show would be a great idea. Every now and then have members from across the world to show off their highly tricked out and customized rides. It would be a great way to increase profits and pride in the brand. It would be like an Harley Davidson EXPO where everything revolves around the bike.

The Ipod Killer?

     Today we will talk about the Zune, a portable music player created by Microsoft. I know many of you probably do not even remember this device ever releasing. This handset was supposed to be revolutionary and the answer to the groundbreaking apple ipod witch released in 2001. Though popularity grew large with the ipod, the Zune on the other hand, had a difficult time launching off the ground (November 2006). Holiday 2008 comes and reportedly 85 million dollars worth of Zunes were sold, where as apple reached up about 100million dollars more, making the grand total of the ipod reaching 185million dollars in that particular holiday season alone. Eventually Microsoft discontinued the device in 2011, understanding their mistakes and knowingly they could not compete with the ipod.  

      Customer behavior was simple here. People just did not get the device, they could not see why they would switch over if they already own an ipod, what was the point? The features and price were very similar and coming into the race 5 years late was a huge disadvantage. The ipod world and society had already boomed and took over the glob. This was the main external influence in the purchase or none-purchase of the Zune. Internally, like I said before consumers did not see the benefits of owning this device. I would probably say people were emotionally detached from this product. There were minor differences in hardware and software and the overall marketing/advertising for the Zune was just plain bad. It was smart for them to discontinue it, or else it would have burdened them much more pain and lost in the long run.

Surffs (the web) up

      Politics has been in the media for many decades now. As shown in class Propaganda was a huge part of US, Britain, Soviet and even Nazi Germany history. It is powerful imagery backed up with a ton of emotion and pride. Weather it was positive or negative the messages were loud and unforgettable. Though those methods of mass communications were effective, now and days we have it even more easier with the birth of social media. Many political campaigns are catching momentum now more than ever before.
     One example the Surfrider Foundation is an organization here in California that is growing tremendously. They are a non- profit dedicated to keeping the ocean clean and ready for our enjoyment. They have a Facebook page and can be found at https://www.facebook.com/surfrider
They currently have 200 thousand + likes and have an interactive  following. Posting current environmental issues that relate to the ocean and also showing what we can do to help is genius. Like propaganda it is very one sided but it is positive and for a great cause. Images such as renewable water bottles and pollution in the sea touches us as an audience  and makes us want to change, in turn, changing the world in a large scale sense. This is essentially what politics and advertising does when they come together.