One of the most powerful entities for a marketing department is data. For a business, having data on their customers and their prospective buying habits can impact how the business markets their products and services. Today, the constant advancements in technology have made it easier for companies to collect large amounts of data ranging from customer demographics to customer satisfaction.
This week the SEC fined Kim Kardashian $1.26 million for illicitly touting a cryptocurrency on her Instagram. The SEC’s move sends a message to marketers and influencers that promoting cryptocurrency is not the same as promoting whitening toothpaste or a handbag. Understanding how digital assets can be marketed is still unclear to many, and Kim K’s settlement with the SEC highlights both the importance of being familiar with promotional regulations and the fluidity of the marketing field.
What is SEO marketing? Why is it important? With “67,000 users perform[ing] a Google search every second of everyday,” people have a heavy reliance on the internet for accessing information, communicating, and performing business transactions. Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential digital marketing strategy for all businesses to increase revenues and gain the attention of customers. It allows businesses to optimize their websites for search engines like Google in order to improve their customers’ experience and their own bottom line.
From fat-free chips to flavor contests, market research has both failed and supported the well-known potato chip brand, Lay’s, in their product development process. The Wow! “healthy” chip disaster shows that promising market tests don’t always spell success. Crowdsourcing campaigns, while beneficial for increasing customer engagement and boosting short-term revenue streams, can provide inaccurate insight into long-term consumer preferences. This year, Lay’s has released a new product line, Lay’s Layers, but only in two flavors presumably as a large-scale market test for their brand-new chip design.
Taco Bell’s latest advertisement campaign pokes fun at market leader and competitor McDonald’s. The ad features singer Doja Cat escaping from a clown school whose ice cream machines are broken. Sound familiar? Using comparative advertising, influencer and social media marketing, and rewards program incentives, Taco Bell’s recent ad campaign not so subtly asserts their superiority over the fast-food leader plagued by broken ice cream machines.
Take a look at your shampoo bottle or an item in your pantry. Is the packaging recyclable? Is it “naturally derived”? Does it come from a “sustainable” brand? Chances are, you are being misled by those labels. In order to meet increased consumer expectations for environmentally friendly products and services and reach net zero emission goals, companies have taken a less than ethical approach when advertising their products: greenwashing.
Service is more prominent than ever. With more than 80% of jobs in the United States related to the service industry, quality of service is impossible to ignore. However, most companies struggle to strike a balance between service quality and cost with some notable exceptions. Known for both impeccable service and cost-effective strategies, Singapore Airlines and Southwest Airlines have discovered the secret to keeping customers happy with a sustainable cost structure.
Celebrities can attract new customers, boost sales, and be iconic in advertising campaigns. With increased importance placed on social media marketing, endorsements can also come from smaller scale stars like Instagram influencers. Consumers will buy a product or service because their favorite influencer raves about it on Tik Tok or to support their favorite actress’s new product line, regardless of the celebrity’s actual involvement in product creation. [i] Despite the enormous benefits to celebrity and influencer endorsements, marketers face equally great risks to partnering their brand or product with an individual. Scandal and controversy are difficult to predict and can damage a company’s reputation and sales.
For many months now, TikTok has become the darling of the American public, logging more than 315 million installs in the first quarter of 2020 – not to mention the millions of installs since the initiation of mandated lockdowns. Many companies have tried to reach large follower bases on TikTok by paying creators to use specific songs, wear branded clothing, and directly promote products in their videos, but President Trump has issued an executive order banning the app in the US unless it is bought out by an American company. So, what happens to the community now that the platform may be disappearing in just a short month?
Marketing Management 