In response to Abby's blog (The overspent American)

"What are your views on consumers "over spending"


I feel as though my views are mixed in regards to Americans' "overspending. While reading Abby's blog and watching a portion of the film in class i feel as though many aspects can be justified as to why, we as Americans spend so much money on things that we will later for get about and become obsolete in our lives within a few months. The film offered a few explanations as to why we as a society do this, however it seemed as though the film was based on the theory of buyers remorse. This to me does not justify the aspect of spending. In my opinion I feel as though we are all raised in a capitalist society, that was once derived from, "The American Dream". People worked for what they had and climbed their way up the socioeconomic latter withing life. The film touched upon this for a few moments and then connected this justification back to buyers remorse. Which i don't full agree with.
I believe that these aspects are two separate entities. By living and growing in capitalist society, it was the way that we were brought up. I like how the film brought up the fact of emulating those that have what we want and i find that to be a valid point and which is why we as Americans growing up in this type of society would see that strong correlation between the two aspects of life without realizing it.
I must say however that I am not giving the"green light" to spending more money or consuming more product. I am only trying to provide an alternative justification to  why we spend more money than we may actually have to live outside of our means.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons!

I know that this may sound like a broad topic to some; and in many ways it can be. However in recent years many more people have been using coupons. This can be caused by our recent economic downturn, while many families have to cut cost anyway that they can. Although I must pause to consider how many people use coupons based on what they need. For example, your house has just run out of paper towels, you remember skimming through the Sundays' news and seeing a coupon. You proceed to cut it out and use it in your purchase.For some this is the case. However, it is not the case for all, many people will use coupons just because they have them and think that it is a good deal. In this case you are wasting money. When using a coupon just to use it, means that you are purchasing a product that you didn't necessarily need until you had the coupon.  
Do you think that marketers know this? The obvious answer, of course they do! They use it in many ways as a marketing technique to promote new products that have just hit the market to gain a following.
For those that use only four to five coupons a week for things that they actually need they can save up to
$100 dollars a year.
While listening to the radio I found that many people cover this same topic, those as common as John Tesh.
"In a Washington University study, shoppers spent an extra $8 on impulse buys and luxury items for every dollar’s worth of coupons they used.The researchers think this happens because we like to reward ourselves for being thrifty. It also means that saving two dollars with a double-coupon on laundry detergent might get you to splurge on $16 worth of candy and hand-cream. The fix? Shop from a list and only use coupons for items you were going to buy anyway." How often do you use coupons for things that you actually need?
There are many more stories that pertian to this; I encourage you to check it out
http://www.tesh.com/ittrium/visit/A1x97x1y1xa5x1x76y1x2431x1x9by1x2436x1y5x1fc29x5x1

In response to Jordan's blog;" Americans Happiest careers are not about the money"

  I would have to agree with Jordan and the article that was chosen to illustrate the point.

  I believe that many Americans do care how much they bring home each week. However, it has been cited in many sources that workers are willing to take a pay cut in order to become more content with the work that he/ she is doing.

  In many respects I feel that it depends primarily on the person. If money is what makes a person happy then, he/she would probably be more content with this situation. However if social contact and control over their daily tasks makes the individual more happy then i would assume by the recent studies, that the individual would be more inclined to take a pay cut and receive those benefits.

Green Marketing; Whats Green and Whats not?

   In the past few years many companies have decided to "go green". To many consumers this seems like a great option for the store in which they are shopping. However, how many of these companies are actually contributing to the true, "going green" statement. Is, "going green" just a way for companies to make more money off of making people feel good about purchasing their products because they feel as though they are contributing to the movement? Or are these companies actually making an effort?

   In a report that the USA Today posted, it said that not only are many companies going green to help the environment but they are also going green to save money for themselves as well. Companies such as, SunPower, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Patagonia, Ikea, Nike, Hewlett-Packard, UPS, Yahoo and others are using green practices in their work sites, in product development and packaging, in energy-saving data centers and other technology.

  This means that many of the companies save money on heating and cooling systems as well as transportation of employees. By allowing telecommunication conferencing, employees do not have to waste money as well as gas; flying internationally and nationally to conference to colleagues and co- workers.

   In the end I am sure that many companies are using this "going green" idea as a cover to make extra money but it is interesting to see how companies and consumers alike can feel better about their efforts for a greener environment.

How many companies do you think are actually "going green"?

Why is Camp-co Successful?

For those of you that are not familiar with this convenience store it is located in Keene, NH on Winchester street. This store sells everything from drinks to specialty tobacco. Which is not out of the ordinary for such an establishment.As i was passing by this convenience store on my way to class i started to wonder how much marketing was done to make this establishment so successful. After belaboring the idea in my head the best conclusion that I came to was, the owner had to do next to nothing to market this business due to the location.
The location for such an establishment is perfect, because it is set no more than 100 feet from two dorm buildings one of which being a freshmen dorm. I believe that this allows the business to market itself, just by the location alone. Throughout the years this store has been a common landmark that most any college student can refer to.
Which brings me to my next point and that is the power of word of mouth. Word of mouth in my opinion is by far the  best form of advertising and marketing for a business. That is if all goes "according to plan". I say this, because you can't force your customers to speak highly of your business, it happens on its own within outside conversations of individuals. I feel as though this is what happened to Camp-co. Seeing as how it is based feet for campus and at least three dorm buildings, it allows college students the convenience of referring to it as a landmark, using it for an establishment to find a quick fix of chocolate or ice cream when all other establishments are too far away, or closed at that time. Thus, allowing for the power of word of mouth to spread. This is a perpetual form or advertising and each year since it is based steps away from a freshmen dorm, they have a new student body to tap into.
I feel as though Camp-co would not be nearly successful as it is today if they were to be in a different location. It would be just another store based on a long common street that is used for commuters.

Do you feel as though the location makes Camp-co or is it something else?

Grocery Store Advertising

    

Grocery store advertising has always fascinated me, in many ways the store in which people are shopping in targets young children as well as mothers, fathers and the elderly. It’s really hard to say how each of these different stores that all of us enter at one point or another targets such a vast market of people.

   The one scheme that truly intrigues me is how stores place their items that are appealing to children, on the lower shelves; which are at eye level with the child. As the younger ones are passing by with their mothers they see everything that they want. That may be horrible for their growing bodies but none the less are fascinated with the colorful boxes and animals that surround them. I wonder how many of those mothers actually let their children have what they point to or grab in the stores. Do mothers just give in for the sake of getting out of the store faster. This really is a tangled web or ingenuity on the grocery stores part. Although the intentions of the store are not necessarily concerned with children’s good health as they are making that extra dollar. But one must pause to consider how effective this is for the stores?

   Second, Stores always put candy at the front of the stores at the checkout counters. Yet another advertising scheme to get an extra dollar out of the pockets of those that shop there. This truly makes me question how much revenue the store makes in excess on those that go in for a simple jug of milk or loaf of bread?

   If we all took the time to question how often we go in to the store with a set list of items and actually stick to it, without grabbing that extra, "special buy", i think we would find that we buy a lot more than we actually need.

How often do you go into a supermarket and buy exactly what you need?

Taco Bell Buys The Liberty Bell?

According to msn.com in 1996 a national hoaxes made headlines when Taco Bell annoced that it was going to buy one of America's famous pieces; which we recognize as the Liberty Bell. This clever scheme did not take long to gain attention, as soon as news anchors and national news papers covered the story. Taco Bell claimed,' that the company was buying the infamous bell to help with the national debt." To me I do not beleive that any fast food chain has the capitol to pay for such a piece of history. However, when headlines hit papers on April 1st, 1996 people believed everything they read.
In a matter of hours, editors were slammed with incoming complaints about this purchased which caused a huge stir among the people of this country.
The very next story that the papers and news anchors covered regarded the sale of the Liberty Bell as a hoaxes only to bring attention to the business. Which seemed to work, in one week Taco Bell's sales sky rocketed to over a half of a million. Seeing as how it was April Fools day not only did publicity and sales turn positive for the company, it has now made history as one of the best hoaxes ever played on this country.
I have a few concerns regarding this matter. One, I question our country and our ability to spread news. I believe that it is a very efficent form of communication and allows barriers for advertizing to be broke and is easily accessable to many people. However, this has made many of our citizens dependent on papers and national news stories. Many of us, I believe allow themselves to believe much of what they read without ever questioning the truth or common ground in the matter.
Second, how does this form of advertizing affect a company? In this cases it was a huge pay off for Taco Bell. Dispite this fact, not all advertizing is good; some advertizments damage companies and turn off peoples relationship whith that organization.
I ask you, how many times do you question a news story when it is published in national papers or viewed on TV? Do you put your faith into the integrity of others?