Amazon is DASHing into the Future

Amazon has reached a whole new level of innovation.

Amazon has done it.  In home shopping has been brought to an entirely new level with the new Amazon Dash Button.  As if Amazon Prime wasn’t convenient enough, this new product brings your most essential items straight to your home, with the push of just one button. They have created a variety of adhesive buttons for your favorite products: Tide, Bounty and dozens of other household items.  With the push of the button, that item will be order directly to your home within normal Prime delivery time.

Amazon has thought of everything!  You will automatically receive an alert on your phone once a button has been pressed and an item has been ordered- with the option to cancel the order right there.  They have also taken into account your kids. As children we all fought over pressing the button for the elevator, so what is stopping your kids from having fun with your new purchase? Easy.  Amazon will only respond to one order at a time, once one transaction has been completed, you can take it from there and order additional if necessary.

There’s more! Amazon has gone beyond just the button, they have created a wand that allows the user to either speak the name of an item to be ordered, or scan the barcode of that item.  This wand is wireless and connects easily to your in home wifi.

While Dash is only available to Prime customers, this is really taking customer service to a new level.  This is also a large incentive to become a Prime member.  Currently, a Prime user must request an invitation and be chosen in order to participate in what appears to be a trial run.  I have no doubt that this product will be available to all Prime users within months.

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Check out the product at:

https://www.amazon.com/oc/dash-button?reqInv=1

How Effective are Targeted Advertisements?

When it comes to advertising, targeting your media to the right group is key; but is there a limit to how individualized your marketing should be?

Consumers are bombarded with thousands of advertisements per day. Of course a marketers goal is to be memorable, to cater to that consumer, and to, consequently, sell their product or service.  With the advancements that are made every day in the world of Big Data, it is becoming increasingly easier to gather information on consumers through the internet; whether they are aware or not.

Think of the last time you searched for a product, company or service. In the days following this inquiry, did you notice any advertisements aimed at fulfilling this search?  Marketers track and use consumers’ everyday actions to “better” reach them; but is this better?

Are these extremely targeted advertisements helpful or harmful to the companies who are implementing them?  A study conducted at Ithaca College shows signs that these strategies are actually steering potential consumers away from the products shown.  A professor at the college conducted a research group of over 200 students;

“According to a new study from Ithaca College, many online users find tailored ads to be “creepy,” and thus are less likely to buy the products and services being promoted.”

This research group was made up of almost entirely college age participants.  In my opinion, the lack of age variance may have had a large impact on the results.  As a college student, I feel that our generation is particularly aware of marketing tactics such as targeted online advertisements.  This generation has literally grown with the expansion of this industry- through television advertising, social media marketing, online advertising… the list goes on.  We can attribute our heightened awareness of these marketing efforts to our technological up bringing; and the enormous role it continues to play in our lives.

The question here is where should the line be drawn, if at all?  Should the results of this study hugely impact a companies choices regarding their use of data?  Do these student represent the majority or minority?

I feel that marketers should continue to collect information that will help them reach their potentials customers.  However, this must be done ethically, with full disclosure to the user.  Once the user is aware of the research and data being gathered from their searches and other actions, this person may be more apt to indulge in the benefits of these efforts.

 

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View article mentioned at:

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7908-creepy-online-ads.html

Positive vs. Negative Gender Stereotypes in Marketing

Big Data & What it Means for Our Privacy

 

Our world is engulfed in the use of Big Data and this will only continue to grow. The way in which we use this information will determine its effectiveness, in the sense of business, as well as, safety. There are a variety of outlooks one can have on the growth of this part of the industry. Many people may feel that it is an invasion of their privacy, that they are entitled to know where their information is and who is accessing it. Other people may feel that they have nothing to hide and do not care one-way or the other. Despite the conflicting views, the take over of Big Data in inevitable, thus we must find a way to control it.

One’s right to privacy is a topic that can be debated endlessly. The short of this is simply- how far does this right extend? This derives from the fourth amendment; “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, ^[a] against unreasonable searches and seizures…” (Google). While this right is to protect a person’s property and/or thoughts, what is there to be said about the information that that person puts on the Internet, and chooses to share with a particular party? This is where the conflict of privacy arises. The right to privacy, in my eyes, is relevant when the owner of the information is the sole person that holds data, and intends to maintain that status. Not to say those companies should be permitted to sell our information; this demonstrates the importance of understanding the agreement you have with the party you are dealing with. The privacy of important information should be held accountable to both groups involved. The division in this responsibility emerges when the parameters of the contract become too complex for the average user. This is when, morally, the business party that is receiving the information should carry more of the weight in protecting this information, or fully disclose the intended use of it to the consumer in terms that are comprehensible.

In the text, Big Data, the author speaks of reaching a place where the users of data are legally able to save a persons information for a certain period of time, rather than the policies in place where data is deleted almost immediately. This idea is thought to bring the analytics teams attention to the importance of the data, as well as to erase a persons ever lurking past purchases and other information shared on the web. Along with this privilege, comes an enhanced responsibility for the protection of the data.

The important take away from this is that all data is shared and is going to continue to be, what matters is what we do in order to ensure that this information does not land in the wrong hands. I believe that data collection is extremely helpful in the world of business, especially marketing. It helps companies to learn their customer and predict what they need or want; this is an invaluable trait. However, with this ability comes the responsibility of protecting your customers’ information. The accountability of a company is what creates the bond between it and a consumer. The continued reliability and sense of security a customer may find with a company is what makes them a life long client. A company should want to preserve their relationship in order to create these loyal customers; and through data protection, this can be achieved.

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You can find more information in the National Bestseller: Big Data by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier

McDonald’s Takes Their Slogan Seriously

The ever popular, “I’m lovin’ it”  slogan adopted by U.S branches of McDonald’s in September of 2003, has been taken to the next level.

McDonald’s launched a new campaign running from February 2nd of 2015 through the 14th.  In effort to incite good moral and brighten the days of some lucky customers, McDonald’s employees at locations across the U.S randomly chose patrons to pay with “love”.  This new means of payment came in many forms; whether it was a call to your mother to remind her how much you love her, or a friendly high five to the cashier.  The mission was to bring food to peoples bellies with smiles on their faces- and that goal was reached.

The company introduced the idea in a Super Bowl XLIX commercial featuring the slogan, ” Give Lovin’ Get Lovin’ “.  The campaign, though only directly affecting a select group of customers, was able to remind those who it did effect, of the importance of love… and it was not a terrible marketing move either.

Campaigns that remind the consumer that a corporation has real people behind the driving forces helps to bring a personality back to the company.  When a business reaches the size that McDonald’s has, it can be difficult to maintain a human connection with the consumer.  Very easily, these companies can slip into a cycle where they are thought of as machines; lifeless, heartless, with no greater cause in the making.  While the mission of McDonald’s continues to be making profit, the action that was taken to execute this campaign helps to bring their personality and compassion to the foreground.

 

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You can find this article: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomgara/love-and-burgers#.tf5XamXwn3

Is Marketing No Longer a Human Occupation?

In our digital age, how far is too far when we begin to cut out human connection?  Will automated campaigns, emails, and marketing efforts replace those of the professionals in the field?

These are the questions that arise in Tony Zambito’s “Modern Marketing is About Human Connection- Not Robots”.  This article explores the idea that we have lost a vital piece of marketing – the aspect of this field that is responsible for the effectiveness of campaigns and advertisements – the personality behind the brand.

Zambito discusses how the current digital boom has created a necessity for companies to engulf themselves in this virtual world. However, through doing this, many companies have lost their identity. I mean this in the sense that they no longer appear to the customer as a personified brand. Once a brand is connected in a consumers mind to a feeling or personality, there is a much greater chance that that person will continue to stay loyal to that product or service.

With the rise of digital marketing there comes numerous benefits; the extended reach, the versatility of various platforms, the speed at which information can travel.  But do the benefits really outweigh what is lost?

“Here is what is evident.  If you are engaged in robotic marketing, buyers are going to be astute enough to pick it up.  Unfortunately, it will speak volumes about whether your firm really cares.  And with millions and millions of content flying about in the digital landscape, getting attention will be next to impossible.”

In a de-humanized world of marketing, the consumer has no draw toward one brand over another. The commonality across the board creates an indifferent customer, with no sway in either direction. Without brand loyalty or the opportunity for companies to create a brand identity that relates to their potential customers, the need for marketing is diminished.

What needs to be more prevalent in today’s marketing efforts is personality.  Digital Marketing tools are immensely useful, if they are not used to jump on the content overload bandwagon.  The content that companies display via digital platforms needs to be intriguing enough so that consumers explore further.  The biggest mistake made when utilizing Digital Marketing is overwhelming the recipient- that is when the purpose is lost and the brand becomes obsolete.

 

You can find the article I have sited at:

Modern Marketing Is About Human Connection – Not Robots