For my case study, I decided to research a company named Revive Skateboards. The reason I chose Revive, is because the skateboarding industry has a very unique marketing style that is different from any other kind of industry. Revive however, is even more unique. Their marketing strategy and value proposition sets them apart from all the other skateboard companies.
Andrew Schrock, the founder of the brand, started out with just a YouTube channel showcasing his life as a skateboarder and dad. As his fan-base grew, he decided to start making products or "merchandise" for the people who watched his channel. He had no idea how successful he would be selling this merchandise, and he began quickly selling out of all the products he released. When realizing the potential for the brand, he decided to take it more seriously. He then became business partners with his long time friend, Brian Ambs, and the brand was officially born. He started it out under the name "Revenge Skateboards" but later had to change the name of the brand to Revive, because of some legal issues.
Revive Skateboards is even more unique than the average skate company because their team is not necessarily as talented as other companies, but their value proposition makes up for this fact and even sets them ahead. Revive focuses on the personal connection between their riders and their fans. This connection is what other skateboarding companies do not have and usually shy away from. They make this connection through the website YouTube. Every single one of the skateboarders on the team have individual YouTube channels, where they broadcast their day to day lives. This allows for their customers to feel like they have a personal connection with the team.
The target market and main demographic for their customers is young kids that are around 9-15 years old, and they appeal to this younger demographic with the design of their products. The reason this demographic connects with Revive is because not only do young children love to watch YouTube, but they also naturally search for someone to be a role model for them. Revive appeals to that need. The company also sells their boards for a cheaper price. A revive board costs $38, while a typical skate brand sells their boards at around $50-$60 dollars. The company targeted this group of customers and built up their company starting with this specific demographic. Revive Skateboards is now one of the top skateboard companies in the world, and they are continuing to grow and branch out to more customers.
Lately, Revive has tried to expand their customer base/demographic by using the traditional ways of advertising. I lately saw their advertisement in a Thrasher magazine, which means they are trying to market to more than just little kids. If they go about this the right way, I think they will be successful, but they will need to make some changes within the brand. They need to change some of their designs to appeal to older skateboarders, as well as recruit better skaters onto their team.
Monday, May 8, 2017
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Marketing In The News (Week 2)
I came across an article on Adage about a recent failed Burger King commercial. I had already seen the commercial on Youtube prior, and noticed that it had a very unfavorable response. I did not understand why the commercial was getting so much negative attention at the time, until I came across this article that explained it.
The commercial featured a Burger King employee that verbally triggered Google Home during the commercial. Google Home is apparently a voice activated speaker, and the employee in the commercial activated it in order to prolong the message of the commercial by google searching what was being advertised. In the commercial the employee said that he only had 15 seconds to explain everything about their product (the Whopper), so he continued the message by searching it via Google Home. The article explained that BK was not partnered with Google on this ad, and therefore they did not have permission to do this.
Burger King tried to do something very different and unexpected with this ad and they succeeded. However, they did so in a way that was irresponsible. In my opinion, it would have been better if they asked for Google's permission before releasing the ad.
Burger King's value proposition is that they have a very straight-forward menu that rarely changes. BK has offered the same food on their menu for a very long time and certain people like that. Customers don't have to be constantly updated on what is being offered, they can just order what they usually order without getting confused. BK improved an element of their value proposition, so the commercial was meant to advertise an improvement to the Whopper.
Personally, I think this ad was very clever, but BK was foolish for not asking Google for their permission to do this. What I learned from this article is that it is good to take a risk and be different when marketing your company, but you should not be too reckless when doing so. Even though all publicity is good, I feel that the result of this ad would have turned out better for Burger King if they were more cautious before releasing it.
The commercial featured a Burger King employee that verbally triggered Google Home during the commercial. Google Home is apparently a voice activated speaker, and the employee in the commercial activated it in order to prolong the message of the commercial by google searching what was being advertised. In the commercial the employee said that he only had 15 seconds to explain everything about their product (the Whopper), so he continued the message by searching it via Google Home. The article explained that BK was not partnered with Google on this ad, and therefore they did not have permission to do this.
Burger King tried to do something very different and unexpected with this ad and they succeeded. However, they did so in a way that was irresponsible. In my opinion, it would have been better if they asked for Google's permission before releasing the ad.
Burger King's value proposition is that they have a very straight-forward menu that rarely changes. BK has offered the same food on their menu for a very long time and certain people like that. Customers don't have to be constantly updated on what is being offered, they can just order what they usually order without getting confused. BK improved an element of their value proposition, so the commercial was meant to advertise an improvement to the Whopper.
Personally, I think this ad was very clever, but BK was foolish for not asking Google for their permission to do this. What I learned from this article is that it is good to take a risk and be different when marketing your company, but you should not be too reckless when doing so. Even though all publicity is good, I feel that the result of this ad would have turned out better for Burger King if they were more cautious before releasing it.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Social Listening
1. I selected the brand Starbucks.
2. Starbucks' value proposition is focusing on enhancing the experience around drinking and buying coffee. They do this with their atmosphere and closeness with their customers.
3. I searched what people were saying about Starbucks on Twitter and to my surprise, I did not see a single complaint about the brand. I searched for about 10 minutes and did not see anything negative. Most people were just talking about their favorite drink, or a new addition to the menu. The majority of the newer feed contained people commenting on how much they loved the new Toasted Coconut Cold Brew. One person talked about their gluten-free breakfast sandwich, and another about how she treated her grandma with her first Starbucks drink and she loved it. All of these posts promote brand awareness, and even alert people when there is something new on the menu.
4. If I were the brand manager, I would respond by continuing to sell the very popular drinks that everyone is talking about. Also, when I offer new drinks, I would see what people are saying about it on social media.
2. Starbucks' value proposition is focusing on enhancing the experience around drinking and buying coffee. They do this with their atmosphere and closeness with their customers.
3. I searched what people were saying about Starbucks on Twitter and to my surprise, I did not see a single complaint about the brand. I searched for about 10 minutes and did not see anything negative. Most people were just talking about their favorite drink, or a new addition to the menu. The majority of the newer feed contained people commenting on how much they loved the new Toasted Coconut Cold Brew. One person talked about their gluten-free breakfast sandwich, and another about how she treated her grandma with her first Starbucks drink and she loved it. All of these posts promote brand awareness, and even alert people when there is something new on the menu.
4. If I were the brand manager, I would respond by continuing to sell the very popular drinks that everyone is talking about. Also, when I offer new drinks, I would see what people are saying about it on social media.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Marketing In The News (Week 1)
I decided to write about the latest Pepsi ad that everyones talking about that was such an utter failure. In fact, the ad was such a failure that Pepsi withdrew the commercial from both Youtube and television. Pepsi released two versions of the Ad. The first was a full length 2 minute and 40 second version that was posted on youtube, and the second was a shortened T.V. version. The original video on youtube, posted by the Pepsi Youtube channel had an overpowering dislike ratio and thousands of upset people commenting. The people who watched it on T.V. had a similar reaction. Pepsi tried to appeal to the younger crowd but ended up just pissing them off, along with everyone else.
I found an article on Ad Age that explains exactly why the ad was such a failure. In summary, the article addresses that we live in a very sensitive time when it comes to social justice issues. That being said, if companies are going to try to hop on to the trend of modern social justice, they have to tread lightly. Featuring a respected celebrity like Kendall Jenner in the commercial wasn't quite enough. This topic requires more thought than that.
The main point of this article that applies to marketing is that if you are going to use such a sensitive topic to market your company, make sure you do it right. The marketers at Pepsi did not have a developed enough perspective to make a commercial about social justice. Liberals were offended because they feel that the fight for social justice, peace, and equal rights is very serious. The commercial portrayed their protests as a fun gathering where everyone is happy. It basically stated that these problems can be solved with a simple Pepsi can.
That being said, I can see why Pepsi tried to do a commercial like this. Pepsi's Value Proposition is appealing to the youth and the millennials. They wanted to state in this commercial that Pepsi is a drink for young people with new ideas. However, they went about it very wrong.
What I learned from this Ad and article is that using topics that people are so passionate about to market your company is not the safest idea. Pepsi did not have enough knowledge about social justice when making this commercial, and they paid the price for it.
I found an article on Ad Age that explains exactly why the ad was such a failure. In summary, the article addresses that we live in a very sensitive time when it comes to social justice issues. That being said, if companies are going to try to hop on to the trend of modern social justice, they have to tread lightly. Featuring a respected celebrity like Kendall Jenner in the commercial wasn't quite enough. This topic requires more thought than that.
The main point of this article that applies to marketing is that if you are going to use such a sensitive topic to market your company, make sure you do it right. The marketers at Pepsi did not have a developed enough perspective to make a commercial about social justice. Liberals were offended because they feel that the fight for social justice, peace, and equal rights is very serious. The commercial portrayed their protests as a fun gathering where everyone is happy. It basically stated that these problems can be solved with a simple Pepsi can.
That being said, I can see why Pepsi tried to do a commercial like this. Pepsi's Value Proposition is appealing to the youth and the millennials. They wanted to state in this commercial that Pepsi is a drink for young people with new ideas. However, they went about it very wrong.
What I learned from this Ad and article is that using topics that people are so passionate about to market your company is not the safest idea. Pepsi did not have enough knowledge about social justice when making this commercial, and they paid the price for it.
About Me
1. I am taking this class because I have always had an interest in marketing and I want to learn more about it.
2. My major is in Business Administration.
3. I want to learn how to affectively advertise for a company.
4. Outside of college, my passion is skateboarding.
2. My major is in Business Administration.
3. I want to learn how to affectively advertise for a company.
4. Outside of college, my passion is skateboarding.
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