Andrea Wollman's Marketing Blog

Blog 7.2

– HEINZ Ketchup Advertisement –

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisements }

This advertisement is for HEINZ Ketchup. The picture is of a single heinz ketchup bottle that is cut up into slices that look like tomato slices.

PRICE: There is no price indication. PRODUCT: HEINZ is advertising for their ketchup and, through this advertisement, is claiming that their ketchup is 100% naturally made from tomato. PLACE: There is no place for this particular ad. You can buy HEINZ ketchup just about anywhere though. PROMOTION: They are promoting that their ketchup is real, fresh, true, and desirable.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

HEINZ ketchup is for any and all ketchup lovers! They are also promoting specifically to people that are conscious about the food they eat and care whether it is natural or not. They basically promote to any adults. I might even narrow it down to middle class too because lower class probably does not have money to be buying ketchup and I, for some reason, don’t see anyone from the upper class going into a store and buying ketchup.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

I don’t think it really works because I doubt anyone believed that any ketchup could possibly be 100% real and natural tomato. I think this ad is supposed to be a use of puffery, but I don’t think it was drastic enough to be an obvious use of puffery. It almost seems like deceptive advertising to me. I can’t even tell.

Blog 7.1

– BOSE Noise Reduction Advertisement –

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisements }

This advertisement is for BOSE headphones or earbuds. The picture shows a man in a rowboat about to go over a humongous waterfall. However, the man’s back is to the waterfall and he is apparently unaware of the danger he is in because he has a pair of BOSE noise reduction headphones.

PRICE: There is no price indication. PRODUCT: BOSE is a company that mainly sells audio equipment. In this advertisement, they are focusing on their headphones that, according to them, have excellent noise-cancelling qualities. PLACE: The place to this ad is basically anywhere that is loud. BOSE is marketing that no matter how loud of an environment you are in, their headphones will be able to block out the noise. In this ad it is a waterfall. PROMOTION: Their product promotion speaks very highly of the quality of their product. Waterfalls are very very loud… so the idea of a guy that is 3 seconds away from death but completely unaware due to the quality of his headphones is quite amusing.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

BOSE is targeting either people in need of high-quality headphones or people that simply have a hard time focusing with noise around them and want to block it out. Their target reaches many different circumstances like that. And yes, the company made very good decisions. The man rowing the boat looks at peace and like he is enjoying himself and enjoying the silence he is in. He obviously has no idea about the waterfall because even his life-jacket is sitting next to him! I think many customers would love to have that same sense of enjoyment in the products they buy.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

I would say that it does work. It is funny and gets people’s attention all while easily getting their point across.

Blog 6.2

– Good Night Mattress Advertisement –

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisements }

This is an advertisement for the mattress brand called Good Night Mattress. The ad shows a small and fairly-empty room scene at night with an open window. Underneath the open window on the floor is lying a bare mattress with a burglar asleep on top of it. In the bottom corner it says, “Fall asleep easily” with their brand name written underneath it.

PRICE: There is no price indication. PRODUCT: Good Night Mattress is obviously selling mattresses. Through the advertisement, they are also indicating that they are comfortable and have some quality to them. PLACE: The place to this ad is in a bedroom. Afterall, that is where a mattress is typically found – not in the street, the backyard, or the living room. PROMOTION: Good Night Mattress is using puffery to put forth the idea that a burglar’s plans to rob a house would be thwarted once they stepped through that window and onto that mattress. They are suggesting in an unrealistic way that nobody could resist falling asleep on their mattresses.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

Good Night Mattresses’ target market is to homeowners (or apartment owners). After all, if you don’t have a home, you probably do not have a reason to be buying a mattress. I do think they did a good job advertising to them. Unrealistic as the ad may be, all homeowners fear being robbed at one point or another. By using a robber, it turns people’s heads in hopes of seeing the solution to keeping them out. But then they find a mattress. Therefore, their strategy did work in getting people’s attention.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

Yes, it works! Even though mattresses can not be the easiest product to market, Good Night Mattress solved this problem by using this creative ad campaign of an asleep burglar on a mattress. By depicting the slogan “Fall Asleep Easily” in this way, they are able to portray their exceptional level of comfort that they offer.

Blog 6.1

– Faber-Castell Advertisements –

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisements }

This is an advertisement for the Faber-Castell brand of colored pencils. The pictures of colored pencils are not of ordinary pencils though. The red pencil has a fire engine as the back half of it and the purple pencil has an eggplant as its back half. It says, “True colours – Faber-Castell” in the bottom right hand corner.

PRICE: There is no price indication, but I know that Faber-Castell tends to be more of a higher-end (more expensive) colored pencil compared to the ordinary Crayola. PRODUCT: Faber-Castell is an artsy-brand but they are focusing on their colored pencils in this ad. PLACE: There is not really a place in this advertisement. PROMOTION: Faber-Castell, through this advertisement, is claiming that their pencil colors are good quality and true to their names. For instance, “Fire engine red” would come out looking like a fire engine red. “Eggplant” would come out on paper looking like an eggplant. They are promoting to their potential customers of their main unique selling point: the life-like nature of their pencils’ colours. As their slogan says… TRUE COLOURS.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

While Faber-Castell is promoting their colored pencils – which are often associated with kids – Faber-Castell is a higher and more expensive brand of pencil. Brands like Crayola would most likely be targeting parents of young kids due to their generic pencil brand. However, because Faber-Castells pencils are said to be of a higher quality, I would say their target market would be to a more mature and practiced artist. The pictures do give a child-like vibe to them though, which does not match what I see as their target market. However, it does get their point across, so I think it is alright that they chose to do this.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

The point that Faber-Castell is trying to make is that their colors are true and real when put down on paper. Their “fire engine red” colored pencil really does look like “fire engine red;” their “eggplant purple” colored pencil really does look like an “eggplant.” I think it is a fun idea and it is very eye catching and cute. However, the pictures do not really prove that their colors turn out to look that realistic. That is what Faber-Castell is claiming… but I would not be able to tell just going by the pictures. But I really like their photoshopping and I would tend to just take their word for it honestly. So I do think it works.

Blog 5.2

– Adidas Brand Logo –

My favorite athletic brands are adidas, nike, and under armour. I will probably do a blog about each of the three eventually, but I will just be focusing on adidas for now.

1. Describe the brand logo (design) in detail and why you believe the company selected the brand elements (color, size, layout, character, etc.) that they did. Your analysis should include a brief description of the competitors and how your selected brand logo compares. In other words, why did they choose the brand elements that they did?

{ Scroll to bottom to see logo }

Adidas’ logo is three lines. Three stripes. Whatever you want to call it, that is literally all it is. However, the most common symbol of their logo is three black diagonal stripes that form the shape of a triangle – a mountain shape. (The mountain is supposed to symbolize strength and agility with their product.) While black is their most typical logo color, it can be found in any color under the rainbow. Their products reflect that too. The letters of “adidas” are written in a sans serif font, making the logo look clean cut.

I would say that adidas’ main competitors are nike and under armour – consequently my other two favorite athletic brands. All three of them generally are displayed in black and white, but all three use any color on the color wheel. I would say that these three really compete with each other in pretty much all categories. They are all in the same price ranges, they all target the category of sportswear, they all are worldwide brands, and many other such similarities. However, I think that Nike was first in the US market and just hit it off better because they are by far the biggest sportswear company. Adidas only gets half the sales that Nike does, and Under Armour only gets a fifth of Adidas’ sales. So I would say that the success of each of these brands just boils down to customer’s brand loyalty and the brand’s key influencers.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

Adidas targets people that are active physically or people passionate about sports. This would mainly be younger people ages 20 to 30. They are now focusing on enlarging their main-focus target market to include 14 to 19 year olds. Brands often even target specific sports more than others, and adidas is often associated as a soccer brand. However, they have been expanding more and more recently. I am on the Volleyball team here at North Central and I know that Volleyball’s brand name used to be Mizuno, but over the past few years, it has fluctuated more between Nike and Adidas. So I know that Adidas is putting themselves out there to more sports now.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

Adidas is amazing. I love practically all of their products. However, I can say that about Nike too. So I am not sure whether it works or not. If I don’t compare adidas to Nike’s sales, yes, I would definitely say it works! But if I do compare to Nike’s sky-high sales, I have to question whether Adidas is doing it right or not. Nevertheless, I do think Adidas has grown immensely as a company over the past ten or so years just from my own observation being involved in sports for about ten years. I feel like Adidas was not nearly as big of a brand when I first started getting involved athletically.

Blog 5.1

– Fire Prevention Advertisement –

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisement }

This advertisement is a super close-up picture of a lit cigarette. At first glance, that is all it is. However, once you look closely it is easy to see that the lit part actually looks like it has civilization and trees that are all caught on fire. The words off to the side say, “Save lives. Stub it out.” The organization promoting this is FPAA: Fire Protection Association Australia.

PRICE: There is no price indication in terms of the cost of purchasing a cigarette. However, it does indicate that the price of lighting a cigarette can lead to deaths. PRODUCT: The product FPAA is promoting (or demoting) is a simple cigarette and the effects it has on people and the planet. FPAA works to prevent fires, so it is mainly advertising one source of common fires. PLACE: The place of this product is anywhere and everywhere. You can buy a cigarette at any and every store and it affects anything and everything it comes in contact with once it is lit. Whether it is affecting the lighter’s own lungs, the surrounding people’s lungs, or the general environment’s air cleanliness, it affects everything. However, this specific ad seems to be focusing more on the environment rather than the “fight for healthy lungs” stance. PROMOTION: This advertisement is different than others. Rather than focusing on who FPAA is and what it does, it is advertising one of the main causes it fights against. FPAA’s purpose is to provide “a safer community where loss of life, injury, and damage to property and the environment are eliminated through effective fire protection” (Wood, 2020).

Wood, F. (2020). Fire Protection Association Australia. Retrieved February 5, 2020, from http://www.fpaa.com.au/about/what-is-fpa-australia.aspx.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

The target market is, legally, for those old enough to smoke in their respective countries. They could also be targeting, more specifically, those who love nature. Nature lovers that smoke could see this and be saddened by it.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

I would say that it probably doesn’t work. I see it and I am definitely affected by it – as I am sure others are. It caught my attention after all. However, for those that do smoke, I don’t think that this is enough to make them stop. Smoking is an addiction and nothing will make them quit unless they themselves want to quit, and I don’t think this advertisement itself is enough to make them want to quit.

Blog 4.2

– Weight Watchers Advertisement –

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisement }

This ad is an advertisement for Weight Watchers. It has two doors… the door on the left is abnormally large with the word “entrance” while the one on the right is abnormally small with the word “exit” printed on it. You get the idea… start using Weight Watchers unhappy with your weight and end with a result much more likable.

PRICE: There is no price indication. PRODUCT: We can’t see what their product looks like in this advertisement, but we can see what their product can do. It makes the product seem reliable. In the picture, the entrance door is cracked open, too, which gives it an “anyone is welcome” feel. I think they are trying to communicate that nobody is “too big or too small” to use their product. PLACE: There is not really a place in this advertisement other than point A (entrance) and point B (exit). You can buy Weight Watchers products at most general merchandise stores or online. PROMOTION: Using doors was clever because if a person were really overweight, they most likely would not have been able to squeeze through the exit door. That is why they promote it this way. It seems like it is the easiest and best way to get from present to goal. You can’t just skip right to the end. Using Weight Watchers will bridge that gap and take you step by step to your goal.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

Weight Watchers’ target market is not just for overweight people. WW is for anyone simply trying to watch their weight. However, this particular advertisement definitely targets those that actually are a little overweight. So while it may not speak to everyone in their target market directly, it is still powerful. Even if a person were not actually overweight but used WW’s product, they would still be encouraged by this to see that what they are using actually works. Therefore, I do believe they made a good decision to reach their target market – whether directly or indirectly.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

Yes it works. It is clever, eye-catching, and fits what their brand is trying to communicate.

Blog 4.1

– Super Bowl TV Tide Advertisement –

This coming weekend is the Super Bowl! I am actually not that big of a football fan, so I partly watch the games just to see the funny ads that are shown! I don’t know why it is, but companies seem to decide to put out their best ads over the time of the Super Bowl. I suppose because so many people are watching TV. So, in the spirit of the upcoming Super Bowl, I remember specifically seeing Tide ads in past years so I decided to look up a past one. This Tide advertisement is from two years ago at the 2018 Super Bowl.

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisement }

These Tide advertisements start out as if it is a typical car ad, typical mattress ad, typical beer ad, typical car repair ad, or typical anything-else-you-would-normally-see ad. However, they get cut off abruptly with something like, “Nope! It’s a Tide ad.” I think this is ingenious because there are clothes in practically every advertisement, so it is possible for a Tide ad to seem like any other kind of advertisement at first glance.

PRICE: There really is not anything about price within the video clip. PRODUCT: Within this commercial, the people’s clothing is always sparkling clean to indicate the reliability of Tide’s product. There was even one scene where a mechanic rolled out from under a vehicle with his face and arms black with grease and soot but with a starkly-contrasting white t-shirt on. This, while unrealistic, is the picture that Tide wants their products to imprint on viewer’s minds. PLACE: This TV commercial was originally and primarily shown during the time of the 2018 Super Bowl, but I am sure it is still being used for TV commercials to this day. PROMOTION: What makes this TV advertisement so cool is the way they use other company’s marketing strategies to their own benefit. When they start off looking like a different commercial, every commercial preceding it that could actually be a car ad or whatever will remind us of Tide ads. Using this strategy means that every time a different advertiser is advertising their product, they also automatically and inadvertently be advertising Tide if the viewer has also seen Tide ads before. I think that is pretty cool.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

The target market is for the middle and older generations. The advertisement is basically for anybody that does laundry – which would probably only exclude kids roughly age 15 and under. Tide could be, more specifically, targeting people that have messier jobs that get their clothes really dirty, they could be targeting the upper class that would never be seen in a dirty shirt, or they could be targeting the mom with young kids that spill food all the time. Whether they are messy or are clean freaks, Tide is for them. I do believe Tide was able to reach this wide span of people. They had a commercial with a mechanic (very dirty job), with a fancy car (upper class), and with a family (the mom).

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

Of course it works! It is clever, funny, and applicable. Tide can have such a wide variety of commercials. If there are clothes in a commercial, Tide can make it work for themselves. I think that is a great way to market. To be a successful marketer does not mean they have to be a genius and come up with bunches of clever ideas by themselves. It can be just as successful to make copy-cat ads like Tide chose to do.

Blog 3.2

-Ricola Cough Drops Advertisement-

1. Describe the advertisement in detail and how the business implemented the four P’s to add value and/or promote the product or service.

{ Scroll to bottom to see advertisement }

This advertisement for Ricola is a plain yellow background with the words, “She’s *cough* just a friend.” At the bottom it says, “Make sure good news sounds like good news,” and a little cough drop bag icon placed in the corner.

The four “P’s.” Price, Product, Place, and Promotion. PRICE: There really is not anything about price on the advertisement. PRODUCT: It shows a picture of Ricola’s product – the bag of cough drops – to give us an idea of what they look like and help us place what the brand “Ricola” is: a cough drop brand. PLACE: I saw the advertisement online, so that is where I saw it. However, you can buy these cough drops at just about any convenience or grocery store. PROMOTION: They promote their product really quite well for a cough drop company! They have the catchy phrase to get people’s attention in addition to a bright yellow background that also draws attention and matches the company brand color at the same time.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

The target market is adults. It is not very often that one would see a child going into the store and walking out with cough drops. That would be weird to see. More specifically, though, the target market also focuses on people that are sick or get sick frequently. Therefore, I agree with Ricola’s promotional decisions. For this advertisement, they made the slogan something that (usually) only adults would recognize or connect with.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

The slogan they used was quite ingenious! It catches people’s attention because almost everybody has said that phrase at least once in their life and when it is being said, people often don’t believe it. So the idea that the person coughs in the middle of the already skeptical sentence makes it seem even more like a lie. Because of this, people see the phrase and want to see who is advertising it and why that common phrase is being used! Therefore, their promotion of their product was very successful!

Blog 3.1

– Amazon Brand Logo –

My favorite place to shop online is Amazon. I’m sure I spend hours every week scrolling through Amazon looking for nothing in particular. It has so many items in every category possible – many of which are totally unnecessary but seem like they would be so handy to have. I decided to have a deeper look at Amazon’s brand logo because I am so involved in the company and see it so often. So here goes!

{ Scroll to bottom to see logo }

Amazon’s logo is really quite simple. All it is is the word “amazon” written in plain black or white writing (depending on the background color) with a curved orange arrow underneath it forming the look of a smiley-face. The arrow starts at the ‘a’ and ends at the ‘z,’ which is supposed to signify that they have everything that you could ever need – “from a to z.” The arrow is made to look like a smiley face smile to signify happiness, good customer service, and overall satisfaction.

The logo looks very simplistic because they are a simplistic company. They are clean cut and straight-forward. They, generally, do not have super high-end products, so the simplicity of the logo supports that idea. Ebay, one of Amazon’s major competitors, also has a simple logo. Theirs also spells out “ebay,” but each letter is a different color, giving it a fun and friendly theme. The letters are not aligned either, also giving it a playful feel. I would say, after comparing the two logos of Amazon and Ebay, Amazon’s looks more professional. To me, Ebay’s logo almost comes off as child-like. I think Amazon did a good job with their logo. It is straight and to the point, yet has a spark of color and happiness to go with it.

2. Describe the target market (ie. what segments are being targeted)? How do you know this is the target market? Did the company make good decisions to reach the target market?

Amazon’s target market is very broad, according to research-methodology.net. It is for adults (18+); all social classes; any life-cycle stage; urban and rural; over 100 countries; students, employees, and professionals; the easy-goers, determined, and ambitious; and so much else. Their target reaches so far and wide, it is crazy. Because its target is so large, you would think it would be hard to reach everyone. However, I do believe that Amazon has accomplished just that, which is why it is so popular today. They have such a plethora of products of so many different types, brands, prices, qualities, etc. that it would be hard to say that Amazon did not reach their target! They are amazing.

3. Does it work? Why or why not? Any general observations?

Yes, I would definitely say it works because Amazon is so popular today. The majority of people have at least heard of Amazon. Even if a person is buying a product off of another website, it is very probable that they price-checked their product to Amazon! I do it all the time. Amazon has a very good reputation going and I believe and hope that they will be around for a very long time.