Are Musicians Selling Out?

We had a discussion in class about whether or not musicians are selling out by using sponsorships and doing commercials. Professor Johnson used the example about the Black Eye Pea’s (see picture) incorporating BlackBerry Messenger, Pepsi, Verizon, and other companies into their concerts. Personally, I don’t consider it selling out. I don’t even think twice when I see logos, brand names, or certain products in videos. Everyone is in the business of making money and the artists are just like everyone else. Athletes have been doing it more years and no one considers them to be selling out. LeBron James, fresh out of high school, inked a $93 million contract with NIKE and he wasn’t considered a sellout. Athletes get paid and sponsored to play, why can’t artists get paid and sponsored to perform? We even see sponsorships at music award ceremonies. It seems like before every commercial we hear, “and this part of the AMA’s is brought to you by…”. I don’t see the issue with it. What’s the difference between an athlete wearing an Under Amour logo and a musician using the HP Touch Screen computer in a video? There are plenty of musicians in the industry that don’t take part in sponsorships and are “staying true” to themselves. I get that but let’s face it, we’re in a ‘get money or die trying’ era. In our generation we have been focused on money from the start. Money puts food on the table and it allows us to purchase things. Sponsorships are just part of the business. We see Budweiser logos at Fenway Park I don’t see why we can’t see Pepsi logos at venues all around the country.

I just don’t see an issue with it. I don’t consider the musicians to be selling out and to be honest I don’t think twice when I see the Sponsor’s logos in videos or at concerts. If they can make millions of dollars I think we should let them. We shouldn’t judge the people for being marketable. What do you think? Do you think it is considered selling out or is it really no big deal?

In Response to Jackie Cook's Post...

“ I believe that Twitter could be an opportunity for many companies to promote their business and get themselves out there more. What do you think? Do you think Twitter will become the new Facebook? Do you think all companies will begin to ‘Tweet?’”

I absolutely think Twitter will become the new Facebook. Most companies already use Facebook to promote and interact with customers. If companies could tap into the millions of Twitter users and followers, then they would really be able to expand their business. The electronic era is now upon us and like I said with the millions of followers/users on Facebook and Twitter, it leaves a huge opportunity for companies to expand their consumer base. The interaction between the customers and companies could prove to be very beneficial. Opening lines of communication can be key. I thought it was interesting that Starbucks used Twitter to promote their environmental philosophy. I also thought it was interesting that they used ‘Tweets’ to promote their ideas on reducing paper cups. I feel the first few companies that join Twitter-before the rest of the competition catches up-will really be at an advantage. Since only a few companies are signed on for the new Twitter advertisements, people will be paying more attention to those companies and following what they do. Getting ahead of the curve can be extremely beneficial to the companies and can help form an advantage throughout the market. I wasn’t able to find any statistics yet about how much business Starbucks had yesterday (4/15) due to that ‘free coffee if you bring in a tumbler’ idea, but I bet you it was more than usual. It will be interesting to see how quick the companies draw to Twitter to advertise their products. But all in all, I feel it will only be a matter of time before Twitter and Facebook are one in the same.

How do you feel about companies advertising on Twitter? Do you think it can be beneficial or is it a waste of time?

Major Advertising Media

Advertising is present wherever you look. There are major advertising media: newspaper, magazines, direct mail, radio, television, internet, and the yellow pages. All have advantages and disadvantages associated with them. An advantage of the newspaper is that it reaches large audiences. Also it must be purchased to be read, which is beneficial to the company developing/providing it. Also, an advantage is that it is frequently published; on a daily or weekly basis. Another advantage can be that it is favorable for cooperative advertising and merchandising services. But just like anything else, there are always negatives to positives and newspapers have disadvantages associated with them as well. A disadvantage of newspapers is that there are limited reproduction capabilities and they have short lives. A huge disadvantage of newspapers is that they are not selective for target markets. With the large advertising volume, it can limit the exposure to any one advertisement which will definitely pose as a disadvantage.

An advantage of a magazine is that there is good reproduction. Another couple advantages are that they have a good life, they have a level prestige associated with them, and they are great for leisure reading. A good example is TIME magazine. There is a level of prestige associated with TIME based off of their years of experience and quality materials. Another good example is Sports Illustrated. People get sports illustrated to read in their “down time”. There are a few disadvantages associated with magazines. High cost is one disadvantage. Another disadvantage is that there is a 30 to 90 day lead time. In the magazine industry there is a high level of competition with limited reach. Magazines also communicate less frequently.

Direct mail has several advantages. There is little wasted circulation with the advertisers controlling the circulation. Direct mail is also highly selective and can be highly personal. Advertisers are able to address the household when sending mail instead of a general group of people; plus advertisers choose who they want their letters sent to so they don’t waste their resources. It is also great for advertisers because it can be hidden from the competition. Another advantage is that there are few distractions associated with mail. A disadvantage associated with direct mail is that it can be discarded as “junk mail”. Just because it is sent to someone, they have to choose to read it which ends up being a disadvantage. It can also be very expensive. Another disadvantage is that it can lack editorial content to attract its readers. People also determine it to be an invasion of privacy.

Radio advertisements have several advantages as well. An advantage of radio is that is reaches 95% of consumers. Radio can also be highly mobile and flexible. Another advantage is that there is a relative low cost associated with the advertisements and the ads can be changed rather quickly. For example, it is much easier to change a radio ad than an ad on a billboard. There is also a high level of demographic and geographic selectivity. An advantage is that it requires the consumer to use their imagination. Everyone has heard the radio ads and started to form an imagine in their head on what the product looks like, does, etc. There are a few disadvantages associated with radio advertisements. One disadvantage is that there is limited attention from the listeners because they are usually doing other activities. I know when I listen to the radio I am usually in the car or working or doing something else that requires my immediate attention; the radio is usually on to break the silence. Also a disadvantage is that there are limited buying procedures with radio ads. The advertisements also have short lives.

Television also has several advantages for advertisers. Television reaches large audiences. Again there is demographic and geographic selectivity. There is also the advantage of having dual audio and video. For example, you hardly ever turn on the television and see a commercial that has no audio associated with. There is always someone talking or music playing. Advertisements on the television are also hard to ignore which can end up being an advantage. Again, there are disadvantages for television. One disadvantage is that it can be extremely expensive. A second disadvantage is that the size of the audience is not guaranteed. Some people refuse to watch commercials, so when their show takes a break they flip to another station. The message on television is also highly perishable. Another disadvantage is the amount of prime time television can be limited. Companies sign on for time slots but they are not guaranteed the slots from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. every night. The last disadvantage is that they can’t select who watches the commercials and who doesn’t.

Internet is another form of major advertising. An advantage associated with the internet is that there can be immediate response. It can also have the potential to reach the precise target audience. People who want view it will and people who don’t want to see the ad will go to a different website; pull medium. There is also the advantage to track customers and build databases. The last advantage is that it is a highly interactive medium. One huge disadvantage of the internet is that the costs of precise targeting are high. There can also be inappropriate ad placement. Another disadvantage is that the effects are difficult to measure. The last disadvantage is that people are starting to draw concern to security and privacy issues.

The yellow pages have advantages associated with them as well. There is a wide availability when advertising through the yellow pages. There is action and product category orientation. Another advantage is that it is a relatively low cost. The ads are also nonintrusive and there is longevity with the yellow pages. People tend to keep their yellow pages for a full year before the new yellow pages come out; they also might keep them longer than that. A disadvantage associated with the yellow pages is market fragmentation. The yellow pages are also extremely localized. Take the yellow pages in Keene for instance; they cover southern New Hampshire and some of Vermont and that’s it. Another disadvantage is that there is a slow updating process and a lack of creativity. Another disadvantage is that it requires a lot of space for a company to be noticed.

Which major media source do you think is the best? I personally feel direct mail or the internet. People read a lot of their information online and if you can get an ad that people think is interesting you can receive a lot of feedback. But I also like direct mail because it forces people to at least look over your ad before they discard it. If you were a company looking to advertise, which media source would you use?

Response to Sarah Hall's Post on Buying Process..

“Have you experienced all of these steps before? Have you had any cognitive dissonance? If so what was it and what did you do, did you keep the product, give it to a friend, or return it?”

I think I pretty much speak for everyone when I make the statement that everyone has suffered from cognitive dissonance at one point or another. The last purchase that I made that I had cognitive dissonance about was…a pea coat about a year and a half ago. I usually think things through before I buy anything. If I want something bad enough or I need it bad enough, I’ll get it and won’t think twice. But for some reason, I decided I wanted a pea coat. I found a cheap one, and emphasize on the word cheap, online and decided to buy. I got it in and didn’t think much of it until the first couple weeks into winter. I beat it up pretty good and then all of a sudden, the pilling of the wool began. Then the buttons started to get loose. I realized at that point that I probably should have ordered one through my family and spent the money to get the right quality. I ended up ordering another one, paid the extra money, and now I’m happier with the second one. I kept the other one but only wear it when I know it’ll get beat up. I learned my lesson, spend the extra money. Or examine the product before I buy it. I won’t make that mistake again.

This is the shortest post ever but I’ll turn the question on you: have you experienced all the steps before? Have you had any cognitive dissonance? If so, what was it and what did you do: did you keep the product, give it to a friend, or return it?

Branding

Branding is everywhere we look. The definition of a brand, as defined in the book, is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one marketer’s product as distinct from those of other marketers. Brand names and brand marks help make the term brand. Brand name is the part of the brand that can be spoken and brand mark is the part of the brand not made up of words. The documentary “Overspent Americans” states that we buy items based off the brands or logos that we see; that can be called brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is defined as a customer’s favorable attitude toward a specific brand. There are 3 degrees of brand loyalty: brand recognition, brand preference, and brand insistence. Brand recognition is a customer’s awareness that the brand exists and is an alternative purchase. Brand preference is the degree of loyalty in which a customer prefers one brand over competitive offerings. And brand insistence is when a customer strongly prefers a specific brand and will accept no substitute.

People have their preferred brands and will stick with them. I personally prefer NIKE over Adidas and Chevys over Fords. I think some of it is how you are raised but most of it is the level of quality you come to expect from a brand. You expect that level of quality whether it is in shoes, shorts, or t-shirts. Or maybe you come to expect a certain fit from the brand. I feel people associate quality with certain brands. People also expect a higher quality from higher prices. If you pay $100 for a shirt at Armani you expect a level of satisfaction out of it. You recognize an Armani label and you already have an idea of the type of product it is. You might realize it is an alternative to a Hart Schafter & Marx (an expense alternative) and give it a try. If you are satisfied with the brand you form a loyalty to it.

My family owns a clothing store and we deal with brand loyalty all the time. Yes, there is plenty of clothing out there that we can get a great deals and mark up to make great profits; but we chose not to. We recognize quality in a brand and we form a loyalty to it. We have loyalty to U.S. made clothing. The prices might be higher and there might not be a thousand different patterns but we know there is a level of quality that is unmatched. We don’t necessarily carry the popular brand names if we don’t feel it will live up to our expectations. We’ve made it as long as we have because our clothing last, and when people recognize our name they associate a level of quality it. Examining and researching product before we purchase is necessary. Like the t-shirt example in that documentary, all 3 shirts could be the same but people chose based off of the logo; doesn’t mean that the quality is any different though, people choose off of preference. Customer and retailers alike form brand insistence to products.

How do you feel? Do you come to expect certain things from certain brands? Do you prefer and insist on certain brands or are you open to anything?

Response to Jackie Cook's Post...

“What was the last product you purchased? Under which category of consumer goods would you classify it as? Explain.”

Let’s see, the last product I purchased was a new phone. This classifies as a consumer product because, as Jackie stated, it satisfied a personal need not a business need. I did not need a new phone for my place of business. I got a new phone because I personally wanted it. This purchase could be classified under 2 of the consumer product categories: shopping and specialty. I did my homework in figuring out which phone I wanted, which phone would meet most of my needs, and what amount I was willing to pay for it. I had no problem spending money on a phone if it met all or most of my requirement; I also put in a great deal of time researching the various brands and models of phones to make sure I got the best possible option for my personal needs. This could all be classified as shopping.

This purchase also fell under the specialty classification. A new phone posed a unique characteristic to me. I also did not have a problem putting in the time, effort, and money to obtain this product; as I previously stated. As Jackie stated, a purchase of a product may fall under several different categories; each product does not have its own classification. For example, a car could fall under a shopping, specialty, and unsought classification all at the same time. Unsought because maybe the persons car broke down (sudden problem) and now they are in need of a new car; whereas before the break down the person did not see the need of looking for a new car. It also falls under the shopping classification because the buyer is willing to put in the effort to research and buy the new car. Last, the specialty classification because once they make a decision they are willing to go to any means necessary to obtain a product. Certain purchases can be classified under certain categories by the needs they meet and how far the consumer is willing to go to meet those needs. A product might meet a certain classification for one person but it could meet an entirely different classification another.

So now I as the same question to you: what was the last product you purchased? Under which category of consumer goods would you classify it as? Explain?

Consumer Buying Decision Process and Consumer Problem Solving Process

The consumer buying decision process consists of 5 stages: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and postpurchase evaluation. This is a process that people make when they realize there is a problem and they need to address it. This process can be broken off at any point when the consumer decides it is not worth it.

Do you really think we go through this process all the time? I think it all depends on what kind of problem solving response we use. If we use the routinized response-where we don’t have to think much about buying frequent, low cost items-then I feel we can skip through stages of this decision process. For example, we realize we’re out of ketchup. Once we recognize this problem, we go to the store and buy another bottle, skipping over the information search and evaluation of alternatives. This makes purchasing the item easier and eliminates the cognitive dissonance in the postpurchase evaluation. The 2 topics of consumer problem solving process and consumer buying decision process are heavily intertwined. I personally feel in some cases you have to use one in order to finish the other.

For instance, another example would be buying a new car. You would definitely use the extended problem solving process for this because you would want to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible. You would recognize the problem of needing or wanting a new car and start into the information search. This process would be extremely important because you would want to be well educated before spending a lot of money. You would definitely take into account all of the possible influences that affect this process. You would be aware of your physical surrounding; an SUV might be more practical than a Lexus, you would take into account your role and your family; a 6 passenger vehicle would be better for kids than a coupe; and you would also rely on your own perception and motives. Once you figured out what you were looking for you would engage in evaluating alternatives, something that is done in the buying decision process and in extended problem solving. One brand may have more features than another, or a certain brand may have a higher level of safety and customer satisfaction than a leading competitors. Once you eliminated alternatives you then purchase the car (product) and start on the postpurchase evaluation. Depending on the frequency of the item or the amount of money spent, you might run into more cognitive dissonance. You probably wont feel as guilty buying a bottle of ketchup as you might buying a $70,000 Lexus.

Depending on which problem solving process you use, it depends on how in depth your buying decision process is. When you constantly or frequently purchase an item I feel there is no subconscious process, you buy it and go; you don’t think twice about it. But the items that are purchased less frequently or even rarely, you engage in deeper levels of problem solving and buying decision processes.

How do you feel? Do you feel we always engage in the processes whether we know it or not?