Wednesday, August 29, 2012

EOC Week 8: Creative Content



My creative content for Beauty and the Bully will be awareness bracelets. The bracelets will have anti bullying sayings not them such as "Words Hurt" “Sticks and stones hurt less” “Kind is beautiful” etc. The bracelets are a good promotion idea because both boys and girls will want to wear them. They will be a simple little reminder that people can carry with them to either remind them not bully, to stand up to bullies, or to not let words bring them down. These bracelets will be handed out at the assemblies held when the team goes to speak. 

On the inside of the bracelets it will have our logo and website. This is so it doesn't take away from the message on the bracelet but people will still know what the campaign is behind the message.

Awareness bracelets are very popular and most kids won’t have a problem wearing them. The bracelets could even be designed to have a few different looks and go for girls and guy instead of just a co ed looking bracelet. Maybe the girl’s bracelet could have more sparkle and beads and the guys could be more plain. Or we could stick to just having latex stretchy co ed bracelets. Either way I definitely think the reminder / awareness bracelets are a low cost, easy way to  encourage anti bullying.

Final Project: Evaluation Control

"Evaluation and control is an essential part of the management process. It is also the final stage, establishing how effective the business' many strategies have been. By measuring performance, the evaluation and control step tells business owners important information." - http://www.ehow.com/facts_7555862_meaning-evaluation-control.html

In order to pay attention to our success evaluation control is important. Beauty and the Bully can manage this by  observing how much outreach we have. "Strategic Evaluation is far more demanding than planning" - https://sites.google.com/site/starategicmarketing/chapter-1-1/evaluation-and-control-of-marketing-performance On Facebook business accounts it has an evaluation to look at and make sure you are staying on top of things. It does this by showing if your outreach is up or down, and how much attention you get a week or per post. Paying attention to which posts gain the most views, "likes" and attention, helps narrow down posting about what catches attention and appeals to people's interests. Facebook also lists the number of "likes" your page gets. It would be beneficial to have goals of how many like to get by the end of the month, week, etc.


Another way to monitor outreach is paying attention to many view the YouTube videos are getting. Hopefully the views would get up to the 100,000's if not the 1,000,000's. Posting these videos on our social media sites will help them to get more views.


The goal of the outreach would be to get to point where schools are calling to have us talk, instead of us calling schools. It would be great to have schools calling us to return to speak annually for their assemblies. Another hope is that celebrities and major companies will want to come on board.



Final Project: Price


"Setting the right price is one of the marketer’s most difficult tasks. A host of factors come into play. But finding and implementing the right price strategy is critical to success." - Marketing Pg 5Price as far as money is not neccissarily a factor in a campaign. However, what out company does charge it's clients is their time. Schools have to agree to sacrifice their time out of the school day in order to hold the assembly where Beauty and the Bully can speak. Since it will be an event that can take up to an hour or more, it is important that the  schools realize and respect the importance of out cause. They have to feel that they are not wasting the time they allow us to take from their class time.

"Of all the aspects of the marketing mix, price is the one, which creates sales revenue - all the others are costs." - http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/marketing/marketing-mix-price-place-promotion-product.html#ixzz26xWuIUxT

My hope would be that most schools are more than willing to have out team come help with bullying in their school. There is not a doubt in my mind that bullying is a problem in every single school, not to mention the internet. If teachers and staff at the school are aware of this, they should know that teaching the effects of bullying and inspiring kids to stop it is a good cause.




Final Project: Promotion

To me, promotion is one of the most important parts of marketing. I could have a great campaign and team, but without promoting it, no one would have a clue what it is or what we do. These days social media is extremely important. One of the major things I want to focus on is sending posts about the campaign via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These sites are very important for companies now a days." Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it. " - Marketing pg 30.

In order to have a good handle on the social media, there will be multiple team members operating the pages. Posts need to be updated at least once a day. One is mandatory before 11:00. My goal would be more than one a day, but sometimes it can be hard to keep up. The posts will keep people updated with either anti-bullying quotes, updates on what the team is working on, pictures, and videos. We want to get the word on bullying out to everyone, not just the schools we speak to. Much of out target market is constantly on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube so these sites are a perfect way to reach out. Not to mention that a majority of cyber bullying happens directly through these sites. 

Another way we will promote Beauty and the Bully is with the "BeautyandtheBully.com" (hypothetical) website. The website will also stay up to date with what the company is working on, or where we are speaking to next, etc. It will be a great idea to have a website in order to have something to refer people to when they ask about Beauty and the Bully.

A few more way I want to promote Beauty and the Bully is to have ads in magazines, on billboards, and on websites. The more people who know of Beauty and the Bully the better. Since this is a non-profit company, we thrive off of the awareness of our company, not sales.


"Promotion is the business of communicating with customers." - http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/marketing/marketing-mix-price-place-promotion-product.html#ixzz26xWhI3L1


Here is a letter from a school in Windsor, Colorado hypothetically approving my idea!

Final Project: Distribution

"Distribution is about how a business gets its products to the customers". - http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/marketing_distribution.htm

Beauty and the Bully distributes itself to the community by going from school to school speaking. With a good website and information it will be easy to distribute the campaign even though it is not a product. Since the company does have awareness bracelets, these also help distribute the name. 


If kids wear the bracelets on their wrists throughout the day, they will conduct curiosity and attention which will therefore get the word out about Beauty and the Bully.


Another way to distribute the name and message (which is what is what needs to be distributed since there is not "product") will be to record some of the speeches when performing at school assemblies so that they can be on YouTube for people who didn't have a chance to see the team speak.



"The production concept holds that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, management should focus on improving production and distribution efficiency. This concept is one of the oldest orientations that guides sellers." - Marketing pg 12

Final Project: Project

"Many sellers make the mistake of paying more attention to the specific products they offer than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products."- Marketing pg 8

My "product" isn't necessarily a product, it is a cause. I am not selling something for people to buy I am marketing a cause to help the community.


"The best products are those that sell the most. Of course, your customers don’t care about how you sell; they care about how they buy." -http://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/courses/effective-product-marketing

Final Project: Target Market Strategy

It is important to decide who specifically Beauty and the Bully is going to target. Teachers? Parents? Student? Although all of these groups will be impacted by the cause, Beauty and the Bully has to come up who we are going to target specifically. "Targeting a specific market does not mean that you have to exclude people that do not fit your criteria from buying from you." - http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/defining-your-target-market.html

The target market for Beauty and the Bully will be teens ages 12-17. I feel that bullying hits the hardest during these ages and impacts kids the most. Whether they are the bully or the victim it is most common to see the cyber bullying (worst kind in my opinion) happening most often.  "The company must first decide who it will serve. It does this by dividing the market into segments of customers (market segmentation) and selecting which segments it will go after (Target marketing)." Marketing pg 7. 


Also, because the schools being visited are middle through high schools, 12-17 are the ages that are  in those grades. Hopefully the target market will be only the root of all of the ages, and lives actually impacted by our cause.


Final Project: Situation/SWOT Analysis



 "SWOT can help you handle both ordinary and unusual situations in your community health or development initiative, by giving you a tool to explore both internal and external factors that may influence your work." - http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1049.aspx

Strengths- One of the strengths of Beauty and the Bully the team the organization has to go from school to school and speak. The team of speakers are not only great public speakers and do well in front of audiences, but they have also had experiences from bullying. Most of the members have either been bullies, been victims, or lost someone to bullying. Another strength of the organization is the well thought out and inpiring speeches performed at the schools. The way the topics are presented are in a way that kids will pay attention and listen and realize that bullying and being mean isn't cool.

Weaknesses- The organization does encounter a few weaknesses. The main weakness is the fact that this is non-profit organization. It is hard to get funding in order to travel, and to also make the braceletes that are handed out to students. Another weakness is not all schools are willing to sacrafice the time for the team members to come speak at the schools.

Opportunities- With enough money and connections behind Beauty and the Bully, the team will be able to travel the nation speaking and reaching out to schools. We will have the opportunity to talk with students effected by bullying and hopefully make a difference.

Threats- Although it is a good thing that there are other campaigns helping with bullying, they also become a threat to my project. There is are campaigns such as "Proud Mouth" and "StopBullying.Gov"who already reach out to people about bullying.

"The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis, by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)" - marketing pg 32

Final Project: Objectives



A company needs objectives in order to have a vision of where they want their company to go in the market. Especially a non profit company such as "Beauty and the Bully." Because the company cannot make goals from a money stand point, we need goals of how we want out company to benefit the community."The company needs to turn it's mission into detailed supporting objectives for each level of management. Each Manager should have objectives and be responsible for reaching them." Marketing pg 7. This quote clarifies how important objectives are.

According to  http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/objective.html#ixzz26wxTukqv, the definition of an objective is "An end that can be reasonably achieved within an expected timeframe and with available resources. In general, an objective is broader in scope than a goal, and may consist of several individual goals. Objectives are a basic tools that underlying all planning and strategic activities. They serve as the basis for policy and performance appraisals.

The brings me to the objectives of "Beauty and the Bully": 1 To Gain positive exposure locally and nationally throughout middle-highschools, 2. To inspire celebrities and major companies on board. 3. To create a positive influence on young lives.

Final Project: Mission Statement

"Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace. Too often, mission statements are written for public relations purposes and lack specific, workable guidelines. Says marketing consultant Jack Welch:3"

The mission of Beauty and the Bully is "To spread the word about the seriousness of bullying. Our mission is to inspire youth to speak only kind words, and teach that it takes a kind heart and mouth to be truly beautiful."


We need a good mission statement to summarize in short what our company does. "A mission statement defines in a paragraph or so any entity's reason for existence" - http://www.missionstatements.com/

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

EOC Week 7: The Pitch

Beauty and the Bully


    Typically when we think of bullying, we picture a large intimidating kid who steals peoples lunch money, and shoves nerds into lockers, but the reality is, bullying is so much more than that. Bullying comes in different levels and forms - Physical, verbal, indirect, and cyber bullying. (Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach a kid even when he or she is alone. It can happen any time of the day or night. - http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html) No matter what form of harassment is used, it's all bullying, and it all hurts. 

One in seven students, from kindergarden through 12th grade has either bullied, or been a victim of it. An estimated 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of being harassed by fellow students. One out of every ten students who drops out of school, does so because of repeated bullying. Bullying forces some to turn to self mutilation, such as cutting themselves. At least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year.

Bullying is a subject that easily grabs my attention. I have personally been on both ends of the pendulum when it comes to bullying. I have been the victim, and unfortunately also the bully at times. Looking back I still regret not treating people kind. 

("No single factor puts a child at risk of being bullied or bullying others. Bullying can happen anywhere—cities, suburbs, or rural towns." - http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/factors/index.html) I hate seeing children have a low self esteem due to the mean words of peers. Bullying is something that needs to be fixed, it is only getting worse. These days with the internet and sites like Facebook and Twitter, cyber bullying has become out of hand. Kids don't see how damaging their words can be, especially when they can't see the persons's reaction.

I would love to come up with a group of inspiring speakers, including myself, to go around to middle, and high schools to speak to the students. The goal of the team will be to bring awareness about bullying, encourage kids not to bully, to stand up for victims, and victims to have a support group to talk to. The group would be called Beauty and the Bully. This is a good name because Beauty and the Beast is a name people recognize. Changing the word beast to bully not only goes with the theme, but makes the bullies compare themselves to a "beast." Kids, even adults, need to learn that being kind is beautiful. A person cannot be truly beautiful with an ugly soul.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

EOC Week 6: Me x3


Whenever I purchase anything it is usually because it speaks to me in someway. Be it a pair of pants, a shirt, jewelry. To be more specific, there are three item that I own which I can say definitely show my personality.

The first item I can think of is my school bag that I use for school. The heart is black and sparkly. It has a huge hot pink heart on the front. I bought the purse from "G by Guess." I remember passing the store and spotting the bag. I purposely went back into the store after work because I liked it so much. Now when I carry it around on my shoulder everyday at school, people can recognize it and assume my personality right off the bat.

Another Item of mine that portray me, is my mac laptop. Not only does my lap top go almost everywhere with me, it also has everything I need on it. On the front of my Mac I have a decal of Snow White. She is holding the apple logo just how she held the apple in the movie. This decal is the main reason my laptop shows my personality.

The final thing that I own that portrays my personality is my car. I drive an Audi TT. It is small and cute and silver. The car looks cute, but is honestly not the most perfect car out there. It has it's little scratches, glitches, and flaws, but I love my car anyways. This "hot mess" of a car is the exact reason why this car is me. But also, my car gives me personality as I drive around the town. When people spot the little car they can automatically try to assume what my personality must be like. If they judge me by my car, they would be correct.

I'm sure I own many other possessions that are "me"and portray who I am, but these would be the top three. I think it's important and smart to use items to describe you. People will get a feel for you before even meeting you. People are going to assume and judge anyways. Why not make their assumptions a little more accurate? 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

EOC Week 5: Super Bowl Commercial (Midterm)




   Needless to say... how could anyone (at least that is female/goes after the male gender) NOT like this commercial? I must say - next tot he M&M "Sexy and I Know It" ad, this was the BEST commercial of the Super Bowl Commercials. I was attention grabbing of course, even for those who aren't interested in men; it caught viewers attention noe the less. Although a majority of the Super Bowl's viewers are primarily men, there are lots of women who also watch it. Not to mention those poor uninterested ladies who are forced to watch it with their boyfriends or dads. Those women happen to get more excited for the creative commercials during the breaks. What a surpise this one was! How could you not be excited for the commercial breaks after this ad?
    The ad was an interesting approach for H&M. It  was for the men's underwear line. The commercial featured David Beckham standing, posing, flexing, and modeling the H&M men's boxer briefs. It couldn't have cost that much to make. I'm sure the profits off this commercial were phoenominal. It appealed more to women, however, it was a men's ad. Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea. What an out of the box way to appeal to both genders at once. Imagine all the ladies who zoomed to H&M to pick up their boy a set of these David-Beckham-Worthy briefs! Also, what guy wouldn';t want to look like David? I'm sure it cause a good mass of men to purchase the underwear as well. Hat's off to H&M, David Beckham, and the Creator of this ad. Well done.

EOC Week 4: Business is Consumer Buying Behavior



          Businesses can call themselves a business all they want. They can have the logo, the name, the employees, the products or service they provide; but without consumers to utilize what their business provides, their company is nothing. Businesses need customers more than customers need businesses. It’s almost like the food chain, or more like the circle of life of marketing (thank you Lion King for those comparisons). Above all else, businesses need to have appeal. Without public appeal, customers don’t care about what they business is trying to offer. Marketing is all about making yourself/your company/your products appealing. If you have a business, you most likely have a competition. "Understanding buying behavior is an essential but very difficult task." - 5 Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Beh... (page 1 of 59 — printed page 135)
There could be three identical companies, selling identical products and services, how would those companies gain customers. Appeal. A company has to make their products seem worth having.  "To affect the whats, whens, and hows of buying behavior, marketers must first understand the whys." - (page 1 of 59 — printed page 135) No one NEEDS a toaster oven. If you have a microwave, a regular oven, and a normal toaster you’re good to go. But what about having a gadget that cooks faster than an oven and is easier to use! Not to mention makes your toast and other toaster items that much more delicious. It’s like the revolution of the toaster. A two in one MUST HAVE... See what I did there. Dang, I almost made myself want to go out and buy a toaster oven.
When consumers purchase products they go through a decision making process. They ask themselves multiple questions. Do I need this? If I don’t need it how will I benefit from it? Is the cost reasonable? If it’s expensive is the quality or brand name worth the extra money? The steps of the buying decision process includes need recognition, then the information search stage, purchase decision, and post purchase behavior. The product adoption process is made up of five stages: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption.
In conclusion, the consumers and company’s appeal can make or break a business. Business who recognize this are over all more successful. "Buying behavior is never simple, yet understanding it is the essential task of marketing management. First we explore the dynamics of the consumer market and the consumer buyer behavior." - 5 Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Beh... (page 3 of 59 — printed page 136)

EOC Week 3: Making Money For Good


Typically, I company’s main focus is making money. Money, money, money! But what about those few companies who not only make money but also give back to their community. Dawn dish soap is a good example of a giving company. For the past year or so Dawn has been donating money to help animals affected by the oil spills in the oceans and lakes. For every bottle of soap purchased the company will donate $1. They also have a website called dawnsaveswildlife.com where people can make donations by signing up. For every activation of an account, Dawn donates $1. Over the past year Dawn has donated $500,000 total to two wildlife organizations donating $250,000 each. Dawn willing to sacrifice some of their own profits to help wildlife is truly kind. It also may bring in more customers especially animal lovers.
A second company I’ve found that gives back to the community it Tide. Tide came up with an organization that called “Loads of Hope.” Loads of hope provided a portable laundromat to the victims of extreme natural disasters. These were the people who lost their homes, and almost everything along with them due to the awful storms in March and other months. Since these families were practically homeless at that point that also included having no where to wash their clothes. I’m sure the victims were extremely grateful to have Tide’s Loads of Hope campaign there to help. Over 34,000 loads of laundry were cleaned for families. Tide Loads of Hope is always available when a natural disaster strikes. Once one does they send out a loads of hope mobile laundromat and spend multiple days at the disaster sight washing and drying clothes for people. 
Companies that give back to the community should be admired. Companies like this are not only whole hearted but also an inspiration to the world around us. More companies should take after businesses like Dawn, and Tide, and find out how to give back to their community, not just how to take.