EOC: Week 10: What are the benefits vs the features?

The features of my product is that they are mixed nuts. So a benefit of that is that it is not a consistent flavor or texture. Although the nuts have the same salty, wasabi coating, the nuts themselves have their own unique flavor profile. Another feature is the salty, wasabi coating itself. So the benefit of that is that it will make a great bar snack. You'll want to wash down the spice of the wasabi and the salt down with a cold one of your preference. My product will also be made in small batches which is also a feature. A benefit to that is that this will make the product much fresher and have a nice crunch to it and not seem mushy like those cheap $0.59 bags of nuts. Another feature of my snack is that it is called Lucky Strike and are sold for $7.00. 7 is a lucky number in many cultures and along with the funny anecdote on the back, it adds to all the luck.

EOC Week 9: Food Adventure

Upon finishing a leisurely trip to Korea, Phileas Fogg decided to head east in his ship to the island nation of Japan. When Fogg finally docked his ship at the port, he was greeted by some of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. They were dressed in traditional Kimonos and had exquisite makeup. They brought him into a palace fit only for someone of great importance and they walked him into a sitting room, and offered him tea and snacks, but he declined as he had just finished some Korean BBQ he had brought in from Korea. Now, one thing you do not do in Japan is refuse any offerings given to you by your hosts. One woman nodded, smiled, and left the room closing the door behind her. Next thing you know, the walls to the room collapsed only to be replaced by walls of samurais. Now any of us would be quite frightened, but not Fogg, because little did the samurais know, Fogg had just received his 9th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do back in Korea. Fogg was ready. Immediately all the samurais simultaneously charged at Fogg, katanas ready to slice and dice him into pieces. Fogg jumped into the air causing all the samurais to collide into each other. Some were knocked out, others stabbed each other, but all were taken care of. Fogg didn't even have to touch any of the warriors. Then, Fogg heard clapping but could not source it. It was the emperor. He walked into the light and was quite impressed with Fogg's performance. The emperor was snacking on something. A mix of some sort and was incessantly consuming them to curb his smoking habit. "Whoever you are! You defeated my guards without even laying a single hand on them! You are a great warrior yourself. Please tell me, what are your greatest desires?" yelled the emperor. "I wish to know what you are eating as I am a connoisseur of fine snacks!" yelled Fogg. "Ahh, Mr. Fogg, just some mixed nuts. This recipe has been in my family for centuries passed down from the Buddhist monks to bring us luck. Commoners have no access to this. Being that you defeated my men, you seem worthy." From there, Fogg was introduced to the recipe of nuts that you hold right now.

EOC Week 9: Three Great Mission Statements

From our book, a mission statement is define as "A statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment"  (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online. Page 2)

"Our business aims to please the customers by creating social channels for our customers. The brands that we offer will keep our customers entertained and connected. We utilize feedback as a priority in order to keep our product on the competing edge of the snacking industry" 

This mission statement implies that they want their product to create a social experience for the consumer. They are also very concerned with getting feedback with the consumer to ensure that their product stays true to the consumers' request and to keep improving that.

"Our mission statement is to provide our customers with amazing quality tortilla chips that have been originally originated from Spain. We would like to provide our customers with a devouring chicken fajita flavor all in a bag of chips. We want to have our customers 100% satisfied with high quality flavors to ensure that we might be eating fajitas even though in reality they are tortilla chips."

This mission statement implies that they care about the quality of the product. They want to insure that the consumer will be COMPLETELY satisfied with their product and that's a great standard to hold yourself to. They are also very adamant on ensuring the consumer feels they're consuming chicken fajitas in potato chip form.

"Our company’s mission is to give anyone the ability to get a taste of delicacies from anywhere in the world. These snacks give some a taste of home while others a taste of wanting to travel. These snacks are meant to bring people closer whether it is intimately or just socially."

This mission statement implies that the product will transport you to that place where the food is native to. Not only are they selling a product, but they are selling an experience. The experience is the ability to "travel" to a country and experience their food at your own convenience. In addition to that, these snacks will help give you a better social experience if you choose to share the product with others. 


Also stated from our textbook, "Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace." (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online. Page 2) These Mission statements are more along the lines of this quote and that is why I chose them.

Implementation Evaluation Control

I've asked some friends about my concept of Lucky Strike Nuts. My friends are new to the 21+ world as am I. I personally would not buy my own product, to be honest. I think $7 for a bag of nuts is a little steep, but being a resident of Las Vegas, I know some bars have drinks that a quite overpriced. It does make sense to have a snack that can be a little steep in price at $7. Even if the nuts were organic, used all natural ingredients, I still think that's steep but that is just my personal opinion as I can be somewhat cheap when it comes to purchasing certain things. One friend was totally for the product. He believed that it would be a nice addition to those expensive bars and lounges as a bar snack. He enjoyed the anecdote I wrote about the history of how Fogg found the nuts in Japan. He also like the name and how it was $7.00. Some other friends thought it would be a disgusting snack, but that is because they do not like wasabi. They did like the concept though, and felt that at least here on the Strip in Vegas, it might sell.

Target Marketing Strategy

My target market for my product would be middle to upper scale bars. This product is not that cheap so for it to appear a cheap dive bar would not be appropriate. Also, it is designed for a younger group of people to enjoy, generally ages 35 and younger. Anyone who enjoys an Asian-inspired product, more specifically from Japan, would be targeted to buy this product too. When considering your target market for a production, you must consider product position. "The way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes—the place the product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products." (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online., Page 172 Chapter 6)
Now we would want our Lucky Strike nuts to come off as a premium brand of food product.

Product

The product is a wasabi coated nut mix of almonds, peanuts, and cashews. The nuts are grown organically without pesticides, grown specifically for Lucky Strike Nuts, then all during the same day are roasted, coated with salt and wasabi, and bagged in the same day. The wasabi is also grown specifically for our product and small batches of the coating are made from real, fresh Japanese wasabi. The product relies heavily on the quality of ingredients, authenticity of flavor , and overall freshness. From our book, a product is defined as, "Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need." (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online. Page 172, Chapter 7). Our product satisfies a want and we also do want attention. We wish that all products our made to our standard of quality and authenticity in terms of ingredients. No chemicals that you cannot pronounce are used. Just exactly what you think was used, so for Lucky Strike Nuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, wasabi.

Promotion

When promoting this product, the objective-and-task method will be used. The book states that "The most logical budget-setting method is the objective-and-task method, whereby the company sets its promotion budget based on what it wants to accomplish with promotion. This budgeting method entails (1) defining specific promotion objectives, (2) determining the tasks needed to achieve these objectives, and (3) estimating the costs of performing these tasks. The sum of these costs is the proposed promotion budget." (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online. Chapter 12)  

Ideally I would like to use celebrities and movie endorsements to use my product. This will ensure that the product is seen as premium if it is used by the right celebrity in the right movie. When seen in a major movie, the product will be further popularized and be bought solely of off curiosity for the product and novelty as well. People will want to have it just because a certain actor used it and it was in a movie. It would most likely cost millions to get this product in a movie to be used by an A-list celebrity in a feature film.  

Distribution

The Lucky Strike Nuts will be distributed across the United States initially in middle to higher class bars. Since it is a premium product, it must only be found at certain places otherwise it will both lower the value seen from the consumers and its price will not be justified. Many bars and clubs located on the strip, for example, that have a more modern style where a crowd of younger, trendy people would go would be a great target location to sell to. We want people who are willing to spend an amazing amount on a single drink to spend about the same for a matching premium snack. It is only fitting, because no one would want a $2 bag of nuts when your drink was about $11 before tip. I think that justifies the price when the drinking snack price is proportional and somewhere near the price of a drink.

Price

The price of this single bag of Lucky Strike Nuts would be $7.00 for one 5oz bag of mix nuts. It is just about perfect to be shared with 1 or 2 other people. At this price, it is a premium product. The ingredients used and how it was prepared justify this price. Also we want our consumer to evoke some sort of premium feeling from buying and consuming the product. Our book states that "Pricing that considers the psychology of prices and not simply the economics; the price is used to say something about the product." (Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online. Chapter 9, Page 291) Not many people can afford to dish out $7 on one bag of mix nuts, but if you would like to come off as that person, it's perfect. The point of Lucky Strike Nuts is to bring you luck as well. with 7 being a lucky number in many cultures, especially American cultures, where this product will be distributed primarily, it cost adds to the marketing and image of the product.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknessess Opportunities Threats

Some strengths of Lucky Strike Nuts are that it is a premium product. I think it is beneficial to its value that it is expensive and will be sold in more expensive bars where it is the place to be. A weakness would also be its price. Its price does not let the product be sold in the majority of bars. Now Las Vegas does have really expensive bars on the Strip, but there are still many bars in the surrounding areas across the whole valley that would probably love to carry the product but do not have the target market for this product. Opportunities involve it being to be seen as a novelty item if used and endorsed in the right feature film with the right actor. Other, cheaper products would be a threat to Lucky Strikes. Although our product is conscious and authentic, not everyone is interested in that and that might kill our product. The target market is somewhat small and generic brands could rip off the success of my product if the product itself is being bought for the flavor and quality.

Mission Statement

Mission Statement: "Our company strives to unify the world through showcasing international foods and making them accessible for all to enjoy. All humans must eat and therefore, food is a perfect platform for sharing traditions of other cultures among each other. By using the finest product and ingredients, we help our customers travel far distances at their own convenience."

“A company’s mission should not be stated as making more sales or profits.” ((Armstrong, Gary, Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 01/2010. VitalSource Bookshelf Online. Page 2)) Profits are always a side effect of providing good product to consumers. Also, the value of a product is determined not by the cost of the product, but how much importance it placed on the product by the consumer.

I don’t want my product to be too cheap, as that insinuates low quality in the consumer’s eyes. I also don’t want my product to be too expensive either, as my products are only internationally-inspired snacks like a nut mix and no one would buy expensive chips or nuts when really, they’re just the same product. But if the quality of the product and the way the product makes the consumer feel when used to manufacturer's recommendation then value is established.

EOC Week 7: Pitch

My product will be a Japanese-inspired nut mix. It will have peanuts, cashews, and almonds. To give it that Japanese flair, they will be salted and lightly coated with wasabi. This gives the nuts a slight horseradish like flavoring ensuring that consumers will need a cold beer to wash it all down. It will be sold in small bags of 3oz each. One bag will cost $7. The packaging will have a Japanese Buddha on it. The nuts will be called “Fukubukuro” which literally means “Lucky Bag” when translated to English. The Buddha, the name “Fukubukuro”, and the $7 price tag are all ensuring that the consumer will hit a home run and possibly get lucky that night at the bar. On the back along beside the nutritional information, there will be a short narrative explaining the nut’s origins. The narrative reads, “Long ago in feudal Japan, even the strongest of Samurais needed a snack whilst traveling, or after an intense battle. These gallant warriors looked to the Buddhist monks for advice on what was the perfect, energy-supplying food, yet easy to consume on the go. The Buddhist monks gave the warriors a bag called a “Fukubukuro” literally meaning “Lucky Bag” and blessed the contents of the bag as well.  The bag contained peanuts, cashews, and almonds. They were lightly salted and then coated with wasabi. These warriors were able to conquer every enemy in their path after their meeting with the monks. Tradition has passed on and has made it into your hands. Maybe you will conquer your next quest with this very Fukubukuro.

Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

As technology advances and society gets more and more glued to their smartphones and other mobile devices, even job hunting has greatly advanced to the internet. Sites such as LinkedIn (which grew 170% to $58.6 million from the same quarter a year earlier) and Monster (which rose 25% to $270 million from the prior year) are popular sites for online networking and job recruiting. Now, job recruiters are trying to utilize Facebook's large collection of users to help find potential job candidates.

Versus online job recruiting, the old fashioned way of finding brand ambassadors are on a decline. Normally when searching for a new product to use, for example, you'll contact your friends. Maybe they have a similar product and can give you recommendations. After all, you trust your friends and you also trust that your friends wouldn't buy something that didn't work well. Brands then decided they were to locate "brand ambassadors" to push their product, give reviews, and get the word out that their product is good. Yet it's on a decline because maybe sometimes ambassadors are just using the companies to get free product (Free product is a very good incentive to become an ambassador). So non-ambassadors view brand ambassadors as biased and just freeloading off the companies.


Wall Street Journal, Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates They Like by Joe Light

Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing                                                     

Week 4 EOC: My App

My app would be called Dutch. To most Millennials, including myself, I had never heard the term "going Dutch" before. To those of you who don't know, "going dutch" basically means "split the bill". So imagine you're going to a restaurant with a group of friends. Now, you're all very capable of supporting yourself financially, but supporting the whole group and their bill would be a whole different story, hence the Dutch app. It would work in a way that you enter your bill amount and choose to split it accordingly after tip. You may choose the amount of people splitting the bill and you may also decide to allot more or less money to different "Dutchers". The second aspect of the app would be a social media part. Using GPS, Dutch can track other Dutch users who wish to be seen on a map. If you're looking to go out for lunch but don't want to eat alone, this App is perfect for you. It's a plutonic way of meeting someone new through a quite social gathering event that is eating. Dutch allows people to split bills without feeling obligated to take charge of the bill, meet new people through eating, and also the App will have specials for participating restaurants who wish to do business with Dutch.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

The YMCA, or Young Men's Christian Association, is one of the biggest non-profit organizations in the world. "Worldwide, the Y serves more than 45 million people in 119 countries.  Ys across the U.S. play an integral role in strengthening the leadership and youth programs of the Y around the world" The YMCA prides themselves in integrating themselves into the community and giving people of all shapes, sizes, color, age, a chance to be active. "The Y is guided by four core values: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility." Not only is it a recreational center for all, it is used to better the youth, provide a place to hang out besides the streets, as well as promote healthy living.




http://www.ymca.net/organizational-profile

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

I identify myself with the Millennial Generation. I was born in 1994, a time where technology was becoming more accessible into the home. I remember the Super Nintendo and my parents' old IBM computer complete with AOL dial up internet. Although I was exposed to technology in my adolescent years, I did not have the chance to have an iPad as a babysitter. So I believe that I was still able to grow up and not be dependent on some sort of technological device to provide my entertainment. I still went outside, played with the neighborhood kids, and did what kids do best and just enjoy life and be stupid. It really wasn't until high school where technology became an integral part of my life with the advent of smart phones. I'd like to think that I had a somewhat Generation X upbringing, as my parents identify with that generation, and I had both a mixture of X and what is now called Generation Y.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

“The Chinese government recently lifted a ban on home video game consoles, opening up the market for manufacturers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to sell their respective hardware. “ (http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10/15/china-to-earn-an-estimated-22-billion-in-2015-video-game-revenue) . China is a huge market for sales in any category and gaming is quite popular around the globe. Opening up the gaming market to China is a huge plus for all three major game giants.

“At the same time NFC (near-field communication) technologies are also becoming more affordable, possibly allowing the wider development and production of toys-to-life experiences.” (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/23/16-trends-that-will-change-the-games-industry) NFC is an up and coming technology to be introduced into mainstream society. It’s used in credit cards to make quicker payments as well as cell phones to help share contacts. In gaming, with the rise of mobile gaming, players will be able to utilize other user’s inputs and get special accessories to make the game more interactive.

“Pachter, a well known game analyst who recently delivered a speech at the DICE Europe said that PlayStation 4, the number one selling game console, will now likely sell around 120 to 130 million units in it lifetime. Xbox One, on the other hand, will sell roughly around 100 to 110 million units. Wii U was also predicted to sell around 20 million in its lifetime.“(http://www.latinpost.com/articles/81272/20150923/ps4-xbox-one-wii-u-lifetime-sales-predicted.htm) This quote summaries the popularity of the current generation of gaming. Sony has always been a top seller for the market and these predictions show where consumers are in.

Overall, I think the video game industry is still increasing, especially now that China is open to the gaming market. Playstation is the star, Nintendo is the question mark, and Xbox is the dog.