Implementation Evaluation Control

"To find the best marketing strategy and mix, the company engages in marketing analysis, planning, implementation, and control. Through these activities, the company watches and adapts to the actors and forces in the marketing environment". Pg. 50, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Price

Pricing for Speedway Blanket's products will be simple. "Price is the amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product".Pg. 54. Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. The company sells only two products created just for male of female newborns. The price of each blanket will be set to $18 each. The cost of each blanket to be made is $6 leaving a profit of $12 each which will be donated to the Speedway Children's Charity to be distributed as they wish. The organization estimates that 50,000 blankets will be sold in the next calendar year giving the total donation to the charity a staggering $600,000 in 2013. Speedway blankets has and always will promote 100% profit donations. "If the company has selected its target market and positioning carefully, then its marketing mix strategy, including price, will be fairly straightforward". Pg. 54. Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Distribution

"They must design strong advertising programs to maintain high awareness and preference. And they must find ways to “partner” with major distributors in a search for distribution economies and improved joint performance". Pg. 232, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Distribution of the blankets will be primarily at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway events. Customers will have the opportunity to purchase our product at strategically placed booths in and around the outside of the speedway. Speedway blankets will also work with retailers such as Target and Carters to distribute the blankets in their stores with a balanced part of the profit from the sales of blankets in their stores going towards that particular vendors profit. Distribution will also commence online via the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Speedway-Blanket/263399453762626. Customers will be able to purchase blankets from that site as well as a website that will be set up in the near future. Students at the Art Institute of Las Vegas have agreed to assist in the construction of the web site. "Nations vary greatly in their levels and distribution of income. Some countries have industrial economies, which constitute rich markets for many different kinds of goods. At the other extreme are subsistence economies". Pg. 79, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Promotion

To persuade potential customers to purchase small children's blankets, speedway blankets will attempt to use the sympathy and kindness of people to attract customers. "The company designs promotion programs that communicate the value proposition to target consumers and persuade them to act on the market offering". Pg. 31, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Social media will be a valuable tool in promotion. Speedway Blankets has developed a Facebook page in order to spread the word of the blankets exponentially. The Facebook page can be found at the following link http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Speedway-Blanket/263399453762626. Since Speedway Blankets is 100% charitable, the organization will attempt to convince the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to have a billboard of medium size and several small signs constructed at the speedway to promote the charity. The location of the billboard will depend upon the highest traffic pattern at the site and the signs will be located at the entrance and certainly the exits of the speedway. Many companies today are localizing their products, advertising, promotion, and sales efforts to fit the needs of individual regions, cities, and even neighborhoods. Pg. 177, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Sunrise Printing of Las Vegas has become a strategic partner in volunteering to make printed color brochures to hand out at speedway events when customers purchase their tickets. Speedway blankets feels that the brochures will most likely reach the greatest target customer base. "Typically, it’s not a question of which one medium to use. Rather, the advertiser selects a mix of media and blends them into a fully integrated marketing communications campaign. Each medium plays a specific role". Pg. 396, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Product

Both the pink and the blue blankets are made using 100% polyamide. Each blanket features a double stitching on the outer edges to prevent fraying and possible consumable injury to a child. "Product safety has been a problem for several reasons, including company indifference, increased product complexity, and poor quality control". Pg. 516, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. The knitted blankets features a knitted cloth Las Vegas Motor Speedway Logo and the Laps for Charity children's charity logo. Soft blue, sage and ivory is suitable for baby boys and soft pink and ivory is suitable for baby girls. Each blanket measures 30" x 40" and is machine washable cold. the material is made in the good 'ol USA. "The company first develops companywide strategic plans and then translates them into marketing and other plans for each division, product, and brand. Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions".  Pg. 55, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Target Market Strategy

Our target market is any race fan of any age. "Some companies position their products on price and then tailor other marketing mix decisions to the prices they want to charge. Other companies deemphasize price and use other marketing mix tools to create nonprice positions". Pg. 304, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Parents can purchase our blankets for their children and grandparents can purchase the blankets for their grandchildren. The blanket would be an excellent gift for a baby shower especially one that is another state for tourists love anything that is from Las Vegas and has an emblem of this city on it.

SWOT Analysis

First we have to ask ourselves what a SWOT analysis is and it is something that a company does to include "Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives". Pg. 55, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Some of the "Strengths" to my product is that it is for babies and there may be a lot of blankets out on the market that is for babies and what differs ours from the competition is not only is it made by Americans for American children but it has the Las Vegas Motor Speedway logo on it as well as the ever so popular Las Vegas sign on a plush microfiber blanket. The reason we make ours out of microfiber is not only for its quality for softness but for the fact that it is made of microfiber so that when the blanket is keeping the child warm, the fibers that the blanket is made out of won't fall apart and find its way into the babies mouth like other baby blankets. "Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance". Pg. 55, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. One of the "Weaknesses" to the blanket is that it is not as easily cleaned as of other blankets. It has to either be washed by itself or with like articles on the delicate cycle in which a lot of clothes washers do not have this setting and it can also be cleaned through your local dry cleaners. Also, since it is a non-profit organization and with the recession the way it is, it will create a challenge to find volunteers for such a cause. "Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage". Pg. 55, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Some of the "Opportunities" that are within grasp of the product is to implement licensing to ensure against anyone who would try to steal the idea of this blanket and sell it in their stores which is also a great opportunity for this product is that it can be sold at many different retailers across the country like Target and Carter's. "And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance". Pg. 55, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. A couple "Threats" that face this product is the competition that is out there as well as similar products that "look like" our product but none of them will be selling their blanket for charity and none of them will have the logos which appear on the blankets that we produce.

Objectives

The objective of the company is to define newfound warmth and comfort for newborn children everywhere while providing substantial charitable contributions to children’s charities in Las Vegas. "Each company must find the game plan for long-run survival and growth that makes the most sense given its specific situation, opportunities, objectives, and resources". Pg. 39. Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing. Just as important as it is to have a mission statement, a company must have an objective othewrwise the company will have no which way of knowing which direction to go once established. "Rather than offering high quality at a high price, or lesser quality at very low prices, marketers in all industries are looking for ways to offer today’s more financially cautious buyers greater value—just the right combination of product quality and good service at a fair price". Pg. 79. Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Business Mission Statement

"To help communities warm underprivileged babies by providing blankets for sale to promote awareness of disadvantaged children". "Guided by the company’s mission statement and objectives, management plans its business portfolio, or the collection of businesses and products that make up the company". Pg. 61, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Week 8 EOC: Creative Content

Develop marketing plan

How to get the word out

Video, press release, commercial, promotional material, etc.

***Do the mission statement also***

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

For my "make a difference" idea, I chose to have small baby blankets made with the Las Vegas Motor Speedway logo printed on it with a small Laps for Charity children's charity logo in the bottom right hand corner of the blanket. They will be made out of soft, furry fabric called polyamide and they will come in pink and blue. Can be sold at every event at the Speedway and the proceeds will be donated accordingly and to the Laps for Charity guidelines.  "For example, when Swartz recently met with McDonald’s executives to pitch providing the fast-food giant with new uniforms, he didn’t bring along any designs, rather than trying to close the sale, Swartz left the McDonald’s executives with the charge of truly helping every community in which it does business". Pg. 532, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing".This shopping product is for the people that come to Las Vegas and to the Speedway from all over the world with the intentions of getting something with a Las Vegas logo on it. Hundreds of thousands of people come to watch the races every year and buy souvenirs. Can have them made for about six dollars and could sell them for eighteen dollars with a twelve dollar profit to be donated to the children of Las Vegas. Made by the American people for the American future. It is Corporate Image Advertising for the Speedway in that every blanket sold will have the two logos to spread the word of the charity and the company name so that whenever the people that see those logos will be sure to check them out when they take their vacation to Las Vegas. "This broad mission leads to a hierarchy of objectives, including business objectives and marketing objectives". Pg. 532, Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Week 6 EOC: Me x 3

One of my favorite canned soups is the soups that are made by Campbell. One of their marketing strategies was to join Kraft in a creation that would appeal to my generation and the soups are relatively cheap. It is one of the few canned dinners that actually tastes good and the great thing about Campbell soups is that you can use the soup as a basis for a bigger dinner. For instance, I use cream of mushroom soup as a basis for adding pork chops and pouring it over rice. I do throw in enhancements but it sure tastes good and is inexpensive to make while getting a fulfilling meal. But sometimes they think like that too.

“ And a recent joint advertisement by Kraft and Campbell features a tomato-soup-and-grilled-cheese-sandwich combo that “Warms hearts without stretching budgets.” (Pg.9)

                   A product that I have worn for a long time and for so long it is a brand that defines me is Nautica which is owned by the VF Corporation. 

"VF Corporation offers a closet full of over 30 premium lifestyle brands, each of which “taps into consumer aspirations to fashion, status, and well-being” in a well-defined segment."(Pg.188)

          Since I have become a father, I try to eat healtheir and now that my daughter is eating the same food as me, I now have changed the way I do my grocery shopping. I eat foods that are organically grown and for that I shop at Whole Foods market.

"Whole Foods thrives by catering to affluent customers who the Wal-Marts of the world can’t serve well, offering them “organic, natural, and gourmet foods, all swaddled in Earth Day politics.” (Pg188)

Week 5 EOC: Super Bowl Commercials

The Super Bowl commercial I chose was the commercial made by Ridley Scott for Apple computers and was in the nineteen eighty-four Super Bowl. The tagline for the commercial is "Apple, because nineteen eighty-four won't be like nineteen eighty-four". The commercial is almost black and white but has a bunch of people dressed almost like prisoners or drones if you will and they are marching into a huge concrete room with a movie theater style screen. They sit down with a hypnotized look on their face and an elderly man is speaking to them with subliminal like words. Next thing you know is a muscular mature woman running towards the screen with a sledge hammer in her hand with a long handle and there are guards that look like from the riot control section of the police chasing her. As she runs closer to the screen, she hurls the sledge hammer towards the screen which shatters it. The video fades out and then the slogan appears. The metaphors that Scott makes is that the world was living off of paperwork with all of the people doing the same thing and nothing new hasn't come around for a while and when she breaks the screen, that represents the end of "the same thing".“It’s not really about sales; it is about sharing of information". When the slogan appears, it is meaning that nineteen eighty-four won't be just another year like all its proceeding years because of the first personal computer to be introduced to the market and the inventors knew that it was going to change the world has we knew forever. The way it is filmed and how the mood is set in the commercial are very well done. The target market on this product was people in the age group between twenty-five and forty and business type people that go to work in a cubicle.“It’s not really about sales; it is about sharing of information".

What Generation Am I In and How Do I Fit In?

When it comes to what generation a person might be, the category that I fall under is labeled "Generation Millennial". The Millennial generation is anyone born in the eighties and are coming into adulthood at the turn of the century. Since I was born in eighty-one and I graduated from high school in ninety-nine, I figure this is where I call home, but the best part is how I fit statistically in this group. This group of people according to the Pew Research Center Publication is on the road to becoming the most educated generation in history. They also say that we are the most ethnically diversified generation and that seventy-five percent of us have a profile on a networking site. Also, the fact that millennial women are having children without being married. These are all true and I am a prime example of them and more. I am currently attending The Art Institute of Las Vegas and if you are reading this then it is obvious that I have a profile on a networking site along with having two extraordinary kids while I am not married but I am still with the mother of my children. I remember when the coolest thing to have was not the I-Phone but a cool colored pager. That's right, I said pager. Then the world was at a standstill in awe when Motorola came out with the first cell phone. It was big, gray and weighed about five pounds, but a person with one of those was really cool.  

Week 4 EOC: Business vs. Consumer Buying Behavior

The buying behavior of a business is very different from the buying behavior of the average consumer such as you and me. When a big company like General Electric stays in business for as long as they have, it is only making and selling light bulbs and refrigerators to help fund the bigger moneymakers like locomotives and jet engines. Since it takes many months to create something like a locomotive on paper as well as bringing that drawing to reality, it is a long term investment so they use the business under their umbrella that will make enough money to keep the business afloat until the company can sell the big ticket item and make a lot more money than they ever would selling light bulbs. But, in the end, every business whether they are selling to a business or to the average person, they all need each other in some way or fashion. The Intel Company only really makes processors but they advertise for personal computers. The consumer wants to buy a personal computer which has an Intel processor. The two have a business together which supports each other and if one company has a drop in sells than the other will have a drop in sells. When GE makes light bulbs, it would be futile to make a bulb that would only go in their products. But, there is also a lot of research that goes into making a product of any kind. A company needs to know who their customers are and what their needs are for such a product a company wishes to make. Other factors which will effect buying by a consumer that can't be predicted are things like natural disasters and tragedies like September 11th when nobody for awhile came out of their home to buy anything.