Seth Godin

Who is Seth Godin?:

Seth Godin is an American author, entrepreneur, marketer, and a public speaker. He was born in 1960, Mount Vernon, New York. He received an M.B.A from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

What are some of the books he has written?:

As an author, he has written a total of 17 books. Four of his most significant books are Tribes and Linchpin, two of his bestselling books,  Free Prize Inside, which was once a Forbes Business book of the year, and, of course, Purple Cow.

What is the Idea of Purple Cow?:

The main idea of the book Purple Cow is to stand out or be remarkable. The only way for the success of a company in today's society is to promote something new, unique or different.

What did Seth Godin discuss in his TED talk? What were some of the products he mentioned?:

One of the first things he mentioned in his TED talk was the key to success in the business department; To have an idea spread quickly, or in other words, be remarkable so more people would want to know more about that idea. It's not about the packaging or how good your products are. Although, of course, those are very important too, but being remarkable comes first. Otherwise, how are you supposed to get more customers? Marketers also need to have extremely specific target markets, and not create "Average products for average people". This is because people nowadays ignore all those commercials found on TV, so businessmen need to make ads for the people who care about those products. Some products/ services he mentioned in his TED talk were Arby's, Tiffany & Co, Walmart, Krispy Kreme, Water Salad, etc

Demographics Analysis: NIKE SHOES

The three products I chose to analyze are: Nike LunarEpic Flyknit, Nike LunarForce 1 Flyknit Workboot

The Nike LunarEpic Flyknit($150-$200): 

-Its age range would most likely be from a teenager to an adult  and Generation Z because of the fact that they do not come in any smaller sizes that would be suitable for a child (unless their feet is very long). Teenagers are also very sportively active, therefore they would need proper sportswear.

- The income level of the customer would have to be very high or would have to earn enough money to not have to worry about buying expensive products such as these.

-The gender is both men and women because of the fact that they have men and women color options.

 Nike LunarForce 1 Flyknit Workboot(200$):

-The age range would be late Generation Y and most of Generation Z because of how expensive it is and how much people in those generations are more willing to spend money and unconcerned of how much they spend.

- The income level: The customers would have to have high disposal and discretionary income to buy something that isn't necessary for their own survival in society and life.

-The gender: This product is geared toward men or people who enjoy the outdoors because of the fact that it's a "workboot" and is designed for the outdoors (waterproof, durable)


Nike Little Posite One: Basketball shoes($100):

-The age range would be the late Generation Z because of the fact that this Generation have more extracurricular activities, such as sports, after school, Therefore, they need special materials. The target market, on the other hand, would be Generation X(the parents of Generation Z) because they would be the ones who purchase these products/materials.

-The income level: The customers are mostly middle class and sometimes the people with a higher income. The shoes are not unaffordable and will not affect the customer's financial situation.

How Might Jeans Ad for a Teenager Differ from Jeans Ad for an Adult? 

When comparing the two, advertisements of jeans for teenagers and adults would definitely be different because of the fact that they are both at different ages and maturity, different income levels (knowing the fact that teenagers aren't exactly capable of having a full-time job yet), different values/interests, and backgrounds. Therefore, what is found on those separate advertisements for the two groups would be geared in different directions. For instance, when it comes to teenagers, the ads for jeans would be associated more with school or friends. Meanwhile, the jean ads for adults would be more related to work.

Marketing a Candidate: Donald Trump

Today, when it comes to the subject of Donald Trump, his name can turn people against each other. The majority of Americans fear Trump's presidency. But within those Americans, half of them believe that he will truly make America great again because of the fact that he is unpredictable and is unafraid to do the impossible, therefore can scare away terrorists or other "enemies" of the country. Meanwhile, the other half believe that Trump will create conflicts between Americans, as he already has, and destroy the American symbol of freedom.
After stating all these facts why exactly is Donald Trump so popular? And how did he manage to become a presidential candidate at all when he does everything that a presidential candidate shouldn't be doing to attract electors and gain the favor of so many Americans? Three of the main factors that give him popularity are :

 1) Donald Trump had a Television Personality, so his campaign is not only attracting politicians(or people who enjoy politics) and news channels/ papers/ magazines, but also people who enjoyed his business show and the paparazzi.

2) He mixes his, as well as other candidate's personal and professional life together, which creates many shocking reveals and accusations that occur. Which, sadly, is something people enjoy watching these days.

3) His ridiculous propositions are very straightforward and are exactly what many Americans want to argue, but are not brave enough to do so. Which gains him a lot of attention that are, many of the times, negative.
Despite the fact that he is making many blunders in his campaign and as a presidential candidate, I believe he is doing just right in marketing himself because he is getting all the attention he needs. Enough attention to gain as many followers, who have the same mindset as he does, to maybe even win this election. Though, there are some things that I think should change, and that includes the fact that he is insulting great leaders of our country, such as our current president, Barack Obama. This could seriously backfire, for instance, he may go down as the most disrespectful presidential candidate or maybe president in the U.S history and create a bad image on himself. Another thing is the fact that he keeps on changing his propositions and denying actions committed by himself, even though there is solid proof that he did do those things. If he changed all that, I believe people would have more respect for him and consider him more as a possible president of the United States of America.

Wired Article Review

"Twitter's Woes Signal The End of the Social Wars"

1) The two words that define the past decade of computing is mobile and social.

2) Microsoft plans to get rid of and sell the rest of the remaining Nokia products.

3) Blackberry is leaving the hardware business.

4)The two dominant operation and mobile phone  companies left are Apple/iOS and Android.

5) Rumor has it that Twitter's stocks recently jumped because they might've been selling the site to Google, Apple or Salesforce.

6) Google made many attempts to social networks: Orkut, Google Wave, Google Buzz and Google +. Meanwhile,  Apple tried launching the iTunes Ping. These two companies gave a shot at social media because they wanted to stay relevant among customers, especially since we're in the 21st century where social media dominates all.

7) All three, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are all competing in the new virtual reality market.

8)Apple and Google just launched messaging/social media apps to challenge Facebook and Snapchat and to bring more attention as well as make more money for their company.

9)Amazon and Google are making smart speakers for their home.

10) Slack apps are messaging apps that are  well organized, with every kind of messaging in one place(for work, private, general messaging)

11) Companies are investing millions/billions into the artificial intelligence, robotics, and drones market.

12) Yes, it would be good for Google/ Apple to buy Twitter because, after all, this is what they were trying to pursue this whole time, have a successful social media site to go against Facebook or Snapchat and make a lot of money off it. And the fact that Twitter is already very well established and popular with people, it's even better for whoever owns it.

"Facebook Workplace Tries To Muscle In On Your Job"

1) One in four people on Earth has/use Facebook.

2) Facebook recently released "Facebook Workplace". 

3) "Facebook Workplace" is an app/ site  that makes workplace/ work business  communication easier.

4) "Facebook Workplace" was introduced about eighteen months before the 10th of October.

5) The  "Facebook Workplace" is now available to any organization that wants to use the service

6) No "Facebook Workplace" is not free, Facebook charges monthly fees for the service.

7) One of the first to offer business software is Google's Gmail and Slack, as well as Apple, who both focused so long on the consumer services, such as smartphones and PCs.

8) Facebook have advantages such as: Having trained nearly 2 billion people how to use their products, trust from consumers for security, being very well known for their chat, Reactions,  Groups, and search. All these are contributed into "Workplace" with a workplace twist.

9)You could use this for audio chats,  multi-company chats, PR firms, as well as everything else that Facebook has, but with a workplace twist to it.

10)You could use "Workplace" as a team/multicompany collaboration/group chat, and PR firms to promote your company/new product.

11)Workplace charges $3/ person for the first thousand monthly active users, then $2 for every 1,001- 10,000 users, and finally $1 for every over 10,000 users. On the contrast, Slack costs $6.67 to $12.50 per monthly user, even for their paid plans.

12) Facebook thinks that  this service is ideal/perfect for people who don't work at a  stationary office or desk, but people who are retail workers,  baristas, or ship crews... People who don't have traditional working tools and need ways to connect/communicate with coworkers, as well as use Facebook often,

Groceries at Target?

Answers to Questions:

1) Groceries account for a fifth of Target's revenue or $18.5 billion in sales every year.

2) Some Crucial things that are affecting the groceries Target are offering to their customers are:

- The fact that they came into the grocery business a little too late. Customers don't see Target as a place to buy groceries, but a store where you can find home improvements (toileteries, home decor, cleaning supplies) and stationaries (School supplies and books).

-There's also the problem with the spoilage of the groceries they offer. The perishables they offer are going bad in a matter of days and the shoppers are visiting the store more often to return spoiled food. Also, the shoppers are not buying the food in time before it spoils and are unable to be sold.

-There are so many other grocery stores out there that are sometimes better than the groceries Target offer. So, what about Target that makes Target so special that could make people go out of their way to shop at their store?

3)People go to grocery stores mostly for fill-in trips because the things you find there are usually ones you pick up on the spot while you're buying something else or something you need once in a while.

Meanwhile, at the wholesale clubs, they sell things in larger quantities that last longer, so you can store them somewhere for a longer period of time. Which is why they are called stock-up trips.

4)Target need to increase their traffic double the amount for the perishable foods.

5)I think people may not choose Target as the place the would shop for groceries because it may sometimes not be convenient for them to go there just to buy groceries. If you think about it, Target is a store for fill-in trips, so , thy may not go there that often. Plus, there may be other grocery shops that they are more used to, and Target for them may be very far away.

6)Target have made pushes to add more organic and gluten-free brands, and 1000 new brands. This affects the P for product because this kind of information or products appeal to what the customers usually want.

7) Some things that Target has done strictly for their groceries are:

-Improving the looks and inventory managements in some Target stores. Especially redecorating the perishable food's area to attract customers.

-Aaron Alt, the Target executive, closed all the Target Stores in Canada and sold all the company's pharmacies and clinics to fund in improving grocery business.

-They focused more on the seasonal products and worked on making the offerings at the Target stores more local.

8) Comparing some of the grocery prices of Target, Walmart, and Meijer, I noticed that in most cases (ex:cookies and meat), the prices are either the same or off by a couple to ten cents. But, there are also some rare cases, where the pricing(ex: Jolly Ranchers and Hersheys) are off by about one to three dollars. And it's usually Target's price that cost more.

Ex: Jolly Ranchers- Walmart: $8.08  Target- $8.99