My Experience in Mexican Marketing

Mexico. Sunshine, ocean, and tanning oil. What more could a person ask for? For those of you who have never been to Mexico vendors are ruthless in the area. There are no advertisements or commercials on TV. There is just lots and lots of in your face marketing.

Vendors selling clothing, jewelry, and much much more litter the beaches, the streets, and the restaurants. They will come right up to you and pester you until you either agree to buy something or walk away and sometimes even then they will follow you. Many Americans are turned off by this push marketing and therefore no longer even vacation in the area.

Mexican marketing is a turn off to Americans because there is no structure and more than that there are no price tags. Nothing is labeled because everything can be bargained and bartered for. Would this turn you off as a customer? Are you a barter and get the best price for buyer or would you rather see the price up front?

Response to Diana Schaller

I guess my big question is what would you do if you were being pressured to remove your commercial from the air during a show? Is it worthwhile to submit to the pressure of parental groups? Why is it so necessary to respond to them and do they really have enough power to hurt your business?

On a personal level, I would remove it. On a business level it depends on what I'm trying to sell and to who. If I run a condom company I may choose to leave my commercial on during the show simply because I am not targeting (or shouldn't be) children. On the other hand if I am trying to put out previews for Disney movies I would remove my commercial. It all depends on who your target market is, and if losing a few customers is worth the customers you could potentially gain.

I think showing support for a show that is highly criticized and questioned is a very high risk and you need to consider your options very carefully. Another interesting question to ask is regardless of your product and target market would you let your personal views contribute to your final decision?

Facebook Marketing

I check my Facebook at least twice a day and I think that is about average for those of us on the social network. Every time I open a new picture or post new advertisements pop up. Facebook has opened up a whole new marketing world for companies and organizations.

These Facebook advertisements are often times focused towards a certain age group or life circumstance. For example I got engaged in September and ever since then my entire right column on my Facebook page has been advertisements for rings, flowers, photography and any other thing you could think of related to weddings. Even pregnancy ads are beginning to pop up! Personally, I find this some what annoying. I don't need daily reminders of all the vendors I need to line up and these advertisements are exactly that, reminders.

I think Facebook advertisements are a fantastic way for companies to market themselves to a specific target market. However, I also think the number of advertisements needs to be cut back... it is overwhelming at times! What do you think? Are you sick of Facebook ads? Have you been targeted based on your relationship status or location?

Response to Sylvie's Post

Do you think that the iPad will replace laptops?

Yes and no. I think that these tablets will eventually replace laptops in general. However, I don't see the iPad taking over this industry completely. In this day and age the battle lines have been drawn. You are either an Apple person or you are not. If you aren't then you have other options such as Dell, HP and a few others. So once these other companies come out with tablets that run just as smoothly and effectively as the iPad, then I can definitely see a take over. Until then, you are still going to have to convince the loyal customers of Dell and HP that Apple has something better to offer.

Customer loyalty is such a huge things... what companies have your loyalty?

The Super Bowl... Risk and Reward

The Super Bowl. An american tradition of football, junk food, and of course really creative advertisements. After this year though I began to wonder if some companies have actually hindered reaching their marketing goals by showing tasteless advertisements.

For example Groupon, who in my opinion, had a very tasteless commercial this year. It started out with what seemed a very human rights approach to the Tibetan troubles, but then turned it around and started talking about how you can pay less for Tibetan food at Groupon. The whole commercial confused me and turned me off. I was feeling very connected to the cause that was presented and then all of a sudden it was about getting food for less money. It put you on an "emotional high" and then sent you crashing into the valley of discounts.

On the other hand VW did a fantastic job and their commercial has been one of the most talked about this year. VW not only hit the nail on the head, but they did it with ageless class. This commercial is as relevant today as it would have been when Star Wars first came out. It was applicable to all age brackets and truly allowed you to focus in on the story that was presented. They used the power of actions rather than the power of words and it truly worked to their advantage.

Both of these companies have been successful and I have had personal contact with both. However, that being said I'm a little less inclined to go to Groupon now that I have first hand seen how tasteless they can be. Obviously, Groupon did not see this advertisement as tasteless or even offensive, but that is how it came across. Is it worth risking your companies reputation just so you can say you had one of the best Super Bowl Commercials or in this case the worst? How many commercials do you actually even remember from the Super Bowl? Will you still remember them in 2 or 3 years? Is the risk for marketing departments worth the reward?

Response to Abby Hajec

Do you all agree or see any other part of Apple's marketing strategies that stand out?

I would definitely agree that Apple is doing a fantastic job with their customer service. Their warranty policy is amazing and they truly are out to win customers. That being said I also think there is room for improvement. The price of an Iphone is a little high for me. You can by a Droid for at least one hundred dollars cheaper and it has many of the same functions. Obviously those dedicated Apple customers are going to still buy the Iphone, but as far as those of us on the border between companies we are going to lean toward the cheaper one. By lowering the prices of their products Apple has the opportunity to not only open the doors to their current customers, but to new potential customers as well.

So why not take that opportunity and use it?

Authors, Authors Everywhere

More and more business owners and managers are turning to publishing books as a way of marketing their business and credentials. This article discusses this new trend and a few success stories.

By publishing some of their own original work business owners are able to put their name out in the public in a more discrete form of advertising. Through these books personal connections can be made between owner and customer in the form of author and reader. Have you ever read a moving novel that because it is relatable to your own life you feel a certain connection to it's author? Through these connections professionals can interact with prospective customers and form new bonds and relationships.

Based on the article it seems that this type of marketing is especially useful to those managers trying to sell services. Doctors, disc jockeys, psychiatrists, and the list goes on. This type of advertising is useful to these type of companies because when someone provides a service for you it is usually on a personal level and you want to be able to have the confidence in them to do the job right.

But here is the issue....if publishing a book is so accessible through these cheap online publishing companies are we devaluing the hard work that we have always attributed to authors? If everyone had a million dollars would having a million dollars be a big deal? If everyone has written a book will writing a book be seen as a great accomplishment?