Exam 4 Q&A

Chapter 11

1. What is the primary reason that customers participate in incentive plans?
   A) To learn about new products
   B) For superior customer service
   C) To obtain discounts
   D) They are lured with spiff money

Chapter 12

1. Most customers are willing to sacrifice price, quality, convenience, availability, and performance for the sake of the environment.
   A) True
   B) False
   
2. The Wheeler-Lea Amendment, which prohibits false and misleading advertising, was enacted in what year?
   A) 1938
   B) 1944
   C) 1957
   D) 1961

Chapter 13

1. Applications that function within a website are called:
   A) Microsites
   B) Minisites
   C) Interstitials
   D) Widgets
   
2. The most frequently used Internet function is search.
   A) True
   B) False

Chapter 15

1. A group of people are asked to browse through a portfolio and identify the ads that stand out most. Which message evaluation technique is being used?
   A) Concept testing
   B) Recognition testing
   C) Attitude/Opinion testing
   D) Copy testing
   
2. Recognition tests are often used with ___ tests.
   A) Concept
   B) Emotional reaction
   C) Recall
   D) Physiological arousal
   

HW-11

Mothers who saw the "Motrin Mom" advertisement were offended because they felt that they were being ridiculed by the company. From my point of view, the commercial light-heartedly teased mothers who "wear" their babies in slings. However, some angry moms were unable to laugh with Motrin because they felt that they were being disrespected. One line from the ad said that wearing babies was "fashionable." The idea of comparing a child to an accessory was more than some mothers could tolerate. The commercial also pointed out that wearing a baby can put strain on a woman's back and shoulders. They were trying to illustrate that motherhood is not easy and that Motrin is there to relieve the pain. Unfortuneatly, not all moms were able to grasp the humor appeal. I think that they over-reacted and that this commercial was in no way inappropriate.

Motrin handled the incident by posting a public apology to the offended mothers on the Internet. One apology was sent directly to the bloggers who protested the campaign, and another was posted on Motrin's website. Both apologies were written by the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Kathy Widmer. Widmer has three daughters herself so she probably felt that she knew how to speak to moms. I guess she was wrong in this case. In addition, Motrin promised to remove the commercials from the media. You can view the commercial and the apologies here.

If I were in Widmer's shoes I would have put a greater effort into calming the bloggers down. I would have tried to relate to the angry moms on a more personal level. As a mother, she could have shared some of her experiences and tried to build a connection. Writing the apology as a mother rather than the vice president of marketing would have been more effective. She could have gained understanding, acceptance, and ultimately forgiveness from the bloggers. It is necessary to put consumers first in every situation because what is important to them is vital to the business. Try to see things from their point of view. A great way to do so would have been to conduct a focus group first. They could have played the commercial for a small group of moms and got some feedback before airing it nationwide. I am guessing that as a mother, Widmer thought she knew what to say. She failed to realize that all parents do not think alike. Never make generalizations!!!

HW-10

When I checked my mailbox, I found an envelope entitled "Valpak" with an assortment of coupons inside. The majority of them, about 75%, were for food. One was for up to 40% off a grocery purchase at Save alot. The rest of the food coupons were for restaurants like Little Caesars, Denny's, Whiffle Boy's, and Fratelli. Then there were a few coupons for home products and services, ranging from furniture to cable and security systems. The last of the coupons were for tires and checkbooks. I live in a large apartment complex where I have 4 roommates. Each one of us received our own Valpak. I think that they just targeted us by sending us coupons for items that may come in handy. Everyone has to eat, so food coupons have a high redemption rate. I am not sure why they sent the furniture coupons, because the apartment that I live in came furnished so I am definitely not looking to buy any. The same goes for the Dish Network cable coupon, because cable is included in my rent. My guess is that they just grouped together a few random products that might come in handy and sent them out to everyone in my community. They are taking a chance with this strategy because the products are so general. They should have researched my apartment complex first and discovered some basic information about the residents. I might use one of the restaurant coupons, and I will hold on to the Midas tire coupon in case I get a flat, but the rest of these offers to do apply to me.

Exam 3 Q&A

Chapter 7

1. About ___ percent of all ads use celebrities.
   A) 15%
   B) 20%
   C) 35%
   D) 50%

Chapter 8

1. Assume there are 300 TV households in Carbondale. Last night, 220 households were watching TV. 60 were watching Gossip Girl. Find the share.
   A) 18%
   B) 20%
   C) 34%
   D) 27%
   
2. ___ x ___ = GRP (Gross Rating Points)
   A) Rating, Share
   B) Rating, Frequency
   C) Reach, Frequency
   D) Reach, Share

Chapter 9

1. A(n) ___ fee is charged by retailers to stock products, and a(n) ___ fee is paid to remove the product from shelves if it fails.
   A) Slotting, Exit
   B) Entrance, Exit
   C) Start-up, Drop
   D) Entrance, Drop
   
2. Trade shows are more important for B2C companies than for B2B.
   A) True
   B) False

Chapter 10

1. Which type of coupon has the highest rate of redemption?
   A) Response offer
   B) Instant redemption
   C) Bounce back
   D) E-Coupon
   
2. Refunds are offered with soft goods and rebates are offered with hard goods?
   A) True
   B) False

Chapter 11

1. Assume you are on the phone with your cable provider and the sales rep informs you that they now offer internt service as well. This is an example of ___ selling.
   A) Promotional
   B) Cross
   C) Database
   D) Dual
   

HW-9

A good coupon that I found online was for Trail Mix. It is for $2 off, which is about half the price of the product. You do not see many 50% off coupons. Trail Mix is not a product that I personally enjoy, but this looks like a great deal for those who do.

http://www.postcereals.com/trailmixcrunch/#

I was also able to find a coupon for JCPenny's. Appearantly they are having a sale this weekend. I might actually use this one. I like that you can use it for any purchase. People are more likely to use a coupon that can be applied to anything than a coupon that is product specific.

http://f.chtah.com/i/2/95827765/main.html?

HW-8

Point of purchase displays are an important component of an IMC program. Your task is to visit a nearby grocery store and take pictures of POP displays. Upload at least three pictures to your blog and talk about why you think they are effective or why do they fail at being effective.

I visited Walmart in Carbondale, where there are displays in every aisle.

I liked this Gatorade display because of the assortment of bright colored bottles. Bright colors immediately attract my attention.

. . . This Doritos display also caught my eye. The colors are not as bright, but the blues and reds still pop out. I also observed their strategy of placing the containers of dip right above the chips to make 2 sales at once.

Next I would like to compare and contrast 2 coffee displays. The one on the left is for Starbucks frappuccinos and the one on the right is for Folgers classic roast. The one that appealed to me is the Starbucks frappuccino display. It used warm, brown tones. The Folgers ad used red, which is usually an eye-cathcing color, but it was used in a boring way. At first glimpse of the Folgers display I thought that they were paint cans. It took closer inspection to realize that I was looking at coffee. The brown reminded me of coffee immediately.

Starbucks is a more youthful brand of coffee that is popular nowadays. I think that they were trying to appeal to college students with the Starbukcs display. Folgers is older and I could more easily see a middle-aged or older person drinking it. I think that is why they chose a more flashy display for Starbucks, to appeal to younger coffee drinkers.

HW-7

Sunday: May 31, 2009
12:00p.m. Woke up, showered, got dressed
1:00 p.m. Ate breakfast
2-3:00 p.m. Went to a meeting, 5 minute drive, not exposed to any advertising
4:00 p.m. Came home, laid down
5:00 p.m. Nap time : )
7:00 p.m. Woke up, watched a movie on HBO with roommates, no commercials
8:00 p.m. A few friends came over
9:00 p.m.-1:45a.m. Played cards and drank wine with company, exposed to advertising on bottles, music playing in background contained some product placement
2:00 a.m. Company finally left, went to sleep

Monday: June 1, 2009
8:00 a.m. Woke up, showered, got dressed.
9-11:00 a.m. Went to JRNL 301 class, not exposed to any ads on my 5 minute drive to campus, viewed a few ads in class (examples and AAF books that were passed around)
11:10 a.m.-12:50 p.m. Ate breakfast, played cards on MSN games while eating, TV on for background noise, did not pay much attention to commercials due to multitasking
1-4:50 p.m. Went to work on campus, checked facebook, surfed the Internet, exposed to advertisements online, received a lot of advertisements in spam mail, deleted them all without reading
5:00 p.m. Came home, made dinner, watched 106th & Park to see new videos, there is a lot of product placement in music videos (particularly clothes, cars, and liquor), left room during commercials
6-9:00 p.m. Talked to roommates, my roommate told me about a book she is reading and suggested that I read it too---word of mouth, viral marketing???
10-11:00 p.m. Got back online, checked facebook, mycourses, webmail etc. Saw a few Internet ads, mostly promoting weight loss products. Got on Blogger to do assignment.
12:00 a.m. Went to sleep

The best way to appeal to me would be through viral marketing. I spend the majority of my time conversing with other people, and I am more likely to take their words into consideration than those of advertisers. A second option would be through online advertisements since I get on my computer several times a day. I do not open my emails, but I can not help but notice banners on some of the web pages I visit. I do not watch much TV, and when I do I block out the commercials, so that is not an effective medium. Product placement within programs/movies would be much more effective than commercial breaks. I do not listen to the radio either because I have an mp3 player so in order for a message to reach me it would have to be strategically placed within the song.


My Media Budget
Viral: 40%
Internet: 25%
TV: 15%
Billboards: 10%
Radio: 5%
Print Ads: 5%