Chapter 14: Integrated Marketing Communications

Did you know that a promotion informs, persuades, and reminds? It’s a plan for optimal use of the elements of promotion: advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. Its main function is to convince target customers that their product being offered provides a competitive advantage over the competition. Advertising is also an important term to know because advertising is used every day, it’s any form of impersonal paid communication in which the sponsor or company is identified. These are all forms of transmit advertisements: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, direct mail, billboards, and transit cards. Also make a note that even in public relations, even though an organization doesn’t have to pay directly for its publicity it should not be viewed as free.

I also learned in this chapter that some corporates have blogs. They are maintained by one or more of the company’s employees and they disseminate marketing-controlled information. A non-corporate blog is not associated with the marketing efforts and are nonmarketing controlled information and are perceived to be independent and more authentic than a corporate blog.

Chapter 12: Marketing Channels and Supply Chain Management

A marketing channel is a business structure of interdependent organizations that reach from the point of product origin to the consumer. Something I like: Discrepancy of quantity-marketing channels overcome quantity discrepancies by making products available in the quantities that consumers desire. And I like that idea. If you want to buy large quantities you go to Costco and if you want small quantities you can go to a local grocery store.

E-Week

We didn't have class this week because it's E-Week for USU. I live in Salt Lake and had to work so I couldn't participate. Maybe next year, hopefully. More study time :)

Midterm

Well, today was the midterm. Hmmm, didn't do as well as I was hoping I'd do. Guess I don't know my stuff that well. I'll really have to study hard for the final so I can get the grade I want. Crossing my fingers. Wishing myself good luck studying!

Chapter 10: Developing and Managing Products

If a product is new to the world it’s called a discontinuous innovation. These products are entirely new to the market. I think idea generation is a new tool. New-product ideas come from many different sources such as customers, employees, distributors, competitors, vendors, research and development, and consultants. If you remember brainstorming in school, you’ll remember that is was a good tool to use, and you’ll be happy to know that it was one thing worth learning. You can apply brainstorming to marketing because it’s a way to get a group of people to think of unlimited ways to vary a product or solve a problem.