Week 10 EOC: What are the benefits vs. the features?

One of the main benefits of the "ONE NIGHT OF MUSIC. ONE NIGHT OF SHELTER" charity is the fact that it provides the opportunity to serve for a common good without much effort. This is the benefit of convenience. "The best way to understand the true benefit of your product or service-or to answer the "What's in it for me?" question-is to focus instead on results." - (Laura Clampit Douglas (2000) Marketing Features vs. Benefits. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/34942-2)

A second benefit from my charity is simplicity. "When you "sell a benefit," you are still essentially describing a product feature–but you tie it to some way that it improves the customer's situation." - (Geoffry James (2012) How to Sell: Value, Benefits,or Features? http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-sell-value-benefits-or-features.html) My targeted audience will be induced in the music, drinks, and performances during the night of the event. The charity experience will be perceived as non-existent because of the relaxed environment.

The "ONE NIGHT OF MUSIC. ONE NIGHT OF SHELTER" charity is intended to work in a way that will solve a problem for the community. The audience will perceive this as a benefit since there is little to no action to be taken to help for this cause. All there is to do is show up to the event. "The core customer value consists of the core problem-solving benefits that consumers seek when they buy a product." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 238.)

Week 9 EOC: Three Great Mission Statments

Petrina's mission statement was sincere and straight to the point. The statement has a welcoming feel to it because it exposes her personal experiences with cancer. "Forging a sound mission begins with the following questions: What is our business? Who is the customer? What do consumers value? What should our business be?" - ( Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 39.) Petrina decides to market to a broad audience. The consumer is identified as any human being who has ever lost a family member due to a malicious disease. Any person could relate to this experience in one way or the other; which is what makes this mission statement successful. Petrina also pinpointed and explained every purpose of her charity event. http://pilar-duray48219.blogspot.com/2012/08/mission-statement.html

"...the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization." - ( Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 39.) In this case, Ryan is providing the "invisible hand" for the targeted consumer. Ryan accomplished this by having his charity revolve around something as memorable as a family portrait. His approach is very beneficiary to the family. A professional family portrait for just a donation towards breast cancer? How much easier can it get? http://marketingryan.blogspot.com/2012/08/business-mission-statement.html

 Kathryn did an excellent job with her mission statement. The charity provides benefits to a specific demographic audience and it shows promises of early and future success. "A specific communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during a specific period of time. The overall advertising goal is to help build customer relationships by communicating customer value." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 386.) This charity is intended to be donated to a non-profit organization that serves military veterans with psychological conditions after deployment. Her demographic audience is consumers of military background. This has potential of great success because people from the military will always want to help military people; this is especially true when there is a Conrad in need. http://f35studio.blogspot.com/2012/08/final-project-business-mission-statement.html

Week 9 BOC: 5 Top Songs of the Summer (2012)

Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe"

Courtesy Interscope
Carly Rae Jepsen's breakthrough single was slowly building momentum until a home made video by Justin Bieber and friends became a tipping point for the song. It began charging up the charts and ultimately became the longest reigning #1 hit of 2012 so far spending nine weeks at the top. With a huge number of cover versions, including one by Sesame Street's Cookie Monster, the song has become an instant classic and Carly Rae Jepsen is now a household name.

 

Maroon 5 - "Payphone" featuring Wiz Khalifa

Courtesy A&M / Octone

Maroon 5 spent the summer of 2012 as the eternal bridesmaid. "Payphone" spent its first 15 weeks on the pop singles chart at either #2 or #3 but never hit the top. Spare your tears for the group however. "Payphone" is a huge multi-platinum success to follow up the group's biggest single of the their career, "Moves Like Jagger." Maroon 5 can make a strong argument that they are the world's biggest pop band of the moment.

 

Gotye - "Somebody That I Used To Know" featuring Kimbra

Courtesy Universal Republic

Before "Call Me Maybe" came along, Australia's Gotye held the title for the longest reigning #1 hit of the year. "Somebody That I Used To Know" tumbled from the top of the chart after 8 weeks as summer opened, but the song never dropped out of the top 10 for the entire season. The song has to be considered a major contender for next winter's Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

 

Rihanna - "Where Have You Been"

Courtesy Def Jam

How do you follow up a massive hit as big as "We Found Love?" You go right back to the well with the same producer, Scotland's Calvin Harris, and create another bracing dance floor smash that sounds perfect on summer pop radio. It is hard to imagine summer pop without Rihanna, and "Where Have You Been" fits nicely among her best hits.

Katy Perry - "Wide Awake"

Courtesy Capitol Records

This is the fifth summer in a row that Katy Perry has had at least one of the top 10 pop hits of the summer. "Wide Awake" is one of the two new singles included on her expanded re-release of the Teenage Dream album. It is Katy Perry's most recent recordings, and it is one of her best. The song is memorable and emotionally involving with an immaculate production.

http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/Top-10-Pop-Songs-Summer-2012.htm

Price

"A company can always increase customer satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services. But this may result in lower profits. Thus, the purpose of marketing is to generate customer value profitably." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 17). To be able to participate in the charity, there will be a $5 entrance donation-fee. This strategy works perfectly for my charity. The donations are not overwhelming, and the event will provide quality service. It will be more profitable to have a large audience with products priced at a lower rate, as opposed to having a smaller audience with products priced at a higher rate. The purpose is not to raise an abundant amount of donations, but to raise awareness of the poverty crisis.

To ensure there is no price competition with nearby bars, I will market my charity differently than other non-profit organizations around the area. Most bars try to attract customers by simply lowering the price of their drinks. I will be providing quality entertainment instead of lower-priced drinks. The fact that a costumer can get a fairly cheap drink and help a person in need all at once without much effort will provide the edge needed to have a promising audience present at my charity. The live entertainment will also provide value for the consumer. "In these days of intense price competition, service marketers often complain about the difficulty of differentiating their services from those of competitors. To the extent that customers view the services of different providers as similar, they care less about the provider than the price.
The solution to price competition is to develop a differentiated offer, delivery, and image." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 226).

Promotion

"The company develops product offers and creates strong brand identities for them. It prices these offers to create real customer value and distributes the offers to make them available to target consumers." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 31). Creating an identity for my charity will predict the event's failure or success. For the customers to value my charity, I will have to "price" the donations conveniently. I will also engage with the community using different forms of communication. Building these relationships with the audience will captivate them into participating in the charity.

"Finally, the company designs promotion programs that communicate the value proposition to target consumers and persuade them to act on the market offering." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 31). My promotion program for "ONE NIGHT OF MUSIC. ONE NIGHT OF SHELTER." consists on marketing on social websites. These include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. I also plan on getting local radio stations involved in promoting my charity during on-air radio shows. The ability to communicate this way will spread awareness to a broader audience.

Distribution

The process will be distributed into four stages.

• Finding the location
• Gathering the artists and musicians
• Promoting the charity
• Attracting an audience 

"Observational research involves gathering primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situations. Researchers often observe consumer behavior to glean customer insights they can’t obtain by simply asking customers questions." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 110). I've conducted observational research by noticing that the best place to hold the event is at a common place where lots of locals gather. A place that is notorious for foot-traffic. My charity event will be hosted at a downtown bar. To ensure consumer satisfaction, I've shared thoughts and asked potential attendees if they agree with the setting and location. People have agreed so far.

My goal is to gather talented artists of all genres of music that will comply with the mission statement of my charity. The purpose of approaching the musicians this way is to benefit from promoting their music along with my company to acquire a local buzz. "...Each relationship is based on … shared efforts aimed at promoting growth and mutual profits that make it possible for suppliers to invest, innovate, and compete.”" - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 48).

I will be promoting my charity in numerous ways. First, I'll create an audio commercial that will hopefully get some air time at local radio stations. Then, I will record and edit a video ad that will market my charity through YouTube. Lastly, I will keep updating and advertizing the charity in my blog and other social media. I will attract consumers through one of the fastest and most widely used forms of communication used by my demographic target audience...the internet. "...77 percent of Millennials frequent social networking sites and 71 percent use instant messaging. “All generations are comfortable with technology, but this is the generation that’s been formed by technology,”" - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 74).

Practicing these strategies as I market my charity will ensure an audience. I can guarantee a decent audience simply by spreading the word of my charity at work. With a company as large as Zappos, I am sure to bring in at least thirty attendees. In addition, I can rely on some the performer's acquaintances attending the charity as well.

Product

The product of charity "ONE NIGHT OF MUSIC. ONE NIGHT OF SHELTER." is giving the audience the sensation of happiness."...to create customer relationships, marketers must build and manage products and brands that connect with customers. This chapter begins with a deceptively simple question: What is a product?" - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 208.)  The goal is to make the audience feel accomplished by taking part in an event that serves for a higher purpose.

My charity will be successful in delivering this product. The large variety of performers, relaxed environment, and having alcohol available will take the perception of "charity" out of the question. "Smart marketers look beyond the attributes of the products and services they sell. By orchestrating several services and products, they create brand experiences for consumers." - (Armstrong & Kotler (2001) Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. pg. 7.) When the event is finished, happiness will be delivered; all because the audience will realize that they have taken part in this charity that will donate all collections to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. The charity will be hosted to create a pleasant experience for the consumer.

- The Las Vegas rescue mission provides redemption, recovery, and re-entry to the homeless, addicted, and those in need.