Candy

Whenever I go to check out at the grocery store I look at the candy and magazines and gum that are in teh check-out line. Placing these products right where you are checking out is a great way to get people to buy them. For example, little kids waiting for their parents to check out their groceries will ask their parents for a candy because it is right there. And people will look through magazines will waiting their turn to check out, and consequently be more prone to buy the magazine because the want to know what else is in it or to read more of a story that they didn't get to finish. This is a great way to market candy, gum, magazines adn other cheap products.

Online Ads

As I was surfing the internet the other day and I kept noticing online ads for the Free People clothing line, so I went to it. Then I realized that it was because of the marketing strategy to place those ads on sites that people like me will go to and see them, adn then go to their website. Anyway, I usually do not pay much attention to online ads, but since that one appeared more than usually I gave it a look. I guess marketing online on many sites really does work sometimes.

Bumper Stickers

A girl came in to the office where I work on campus the other day and asked if she could put up a poster to promote Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I said that was fine, and put up the poster for her. But we have a variety of these kind of promotional posters in our office, and I hardly ever see people looking at them. Thethe girl also left a stack of bumper stickers promoting the awareness week on a table in our office. I thought, "Hey, the bumper stickers are another way of marketing." I think the bumper stickers are a good way of marketing because people can actaully pick up the sticker and take it with them, unlike a poster, so they can go back to the info whenever they want. Also, if they stick it to their car's bumper, it will be advertising to whoever looks at it while they are driving or while it is parked. Thats killing two birds with one stone.

Product Incentives

I love cereal, and I love how they often have prizes in them, or games on the back. Then I realized that this was a marketing strategy! Especially for kids, things like puzzles and crosswords on teh back of cereal boxes makes eating breakfast more fun! Also, by advertising that teh cereal has a prize inside, kids will more likely want to get that cereal to get the prize. The same goes for Cracker Jacks. Games and prizes are good incentives, especialyl for kids, to get people to buy cereal.

Product Names

I was eating Honey Bunches of Oats cereal the other day, and on the back of the box was the history of the name of the cereal. I realized that a lot goes into naming products, even ones such as cereal that may seem unimportant. The makers of Honey Bunches of Oats first had a different name that didn't have anything to do with food, but rather with nature. They tested teh product and found that people loved the cereal, but not so much the name. So they added bunches of oats to the cereal, as well as frosted flakes, and came up with the name Honey Bunches of Oats. The target market loved it, and that has been the name ever since. I guess product names are more important that I thought.

Food Packaging

Pictures of food on food packages always seem to be perfect. For example, if there is a picture of a hamburger, there is just enough lettuce and tomatoe showing, the bunn looks soft and fluffy, the meat looks juicy and the cheese is melted to perfection. Howver, when you actually get the food, the lettuce may be wilted, the tomatoe green, the bunn greasy, the meat much thinner than in the picture, and the cheese is half-way on teh patty and half-way hanging off the side of the burger. Not that I really mind that much cause it still tastes pretty much the same, but I just realized that they make food look so much tastier on the packages. Its a great way to get people to buy it! I've noticed this since I was little, but have never thought of it as a marketing ploy.

Product Shelf Placement

(Here is an example of product shelf placement for BBQ sauces)

I had never really given any thought to where on a store shelf a product was located. After we learned about it in class one day, however, I started to pay more attention. I realized that I am drawn to items at my eye level a lot more than items where I have to bend down to see them. For example, I wanted to get some new nail polish the other day, and after looking some over and moving on, I realized that I had only looked at the polish that was at my eye level or a little above or below. It made me understand why marketers pay a higher price to have a better shelf placement for their product. It actually works.