Implementation Evaluation Control

 “It’s not about telling and selling. It’s about bringing a [customer] relationship mindset to everything [you] do.”  Pg. 99 In conclusion to my project I came to realize that maybe if I were to have actually taken this product through development process it might have not been the best idea.  From having been in school for business for almost three years now I've learned one thing.  Branding is not easy, nor is competing with major brand labels that have already been around for decades. I'm not saying there isn't any room in the market for this item because their really is.  All I'm saying is if this product were to develop we would have to work extremely hard in the marketing sector and social networking.“Too [few] small-business owners have a … marketing mind-set,”  pg.124 The best and fastest way to create and instant following for any new product would have to be by using a celebrity endorsement.  Other than having all those other direct competitors offering similar vodka then what we offer I think over time we would have created a following. Just because the bottle itself is being sold at a reasonable price point that differentiates itself from the rest of the brands on the shelf. “Consumers make many buying decisions every day, and the buying decision is the focal point of the marketer’s effort. “ pg. 137

Distribution

Blue Stripe distributes to domestic vendors only.  Eventually Blue Stripe would like to expand abroad and bring the product to other countries but cost of shipping makes this a bit difficult.  Blue Stripe works with big house name brands that purchase our product and place it in their stores. We have grocery brands such as Wholefoods, and Trader Joe's as two of our huge vendors. We also deliver to small owned business such as liquor stores, bars, restaurant, and clubs.  “Each distribution method involves a different level of reach and cost. Increasingly, marketers are blending several media into a total campaign concept. The length of the promotion is also important. If the sales promotion period is too short, many prospects (who may not be buying during that time) will miss it. If the promotion runs too long, the deal will lose some of its “act now” force.”  pg 437  We currently only hold one distribution center which is located near the corporate offices.  We like to handle all of the steps from the developing process to the shipping process.   “Growth is pure oxygen, It creates a vital, enthusiastic corporation where people see genuine opportunity.” Pg. 45

Pricing

“Nike has always known the truth—it’s not so much the shoes but where they take you.” Pg. 37

Blue Stripe like ive said before will be an affordable but hand over over free vodka.  Our price point for the 750 mls start out at $19.95 and our 1.75 liter bottle goes for $25.   For not we will only be shipping domestically due to liability issues and shipping cost. Blue Stripe on average will have a competitors advantage overall other vodka labels would be because of its affordable price point.  The first thing a consumer does when they walk into the liquor isle they scout for the cheapest alcohol they can find.  Why not make it easier on them and offer a great tasting vodka for a affordable price.  Once a consumer grabs purchases the bottle for the first time its almost guaranteed he or she will be coming back for more.  "Price is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue; all other elements represent costs. Price is also one of the most flexible marketing mix elements. Unlike product features and channel commitments, prices can be changed quickly. At the same time, pricing is the number-one problem facing many marketing executives, and many companies do not handle pricing well. Some managers view pricing as a big headache, preferring instead to focus on the other marketing mix elements. However, smart managers treat pricing as a key strategic tool for creating and capturing customer value. Prices have a direct impact on a firm’s bottom line. A small percentage improvement in price can generate a large percentage in profitability. More importantly, as a part of a company’s overall value proposition, price plays a key role in creating customer value and building customer relationships. " pg.275

Promotion

My marketing team and myself plan on working with local radio stations networking with the right local dj's in town, we want our brand to be well known across the nation.  We will be updating constant "How to mix it drinks" on our website and will be constantly updating our facebook, tumblr, twitter, and instagram with up to date promotions.  Blue Stripe is working on collaborating with a few well known celebrities all in which would cater to different age markets. We will on also be featured on a few segment cable commercials and eventually work something out with a network and see if we can collaborate with them.
 " The closest thing to an official promotion is the company’s Web site or a newsletter mailed out to people who opt in to receive it. Trader Joe’s most potent promotional weapon is its army of faithful followers. Trader Joe’s customers have even started their own fan Web site, www.traderjoesfan.com, where they discuss new products and stores, trade recipes, and swap their favorite Trader Joe’s stories."  Or you can be like Trader Joe's and create a awesome following who is willing to create a fan made website to just keep the viewers up to date.  Some small business that have grown to become corporations started and still to this day remain showing minimal advertising or marketing. 

Product

"Product concept :The idea that consumers will favor products that offer the most quality, performance, and features and that the organization should therefore devote its energy to making continuous product improvements." pg. 10 Blue Stripe will come in two size bottles 750mls & 1.75 Liters.  Blue Stripe is distilled twice during its purification process and has a total of 40% alcohol.  The bottle will be clear all around and with a rustic grey coding around it.  As far as letting and marketing I will have bright royal blue lettering saying "Blue" and right below I will have a dash representing the second part of the name "Stripe".  This bottle is a prime example of a upcoming classical brand. The reason why we choose not to go all out with our bottle marketing is because we simply don't have to we have great quality vodka that allows us to let the drink do the talking. We let the beverage itself do the word to mouth and we provide the with great social media advertising and most importantly top of the line distilled vodka. "The societal marketing concept questions whether the pure marketing concept overlooks possible conflicts between consumer short-run wants and consumer long-run welfare. Is a firm that satisfies the immediate needs and wants of target markets always doing what’s best for consumers in the long run? The societal marketing concept holds that marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the consumer’s and society’s well-being. It calls for sustainable marketing, socially and environmentally responsible marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs." pg. 12

Target Market

 “a brand identity that reflects the Xerox of today.” Pg.65

Imagine a retailer with service so good its customers wish it would take over the Internal Revenue Service or start up an airline. Pg.3

Blue Stripe caters to a wide range market.  Here at Blue Stripe we believe in catering to both men and women.  Our average age group ranges from 23-55.  “it all begins with understanding our client’s dreams.” And “Dreams don’t retire.” Pg. 71 This age group tends to have the most common alcohol purchases then any of the other age groups.  Blue Stripe doesn't like to follow the typical vodka branding rules.  Blue chooses to broaden their market because simply they are able to hit such a wide niche by researching data and marketing themselves to the consumer in a breathtaking way. Some special occasions you might catch are clients drinking our beverage would be at clubs, bbq's, holidays, family functions etc.  We try not to limit who we target ourselves to because the broader the market the bigger the chances.   “It’s just a lot cheaper to get existing customers to buy from you again than it is to try to convince someone [new].” Pg. 3 

SWOT Analysis

 “Start-up businesses need information about their potential customers, industries, competitors, unfilled needs, and reactions to new market offers.” Pg. 124

Strengths: Blue Stripe offers domestic distilled vodka purified to en-light the taste buds that never been discovered.  Being that we are a domestic brand gives us a competitive advantage because our brand offered distinctive vodka that truly distinguishes itself from the rest.  “if we didn’t talk [to consumers] about their laundry habits [and practices]. We talked about their lives, what their needs were, how they felt as women. And we got a lot of rich stuff that we hadn’t tapped into before.” Pg. 99

Weakness: Blue Stripe's weakness towards the rest of the market, Blue Stripe isn't mainstream just yet so our brand has still yet to be discovered by the world.   “what was once the domain of the high-cost experts has now become available to practically anybody with a desire to use it,”  pg.114

Opportunities:  Being up and coming gives us an advantage to becoming mainstream in little as months.  Thanks to our society now a days and how social media has controlled our lives we are able to send anything viral to any place across the world in lest then seconds.   We offer great customer service and refund your money back if not satisfied

Threats:  Competitive market, mainstream brands, advanced advertisement strategies, financials

 “set annual cost-reduction targets [for the parts they buy]. To realize those targets, they’ll do anything. [They’ve unleashed] a reign of terror, and it gets worse every year.” Pg. 68

Objectives

“In the world of consumerism, marketing is there to promote consumption,”
Blue Stripe is a Southern California vodka company that was established on June 3, 2001.  We are southern grown and we produce and manufacture our own vodka domestically.  Every single bottle is distilled a second time for better filtration and higher vodka proof.  We believe in giving the customer the money he paid for, which is why we promise you that are vodka is high quality great tasting vodka.  After all if its not Blue Stripe then it its not Right!
“Revolutionary or simple” 
Blue Stripe is known to produce one of the best classical vodkas in the nation.  We are a family owned business that work directly with the consumer.  We hold a staff of 50 employees, we offer different job opportunities such as the call center, factory, corporate office, drivers. We believe our client always come first and make sure all orders are completed properly and delivered in a properly manner.  
"Within a couple of hours of posting … I got a response from Richard at Dell,” pg.127
Dell strives to keep their customer happy,We strive to keep our customer at home.

Business Mission Statement

“As their life stages change, so do their behavior and purchasing preferences. Marketers who are armed with the data to understand the timing and makeup of life-stage changes among their customers will have a distinct advantage over their competitors.”

Theirs one thing in life we cant prevent and that is time.  Blue Stripe doesn't promise constant change they promise everlasting memories and minimal hangovers because that is the Stripe way!
Like our mission statement say's we promise timeless moments that will forever remain young and everlasting.  As a loyal brand to our consumers we promise to provide the best product for the best customer!  Blue Stripe believes in having fun...Responsibly of course!  Which is why we choose to make our drink affordable for all and tasty for many!  

Week 10 EOC: Benefits vs. Features

Blue Stripe is an American brand vodka. A couple of fun facts about the brand are it being distributed and manufactured in the US.  Some benefits Blue Stripe may offer are distilled pure vodka guaranteeing you no hangovers the next day.  Some features we will offer for the brand will be a great price point charging $24.99 per each 750ml bottle.

Week 9 EOC: Creative Content

For my final project I chose to market Belvedere vodka.  In order to create some stir for a product cause emotion you need to be able to relate to the viewers.  The easiest way to relate to a viewer is giving them something they have in common with what they are watching.  Which is attending a glamorous party with elite people as guest. So I decided what better way to brand a product then to air a commercial on national television. In this commercial I will show case the alcoholic beverage, holding it will be a group of upper class women pouring drinks onto the gentleman cups. The scene will be an elite party for the upper class. I chose a elite sophisticated scenery because that is what belvedere stands for. During this commercial I will also be zooming in closely into the Belvedere bottle and the glass cup while the drink is being poured.  This will draw the viewers attention.  While the bottle is being poured I will have a dramatic song playing in the background, perhaps opera music just to capture a serious moment.  I want this ad/commercial to be able to relate to all men and make them feel as if they were the gentleman being poured those drinks by the stunning beautiful women.  Every man watching this commercial will view themselves as that gentlemen therefore the chances of him purchasing that belvedere instead of the grey goose will most likely go up.

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

Blue Stripe:  Affordable for all, Tasty for many.
This vodka is going to be an American made vodka with 40% alcohol and 80 proof.

Week 6 EOC: Movie Promotion

 "Milk" is a 2008 American biographic film based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.  This movie takes place between the years of 1970 all the way through the assassination of Harvey which happened on November 1978..  This movie is easy to market, reason being is because the movie automatically develops a niche of followers which are the gays that were living their youthful life's as openly gay men in the 70s. Meaning we already have a following that this movie would appeal to.  Also anybody who is a true gay activist would definitely go watch this movie in a heart beat. How would I personally Market this movie?  Well I would start off by airing trailers of this movie on channels such as logo tv, bravo, abc.  I would also partner up with the Aid's foundation and execute a release party or the film.  This event would cause a lot of stir condicering we would invite top gay celeberties to attend and also gay activist.  We would also mention to the attendees that all proceeds being earned that night will be donated to the Aid's foundation to help researches find a cure for AID's

. 

Week 5 EOC: Social Networking & Job Hunting

"More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, threatening traditional job boards and competing with LinkedIn Corp., which has dominated the online professional networking arena"

This all depends on who you ask.  Some people might think that social networking is ten times more beneficial then job hunting others may think the opposite. In my opinion this generation today is all about social networking.  Unfortunately the sane that goes somewhere in the line like this "its not about what you know but who you know" is true and is very common in the work force today.  I am a true believer when it comes to social networking, I believe it works and if it wasn't because of the people I know now I wouldn't be employed.  As the number of job postings overall has bounced back from the depths of the recession, Monster's core job postings businesses have benefited. Revenue in the second quarter at Monster Worldwide Inc. rose 25% to $270 million from the prior year.
LinkedIn's revenue from company recruiters is also growing rapidly. In the second quarter, the company's hiring solutions segment—which among other things helps recruiters search through their profile database for candidates—grew 170% to $58.6 million from the same quarter a year earlier

"The antibodies kicked in pretty quickly. They thought it was very invasive," he said. The company posts job openings on its Facebook page, but Mr. Vijungco said they have had more success finding employees through LinkedIn.

Week 4 EOC: Consumer vs. Bus to Bus

“The real challenge is to win buyers’ business by building day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out partnerships with them based on superior products and close collaboration.”  Buyers have different approaches in the way they choose to sell to a client.  I just happen to use the best friend strategy.  When I style I look for what my client feels comfortable and looks great in.  The key to a successful business is having the employee represent the brand whole heartedly.  In order for buyers to make sales they need to almost bribe their potential clients in order to catch a sale. Also another strategy to increase sells is making your client your best friend. “GE wins contracts by partnering with business customers to help them translate that performance into moving their passengers and freight more efficiently and reliably.”

GE clients have believed in the brand for over a century now.  Reason being is because a company like GE strives to constantly improve and better themselves for their clients.  GE is constantly innovating new ideas and is communication with their clients about them, which is key to success considering the fact that clients want to know what is going on at all times.   

 "Business customer buying decisions are made within the framework of a strategic, problem-solving partnership. “We love the challenge of a customer’s problem,” says the company on its GE Transportation Web site."

EOC Week 3:My Demographics

"Millennials. Both the baby boomers and Gen Xers will one day be passing the reins to the Millennials (also called Generation Y or the echo boomers). Born between 1977 and 2000, these children of the baby boomers number 83 million, dwarfing the Gen Xers and larger even than the baby boomer segment. This group includes several age cohorts: tweens (aged 9–12), teens (13–18), and young adults (19–32). With total purchasing power of more than $733 billion, the Millennials make up a huge and attractive market."

My demographic seems to be somewhat correct.  The way they based it off was by looking at what generation gap I take part in.  For example I was born in 1992 which makes me part of generation "Millennium" therefore according to statistics and studies it shows that my generation grew up with technology. Millenniums also lack on social interaction.  Generation Millennium tends to always spend more of their personal time glued onto their computers rather then being outside and enjoying nature.

“All generations are comfortable with technology, but this is the generation that’s been formed by technology,” says a Yahoo! executive. For them, “it’s not something separate. It’s just something they do.”
Demographics are crucial for business owners whether it'd owning small business owner or a big corporation, regardless its their job to find out what consumers fit their market.

EOC Week 3: Making money for good

“The holidays are all about giving. We are very pleased that our ANN Cares program, in partnership with St. Jude, provided Ann Taylor associates the opportunity to give in such a meaningful way,” – Kay Krill, Ann Taylor president and CEO.

Ann Taylor is a well known American retail company that has been around for over 50 years.  They are proud sponsors of a non-profit organization better known as St. Jude's Hospital.  Ann Taylor has teamed up with St. Jude for the past 5 years to help raise money for all children fighting against cancer.  St. Jude helps families that are unfortunate and arent able to cover cost for any of the medical procedures that their children may need. 

"Since the start of the partnership, ANN INC. has raised an amazing $11 million for the St. Jude mission, which has placed ANN INC. in the company of Top 10 St. Jude corporate partners." 

Ann Taylor prides themselves in being able to help those that are less fortunate. Just in the past 2 years they have raised over $11 millions dollars in donations ANN inc.has raised a tremendous amount of money for example just last year the company raise a 4.2 million.  

"Both the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands have enhanced the St. Jude presence in-store and online. ANN INC. continued its commitment to St. Jude in 2011 by repeating the add-on at the register, adding additional elements including an on-screen prompt on the credit pad, LOFT Charm Collection and Facebook “Like” campaigns for both Ann Taylor and LOFT. The Facebook campaigns alone raised $50,000 for the kids of St. Jude."

EOC Week 2: Boston Consulting Group

"The tentacles of the recession have reached into the video game industry, a business that was long considered downturn-resistant."-Wall Street Journal-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124865158612682399.html

Who in this day in age today would have thought they'd live to see the day of video game extinction?!  Well we just might luck out, wall street journal has just announce a 39% decline this past month in video game sales.  This has been a consistent decline in sales for the past year.  In 2008 they predicted the game industry would bring $11 billion dollars this upcoming year like it did then but now they are saying it will only be bring in 5%.  "Retail sales are down 27 percent compared to this time in 2011. Mobile devices are stealing the spotlight from traditional consoles. And naysayers are openly questioning the long-term viability of the console industry." http://www.cnbc.com/id/47614501. Our technology is advancing faster then what we projected and so are our minds.  In this generation today we tend to like things that are convenient to us for example smart phones. Now that we have touch phones in the palm of our hands we are able to access pretty much anything within seconds. Part of the reason why the video game industry is declining would be because people now a days are able to access and play video games through their phones making it no longer necessary to purchase an actual game or gaming system.  If i were to grade where the video game market stands I would grade it a "cash cow" which means their is plenty of money to be made in that market but its currently not making enough. "Gaming received a massive boom at the start of the cycle because of the Wii," says Handler. "Schools were buying Wiis. Nursing homes were buying Wiis. Everyone under the age of 95 was playing ‘Wii Play.’ It created this massive groundswell. I would say the hard-core gamer has been pretty constant [in his or her gaming habits], but the big shift has been among the casual players who have come into this space."

EOC Week 1: My Voice

My name is Jose Gonzalez and im currently a senior studying Fashion &Retail Management at The Art Institute of Las Vegas. I moved out to Vegas about two and a half years ago, originally from Santa Barbara, CA. I come from a small town where fashion isn’t the big interest therefore I decided if I wanted to pursue my career in fashion I would have to relocate. I currently now work as a Manager at a woman’s clothing store better know as Ann Taylor. I have been working with Ann Taylor for about one year and 3 months now. I plan on pursuing my career with Ann Taylor and perhaps running my own store in the Las Vegas district in the next year. I later on plan on moving to the East Coast to pursue corporate level work, I plan on working with the buying team and look forward to working with the brand for the next few years. Of course buying wont be the only focus, Id also like to pursue developing my own clothing brand. I want to develop an online business that produces tees, tanks, hoodies, and underwear. I want to cater my business to the gay community and perhaps expand to other consumer markets. I believe Fashion is everywhere that is why I am so passionate of what I do.