A story that appeared last week in the Wall Street Journal
suggested that Budweiser Beers would not be using their iconic Clydesdale
horses in this year’s super bowl commercial. Instead, it was suggested that the
company air a commercial targeted more towards the 21 to 27 year old age
bracket due to the recent study stating that 44% of this age range of drinkers
have never tried a Budweiser. Budweiser has been slowly falling out of the
ranks as America’s #1 beer and marketers feel that much of this is due to the
lack of younger consumers.
The Wall Street Journal states that, “After years of
developing marketing that appeals to all ages, AB In Bev (Budweiser’s parent
company) plans to concentrate future Budweiser promotions exclusively on that
age bracket. That means it won’t trot out the traditional Budweiser Clydesdales
for this year’s holiday advertising. It means February’s Super Bowl ads will
feature something more current than last year’s Fleetwood Mac.”
Well, this created uproar. Clydesdales are the face of
Budweiser beer. You know you’re watching a Budweiser commercial when you see
the horses; the company doesn’t even need to show the beer or the logo in the
ad for the consumer to know that it is a Budweiser commercial. The Clydesdale
is Budweiser’s brand image, and it is what they are recognized for. The Clydesdales were"first introduced to the public on April 7, 1933, to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.August A. Busch, Jr. presented the hitch as a gift to his father, August Anheuser Busch, Sr., who was guided outside the brewery by the ruse of being told his son had purchased a new car for him, but instead was greeted by the horses, pulling a red, white and gold beer wagon.The hitch proceeded to carry the first case of post-Prohibition beer from the St. Louis brewery in a special journey down Pestalozzi Street in St. Louis" (Wikipedia).Below is the first commercial aired with the Budweiser Clydesdales which aired in 1986 during Super Bowl XX.
Personally,
as a 21 year old consumer, I don’t feel that the Clydesdales represent an older
target segment; it shows tradition. Changing the mascot doesn’t change the
taste of a beer. While it is true that Budweiser beer may appeal to an older
demographic, that isn’t something that will change be reinventing the brand;
what Budweiser needs to do is reposition their brand in the consumer’s minds so
they see it as a beer for the younger target segment. Below is a great example of a Clydesdale commercial that I felt captured the heart of every age demographic.
Apparently, people agreed with me. According to New York
Daily, Budweiser has announced that they will be using the horses in upcoming
ads for Budweiser. They state that the article had it wrong and there was
miscommunication, however we don’t know whether or not Budweiser simply chose
to change the mascot bac or not due to the backlash.
Regardless, the Clydesdale, the iconic image of Budweiser
since 1933, is here to stay and you will be sure to see it featured in one of
the upcoming Budweiser holiday advertisements.
Are you one of those who survive the crazed crowds of people
to get deals on Black Friday? We spend an entire day being thankful for what we
have and then four hours later people are trampling one another as they rush
down the aisles to claim their merchandise during the biggest sale day of the
year. This year in England, there were so many disputes during Black Friday
that police had to get involved to break up the masses of shoppers. People were
shoved to the ground, arguing over merchandise, and refusing to leave stores
when they were told that items were out of stock. Below are some of the worst Black Friday disasters recorded.
Black Friday is arguably one of the most famous days for
yield management pricing in stores. Yield
Management Pricing is when stores charge different prices in order to maximize
revenue for a given period of time. But the question is, is the madness
really worth it? There have been arguments for years claiming that Black Friday
is a hoax. Some say that stores jack up their prices on more expensive
merchandise and then mark it as 20, 30, or 40% off the original price to make
it seem as if the consumer is getting the best deal around.
According to Louis Ramirez of dealnews.com, there are 16
myths about Black Friday that consumers should know before venturing out into
the chaos. The bold myths are the ones I found most prevalent and reasons to
avoid the lines and insane opening hours.
1.MYTH: Black Friday Sales Begin on Black Friday
2.MYTH: Stores Have Ample Stock of Doorbusters
3.MYTH: Doorbusters Are Available In-Store
Only
4.MYTH: In-store Black Friday Shopping is a
Dangerous Contact Sport
5.MYTH: Every Sale You Come Across on Black
Friday is the Best of the Year
6.MYTH: Nobody Will Beat Black Friday Prices
7.MYTH: All of the Good Deals Are Printed in Black
Friday Ads
8.MYTH: Leaked Black Friday Ads Are Actual Leaks
9.MYTH: You Have to Go to the Apple Store for Its
Black Friday Sale
10.MYTH:
Designer and Luxury Goods Don't Go on Sale
11.MYTH: If You Go Overboard on Black Friday,
You Can Return Your Purchases
12.MYTH:
It's OK to Skip Cyber Monday if You Shopped on Black Friday
13.MYTH:
Deals Are Excellent Throughout Cyber Week
14.MYTH:
Once Processed, All Black Friday Orders Are Final
15.MYTH: Your Credit Card Info is Secure
16.MYTH:
Bargain Bin Devices Are Always Cheap Quality
So, next time you are considering going out on Black Friday,
think about these myths and maybe try sticking to the online shopping. A lot of
times you’ll find that the deals online are just as good as in stores and most
online retailers offer free shipping from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. So,
avoid the lines, go online.
You know that feeling when a new product hits the market and
you feel like you have to have it because it’s the next big thing? Yeah, we all
get that feeling. It happened recently with the release of the all new Apple iPhone
6. It’s bigger, sleeker, and despite the rumors of its gymnastic-like bending
skills, it’s the hottest product on the market right now. Do you even remember
what the original iPhone looked like? I sure don’t. Or what about an iPod? Do
you remember those things that you had before music could be put directly on
your phone? Apple has gone through major changes in their product life cycles
in their years, and I’m about to bring you back a bit to the products of our
past.
First off though, the Product
Life Cycle is defined as the stages a new product goes through in the
marketplace: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (Kerin).
The Apple iPhone 6 has just been introduced into the market
along with its all new Apple Pay, and therefore it was considered to be in the
introduction stage. This was occurring a few months ago when the iPhone 6 had
yet to really hit the market and Apple was spending money on marketing their
new product and teaching consumers about Apple Pay. At this stage in the game,
marketers just want to get their products out there for consumers to simply be
aware that it is being produced. Companies spend heavily on advertising in this
stage also. At this point, because there is little to no competition, a lot of
companies, like Apple, will use Price
Skimming in order to set ahigh
initial pricing help the company recover costs of development as well as
capitalize on the price insensitivity of early buyers (Kerin).
As of now, the iPhone 6 has just hit the second stage of the
product life cycle, the growth stage. The product has now been introduced into
the market and there have been rapid sales. The phones were flying off the
shelf so quickly that at least in my hometown, there was a one month backorder
if you wanted the new phone. This is the stage where competitors will also
begin to emerge into the market. We should be on the look out to see which
company will be next to create something similar to Apple Pay.
The next stage is the maturity stage of a product. The
iPhone 5 has now officially reached this stage in development. When the iPhone
6 came out, it meant that the iPhone 5 became second best and began to drop out
of the running. Purchases are slowing down rapidly as people now want the
newest innovation. Marketing attention is directed toward holding on to market
share through further product differentiation and finding new buyers.
And finally, we have the decline stage. In the decline stage
of the life cycle, a company can choose to take two very different courses of
action. The first is called harvesting
in which a company retains the product but reduces marketing costs. This is the
stage that the iPhone 4 and 4S has just hit due to the introduction of the 6.
The second course of action is called deletion,
or when the company drops the product from the company’s product line entirely.
This is what has happened now to iPhones 2G and 3, the originals.
Who knows what Apple will invent next. But the more and more
they invent, the further they push their current products down the line of the
Product Life Cycle.
