Monthly Archives: November 2013

by | Saturday, November 2, 2013 · 4:13 am

November 2013 – YouTube Trends Map

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Everyone is familiar with YouTube; the video-sharing site averages more than one billion viewers each month! But the videos we watch vary by age, gender, geography, and more. The most popular video watched by men is likely not the same as the most popular video watched by women. And don’t forget about variations in culture across the U.S. The viewers in New York have very different habits than do viewers in Texas.

YouTube posts a daily trends map based on demographics as reported by its account holders. Rankings are based on the number of views and can be separated by age, gender, and location. Through the aggregated data, YouTube Trends show us the most popular video in real time and gives ideas about trends that are developing within the YouTube viewing community. The map is a visual representation of the most viewed videos over the past 24 hours across the U.S.

Before you look at it, take a guess. What do you think the most popular, trending videos are this week? Then click on the interactive map to discover trends and viewing behaviors.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What are the YouTube videos they watch the most?
  2. What videos do they think are more popular for men vs. women? By various age groups?
  3. Bring up the YouTube trends map: http://www.youtube.com/trendsmap
  4. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a specific target market and geography and view the most popular videos in that area.
  5. Discuss how this information can be used by marketers.

Source:  YouTube.com

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by | Saturday, November 2, 2013 · 4:11 am

TOMS Marketplace – Shopping with a Cause

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TOMS is a familiar brand to many college students. Since the company’s founding in 2006 through its one-for-one program, it has donated more than 10,000,000 pairs of shoes to those in need! In 2011, the company expanded its mission and introduced an additional product line of sunglasses where the sales contribute to eye care, prescription glasses, and medical treatment around the world. And now, just in time for Christmas shopping, TOMS has launched another socially-conscious retail program – called TOMS Marketplace – selling 200 products from 30 different companies.

The products range from $5 to $500 and all products are obtained wholesale by TOMS from the social startups that manufacture them in communities around the globe. The marketplace is a little different from other TOMS offerings – it is focused on emerging companies, products, causes, and the idea that business has a responsibility to improve lives of those in need. Some of the featured products provide jobs and economic opportunities to people who might otherwise not be employed; other products use proceeds to support education, fight hunger, or improve lives.

The main premise of TOMS and its new Marketplace is the company’s belief that everyday purchases can positively impact lives and create sustained change. Customers can choose to shop by product, brand, cause, or region. This puts dollars to work directly in the areas that matter most to the shoppers.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students. How many have heard of TOMS or purchased TOMS shoes?
  2. Of those who have purchased from TOMS, ask why they did so.
  3. Show the video and Web site: http://www.toms.com/marketplace
  4. Have students review the site. What are the main messages, products, and target market?
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team create a marketing campaign for TOMS Marketplace.
  6. Another task for students: take the TOMS business model and adapt it for other companies. What companies could use this? Why? How?

Source:  New York Times, Brandchannel.com, 11/5/13

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by | Saturday, November 2, 2013 · 3:55 am

Pepsi Max – Uncle Drew is Back!

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Uncle Drew is back and it’s about time! The third installment for Pepsi Max shows Drew and his teammates taking over local basketball courts in Chicago. Reprising his role as ‘Uncle Drew’ is Cleveland Cavalier’s star Kyrie Irving and this time he builds the team to include ‘Lights’ (Nate Robinson of the Denver Nuggets) plus the talented ‘Betty Lou’ (WNBA star Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx). This will teach those young bucks not to call someone “old lady!”

Set in blues-town Chicago, the video once again shows that things are not always as they seem. Although the old guys start off slowly, they are soon showing the youngsters how basketball is really supposed to be played. As the stars say – “it’s all about the buckets.”

The videos are a big hit for Pepsi Max and illustrate the product’s tag line of “a zero-calorie cola in disguise.” As a product in the mature stage of its product life cycle, Pepsi brings an “A-game” to the courts. A lesson to marketers: things are not always what they first appear to be.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

1. Start with a discussion about product life cycle.
2. Have students identify products that fit into each of the product life cycle stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
3. Discuss how products can maintain market share in the maturity stage. What tactics work best? What happens in the competitive space?
4. Then show Pepsi’s Uncle Drew videos. How do these videos fit the techniques needed for products in a mature industry?
http://youtu.be/spDdO_ZB-lE
http://youtu.be/8DnKOc6FISU
http://youtu.be/MLyvkBifQ3w
http://youtu.be/sW2sobJXI4s
5. Divide students into groups: Similar to the Uncle Drew videos, have each group develop a tactic that could be used for a product in each of the product life cycle stages.

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