Monthly Archives: May 2019

by | Tuesday, May 28, 2019 · 3:42 pm

Is Print Dead? Not According to These Magazines

With the proliferation of online information, Web sites, blogs, and ecommerce, it can be easy to underestimate the still powerful impact of the written word on paper. Far from being dead, print is re-emerging in new ways, new industries, and reaching select target markets. Some of the new magazines may surprise you. Companies that do business online are now using print publications to reach customers and explain their businesses, as well as entice customers to continue to buy from the online companies.

The companies producing these new magazines cover a number of area that may surprise you; lifestyle, pet care, travel, food, and more. Brands that have introduced new magazines include Bumble, Dollar Shave Club, Casper, and Airbnb. The publications are a way to expand the brand’s reach and retain customers’ interest. After all, when reading online, there are continual interruptions with pop-up ads, videos, and other digital noise. Compared to that, a print magazine seems like a soothing way to relax and explore new topics at our leisure.

The approach is not always an easy one for companies. According to Pew Research, roughly 93% of Americans not get some level of news online. However, this hasn’t stopped companies – in 2017 there were 134 new print magazines launched. These magazines tend to be focused on specific niches and target markets where consumers have focused queries and interests. Not everyone wants to read about puppies, or international travel, or music. But for the customers who do want that depth, magazines provide information and escape.

What do you want to read?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who reads magazines? Which ones, and why?
  2. Show some of the new magazines available:

Bumble mag: https://bumble.com/the-buzz/introducing-bumble-mag

Away: https://www.awaytravel.com/here-magazine

Casper: https://casper.com/woolly-magazine/

DSC: https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/content/story/author/melmag

Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/magazine

  1. Divide students into teams. Have each team examine a publication (online).
  2. Who is the target market?
  3. When do magazines make sense?
  4. Each team should next select a brand/company that might use a print magazine. For this company, have teams develop a magazine concept: Target market, editorial focus, possible articles, advertisers, etc.

Source: Jerde, S. (6 May 2019). Who said print was dead? What’s behind the proliferation of new titles. Advertising Age.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | Wednesday, May 8, 2019 · 7:04 am

P&G Introduces New Detergent ‘Swatches’

Tide Pods were a revolution when they launched in 2012 and have since spawned a new look for many detergent and soaps as pods took over the laundry room. But what’s next? Could P&G top the Tide Pod craze? Perhaps. And the answer may be in producing a new product line without using a key ingredient – water.

The innovative products are not in the old soap and detergent forms; instead, they come in small swatches that look like fabric, but foam when water is added during washing and cleaning. The new product form substantially reduces the size and weight of detergents, making them lighter and smaller to package, ship, and store. There are eight types: hand soap, face wash, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, surface cleaner, and toilet cleaner.

Think about it. Instead of carrying home (or shipping) a gallon of detergent that can weight upwards of eight pounds, the new product can be carried home in a small box that weighs ounces, and is packaged in biodegradable boxes. This new size would allow P&G to sell direct to consumers. Pricing is higher than standard products though. A box of 60 body wash swatches are $19, while laundry detergent costs $29 for 30 swatches (compared to 81-pack of Tide Pods at $19).

One remaining topic is how to brand and name the new product line. It is currently being called EC30. P&G is still considering whether to create a new brand, or use another well-known P&G product name.

What is your opinion of the new product line?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the importance of clearly defining a target market.
  2. Show the IndieGoGo campaign that P&G used for proof of concept: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ds3-next-generation-cleaning-for-body-and-home#/
  3. A video of the product can be found at https://youtu.be/ToPjozrz6ME
  4. The product can also be found on Web site: https://ds3clean.com/
  5. For this product, what is the target market? Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc. (Note: Can the product be sold to organizations also?)
  6. Based on the target market profile, what makes this product unique for these customers?
  7. Poll students: How should P&G brand/name the new product line?

Source: Terlep, S. (22 April 2019). Forget Tide Pods. P&G bets water-free soap ‘swatches’ are the future. Wall Street Journal.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | Saturday, May 4, 2019 · 2:04 pm

Happy 60th Birthday, Barbie!

Happy 60th birthday to Barbie!

Launched at the New York Toy Fair at a price of $3.00 way back in 1959, today’s Barbie dolls have taken new shapes, sizes, colors, and careers into their stride. While Barbie has often been criticized, the original vision for Barbie – to encourage girls to think about their futures – still holds today. The doll’s original figure (tall, busty, Caucasian) is also still around, but it has also been broadened and diversified to fit today’s girls and society.

Today’s Barbie dolls include four different body types, seven skin tones, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, and an extensive wardrobe of clothes, accessories, houses, and cars. Barbie has had dozens of careers. She is not only a fashionista, she embraces careers such as actress, politicians, doctors, athletes,  artists, journalists, mountaineers, activists, astronauts, teachers, and more. There simply is no limit to what Barbie – and girls – can accomplish. Barbie is equally at home in a robotics lab as she is on a farm.

And now Barbie is also taking on gender gap in The Dream Gap Project. Beginning at age five, many girls develop limiting beliefs about themselves and what they can accomplish. By age seven, girls are more likely to think that boys are smarter than girls. Barbie is taking this on by showing role model dolls who illustrate what is possible.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the product life cycle.
  2. Where does Barbie fit in the life cycle?
  3. How does the toy remain relevant?
  4. Show video of Barbie history: https://youtu.be/DXFVaYTI3uQ
  5. Show Barbie Web site: https://barbie.mattel.com/en-us/about/role-models.html?icid=home_body-2_module_role-models_p1
  6. Show the Dream Gap Project site: https://barbie.mattel.com/en-us/about/dream-gap.html
  7. Divide students into team. What else can Mattel do with Barbie?

Source: Klara, R. (25 February 2019). Here’s how much Barbie has changed since her debut almost 60 years ago.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , ,