Tag Archives: target market

by | Wednesday, December 11, 2024 · 7:23 am

‘Tis the Season for Advent Calendars

I don’t know about you, but I have seen a LOT of Advent calendars this year. For years,  the only Advent calendars available were rather inexpensive and had a single piece of chocolate behind the door for each day of Advent. But now it seems as if every product category is offering some sort of Advent calendar.

You may now be asking “what is Advent?” Advent, from “adventus” in Latin, means “coming” and refers to the four weeks leading up to Christmas. It started as a religious period for both remembrance and anticipation. Now, as the times have changed, so too have Advent calendars changed.

While the calendars still mark the days of the season and countdown to Christmas, they have evolved from having a small piece of inexpensive candy each day to now having full-sized products and gifts.

Today, Advent calendars are sold with makeup, jewelry, toys, foods, spices, alcoholic drinks, and more, with prices ranging from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. [There are also more expensive and branded Advent calendars such as one from Swarovski with jewelry priced at $1,200 and Williams-Sonoma’s calendar of foods and goods is $300.]

One of the more popular calendars this year is from French jam company Bonne Maman with 25 days of differently flavored jams for $45. The calendar has become so popular that this year it opened for ordering in July (last year it opened in August). Since 2017, it has increased production of the calendar by 400%.

What Advent calendar would you like?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the use of Advent calendars in marketing a product or company.
  2. Poll students: What types of Advent calendars have they received or seen?
  3. Google Advent calendars and view an assortment of products.
  4. View Wirecutter’s list of Advent calendars: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/our-favorite-advent-calendars/
  5. Divide students into teams.
  6. Have each team select a product that they believe could be promoted using Advent calendars.
  7. Develop a marketing plan for the calendar. Make sure to start with target market and include product description, price, distribution, and promotion.
  8. Since this is a time-sensitive product, build the timeline for development and promotion, through delivery.
  9. Teams could also prepare a mock-up calendar with artwork and daily gifts.

Source: Hennessy, M. (29 November 2024). How the Bonne Maman Advent calendar became a hot commodity. New York Times; Wirecutter. (24 October 2024). Our 20 favorite Advent calendars of 2024. Wirecutter.

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by | Wednesday, November 6, 2024 · 7:43 am

Can These Glasses Make You Smarter?

It’s often said that wearing glasses make you look smarter. But do glasses actually make you smarter? Well, if they are the Ray-Ban Meta glasses with AI, then yes, they can make you smarter – or at least help you to act smarter.

The glasses were first introduced in 2021 and Meta sold about 300,000 pairs in 18 months. However, less than 10% were still being actively used two years later. Version 2 of the Ray-Ban framed glasses now available has sold more than 700,000 units.

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are full of cool features as well as having the iconic Ray-Ban frames. They incorporate a camera, microphones, and artificial intelligence. Want to video with the glasses? Press a button to start a video for 30-or 60-seconds, or longer to three-minutes. Curious about something you see? Ask the AI for help.

Using Meta AI, you can ask questions while wearing the glasses and get a handy assist. For example, you might ask about a building, animal, or something else in your view. You can also take photos and videos, make calls, play music, and message. Voice commands and voice chatbots are available in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

The glasses can also be outfitted with prescription (and transitional) lenses and are compatible with iPhone and Android. The glasses are priced from $299 to $379, depending on style and lens type.

What do you see?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Would they buy smart glasses?
  2. Discuss the rise – and fall – of smart glasses (e.g., Google Glass, Spectacles by Snap).
  3. Show video of Meta’s glasses: https://youtu.be/scDLJAYrHaE?si=Ll1M9CQkirycQ1MF
  4. Show website for the glasses: https://www.meta.com/smart-glasses/
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team research and compare Meta with competition from Google, Snap, and other companies.
  6. What are the features and advantages of each? Negative aspects?
  7. In teams, have the students develop a profile of the target customer for the glasses.
  8. Next, have the teams determine the elements should be in the marketing campaign.

Source: Bobrowsky, M. (24 September 2024). How Meta’s smart Ray-Ban glasses spawned a Silicon Valley Hit. Wall Street Journal; Calma, J (17 September 2024). Meta extends its Ray-Ban smart glasses deal beyond 2030. The Verge.com.

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by | Saturday, July 20, 2024 · 9:26 pm

Ads on United’s In-Flight Screens Target Individual Flyers

Think that you can escape targeted ads when you are flying? Think again – particularly if you are flying United Airlines. United has begun showing personalized ads on its 100,000+ seat-back screens!

Passengers on United will see still-image ads while swiping through options on their screens. They also will have to watch a 30-second commercial before watching any shows or movies. And, using passenger information, flyers will get personalized ads based on United’s information about them. For example, it might be ads for the cities you live in, cities you are visiting, your age, income level – and even different ads depending on if you are flying coach or first-class.

United is the latest example of a company using customer’s data to sell personalized ads. It joins other companies – such as Walmart, Uber, Instacart, and Home Depot –  that use customer data for targeted advertising. Think about the data these companies have about consumers – address, birth date, credit card, purchases, income levels, and much more.

In United’s case, the airline even created a media network (called Kinective Media) to handle passenger information and sell ads to companies such as Norwegian Cruise, Macy’s, IHG Hotels, and more.

Like many other companies, United allows travelers to opt-out of the ads, but first you have to know it’s going on – and how to opt-out.

Come fly with me…

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the ethics of United’s new advertising plan.
  2. View United’s data privacy policy: https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/customer-data-privacy-policy.html#opting-out
  3. View United’s opt-out page for in-flight ads: https://uniteddigital.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88OQmAbr20oeHn8
  4. Show Kinective Media by United Airlines website: https://kinectivemedia.com/
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a target market that might fly on United.
  6. Next, develop in-flight ads to show to that target market.

Source:  Grothaus, M. (10 June 2024). United Airlines wants to show you personalized seatback ads: Here’s how to opt out. Fast Company; Haggin, P. (7 June 2024) The ads on your United Airlines in-flight screen are getting a lot more specific. Wall Street Journal.

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