Posts Tagged ‘Strategy / Tactics
There is a formula to pricing… but
Fortune recently published an article about pricing increases. They even got a nice little diagram on what products can survive a price increase in this economy.
Well, they make a very good case, a solid case even. However, one thing they did not account for was the ability for company, or people rather, to lie to themselves.
The article asserts that only something that’s a necessity and unique can raise prices. Well, I can think of more than a few products that would say that they are unique, even though they really are not. There are more than a few products that would think that people can’t live without them, but really, people can…
President as a Marketer
President Obama and his team are proving to be great marketers yet again. And it’s probably a good thing, considering the current environment.
Obama’s latest marketing campaign is recovery.gov. In itself, the website is similar to any other corporate website: A mean of communication. A mean to show where you could find their products, in this case results of the government’s stimulus plan.
But, this administration took this one step further and well into the realm of branding. The stimulus package has its own logo, and it may appear on a school bus near you (if that school bus benefited from the stimulus package).
This is smart in that it makes the intangible tangible.
However, would this logo be a reminder of progress or a reminder of tough times?
This is the test of the President’s marketing abilities. The logo and the website are only elements of a full-blown campaign. If executed correctly, it would be powerful. If the plan lacks legs, making the intangible tangible may backfire.
Would this forty days only be the beginning?
Tonight, I came across two headlines:
- Giving up Facebook for Lent
- When Consumers Cut Back: An Object Lesson From Japan
Now, I’m not Catholic and I’m not Japanese. So, I never put these two events together till they appeared together on my iGoogle homepage. And it made me wonder what would the final result of a dangerous combination of Lent and a bad economy. It would be an easy enough sacrifice to give up certain luxury goods. Perhaps, in the spirit of frugality, one may give up more than one luxury.
So, after forty days without such goods, would they miss it? Would they go rushing to purchase them again after Lent? Or, would such consumption just disappear till the economy turns once again?
In prior years, Lent could hardly register, because it is only forty days. But, would this year be different? Would this forty days only be the beginning?
The scary implication is that there is little a marketer can do. You could try to communicate value to combat a bad economy. But what message do you craft to combat self-sacrifice?
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeannie lives in NYC. 
