EOC Week 9: Network

Thinking about the movie in reference to market research brings up a lot of things. The main female character in the movies life revolved around getting her department not just great ratings but the best ratings possible and also boosting her television network to number one, above all others. Ratings were a way to gather market research in order to see what shows are doing the best, to raise prices on the advertisement spots during them and make a profit from them. Another way I just thought of that they did market research was when they stuck their heads out of the window when they first starting putting Howard on TV. after he went crazy; they tried to see what reaction he got. They also called into cities across the nation that was showing the show trying to see if they were getting a reaction. Towards the end of the movie when they are planning on how to murder Howard, the female character talks about how their strongest viewer was the young adult ranging from 18-25. In this same scene there is a lot of market research talk, she talks about how if they cancel the Beale show they’d be able to stay afloat because some of the other shows have already captured their own audience. She talks about how their main audience would be adults in their late twenties and possibly even into the thirties. One of the biggest ways she does market research is when in the beginning of the movie she is trying to put that tape of the gang robbing the bank in Phoenix. She states that people don’t want the same mediocrity; they want someone who tells the truth. When she finds Beale this is when she says people will be able to relate to him because all everyone wants to say is “it’s all bullshit.” This is when, in my opinion, the plot takes a turn and what she really wants that I stated before starts to unfold. The network starts to rise to the top, thanks to her directing the show.

EOC Week 7: Trader Joe's

Market Research Questionnaire:

Hypothesis: If Trader Joe's were to create an organic baby food, sales would increase dramatically due to the consumer market they have established.

1. Do you have children?
2. Would you shop at Trader Joe's for baby food?
3. Where do you currently shop for your baby food? Wal-mart? Target? Dollar store?
4. Do you feed your baby organic food currently?
5. How often do you shop for baby food? Less than once a week? More than once a week?

EOC Week 5: Polls

My first poll is a pretty good Marketing question. It reads “What fashion editorials are you most likely to pick up?” If I’m working in the Marketing Dept. of a company I’m going to need to know what my consumer is reading. If I can’t focus on all of them then I would want to know which publication I should go after the hardest so we can get placement, editorial reviews, and advertisements. I listed the top four fashion publications in the world, Vogue, Elle, Nylon, and Harper’s Bazaar. These four magazines all cover fashion but each of them cover the topic in a very different and unique way, some have more typeface than others, some have more photographic spreads then others, some have more ads then others, covering these magazines are crucial. The second question was a very simple question, yet one that people have debated about for decades. Which fashion culture is most influential? I listed out the four most dominant and prevalent fashion cultures and styles of the world, Parisian, Italian, British, and American. The only ones I didn’t list were the Japanese, this is because I feel like the Japanese fashion is so new and they barely broke out internationally as a fashion capital of the world. I don’t know how the outcome will end up, I’m betting on either American or Parisian fashion. American style and fashion is very similar to Parisian in two very interesting ways. Both have two sides, one side is a very classic iconic style, one that embodies what that culture is and what it forever will be. The other side is a very cutting edge, modern, contemporary, edgy take on what is going on in the streets of the cities of the countries. This is a question that have lingered in my mind for a while, I’m eager to find out the outcome.

EOC Week 4: Market Research Concepts in the movie Big

The movie Big demonstrated several market research strategies. One of the first strategies being the focus group, while two of the characters were talking about George, the main character, they were standing in front of what I believe to be a one way mirror. On the other side of the mirror were a large group of kids playing with toys. This is a classic way to test out a product or service on a random group of people in order to see what their response is. Another market research strategy was when the President of the company stumbled on George in FAO Schwartz. The President of the company was conducting research in the store; he said that he came to the retail store every Saturday to watch the kids and their reaction to the toys. The more he watched and listened to George, I believe he believed that George was doing some serious market research by tapping into the mind of a child and thinking, playing, and even acting like a child. The very next day George was promoted to Vice President of Product Development. The movie continues to show a group of people in a meeting that I’m going to assume were the board of executives of the company. One of the characters in the movie was doing a presenting on a new toy that the company was about to introduce, a building that turns into a robot. As he was doing his presentation, George was doing his job in other words he was playing with the toy and testing it.

EOC Week 4: Beautifulstranger.tv

The website beautifulstranger.tv is a website dedicated solely to style, not so much fashion. The website does multiple things including: video profiling, picture profiling, current trends, celebrity interviews, and blogging. The part I find the most interesting is when they profile the “beautiful stranger.” They track down people who have an interesting and unique style; they take pictures of them and ask them questions about their own personal style. I particularly like that they ask the person where they’re from and what their occupation is. The person that is being profiled and also the site then becomes a little bit more personal because it’s the everyday person. Another interesting thing about the website is that they interview people that have a career in the industry and a lot of the careers seem to have something to do with marketing. Beautifulstranger.tv asks the interviewee questions about their personal life and also questions about working in the industry. Overall, the thing I like about the website the most is what I stated in the beginning, the fact that it’s about style and not fashion. Even though the website goes into current trends, the only reason a trend is mentioned is because it is found in someone’s personal style. The difference between fashion and style is a big one. Fashion is the now of the industry; it is what comes out in each new collection of the designer. People that concentrate solely on fashion will stay up with designer collections and if they have the money to do so, purchase pieces from new collection and throw out pieces from old seasons. Style has more to do with the person himself and the image that fits that person. The website does a good job and differentiating the two.

EOC Week 3: 9 to 5

I’ve never personally seen 9 to 5, but learning about what the film was about was kind of surprising to me. For the 1980’s the topic of killing your boss seems kind of risky. But, as soon as I heard Jane Fonda’s name involved with the film it all made sense. I’ve always known Jane Fonda as a very well renowned actress and not just that but also as a researcher. The film 9 to 5 was a result of marketing research that was done by Jane Fonda. Not that long ago, about 20 years ago when the film was made an American office looked and felt very different from what it does now. One of the big ethical issues that the movie is based on is how women were treated in these offices. None of the people that actually wrote, directed, produced, or even acted in the film had ever worked in an office. One of the writers said that she had to go into one of the Fox insurance offices and spend a day in it in order to understand what an office really felt like. One other way Jane Fonda and her comrades did research in order to make the movie believable, was doing interviews with women that worked as actual secretaries or what today is known as a focus group. They asked the women if they were in a fantasy world, what they would do to their boss. Several responses were reviewed but there was one that stuck out to the producers the most, the subject of killing your boss. Another ethical issue that is brought up in the movie is when the three women smoke marijuana. No matter whom you are and what your stance is on marijuana, there is no doubt that it’s an ethical issue.

EOC Week 2: Research a Market Research Survey

I researched a survey that was done about which regions across the world are considered the biggest “shopaholics” or recreational shoppers. Surprisingly the United States didn’t come out with the highest percentage like most people would have thought, instead the Asian Pacific region came out with an astonishing high percentage with Indonesia and Hong Kong in the forefront. “The Asia-Pacific region has a huge number of recreational shoppers, with 84 percent shopping for entertainment. Markets in Asia-Pacific also make up nine out of the top ten markets for recreational shopping, with Hong Kong and Indonesia leading the way with 93 percent of their consumers admitting to shopping just for fun.”
Some of the reason they are saying is because these regions are starting to see a middle class emerge and new opportunities for spending in markets that they have never seen before. Another reason is because of the recent crisis in the American economy, the public are weary on where and how they are going to spend their money. When Americans go shopping for groceries it is seen as a necessary chore. If they are going to buy something other than groceries than they want to see value in it and unfortunately unless you pay a large amount of money for something it tends to not have that much value. Markets in Asia, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and some of Europe see shopping as something fun to do in their free time, even for groceries. The challenge for U.S. retailers is going to be making shopping for their brand an event or an experience and not a chore. If they aren’t able to do this then they are going to have to look elsewhere such as in the above markets in order to be successful.

• http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1279&Itemid=77

EOC Week 1

Market research is basically indefinable as the book will tell it. With that being said, I have no expectations from this class other than to learn at the end of the quarter what exactly it is. I want to be able to identify target markets for not just fashion but I want to be able to look at any company and by researching just a little, tell who their target audience is and if they are in fact taking the right steps in reaching that audience. I want to learn what different avenues I can take in order to figure out what market to go after, where that market is, and how do I as the marketer reach them. What are the tools that a marketer can use in order to collect whatever data it is that they want to. Also, I want to be able to look at a company that has failed and analyze their marketing strategies, figuring out what they did wrong or what they didn’t do that could have helped them to be more successful.

Voice

As a Fashion Merchandiser & Stylist I pride myself on being unique among many others in the industry. With a strong knowledge and knack for business teamed with a keen sense of enduring style I believe I can make myself an asset to any company I work with. I am continuing to further and hone my skills in fashion by pursuing a degree in Fashion Merchandising & Management in Las Vegas. In the field of Styling, I work with clientele in order to educate them on the important and crucial difference between fashion and style, which is something a lot of people overlook or don’t have any idea about. I plan on traveling and establishing myself in major fashion cities in the country such as Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. I have worked with companies such as Louis Vuitton, Pixi by Petra Beauty, and French Connection as a merchandiser in order to boost sales. I have been working with a model styling her on basic amateur fashion shoots in order to show my skill in styling and to build a portfolio. My ultimate goal is to establish and grow my own styling & merchandising company, working from editorial spreads to celebrities and luxury retailers to trendy boutiques.