In response to Christian Torti's blog

I agree in your belief that he should not sell the rights to the names of the surveyors.  It violates the AMA code of ethics. I agree that the Honesty section is the main section he would violate if he sold.  I think the bigger reason he should not sell is because in the long run it probably isn't worth the bad reputation.  His company has been declining for 2 years and 8,000 will only help for so long.  If he is going to throw his morals out of the window it better be for more money.

To sell or not to sell

In regards to the class question about John Smith I feel like he shouldn't sell the names for $8,000.  I believe he should not sell the car dealer that information.  I think the main reason is because he would probably need more than 8,000 dollars to keep his business afloat.  Even if he sold the rights to the information how much longer would that money keep him out of bankruptcy?  He would still probably end up filing for bankruptcy but it would only be delayed.  Also it would violate the AMA code of ethics.  The one that I see is the worst violation is the honesty one.  The people taking the survey thinks they are taking it for the Ohio Department of Economic Development.  So they don't expect their names out their and being harassed by dealerships.  The people thought it was anonymous and it should remain that way

How marketing has changed through the years

A lot has changed 50+ years in terms of technology.  We have gone from land lines to cell phones. There was  time where one television was seen as a privilege to own and now its odd if you don't have one.  The addition of the Internet has increased our access to information and we are able to talk to people across the world.  That is why it is obvious that marketing has had to change over the years.  Big firms had to adapt or die.
The people of Mad Men would fail in today's world for many reasons.  One major reason is that nowadays people can decide what they want to see.  Back in the 60's there was maybe 3 television channels and the other forms of media was just print and radio.  So consumers had to sit there and listen/watch the advertisements.  In today's media we had hundreds of channels so if we don't want to watch an ad we can easily switch over to something else.  Because marketers in the 60's decided what the consumers saw they fell into the next trap which was no conversation or engagement.  An advertisement back then would tell you what the product was and why you should get it.  They would show in the ad the person they feel is the perfect person for the product and it showed why you should aspire to be them.  Now with social media people have a way to communicate with the creators of the product.  Specially made Facebook and Twitter pages are there for all kinds of people to post their feedback and that is taken and used accordingly.

What other reasons do you think marketing has changed over the years?

In response to Suxanne Koval's post

When it comes to self marketing today it is easy to fall into traps due to social media.  Although it is true there are many pros to social media sites and that they can help you network yourself to people across the world you can find yourself in trouble when you are applying for a job.   You can give a great interview and come off as a perfect employee but if there is even one scathing photo of you or an offensive post on Facebook or Twitter you will be cut from the list of candidates.  So when you want to self market you really need to comb through your personal things to make sure you can properly network yourself.  

Importance of Branding

The positives of branding include both the buyers and the sellers.  For buyers it helps speed consumer purchases and for the sellers it helps introduce new products or promote all same brand products. When it comes to a branding there are many factors that go into it being a successful one.  You need a brand name and logo that can be easily recognizable.  It will have to avoid linguistic traps, easy to remember, suggests a more positive image, and says something to the user.  For the consumer brands are a status symbol that they like to show off.  A shirt with the Lacoste logo is more expensive than the exact same shirt that has the Old Navy logo on it.  This is because people have an idea in their head that the clothes they wear should look higher end.  That is the brilliance of branding.  It molds psychology and science into one.  Products have a life cycle.  There is a time and an end to them, but brands live on.  The original Macintosh computers came and went but the brand is making billions.  That is because even though their laptops are more expensive than Windows but people like the feel it gives them to own one of them.

What do you feel about the effects of branding? Do you feel it can manipulate people into buying more than they should?

Marketing Alcohol

When it comes to alcohol advertising the companies need to be careful about how they advertise on all medias.  During commercials the actors can't be shown drinking alcohol.  In the series of Jagermeister commercials a bunch of blue collar men sit at a round table and hold up a shot and cuts away before they drink it.  Another obvious rule is to not advocate irresponsible drinking and not to look as if the the advertisement is selling its product to minors.  Cartoon promotions are not advocated.  On social media sites like facebook official brand pages can only be viewed by people of legal drinking age. They also have to monitor their sites to block people promoting bad behavior and they have to tell people to drink responsibility.  Advertisers also can't sell a product based on alcohol content.  In the US alcohol advertisements are allowed when 70% of the viewing audience is over 21.  In other countries it is against the law to advertise before a certain time.  Because alcohol can be dangerous and it has killed people they still get more leeway than cigarettes.  Cigarette companies can't advertise on television at all.

Do you think it is right that alcohol is given so many restrictions? Or do they not have enough?

In Response to Joseph Maturo's Post

The New Race In Marketing

When it comes to the new generation of consoles it comes down to the PS4 and Xbox 720.  Both Microsoft and Sony have been very secretive on many of the details of their product.  The design of the consoles are still unknown.  However branding has a lot to do with this console war.  Each system has a loyal fan base for the current systems that came out in 2005-2006.  They will stay faithful so it comes down to the neutral parties that are waiting for more details to decide what they want.  I personally prefer the Xbox 360.  I've had it since 2005 and its worked out alright.  Having Netflix and HBO GO on Xbox Live makes it more than just a video game system, its a home entertainment system.  And that is really the goal for both Microsoft and Sony.