Everywhere--Conclusion to the first two chapters

This last summer, a TV commercial caught my attention. It features Michelle Branch and her hit song "Everywhere," for purposes of a Chase bank commercial. In a lot of ways, I think this sums up the first two chapters quite nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4JWDbF0jV0

In terms of the marketing orientation "era's" from Chapter 1, this in my mind falls under the new era (era of mental manipulation). I'm inclined to lean more this way than to consumer era based on the take home message of Chase being "everywhere" in an era when many banks have gone out of business due to tight credit, poor lending standards, and a myriad of other related issues that led to our recent meltdown. It would seem that Chase is trying to befriend cautious consumers who want a bank that won't be in the news tomorrow for "running out of cash."

Chapter 2 allows us to go further into this discussion. We can look at the internal and external environment in which Chase is operating. There are certainly many factors beyond Chase's control as a single banking entity, including risk trading mechanisms, such as credit default swaps that became quite popular yet became misused, leading to the fall of some prominent corporations. The way the industry dealt with risk and like issues led to devastating impacts on the entire economy. Hence, Chase is operating now in a time of recession and may be seeking to be a reassurance to consumers. Furthermore, Chase's own particular internal environment--the way they do business--is alluded to in this commercial. In stating they are "everywhere" for their customers; the services and expertise they are presumed to hold, along with the intellectual capital and individuals inside the banking organization, may allow positive light to be reflected upon them in a time when the banking industry as a whole has come under fire for their massive bailout. In a time when this industry has come under intense critique, Chase seeks to side with the public and befriend those in need of an institution that is "there for them."

It's all in the fine print

I recently saw a flashy blue poster on an entrance to the CUB stating: Park Free After 5. I thought, interesting idea to promote the businesses located within the building. After all, most people are long off campus by 5, and hence the parking lots are far from reaching capacity. This might reach a particular market segment, such as those like myself who have a car but do not wish to invest in a parking permit. I make use of the handy and cheaper transit service that I already subsidize as a student. Thus, I think that they would be targeting students who do not wish to spend money on parking for the luxury of parking on campus. However, after seeing this advertised in my WSU student account (where the "fine print" was listed,) my perception of this ad campaign changed:

CUB Parking Validation | Park Free After 5: Now you can enjoy free parking when you shop or dine at the CUB after 5 p.m. Make a retail purchase of $8 or more and get free parking in the CUE garage with parking validation.

http://after5.wsu.edu/

I was surprised to find that free parking only applies with the purchase of $8 or more. Considering that many of the parking lots on campus don't require a permit after 5, I will make use of those lots that don't require an out of pocket expense. I find that it is handy to drive to campus after 5 to work in my fine arts studio; however, I feel that success of this "Park Free After 5" campaign will meet with limited success.

Perhaps this will induce those using the Valet service to park for "free" after dining at Dupus Boomers, but I can't see much value in this marketing strategy beyond those who would be driving to campus anyway. In that regard, I don't see how they would really be reaching a new market; it seems more like product or service development as would be the case in this scenario. That is, they seem to really be targeting the same individuals by offering another service option, that of a parking discount.

When I mention discount, the market penetration concept comes to mind. Maybe those who have used the parking garage in the past will be induced to shop more often in the CUB; thus a few possibilities exist. Again, I see the scope of this as rather limited though.

Ads in the Mail

Over the last several months and in fact since moving in to my new apartment, I've been impressed by the various advertisements that always seem to fill the mailbox. The interesting thing to me is that I keep receiving the same fliers over and over again. My roommate and I have derived some entertainment from this, as we don't plan on making use of many of these resources. We continue to receive ads for TV hookup from Directv and Dish, two dominating names in the satellite service they provide. They each seem to be competing for customers and hope to reach potential clients through this reinforcement through a frequent use of fliers advertising their low rates and sign-on bonuses. While this may all be expected, it is somewhat interesting to us how we ended up on JC Penney's mailing list.

Granted, we enjoy looking at the catalogs but realize we don't have the disposable income to make such purchases. We've concluded that the previous tenant must have favored the department store and thus received such promotions. This is JC Penney's way of building value through customers and accessing which customers continue to give them business and those which gradually fade-off. I'm sure that one day they will cease sending these catalogs if we fail to give them business (and "be fired" as the textbook calls it) but until that time, we'll enjoy looking through Penney's offerings and imagine what we could buy.

This reminds me of when I was growing up, I received a Lionel Electric Train catalog of latest offerings through a local model train shop which my family had given business. For a number of years, we would pre-order Lionel items (which was great in my mind, lots of cool new model train stuff!) and buy Lionel items at the store. However, the rate at which we were putting money into this hobby was not sustainable and I grew up realizing that I had to save my money and not spend it all. To my dismay, after a while I no longer received that Lionel catalog in the mail with all the latest and greatest model train items. I suppose that saved me some money in the long run even though the train shop decided I was a customer no longer giving them the sales they needed.

Greetings!

On this site I will be posting various market-related issues and topics over the next few months. I hope to accomplish a wide range of ideas and viewpoints, both those I come across in everyday living and those of particular interest to me given my career path. My educational focus is in both Economics and Fine Art; I hope to present a diverse perspective given my unique pursuits in both fields.