Case Study Blog

If we’re being completely honest, the whole reason that I chose to do Mars Incorporated for my presentation is because I’m a big fan of their candy. However, by the end of my research and presentation, I can confidently say that I’m a big fan of their company too. Mars began in 1911 by Frank C. Mars in Tacoma, Washington. At first, he was just selling little things and not making much of a profit, but two years after a reported $6,000 loss he had revenue sales of $700,000. Since then, Mars has continued to see success, and they were recently ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the United States. In 2015, they reported 33 billion in annual sales.


When looking into their marketing, I felt like they did a great job of incorporating their value proposition either literally or figuratively into their campaigns. Their value is that people trust when they buy Mars, they are buying good quality. Not coincidentally, quality is also the first of their ‘five principles’ they live by. In their print ads, they often talk about quality or ingredients, and show pictures of their candy bars in an appealing way. In commercials, they talk about the long lasting quality and longevity of the brand overall, drawing on the nostalgia people feel towards Mars.


My favorite commercial that I saw by Mars brand was their ‘Candyman’ ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bxGl6IxzSs) that debuted in February of this past year. This ad especially draws on the longevity of the brand and the trust people have in Mars incorporated. By showing flashes of M&M in the past, as well as in the present, it shows the evolution of M&M’s, and releases a feeling of nostalgia in people. Additionally, the use of trendier music brings a sense of excitement to the past and releases feelings of comfort and home.


The only thing that I would do differently than their marketing team is that I would emphasize the quality more directly, rather than passive pictures and mentions of ingredients. Overall, I really liked looking more into Mars incorporated and learning about their current and past marketing efforts.

1. Week 5 Marketing Blog

One person who I have noticed doing a good job marketing through social media is Steph Curry's marketing for the Golden State Warriors. He consistently mentions the Warriors and uses hashtags to further the conversation about #DubNation. One example of this can be seen in the image below. Steph uses his personal connection and shows his own excitement to get other people excited.

I think one of the most important things to note about this tweet is that he makes a call to action by encouraging people to tune into the game tonight. We can see that it is working because it has 6K retweets (causing an unknown number of impressions) and over 14,000 likes. This brings the Warriors to the attention of people who might not have otherwise known about the game. 

This tweet is not the only one where Steph Curry has done a good job marketing the Warriors. His Twitter is full of references to the Warriors, along with exciting posts promoting the team and #DubNation in general.

The technique that I noticed Steph Curry using the most was that of Gary Vee.  Both Gary Vee and Steph Curry believe in active engagement. The majority of Steph's tweets are directly engaging his audience and encouraging them to be a true fan. Gary Vee and Steph are also both very relatable. Steph is always posting pictures with his family and assorted friends, and it makes him a very likable guy. By being likable himself, it ultimately makes the Warriors more likable as a whole entity. While I see definite similarities between the two, I think that Steph could do a better job at tweeting back directly to his followers and engaging with them on a more personal level. This would be more in line with Gary Vee and would work to encourage fans on a more intimate level.

Week 2 - Topic 2 - Marketing in the News

For this blog, I chose to focus on the marketing strategy of BuzzFeed, and in particular, their Facebook-based 'Tasty' facet of the brand. This article spoke extensively of the strategies BuzzFeed has utilized in their marketing - and in particular how they have utilized Facebook to market their 'Tasty' platform. While one reason that Tasty has become so successful is because of the content (people love food), it is also because they have tailor-made the Tasty content for Facebook. They have utilized Facebook's auto play feature, that starts playing videos without sound as people scroll by. The quick videos are easy to watch and even easier to get sucked in to watching. This is all part of strategy to publish content directly to social media outlets. Since Facebook favors videos and anything that keeps people on Facebook longer, Buzzfeed uses Facebook in order to maximize the number of people that see their content. Another strategy that Buzzfeed has employed is using native ads, that don't look like traditional advertising, for example, their Geico Native Advertisement. The final tactic discussed in this article was how BuzzFeed uses sub-platforms, like Tasty, to appeal to a specific niche. Rather than follow the traditional tactic of appealing to a broad audience, they hone in on specific people, hoping to create brand loyalty and interest. 

The biggest marketing challenge that I noted inside of how BuzzFeed's Tasty markets themselves was trying to connect with different niches and how to properly use their social media platforms to create the most outreach. By working with Facebook's existing policies, BuzzFeed has optimized Facebook's reach in regard to their tasty videos, ultimately maximizing their views per video. By maximizing views per video, BuzzFeed has then tapped into a niche audience, and created a loyal base. 

I think that I learned a lot in both this article, as well as my research into BuzzFeed/Tasty. It reminded me of what we talked about in class in regards to online marketing. We discussed the importance of marketing to certain types of people, which is very similar to the niche marketing strategy that BuzzFeed employs. 

1. Week 2 - Topic 1 - Social Listening

   The company that I have selected is Vortex Optics. Vortex Optics position themselves a company that provides reliable, quality product in every price range.  One factor that differentiates Vortex Optics from other optic brands is that they provide an unlimited lifetime warranty on all of their products. If I were to buy a Vortex Scope, throw it out a window, and send in my old one, in request of a new one, the company would provide me with a new scope, free of charge and free of questions. 
   
   
   When I looked on different social media platforms, I noticed that the majority of reviews were very good ones. A lot of the positive talk regarding Vortex was in relation to the customer service and warranties that they offer.
   
   
   
   
   
   Another factor that I noticed (particularly on Instagram) was that the brand often engaged with their customers. They put questions in the captions of their Instagram to make customers interact with the brand in general.
   
   
   
   
   
   If I were the brand manager, I would make sure to reply to all of the positive comments in order to bring attention to them on the page and reaffirm our care for the individual customer. 
   
   
   I wasn't able to find any negative comments on Twitter or Instagram, and the only way I could find them was by looking on Facebook at the reviews.  One negative review was as follows:
   
   As the brand manager I would reply immediately to the customer, give them my email address and take the concern off social media, allowing me to interact on a more personal level with the customer. I would do my best to fix any problem they had.
   
   

WEEK 1

Topic 1 - About you

              I enrolled in this course to further educate myself in business and marketing. I like to have options, and hope that taking this class will give me some tools and strategies to help me become more successful in the future.

              I am getting a small business certificate at college and am also in the process of getting my Broker's license. I realize that sometimes plans change, and I may find myself back at OSU majoring in business. 

             What I find challenging, yet most interesting about marketing is the change. You have to be adaptable to the new marketing strategies or else they will surpass you. In this class, I hope to learn how to think outside the box, stay on top of new marketing strategies, and how to build closer relationships with consumers.

              I love spending time in the outdoors. It is where I feel most comfortable. Since I was a young boy, I loved playing sports, fishing and hunting. As the years have passed, the mountains still call my name, especially during hunting season. I consider myself lucky to live near the base of the Blue Mountains where I can find solace when needed. The love of the outdoors is something I hope to instill in my children someday.