In Response to Jonathan Tomachick

Do you find yourself doing the same when you shop? Have you ever had to cut another shopping trip short because of splurging for sale items the week prior?

I definitely find myself doing this when I'm shopping, especially at the grocery store. There are so many deals like the 2/ $5 specials at Market Basket. Even though I don't need twice the amount of food that I'm purchasing at the time, I feel like I need to buy it because of the sale. These specials trick consumers into buying more when they really don't need it.
Another store that does this is Victorias Secret. When I'm shopping online, there are constantly in-site pop ups that offer deals like "Spend over $50 and get a free beach bag!" and other promotions like this. Even though I'm aware of what's going on, I'll consider spending that extra few dollars in order to get the deal.

Do you know any other stores that use the same promotion technique as Victorias Secret does?

In Response to Dan Driscoll

Will our postal services increase productivity and success when and if we peak out of this recession, or is this the beginning of the end of the Postal Service?

Personally, I would love to have Postal Service stay running on Saturdays. Saturday postal service allows that one extra day to get something delivered that you've been waiting for, instead of having to wait for the entire weekend. The internet has rapidly grown within the past 5 years, allowing consumers to purchase different products online instead of physically going to the store. If the postal service were to completely desist, how would online shoppers get their products? 
Although Saturday postal service would be ideal to keep around to many online shoppers, it does make sense to save that $2 billion annually if they stop. I think that we need to keep people working as much as possible through this recession, and Saturday shifts for delivery workers should stay existent.

Do you think that Saturday postal service is beneficial or not?

Apple's Brand Image

As we all know, Apple is an extremely successful company that has taken over the technology market. If you look around in a classroom, the majority of students own a MacBook, even though they're priced at over $1,000 each. Apple has done an outstanding job creating their brand image- sleek, simple, and user friendly. They've taken off with the idea that simplicity is what sells, and their sales have sky rocketed. Every Apple store is sleek, white and simple, allowing all of the attention to fall onto their products.
Because Apple has been so successful within the past 5-10 years, other companies have begun to jump on the band wagon and create the same image as Apple has. For example, Windows has completely updated their look, creating a freakishly close resemblance to Apple's. Simplicity has benefitted Apple tremendously in both advertising and with their products in general.
Do you think that a simple look could work for any company, or can it only work for a select few?

Here's an example of the new Window's store compared to Apple's.

Banner Ads on Google

Today I read an article about Google and the use of banner advertisements that come up on the side of the website. There are two different views on how useful these advertisements are, and if they're really beneficial or not. Some statistics say that banner ads have less than a .01% click through rate, even though some companies pay thousands of dollars for their ad. Another statistic states that the average internet user is bombarded with 1,700 banner ads per month. This made me look back and try to remember any specific ads that I've seen on the side of Google. Every time I use Google for something, I will never click on the banner ads on the side, mainly because they don't apply to me, and because I don't know how reliable they are.
I know that many people are told not to click on any side banners or pop up ads because they're fake, sometimes containing viruses and bugs for your computer. I think banner ads are a complete waste of money for most companies that use them, and they should definitely find another way to advertise their product or service.

Click here to learn more stats about banner ads:
http://blog.hubspot.com/horrifying-display-advertising-stats

In Response to Melissa Moriwaki

How do you think this will effect doughnut customers? Will they still think of Dunkin Donuts when looking to find a doughnut if DD's isn't marketing towards doughnut eaters anymore? How will this effect Dunkin Donuts?

If Dunkin Donuts strays away from marketing and producing doughnuts in the future, I don't think it will dramatically effect the company's success. Personally, I don't know many people who go to DD to specifically purchase doughnuts anymore, although it might just be because of my age. I think that society is strongly encouraging everyone to eat healthier, along with providing children with healthier options as well. Even though DD's breakfast sandwiches aren't the healthiest choice, they aren't full of sugar like doughnuts are. The majority of DD customers are loyal ones who count on the fast food chain to provide them with their morning coffee on their way to work every day.
I think that customers will definitely still think of Dunkin Donuts when they're looking to find a doughnut, even if DD isn't marketing towards them anymore. The chain's name includes the word doughnut, and even in 20 years from now when doughnuts aren't a popular food product anymore, I think people will still assume that they can purchase doughnuts here.

Does anyone think that this will negatively effect the Dunkin Donuts chain? If so, how?

In Response to Brook Callaway

Do you think that K Mart has a clever way of keeping viewers interested in what they are trying to sell?

Personally, I think K Mart is extremely clever in advertising their products this way. The "Ship My Pants" ad campaign catches viewers attention, because clearly most of us are assuming that the people in the commercials are saying something else. Generally, I believe that K Mart has had a downfall in both popularity and customer sales, so this attention is exactly what the company needs. I haven't heard anything about K Mart for the longest time until my roommate showed me this commercial the other day. They're using humor in order to advertise the company, and specific products in general. Although in some cases humor isn't the appropriate path to take in order to promote a business, K Mart successfully pulled it off.

Has anyone seen any other commercials that have used a clever strategy to grab the viewers attention/ did it grab yours? What was it, and why did it do so?

Alex and Ani Bracelets

Recently, there has been a high demand in the New England area for the new Alex and Ani bracelets, a jewelry line that used recycled gold and silver to produce charm bracelets. Since we've been discussing profit in class, I wanted to look further into the Alex and Ani company and it's profits over the past year.
On average, the popular charm bracelet costs $28, although there is a decent size selection of jewelry that can cost up to $58. Within the past year, and Alex and Ani store has started a new location near my hometown in Portsmouth, NH where I have purchased all of my bracelets. It has come to my attention that the gold is easily rusted off whenever they get wet, even in the slightest bit. I finally discussed this with one of my friends the other day, and she told me that her mom works at Alex and Ani, and that each bracelet that runs for $28 each, costs only $3 or less to make. The gold is painted onto each bracelet, and that's why they tend to rust so quickly.
Although this information is becoming more publicly known, the company still has a loyal group of customers that will continue to purchase Alex and Ani products, regardless of the over pricing.