30 January 2008: Saving Money By Not Buying Sbarro

I currently am cutting out any unnecessary expenses to fund my spring break trip to Prague. As a result, when I met a friend for coffee over the dinner hour at Sbarro, I declined joining her for dinner. I would keep her company while she ate. However, while I sat there, I realized that there was another reason why I didn't want to eat at Sbarro. I didn't want to eat at Sbarro because I was prejudice against it.

My first experience with Sbarro was here at Notre Dame when it was first introduced in LaFortune basement. I remember also remember that my first group meeting at Notre Dame was held in LaFortune basement. It was cold, damp, and dark. The cold and dampness creates an unwelcome environment for me. Yet, here I was today, downstairs in the basement by Sbarro. I realized that one reason why I did not want to eat Sbarro was because I transferred my dislike for LaFortune basement to Sbarro based upon its location only and not because of trial.

Secondly, my first experience with pizza by the slice was at the mall. Food courts give me the exact same feeling as the basement of LaFortune. As a teen, my parents would give me $5 for dinner on band trips. My parents often did not take me to various places to eat, so I often was so overwhelmed by the selection at the mall food court that I opted for the status quo (McDonalds). Furthermore, I never could afford anything at the other slots. As such, today I transfered that feeling of being overwhelmed and awkwardness to Sbarro (and to all other pizza by the slice places). Regardless of how delicious my friend's spaghetti and salad looked, it still did not inspire me to go to Sbarro. Regardless of the low prices ($2.99 for a personal pizza), it still did not inspire me to go to Sbarro, although it now started to counteract my internal value metric towards pizza by the slice. Sbarro has a lot to overcome to inspire me to patronize it. However, if it moved out of the basement and had a place to sit down inside its area, I might be inclined to buy. For me, saving money did mean not buying Sbarro, but even if I had money, I wouldn't have bought food from there anyway.

Sbarro managers may take my dislike for Sbarro and transform its marketing towards the teenage mall subculture. To appeal to teens that are similar to my teenage self, Sbarro should make Sbarro more approachable. Eliminate the awkwardness of Sbarro and capitalize upon teenage angst. You might be overwhelmed at the food court, but at Sbarro, we are so friendly that we will select a piece of pizza for you if you freeze. That approach creates a completely different mall experience that may have appealed to me. Furthermore, at LaFortune, I would move Sbarro upstairs or next to Reckers to minimize the 'grungy' environmental impacts on Sbarro sales. Few people want to eat grungy pizza.

29 January 2008: Nude Situps and Gillette Shower Gel

Upon discussing various ethical issues today, I was reminded of a very specific commercial I had seen in the spring of 2005 when I was living in Dublin, Ireland. My American association of sex with violence was so surprised by the content of this ad that my recall level was exceptionally high. The ad: Gillette Sanex for Men Shower. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWmEXDNuJhA&feature=related. This ad blatantly uses sex to sell both to men and to women. The concept: a naked man is doing his situps on the floor and a female voice over asks "do you keep your skin in top condition?" One sees the entire length of this man's body and eventually, his entire backside, while he is taking a shower. The one shot to his face shows his relaxation and fierce attraction in his eyes. The female voice over then introduces the new Sanex For Men Shaving Range. Then, the final clip, depending on the ad you see, is a woman kissing either his check or his 8-pack abs.

Is this ad ethical? Is it alright for an ad to use nudity to sell this product. The deontological argument suggests that corporations have a duty to respect an individual and not use them as a means to an end. In America, the cultural norm is that it is okay to use sexuality to sell a product but not full nudity. However, in Britain, sex does not have the same cultural meaning as it does in the U.S. Does the deontological ethics still hold? The Utilitarian view would suggest that the benefits from this ad outweighs the harm done (if any). Secondary stakeholders could be impacted by the perfect body image that this portrays. It also may negatively impact primary stakeholders who purchase this product specifically to gain sex. It is exactly these questions that made me recall this ad so vividly.

I do not remember the first time I was exposed to Gillette razors. My father always used Bic razors, so it may have been when I started to shave myself. Shaving my legs meant that I was an official teenager. It was like a coming of age. This ad did play upon the 'coming of age' concept. However, it did so in a way that was not according to my normal code. That is why I remembered it. I remember the first time I saw this ad and I remember later telling people about the 'porn' ad I had seen. While this ad has not impacted the way I view Gillette as a company, it has impacted the way I view Sanex for Men. Sanex for Men = the porn ad. A company should be careful as to how it uses it ads because it may break through the clutter and not result in the desired goal.

28 January 2008: Sickly Eye & DanActive

On my last trip to Martin's, I walked down the dairy aisle and decided that I wanted to purchase something for a healthy snack. I wanted yoghurt. My strongest and earliest memory of supplementing yoghurt for a snack occurred when I lived in Ireland. Not only did my ex recommend that I take it with me for a snack but that purchase was also compounded by an advertising campaign that promoted yoghurt as having good bacteria. Good bacteria plus the healthy snack concept makes the concept for yoghurt exponentially more healthy to me. To flash back to the present, I am in the yoghurt section scanning the shelves for the yoghurt I want to take home. Normally, I purchase Danone Fruit Blends (for reasons to be explained in a different entry), but today, Dannon DanActive caught my eye.

The primary theme this product uses is a psychological one. The name DanActive plays upon the psychological relationship between activity and health. Furthermore, the small 3.3 oz bottle also uses a historical one as well: looking like a combination of an old fashioned milk bottle and a dram, often used by ancient pharmacist. The light yellow color is also associated with warmth and energy - two items that are critical for a healthy snack. Finally, its theme is also represented by the concept: "l.casei immunitas.' While this is Dannon's proprietary culture strain, the scientific names further the psychological relationship between science and health. Combined with the phrase 'helps strengthen your body's defenses,' it is no wonder that as I walk to the grocery store in the snow, I might be considering improving my body's defenses.

That makes winter an excellent time for Dannon to launch this product. It should continue to illustrate the health benefits through active people. It should then integrate this product into the work place or in to school. The body needs defense in a variety of places. Furthermore, the scientific name connotes intellect. A marketer could easily shift the healthy benefits from body to mind using this approach. As a student, I know I need all of my strength to succeed (both mental and physical) and might consume more DanActive to strengthen the mind.

27 January 2008: A Distinctive Taste in Tea

In an effort to save money, I have been drinking 2 cups of coffee in the morning and then packing a tea bag for the afternoon. Today, I needed to purchase tea. In fact, tea selection was the hardest decision I made. Tea stocks 5 full shelves. I immediately went to the tea at eye level: Bigelow. Then I found the more traditional teas, such as English Breakfast and English Tea Time. However, ultimately, I selected Vanilla Caramel Tea. Both price and caffeine count matched that of traditional teas. What was it about this particular tea that made me both debate and ultimately purchase the Vanilla Caramel?

My first experience with tea is one of illness. I remember not feeling well as a little girl and having my mom make me chamomile tea. It was okay, but I remember it not being nearly as sweet as I would have preferred. It tasted more of hot water. My adult experience with tea was in Ireland. The Irish are very serious about their tea and often say that Americans make Shamrock tea: tea with only 3 leaves in it. That is when I started drinking more of the traditional teas. However, I still missed the sweetness. Today, when look at the box it read: A distinctive taste in Tea with a rich and robust vanilla caramel flavor. The keywords distinctive, rich, and robust played to my desire to drink 'real' Irish tea. Then, the picture of the steaming cup of tea reminded me of how tea made me feel better as a child. Then, the warm yellow packaging with the 'steam like' ripples played to my association of yellow with protection from lethargy and depression under cold weather. The top then says 'milk and sweetener round out the delicious flavor,' which made me feel that this tea was going to have what other teas do not - sweetness with Irish 'realism.'

26 January 2008: The Sub(culture) of Subway

In LaFortune student center, the longest queue is that for Subway. In fact, today the line is at least 30 people long. How does Subway draw people to it when other easy and faster option exist?

My first memory of Subway is the Jared weight loss advertising campaign. The ad shows Jared and his old pair of pants. He tells a Subway Story. He walked to Subway and ate Subway every day for an extended period of time and then lost a lot of weight. Now, he is the Subway spokesperson. While my exposure to Subway may be limited, this advertising campaign may too have been other people's first memory of Subway. When people think of Subway, they think of health. According to the book, The Culture Code, the Code for health is movement. Jared walking to Subway was right on code. Next, Subway created a weight loss story indicated by a significantly higher sized, but disposed of, pair of pants. Americans do not necessarily worry about their weight, but rather, what size clothing they wear and how it looks on them. Then they want to dispose of the pants, and in doing so, dispose of their previous weight. Finally, there is Jared. Jared is not a celebrity. He can be you or me. Subway is not only for those concerned with health. It is for anybody. This 'real' concept opens the doors for many people into the Subway life.

Does this explain why Notre Dame students are queuing for minutes for Subway? The brand name mixes white with yellow with curving arrows on either side. A subway is an underground mode of transportation. The logos inverted arrows play upon this noun association. The arrows indicate both directions and the concept of fast transportation. The white in 'sub' then transforms into 'way,' potentially the way the food and yourself transform upon consumption. The sandwich creation process enables consumers to select their own journey of sandwich. Then, wrapped in a white labeled sandwich bag, they walk away. Subway sandwich = transportation. Movement and transportation = health. Furthermore, students are in a perpetual state of transportation in life. That is why they might be so connected to Subway and willing to wait in those long lines. The line is worth the transportation that awaits.

25 January 2008: Taming of the Shrew

My friend Marco recently asked me if I wanted to see the production of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew on Notre Dame campus. An avid advocate of the arts and a seeker of non-traditional Friday night experiences, I agreed. What drew me to that particular play?

First, there is the association of theatre itself. Often, a child's first impression of theatre is one of special adulthood. My first memory of theatre is attending a play at Central College in Pella, Iowa on a school outing. Theatre was a special break from the day. One had to be on their best behavior. One often was surrounded by adults. Children often want to emulate adults and the theatre served as a way to feel 'grown up." As an adult and somebody who has worked in theatre, theatre is a status symbol. It represents wealth (monetary, cultural, intellectual).

Second, The Taming of the Shrew is a product of William Shakespeare. Shakepeare is dispersed through cultural history as the world's greatest writer. As a result, people associate William Shakespeare with quality and culture. We also associate William Shakespeare with England. That is why the third element, "Actors from the London Stage," connected with many people. Americans infuse a mystical value upon that which is foreign. Curiosity and draw is created when that value is a positive one, as it is with England. The combination of all three aspects enables one to feel special when one attends this play. They can see something foreign quality that most people cannot. They feel the sense of adult accomplishment.

Finally, the poster itself accent these feelings of classic history using black and whites pictures of the English actors, which are traditionally associated with the past and Williams Shakespeare. The three performances then created the sense of urgency that culminated in my agreeing to see this play.

24 January 2008: A Pandora Experience

Every Thursday night I sit on top of the library cart at the law library, open an Internet Explorer window and go to Pandora.com, and start to work on my independent consulting project for ESGI Software. Pandora.com is a free customized streamline radio. Upon entry to the site, a query box pops up, requesting the name of your favorite song or band. It then processes this song based upon the Genome Project, which has micro-sliced each song according to a number of categories. These categories may include basic rock structure, folk influences, acoustic rhythm piano, extensive vamping, and electronic instruments. It then creates a play list of songs with these same categories. At any time you can teach Pandora.com, telling it to never play songs like the one you are hearing again or to play more songs like it.

I was introduced to Pandora.com within my first week of work at Google. As a former music major who had studied DRM and digital music, I found the concept fascinating. It was often when I was working late or or an intensive project that I found myself turning to Pandora.com. Often, this music serves as a bit of background music (as it is right now, as I write this journal). It is also almost always on while I am at work. Then how does Pandora.com attract listeners to it using more than just its SCA?

Pandora evokes mythological images of the first woman, bestowed upon humankind as a punishment for Prometheus's theft of fire. Entrusted with a box containing all the ills that could plague people, she opened it out of curiosity and thereby released all the evils of human life. Generally, people do not consider the evil. Rather, they recall the curiosity. When one hears Pandora an element of their mindset is that of curiosity. This is one of the elements that may bring people to Pandora.com. The actual website uses a metallic light blue on white background. Light blue often evokes feelings of health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness. White creates simplicity. The site simply calms curiosity. Once there, it is very easy to continue remain on that website.

As Pandora.com grows and increases budget, future ad campaigns should capture this curiosity. Current campaigns focus on the functionality rather than the recreational aspects of online radio. A focus on the name with a color that creates discomfort will cause people to seek resolution, which will be received upon arrival to the website. Pandora.com has great potential to be a fetish site and it has the potential to launch towards this status.

23 January 2008: Hershey Dark Chocolate Oxidants

Today, I went into the Dean's office to get my chocolate, as I always do. As I rummaged through the bowl, I knew exactly what I was looking for. I was looking for Hershey's Dark Chocolate. How can one tell it is Dark Chocolate just by site? Hershey's Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate has a different wrapper. Its dark brown wrapper not only represents the dark chocolate it contains, but dark brown symbolizes wood or earth. Underneath the signature Hershey's logo, is a dark red label with "Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate" written in gold letters. Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath. This dark brown with red label is mirrored by gold, invoking a concept of wealth or richness. Combined, these colors represent why I wanted that dark chocolate.

My first memory of dark chocolate was one of bitterness. It was not sweet. It was too rich. I couldn't eat a full bar. As a child, it is privilege to get a whole bar of chocolate and I was not going to show my parents that I couldn't eat it. However, as I grew up, dark chocolate became an indulgence. It was good for you. It was filled with antioxidants. I felt better about eating it and I valued eating it. The logo plays on the earthiness of antioxidants for the health conscience, the red symbolizes that vigor and longing I have for the bar, and finally, the gold helps me savor the richness of the bar. Even the texture enables one to cherish the Hershey's Dark Chocolate Bar.

As a manager, one should appeal to the American desire to be healthy. Emphasize how Hershey's Dark Chocolate indicates self improvement. Furthermore, position the product towards a reward for achievement. Dark chocolate is a prize for a job well done. The richness of the chocolate elongates the consumption process. The elongation makes people feel that it is a superior reward to others and something to strive to obtain. That is how a marketing manager would better appeal to me.

22 January 2008: Wakeup Call to Spartan Brand Cornflakes

During times of low income, Cornflakes have always been there. When I go to the Supermarket, whether it be Tesco or Martins, I do not even browse through the other cereals. I know that Cornflakes, Generic or Kellogg's, will be the lowest price and last the longest. Why do I go for them? Is it because they are cheap? Is it because I like the taste? Is it because they fill me up? First, let us explore my experience with Cornflakes. My first experience with Cornflakes was at my Grandma & Grandpa Ewings home. We would drive 8 hours from Iowa and stay at Grandma's. Breakfast is an integral part of that stay. Grandma always has bowls on the table with boxes of dry cereal as a 'starter,' while the smell of cinnamon rolls and sausages pervades the air. Cornflakes were always one of those cereals. However, I never touched it. It just didn't look good. My next memory of Cornflakes resumes upon my semester abroad in Dublin. I had never lived on my own and I was very price conscious. Cornflakes was the cheapest cereal available both in real value and in value/gram. The next was when I lived in Dublin and finally, we are at the present. Every time I consume Cornflakes, it reminds me of a time when I didn't have money but I was happy. It takes me right back to Grandma's kitchen.

The Spartan 'corn flakes' box contains a number of items that evoke that memory. First, the eye is drawn to an enlarged picture of corn flakes in a big bowl covered in milk. The white color of the box is symbolic of 'generic' and thus, 'inexpensive.' However, mixed with the color of the milk, it almost expresses simplicity. Secondly, the eye is drawn to the blue label that says "good source of vitamins & minerals." There are 9 vitamins and minerals, it is cholesterols free and low fat. According to Schmidtt, this box's theme is the physical world. Vitamins and minerals, both literally and figuratively, root one back to nature. Nature helps to feed you. Finally, this box says "since 1953, a tradition of quality, reliability and customer satisfaction." Tradition makes me think of my grandmother's house. That is also not to forget the historical connotation of 'Spartan:' a tough soldier who never leaves the battlefield. This cereal is tough, traditional, and will get you through the day.

21 January 2008: Do Wine Price Indicate Quality?

Last night I went over to join some friends for a beef brisket dinner. As I entered the room, so too entered my friend Scott, holding 2 half-filled bottles of one and one new bottle. Not recognizing the new bottle, I asked if I could see it: 3 Howling Dogs Merlot. Hmm. . . . I approached the black bottle with the howling dogs label to read the description on the back. As I did so, my friend Scott delightfully told me that he had purchased it on sale for $2.50. Immediately I turned to him and asked what the original price was. In my experience, price normally does not matter, unless it is less than $7.50. Then the wine does not always taste good.

Why is that the case? I lived in San Francisco and was able to go wine tasting frequently. However, my first experience of wine was at my grandparents home. Wine was always the adult drink. It was something that was consumed while having deep discussions. However, as an adult, I realize that the wine my grandmother purchases is always the cheap wine. The expense of the wine neither diminishes the quality of the conversation nor the quality of the company.

As an adult, wine became something more. It was no longer an accessory to a conversation but the subject of the conversation. I first went wine tasting at a professor's home my senior year of college. We were doing a blind tastetest of Woodbridge vs. Robert Mondavi's premium label. At that time, we were unable to tell the difference between price points. Later, when I first went wine tasting in Sonoma at Robert Mondavi vineyard with my friend Kathleen. I asked multiple pourers exactly how to wine taste, exploring the taste with my palet. Wine was intellectual. It required thought in order to fully appreciate it. That intellectual aspect led me to believe in its sophistication. It also helped me to develop my palet.

However, most people do not have the palet to differentiate between wines. All they see is sophistication. The more sophisticated and intellectual the bottle, the better their perceptions of the wine actually are. Wine is an aspiration that many people have, including students. Therefore, one wants to access it as inexpensively as possible to achieve maximum sophistication at the lowest price and to regain that feeling of community.

When my friend Scott drank the wine, he immediately was taken aback. "There is something wrong with this wine," he claimed. It just doesn't taste right. We all sampled it. No. It was just not good wine. I wonder what our response would have been had we not already known the price?

20 January 2008: Starbucks Experience

I ordered my usual Starbucks caramel macchiato today. Nothing differed except that today I had brought my own cup. Why not use it? I hesitated for a second, remembering my Starbucks experiences of undergrad. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would get a tall caramel macchiato and go to my 9:30 class, Starbucks cup in hand. I then would inevitably end up playing with the cup in some manner during class. I would spin it around. Outline the logo and the stars on the cup. Then, at the end of the class, I would throw it away. Memory aside, I flashed back to reality and handed the girl my personal to-go mug, only to realize that I had saved 25 cents. It use to only be 10 cents. 10 cents does make a difference, but 25 cents gets you there faster. I then realized I was lamenting that it had increased because it meant that I would be bringing my own personal to-go cup from then on. I lamented for the following reasons:

• Personal Starbucks experience: That cup plays a significant part of my memory. It reminds me of a time when I was more innocent and carefree. Changing cups means that I must disconnect Starbucks from that memory. It also signifies that I have grown up.
• Status symbol: I do not recall my first experience of Starbucks, but I do recall my first experience of seeing others walking around the city with their Starbucks cups. Starbucks signified success. I always wanted to be a yuppie and the ability to purchase Starbucks daily contributed to my yuppie definition. As a result, carrying a Starbucks cup makes me feel like I am on my way to becoming a yuppie. It makes me feel powerful, affluent, and educated. Carrying my own cup takes away many of these things.

However, as I sat in Starbucks looking around, I found my solution. A to-go Starbucks cup. It looks like a Starbucks cup, only plastic rather than cardboard. Starbucks has caught on to these feelings. That is also probably why it is offering 25 cents off, suspecting that while most people will not be able to break with these strong memories, Starbucks will be able to support its Social Corporate Responsibility goals to reduce paper cup consumption and waste. Have I yet bought the Starbucks to-go cup? No. Do I want one? Yes!

Starbucks is a status symbol. As a marketing manager for Starbucks, I would start creating product offerings that emphasize the Starbucks to-go cup. Start showing it in ads. Make it part of the overall experience to appeal to those, like myself, who seek this status symbol. Make Starbucks both practical and a visionary to adhere to the American mentality and one may be able to increase overall sales (and make me exceptionally happy).