Alternative Transportation

It’s clear that climate change is one of the greatest problems of our generations. We need to make every effort to change our habits and lower or impact on the environment. I think that one of the most important ways in which we can do this is by adapting the transportation sector. I’ve developed a huge interest in the transportation sector over the past few months and I would love to be able to influence a change in that sector.

Driving gas cars is not sustainable. We have become so accustom to driving cars wherever we need to go; but we cannot continue to do this. It’s clear that we need to begin to transition ourselves to a more sustainable form of transportation. Luckily there are more sustainable options. Public transpiration is a great alternative to driving because this significantly lowers your emissions. Biking is another great alternative to driving a gas car. Pairing the two together is a great option if you don’t live close enough to bike to work or school. Electric vehicles are becoming another great option- and more and more charging stations are being built around the country to accommodate the new technology.

I want to find a way to promote the idea that driving cars cannot be sustained the way we do it today. I’ve been commuting by bike, and I want to make this known to people. I want people to know why I’ve chosen an alternative form of transportation. I was thinking about starting a blog about my experiences of commuting by bike, and the problems that I encounter with the lack of biking infrastructure in place in the United States. I would want to compare it to my experiences of living in Copenhagen and the biking infrastructure that I found when I was living over there. It was incredibly easy to bike around the city in Copenhagen.

I would love to be able to use the various marketing techniques that we’ve learned in class to reach out to people and inform them of the importance of alternative forms of transportation. No one has to switch over immediately, but people need to be more open to the idea. Marketing the ideas successfully can make all the difference. It could help put in place the proper biking infrastructure in cities so the alternative transportation dream becomes a reality.

In Denmark, people do not rely on cars like we do. On average a family would usually only have one car to share. They would use their bikes and public transportation. We can reach this point too if we set up the right infrastructure to make this happen. It’s tough to figure out where to begin. I think that we need to start with people effectively promoting the message that alternative forms of transportation are essential. Once gas prices are high enough, people may reach a tipping point where they give up on gas cars; however I don’t think we can wait for this to happen. We need to push our message now.

Tools for Marketing

One of the biggest questions in marketing is how you plan on getting your message across to the people you want to reach. Companies and organizations choose a variety of ways to reach their target markets. Whether it is through social media, commercials, magazine advertisements, billboards, bus advertisements, radio advertisements, etc. It’s amazing to think how many ways there are for companies and organizations to reach their target markets.

We’ve talked a lot about the use of social media as a tool for marketing. This has been a relatively new development. The great thing about social media is that it can be free, and it can be used to reach a large amount of people in a very short amount of time. The companies and organizations that are using social media will be able to get ahead of their competitors who aren’t. Positions are being created at organizations and people are being hired to work in the field of social media because it’s so important.

There are more traditional forms of marketing as well. These “traditional” forms of marketing are generally much more expensive. Larger companies and corporations may not have as much of a problem with this but it can become a problem for smaller non-profits. This is why social media campaigns have become so important.

Some of the other forms of advertisement include commercials, magazines ads, and billboards. Certain companies are more likely to advertise using certain types of campaigns. Non-profit organizations will use different techniques to reach people than massive corporations will. However, having the techniques to promote your message is beneficial for both small organizations and large corporations. Many companies will choose to use a variety of campaigns.

We’re currently working on a video promotion, which translates to marketing skills that could be used for either a small organization or a large corporation. It’s important for anyone to be able to present their message to people and market it in an appealing way, even on a small scale. We’re learning to market our ideas of sustainability to our class. This is a very small-scale idea, however these are great skills to have. We’re also learning to work with the video cameras and editing devices, which are also great skills to have.

It’s almost impossible to get projects started if you don’t have people to support you- especially for the field that I am planning to work in. When working in the field of sustainability today, a lot of the projects are small, and in need of more support. The only way to get support is by getting your message out to people. The best way to do this is through a successful campaign to get their attention. It’s important to make them care about your cause. You need a very effective campaign to make people change their habits. A video promotion is a good start, however it isn’t the only thing that can be done. I want to use these tools to help me “market” the sustainable mindset.

Sustainable Marketing?

The concept of sustainable marketing is centered on the idea of sustainability. Sustainability means taking responsible actions towards the environment to best serve current generations and future generations. Sustainable marketing is socially and environmentally responsible marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

However, the core ideas of marketing consumer products and sustainability may be contradicting ideas. Is it possible to have sustainable marketing? One if the main ideas of sustainability is that we need to consume less. And one of the main goals of marketing is to get people to consume more. Can the two concepts work together? While sustainable marketing and the strategic marketing concepts recognize the importance of the future generations, how do they actually plan on implementing these into their marketing plans and into their products that they plan on releasing?

I think that one of the answers to these questions is what product the company is marketing. A company cannot release an honest sustainable marketing campaign for an SUV. Just like a plastic water bottle company can’t release an honest sustainable marketing campaign, because neither of these products are sustainable. But a bike company and a reusable water bottle company could definitely have a sustainable marketing campaign.

Another reason that makes companies and their products “unsustainable” is something called planned obsolescence. What this means is that a product becomes obsolete before they actually need replacement. Some producers are accused of using materials that won’t last very long. This makes for a very unsustainable product. In class we talked about how breakable phones are today- and how we are constantly needing to replace our iPhones. We also talked about the potential for a new product to be released called the PhoneBlock. This product would last much longer than the traditional cell phone, and would be much more sustainable.

The marketing industry has also been accused of creating too much materialism and adding false wants. This also contradicts one of the core ideas of sustainability, which is that we need to consume less. We’ve created a society in which our material needs cannot be satisfied. This is extremely unsustainable. It would be interesting if there was a way that marketing could reverse this trend. If they could somehow market the message to use less, and reduce what we consume. Marketing this message alongside sustainable products built to last would be a much smarter plan for the future.

There are a few other “evils” that the marketing system has been accused of adding to. They’ve been accused of deceptive pricing, deceptive promotion, and deceptive packaging. They also have been accused of promoting negative messages in society. Particularly with body image issues.

Responsible marketing can be beneficial to consumers, companies and society as a whole. Hopefully this can be one more way to cut our environmental footprint and make our world a better place to live in. Clearly marketing is a very influential tool and it makes sense to use it to our societies advantage.

Americanization

Have you even traveled abroad and noticed which brands you see in other countries? Some companies have taken advantage of the global marketplace by entering the foreign market. Once these companies leave the domestic market they become known as global firms. There are many advantages of entering the global marketing place, however not all companies are able to do this.

A company needs to be very careful about entering an international market. There are things they must think about. They need to look at the global marketplace as a whole, then they need to think about which markets to enter, they need to decide on a marketing program, and they need to decide on a marketing organization. They also need to evaluate the economic environment of the market they are about to enter. Some economies are sustenance economies, others are raw materials exporting economies, emerging economies, and emerging economies.

Companies also need to think about the political and cultural environment of the country they are planning to enter. The company may not be prepared to work with the cultural differences that they are met with and must therefore learn to adapt to those differences.  In some cultures it is custom to bring a gift to a business meeting, and a businessperson would need to know this.

Not all companies need to enter the foreign market to survive, but some do. One reason that a company might need to enter an international market is if global competitors attack the companies home market by offering lower prices, or better products. However, some might just enter the international market because it’s an opportunity for growth.

When I think about the American companies that I’ve see abroad, I immediately think about coca cola, McDonald’s, and Starbucks. I’ve seen these stores everywhere that I’ve traveled, and I usually try to avoid them because I know that I wouldn’t have needed to leave the U.S to get a coffee from Starbucks or French fries from McDonalds. 

I know that companies are supposed to be operating in a global marketplace, but it’s interesting to think about how “Americanized” the world has become. You don’t see too many companies from other countries in the U.S, and their influence over our culture is definitely not as strong as the American influence is over other cultures. I wonder what people from other counties think about this?  Do they like to see McDonalds stores on the corner on the streets in Rome, London and Paris? I also wonder how the U.S was able to be so successful in the global marketplace. It would seem that certain U.S companies have been incredibly successful since they are recognized worldwide.

I wonder if this success is only temporary success for U.S companies. Will another county begin to show more success in the global marketplace? Will we become more familiar with Chinese brands in 20 years? There is a lot of potential for change in the global marketplace because new companies always have the potential to enter.

Marketing in Everyday Life

Over spring break I took time to notice the various forms of marketing that I encounter on an everyday basis. It’s surprising to see how often marketing effects me everyday. I was looking for more than just commercials and billboards, because at this point I think I’m relatively aware of that. This exercise was a good reminder of the important role that marketing plays in all of our lives.

One day over spring break a song came on the radio, and my friends and I all remembered the commercial that the song had played in. We talked about the commercial for a while once we had remembered it, and I realized that this must happen to a lot of people when they hear that song. That’s advertising that the company is not even paying for. Another day over break my friends and I were walking and we saw a man wearing a red shirt and yellow pants, and my friend said “that makes me think of McDonalds,” and we then proceeded to have a short conversation about McDonalds. On another occasion, my sister and I went into a Dunkin Donuts, and she commented on the remodeling of the Dunking Donuts, and how she had liked it. She then proceeded to compare it to Starbucks, saying that she still liked the atmosphere of Starbucks better, and didn’t care that the coffee was a little more expensive there.

One night, one of my friends was using my Essie nail polish and said that the reason she liked that particular brand was because the bottle was square shaped, and that it seemed cooler than the other kinds of nail polish. The company Essie has been very successful with branding and differentiation, and there success can be summed up with what my friend had said about their bottle- they are different, and it does make them seem cooler. Their nail polish does stand out.

One night over break I went out for desert at a place called “Plum Dandy, Cookies and Milk." They sell exactly what their name says they do, cookies and milk.  As my friend Lindsey and I sat there eating cookies, she began a conversation about whether or not the store will be a successful business, and whether or not they have marketed themselves successfully. She said that she thought it was a cool “niche” market, and that in a city like Saratoga Springs they might do well. Plus, Plum Dandy already has a successful frozen yogurt shop to advertise it’s new cookie shop in.

The city of Saratoga Springs is looking to build a 10-mile loop bike path around the entire city called the Greenbelt Trail. I was interested in getting involved with the project, so I went to the informational meeting last week. I spoke with the people working on the project and one of the first things they said they needed help with was marketing the new idea.

It’s clear that marketing is everywhere. In just one week I’ve encountered so many perfect examples of marketing. I couldn't believe how many times the conversations I had with my friends centered around topics that could have been in my marketing text book. 

Uses of Marketing

We often think about marketing as a tool used by large companies and corporations. We think about the companies that spend millions of dollars on market research to figuring out the most effective ways to reach their target audience. But not every marketing campaign needs an advertisement agency behind it. Marketing can be used as a great tool for many grassroots movements, community organizations and non-profits as well. The strategies may be slightly different, but a lot of the same principles apply.

My hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York has been selected as a potential location for one of the Las Vegas style casinos that the state senator has planned to build. With the racetrack already an essential part of Saratoga, and gambling already integrated into the community, it’s more than likely that Saratoga will be chosen as the site for the casino. However, there’s one small problem with this scenario- the majority of the Saratoga Springs residents don’t want the casino.

When I left to go abroad in August of 2013, there wasn’t much talk about the casino. However, when I returned home that December the movement had grown dramatically. The organization opposing the casino is called SAVE Saratoga. My parents have gotten very involved in with SAVE Saratoga. SAVE uses a variety of strategies to get their message out to people. They have signs up around town; we have a sign in our front yard opposing the casino. They have a Facebook page that has 1,052 likes, and they have a twitter account. One of my friend’s parents even wrote a song about the issue. They made a video to go along with the song which they’ve posted on their Facebook page.

Marketing to small communities is different than reaching consumers across the country. It can be much more personal. You’re also reaching out to a much smaller audience. I’ve seen members of the SAVE group walking around downtown Saratoga Springs collecting signatures and informing people about the issues. This is a great way to get your message to people.

SAVE Saratoga has a very strong website. It’s organized and to the point. It gives you the facts, tells you what you can do, and how you can donate. The web page is well designed, and they’ve posted links to their Facebook and twitter accounts on the bottom of the page.

This community organization has clearly been making great use of the marketing tools that are available to them. They have made themselves a very well known presence within the community and have started to receive national attention for their resistance to the casino. In January, an article was published in the New York Times written about the opposition to the casino.

The principles that we learn in marketing can be applied to a variety of issues. As I was searching through internships last week I saw an internship posted about marketing electric cars. The main purpose of the internship was to reach out to the community to raise awareness about electric cars. I love the idea of using the principles that I’m learning in marketing in these ways.