GE Re-Branding

     General Electric is a company with a long history, it's logo is globally recognizable and has changed very little since its creation. While the consistency of its logo conveys consistency and dependability the company has seen better days.
      Since selling off it's appliance division in 2014, GE has focused on power generation, lighting, aviation(turbo jet engines), power distribution, health care(machines used in hospitals for diagnosis), equipment for oil & gas exploration. railways (locomotive engines),security systems(for home,school,airports,etc.), waste water treatment equipment, and financial services. These high tech divisions of GE have not performed as strongly as hoped. 
     This is far from the only challenge GE has. 

• For several decades, GE's Pittsfield plant dumped tons of PCBs into the Housatonic  River in the northeastern United States and continues to battle with the EPA over cleaning up their mess. 
• A 2005 order required GE to clean up PCBs they disposed of in the Hudson River
• They have been investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission due their accounting practices for lengthy service contracts. 
• Is facing potential legal action over allegations that two of its financial units violated U.S. law related to subprime mortgages.

     These are just a few of the their misdeeds, a Google search will lead you to many more. Coupled with a sinking stock price, it is clear GE could use a new image.

     In an effort to change their image, GE has launched a new ad campaign that embraces some progressive values. GE introduced us to Molly.

https://youtu.be/sucKTktHYA8

This advertisement is part of a greater campaign at GE. The company has set a goal of having 20,000 women in STEM roles by 2020, and a 50:50 gender representation for all entry level technical programs. Though their stock price may not be doing well, this commercial is great. I was surprised that it even made me feel warm and fuzzy, and positive about GE! There is no product pitch, nothing to buy except the idea that GE is progressive, and it worked! In all my disappointment and anger over their past behaviors, I fully support this goal for the future.

https://youtu.be/sQ6_fOX7ITQ

Week 2: Social Listening & Marketing in the News

Topic 1: Social Listening

I chose to investigate the social media feedback for McMenamins. This Oregon grown company has numerous restaurants and hotels in the Pacific Northwest, 8 in Washington and 46 in Oregon, as well as farms and craft alcohol production facilities. They focus on offering consumers a unique experience and each of their locations are filled with one of a kind art and slightly quirky decor. It is well known that the company frequently re-purposes historic buildings, 18 are on the National Register of Historic Places. The McMenamins brand is easily recognizable, and their vibe is an integral part of their brand.

After looking through numerous reviews for several McMenamins locations, it is clear than many of their customers have a favorite one. The overall response to McMenamins establishments was positive, especially among consumers who seemed to be very aware of the McMenamins brand. These customers knew just what to expect from the experience and gave lots of good feedback about the ambiance and character of the individual establishments. I got a sense that people really liked their craft brewing, distilling and vinification, and were pretty equally happy to find their favorites and excited by finding something new.

Feedback was not so great regarding the quality of food and table service in several locations. It was a consistent theme in the social media stream, that service was slow and the food was regarded as  average to terrible. If I were the brand manager this is an area I would focus on. I would share this feedback with kitchen managers and encouraging them to meet with staff and create new delicious menu items. There is more craft brewing/pub competition than ever, and more everyday, it is important to have more than just ambiance to set you apart and keep customers coming back.

Another recurring theme in the social feedback of the company was regarding their hotels. A lot of people had negative opinions of the mattresses in guest rooms. Of the multiple mattress criticisms they all related to comfort, and were exacerbated by the prices consumers pay to stay at a McMenamins venue. The cost of the rooms also seemed to irritate those who had other negative comments, such as thin walls and lots of noise. It seemed clear to me that these comments would have perhaps been less passionate if people had been paying bargain prices, but when you pay the going rate you should be able to count on a certain level of comfort. McMenamins does have a bit of a competitive edge with respect to other hotels because of the event offerings at their establishments. These attractive activities may keep some people coming back to stay overnight but others won't, and they may not even purchase tickets to the event.

It is worth mentioning that I frequently saw McMenamins respond to customers negative feedback and reach out, asking for personal messages to discuss the experience. This is awesome and exactly what I think should be done, I am very curious how those interactions have been resolved. As the brand manager I would also analyze the feedback data to get an idea of the most common complaints and see which ones could be resolved with inexpensive solutions like improving the room reservation selection process. Perhaps some non-invasive guest questions when reserving, in order to place them in the most appropriate room for them. I do think that all feedback should be grouped and broken down for presentation to the relevant departments, getting investment from employee stakeholders would be an important aspect of my approach to resolving negative customer reviews.


Topic 2: Marketing in the News

While reading marketing news this week, I came across an article from the American Marketing Association on December 25,2017. The title "Marketers Are Using the Weather to Predict Consumer Behavior" caught my eye because I am very interested in the ways advertisers reach out to consumers, try to predict how they will act, and reach customers with their brand message.

If you are like me, you use a weather app on a regular basis. AccuWeather is a well known leader in disseminating weather information. They give users weather updates whenever and wherever you are so you can plan your day. The article examines the things that AccuWeather has done to expand their customer reach. In an effort to increase the time users spend using the app, they have increased the specific weather information they offer such as humidity, wind speed, and accumulated precipitation. These additional metrics are found by scrolling through the feed and are interspersed with advertising. Weather related videos on the site are accompanied by pre-roll ads, and users are able to report their local weather conditions and upload their own weather related video content. Because users can easily share AccuWeather content on other social media platforms, their reach is extended considerably. Ingeniously, the app used artificial intelligence to allow users to interact with posted advertisements without being redirected from the app or needing to speak with a company customer service representative. This feature not only allows customers to conveniently explore a given product, it gathers valuable marketing data about the questions potential customers have about a given product.

Marketing data such as this is incredible valuable to companies, and multiple weather companies have been purchased for the data they have to offer. Giving your location date is integral to receiving relevant weather information, and just logging into the AccuWeather app will share your location. According to Location Based Marketing Association's "2017 Global Location Trends Report", a quarter of marketing budgets are spent on location data, and over half of companies use location data to target customers. Obviously there is a large market seeking the data that weather companies amass in their day to day business activities.

While some of the information discussed in this article was as expected, we can all figure out why consumer foot traffic is impacted by rain more in California than in Seattle, there were a couple of really amazing ideas. Placing Claratin ads next to high pollen warnings is brilliant! The campaign I was most impressed with was a Pantene promotion where alerts were sent to smart phones warning of potential bad hair day weather with an ad for Pantene hair care. This integrated advertising increased Pantene sales 24% over the same period the prior year. The ability to address consumer concerns and needs in the moment increases the likelihood of consumer action and I see great potential for this technology.

Weather companies continue to look to the future with ideas like integrating weather information with online maps. Weather conditions are very important to travelers and such a feature would attract me and many others to utilize this resource. Every user is another set of eyes on the offered ads and another opportunity to engage with consumers. In our noisy, crowded digital environment it can be challenging to make an impression on consumers. By expanding their interactive offerings, weather companies are engaging with their users more and increasing their value for both app users and the marketers who desire their data. I think this was a brilliant solution to stay relevant and expand their brand.

ABOUT ME

I am an accounting technology major and I enrolled in this class because it is required for my degree and I was very happy to find that it was at the Benton Center. I am currently working full time while going to school full time. Since I live and work in Corvallis I was grateful to find a class in town.

I am not a business or marketing major, but look forward to this class very much. I am most interested in learning how to build my brand. I look forward to learning the skills required to best communicate my strengths and build positive name recognition.

Outside of work and school I spend as much time as I can with family and friends, and see live music. I love to hike, camp, and explore, and am a big fan of cinema.  I am also a big supporter of small, local farmers and other locally owned businesses.


MARKETING IN THE NEWS

Awhile ago I took a break from Facebook for a couple of years to focus more on more personal interactions. I had expected to miss some things, daily updates and communication from friends near and far. However, I was not expecting to miss so many nearby events. Birthday parties, baby showers, potlucks and gatherings unknown and unattended. I would frequently be asked later about my absence only to find out the invite had gone out on Facebook. Even when face to face birthday wishes or congratulations were shared, it didn't register to anyone to pass along party plans to me because of course I had been included in the Facebook invite.

This experience really solidified for me the influence of Facebook in our daily lives, even I have come back. It seems that whatever is happening, is happening on Facebook. With so much reach into virtually every market, except the Amish, Luddites, and a few others, Facebook is a great venue for advertisers, but no relationship is without it's challenges.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (Jan 12,2018) discusses Facebook's latest announcement that in 2018 users will see "less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media" (Zuckerberg 2018). Now, marketers are going to have to examine how they use Facebook to reach consumers, and get creative. There is some speculation that this will lead to higher advertising costs, and have a severely detrimental impact to a brand's posts which have not paid to be promoted on the platform. These organic posts will have fewer opportunities to be viewed as Facebook focuses on more engaging social interactions. The authors go on to mention that "organic reach" has been declining on Facebook for awhile, and suggest that marketers think differently about how they interact with consumers. The article suggests companies engage in more content and discussion rather than primarily self promotion, and discusses Facebook's new video service positively as a potential new opportunity to connect with your consumer. 

It is interesting to me how this situation reveals conflict between Facebook's two value propositions. For the user, Facebook connects us. For work or play, near or far, dear friends and long ago acquaintances, good or bad, day or night, just about anywhere you are, you can reach out and someone is there. For advertisers, Facebook targets potential users to grow your sales with less money than conventional ads, and they have access to a lot of potential users. It is a careful balance of "social" and "media".

In our chaotic and noisy world it is a consistent challenge to get your brand noticed and innovation is necessary. Just as advertisers moved from radio to television and then to the internet, they will now have to find new ideas to be relevant to consumers. I think it's going to be interesting to see what the marketers of tomorrow come up with. The Wall Street Journal Article mentions Netflix encouraging fan interaction on their Facebook page, they are choosing to facilitate and participate in the interaction of their users rather than talk at them. I think companies being more exposed to the common folk and their ramblings is a good thing. I see the potential to spark innovation, make companies more aware of and responsive to the public, and improve corporate citizenship as companies build more community with the public. There may be a post Facebook/social media future, but in the mean time I have learned that I need Facebook a little bit and, though some may go, advertisers do too.