Final Project: Implementaion Evaluation Control

Final Project: Distribtion

Yankee Candles is a stand alone store so a majority of the focus has to be on just getting men in general to come to the store to purchase the candles. A possible distribution plan could be set up in the future with other companies in order to help sell product specially for men. In order to keep a higher respect for the candles I would keep the product out of stores like Walmart and Target and aim towards possibly slightly higher end stores where men tend to spend money on themselves.The main goal is to produce a  product for men that would enable us to gain immediate access to a majority of the potential customer base. "In many ways, retailing boils down to the unglamorous art of getting the right product in the right place at the right time at the right price."(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.344)

Final Project: Promotion

In order to get men to buy Yankee candles the product needs to be in other places where they buy and obtain everyday items. Most men aren't interested in the typical everyday candles because they aren't marketed to them in the first place. Different commercial ads on popular television networks that men typically watch would be a good step towards promotion. Plenty of print ads in popular men's magazines as well would help with pushing Yankee candles. Magazines like Mens Health and Gq would be popular choices to catch attention. The image that men associate with candles is just as important as the product itself and without proper placement it is going to fall on its face."A product image is the way consumers perceive an actual or potential product"(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.249) Many Yankee candles are in malls today and I believe greeters paying more attention to men passing by would help as well.

Final Project:Product

The Yankee candles are a product that is simple yet manly. Unlike the other millions of candles that are around, Yankee candles keep there image very sleek. The different fresh scents are often bottle in a variety of containers but the final look of the product is appealing on not only the eyes but the other senses as well. Dark, muted colors will be the majority of the colors implemented to attract men. Bright colors like pink, purple, and yellow obviously wont attract men to a product that is already in question. The scent is going to be something that many men can relate to also. Woods, sea breeze, campfire, all scents that men might already come across in there everyday lives."New products face tough odds".(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.254)But because like I stated earlier I don't see candles as a new product but having to be marketed to new people. The idea of candles for men is something new and interesting and I believe the market will be accepting to the thought of it."New-product development starts with idea generation".(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.246)

Final Project: Target Market Strategy

In order to bring new customers, mainly men, to our market, their are several different ways I would go after obtaining them. Women already have a deep love for candles and are a group of people that are committed to their specific brands of candles. Men on the other hand have absolutely no preference to candles because they have always been seen as items for the opposites. This allows educating customers on what the product is and creating a new following. When a man commits to a razor he may be with that company or type for years to come, its something that he is committed to. But with something as unknown as candles he will need to be educated as to why he would want to stick with a certain brand. I see education as a way of promotion towards Yankee candles for men. But this is not the only way of targeting this market."You’ll find that promotion is not a single tool but rather a mix of several tools"(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.375) Customers are going to be encouraged to be ambitious and try something that while not different, but is not in maybe there daily routines. Candles are not a new product, but they can be for men."New products are the lifeblood of a company"(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.245)

Final Project:SWOT

Some of the strengths that I believe we have are the fact that many people have already have candles in there homes so technically that's already half of the battle. Many of there significant others will enjoy the scents and appeal of having Yankee candles around the house. The overall price for the product is very obtainable and will allow for anybody to have the product. On the other hand weakness's that I see possibly happening are "buddies" giving there friends a hard time. Men feeling comfortable enough to walk into the candle section of there favorite store. Durability as well could be a problem because candles don't take too well of a beating and can often be handled poorly.As far as opportunities, I see this product as a market that nobody has yet significantly tapped into. The trust has already been built up from over a hundred years of manufacturing and can only increase, people respect the name. This can also be a opportunity to set aside Yankee from the other basic and generic candles that are floating around in the market. The biggest threat are going to the the shops that sell the extremes of candles. Bath and Body Works would be an example that would automatically turn most men off of the idea of purchasing candles. Lower priced generic candles as well are a obstacle with stores like Wal-Mart and Target.

Managing the marketing function begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation. The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis, by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T)

In a small group, develop a SWOT analysis for a business in your community. From that analysis, recommend a marketing strategy and marketing mix for this business.

(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions)

Final Project: Objectives

As a company there are a couple of different objectives that I would like to accomplish with the Yankee Candle company. Often they idea that candles are strictly for women is passed around, this in turn push's men away from the idea of enjoying something that could be thought of as "girly".So number 1 is to flip the idea and show men how and why they should enjoy Yankee candles. Another objective is to create something fun and enjoyable that men can relate to. This should be a product that they can go back and keep using continuously for enjoyment. It is something that men over time should be able to go to and trust. Candles have been around for a very long time and just need to be marketed in a different way to appeal to men. "many companies have used imaginative distribution systems to gain a competitive advantage."(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.312). The overall objective I would like to leave with would be to not only get the product into the hands of everyday men, but for them to be proud and excepting of it. This product so be no different then the razors,newspapers,cologne, and other products that men pick up and use throughout the day. I would like to reach out too as many people as possible with this product because "There’s no such thing as a bad customer"(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.173).

Final Project:Mission Statement

Our mission is for men today to become more comfortable with something that they may not have been in the past. The goal is to offer something that is comforting while educating the modern man on something that they might have questions or concerns on. The Yankee candle line is set to allow men to accept there inner likings within having to worry about if they should or not. This product is in place to make the people of today feel good about themselves. To relax and take themselves someplace that they normally can't in their 9 to 5 day jobs. The Yankee candle company and products are a trusted company with decades of experience backed by customer loyalty and will continue with the future. Unlike many other company's or products that are released over time we will not have to worry about developing something new to customers since its been in front of them this entire time."At many companies, new-product development is a cautious, step-by-step affair that might take a year or two to unfold".(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.243) Instead more focus will be used encourage and inspire customers to try the product out for themselves and see first hand. Our product will also succeed based on a movement by many of people using what is more commonly used by other genders or groups of people."A company can’t go it alone in creating customer value"(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions Pg.311)

Final Project Pitch

Since the beginning of time fire has been used to guide mankind through the darkness. Electricity hasn't always been around, but since the days of Ben Franklin the use of candles have been skewed in the modern society. Once used to light a room, illuminate the dark hallways, and bring a fresh neutral scent into a room; today's candles have turned into complete aroma invaders. Coming in a billion different colors and scents, there is nothing worse then walking in to a room and nearly chocking to death. The bottom line is candles aren't only for women. The company Yankee Candles will be my company of choice to use. These candles will let men know that there matches can be used to light more then there cigars and cigarettes. In a modern age where everything is electronic sometimes the simpler things in life are all we really need. The message is to not be afraid to turn off a light and sit with a few candles, refresh the air around you, and be a man. Have the likings of someone mature but in a fresh society. Like the Yankee's that lite the way, as a Yankee man you'll carry the flame.

EOC Week 6: 9 Apps

Look on anybodies smart phone these days and your bound to find a couple similar apps. Facebook, Amazon, and Angrybirds are just a couple of the very popular cross platform applications that most people are carrying around these days. But there are a few to my particular taste that everyone should have that maybe doesn't exist on there phone right now. Mint is a online bank managing app that automatically streams your balance to your phone without having to log in and out of your banks website. It even creates a budget based on income and balance of your account. Anybody who is a movie freak like me and loves to have the flexibility of watching shows anytime anyplace needs the Netflix app. Dvd players in cars and other other equipment that was seen as luxury items now are a joke when compared to what a phone can do. Pulsenews is another great app that you can customize to your informational interests. No more flipping through articles! For dumb apps how about the social networking imitation apps. How many twitter and facebook apps can you seriously make? Are you that unhappy with the actual sites free app?

EOC Week 5: Best and Worst SuperBowl Commerical

This years Superbowl was flooded with ads and new movie trailers for the upcoming summer as usual. This years advertisements weren't all that they were cracked up to be for me. A lot of the spots were ads campaigns that have been going on for a while now that at this point really just bore me to death. The baby one about insurance or whatever is it," shows how much I care" was cute the first couple times around but now its really just boring. Everybody was expecting Kim Kardashian and I'm sure plenty of people will announce that it was one of the best ads simply because well....Kim Kardashian was in it. For me one of my favorites was the ad for Doritos. A office workers announces after he coworker has finished a bag of Doritos that he has left out the best part. Confused the worker looks over at his friend only to have his fingers licked of all the Dorito chip residue. When I saw it I was cracking up. Because its something that people do, they may not talk about licking there fingers after eating chips or little things like that when it comes to products but its all the little idiosyncrasies that have the viewer/consumer connect with the ads. As for worst I have to think of Godaddy.com. Don't get me wrong I think they are great for purchasing domain names and other internet products but whoever is in charge of there marketing department seriously needs to get the boot. I mean come on Danica Patrick, Jillian Michaels, and now Joan Rivers! Are you kidding me. Who are you trying to market to? None of these women have any sort of sex appeal at all if there trying to win that game. Maybe they should have a talk with Kim over at Sketchers if they want to play that game.

Week 4- Business to Busniess Vs. Consumer Marketing

The consumer market is a ever changing one and the factors that go into how it works evolve just as much. Though they change, the basis of any market pretty much stays the same. Some of the major factors include things like demand or how much they want the product. Competition- how many products are out like it and what sets it apart from the rest. When a person thinks about buying something there are a lot of things that go through there head. Things like research, need, want, and availability.Products often fall in and out of circulation because of there need. Often people will buy product only for it to fall out of style or need in a few months. This often happens a lot with electronics. On the flip side when it comes to business consuming the game is a little different. Unlike consumers business is out to gain profit and be ahead of the game in there buying where as consumers are more purchasers of leisure. Business customers are fewer then consumer but there power is larger in size. Less purchasing but more revenue. The demand also fluctuates based on things like location and price changes as well. In the end "If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful."

Week 3 EOC: Making money for good

When it comes to doing good for the world, as a business RED is one of the top around. RED is a organization that partners with many large retailers around the world and takes a portion of what they sell and gives it to the red organization which in return pools the money into the aids fund and spreads the money across the world for aids research and medication. Companies that participate in this range from Apple, Converse, and Nike, all the way to Starbucks. Each company has a different product or portion that they give to the organization.  For example Gap gives 50% of their proceeds of Gap Red products to the organization and in return that money is given in full back to the aids research. Then you have other companies that just give a flat rate back on products. Starbucks gives back one dollar for each RED product that they offer. More and more organizations are starting to pop up that are similar to this and its something that growing population are interested in. A person may not be so quick to open there wallet to a charitable organization but they might feel a bit more comfortable to go to a retailer and purchase something that is in return given off as a charitable donation. It’s a win win situation for all sides. The RED organization says that since its beginning in “2006 they have globally raised over 160 million dollars”. Promotional partners have also teamed up with RED to get the word out about their services. Cable networks like HBO and MTV have taken part in spreading the word. Even internet based sites like Hulu and and Facebook are getting in on the action giving RED a very strong boost among the community.

Week 3 EOC- My Demographic

Being born in 1990, my generation falls into that of the Millennials. Being described with “fluency and comfort with digital technology”, I have no other option then to agree with that statement.  I can remember from an early age getting on toy computers and other digital gadgets aimed at children, it was just a part of my upbringing. The video game systems along with a handful of other things were just around growing up. But over the last 20 years of my life things have definitely evolved since the early days. I can remember the days of using a cell phone strictly for phone calls because well… that’s all it could do. The days of buying a ringtone for 2 bucks so you could have your favorite song ring when somebody would call you are over. Now somebody can just load up a snippet of a song into their smart phone and viola you have your favorite song as a ringtone. Early 2000 when I wanted to go on the internet I had a horrible thing called dial up which most poor souls had to endure through AOL. God that was painful, sitting around for minutes at a time just so you could get on the web. Who could forget that wonderful sound of the connection too. But as years pass technology gets faster, smaller, and cheaper and it has become a integral part of the society that the young future lives with today. The digital age has changed the game for everything, let me say that again. THE DIGITAL AGE HAS CHANGED THE GAME FOR EVERYTHING. Everything is in the process of being and will be coming straight from a computer, displayed from a screen. Technology single handedly has and will define the generation today and those to come.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

Growing up with videogames, over the years I have seen a vast change in the marketplace and the way that platforms and games are released. The days of running down to your local game shop to pick up your favorite copy of Sonic the Hedgehog are over. With the analog wonders that went bye bye so did the videogame platforms. It’s 2011 and the digital age is and has been upon us. Traditional forms of media have always come from a hard copy played in some type of playback device. But with the many revelations of modern technology, more and more bang is packed into one device.  The new Nintendo 3DS is set to be released in the next few weeks and has been developed in means to "use this technology to add creative new experiences to their games." The game now goes further then what you buy at first. With downloadable content and a slew of other interactive upgrades, games are now having a longer shelf life than ever. You won’t hear too often “I beat the game now what”. With competitive pricing from games from apps stores and other mobile devices the platform gaming system has taken a hard hit. I think from this you will see more and more developers working towards games on devices like ipads and iphones. Honestly when you think about how large platforms are only released every 8 years or so the conventions behind a gaming system like that seem outdated compared to the rapid release of mobile interactive devices. Portability is king with new products coming out like the nex-gen psp that will “rival those of the ps3”! Times are changing with the power of today’s handheld and portable gear. "A lot has changed since the Xbox 360 debuted in November 2005".

Sources Cited

http:///news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10365624-1.html?tag=featuredStory

http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-10006354-7.html?tag=mncol

http://ds.ign.com/articles/114/1144775p1.html

EOC Week 1- Great Customer Service

For most of my electronics purchases I always find myself at Best Buy, just always have. Great stuff, just not always the best prices. That was until I discovered the little feature in the Amazon app for my iphone that lets you scan bar codes and gives you the amazon price. Lucky for me Best Buy price matches and I've never payed full price since. Best Buy gear but with the Wal-mart motto of "save prices,live better". ;)