As Technology Evolves, AT&T Adjusts a Theme...

“We did a lot of insight research about how people live with technology,” said Esther Lee, senior vice president for brand marketing, advertising and sponsorship at AT&T in Dallas, which included “ethnographies, shop-alongs and spending time in people’s living rooms.”  AT&T adopted "Rethink possible" as the theme of its advertising in a corporate image campaign that began in April 2012.

Two years later, the campagin is being refreshed with ads that are to begin appearing, some to introduce the new Nokia Lumia 900. Rather than sell specific products and services, the theme of these ads are inteded to "buff" AT&T's brand and promote the company as an innovator in telecommunications for consumer and business customers.

On top of "Rethink possible," new elements of the campaign will include the phrase, "It's what you do with what we do." This phrase is meant to acknowledge significant shifts in the marketplace since 2010, particularly how much more consumers want to be in control of brand experiences.

This new approach AT&T has been working with seems to sound like a practical way to advertise.  Do you think this brand shift will focus on a new target market? Or will it just increase/decrease its popularity with its current market?

In Response to Tyler...

Are we ready to fully rely on technology? or should we at some point say maybe things are not to difficult and we do not need so much extra in life? 

I personally am NOT ready to fully rely on technology, while it is yes growing at a rapid rate of innovation, it still has its flaws. I do use technology daily (as do most today) and with most of it, I feel it is making some aspects of business and personal use easier and better, but disengaging in personal interaction is not going to make the world better. 

Apps can be helpful for convenience and when getting a coffee there is nothing better than speed and efficiency for most but completely taking out the face to face interaction is astonishing to me. I feel that Starbucks should pride themselves on customer service and satisfaction but instead to fall to a scheme like this, I find uninviting.

Is this the way our children are going to have to adapt with society? Is this healthy? 

Amazon challenges Wal-Mart, one click at a time

 Amazon.com, the world's biggest web store, has taken on some touch challenges in the retail world and is now taking on its biggest challenge yet: Wal-Mart. Five years ago, only about one quarter of Wal-Mart's customers also shopped online at Amazon where as now half of Wal-Mart's shoppers say they also shop online at Amazon - this could become a potential problem for Wal-Mart.


"If the trend continues, with Amazon up and Wal-Mart down, by the 2012 holiday season Amazon could be the most shopped retailer," said an analyst.  As Wal-Mart has pioneered over the past 50 years, Amazon is pulling off a similar revolution within online commerce, in order for Wal-Mart to keep up, they need to become an urban pioneer and e-commerce leader as well. 

When it comes to size there is no question that Wal-Mart still towers over Amazon with a $419 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, compared with $48 billion for Amazon. But Amazon is growing rapidly while Wal-Mart is showing all the signs of maturity.  


As we talked about in class, the maturity stage of a "products" lifetime is it's money making stage, but right after this stage comes the decline.  Retail is changing rapidly and online shopping is becoming more and more popular and making companies like Amazon thriving at the moment.


Do you see Wal-Mart approaching a declining stage? Is it fair to say that Amazon is a direct competitor of Wal-Mart?

In Response to Brooke...

Do you think that Facebook will lose users do to the soon to be increase in ads? Will users begin to switch to other social media sites, like Twitter, who do not show as many ads? 


Being a Facebook user myself, I personally believe that as popular as Facebook is, they will slowly begin to lose users due to their constant changes or increase in advertisements. For some Facebook is already confusing from the start never mind having them change their 'look' or options frequently and I know for some, it turns them off to using Facebook as much as they once did.


More social networking sites are being created that can help you keep in touch with friends, family and co-workers that if Facebook just becomes annoying with their annoying ads and confusing changes, people will start making other sites just as popular. I know soon after I graduate, I will delete my Facebook because I do not think I will see a need to be on it anymore and can keep in touch with friends other ways.


With such a wide variety of people on Facebook, how will they control these ads? Because people don't pay to use Facebook, is it fair for users to be upset with the changes that are made to the site?

ESPN for Women Adds a Sponsor

 An effort by ESPN to appeal to women is getting some addition marketer support as a brand becomes the first in its category to advertise with the company. The brand is a package-food product, Colavita olive oil, which is also a longtime sponsor of cycling. Colavita is forming a professional women's cycling team, co-branded with ESPNW, which is ESPN's sector designed especially for women interested in sports. 

It has been said that ESPN is very masculine and appears to a very male dominated crowd. This has changed over the year with adding female broadcasters on most of the ESPN venues shown but they are still accused of lacking their support of women's sports. ESPNW, as of now, is only a web site dedicated to women's sports, they hope to create a broader expansion of ESPNW in the years to come, but this website alone has taken over three years to really take off.

ESPNW's target market is obviously women but they have also expressed that this range is woman that are 25+ years of age because they believe that are the future "consumers" of this upcoming endeavor. Going back to its largest supporter, Colavita olive oil, some may not realize the actual significance that this olive oil has. In recent studies, olive oil has been reported as one of the few foods to "prevent cancer." It may sound ridiculous at first but there are some foods that actually reduce oxidization in your body which is one of the most significant reasons cancer cells grow inside the body. I think this support by Colavita olive oil is a subtle but very smart choice on their part. They could promote their product and little do most know, by using it in every day meals it prevents cancer cells from forming inside your body.

Do you think ESPNW is hitting the right age for their target market or do you think their age range is off? I personally think their should be another channel added to the few that ESPN already has that shows more female sports, what do you think?

In Response to Jaycelyn...

Should Google have made this switch or should Google have kept the Android Market as it was? 

 I think by Google making the switch, it will only be a positive outcome. By opening their "products" or benefits to a larger variety of markets, it will increase it's usage. I would not buy an Android powered device just to access the Google luxuries, I would buy a device based on other features. By Google creating more options for itself, it gives them room to expand this idea exponentially in the future, and who knows that those options will be. 

By limiting themselves to that Android market, it hindered them from gaining customers from a variety of web browsers.  Would you have bought an Android device just to use these Google features? Are you going to check out Google Play now because it is open to a larger variety of browsers?

Above the Influence Campaigns

After watching some TV recently, I have noticed there are more commercials now to promote living above the influence or "drug free". I noticed two very different approaches to this message, both with drivers from opposing ends of each other. 

The national campaign that is branded by Above the Influence shows images of the negative effects of what drugs or alcohol can do to you such as vomiting, forgetfulness, carelessness, etc. Whereas MTV now shows commercials advertizing "Unwasted Weekend" and promotes what teens are doing on their weekends besides participating in drugs or alcohol such as setting up town wide awareness charities, being an active member in helping out school projects that are in need, creating movies, etc. 

I found it interesting that both marketing methods are now being used where as before, from what I remember, above the influence campaigns rarely every spoke a word and they were mostly just images or a scene that most people would laugh at when watching rather than actually taking notice to the message being sent. These are two different organizations sending out these messages but they are of one mind.

Which campaign do you think is more successful? Or will be more successful? Do you think these ads are useful and preventative at all?