Reference no: EM133791207

Homework: Marketing

Objective: Marketing is everywhere. The objective of this homework is for you to practice noticing it and the tactics marketers are using.

Instructions: In this homework, you will find two examples of marketing in the real world and write a brief analysis of each.

There are 2 variants on this homework. You can do Option I for both of your examples, Option II for both examples, or you can do a combination. For each example, you will be analyzing an advertisement, sign, marketing webpage, checkout page, marketing email, etc. (for simplicity, these are referred to as "ads" below) that you encounter in the real world (not in class).

I. Option I: Pick an ad and describe how it demonstrates an effective application of a consumer behavior concept we covered in class or the readings, that is NOT attention.

A. Specifically, write 2-5 sentences about how the ad is effectively incorporating a consumer behavior insight / concept we talked about in class. Be specific about what exactly the ad is doing that illustrates the concept and how/why. If you want, you can think about this as a description of how or why you think some independent variable (a specific feature or combination of features of the ad) is doing a good job of shifting a dependent variable (e.g., the consumer's beliefs, behavior, etc). If the CB concept or insight has a name we discussed in class or was covered in the readings or podcasts, you should name it.

II. Option II: Pick an ad and describe how it demonstrates an obvious (and potentially costly to the marketer) failure to apply a consumer behavior concept we covered in class or the readings.

A. This option is more challenging/risky, and I recommend only doing it if you feel pretty confident that the ad is very obviously missing a big consumer behavior concept, misapplying it, or otherwise getting it wrong. To identify whether this might be the case, ask yourself: "Why might an intelligent and not evil marketer, policymaker, etc. who knew the basics of consumer behavior and laws have chosen to do this?" If you truly cannot come up with an explanation, you may have found a good candidate ad for Option II. You can think of this as a suggestion that you might give the marketer, policymaker, etc. on how they could improve their ad.

B. In thinking about whether the ad demonstrates a failure to apply a CB concept, note that:

1. Ads cannot include everything all at once, and adding a ton of features, concepts, etc. risks overwhelming the consumer, annoying them, making them distrustful, etc. So, if adding more features runs these risks, leaving them out is probably a success and not a failure. In such a case, adding more features would not be a good candidate for Option II.

2. There are laws that guide how marketers can advertise. If an ad is missing or misapplying a CB concept, it may be because it would be illegal, bad for the consumer, or otherwise shady to change it. E.g., for Option II, you cannot suggest that the marketer simply lie about the bad features of their product, or bury them in tiny yellow font on a white background among 100 pages of text.

C. If you feel pretty confident that you've identified something good, then proceed with a writeup similar to that of Option I.

1. Write 2-5 sentences about how the ad is very obviously failing to apply or misapplying a consumer behavior insight / concept we covered in class. Be specific about what exactly the ad is missing or doing wrong. If you want, you can think about this as a description of how an independent variable is failing to move a dependent variable, how an independent variable is moving a dependent variable in the "wrong" direction (bad for the person who created the ad), or how the absence of an independent variable (e.g., a specific feature) is making the ad much less effective in its goal. If the CB concept or insight has a name we discussed in class or was covered in the readings or podcasts, you should name it.