Assignment Part 1:
Initial Question: Read this article about brand equity.
Article: Brand Equity: What it Is & Why It's Key to Your Business
The article provides an overview of this concept. It also presents two examples of companies with high brand equity near the end of the article. Please discuss the following with your fellow classmates:
- Select 1 of the brands from the article that has the highest brand equity (the most important) to you.
- What made you select that brand?
Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 50-100-word reply about their Primary Task Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following questions:
- What did you learn from your classmate's posting?
- What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?
- What clarification do you need regarding the posting?
1. Student Post to Respond to: Sandi Roberts
When I did a Google search about companies that have brand equity I decided to choose Starbucks. I feel like Starbucks is a good example of a company that has high brand equity. They are the largest coffee chain internationally. They have built their brand with a great atmosphere, constant new limited-edition drinks, and new cups. They went through many changes over the years. Most I will honestly say I do not even remember what happened. Like for instance before 2018 they were Starbucks Coffee. During 2018, they changed the logo to just Starbucks. A change that never even crossed my mind. The company did it in a way that no one was confused by the change so some like me may not have noticed the change. The reason they did that was because they did not want to be locked down by the word coffee. Which is a very smart move on their part. You do not have to be a coffee drinker to enjoy Starbucks. With the non-coffee drinks, pastries, breakfast croissants, cake pops and let us not forgets about the good ole Pup Cup if you are someone who brings your dog with you.
I cannot really say that Starbucks was the most important to me necessarily, but it was fitting for this assignment and had all the info I needed in one article I found. Yes, I do love Starbucks, but I also do not go there all the time either. Maybe if I ever could leave for work early I would lol. They are a good brand with good customer service. They check all the boxes in my opinion.
2. Student Post to Respond to: Tristan Riffe
This discussion board we are talking about brand equity. A quick summary of brand equity is how recognizable your brand is and what the general experiences associated with your brand or company. I have had some really good experiences with several brands in my life, but most recently I have been shopping at Costco and wanted to talk about Kirkland Signature. Kirkland's mission statement is "we believe in providing customers with everything they need to create inspirational living spaces, but we also believe in living inspirational lives." If you have ever been to Costco you would know just how many products Kirkland offers. They have everything from food products all the way to baby essentials.
The reason I picked Kirkland Signature was because of their variety, but also because of their ability to compete with big name brands and offer more affordability. At my local Walmart for a 70 Fl. oz bottle of dish soap costs 9.94$. At my Costco I can buy a 90 Fl. oz bottle of dish soap for the same price! and it goes further than just cleaning essentials. I don't buy my dog food at a big name store but comparing the prices of 35 lbs of dog kibble at Walmart it cost 74 $ to Costco's cost of 53$. Although you need a membership to shop at Costco I find the 65 $ annual cost to be very worth it, and don't get me started on the chicken bake.
Assignment Part 2:
1 .Initial Question: Review and reflect on the knowledge that you have gained from this course. Based on your review and reflection, write at least 3 paragraphs on the following:
- What were the most compelling topics learned in this course?
- How did participating in discussions help your understanding of the subject matter? Is anything still unclear that could be clarified?
Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 50-100-word reply about their Primary Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following question:
3. What did you learn from your classmate's posting?
4. What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?
5. What clarification do you need regarding the posting?
1. Student Post to Respond to: Melissa Hurley
In Introduction to Marketing, I feel it covered fundamental concepts related to promoting products and services. Marketing is much more than that. It encompasses a variety of channels, tactics, and formats.
Content Marketing: This strategy involves creating valuable content to engage your audience naturally. It's a long-term investment that builds brand awareness and nurtures customer relationships.
The entire premise of content marketing is to provide valuable content to your audience. This can be blog posts, videos, podcasts, e-books, and more. Unlike a pop-up ad, this type of marketing isn't disruptive. It's supposed to feel natural, organic, and helpful. Content marketing is a long-term investment. But with patience and the right strategy, you can drive brand awareness and nurture customer relationships without significant financial strain.
Email Marketing: Reach people who've already shown interest in your business. Set up trigger emails based on actions (purchases or content downloads) to promote products and share offers.
Email marketing is relatively affordable compared to other marketing channels. Many email service providers offer free plans or tiered pricing to appeal to different budgets. With email marketing, you reach people who've already expressed an interest in your business. This puts you in a great position to build relationships, promote your products, and share offers. You can also set up trigger emails when someone completes an action, such as making a purchase or downloading a content offer.
Social Media Marketing: Establish a presence by sharing content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Interact with customers and leverage user-generated content to foster relationships and build brand loyalty.
These days, consumers expect brands to have an online presence so if you haven't already, sign up for a business profile on a few social media sites. Once you're up and running, you can begin to share content. Experiment with different types of content until you have a better idea of what gets the most traction. Remember that social media is all about connection, so interact with customers, initiate conversations, and leverage user-generated content. These tactics can help you foster relationships and build loyalty around your brand without spending a dime. However, if you decide to run paid ads, social media offers incredible reach that can generate immediate results. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide advanced ad targeting, enabling you to narrow down your audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. With flexible budgeting options, you can allocate your budget strategically and maximize your ROI.
I feel that participating in discussions helped me to understand the subject matter by gaining other points of view. This course covered a major of learned topics in our discussions, in one form or another. I feel each discussion gave me another viewpoint to learn from. We all learn and see topics differently. The discussions gave me more learning with each post I read.
2. Student Post to Respond to: Kathleen Harris
For me one of the more interesting explorations was finding out about the four P's of marketing-product, price, place, and promotion, also known as a marketing mix. When the concept was introduced, it helped companies overcome physical barriers that could hamper widespread product adoption. Now today we have the Internet availability which has helped businesses to overcome those barriers. A successful marketing strategy must be revisited from time to time, it, needs to be adjusted and tweaked as a product grows and a customer base changes. I love that the marketing campaign starts with an understanding of the product. Who needs it and why. What special features might it have that a competitor company is lacking? Earlier I told about the stove that my sister and I purchased and what features it had. The two things that won us over were number one it had a built in air fryer, and number two, a warming spot on it. It didn't hurt it that is also uses steam to clean itself instead of harsh chemicals being used. As of this evening we have not yet clean it so I'm really not sure yet how that will go. I enjoyed my classmate's stories and it helped toward motivating me to do well. Thank you everyone.