Final Project...

Toxic 1: containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation

3: extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful

Toxic Vodka will be marketed to young adults and those who can handle the toxic aftermath. The bottle will be in the shape of a guitar for those who love to rock. This isn’t your mother’s Vodka used to make her dirty martinis.  There is no cure for this hangover. Heed this warning as your first and last. There is no coming back from this poison. Party like a rockstar all you want tonight, but suffer the consequences the next day.

Week 10 EOC: What Channels are you going to do to get your product noticed?

“Producing a product or service and making it available to buyers requires building relationships not just with customers, but also with key suppliers and resellers in the company’s supply chain.”

The main way to get Toxic vodka noticed will be by using local bars and clubs in and around the Vegas strip to create relationships so they exclusively offer the Toxic brand.

BOC Week 10: Les Paul

Today marks a very important day in the music world. We remember and celebrate guitarist, inventor, innovator, Les Paul. His first made his name as a jazz guitarist then later recorded multi-layered pop hits. Amazingly Paul couldn’t read music but he had an uncanny ear and could structure the arrangements in his head. After getting his feet wet at an early age he began playing with various bands and learning from other artists. Dissatisfied with the electric guitars circulating in the mid-'30s, Paul, assisted by tech-minded friends, began experimenting with designs of his own. This is what really made his name in the music industry along with his great ability to arrange music.

http://goo.gl/doodle/QKWY

Week 9 EOC: Creative Content

My creative content for Toxic Vodka will mainly be photographs of the bottle. It will basically look like an ad in a magazine. My only problem is how I am going to get a bottle in the shape of a guitar. I may have to rework the idea for the bottle. Ideally I will get a guitar shaped glass bottle, design a simple label, and get a great photo of the bottle, then photoshop in some ad content. I may have to photoshop the bottle itself to get the guitar shape.

Week 9 EOC: Three Great Mission Statements

From reading all my class mates mission statements I found the following three to be the best. 

On the Rockz Snapshotz, james.audio, My Voice

They seemed to be the best at giving a direct mission statement that clearly got the message of the company across. From reading these three mission statements, I know exactly what they want their vodka brands to be about and how they plan on doing it. There is also very little fluff, so the message gets across directly.

Implementation Evaluation Control

"In addition to being good at the marketing in marketing management, companies also need to pay attention to the management. Managing the marketing process requires the four marketing management functions ...—analysis, planning, implementation, and control. The company first develops companywide strategic plans and then translates them into marketing and other plans for each division, product, and brand. Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consists of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed. Finally, marketing analysis provides information and evaluations needed for all of the other marketing activities."
 

Taking the Toxic brand one step further is where Implementation comes into the picture. The Marketing Plan can now be put into action. Actually getting behind the Toxic brand and developing the relationships with the city of Las Vegas to bring the Toxic brand to the visitors of this town.

Evaluation will mean taking a hard look at all the Marketing plan elements and assessing what works and what doesn’t. Every new company has a period of adjustment and those issues need to be addressed in order to take the company further and be successful.

Control is where all the corrections take place. And when it comes down to it when all these elements come together your company can either make it or break it.

Marketing Mix: Price

"Price is the amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product."

The price for Toxic vodka will be on the lower high end. It won't be the cheap stuff you buy at the liqueur store. But it also won't be the over priced stuff you get at the club or pay for just because it's marketing by some celebrity. This isn't going to break the bank to buy, although we do want to assert the value of the product. 

Marketing Mix: Distribution

"Companies often pay too little attention to their distribution channels, sometimes with damaging results. In contrast, many companies have used imaginative distribution systems to gain a competitive advantage.."

Since this will be a unique product and brand to Vegas Toxic will use a local distribution system. Also the vodka will not be available in any store there will be exclusive distribution. 

Marketing Mix: Promotion

"Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it."

The promotion will be based highly on the Las Vegas Strip itself. There will be promotions along with the bars and clubs the vodka will be offered in. Other promotional uses will be billboards. The main promotion Toxic will rely on is word of mouth of the visitors around Vegas. We want to be the Vodka people are talking about, not the vodka that is talking about itself.

Marketing Mix: Product

"Product means the goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market."

The product will be simple and straight to the point. A quality vodka in a guitar shaped bottle offered exclusively in Vegas. 

Target Market Strategy

"A marketing strategy consists of specific strategies for target markets, positioning, the marketing mix, and marketing expenditure levels. It outlines how the company intends to create value for target customers in order to capture value in return."

In order for Toxic vodka to create value for the customer, first the threats and weaknesses need to be addressed. The main way Toxic will create value for their customers is by adding something that most other competitors in the market don’t. Again because the vodka will not be available in any store and is special to Vegas, we will create a unique experience along with our unique brand. The vodka will only be offered around the Las Vegas strip. We will also create a unique relationship with certain bars and clubs along with the hotels that they will not only offer a special Toxic drink but they can also get a souvenir guitar bottle to add to their experience.

 

SWOT Analysis

"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)"

Strengths for Toxic Vodka is that it will be a unique brand to Vegas. There is a big market for anything unique to Vegas. Toxic Vodka can be the Vodka of Vegas.

Weaknesses would be that with any new company it is hard to break into the market, especially one so overcrowded as it is. There are many high end vodkas that have a reputation and steady place in the market.

Toxic vodka has a great opportunity that the economy in Vegas is starting to turn around. More tourists are coming and that will create great room in the market.

There are many major threats to Toxic. It will be very hard to come into this market and prove that this is not only a quality product, but a product that means something. Inserting Toxic as the vodka of Vegas will take more than just having a unique package and being unique to only Vegas.

 

Objectives

"The company needs to turn its mission into detailed supporting objectives for each level of management. Each manager should have objectives and be responsible for reaching them."

The objective of Toxic Vodka is to insert itself into the Vegas market and create a unique brand for this city. There will be relationships created with local bars and clubs along with the hotels. Toxic Vodka will be the vodka of Vegas.

 

Mission Statement

"An organization exists to accomplish something, and this purpose should be clearly stated. Forging a sound mission begins with the following questions: What is our business? Who is the customer? What do consumers value? What should our business be? These simple-sounding questions are among the most difficult the company will ever have to answer. Successful companies continuously raise these questions and answer them carefully and completely."
The mission of Toxic Vodka is to position ourselves in the market as a unique brand. We will target a customer base of young adults and deliver them a quality product. Our vodka will be recognized as a unique brand that stands out from all the others in the market.Toxic Vodka will be about more than just a great tasting drink, it will be about the lifestyle, for those who never  fear the Toxic.

Week 8 EOC: What makes my Vodka special?

The main thing that will set my vodka apart will be the unique bottle design. The design of the bottle will be shaped like a guitar. There will be an entire story and felling associated with the vodka through the bottle design along with the name of the vodka. This will not be your mother’s vodka she used to make her dirty martinis or the vodka the girls of Sex and the City would drink in their Cosmopolitans. This vodka will not be a vodka for the faint of heart. My vodka will set itself apart just by being what it is, Vodka for people who like to rock. That will be apparent just by the packaging of the vodka. There’s no need to go into a story of where this vodka came from, or the high quality of the ingredients used to make it. People who buy this vodka just don’t care. They want to party and rock hard. They need a vodka that reflects that lifestyle.

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

My pitch for a new brand of Vodka is Toxic Vodka. It will be a vodka marketed primarily to young adults who like to rock. The bottle will be in the shape of a guitar, which will give it an added value for those who like to collect memories of their drunken nights.  The ingredients will not be the driving force behind this brand of vodka, instead it will be the narrative and marketing. Most vodkas have little to no distinct flavor so our focus will be to create a distinct story and niche in the market. Consumers will see the bottle and be attracted to the symbol of the shape and the mystery behind the name. No this vodka will not be for the faint of heart. We will challenge those to step up and dare to delve into Toxic Vodka.

Week 6 EOC: Me Times 3

Week 5 EOC: Sony Sleuth- Marketing

“There's still a lot we don't know about the massive security breach of Sony's online services. But this much is clear: consumers had more faith in Sony than the company deserved.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_18001598?nclick_check=1

The issue here with Sony was not informing their customers that there was in issue. They didn't need to divulge too much information, just simpy address their customers. For the most part, Sony customers were upset they couldn't play their games. They needed to be reassured that they could get back to their games as soon as possible. But Sony left days of no word to their customers leaving them completely in the dark. Since Sony said nothing to their customers, the web gossip ran wild and other people were doing the talking for them. When a company doesn't address their customers, they loose respect and loyalty of their customers. The issue is still that people's private information was compromised, but with Sony customers their bigger concern was to play games.

Week 4 EOC: There's An App For That

In the world of smart phones and especially iPhones, most people have now come to rely on the wonderful app world to guide them through their daily lives. It is now very easy to completely customize your smart phone to a person’s specific needs. I have become one of those people. There is now a huge market for the app world. People are making money simply off creating a new iPhone app. I have often thought, “Is there an app for that.” Well my daily life revolves around work and school. The 3 apps that would help me get through my days would maybe save me countless stress and time. One app I have thought of is something that would make just about everything on my phone voice activated. With more cities outlawing the use of phones while driving, and let’s all admit the growing dangers of it, we all could use this. Simply start the app and speak a command. It would work much in the same way the new cars have voice-activated features. So you could have your texts or e-mails read to you, as well as dictate a new message while sitting in morning traffic. Another app that would be very useful to me would be

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

“One thing that all of the Millennials have in common is their utter fluency and comfort with digital technology. They don’t just embrace technology, it’s a way of life. The Millennials were the first generation to grow up in a world filled with computers, cellphones, satellite TV, iPods, and online social networks.” [Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing] Is that really who I am? As a generation we are summed up so succinctly. Well  yes I am at ease at a computer and I can, for the most part, navigate around most common forms of technology. My cell phone is no longer a phone, it is much more; almost a constant companion. My sidekick at all times. But I can also put down the laptop and iPhone long enough to pick up a book and enjoy a good read. I do much more texting and messaging than ever speaking to anyone on the phone or holding actual conversations. But that is the way I feel my generation has been pushed to. Everything youthful and important much be part of the newest technology. “However, the Millennials are bombarded with marketing messages coming at them from all directions.” This statement I completely agree with. I often feel bored down with so much information and ads and just stuff. If I want certain things I am very well equipped to seek it out myself. I don’t need my inbox filled with ads and coupons. Now the website of  my favorite radio station from LA is cluttered with ads that I just close it out and don’t check the site as often. I don’t have a lot of money, but the money I do spend I spend where I really want and not on the cheapest thing. Although, as a woman I am the exception as I am content buying most of my clothes at Target where I can find better deals. When it comes down to it, as a generation we don’t need to be hit at from every single angle to get us to buy. We for the most part know what we want and how to go out and get it. The constant bombardment of information just turns us off as consumers.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

A different way to sustain a charity came with TOMS Shoe Company. The company is a for profit charity, which means they are self sustaining. They are not limited by having to rely on donors to run their charity. Other companies have followed this charity/ business model and in a struggling economy are actually succeeding. “‘But despite these hard times, a few companies who have chosen to swim against the current by actually giving back some of what they earn are recording record profits. But these aren't the corporate donations carefully orchestrated by a clever PR department looking to bolster the company image.” [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-shapter/despite-economy-not-only_b_486607.html] KIND Snacks and Stubb’s BBQ are two fairly new companies making this business model work and giving to charity at the same time. But larger companies are getting involved as well.  One of which is the internet mogul Google. “The ambitious founders of Google, the popular search engine company, have set up a philanthropy, giving it seed money of about $1 billion and a mandate to tackle poverty, disease and global warming. But unlike most charities, this one will be for-profit, allowing it to fund start-up companies, form partnerships with venture capitalists and even lobby Congress. It will also pay taxes.” http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/technology/14google.html?_r=1&ex=1158897600&en=8e001539df9e4e0e&ei=5087%0A
There are still much controversy about this type of charity model. The issue of the company’s true interested always has to be asked. Is the company really using a charity front in order to gain profits or are they truly trying to do some good?
“Though if you’re worried about what a for-profit mentality might do to a charitable organization, Larry Brilliant, executive director of Google.org, told The New York Times, “We’re not doing it for the profit.” He mentioned that while he would like company projects to turn a profit, it wouldn’t really matter if they didn’t. “If we didn’t get our capital back, so what? The emphasis is on social returns, not economic returns.’” [http://www.looktothestars.org/news/137-google-org-operating-as-a-for-profit-charitable-organization]