Week 4 Classroom takeaway

A key point I took away from week 4 classroom lecture was that perception is what the consumer sees and feels.  Even though we are exposed to stimuli through ads, products and stores we still may not hear or see anything.  This is because we go through selective processes which consists of:
1) Selective Process which is our eyes and minds seeking out and noticing only information that interests us.
2) Selective perception which is us screening out or modifying ideas, messages, and information that conflict with previously learned attitudes and beliefs.
3) Selective retention which is the consumer only remembering what we want to remember.

Greg Kotcamp's Vals Survey

Week 5 Homework:  After taking the VALS survey my primary type is that I'm an Achiever.  The secondary type is that I'm a thinker.

SpongeBob Square Pants’ Last Stand

            Child obesity is a growing problem that’s gaining increasing government attention and this can possibly lead to new guidelines on food advertising to children. Last year a government task force proposed new “voluntary” guidelines on food marketing aimed at kids under seventeen. According to the Association of National Advertisers “A large percentage of these foods are currently in the marketplace” and would not meet the guidelines. The underlying cause of obesity in children is the same as it is for their parents and that is eating too much and exercising too little. Kids eat what their parents eat and with both parents working this leaves less time for home cooking, shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables and getting outside and exercising with their kids. Restricting food advertising is not the answer. According to a 2007 study by the Federal Trade Commission, the exposure of youth to food advertising on television actually declined between 1977 and 2004 while the rate of youth obesity soared. Limiting advertising could possibly cost food producers one hundred and fifty two billion in sales and three hundred seventy eight thousand jobs in banned products over four years. If companies are forced to choose new products, advertisements for new products can increase market demand which will allow for brand advertising to reallocate existing market share. Using brand advertising can make brand loyalty stronger and can help lead to higher product prices. Attacking advertising will not help win the war on child obesity.

            When I saw the title of the article it intrigued me. I wasn’t sure where the story was going until I read it. The fact that companies target children through cartoons like Sponge Bob to market their product is a business, but I feel that it is up to the parents to see to it that their children eat right and get enough exercise to stay fit.

http://search.proquest.com.library3.webster.edu/docprintview/993983829/Record/13613E301352FFBFF70/36?accountid=14944

Zywicki, T. (2012, Apr 13). SpongeBob SquarePants last stand. Wall Street Journal, pp. A.11-A.11. http://library3.webster.edu/docview/993983829?accountid=14944

Greg Kotcamp

Dr Meaux;
     Here is a copy of my paper for week 2.  A take away from our class on Saturday March 31, 2012 was that you have to have a marketing plan that has a written statement of a marketing strategy and time related details for carrying out the strategy.  The details should consist of what marketing mix will be offered and to whom, what company resources will be needed at what rate and the results you are expecting.

Terracycle to Turn Dirty Diapers into Park Benches

            Disposing of diapers is a serious business, both from an ecological impact and also in profit potential. Disposable diapers take centuries to biodegrade and on average Americans contribute just over three and a half million tons of municipal waste each year. This means that a little over two percent of landfill waste in the United States is diapers. Terracycle wants to get into this potential business of up cycling which is taking what most people consider trash and turning it into cash for others. To do this they need to convince parents to actually turn over the used diapers, instead of trashing them.

            Terracycle’s plan is to set up a collection station utilizing containers at potential hot spots like daycare centers and pay the host for the storage of the container. Once collected, the fecal matter would be neutralized, the plastic casing would be separated from the paper-based insides and the new raw materials would be processed from the component parts which then would be sold. The potential products from this process would be doggie pee pads, fiber additives for concrete, plastic “wood” for park benches, picnic tables or shipping pallets. Terracycle is still looking for a corporate sponsor where they are willing to pay between two and ten cents per dirty diaper.

            I found this article very fascinating in the fact that something that is deemed very unpleasant can be processed and reformulated to be used as a viable product. To take human waste and reprocess it to help make park benches is remarkable.

            I’m currently working on a similar project at work. We are discarding sixty, fifty-five gallon barrels of used peanut butter a day into the landfills because we are not able to recycle them. This is due to the allergen nature of the product. The proposal moving forward would be to use reusable plastic totes to transport and store peanut butter until final use which is our Tagalong cookie.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679425/terracycle-to-turn-dirty-diapers-into-park-benches