Using the Product Color Matrix

The Product Color Matrix (PCM) is a tool that marketers can use to model their products in order to appeal to a certain demographic.  Products are assigned a color based on their segment of the matrix and the different colors represent which type of product it is. 

For example, "White Goods" are large tools like appliances and insurance that carry a high risk and are purchased solely for their functionality. 

"Red Goods" are large toys like sports cars, motorcycles, and fashionable clothing.  These products carry a high risk because of their large price tag but are more of an expressive product. 

"Blue Goods" are functional products described as little tools that are used every day like gasoline and laundry detergent.  These carry a very low risk and are purchased for their functionality rather than their expressiveness. 

"Yellow Goods" are little treats that are purchased for their expressive values like snack foods, desserts, and beer. 

In many cases, a product can often fit in to multiple sections of the matrix depending on their intended or actual use.

The commercial I chose to analyze was a recent Taco Bell commercial that is a part of their "Live Más" campaign featuring their Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos.  In my personal opinion, I think that Taco Bell is considered a "Blue Good" because it is very low risk (inexpensive) and is mostly purchased for its functionality (to satisfy hunger).  However, after watching this commercial, one could argue that Taco Bell could be considered a "Red Good" because it is almost used to express individuality.  The "Live Más" campaign is geared towards young adults and focuses on living life to the fullest, focusing on expressiveness. 

I think that this commercial does a good job at showing the expressiveness of Taco Bell even though it is generally considered a "Blue Good." It clearly shows a nervous young couple on their first date, and the boy finally gathers the courage to kiss her while eating the new Doritos Locos Tacos. 

Another Taco Bell commercial titled "Grande Papi" takes a similar route in showing the expressiveness of their new "Live Más" campaign. 

This commercial features a father walking through the streets of a city eating a new Cantina Steak Burrito from Taco Bell.  Even though he is carrying his child on his chest, he still has his "cool factor" by eating Taco Bell, thus adding to his expressive individuality.

I think Taco Bell is using these types of commercials to try and change their brand image.  In the past, Taco Bell has received criticism for being extremely low quality food that is only good for a quick snack or a drunken late-night purchase.  The Live Más campaign focuses heavily on youth and young adults and recognizes their desire for expression.  I think that the marketers knew this when designing these ads to appeal to their desired demographic.

How has Oreo Become America's Favorite Cookie?

To me, an Oreo represents more than a delicious, fattening snack, but also an important part of my childhood.  I can remember when I was a kid opening my lunch at school to find three Oreos as a dessert nearly every day.  In fact, the best times of the year was when the Oreos started having the seasonal-colored creme like orange for Halloween, red for Christmas, and green for spring. 

When asked to write about our own personal Oreo experience, I immediately remembered an awful situation I had as a child.  My mom had just taken me to get my teeth cleaned at our dentist right down the street.  After waiting approximately zero seconds after getting home, I dove head first into a package of Oreos, completely erasing the positive cleaning effects of the fluoride treatment I had gotten just ten minutes prior.  My mom (who was absolutely furious) sent me directly to my room after scrubbing my teeth for what seemed like an eternity.  The next day, I opened my lunchbox that lacked the one thing I had grown accustomed to--Oreos. 

What is surprising to me is how a brand can become so iconic and represent a big part in millions of people's lives.  The same phenomenon is present with Twinkies and how people were outraged when the company went bankrupt last year.  You could ask anyone what an Oreo means to them and would end up hearing countless stories of childhood memories like my own.  Oreo has reached this level by continuing to deliver a beloved product year after year.  People have been able to create an emotional attachment to a product which is not easily achieved by many brands.  However, if a marketer can get this to occur, they should have no problem establishing their brand as a leader in the marketplace. 

Week Four: "Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read"

In this weeks class, we focused on legendary advertising executive, Leo Burnett.  Burnett is best known for his work with Kellogg's, Maytag and Marlboro.  Most notably, Burnett's firm created the iconic Marlboro Man which served the brand from its creation in 1954 all the way until 1999.  Burnett's marketing strategy was based on a few different concepts.  Simplicity was one of the most important elements involved in the majority of his works.  What made the Marlboro Man so iconic and successful was the simplicity behind it.  Marlboro was originally made for women and wanted to shift their brand image, so Burnett created a relatable, blue-collar, American man that could attract the male market.  The simplicity behind this idea was that men would be inspired to buy Marlboro cigarettes if they knew other "common" men were doing it too.  This concept blends nicely with another one of Burnett's critical elements; knowing your brand.  The Marlboro man was not only memorable, but also became successful because he was a representation of the brand itself.  Burnett studied who Marlboro's desired target market was, analyzed them thoroughly, and created a memorable campaign that was a successful image of what the brand represented. 

Even though the Marlboro Man represents the rugged side of Burnett's genius, he also had a softer side as evident through his work for Kellogg's.  Burnett is known for creating the characters of Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes and Charlie the Tuna for StarKist Tuna.  These characters were designed with one thing in mind: simplicity.  The characters are relatable, memorable, and fun which is partly what made them so successful.  They made something as boring as breakfast cereal or tuna fish into something that made people want to purchase the product, which was of course Burnett's goal. 

Get Creative with your Creative Process

A creative process can be a difficult concept to comprehend.  Everyone works differently, therefore everyone has a different interpretation of what the creative process means.  While some people find it easy to put their process into words, I personally found it pretty difficult.  However, here is what I came up with for how I work best when trying to creatively:

The Creative Process

1. Take a seat somewhere comfy and assess your task at hand.
2. Clear your mind of all distractions.
3. Forget that . . . take a five minute break to watch some cat videos on YouTube.
4. Got enough inspiration?  Get back to work!
5. Brainstorm, brainstorm, ask questions and brainstorm again.
6. Congratulations, you have your first small idea!
7. Wait, that idea is garbage . . . back to the drawing board! There will always be roadblocks.
8. Clear your mind again and repeat steps 3-7, then see step 9.
9. A genius idea!
10. Write absolutely everything down for further inspiration.  You won't regret it.
11. Keep adding to your genius idea until your problem is solved!

Like I said before, the creative process is different for everyone!  Personally, I work better when I take multiple breaks and I can find inspiration at literally any time--even in the middle of the night.  The point of the creative process is that with enough brainstorming, questioning, and creative thinking, you will eventually reach that big idea that will solve your problem. 

Week Three: Blonde's Have More Fun

 

Who is Shirley Polykoff?

You may not know her name, but chances are you have come in contact with some of her work.  Throughout the 1950s, Shirley was instrumental in the adaption of hair coloring product Miss Clairol into the United States marketplace.  Previously, coloring one's hair in the US was considered taboo--a practice only used by actresses and prostitutes.  Polykoff's visionary taglines "Blondes have more fun" and "Does she . . . or doesn't she?" captivated women across the country and made the process of hair coloring a natural thing, because with Miss Clairol hair coloring products, no one could tell if you were using their product, eliminating the negative stigma.  After the campaign was launched, hair color sales in the United States increased by 500%.  Polykoff's slogan used persuasion to help sway an entire nation's opinion of a product.


The lesson I took from this week's class is that a catchy slogan can turn your brand into a huge success.  This got me thinking of many different brand's slogans.  Which ones are successful? Which ones are forgettable? Whenever I hear "I'm lovin' it," I immediately think of McDonald's--making this an effective slogan.  However, there are many companies with slogans that actually cause some people to think of their competition--making these poor choices for a catchphrase. Some slogans have been so played out that they are no longer effective and can often give people a poor image of the brand.  For example, (continuing with my hatred for anything Geico-related), Geico's slogan "So easy, a caveman could do it" has been completely played out and has become extremely annoying in my opinion.

What are some of your favorite brand slogans?  Least favorites?  Comment below!

Twinkie Buyer Persona

Now that we have narrowed down who buys a Twinkie in an "I am" statement, we can also express this data along with additional information in a statement called a "buyer persona."  A buyer persona is basically a template that explains who it is you are trying to target your marketing efforts towards.

According to the Simmons data, the average Twinkie buyer in the United States is a Caucasian female between the ages of 45 and 54.  In addition, they are much more likely to live in the Mid-West United States or the Pacific Coast.  The majority of Twinkie buyers are high school graduates and are either full time college students or hold a full time blue-collar job.  For those Twinkie buyers who work full time, the average salary is under $30,000/year.  A Twinkie buyer is also more likely to live in a home with more children who are under sixteen years of age.  From a political perspective, Twinkie buyers tend to take the middle-of-the-road stance.  Many Twinkie buyers are often on the go, so they rarely have time to bake desserts of their own.  In this case, Twinkies are the perfect substitute to feed younger kids.  For entertainment, 22% of Twinkie buyers find an interest in the National Football League which could directly correlate to the higher amount of free time on the weekends when football is generally broadcast.  The average Twinkie buyer does not have much interest in NASCAR, Rodeo, or Professional Wrestling.

The sports/entertainment data used in this buyer persona is presented in the following cross tabulation:

Through the Simmons database, there are countless fields that have data regarding buyers of Twinkies that you could also incorporate into the buyer persona or "I am" statement including what kind of books they like to read, what movie genre they prefer, and what types of TV shows they usually watch.  Buyer personas can be extremely helpful to marketers because it provides them with the information regarding exactly who they want to target their ad campaigns towards.

Okay, Who REALLY Eats a Twinkie?

In class, we were faced with the interesting question: Who really eats a Twinkie?  In order to answer this question, we first needed to look at and analyze the Simmons data that we were given in class.  Once we took a closer look at the data, we were able to paint a fairly clear picture of who purchases a Twinkie in the United States.  In fact, some of the findings based on the Simmons data were really interesting and not exactly what I expected.  The following represents an "I am" statement about the consumer profile of someone who purchases a Twinkie.  Obviously, this is not from my own personal point of view, because I am not a middle-aged woman!


"I am a white woman between the ages of 45 and 54 living in the Mid-West United States.  Even though I live in a rural area, I still make sure to buy a box of Twinkies every time I go to the grocery store.  I am a high school graduate and am employed full time with an annual income between $15,000 and $30,000.  I share my home with my husband and two children--both of which are under seventeen.  They have loved Twinkies since they were little, and still do today.  Even though I do not personally eat Twinkies, the rest of my family can't get enough of them!"


Based on this "I am" statement, it is clear that this is only taking into account a small sample that was used for the Simmons analysis.  While the survey did not take into account everyone in the United States, it paints a clear picture of who the average Twinkie consumer is in the United States today.  There are plenty of other criteria that could be used to narrow this down even further, but based on the data we were given, it is a pretty clear description!