Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

According to Forbes.com, Target is the most philanthropic corporation in America[1]. In 2001, Target made cash donations to various recipients totaling $85.8 million or 2.51% of its entire revenue from the previous year. In 2004, Target donated 2.1% of its revenue to charities and organizations which totaled $88.8 million[2].  In 1992, Target put a lot of its donation money to work in family oriented charitable causes, the largest of which was the United Way[3]. Target also donates around $15 million to schools nationwide. Another way that Target helps make money for philanthropic causes is by encouraging its employees to donate money to certain charities or organizations which the company matches 100%. Target has also been known to throw some of its donation money towards helping preserve the environment. Target has, for the past twenty years or so, been a major source of financial assistance for many charities and organizations. They have helped with education, the environment, as well as family issues. If more companies donated money like Target does, America could possibly find the solutions to many of its problems.

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[1] Weinberg, Ari. “America’s Most Philanthropic Corporations.” Forbes.com. Forbes. 25 November 2002. Web. 26 January 2011.

[2] Moyer, Liz. “The Most Charitable Companies.” Forbes.com. Forbes. 14 November 2005. Web. 26 January 2011.

[3] Hisey, Pete. “Target gives to family causes - Dayton Hudson Corp. Target Stores charitable contributions - Staying On Target.” Findarticles.com. BNET – The CBS Interactive Business Network. 20 April 1992. Web. 26 January 2011.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

The Millennial generation includes the 83 million people born between the years 1977 to 2000. Included in the Millennials are tweens, teens, and young adults whose purchasing power totals $733 billion. Millennials are generally very comfortable with new technology because they were the first generation to grow up completely surrounded by it. Of the 83 million Millenials, approximately 76 million (91%) are on the internet, 64 million (77%) use social networking sites like Facebook often. 

                As a Millennial researching the characteristics of my own generation, I feel like I am reading a description of myself. I was born in 1988, and so grew up as the internet got big. I was using instant messaging in elementary school, and I had a “Xanga” account (a social networking site that was popular ten or so years ago) when I was in intermediate school.

“All generations are comfortable with technology, but this is the generation that’s been formed by technology” (Armstrong and Kotler 74).

I feel like I would probably not be the same as I am today had it not been for the huge influence that technology had on me in my life growing up. It is interesting how marketing has to now take into account the medium that which Millennials will be most likely to respond to advertising on. For instance, newspaper advertisements are not a good way to market to Millennials, but the same advertisement located on the side of a computer screen on Facebook might have profound results. Despite my efforts to be a non-conformist throughout the years, it appears as though technology has shaped me into yet another perfectly-molded Millennial consumer.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

The video game market seems to be as strong as ever.  Through the years 2002-2006 the video game industry grew 5.7% while the movie industry fell 0.3% and the music industry fell 11.6%. Nate Anderson of arstechnica.com says:

“If we look at worldwide numbers, we see that the video gaming market (not including hardware) is projected to grow by more than 100 percent in the ten years from 2002-2011[1]."

The gaming industry is expected to grow even more in the next several years according to Dean Takahashi  of venturebeat.com:

“ (DFC  Intelligence) estimates that games were a $60.4 billion business in 2009. So, over five years, the game industry will grow just 16 percent[2].”

Despite these predictions made in early 2010, the full year of 2010 ended up being a fairly terrible year for the majority of the industry.

                “However, for most of the industry, 2010 couldn't end fast enough[3].”

It is not all of the video game business that is suffering, however; the Call of Duty franchise’s most recent release, “Black Ops,” broke entertainment records. Besides traditional console gaming, which costs around $60 per new game, gamers can now purchase (for pennies on the dollar, compared to console games), or even get for free, gaming ‘apps’ for their portable telephones. It may just be that with the introduction of such high quality portable gaming options at far lower prices, people aren’t as willing to purchase a game for around $60 unless they are sure it will be good. Perhaps the novelty of playing simple games on a phone will lose its value in coming years; but as of now, it appears that, despite projections, the gaming industry could be in for a tough several years.

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[1] Anderson, Nate. “Video Gaming To Be Twice As Big As Music By 2011.” Arstechnica.com. Ars Technica. 30  August 2007. Web. 19 January 2011.

[2] Takahashi, Dean. “Video Game Industry To Hit $70 Billion by 2015, But Growth Will Be Slow.” Venturebeat.com. GamesBeat. 25 May 2010. Web. 19 January 2011.

[3] AP. “2010 A Tough Year For Video Game Industry.” localtechwire.com. Local Tech Wire. 14 January 2011. Web. 19 January 2011.

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service Experience

I had a good feeling about my trip to Finish Line from the moment I walked through their glass doors. A friendly salesman immediately greeted me and asked if he could help me with anything. Normally, I don't particularly care for persistent salespeople who shadow you around the store trying to make their commission; so I said no thank you. After browsing peacefully through the running shoe section with no interruption by the sales staff for several minutes, I was ready for some help. The salesman that had promised not to bother me was standing several feet away, and was immediately available to assist. After getting some helpful information about several different brands and styles of running shoes I had made a decision. With no pushiness, the salesman explained to me that the sole inserts that came in the shoe I was purchasing were very flimsy and would provide little support during any exercise regimen. I took them out to examine; he was absolutely right. I have flat feet, and so did the salesman, so when he gave me advice I took it. I ended up not only purchasing the shoes, but also an excellent set of sole inserts for flat feet and signed up for the Finish Line rewards card. Now, they are able to contact me with offers and try to nurture the relationship made with me on my first purchase. “Good customer relationship management creates customer delight. In turn, delighted customers remain loyal and talk favorably to others about the company and its products” (Armstrong and Kotler 21). I believe that this salesman did an excellent job of establishing a solid relationship with the customer in this case, and I certainly have nothing bad to say about Finish Line as a result; I've been thrilled with my shoe and sole insert purchase.