From puppy channel to male condoms for females

Yes it all happens in the marketing class. Different teams are supposed to prepare case studies for the class and then present their finding with respect to the big picture in the beginning of the class. Think about some product that you think marketers are concerned about and lets match with the list our class came up with… Let’s start with the easy ones first eBay… Chevrolet… Coke zero and Starbucks… okay okay I won’t bore you any further… some of the out of the league topics – US Army “Army Strong” campaign (I was a part of the team), the puppy channel (a TV channel that just shows dogs and puppies all time), eHarmony (the dating site that finds your match using 29 psychological matches), Abercrombie (the all white male dressing) and elexa (the male condoms for females!!!).

So as you can imagine the discussions on the marketing strategy, from acquisition to retention, from stimulate demand to steal share, from dynamic to key variables, from target audience to positions and all remaining 4 Ps, were bound to be heated, exciting, thought provoking. Never before, I was so interested in Marketing and I believe never would I be. At the same point of time, I think it has ruined my life. I used to enjoy advertising. I used to critique them for the subtlety they had, for the humor they provided and for the relaxation they brought. Off late, I am just wondering why are they playing on the dynamic variable when they ought to be stealing share. Is this placement right? What if we decrease breadth of the product? What can improve credence here… I am ruined :)

Oh BTW, some of the worst thing happened during this class... I think I mentioned how I slept once in the class and my head banged against the desk and how Proff Nordhielm was all angry with me... in the last lecture of the semester, we presented our findings. I was cursing myself for being the last group to present and how it meant getting all sorts of questions from all angles and coming to the class even on the last lecture. Suddenly, as you expect, somethings went little sentimental and Proff Nordhielm decided to give "Marketing Star of the Year Awards" to 5 students. Having known the fact, that I hated marketing to the core, I was sure I will be busy clapping and for once I was happy to be contended... however there it was... "Manish Dabas - for asking those brilliant questions and for making class alive!!!" Gosh... I mean ... MARKETING :)

I have to see this movie now... "Gods must be crazy"