Market Segmentation Assignment

The article The iPad Leads Apple to the Elderly describes how the ease of use of the iPad appeals to the an aging demographic.  The 55 and over crowd is a desirable market segment. Marketers assume this group has more discretionary spending power because of savings and less pull by outside factors -- children, for example. This group also continues to increase in size as the leading edge of the baby boomer (people born between 1946 and 1964) generation (in the United States about 77 million still living out of 309 million total population, according to Census data) reaches retirement age.  Apple has typically targeted younger consumers (according to a recent AdMob report, 65% percent of iPod touch users are 17 or younger and 72% of iPhone users are between 18 and 54).

What can Apple do to make the iPad more appealing to consumers 55 and older?  Be sure to consider each of the 4Ps.  If you are not familiar with the features of the iPad, you can learn more about them on the Apple web site.  In your opinion, should Apple market the iPad to this segment?  Why or why not?

Post your responses to the blog no later than the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 1st to receive credit (please do not forget to include your name; otherwise it will not be possible to give you credit).

Chapter 9 Quiz

Your first graded quiz has been posted to WebCT.  It will be available beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 25th. You must complete the quiz no later than the beginning of class on Thursday, January 27th to receive credit. 

If you have not taken a quiz on WebCT before, simply go to WebCT and choose the MKTG 340 course. When you are in the course, select Assessments and you will see the link for the Chapter 9 quiz. It is a good idea to read the text BEFORE taking the quiz as you only have 15 minutes to take the quiz.  Once you begin the quiz, you need to complete it; you cannot take the quiz more than once.  Please be sure to save each answer before submitting the quiz (don't forget to answer the question giving you 2.5 points for taking the quiz -- you can't get this one wrong). After the quiz deadline, I will release your quiz score and the correct answers to those who took the quiz so you may have them for exam studying purposes. 

Your First Assignment: Benefits and Wants

Ace Metrix has just come out with their list of Top 10 Ads of 2010 for TV commercials.  Ace Metrix creates a score for ads which is based, in part, on a commercial's persuasiveness and watchability. Look at each of the top 10 ads. (1) Which of the ads do you think best promotes the benefits of the product? Why? (2) Which of the ads do you think is most effective at creating desire (or want) for the company's product? Why?

Post your responses to the blog no later than the beginning of class on Tuesday, January 25th (make sure you read the Welcome to MKTG 340 post and follow the process for posting your comments) -- be sure to include your name so I can give you credit.

Chapter 1 Quiz

There will be a short quiz on Chapter 1 at the beginning of class on Tuesday, January 25th. This quiz will not be graded. This quiz will give you an idea of the format of the quizzes for the semester.

Marketing in 2

This is a cute video that uses humor to explain a few of the marketing concepts we will discuss over the course of the semester.

Welcome to MKTG 340!

Welcome to the Principles of Marketing (MKTG 340) course for the Spring 2011 Semester.  I look forward to getting to know you, having the opportunity to work with you and participating in your introduction to the world of Marketing.

This course blog will serve as the venue for posting class materials, assignments and pertinent information/announcements.  I also hope that you will contribute to online discussions or comment on blog postings.

To post a comment, you need to do the following:

• Beneath the post, you will see the word comments underlined. Click on this.
• You will see a screen that shows Post a Comment
• Type your comment in the box.
• In the Comment As drop box, choose Name/URL.
• You will see an Edit Profile box appear. Type your name (first and last) in the Name cell (otherwise I won't be able to give you credit). In the URL cell you can type the URL to your web site if you have one -- if not, you can always use http://www.radford.edu/.  Click Continue.
• Click the Post Comment button. You will be asked to type a word to ensure you are not a site that is trying to spam the blog -- once you do this, you are done.