Flavory Avery

Apple and Microsoft are two of the biggest companies in the world - and each others most contentious rivals. It wasn't always this way however. Both companies were founded in the late 1970's, one by Bill Gates and the other by Steve Jobs. They actually had a collaborative business relationship in the beginning with one focusing on developing software, and the other on designing state of the art desktops. Soon they split apart and began the race for innovation in the technological field they were competing in. As it now stands of Jan. 2022, "AAPL had a market cap of around $2.61 trillion. Microsoft briefly edged out Apple as the largest company in the world riding on the strength in the growth of its cloud computing business, but MSFT has now fallen to second at $2.17 trillion  (Ross, 2022) ." What is the brand strategy being used by the top dog? Top dogs, in this case Apple, are "market leaders, or the strongest brands with the largest market shares in their p...

From humble beginnings in a basement, to a 4 billion dollar company, the brand Under Armour has grown considerably through the clever use of market segmentation . This is the process of "dividing the large and diverse mass market into subsets of consumers who share common needs, characteristics, or behaviors, and then targeting one or more of those segments with a distinct marketing mix (Kardes, 2020)."  In the case study article, what market segments were identified and what segmentation strategies were implemented? Originally the brand used their breathable sweat-wicking material to appeal to tough guy football types. However, with companies like Adidas and Nike dominating that market, competition was fierce. Under Armour had to get creative and focused in on a new segment through the use of a bold new campaign titled "I Will What I Want." This campaign targeted a new demographic of women, specifically those “who had the physical and mental strength to tune out ...

  Understanding consumer behavior  is a vital part of modern marketing strategies for successful businesses. It includes "all consumer activities associated with the purchase, use, and disposal of goods and services, including the consumer’s emotional, mental,  and behavioral responses that precede, determine, or follow these activities (Kardes, 2020)." The better a company understands its consumer's behaviors, the more accurately it can reach them with products and services they truly desire. What type of consumer are you? Majority of the time I am an individual consumer , which means I make purchases for my own personal needs, or for my friends and family. This can range from the coffee I buy myself in the morning from Starbucks, to the flowers I got my friend for her birthday last week. At my job at Buffalo Exchange however, I act as an  organizational consumer by purchasing clothes from sellers in order to resell them in our store to individual consumers. Wh...

What do you notice about this type of marketing?      Officially added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2019, the word Influencer is defined as "a person who inspires or guides the actions of others. often, specifically: a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media." This type of marketing has risen greatly in the past couple years with more and more brands utilizing these modern day sales people to promote their products. Just open up Instagram and you'll be bombarded with people and brands pushing you to buy their weight loss tea or the newest bikini from their line. Young people in particular seem to be especially susceptible and mesmerized by these tactics. Many want to become influencers themselves, as it appears to be glamorous and easy. What strategies are they employing?      Influencers have mastered the art of enticing followers through personal branding, popularity, an...

    By telling a tale of a lost stuffed tiger through digital media,  Tampa International Airport   was able to connect with millions of people. Many people can relate to the story, as it may tug on our heartstrings a little bit when we remember a childhood toy that we ourselves once lost. Using this situation allowed the airport to show they value the needs and wants of their target audience, which is great customer service. Customers have many other options when picking airlines to fly with, but seeing this kind of content on social media leaves a positive and memorable impression of the brand that may result in a conversion.      The tale of the tiger was able to address the social and consumer experience through showing pictures of the stuffed animal on a journey throughout different places of the airport. It got to hang out with firefighters, work out at the gym, treat itself to a delicious gelato, and much more. When it was time for the...

BUZZZ...! BUZZZZZZ...!   Wake up.        Pick up the phone.              Plug in.  Now entering virtual reality. Surfing all the networks and programs on the daily.                                      What sites and/or applications do you visit most often?       According to my phone's built in digital wellbeing program, the app I frequented the most this week is Facebook with around 6.5 hours. I use this app more than any other probably because I've had it the longest and know the most real people on it.       The next site I use a lot is YouTube, with around 2 hours and 45 minutes spent. I would say these results definitely vary week to week depending on my workload. When I have free time I love to deep dive into some good YouTube channels. Creating videos and establ...

H&M and Fast Fashion Photo from H&M H ello everyone! So today's blog post is an assignment for my Online and Mobile Marketing class at Santa Barbara City College. It is part of a midterm where I explore the marketing and online presence of one of The World's Most Valuable Brands according to Forbes Magazine. As someone who is interested in becoming a fashion marketer and learning more about the industry, I chose H&M , ranked #33 on the list. Here are some interesting things I learned while doing this project : A Brief History of H&M For those of you that have never heard of H&M or been to one of their stores, H&M is the second largest clothing retailer in the world, and whose headquarters can be found in Stockholm, Sweden. H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is the full name of the company, but was originally founded in 1947 as Hennes, a simple women’s clothing store in Västerås, Sweden . The company is now consists of six different ...