THE OVER$PENT AMERICAN

We recently watched a movie titled "The Overspent American" in our Marketing class. The movie, in summary, described the economy as "money hungry" and how everyone strives to be the best in the community.


What are the latest items of conspicuous consumption today? Do we see a continuing trend in what the video identifies as the “overspent American”? How does marketing today play a role in these trends today?

Lately, the biggest thing that America has been spending their money on is Apple products. The iPad, iPhone and even MacBook have all been a growing interest for consumers. Americans across the United States are making these luxury purchases, regardless if they have the money or not. The film discussed how consumers used to not be as competitive and used to purchase luxury items only if they had the money. Nowadays, everyone is competing left and right for the biggest house, biggest car and best clothing. This is causing credit card debt to sky rocket. Marketing today plays a very crucial role in Americans wanting to look the best. In previous years, very little if any, clothing had labels on the outside. Now, everywhere you look teenagers and adults are wearing major designers. The movie described a time that they took 3 of the same t-shirt and put 3 different labels on the outside. They asked consumers to put the t-shirts in order by quality. Instead of realizing that they were all created the same, the consumers ranked them in order of popularity, with Polo being first and Lands End being last. This is a technique that marketers use to get their products into the hands of America. Many people will only buy a certain brand of clothing, car or electronic, regardless of the price. All of this has been causing massive amounts of debt and competition like no other. 


What are your views on consumers "over spending"?

Response to Ashley Guidi

Ashley stated in her recent blog post:

"If we all took the time to question how often we go in to the store with a set list of items and actually stick to it, without grabbing that extra, "special buy", i think we would find that we buy a lot more than we actually need.

How often do you go into a supermarket and buy exactly what you need?"

I find this to be a very interesting question. My mother goes grocery shopping as much as twice a week sometimes and I always find her coming home with so much more than she went in to get. After reading Ashley's blog, I found a few points to be very interesting. She said that grocery stores put the most attractive products for children on the lower level so the little children are at eye level. I can remember back to when I was younger always begging my mom to get certain things. I think this is a good marketing technique for the grocery stores to use because if every customer purchases a few extras they can certainly generate alot of profit after just one day. I try and go into the grocery store with a full stomach because I find that I will purchase things that I want at that specific time. I think it is hard for people to stick to their lists because they'll see certain things on sale and it will trigger a new meal idea for the week. Once that idea pops into their head, they will need to find all of the other ingredients to make the meal and soon enough they have purchased 5 extra things! Another point that Ashley made was that there is always a display of candy and magazines at the cash register. People will just grab a pack of gum or a magazine and there's another $2. dollars. If you multiply that by 250 customers a day thats an additional $500 of revenue!

Segments of Windham, NH

I recently typed the zip code of my hometown, Windham NH, into "MyBestSegments" to see what types of variables and segments make up my town. The two that stood out the most and that I agreed with are: 

"Big Fish, Small Pond"

Older, upper-class, college-educated professionals, the members of Big Fish, Small Pond are often among the leading citizens of their small-town communities. These upscale, empty-nesting couples enjoy the trappings of success, including belonging to country clubs, maintaining large investment portfolios, and spending freely on computer technology. "Country Squires" The wealthiest residents in exurban America live in Country Squires, an oasis for affluent Baby Boomers who've fled the city for the charms of small-town living. In their bucolic communities noted for their recently built homes on sprawling properties, the families of executives live in six-figure comfort. Country Squires enjoy country club sports like golf, tennis, and swimming as well as skiing, boating, and biking. I agree with these two segments because Windham is a very small and mostly residential with a fairly small population. For the people that live here, I see them being on the upscale side because Windham has the highest per capita income in New Hampshire. My family also lives on a golf course so I can relating to "belonging to a country club." Also, many of the businesses that are part of Windham are very small and can fit in with the "country" atmosphere that they describe. We recently built a Shaw's Supermarket and a Dunkin Donuts Coffee shop, but besides that, the shops and restaurants are mostly family owned or sole proprietorships. What does MyBestSegments say about your hometown?

Response to Kristen Begin

JC Penney, through catalog sales totaled $454 million in 2010, they recently cancelled their catalog distribution.  They expect sales to grow at a slower rate because of their decision.  Is this something JC Penney is doing to be more environmentally conscious; perhaps to appeal to more customers?  


JC Penney is a very successful company. They have stores all across the United States and have a clear indication of profit within the company. I think this decision to cancel catalog distribution is a well thought out idea. I think it definitely has to do with being more environmentally conscious and wanting to save money having to create those catalogs. Nowadays, a lot of shopping is done online, which is another reason JC Penny has updated their website. I think the cancelling of the catalog, and updating of their website will have a direct effect on their profits within the company. I feel as thought, customers will spend more time searching online for products as opposed to flipping through a catalog in the mail. 

Taco Bell Tacos: Beefy Enough?!

Taco Bell is currently holding a discount for their signature Crunchwrap Supreme, pricing it at $0.88, from $2.39 until March 5, 2011. What is the reason behind this major promotion? Marketing experts are saying that Taco Bell customers have been claiming that their menu items contain more filler than they do beef. In response to a lawsuit filed by a woman in January, claiming her taco wasn't sufficient, the chain has been fighting to market their restaurant. The Wall Street Journal Quotes:

"Starting this week, Taco Bell will air television commercials, radio spots and other ads featuring franchisees and employees talking about the makeup of its taco filling. In one ad, an employee says, "Our seasoned beef is 88% premium ground beef and 12% signature recipe. If you want to see that signature recipe, go to tacobell.com. It's right there."


How exactly is this lawsuit going to affect the fast food chain? In my opinion, not by much. Taco Bell is popular across the United States and I don't think a few complaining customers are going to affect the sales of the company that drastically. Taco Bell is doing the right thing, however, by proving themselves to the customers. In one video on YouTube, Taco Bell President Greg Creed tells customers that only 12% of the menu item is actually made up of seasonings and flavors. They stand strong beside the ingredients in hopes to "wow" customers back to their food chain.


Do you think this lawsuit, or any other complaints about Taco Bell, will sufficiently affect their profits? Check out the story behind the beef here!

Response to Paige Culveyhouse

 I does make me wonder though, why is the fact that the Coca-Cola recipe is such a big deal? Don’t all vendors want to keep what makes their product special, top secret so it cannot be duplicated?




I agree with Paige regarding the Coca-Cola recipe. In summary, she describes how Coke has this "special" and "mysterious" recipe that no one will ever come up with. Ever since Coca-Cola came to be, this has always been part of their company. The fact that no one knows what ingredients go into this popular beverage, makes it so interesting. My question is, why is it such a big deal with Coke? Every product around has their own recipes for things but it have never grown to be such an ordeal, as it has with Coca-Cola products. A similar situation as this one, is with the Big Mac sauce from McDonald's. Supposedly no one knows this magical sauce recipe. Some say it is a mixture of ketchup, mustard and relish but to me, it never tastes the same. This is what makes products so diverse in nature. Each one has their own recipes that makes them number 1 in the industry. Why do you think it's so hard to decipher with Coca- Cola?

Whole Foods Market: Socially Responsible

Whole Foods Market is known for their high quality food and their employee-customer relationship. But, what is it that makes them so much different than an ordinary supermarket?

1.Whole Foods is one of the most socially responsible companies I know of. They strive to put the customers first in every situation. By satisfying the customers, they are able to satisfy the other stakeholders of the company. Their employees are another example of good treatment.

2. Every employee is important to the company as a whole. They get together weekly to discuss problems, improvements or other various ideas for the growing supermarket. They treat every employee like the others. Everyone has access to all of the annual figures because they believe everyone deserves a right to know.

3. Finally, the environment is one of the most important aspects to this company. They support organic agriculture and are against animal abuse. No matter the cost, Whole Foods uses the most of its resources to provide the freshest foods for all of its customers. They also like to play a large role in the community and contribute a percentage of their profits to non profit organizations in the environment.

Have any of you ever been to a Whole Foods Market? Do you see this company acting as socially responsible as they say?