Ugh, Politics

I normally like to keep my nose out of politics, especially in a public forum like this however one name has stood out to me since day one of announcing their presidential campaign. That name is Donald Trump. When Donald Trump first announced his candidacy everyone I talked to took it as a joke. As the race for both parties nominations began to heat up, the American people began seeing more and more about Trump. It seemed like overnight Trump began to look like a very real possibility for securing the nomination of the Republican party.

As the race continues to heat up I can't help but wonder, how has Trump gone from complete joke to a "serious" candidate? I took to the Internet to find out and found an article from USA today with several different explanations for Trump's popularity. 

• Candor- So apparently people love it when public figures, especially when that person is a public figure. Trump doesn't care how he comes across and it seems people have taken a liking to that. 
• Leadership- Trump has been a business man for years and that comes across to a lot of people as leadership ability. Although running businesses does not automatically equate to leadership skills, many people believe the two are directly related. 
• The Outsider- It is a huge plus for many people that Trump is not a lifelong politician. 
• The Celebrity- Going along with being the outsider, people who might not be involved in politics know his name from his tv show. 

Even after reading articles explaining why people are jumping on the Trump wagon, I still don't get it. This is a great lesson to me that when you look at someone and think they are being irrational, they might be thinking the same thing about you. Being able to cross that divide and create a commonality is what makes marketing effective. 

The Magical World of Weddings

Crazy cool garter sold on Etsy

If you love something, you should incorporate it into your wedding right? Well, one of the newest trends hitting the wedding scene is fantasy weddings. With the rise of internet sites such as Tumblr other social media websites, it is apparent that fandoms are everywhere. Everyone has their favorite show or movies that they wish they could actually live out. With this new trend, people are getting to live out their love of these shows. movies, and books on their wedding days. One quick trip to Pinterest (just kidding, there is no such thing as a quick trip to Pinterest) shows you hundreds of ideas on how to make your big day perfect. The wedding industry is already a huge industry with people pouring tens of thousands of dollars into their big day. But, is there a niche market within the wedding industry from these fantasy weddings?

If we break down basic wedding statistics, they look something like this.

• 2.3 million couples wed every year (6,200 a day) 
• $72 billion per year is what is spent on weddings 
• The average cost of a wedding is $20,000 

(If you want to look at these stats and more click here: Wedding Stats)

Even if only five percent of all weddings was a fantasy themed wedding, that would result in roughly $3.6 billion being spent on these fantasy weddings. This seems like it could certainly be a niche market to me. Now with all sorts of online sales, Pinterest, and Etsy I am sure that finding decorations and all things fantasy for your big day might be easy. However since sites like Etsy are still small businesses, usually one person creating amazing things in their garage, they might not be able to create enough of what you are looking for to supply your wedding. It seems as though someone could generate a lot of revenue from creating these fun and fantastical weddings for couples. All one would have to do is take a quick trip through the world wide web to find any ideas that those sharing their big day would absolutely love!

So whether you are crazy about Doctor Who

Check out this awesome Doctor Who themed wedding! 

Or you absolutely love Harry Potter 

Lots of Harry Potter ideas here! 

You can probably find someone just as crazy about your fandom as you are, and the possibilities for wedding decorations are endless. Don't be scared to go big on your big day, plenty of people are just as in love with your favorite fantasy as you! 

P.S. You can read the original article here 

It's a Match: Marketing Research on Tinder

I recently read an article on the website Advertising Age about Gilette turning to Tinder for marketing research. I know marketing research is going on all around, but I am still always surprised when I see a study like this. According to the research, out of all the right swipes, groomed guys got 74% of those swipes. This is a great example of marketing research being taken straight into the "real world" as opposed to just asking girls if they preferred well-groomed men. The study also got me curious as to if there were surveys out in the world of marketing research that had different results, and if it existed, why the results might be different.

After researching other articles I came across some research with results in line with the Tinder study, but also going into more detail on the subject. With the study of Tinder, the researchers simply observed how people interacted on Tinder, so really the only two metrics were studied; what percentage of right swipes involved men with well kept facial hair, and how many matches were with well-groomed men. In the other study I found, pictures of men were manipulated to range from clean shaven to unkempt facial hair with 3 different levels in between. The women were then asked to rate each of the faces on roughly 5 different elements. So instead of just watching if the women are overall interested in the men, like with the Tinder study, the women rate each man on a scale from one to five. Turns out the men with slight stubble (but still groomed) were more likely to thought of as masculine and attractive. These faces with stubble were also perceived to be a better option for short and long term relationships.

Both of these studies seem to line up in their findings. It seems that women really do prefer a little well groomed facial hair. So, if you are a guy who uses Tinder I would recommend a picture showing off your well-groomed face!

How Independent Are We Really?

Recently upon reading the book Nudges by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein I began to really wonder how many of my decisions I have truly made. In the book, the idea is brought up that people who lay out decisions for people, called choice architects, play a large role in how successful the "correct" choice is in being picked. These choice architects shape the choices, they nudge people in the direction of the right choice. Some large examples in the book were things such as medicare plans or 401Ks. It is easy to see how our large choices in life are affected by these choice architects, but in everyday choices, it is harder to see how choice architects shape our decisions.

In many cases by looking at a simple decision such as what to have for breakfast, it doesn't seem like others are involved in the decision. However when you break it down and look closely you can see these nudges. Say you chose to eat yogurt for breakfast this morning, it may not seem like anyone influenced you to eat that over a donut however, the chain of nudges started long before you woke up that morning. You wake up and choose to eat yogurt, but that choice was nudged by the fact you had yogurt and not a donut at your house. You have yogurt at your house because when you were shopping at the grocery store you picked up a flyer that was conveniently located at the beginning of the first aisle. You peek through the add and see that yogurt is on sale so you pick up yogurt. You take it home and put it in your fridge and the next morning you see you have yogurt and you eat it. Each of these steps were nudges. The supermarket placed the sale flyer right as you walked in the door, you could have simply passed it by. That was a nudge, just as seeing yogurt is on sale is a nudge.

One of my favorite places to go is a coffee shop in town, as I was sitting doing homework today I noticed a large nudge that I had never noticed before. On the menu, there are about five panels, the way the drinks are set up it seems that the more expensive and "fancier" coffees are in larger text. Also, the new promotional drinks have pictures of the drinks next to them. Since I spend so much time and money at this coffee shop I have gotten into the habit of drinking the same few drinks, and you guessed it they are usually the more expensive ones. The coffee shop nudged me to start out with trying the more expensive "coffee" and now I am much more likely to splurge on these drinks I enjoy.
When you start to look for nudges, they are all around you!

Super Bowl Ads: What a Waste!

In an article by the American Marketing Association, they discussed how effective super bowl ads are. Turns out these ads are not all that effective after all. Much effort is wasted on creating ads to be incredibly funny or heartwarming and not being as persuasive as advertisements may need to be. One example that comes to mind it the puppymonkeybaby ad. I honestly could not recall what brand the advertisement was for even five minutes after I saw the ad. Same goes when I see an advertisement that tugs on my heartstrings, I get so invested in the heartfeltness of the ad that I can never remember what was actually being advertised.

Throughout the year, marketers and advertisers spend incredible amounts of money and countless hours creating ads meant to really persuade consumers to buy their products, services, or ideas. Advertisements are meant to be entertaining but more importantly meant to create a desire for a brand in consumers. During the super bowl, this rule about persuading consumers seems to be thrown out the window. The super bowl is a huge event in the U.S. and Super Bowl 50 averaged 111.9 million viewers this year. With this amount of viewers, it is no wonder the commercial spots are incredibly expensive. Due to the large amount of viewers and high cost of advertisement spaces it is no wonder that marketers are constantly competing to make the funniest or best ads. The goal does a complete 180. Instead of competing for business, marketers are competing for laughs.

Sometimes marketers really do hit the mark with creating entertaining ads that really make a brand stick in your head, however when entertainment is the goal over persuasion, this is hardly ever the case. Here are a few more of my favorite ads!