Wanna make the post-crisis consumers to open their wallets?

Wanna make the post-crisis consumers to open their wallets? Social media marketing could be the key...

As social media sites are frequently and repeatedly used for marketing purposes, I have seen many people complaining about “spamming” marketing campaigns generated by lots of companies online. Some even said they consider most of the messages from social media sites like Twitter as “pure” spams... I was also one of the people who thought and used the social media sites as online channels to just promote myself, increase website traffic, and online sales.

However, the following video has helped me not evolve to a spam-gernerating marketer. I was impressed when Mr. John Gerzema said in the video that the post-crisis consumers are restricting their demands, looking for value, and asking businesses to not just be about “more”, but about “better”… With this new consumer trend, I believe we should focus more on “quality” than “quantity” in producing social media contents.

Here is my two cents…social media marketing is not about marketing a product to everyone, but about connecting to online communities, telling your stories to them, and providing special experience to targeted audiences… As Mr. Gerzema says that consumers are looking for not just “a value”, but “values”, we should utilize social media sites to provide people with “values” in purchasing our products.

There are some companies that have developed unique and successful social media campaigns, which have helped them to organize huge and loyal fan communities. For example, Levi’s has managed to create fan groups per each of their products. The company has utilized a Facebook group and Youtube account to offer pictures/video showing its products and allow online users to indirectly experience those products. They have become popular online spaces now where people share their thoughts, feelings, and experience about the products.

Even though I mentioned a “big” brand as an ideal example of social media marketing, I believe both big and small brands can benefit from social media marketing. It may be easier for big brands to create virals among online communities because they already have huge fan communties that have been built through “traditional” marketing efforts. However, It is possible that one unknown small dish can have a special story and create a huge viral. I mean, one small dish that no body has ever heard of can produce a powerful story and provide the future followers with unforgettable memories… With the uses of social media sites to interact with people giving them special experience, I believe small brands can have great chances to lead loyal fans communities and make the brands stronger…

The following video is a great content talking about changes in conumser behaviors after the economic crisis 2008/2009. Check it out!!

Tips for Target Case Competition

I participanted in the Target Case Competition at University at Buffalo with the other three members in both 2009 and 2010. In 2009, my team was in the final list (five teams) and gave the presentation about our strategies for the case to seven executive members of the Target Corporation. We tried our best, but could not win the competition at that time. In 2010, we finally won the competition with solid, but straightforward marketing strategies. We also received a $3000 check as a reward.

As a winner of the Target Case Competition 2010, I would like to give some tips to furture participants, based on what I learned and experienced.

First of all, once you get the case for the competition, I recommend you to conduct some market research using the secondary data to get useful information. Market research could include competitor analysis, industry analysis, customer analysis, and etc. This will give you useful information such as how Target has performed in the market and what changes in consumer/market trends Target has faced, which will help you develop strategic plans for the case.

Second, focus on developing a plan(s) that is (are) feasible. That means, the plans you will develop must be the ones that the company would be able to apply in the near future.

Lastly, develop your presentation with professional structures and creative designs. Here, you should show your creative and professional presentation skills to impress the judges. Use simple, but impressive design for your PowerPoint slides (or whatever software you use for your presentation). My team also received a large portion of credits from our presentation.



Target Competition gave me great experience and helped me think out of box.. And it has helped me to realize what I should do to become a smart marketer who can create something from nothing.

I participated in the Target Case Competition twice so far, one in 2009, and the other in 2010. The Target Case Competition is held by the Target Corporation on an annual basis where undergraduate students compete in teams developing their strategic marketing (or management) plans for certain cases provided by the company.

- Tae Hyun Moon