MARKETING DISCUSSION
Pick one of your favorite brands and go to its Web site. How would you evaluate the Web site? How
well does it score on the 7Cs of design elements: context, content, community, customization,
communication, connection, and commerce?
Suggested Response: Student responses will vary depending on the Web sites they select. Spend
extra time discussing the community and customization Cs, as they are particularly relevant in the
context of social media.
Marketing Excellence: Facebook
1. Why is Facebook unique in the world of personal marketing? What are Facebook’s greatest
strengths?
2. Who are Facebook’s biggest competitors? What are the greatest risks it faces in the future?
3. What does a company gain by having a Facebook page or advertising through Facebook?
What would you think if a brand or company were not on Facebook?
Marketing Excellence: Unilever (Axe and Dove)
1. What makes personal marketing work? Why are Dove and Axe so successful at it?
2. Can a company take personal marketing too far? Explain.
3. Is there a conflict of interests in the way Unilever markets to women and young men? Is it
undoing all the good that might be done in the “Campaign for Real Beauty” by making
women sex symbols in Axe ads? Discuss.
END-OF-CHAPTER SUPPORT
MARKETING DEBATE—What is the value of buzz?
One of the classic debates in the popular press is whether all buzz or word of mouth—positive
and negative—is good for a brand. Some feel that “any press is good press” and that as long as
people are talking, that is a good thing. Others challenge that notion and say the content of the
dialogue is what really matters.
Take a position: ”All news is good news” and any buzz is helpful for a brand versus The content of
buzz can make or break a brand.
Pro: Consumers will often remember the brand and not the source of the message (the sleeper effect),
Con: Consumers are savvy and are most likely to respond favorably to messages that allow them to
differentiate between offerings. Attention-getting tactics that do not provide information may be