The brand that I chose is Wendy's because overall people have good things to say about this company and its products. The reason that I am interested in this brand is because their social media is humorous and engaging, yet still informational (especially their twitter account). 

Wendy's value proposition is to create joy and opportunity through food, family, and community. 

One specific thing that people are saying on social media about Wendy's is that they have successfully pulled off the funny/witty approach when it comes to marketing. Here is an example of someones statement. 

I agree with what @theminzo say's here because Wendy's has been able to gain a large following of loyal customers because they have successfully been able to incorporate marketing that is relevant and engaging to the more modern consumer. Along with that, another recurring comment that is seen across all of their social media platforms is that they are superior to one of their biggest competitors... McDonalds. Whether the food from Wendy's is actually better or not does not really matter. What matters is that they have people who are essentially choosing to consume and promote their company over the competitors. Lastly, on the other side of this there has been some negative remarks from people on their social media. For instance, a few years ago someone on twitter accused Wendy's of lying about their promise that their meat is "fresh, never frozen". This comment could have negatively impacted their company, but instead if letting it do that they responded by saying, "...you forgot refrigerators existed for a second there". Wendys was able to turn a potentially negative remark into a way of gaining positive publicity because many people thought their reply was funny. 

As of recently the main thing they are trying to promote is their combo deals such as the 4 for $4 and the 2 for $5. Them trying to promote these deals relates to marketing because that is exactly what they are doing, marketing their products. The way that they are going about marketing on their social media platform's such as Instagram and Twitter is by incorporating their deals and products into "memes". This marketing strategy is working for them because it is allowing the viewer to possibly laugh which would create a positive connotation for the next time they hear or read the name Wendy's, but is also informing the viewer of the products and deals that they are currently offering. The one thing that I can seeing being a issue with this marketing strategy is that it is mainly targeted to a subset group of people that I would say are between the ages 12-30 because that is the age group of the majority of people who are on social media and are up to date with the relevant and current online events. The issue with that is that they have an untapped market for the younger people who may see an ad on tv and get their parents to take them to Wendy's, or for the older people who are not on social media. 

Wendy's has and continues to reply to their customers which I believe is a good decision because it is creating better relationships between the company and their supporters. If I was a brand manager I think that I would choose to respond to customers in a similar way that Wendy's does because I believe that it is important to stay relevant with the consumers. 

This assignment taught me that there are many different marketing strategies that a company can utilize, but ultimately it is most important to create a relationship with the customers by staying relevant and up to date with the social media world. 

Marketing In The News 

I read the article, "Panera Bread Hires Phyllis From 'The Office' To Handle French Onion Soup Fallout", written by Jessica Wohl, because once I saw the reference to one of my favorite TV shows, I knew it had to be interesting. The main point of this article is to share the marketing strategy that the Panera company used to release information about one of their item's being put back on the menu. Panera recently removed one of there most popular soups from the menu in order to make room for some of there seasonal items, but along with this came a large backlash of messages on their social media platform's from their customer's demanding they put the soup back on the menu. Panera realized that they needed to fix this issue so they chose to have a well known actress act in a promotional video for their social media that let everyone know that the soup will be making a comeback.

Panera brand's themselves as being able to bring the best out in everyone. Panera say's "... We believe that good food, food you can feel good about, can bring out the best in all of us... To us, that's good eating and that's why we're here". I would say that statement entails their personal value proposition for their company and his how they brand themselves.

Now you may be thinking, what does an article about soup have to do with marketing. Well, the relevance of this article to the aspect of marketing would be that instead of just releasing a statement that said they were relaunching the soup, they made a short and entertaining skit that not only got the information across, but also made it enjoyable for the viewers. This is a good marketing strategy because it allowed the viewers to feel more connected to the the company and is more likely to make them head over to a Panera and get the soup once it is officially relaunched. This video was also unique and original because they were able to get an actress that many people know, to act as if she was apart of the company and a supporter of the soup. In the video it shows the actress sitting at her desk, and her name plaque on her door says, "loves the Bistro French Onion soup", that was a nice strategic touch to make the soup seem even better. From what I can remember, I have never seen a promotional video quite like this one.

If I was the brand/product manager there is one thing that I would have possibly added to this video. I think to really get the point across they could have had the actress eating the soup during the video. Something along the lines of her being on her lunch break and enjoying a nice bowl of the soup as she reveals that it is going to be relaunched. I feel that if she showed that she personally liked the soup, then it could get more people to go out and try it themselves. However, I think that overall this marketing solution was a good approach to solving the issue at hand. They successfully pin pointed the issue, came up with a well made marketing ad, and delivered it to the target audience.

This article taught me that even large companies such as Panera have to come up with new marketing strategies to keep their customers happy and loyal. I also learned that in the new age of social media there are so many new marketing strategies that can be used and created that are more effective for the current society.

https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/panera-bread-hires-phyllis-office-handle-french-onion-soup-fallout/2225436?CSAuthResp=1%3A%3A5248453%3A0%3A24%3Asuccess%3AC2217FB7CA8D91B6E94315F9679F88F4

https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html

Week 1 Marketing Blog Post 

Hello blog I am Evan Mclean and I am a college student that is trying to find the directions for life just like many other college students. What prompted me to enroll in this marketing course was the fact that I have to take it to fulfill a requirement for my degree, but also I wanted to take this course because I am in the process of exploring all aspects of the "business" world. The major that I am currently pursuing through Linn Benton is Business Administration, which I am going to use to continue my schooling at Oregon State for whichever more specific degree I choose such as accounting, marketing, etc... In this marketing course I am very interested in learning about how and when to use different types of marketing strategies and techniques based off of the customer demographics, types of product or service, and things of those sorts. 

Outside the realm of college there are a few things that I enjoy such as working out, hanging out with my friends, listening to music, and just relaxing when I get the chance.