Religion in B-Schools

I was reading back through an older article today that I realized I had never posted about - the necessity of religion in b-schools (a business week article... read it here). It discusses a viewpoint that I much agree with. We emphasize "global mindsets" and international experience in business school, but we don't require, encourage, or even offer any courses in religion. Much research in other disciplines shows that religion is a core element of a person's value system, and consumer behavior research shows that this value system is what drives much of consumer behavior. So why not educate students in the religious values of the main world religions for students that are increasingly entering a multicultural work environment and companies that are operating across national borders? Even if companies decide not to directly tailor marketing campaigns and ads to certain religious groups, having an understanding of the core doctrine and prohibitions of religions will help companies to avoid taboo topics and prevent messages and products that are offensive to the majority of consumers in a target segment.

Small candy bars healthier?

An interesting article in NPR discussed how Mars is going to be making smaller candy bars that are under 250 calories to benefit consumers (read the article here). However, you have to wonder what the true motives are. Sure, the candy bar will have less calories, but Mars is really benefiting as you know they are not going to be reducing the price. Not only this, but they may add health claims to their packaging saying "healthier than before", "now reduced calories" when in actuality, they are just giving you less candy for you money. Sneaky.

Kmart "Ship my pants"

Kmart's latest ad "ship my pants" has gone viral. Check it out here. So what does this mean for Kmart? Before now, they were known as a dying brand - one that couldn't compete against the low prices of Wal-Mart and the modern style of Target. Kmart is trying to be seen as a "cool" company amongst competition, but is this "ship my pants" video enough to move over a customer base? Likely no, but it has brought back the Kmart name among many who do not even consider it a shopping option anymore. However, even if advertising is attractive, if the service offered (e.g., outdated stores) is subpar, the advertising is not likely to create loyal customers. Great ad Kmart, but think about making your stores hip to follow along. Also, why are the family members and store employee hugging at the end? Strange...

Religion and Marketing

I'm writing a book with a colleague on religion and marketing - a topic that is not often talked about, yet religion plays a huge role in everything we do (whether or not you are religious). In the process of writing this book, I find myself attracted to any news article relating to the topic. Today I came across an AdWeek article talking about how a new site is trying to track God on Twitter (read it here). Yes, you may laugh about it, but it is actually quite interesting. You can see where people are mentioning God the most, see how it relates to relationships, and how God gets used in everyday language including in discussions of past purchases. Definitely good for a brand to know. Having an idea of whether your target market is religious or not will help you tailor marketing to your customers' needs, and more importantly, not offend certain customer segments.

April Fools Day & Marketing

Anyone who found themselves on Facebook or Youtube yesterday (April 1) was likely to see the bacon Scope commercial (watch it here) featuring a new flavor of scope that is bacon flavored and sizzles in your mouth. Yes, pretty disgusting. However, this attracts consumer attention and is a great way of interacting with the consumers. April Fool's Day is a great day for marketers to entertain consumers with phony product offerings (e.g., Scope bacon or REI's line of outdoor products for cats), while also drawing attention to the brand and reminding consumers why the brand has that "cool" factor. Of course, this needs to be done tastefully, and companies should be very cautious about making actual new product introductions on this day.