EOC Week 10

The Social Media vs. Relinquish

To help build Relinquish, I would design a website that would promote the vodka first. After getting the word out on Relinquish, then I would add more to the website such as facts about how the vodka was made, pictures of the farm showing how it is organically grown and processed to the very end of how it is bottled. I would probably post pictures of some smiling employees that show they are happy to work there. These kinds of pictures would show the company more as a family rather than a come to work, do your work and go home kind of job. I would also add some interesting fun facts about vodka and the herbs used to create it. Once the website has launched and the word on Relinquish grows even more, I would add a forums section on the website for potential customers to read about what present and loyal customers have to say about the vodka. By having the forum be under our control, we would be able to personally moderate the interactions and comments left by customers and be able to instantly defend our product if someone did not agree to the standards Relinquish holds. When Relinquish grows even more, we would start a Facebook because most of America is on Facebook, and customers would find and learn the name Relinquish more easily, as well as friends spreading the word to their friends. As for defending the name Relinquish on Facebook, we would first make sure that our vodka has built its name and potential to be able to stand on its own and be able to bounce back from the smallest comment to even a lawsuit. Also, we would be counting on loyal customers to help defend the name through posts and blogs.

EOC Week 9

Expensive But Worth It

I could always blog about my truck and say how expensive it is, but everyone expects an expensive vehicle. What I am going to write about is my 10 year anniversary ring from my husband. It was not so much as a surprise gift, but he wanted to make sure that when he dropped the money on it that I actually liked it.. so we went ring shopping together. At first, I was thinking of going to visit the regular jewelry stores found around the malls, but my husband had a different idea. He drove me to Caesar's Palace and we visited the big named jewelry stores that I never imagined I would ever shop at. A few hours later, I made a decision at Tiffany's. I chose the band and a shape for the diamond. It was my husband who chose the size of the diamond. The price of the anniversary ring I had pictured in my mind went double the price by the time we had finished at Tiffany's. I could not believe what just happened, nor could I believe it through the remainder of the week until the ring was done being resized and engraved. When we were finally able to pick up the ring, I still couldn't believe it. It was the most gorgeous piece of jewelry I had ever owned (and it had better be considering the price). What is more to it, is that I love the meaning in what it represents. My husband knew it was our 10 year anniversary. This is a big milestone we reached in our marriage and he wanted make sure it was special for me by not purchasing the usual anniversary gifts. He also purchased something that will not wilt, be forgotten in the closet, or be destroyed in any manner. He wanted to make sure it will last forever.

EOC Week 8

Sex and the City 2 Marketing Ideas

Borrowed Ideas:
1. Gift Bag Giveaways - Enjoy gifts enjoyed in the movie
2. Movie Inspired Cocktails - The girls from Sex and the City are always enjoying some kind of exotic cocktail... now you can hang out in a lavish bar in Las Vegas and mingle with the crowd while enjoying some Sex and the City 2 inspired cocktails.
3. Makeovers - Look like the girls from the movie.
4. Chair Massages - Feel like the girls from the movie.
5. Shoe Shopping Spree - Enjoy the extraordinary shoes inspired by the movie
6. Manicures and Pedicures
7. Girl's Night Out - Cocktails, Dancing, New Outfits... just for the girls

Original Ideas:
1. Be Carrie For a Day - Carrie is always known for her outlandish fashion. Go on a mini shopping spree and sport some of the latest trends that Carrie is known for.
2. Have an entire casino floor dressed up as Abu Dhabi, where the Sex and the City girls were flown to. Guests can also be treated like royalty just like the movie, where they can enjoy cocktails, new outfits and camel rides.
3. Sex and the City Auction - Top designers will donate some of their latest and greatest fashions for a charity auction. Girls can bid on the fabulous dresses that are Sex and the City inspired and all proceeds will go to a Breast Cancer Awareness Group. Guests will also be entered into a drawing where they will ride a limo to the movie theatre and watch the movie premiere.

EOC Week 6

A Really Bad Product Idea

Lemon Scented Bug Spray - This could possibly be a good idea, especially for indoor use. People do not want to smell the strong scented "odor" of bug spray in their homes. Especially when the spray was used in the kitchen, it can ruin appetites as the tasty aroma of dinner is overpowered by the bug squashing smell of bug spray. So why not invent lemon scented bug spray? It can mislead your guests into thinking the lemon scent is from an air freshner and not the bug problem your home is plagued with. It also will not destroy the appetites of hungry family members as they come strolling into the kitchen wondering when dinner will be ready. Lemon scented bug spray could also be an utter product failure. For one thing, bug spray should not smell good. People associate bug spray with gardens and nothing meant for the garden ever smelled good, except for the actual plants themselves. Lemon scented bug spray could also lead people to use it more often in the house, even for the smallest of insect invasions, which could potentially lead to health hazards. People might not be prone to even venting out the hazardous spray because of the pleasant aroma used. Of course, there are probably even people out there who might take the step further and use the bug spray as an air freshner and not as a bug spray as it was intended for. An even greater risk are the children who do not know better and see their mom and dad using the lemon scented bug spray and think their parents are just freshening up the living room and try to do good by using the bug spray during their daily chores. Lemon scented bug spray may be a product with good intentions, but it poses more as a health risk than a good buy.

EOC Week 5

The New Dodge Ram

Buy the new Dodge Ram 1500! Why? It is a sporty, all terrain, multi-purpose, gas guzzling truck! One might be puzzled as to why I mentioned gas guzzling. It is true that the Ram does not do well while driving in city limits, but it makes up for in long distances. Because of the size of its gas tank, I was able to take a road trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco with only one pit stop at the gas station. Smaller vehicles that hold the title of being gas efficient still takes at the very least two gas station pit stops. The Dodge Ram is also a great family vehicle. It can sit up to six people with a crew cab and still carry or tow big and heavy loads. This pick up truck also fulfills the down and dirty off-roading desires of every man, woman or child. Dodge has also revamped the look of the Ram in 2009. This awesome pick up truck now has an even sportier face. The new sleek design also has best in class aerodynamics, which means less drag. Not to mention, it has won numerous awards such as the Total Quality Award and countless others as the top pick up truck of the year. The Dodge Ram also holds a 5 star frontal crash test rating. One might be wondering "Why would I want such an enormous vehicle?" Well, while driving on the freeways, the vehicles most easily spotted are the nice big trucks. You can also spot these nice big trucks easily in the parking lots. Speaking of parking lots, you can even back up the Ram and hit a curb and not even have the slightest doubt about whether you just scratched or dented your vehicle. If you buy the new Dodge Ram, you will not be disappointed.

Week 4 EOC

Marketing vs. Advertising

There is a distinction between marketing and advertising. In the show Mad Men… it was quoted that “Advertising is about happiness.” Advertising is about making your product sell with catchy slogans and simple pictures that will stick to the average consumer’s mind. Their goal is to make the general public just walk into the store and remember the ad they saw while sifting through a magazine or while they were driving down the road and purchase that particular product. Advertising is aimed at the fact that they need to sell that product by making people think that that product will make them happy. Advertising is about making the general public happy and has no specific target audience. Advertising has a goal and that is to sell the product as quickly and as much as possible. Marketing is taking the next step to advertising… it is about taking a strategic approach to advertising. Marketing targets a specific group of people to make their products sell. Marketing also involves making the customers happy about the products they just purchased and not making the customers feel that they will be happy if they purchase it. For example, it was mentioned in the show Mad Men that tobacco may be hazardous to your health, but they didn’t take that consideration seriously. All they wanted to do was to sell their product despite what Reader’s Digest says. It was quoted on About.com that “Knowing the difference and doing your market research can put your company on the path to substantial growth.” (Source: http://marketing.about.com/cs/advertising/a/marketvsad.htm). Basically, advertising is a temporary feeling to making a product sell, whereas marketing is about knowing who your customers are, keeping your customers happy and actually keeping them as customers in the long run.

Week 3 EOC

Should America Have a Strong Dollar?

I believe America should have a strong dollar. A strong dollar will benefit the tourism world for Americans. When I was in Japan, the value of the dollar fluctuated. When we first arrived there, the exchange rate was 110 yen to the dollar, so we were getting a bit more bang for our buck. By the time our tour ended, the exchange rate was down to 80 yen to the dollar, so we had to shell out more money to make purchases. It did not effect us too much when the exchange rate dropped, but there were some families with a single income that had to adjust their monthly spending and limit the places they can go.

Having a strong dollar can help Americans and benefit the country they are visiting economically. When the exchange rate was up, my husband and I were more prone to shopping and buying knick knacks and souvenirs we didn't need, thus pumping more money into that country’s economy. When the dollar value dropped, we stayed home most of the time and found other things to do, such as playing video games or watching movies. We also made home cooked meals more often too. When I visited the Philippines, I was amazed by how strongly the dollar stood against their currency, the peso. It felt like we were the upper class. Everything was incredibly cheap, so we bought some souvenirs pretty much everywhere we went. We were also able to afford a grand meal for all of my relatives without hurting our wallets. My mom was also able to give my cousin a really nice wedding, since he could not afford one for all the guests he wanted to invite. We would not have been able to afford having a great and memorable vacation with a weak dollar.

Week 2 EOC

A Bad Customer Experience

A small shop that sold specialty products had left me traumatized from the small business franchise forever more. I was shopping for a “barong” (Filipino attire worn at social events) for my son’s baptism. Without really doing any research, I ran into one of those small shops at the BX. The lady who owned the shop seemed friendly and so I told her I’ll purchase one of her child size barongs. The mistake I made was that I paid for the product without looking at it. I went with my instinct since she was a nice person. I went to the car and found a hole in the shirt. I went back and asked for an exchange. She politely agreed and gave me another defective shirt. I asked for another one and she said she didn’t have any more that would fit him. I said I wanted a refund and she refused and gave an off the wall reason and so now I am stuck with a defective shirt. I wish I was more of a confrontational person because it bothers me that she had no sign stating that no refunds will be given. From this day on, I will never buy from a small shop ever again. Not only does product satisfaction tremendously lack, but obviously they have no intentions of seeing reoccurring customers.

A Good Customer Experience

I would say just about everywhere in Okinawa, Japan will you find good customer service. The restaurants, big or small, are always clean and they greet you at the door with “Welcome!” and a “Thank you very much!” as you leave. Most restaurants have buzzers at the table, so you don’t have to wait forever and a day for the waiter or waitress to come back to your table, if they ever decide to that is. The stores are always full of friendly people and even though you don’t speak much of their language, they will either find someone who can translate or they’ll use sign language to try and communicate what it is you’re looking for. They also don’t take a casual stroll to the register or to another part of the store to get your product, instead they power walk to their destination. You also would not normally see them sitting down looking bored, waiting for customers to come and find them. They are usually seen cleaning, restrocking or engaging with the customers. I loved the customer service in Japan and I would return there in a heartbeat.

Week 1 EOC

About Me

Photographs can provide lasting memories for people to share or they can shock the world. Whatever the mood the photograph sets, the image is forever embedded in our minds. Landscape photography was my first passion, but I found even greater interest in travel, underwater and war photography. This interest stemmed when I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for four years. It was there that I had discovered my enthusiasm for learning about new cultures. I loved attending the festivals, ceremonies and photographing the local people in their everyday life. It was also in Okinawa that I earned my wreck diver SCUBA certification. This had opened a whole new world in photography for me. I was able to share the underwater life that people do not usually get to experience. I have also been always fond of pictures that hold a lot of emotion. While walking into one of the history museums in Okinawa, I learned how much war photography moves people. It is these kinds of startling images that people can only become aware of what is happening in the world. My passion is photography and I want people to learn about life and the world from my art.