National Wildlife Federation

The National Wildlife Federation is an organization that focuses on the sad life of endangered animals. The digital technology they use in their campaigns are websites. These websites promote and share the purpose of saving animals and protecting them as well.

The Federation also has or suggests people sponsor animals by symbolically adopting them. The animal's parents could keep track of the animal as it goes through its natural process. They also share videos of volunteers taking action in protecting the wildlife and the environment. Overall, the National Wildlife Federation uses conservation efforts to protect the wilderness and spread awareness.

The Federation does what most well advertised and well informed organizations do, which is do research and create interactive environments for everyone. The website is well designed and easy to follow. It has a separate section for kids to stay informed and make a difference. It also keeps track of the natural world by sharing and spreading news across the globe via website, and it has videos where individuals can connect with animals.

The National Wildlife Federation does well in making sure the world knows what's going on in the environment by taking advantage of the technology used today. This happy medium gets people involved and inspires them to do more for the earth we live in.

Nostalgia Marketing: the Time Machine

"This device isn't a spaceship, it's a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards... it takes us to a place where we ache to go again," Don Draper

Nostalgia is as Mad Men character, Don Draper describes it, "the pain from an old wound." This very clip actually (though I'm not sure if pitches for nostalgic marketing go like this) represents almost everything about nostalgia. This marketing is a very particular and stylized marking process because it goes with a very specific theme that connects with a different audience. It makes an impression to both young and old.

Some advantages of nostalgia marketing is that it can be recycled. It can be advertised to different generations of consumers and it can also be iconic because that image is reused in a different way. Another advantage of nostalgia is that it is very sentimental and symbolic. It creates a certain empathy and feeling that no other kind of marketing can make. This advantage already has an emotional connection with its consumers. In the Volkswagen situation, nostalgia came in handy because it built awareness for the brand.

The only time nostalgia becomes a disadvantage is when it tries to be something new. Audiences recognize an old brand because it's iconic. Not because it's new or different, rather they're familiar with what the brand is known for. 

The only time nostalgia marketing may not be successful is when advertising for technology. Technology such as computers, phones, or anything that has to be futuristic. Technology is a step forward whereas nostalgia is a step backward. It wouldn't make sense to make the newest tech piece "vintage" or "retro". Nostalgia is pretty effective marketing tool because it focuses on a feeling rather than the actual product itself. In conclusion, nostalgia marketing is one of those pieces in advertising where it works for certain and particular products.

Harley Davidson Case Study

Question 1:

I do believe that brands like Harley Davidson, who have brand communities do result in greater involvement in the brand. What brand communities do is make the customer feel like family, and it also give the customer a sense of belonging. It creates some kind of informal obligation to stay with the brand; because customers don't just see it as an extension of themselves, but they also see it as part of their family. This obligation insinuates a more connected and more familial kind of loyalty, so the brand now has support.

Question 2:

Elements that the Posse Ride posses that enhances the meaning of Harley Davidson for most riders in many ways. One element is the sense of community and consumer unity. Another element they used was a uniform: leather, Harley Patches, the basic biker motif. What Harley Davidson chose was find a way to make their consumers feel comfortable in themselves and in their brand.

Question 3:
I don't think Harley Davidson should get more involved in the ride because it would seem unnecessary and excessive. It would dilute the brand because it will feel like Harley Davidson was hovering over their costumers constantly, and it could be a bother for some consumers.

Question 4:
I think Harley Davidson is already interactive enough for it's costumers. However they can probably do a bike customization or something like that, just so the consumer could feel like an individual within a community. 

Consumer Behavior: Apple

Consumer behavior is one of the most challenging aspects in advertising because it's trying to reach to a target audience without being too broad, or being too narrow. What's interesting about consumer behavior is that despite it's overall generalization of the public, it is surprisingly specific. Apple adapted to their consumers best because they did something not as many other tech brands did: acknowledge the customer's individuality. 

Technology individualized is something we don't really consider. Nor is it something that we could fathom as something that could be individualized. Normally if a new phone or mp3 player comes out, the product is limited to one or two colors. The only way it can be distinguished is by the content we put in the technology itself. In a sense, the technology we carry is like how we carry ourselves. It's the"you are what you wear" idea.  What's interesting about Apple is that the company knew that people wanted to be known for their what they wore as well. 

Apple has a history of "personalizing" their brand to share it with their customer. This already makes the consumer feel unique. The consumer now feels special. In the early 2000s, desktop computers used to be these ugly, bland, and bulky looking things. Apple changed that by coming out with the IMac G3. The IMac G3 came in thirteen "flavors" or colors. They even had couple of printed computers with cute names like "Blue Dalmatian" and "Flower Power."This concept of making the consumer feel special became so successful that they applied it to many of their products. From the IPod and the iPod Mini to the latest edition of Apple Individualism: the IPhone 5c. 

The fact that these products weren't all that different from each other, and yet they  sold incredibly well, is a result of successful study of consumer behavior. Apple pioneered the idea of product uniqueness and made it accessible. Other tech brands have been following the same idea and if you think about it, not all of these pieces of technology are THAT different from each other. One of them just says more about you than the other. Whether it's because it's your favorite color, or your favorite whatever endorses it; it makes you feel like you. And that is the feeling Apple knows it can only emphasize.