JCP Survey
Please take this quick, anonymous survey to help our GVSU National Student Advertising Competition team to better understand our target audience of 25—34-year-old women.
Please circle your answer and provide us with written answers when necessary.
1. Do you shop at department stores?
Yes No
If so, what day(s) of the week do you shop most often. (circle all that apply)
| Mon. | Tues. | Weds. | Thurs. | Fri. | Sat. | Sun. |
2. What time of day do you usually shop at department stores.
a. 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
b. 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
c. 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
d. 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
e. 8:00 p.m. – close
3. What are the first department stores that comes to mind when you think of the following characteristics?
- a. Style _______________
- b. Quality _______________
- c. Price _______________
4. Do you usually shop for clothing and house wares by yourself or with other people?
By myself With others
5. If you usually shop with others, with whom do you shop?
Friend Spouse/significant other Children Other family
Do these people influence the way you shop? In what way? (i.e. what you buy, what stores you go to, how much money you spend)
7. Estimate the number of hours you spend per week…
Watching TV _______
Using the Internet _______
Listening to the radio _______
Reading books _______
Reading magazines______
8. Do you shop at JCPenney’s?
Yes No
If so how often do you shop there?
Very often Often Not very often Almost never
9. Have you ever heard of JCPenney’s mobile phone application?
Yes No
10. Do you actively look for coupons and sales?
Yes No
11. Would you participate in an in-store game if you had the opportunity to win coupons and discounts?
Yes No
12. If you could pick one celebrity as your role-model who would it be?
a. Cindy Crawford
b. Jennifer Garner
c. Halle Berry
d. Kate Hudson
e. Other ______________
What traits and qualities do they have that you value?
13. Do you prefer online or in-store shopping?
Online In-store
14. Do you watch TV shows on the Internet?
Yes No
If you answered yes, which website do you use to watch shows?
15. Do you use the Internet on your cell phone?
Yes No
If you answered yes, for what purposes? (please list)
16. Do you subscribe to, or regularly read, any magazines?
Yes No
If so which ones? (please list)
17. What genre of music is your favorite?
- a. Rock
- b. Pop
- c. Country
- d. Christian
- e. Indy
- f. Hip-hop/Rap
- g. R&B
- h. Other ________
18. Do you go to music concerts?
Yes No
The last set of questions is very important to us. These questions help us to understand who we’ve talked to and the similarities and differences in their demographic information.
19. What is your age?
____
20. What is your current marital status?
a. Single, never married
b. Married
c. Divorced
d. Widowed
Do you have children? If so, how many?
_____
21. What is your highest level of education completed?
- a. Less than High School
- b. High School/GED
- c. Some College
- d. 2-Year Associates Degree
- e. 4-Year College Degree (BA, BS)
- f. Master’s Degree
- g. Doctoral/Professional Degree
Bud Light Commercial
Company: Anheuser Busch
Brand: Bud Light
Product: Beer
The target audience for Bud Light would be men ages 21-35. This group would be considered “young influential’s” that create a good mix of work and leisure time. The average income for this segment would be around 50k a year and are usually graduates of a college degree. This segment would also most likely be singe without kids and living in an apartment in cities near ball fields and clubs. The ethnicity of this group would have a large range from White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian.
Positioning and Differentiation:
The position of Anheuser Busch is to have a beverage that won’t fill you up or never let you down. Bud light uses comedy to gain the attention of the audience. They want to be the best beer on the market and position the beverage to show people how important their product really is.
They differentiate them self’s by communicating that they have the best beer on the market with the best taste. Many of the competitors use similar tactics to their advertisements, but Bud Light and Anheuser Busch seems to stand alone in their commercials. When talking about not filling you up leads people to think that they have a light beer that they can continue to drink without feeling discomfort and that if you drink this beverage you won’t be disappointed.
AIDA:
When looking at the adoption process the consumers of bud light are known to be early adopters. This is people that take some risk in trying different types of beers to find a company to become brand loyal with. This group is also well educated and fits the target audience of men ages 21-35.
Bud light has been around for a long time but and is currently at the marketing maturity stage. The product is well known and is pushing multiple different types of advertisements to let the target market know that their brand is the best. Consumers of bud light are being persuaded to buy and to keep buying knowing that they are getting a product that won’t fill you up and never let you down.
The Bud Light brand is basing this commercial on desire. They are trying to persuade the consumer to drink bud light and know that they cannot go without this brand. They also are grabbing that attention and interest of the target market, but the end result that they are trying to achieve would be to persuade the audience to purchase.
Under Armour Advertisement
Under Armour magazine ad
Company: Under Armour
Brand: Under Armour
Product: Athletic clothing
The target audience for Under Armour would be families with children between the ages 5-15. This segment would be considered “white picket fences”. The segment would be young middle class families that own their home. The age range of the parents in this segment would be 25-44, with some college education. The diversity in this class would range from; White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian.
Positioning and Differentiation:
The position of the Under Armour’s advertisement is that Under Armour is needed for all ages of athletes and is essential to achieving maximum talent. They want to portray to the consumers that use their product will make them perform at an ultimate level. They like to show different athletes in all types of athletic competition, using their product.
They differentiate their product by being more performance based. They want their consumers believe that their product will increase performance. The competitors in this market like to show their products more as an appearance or style. For example Nike has products that compete with Under Armour, but they like to show the style not that the product is essential in athletic competition.
Under Armour is gearing this advertisement towards innovators. By pushing this advertisement towards younger people they want to make an impression on the customers that are involved in athletics. Targeting a younger audience will hopefully create brand loyalty for the young consumers for years to come. This is the very beginning of the adoption curve. At the beginning of the adoption curve customers are willing to take the most risk and try new products.
Under Armour is still in the marketing growth stage. They are coming out with an array of products to maximize their range of athletic products. They are also trying to create selective demand for their company brand.
The advertisement that Under Armour is using is geared towards gaining the attention and interest of the target audience. By having a target audience of younge individuals, they are trying to gain their attention and interest into become an Under Armour consumer. Using a younge segment they are gaining lots of risk takers that will be willing to try their products. When children see other children using this product they will feel that they need the product to be successful in sports.
McDonald’s looks to a growing segment.
Situation Analysis:
Over the years McDonald’s has grown to be the leading global food service. McDonald’s has expanded to more than 32,000 restaurants across the globe. Recently McDonald’s has seen a large change in the segment that is entering their locations during the a.m. Many locations are noticing that senior citizens are starting to gather for coffee, breakfast, and to meet with friends. The senior segment is described as any citizen that is 55 years of age or older. With this new trend McDonald’s is seeing a great opportunity to keep their locations busy even during the hours that have shown to be slower in the past. Different ideas have been suggested on how to cater to this target market. There has been talk about doing things, such as bingo in the party section of the restaurant. This target segment spends on average the same amount as other paying customers, the only difference is the duration of stay. A likely reason for this change is that seniors are now able to get a meal and unlimited coffee for $1.99. After meals customers are stay and conversing among each other while enjoying their free coffee.
With the senior segment being a great way for McDonald’s to stay busy, the problem of limited seating and the long duration of this segment’s stay has a possibility of being a problem in the future. A majority of the seniors that come into McDonald’s in the early hours are staying anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours. The hours of stay are usually between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. This has the possibility of causing crowding when the lunch rush starts to take place. This is a problem that McDonald’s is working to fix without losing their grown clientele and keep the McDonald’s vision in mind, which is to ”be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat.” (Vision)
Favorable Unfavorable
Strengths Neat and clean customer base First name basis for “regulars” 1.99 meal and coffee Similar spending per customer Friendly atmosphere More than just “Fast Food” Increase in senior segment Number one food service Signature food Grounded brand image
|
Weakness Extreme attention to older segmentExtended turnoverCluttered atmosphereOlder generation feeling
Seating |
|
Opportunities Gaining business from local coffee locations Separate McDonalds from competitor restaurants Make McDonalds a more family oriented restaurant Gaining interest through attractions |
Threats Similar fast foods with less wait time.Restaurants with a younger segmentLarger restaurants with more seating |
Competitors: Burger King, Arby’s, Wendy’s, Sonic.
The competitor situation in the fast food industry is that they all have a “eat and go” atmosphere. Each of the companies listed above are all very competitive when it comes to lunch and dinner times, but only a select few are competitive for breakfast. McDonalds and Burger King stand alone when it comes to the senior segment and morning hours. One thing that leads the senior segment to a location is the chemistry that they share with the restaurant or the customer value.
| Product: Fast food breakfast and coffee. (McDonald’s) |
-The products that the senior segment is consuming at McDonald’s
| Price: Senior citizens discounts |
-The senior discounted meal and coffee of $1.99.
| Place: World Wide |
-This is something that McDonald’s should look at on a large scale across the globe, but has been narrowed to a large city with lots of seniors.
| Promotion: Advertisements to the senior segment. |
-Advertising to the senior segment would include advertisements showing the senior base conversing in a comfortable atmosphere. There would also be new attractions to increase the numbers of the senior segment.
Problem: 
The problem the McDonald’s is facing is whether or not they should focus on the senior segment. There is much opportunity in the seniors due to their high numbers and free time that they possess. The senior segment has more than 59 million people in the U.S. (U.S Census Bureau) and with the majority of them being retired, they have excessive free time. On the down side McDonald’s is having a large number of senior citizens turn the fast food restaurant into a meeting place in the morning hours, staying for long durations of time (One to four hours). This causes a dilemma for McDonald’s because they want to maintain the label of a fast food restaurant, while satisfying the marketing mix. With the long duration of stay in the senior segment, there is a possibility that there could be crowding, excessive attention, and an overall older feeling in the restaurant. This problem has put McDonalds’ marketing into a bind.
Solution:
The marketing strategy should be geared towards catering to the senior segment. The opportunity that this segment possesses is much greater than the possible risks. When looking at the SWOT analysis it can noticed that there are many more strengths and opportunities than weaknesses and threats. The market strategy, advertisements, and promotions should be targeted toward the senior segment. Getting to know these customers on a personal basis and introducing different attractions will be a great way to keep the restaurant at capacity during the hours when they have struggled.
Rationale:
Catering to the senior segment for McDonald’s is the best option for many reasons. The risks that come from targeting this segment are minimul in regards to the opportunity that this segment possesses.
Seniors are keeping the restaurant busy in hours that are normally slow. Keeping the restaurant as busy as possible and creating the most profit for the company is the main goal. This segment staying for long periods of time has not yet become a problem, but may pose a potential one. The case described that most seniors are gone by the lunch rush, around 11:30 a.m., clearing the restaurant for the “eat and go” customers, (Basic Marketing, 2009). McDonald’s should continue to keep this segment growing until they reach the peak for capacity. If and when the seniors start to become a problem for reasons such as limited seating and interfering with other important segments, then McDonald’s should look to see how to control the rapidly growing segment.
There should be advertising and promotions to reach out to the segment, in order to let them know about the new atmosphere that is taking place in the morning. These advertisements and promotions will show the great discounts and deals that seniors are getting while enjoying a comforting environment.
Getting to know customers on a personal basis should never be looked at as a problem. Communicating to customers on a personal basis will create brand loyalty and keep the customers coming back again and again to come to their relaxing meeting place. The question about giving this segment too much attention and interfering with other segments is irrelevant. The seniors are filling the locations at times when other target segments numbers are low.
When deciding whether or not McDonald’s should add different attractions to accommodate the senior segment, it needs to be determined if it will interfere with what McDonald’s is all about. Having bingo for the seniors in a separate party room will only give them another reason to go to McDonald’s for breakfast rather than somewhere else. This will help to increase the growing segment even more and in return, might pertain to the interest of other segments.
Overall catering to the senior segment would be the best market plan for McDonald’s. It will keep their brand local and geared toward the community, which McDonald’s strives for. The brand image of a fast food restaurant is something that is not going to go away. McDonald’s has been around for over 50 years and has clearly established its brand image as a fast food restaurant.
Advertising Competition
The YardSticks is an advertising competition, to help take students advertisements to the next level. Each contestant creates an advertisement and then gets critiqued by professional judges. Check it out October 28, 2010 @Monroe Cnt. Grand Rapids, Mi
Social Networks
The social media world is expanding and innovating every day. Social media has become the new way to advertise because of it huge audience and the low-cost. Companies around the word are adding social media into their marketing budgets. Social media being a new way to advertise and market a company has pushed me to join the social media world.
When I entered the social media world I didn’t see the full potential of what it could really do. I actually thought like many people, that it was something where people posted what they are doing every second of the day. As I push myself farther and farther into the social media world, I am starting to see the full potential. If people use the social media in a professional manner it can be very beneficial to not only the person using the social network but also companies that are getting information out on their product. My thanks go out to Dr4ward and marketing 350 at GVSU for showing me the full potential.
Currently, I have been using social media to create a professional network and to become better known in the marketing and advertising world. Different networks that I am currently using are Twitter and wordpress. Along with creating a professional network, I am also making connection on social media to help gain an internship for my major. Even though I have yet to acquire an internship, I have met and communicated with many professionals about possible opportunities. Getting to know people in the field has given me strategic information and has helped me get to the next step in my journey to a professional career.
When I get to the next level in my professional career, I believe that social media will become even more important. Using social media to network also for companies will be a need in the future. The great contacts that I will have acquired over the years will gain me new opportunities in future in this competitive market.
