Advertising
has always been around. In a competitive market it is necessary. In this post I
will look at the fortune 500 retail companies Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy's.
One of them have a very heavily driven advertising initiative and the other not
so much to put it mildly. Examining the longevity of Macy’s and the
relatively new company Bed Bath & Beyond there are clear distinction in the
way the two retail giants fundamentally operate when it come to advertising.
Ranking on the Fortune 500
list
110. Macy's
294. Bed Bath & Beyond
Based on the list you can
recognize the company with the least advertising effort. It has been proven
that there is a direct correlation between sales and advertising. So why
doesn't Bed Bath & Beyond do more advertising? If you have not noticed BBB
does not have any billboard, television, or any major advertising campaigns
like that of its competitors.
Looking at it from a
business stand point Macy's employees 171, 000 people and grossed over 26
billion in revenue last year. Established in 1820 it is recognizable as one of
the biggest department store retailors today. A big part of its ability to
stand the test of time is the Macy's brand. Everyone recognizes the red star as
the Macy's logo. It has become an icon in the world of retail. Just look at the
Macy's day parade, they have the biggest celebrity collaborations and joint
branding efforts. Everyone from Diddy to Mariah Carey can be spotted in a
Macy's Ad. Macy's stays current with the trend of the day. This is
smart the consumer in 1980 is not the consumer today. I think Macy’s does an
excellent job at speaking to the current buyer through advertising.
Bed
Bath &Beyond on the other hand uses one form of advertising, coupons
essentially. We all have seen them in the mail and I will be the first to admit
that I love them. But this is not your intricate massive advertising campaign
when compared to any major retailer today. BBB which was founded in 1971 has
over 900 stores in comparison to Macy’s which has a little over 800 stores.
Further more BBB offers a far greater variety of home products in comparison to
Macy’s. Yet BBB’s annual revenue last year was a little under 6 billion. I
think BBB has the potential but should focus on branding through heavier
advertising and speaking directly to its costumers through ads. It is
impressive that BBB has grown into one of the most well respected retail
companies today. I think this fact alone is motivation enough, it’s clear they
have a loyal consumer base that loves their products. I think this company has
a lot of untapped potential.
They
have demonstrated excellent customer services along with product variety and
consumers love that. This is something most retailers cannot boast about.
Macy’s strength lies in their advertising that is why they spend millions upon
millions on it. BBB strength is its good company-consumer relationship quality.
With the right advertising campaign that enhances their established
marketing strategy they can quickly move up that fortune 500 list.
The Devil’s Advocate assignment should get you thinking. Writing is a way of thinking. It develops your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYou can often delete the first paragraphs of a first draft, because you are just getting your mind working. And you will often find your best ideas in your final paragraphs. In an effort to wrap things up, you say what you’ve been trying to say the entire time you’ve been writing. One of those great last sentences can become the thesis and first sentence of an entirely new rewrite.
Writing shows what is in your head, whether it’s a confused lack of focus or disciplined thought.
On a blog, it is a good idea to make the thesis of your post your headline. If it is a good thesis/headline, it will draw people to your work.
Which is the better headline/thesis/first sentence below?
Commercial are Entertaining
Commercials are Entertaining
Commercials Have Health Benefits
The New Coke Ad Is Saving Lives
Again, specifics are more valuable to a reader than broad opinions. And something unexpected and intriguing will get even more hits.
(Before I go further, you should know I am grading on spelling and grammar from this point on. Once I point out a problem, I expect you to fix it. A lot of these subject verb disagreements and misspellings are just sloppy. And misspelling a headline is unacceptable.)
I like your decision in the Commercial are Entertaining piece to analyze a foreign ad and concentrate on the imagery. However, you miss the opportunities. Your opening paragraph repeats your very general thesis and then forgets about it, discussing your credibility again.
Commercials are entertaining, let us all agree on that. Ironically the more I become aware of the advertising overload that is happening, the more I like commercials, well enjoy the entertainment provide more. Before I really knew what was happening all around me, I strangely took commercials very seriously. Now is seems "strange" but in actuality it was what I call my personal advertising learning curve. Everyone has one. Some people's mature fasters than others. And I am not claiming that mine has come to full maturity, but I am growing and understanding the advertising culture more and more.
Your personal advertising learning curve? We, the audience, will be the judge of the maturity of your writing and analysis. There is no need to defend or even mention it. Make your thesis statement and start defending it. If you want to state a general opinion, you need to back it up.
Your Devil’s advocate piece is a better argument because you concentrate on two specific companies. Your thesis here is that Bed, Bath and Beyond should start advertising beyond direct mail. You should make that claim right up front and then back your argument up with specific facts. You have some facts and research, but the number of employees and the year Macy’s was established do nothing for your argument.
Every sentence should concentrate on your one argument – that BB&B should utilize more than coupons. If you start to digress, stop and get back on point.
Try rewriting one of these arguments. What is your thesis for the Turkish commercial? Or how can you better support your claim about BB&B?
This is the process of rewriting – finding your ideas within your drafts and then concentrating on and cleaning them up.
Good work.
Although this piece is interesting I don't see it as a Devil's Advocate posting. I would think that an argument such as
ReplyDelete"Large scale advertising is a useless tool in this new internet era."
or something like that would be more appropriate. Your passion for advertising is obvious so it seems to me it would be more difficult for you to try and tear it apart (playing devil's advocate) than this current draft. Otherwise, there is some very interesting facts and information about these two companies and their methods in advertising.
I definitely see the way you tried to do a Devil's Advocate post by comparing two companies and their way of advertising. I agree with Jake above, maybe try to do some type of post where you disagree with an advertising approach. Despite that, I actually thought your post was informative and flowed very well. I learned a lot just by you writing about the different advertising technique that Macy and BBB uses. I happen to love Macy's Christmas advertisements! It was also a very well researched post. Well done!
ReplyDelete