PRODUCT AND BRANDING
Please reply to two of the questions (threads) and comment constructively on a classmate’s posting of your choice in any thread.
PART 1 – Reply to two of the questions
Question 1 – Marriott’s Innovation Lab
Read the article:
Watch the video about Marriott International’s Innovation Lab:
How effective is Marriott’s use of crowdsourcing for new product development?
Question 2 – Starbucks Brand Extension Strategy
Branding has become so strong that today hardly anything goes unbranded. A “brand extension†involves the use of a successful brand name to launch new or modified products in a new category. Watch the videos about Starbucks. Some analysts express strong concerns about Starbuck’s rapid expansion despite the success. Some critics worry that the company may be overextending the Starbucks brand name. Comment on the branding strategy of Starbucks.
Note: Starbucks initiated “Evening Happy Hour” and started to sell beer, wine, and appetizers at 400 hundred locations a couple of years ago, but cancelled the program in the U.S. in 2017.
Starbucks Expands Into Branded Products Beyond Coffee (Links to an external site.)
Starbucks CEO: Growth isn’t a strategy (Links to an external site.)
PART 2 – Comment constructively on a classmate’s posting
Here are two classmate’s posting from question 1 and 2. Please write comment for each one.
Question 1 – In my opinion, Marriott is doing a great job incorporating crowdsourcing for new product development because of how connected Marriott is with their consumers. By receiving input from their consumers or potential consumers, this would be a great way to better meet their needs of how today’s savvy business travel works. According to CEO of Prodigy Network he stated that, “that’s why you have to understand how to use [crowdsourcing] to impact your property, create ambassadors, and develop the ultimate loyalty program†(Boyd 2014). By understanding the importance of crowdsourcing, you will gain intelligence of how it works which could lead to the crowd and they could gain that intelligence as well. Working directly with the consumers/potential consumers, as Marriott is doing, this helps with becoming more invested in their ideas and vice versa. If consumers see that Marriott is invested in what they have to say, then that means more popular publicity for Marriott. This will also serve to all the modern business travelers who like to thrive collaboration and innovation.
Question 2 – I believe that Starbucks is an amazing company that really knows how to market towards customers. I think that removing the Starbucks name is a good idea. Many companies have made the decision to have different smaller brands that market towards different audiences. These companies have proven to be very successful. Starbucks is trying something new for their company. It could be successful but it could also not be successful. It is such a large company that it probably won’t hurt them in the long run. This strategy could be a good thing for the company.
