GoldieBlox Copyright Infringement Case

Recently, I have been closely following GoldieBlox, a toy company that focuses on making a product that will inspire young girls to become engineers. Their product, called GolideBlox and the Spinning Machine, features a book about a female engineer who wants to build a machine to help her dog chase his tail. The reader can then build the machine that Goldie is working on in the story. Personally, I think it is a great product that can really empower girls from a young age, which is why I purchased this toy for my little sister for her birthday.

GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine

In the past few weeks, GoldieBlox has created a viral music video which gained millions of views. The video featured a Rube Goldberg machine made entirely of the traditional pink toys usually meant for girls. Playing in the background was a rewritten version of the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls”. Here is an example of the lyrics:

“You like to buy us pink toys
And everything else is for boys
And you can always get us dolls
And we’ll grow up like them, false.
 It’s time to change
We deserve to see a range
Cause all our toys look just the same
And we would like to use our brains” 

Since the video was posted, the Beastie Boys have filed a complaint against GoldieBlox for copyright infringement since the company did not request permission to rework the song. The primary issue with the use of the song is that the music video can be considered an advertisement for the product, although it does not show the product until the very end. To avoid a lawsuit, GoldieBlox removed the video from YouTube and replaced it with another without the controversial song.

If you would like to see the new video, you can see it here: 

Email Marketing-- Cult Cosmetics

A company that I regularly receive email updates from is Cult Cosmetics. Cult Cosmetics is a pure play business that exists solely on the Internet, which sells nail polish. Consumers are able to purchase individual bottles of nail polish, sets of 3 nail polishes or sign up for their monthly subscription service called Blackbox, which includes 3 on-trend nail polish colors and a nail art tool. The point of the Blackbox is to try a new nail art trends every month with tutorials available through Cult Cosmetics.

Cult Cosmetics sends out emails to its subscribers every 2-3 days and in these emails they not only advertise their polishes that you can purchase on the website but they also include photos to give you inspiration for your own nail art. Occasionally an email will also contain a how-to guide to create trendy nails. Lastly, the emails are used as a tool to encourage people to subscribe for the Blackbox service. They even offer 50% off your first month of Blackbox (which means your first month cost only $10 instead of $20) to encourage you to sign up.

An example of an email from Cult Cosmetics--
including inspiration, a tutorial as well as advertisements

The target audience of their email campaign is females who are approximately 18-25 and interested in nail art trends. These are women who often read fashion magazines and are interested in recreating the nail trends that they see in magazines and one the red carpet but might not know how. This target audience is probably highly involved on Pinterest, particularly in the nail polish and makeup section.

I would say that Cult Cosmetics’ email marketing is highly successful for several reasons. First of all is that, compared to many other companies, Cult Cosmetics sends out very few emails. This likely increases the open rate of their emails since readers do not experience as much of a fatigue with their communications. Secondly, this company does an excellent job of providing engaging, valuable content to their audience so consumers will be interested in opening the email since they know there will be content that they will want to read instead of just a promotional information. Lastly, all communications from Cult Cosmetics look very professional and are visually appealing which makes it more enjoyable to look at.

In my experience, Cult Cosmetics is very persuasive with their email marketing. I actually subscribed to their email list because I saw the company on Facebook and read about Blackbox but wasn’t quite ready to sign up. After I gave them my email, Cult Cosmetics kept me engaged and actually persuaded me to try their service. I since have cancelled Blackbox after one month for customer service reasons but I continue to receive their emails and might consider purchasing individual nail polish sets in the future.

App Review-- SafeTrek

In my Marketing on the Internet class, we spent the past week talking about mobile marketing and, in the spirit of blogging about mobile apps, I have decided to review a new app that was just released called SafeTrek. SafeTrek was released for iOS devices on October 3^rd, 2013.

SafeTrek is an app created by a small group University of Missouri students and recent grads and is based on the idea that when you are in danger you usually don’t have an opportunity to get your phone out and dial 911. This is especially true for me, since I almost always have a huge bag (which my phone is always somewhere near the bottom of) and I get flustered easily in high stress situations.

Long story short, if someone ever attacked me, I’d be in huge trouble.

So basically this app helps protect people like me if they are ever walking alone or feel unsafe. When you open the app it looks like this:

 

The home screen for the app

All you have to do is put your thumb (or finger) on the big teal button and hold it there until you feel like you are in a safe area again. When you let go, you have 10 seconds to enter in your PIN to deactivate the app. If you aren’t able to do this for some reason, the application automatically calls the local police and sends them to the GPS location of your phone. At this time they will also be able to access your personal information that you entered ahead of time to make sure the police can find you and ensure your safety.

You have 10 seconds to enter your pin or you can call 911 immediately

I think it’s pretty obvious that I think this application is a brilliant idea but I do have a few criticisms. First of all, when you open the app you can immediately click on the teal button to start the tracking. I see why this is may be beneficial, if you only have a few seconds to turn on the application before you are attacked, it is great to have easy access. However, it is not uncommon for my little sister to use my phone to play games and if she were to open the app and press the button without knowing my PIN, we could have the cops knocking down the door to my house.

Secondly, I am a little skeptical as to how well these services would actually work in a real life situation. While GPS technology is quite advanced, it is not uncommon to be in a dead zone where either your phone can’t locate your position or thinks you are somewhere ridiculous (like in the middle of the ocean).

Lastly, the design of the app has some room for improvement. While the concept behind the application is not very complicated, the instructions screen in the application has several pictures describing how to use the app and very few (if any) words.

All and all, I think this application is a must download. There are a few kinks for the creators to iron out but, since it is only a few days old, I am sure they will get it ironed out soon.

You can download the app in the App Store for $0.99:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/safetrek/id716262008?ls=1&mt=8

Source:

safetrekapp.com

Mobile Marketing-- Retail- Me- Not

I admit that I was a bit late to the smart phone game as I just got my iPhone last December (shameful for a Marketing major, I know) but when I did I spent hours browsing the App Store downloading any app I found intriguing. One that I found that I thought was particularly interesting was the Retail-Me-Not app. I had used Retail-Me-Not in the past when I was shopping online and I found it quite useful for saving a few dollars on my order or occasionally getting free shipping. I expected the app to be primarily for online codes, much like the website was.

However, after downloading the app, it asked if I would turn on location- based services. I did, not really thinking about what it would do for me. As I browsed around I noticed that for each store I searched they had a section for online coupon codes and in store coupons that you could open on your phone and scan for discounts at the register. You could even save coupons that you wanted to use in the future. Now, I’m a huge fan of coupons and saving money, but my biggest problem is remembering to use them.

A few days later I took a trip to the mall and my phone buzzed—I got a notification from Retail-Me-Not, saying that my local mall had offers that they wanted me to see. When I opened the notification, it showed me a list of stores in my mall that were offering in store promotions that day. The location based aspect of the application had determined that I was at or near my local mall and, in order to encourage me to shop, showed me offers that I could take advantage of.

These notifications can be incredibly effective in generating a sale because, when you open the app, you are directed to a screen that shows all sales available at the mall instead of being forced to search for deals at specific stores. This increases the chance that a consumer will see a good deal at a store that they weren’t originally planning on visiting and will go to the store to check it out. This increase in traffic in the stores gives the sales people the opportunity to address each customer and try to make a sale.

I think the target market for the Retail-Me-Not app is primarily women from 18-34. These young women are looking for a good deal because they are often trying to buy items for themselves or their family on a limited budget. The push notifications based on their location are beneficial to this target market because it will spur purchase behavior in a group that might not buy a product if they can’t get a good deal on it.

Personally, I find Retail-Me-Not’s marketing strategy to be extremely effective in driving sales that customers were not intending to make. I have often gone to the mall and come home with more than I went for because I was offered a good deal and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.

Web 2.0-- ModCloth

In the era of Web 2.0, e-commerce has become a driving force in content creation and customer relations for businesses. One company in particular that I think has done a good job utilizing the resources available through the Internet is ModCloth, a vintage clothing store based solely online. Without a brick and mortar retail store, ModCloth has relied heavily their advertisements and word of mouth to attract new and retain past customers. 

ModCloth’s website includes a large collection of clothes, shoes and accessories as well as an extensive home décor section filled with retro inspired items. The website also has a section called “Be The Buyer” where users can flip through dresses, skirts and shirts that have been designed specifically for the ModCloth customer. Users can vote to “Pick It” or “Skip It” based on their tastes. Items that receive mostly “Pick It” votes will be created and sold on the website. Users that voted for the item to be created then receive an email when the clothing is available for purchase.

ModCloth's "Be the Buyer" Program

Marketing Style

ModCloth’s marketing is heavily customized to each consumer that visits their website demonstrating their use of the one-to-one marketing approach. This form of marketing gives the consumer suggestions tailored to their personal tastes and shopping habits. For example, after viewing items on the site, a cookie is attached to the viewer’s web browser that triggers ModCloth banner ads on other sites featuring the items that that particular customer was interested in. These ads also feature new arrivals that they might like based on their taste. By tailoring their marketing to each customer, visitors get a better experience while shopping and tend to feel more connected to the brand.

Principles of Wikinomics

ModCloth’s adaptation to the mass collaboration aspect of Web 2.0 is part of what makes their business so successful. Of the 4 principles of wikinomics, ModCloth incorporates two into their regular business strategy: openness and peering.

• Openness: The openness principle encourages consumers from outside the organization to make contributions to the creation of new products. The way that ModCloth demonstrates this is through their “Be the Buyer” program that I described earlier in this blog post. Customers can go online and vote for which looks they would like to see available in the online store. One thing that is particularly unique about this program is that the consumer, after voting on the product, can offer suggestions about how to improve it. Customers can critique any aspect of the piece including: price, quality, fabric, color, available sizes, length and details. This information lets the ModCloth designers know what their customers are looking for so they can better design to their consumer’s changing tastes.

  

  Customers critique a "Be the Buyer"  item

• Peering: ModCloth strongly encourages its customers to go on the website after they purchase an item to give feedback on their items, whether it is positive or negative. Users can rate an item based on their satisfaction with the fit, length and quality of the garment. Pictures are also encouraged so users can show the fit of the item as well as showing options of how to accessorize the item. Any negative feedback on the customer review section of the site is addressed by a moderator, who helps each unhappy user contact customer support for a quick resolution to their problem. This element of the site is very useful to any customer who is considering a purchase but is unsure of what size to order or is concerned about the quality of the item.

Customers give feedback on a dress

Negative feedback is addressed by moderator

Because they primarily sell clothing, ModCloth does not exemplify the sharing element of wikinomics, which involves the sharing of proprietary information for general use. ModCloth also does not demonstrate the fourth principle of wikinomics, acting globally. While ModCloth does offer international shipping, the company is located in the United States and does not officially operate outside of the United States.

Effectiveness of Business Model

Personally, I believe that ModCloth does a great job with their marketing strategy and utilizing Web 2.0 to generate brand loyalty among its customers. There have been many times where I have been on the fence about buying an item and reading the peer reviews persuaded me to make the purchase. I have also had great experiences interacting with the ModCloth team as they take time to respond to all customer feedback, whether it is positive or negative. Other ModCloth customers that I have spoken to regarding the company’s marketing all responded positively to the ads and marketing strategies. One aspect that people particularly appreciated was the tailoring that is done to each customer. Users stated that they felt that these ads were less intrusive and they were more likely to visit the website if the ads were tailored to their personal taste.

Overall, I think ModCloth is doing an excellent job using the elements of Web 2.0 to make their shopping experience memorable and enjoyable for their customers.

Sources:

http://www.modcloth.com/about_us