Brand Loyalty

I remember talking about being brand loyal to companies and Western Family came up. I wouldn't think that I am loyal to this brand, but the other day I was shopping at Rosars and I was about to purchase some tater-tots for a hot dish my grandma gave me the recipe to. As usual, I went to grab the bag of Western Family tater-tots  because I have the association with Western Family being the cheapest of brands usually. However, as I was about to shut the door to the freezer, I noticed that the non-generic brand Orelda was actually cheaper by almost .50 cents. I thought to myself, sweet I'm getting the good stuff today for cheaper. It went to show that even though Western Family is generally a cheaper product compared to name brand products, this is not always the case. As I continued my shopping around the store I took notice to other prices and was shocked to find the bake beans and syrup were also cheaper. 

I guess now when shopping I can't be dependent on Western Family to always be the better buy considering price. I am kind of bummed about this because it made it really easy to shop and not have to compare prices. I guess I was brand loyal to Western Family as the guy we talked about in class who thought he wasn't but actually was.  Next time you are at the store, take notice to this as well and see if you too can save a couple bucks.

Pieces of April

This past weekend I watched Pieces of April who stars Katie Holmes. The movie was an attention getting low budget film that was inspirational. Its plot revolves around Thanksgiving when April, Katie Holmes, wakes up on Thanksgiving being pulled out of bed by her boyfriend Bobby to begin cooking. As the movie develops, one begins to understand that April has always been a troubled child that has been an outcast of her family. Her mother and her have a terrible relationship that was never healthy at any point, while the her father and siblings have little respect for her as well.

April has decided to ask her family to come over for Thanksgiving and celebrate together, however, the whole family has their doubts that she will even cook, as they actually stop to eat fast food before they show up. Her boyfriend, Bobby, has seemed to install some confidence in April as it seems he is a positive influence for her and her future decisions. He helps in the morning with cooking until he has to leave to get some clothes that his buddy has given him. Upon Bobby leaving, April encounters the major problem of the oven not working in her apartment. She is faced with the trouble of trying to find another oven in her apartment that is occupied with many troubled people who are unwilling to help. The cool part of this movie is watching different people and diverse cultures interact with one another to help April cook her turkey.

Finally the turkey is cooked and ready to be served, but her family that showed and was seen by Bobby on the way home, has suddenly left. April is devastated, as she has put her all into making this Thanksgiving dinner which is a representation of the new April. With all the food and no one to eat it but April and Bobby, they invite all the people that helped in cooking the turkey to Aprils apartment to eat. As they begin to serve, Aprils mother knocks on the door and April answers the door. When she answers, they immediately show sympathy for one another and the movie continues with the rest of the family showing up as everyone is joined together.

The overall review of the movie was that it was an attention getting drama that results in a positive ending with April and her mother reuniting and starting a new relationship. Is it a movie that I would recommend to people? Probably not, but I wouldn't say don't watch it. I enjoyed it for a class film and its a great seasonal Thanksgiving movie.

Purchasing decisions

This year I think I have made the decision to finally purchase a reloading kit to reload my own ammo for my rifles.  The reason why I am finally going to make this purchase is because I am sick of spending $70 on a box of 300 RUM ammunition. I really enjoy going to the range and dialing my gun dead on out to 700 yards. However,  price and accuracy consistency is a problem that comes with factory ammunition. Although for most shooters, factory loads are sufficient enough for their needs, not for me, I always want the best performance out of my equipment possible. This gives me the sense that I have done all precautionary measures to have the best performing gear.

Getting into reloading is an investment of ones time and cost. For a basic set that includes the bare essentials  (still not making the most efficient ammo without considerable time involvement) can cost up to $300-$400, this doesn't even include the dies that are required for each specific caliber your reloading for. Although, when all the equipment is available, possibility of developing the most accurate load for your rifle is very possible. Also, when one has all the equipment to reload, he can generally make 25 rounds for a dollar or less a round, depending caliber specific. This year alone I have purchased $280 dollars of ammo for my rifle. This is just one season of early season shooting and hunting. I think that you can see that a reloading can be very cost effective once the equipment is purchased.

With Christmas coming around the corner, I think I will be asking for some reloading accessories to start reloading my self.

This weekend has presented me with ton of homework and studying for my online Marketing Research class which put a stop to me going out of town for hunting this weekend. However, my hunting buddy Jackson (from elk opener blog) was still going to head out and try to punch his tag. I hadn't heard from him through the weekend which most likely meant he hadn't shot anything. He shoots an older model 270 Win. mag., a well put together cartridge for deer and shorter shots on bigger game like elk. He has always managed with what he has, but is really interested in a new rifle with some more power.

Yesterday I woke up to a text in the morning that said, "Im coming home and buying a new rifle", Needless to say I knew what the problem was. He missed and elk or deer after working so hard through the season to close the deal. I later talked to him when he got home about the situation. The deer was at 280 yards, a common distance for hunting in the west, and he straight up missed. Searched for blood and hair and there was nothing. Being not very confident in his gun before and  extremely upset now, lead him to a quick decision that explain the text he sent me.

I was able to install some truth into him after we talk, but it took some convincing that the gun was not the problem. Regardless of the situation Jackson was in, he was quick to make a rational decision when confronted with a this problem.

Now a gun is not a cheap purchase as if it was Im sure he would have bought a new one before the season, so to make such a quick rational decision to buy a new gun is a bold statement. It was interesting to be a bystander through his problem. I was glad that I could help him make a good choice of holding off on the purchase. Not to mention he just shot it this morning at the range and it was way off, thats another topic, but it was interesting how a serious problem can influence the decision of someone regardless of this financial situation.

After reading the book Predictability Irrational and becoming more aware of the price of "Zero", I began to consider some of my decisions that I have made with the price of zero. It was very interesting to listen to Dan discuss the many experiments they conducted. Its rare to come across free items, but when I do, I usually grab until i can't hold anymore. After reading the section, I considered why I would need so much when really I could probably deal with just one. I believe that keeping the door open is wired into us as we make purchases or decisions.

Im very guilty for contemplating when making a purchase so I could also relate really well with keeping the door open. It seems to me that the smallest feature of a product can be the biggest decision of my purchase. Needless to say, I sometime suck to shop with. I feel the need to alway make the most optimal choice regardless of the product, especially hunting gear. However, when I do swipe the card, I usually have full faith that I made the best decision until the next product is released and is one step above it.

One example of this was the purchase of my Mac laptop. I weight my options and was confronted with a free Ipod and printer with the purchase of it. This was a no brainer but a unique example that involved both of these concepts.

Elk Camp for the Future

Last weekend it was opener for general Montana big game season. My good friend Jackson, a.k.a Jackie boy, and I took off from school Friday around 2:30 pm to head south of big sky to set up camp. This area was a new area that we only checked out from Google Earth, so we would be heading in blind Saturday morning.

We arrived to our desired area with the truck packed to the max. We were fortunate enough this year to have his Cabelas outfitter tent, which was a luxury for two college kids who are weekend warrior hunters. As we were unloading and setting up camp our neighbor, Tor, came over from the neighboring camp and introduced himself. To say the least, I believe he is one of the most kind, down to earth guys a man could meet. He was there with his 13 year old son Frisk, and later to come good friend Skip. Tor and Skip have hunted the area for about 15 years and had punched their tags consistently for years out of this trail head  Jackie and I took noticed to their set-up which consisted of a camper and a 10x14 wall tent that had all their cooking stuff with a wood stove. Tor, after introducing himself, asked us to join them for some elk spaghetti later that night.  

(Our camp, but it's missing something an elk rack and a.......)

We were both taken by how generous this man was by asking to strangers to come over for dinner. We didn't hesitate to that offer as we joined them for a great dinner that night. As Jackson and I headed back to our tent from Tors kitchen tent (wall tent), we realized that even though our camp is very comfortable, it would be extremely nice to have a similar set-up with a tent for a sleeping quarters and another tent for a eating/cooking area to hangout in.

This is my last year to hunt in Montana as a student before I have to grow up and get a big boy job, but after this great weekend, Jackson and I made a commitment that we would make it an annual trip to come back to this spot with our fathers and good friends to hunt opener. As the more we considered our hunting future together, we came to a conclusion that we need to make an addition to our elk camp, a new wall tent. Now Jackie boy already owns his tent, so it is my turn to make a purchase.

After a successful but unsuccessful (no elk tagged) opener weekend, we headed back to Bozeman with our heads held high as we made new life-long hunting partners, had got into some serious elk country and enjoyed the presence of two good buddies hunting together. After unpacking our mess of stuff from the truck, I was anxious to search craigslist for a new wall tent. I happen to come across and amazing deal on a new tent, 10x14 wall tent for $900 bucks. Now this is a little step for somewhat of an impulsive purchase, but considering the tents retail for almost $1,700, can one go wrong? I don't think so, especially since I want to make it a ritual to make it out here with my dad's to bond over a passion we share. I can hardly believe I have encountered this listing, as it seems almost to good to be true. This Friday Jackie and I will be heading to Whitehall to meet up with the seller of the tent. If it all checks out, I believe that the bank account will be decreasing once again and that new addition will be happening to our elk camp for the future.

Have you ever walk through Costco on a Sunday for the food samples? If you haven't, I highly recommend you do, as it can be pretty comical and help fill your appetite. Although, I must say that after sampling enough food, one is bound to be sucked into buying one of the products that are out for sample. Marketers and designers can have the best graphics combined with health benefits and other attention grabbing effects, but nothing can be more convincing to your consumer than the actual taste of your product. Costco has taken full advantage of this marketing strategy. However, this method to advertise is more costly for the retailer, it seems to be more effective when trying to sell a particular product. It wouldn't make sense to sample all your products as this would definitely be too costly and time consuming. Therefore, if you have a abundance of a product or need to get it off your shelf, allowing your consumer to sample it maybe a profitable option.

Ever been taken advantage of do too the product placement of choice architectures? I would bet you have. The discussion of choice architectures today in class stimulated my interest of my shopping behavior predominately in grocery stores. I found the class discussion to be very intriguing considering yesterday I was at the store buying some ingredients for a cajun chicken pasta. One of the ingredients that I needed was half and half milk to make the sauce. I found the milk isle and began my search for this and found it. It was place eye level and of course it was organic so it came with heavy price, an extra $1.50. I was shopping with a friend and began to complain about how there was only the expensive organic half and half. We were both on the hunt for cheaper milk now and she bumped into in on the bottom of the shelve. Of course I thought to myself, why would the cheap item be at eye level of consumers. Through previous marketing classes I had learned about this, but was confronted with a real life example of how this is implemented by choice architectures. I felt a little upset with myself as I as a marketing major should have been aware of this. Although I guess that is why I am still learning and haven't graduated quite yet.

Keeping Up With Technologly

Have you ever tried to keep up with technology? Its damn near impossible without taking a small student loan out to be successful in doing so. The new IPhone 5 was just released last week and I had a chance to check it out at the mall the other day. I walked into the Verizon store and headed right toward it, looked at it with the salesman at my back curiously wondering what I was doing. I held it for about 10 secs and said "so this is it". A simple "whats that" he muttered, I said "the Iphone 5", "yep" he responded. I was very unimpressed with the overall design and new features that it offers. Its suppose to have a faster processor and a new enhanced screen which allows for better HD images. So cool, now one can get to their Facebook page literally a instant faster. To me that doesn't interest me, but to millions of people who try to keep up with technology it is a huge ordeal. I feel fortunate enough not to get caught up in this sort of stuff as I would be broke if I had tried to for something that let me surf the internet a bit faster then the person next to me.

DQ Blizzards, I'm kind of a sucker for them. I'v always liked them but have never hard 3 in a week until these past couple of weeks. Why have I had so many? Because they are running a buy one get one for a buck. Can't afford not to get one. Blizzards are a mix between a malt and a sunday, loaded, "well sometimes loaded" with your favor mix of candy all blended together to equal one awesome combination. The ol bank account statement keeps subtracting $4.97 and I have no regrets for my spending as long as I'm getting my fix. It's a great deal and taste that keeps me coming back for more, plus its a cheap date.

Marketing a New Generation of Camo

The other day I was downtown Bozeman visiting the new local Schnee's store, which use to be Powderhorn Sports. As I walked through the newly remodeled store I was struck by the major changes that had occurred. As I stepped into the hunting room tucked deep in the corner of the store I noticed a sales associate informing one of the customers of Sitka hunting gear. Sitka Gear is new revolution to the camo hunting world, as it presents a newly digital style camo patter that is meant to break up the outline of a hunter in the eyes ones prey. This newer camo pattern is designed with an animals vision in mind rather than what us as humans can see. It's so different than any other camo pattern available on the market, which leads to a lot of skeptics of its overall effectiveness. As I meandered around the two discussing the product I was extremely curious how an old school hunter would accept this new camo. This made me realize deeper that marketing a product that is so different to hunters compared to traditional camo patterns had been created and marketed effectively to compete with the biggest names of the hunting clothes industry. The first question that rises is how does Sitka take a pattern that has never been seen before and make believers in it? What kind of marketing strategy did they target to be as effective as they are. Was it the product placement on hunting television shows, or just the outrageous amount of advertising dollars that were spent to promote the product. To me it is as if one were to compete against coca-cola. How can a new company enter a market and rise to the top as if they had been around 100 years? Although there are skeptics of Sitka Gear, there are also a ton of avid hunters that are believers in this camo. It truly interest me how consumers develop trust and loyalty to a product that doesn't seem like it would work in the field. This kind of stuff makes me enjoy the field of marketing as it intrigues me to know more of how consumers react to new and old products through marketing.

As a passionate hunter I love practical clothing that can be worn  in the field and as casual dress. I enjoy the fact that what I where when hunting can be a resemblance of who I am. About a year ago I was stricken by a gentlemen that was wearing a Under Armour sweatshirt that had an excellent camo pattern on it. Yea everyone has seen a camo hoody sweatshirt before, but this particular one was something unique compared to the rest of them. I needed one, not wanted one, but felt the urgency of needing one. However, after looking for this hoody on every imaginable website hunting related there were none to be found. I was devastated as I was so attracted to the overall appearance and functionality of it. So, almost a year later last week I received a new Bass Pro Shops catalog, and as I was paging through it on my couch I suddenly shouted "No way in hell", my roommates looked at me as if I were crazy. I couldn't get to my computer fast enough to see if it was in stock, it was and I was soon checking boxes on the check out pages faster than ever. I couldn't wait to be sitting in the duck blind with it on for this coming season. I thought a large was a reasonable size to order since I usually buy other hoodies in this size. The other day the UPS man was knocking at the door and I knew that what was waiting. No not books from chegg or amazon, but my hoody that I have been waiting for. I ripped the box open and dug in as a kid on Christmas morning, my first reaction was man this feels a little tight as I pulled it over my head. I felt like fat guy in a little coat to say the least. Instantly I began trying to justify the tightness that I felt, but how can one justify a tight $75.00 sweatshirt that doesn't fit. I felt defeated, as I already took the tags off in the mix and thought returning it was out of question. I finally had the one item that I had been looking for and now I have to return it, and that's if they even accept it without the tags. All this for a sweatshirt,  this is ridiculous. All I could dwell on is how terrible it is to buy clothing online. I reassured myself that I wouldn't do this again for this particular reason. So frustrated I was to say the least. Now another 2 weeks before I can have the proper fitting hoody that I have wanted so bad. I found that this experience of mine shopping online an unsatisfying experience that will dictate future online shopping choices in the future. Although our generation is seeing more and more retail stores downsizing like Best Buy or diminishing altogether, the luxury of heading to the store and holding a tangible item is hard to beat as a consumer. I hope that the UPS man will be knocking again soon.