Toys 4 Us - Week Three Forum

Topic 1 -

1) Seth Godin's story about the toy industry's annual new-toy launch was an excellent case for risk-taking. Every February, the toy industry holds a Toy Fair, attracting kids from all over to play with their new, and sometimes wacky, inventions. Hundreds of toy prototypes are displayed, but out of those hundreds, only a few ever become mass-produced (Purple Cow, pg. 118).

2) The toy industry is not afraid to try and fail, setting a fabulous example for marketing as a whole. You never know what product you can make or what people want to buy unless you give it a shot! Obviously it's going to cost something to take that risk - in the toy industry's case, money to construct the toys - but that risk can pay off immensely. Even if it doesn't, you know another method that probably won't work in the future. Don't conform to an pre-made mold; create a new one and see how it holds!

Topic 2 - 

1) Recently, marketing executives of Burger King, Visa, Taco Bell, and Adobe gathered together to talk about digital storytelling. The article, found here, describes each company's story-telling techniques that have aided in their consumer rapport. All four executives agreed that story-telling is no longer about telling a story, but rather making a story by involving customers in the process. For example, when Burger King took Chicken Fries off the menu in 2012, there were murmurs of discontentment from their consumer-base. Burger King decided to create emojis of peoples' reactions to the Chicken Fries when they were released again this year. The emojis proved to be attractive to the customers because of the silly facial expressions.

                                           
2) This is a different approach than most companies have taken in the past. Marketing is indeed shedding its skin of obvious advertising and growing a new, vibrant layer of customer connections. For the first time, big-name companies feel reachable... feel human. The twist taken by Burger King, Taco Bell, Adobe, and Visa, however, is that instead of telling tales of how they began or why they do what they do, they are giving the pen to their fans, users, and customers and saying, "Here - what do you think of our company? What does it mean to you? What do you and your friends like and dislike?" You see, companies that involve their customers and listen to their wants and needs are the companies that forge ahead. This is where the businesses' stories go off-script and become a game of improvisation.

3) While working on my marketing project, I can take the history of the company into account and then spread the word to the customers, asking them why they support and buy from the company and what they'd like to see. I can use improvisational story-telling to shape the story of the company with the customers' perspectives and experiences.

Check out how Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream is forging a path through the frozen dairy aisle using story-telling here.