My First Marketing Assignment

Topic 1: I enrolled in marketing because not only is it required for my degree, but I think I could learn a great deal from it. My major is Business administration. From this class I hope to learn the basics of marketing so I'm able to make a marketing plan for a company or for my own business in the future. I'm passionate about hiking and traveling. I have traveled to many places around Oregon just to simply hike and enjoy nature. To name a few, I have been to Smith Rock, Silver Creek Falls, Abiqua Falls, Terwilliger hot springs, Bagby hot springs, Oneonta trailhead, Proxy Falls, Ramona Falls, McDowell Creek Falls, Multnomah Falls as well as many hidden trails and swim holes around Oregon.

Topic 2: What caught my eye about this ad from Bloomingdale's was that it's saying to intentionally "drug" or put something in your friends drink that they do not know about, nor consent to. The ad stated "spike your best friends eggnog when their not looking." This statement is saying, that it's okay to have people ingest things, without their knowledge or consent. The article said that it was hinting at date rape and that Macy's had to apologize for the catalogs ad, because many social media forums saw it as encouraging date rape. Bloomingdale's is owned by Macy's, so Macy's took the fall for this as well as Bloomingdale's. Macy's value proposition is accessibility, brand status and convenience. From what I have researched no one knows what the true intentions of the ad were, Bloomingdale's never stated the reason behind it, I'm guessing because it was a holiday catalog and they wanted to stand out. I guess it worked for them, but in a very negative way. The CEO of MDC partners talks about how nowadays marketers have to work hard to get attention, but the more they try the riskier it can be. So it appears that Bloomingdale's was trying to be unique and stand out to catch peoples attention. If I were the brand manager, I wouldn't have let this go to print. I think they were trying to say, to let loose and have fun this holiday season. By stating to spike someone's drink you are indicating that you have to be on drugs or alcohol for that to happen and that is not the case. As the brand manager I wouldn't want people to think that, that is something that we as a brand promote. I would have tried to bring up a couple of ideas or brainstorm with my colleges to find a better statement to get that point across. I think this was a very bad marketing approach because of their target market. One thing I learned from this article, was that your choice of words can make a huge difference. You really have to think about it, when someone is reading something written, they won't always be able to tell the true meaning behind it, everyone interprets things differently and that is something you have to take into consideration, especially with marketing. Know your audience/ market. 
http://fortune.com/2015/12/22/retail-ads-worst-2015/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bloomingdales-holiday-ad-draws-backlash-for-appearing-to-promote-date-rape-1447349483