Using Cellphones at a Restaurant for Social Media and Pictures- What’s Your Take?

Hi everyone, this week we talked about how key search terms and a business’ internet presence can dictate where the business comes up on search results. In my writing assignment, I talked about how “mobile voice searches are three times more likely to be local than text,” so it’s important to keep contact information updated to ensure being in search results, especially in a voice search.

I know it’s a stretch, but this got me thinking about restaurants especially, then about an interesting comment I heard recently about restaurant service in some cities has slowed due to patron use of cell phones. This plays into emerging media, because without cell phones, without all the platforms people feel the need to post to constantly, there wouldn’t be this challenging epidemic. This totally screams “this is the future!” to me. Did you ever think this would be a problem? I didn’t.

“After comparing footage from a dinner service in 2004 to footage from a dinner service in 2014 — on a day that had ‘roughly the same amount of customers’ — the restaurant found that a meal used to take around one hour to serve, but now it takes closer to two.” The story goes on to explain nine people sent their food back because it was cold in 2004, compared to the 45 in 2014. Also, since customers were on their phones constantly, their meal took an average of 20 minutes longer, slowing the rest of the night.

Here’s a recap of the story, although a bit biased.

I’ve seen the tables of too-loud people taking pictures of and with their food. I’ve seen the Instagram accounts people at restaurants post to. I’ve never considered how it slowed down service. What’s interesting to me, is that many restaurants encourage usage of platforms in general, whether it’s before, during, or after a meal.

Think about it, (hypothetically), to find a restaurant you use Yelp and pick one based on the high reviews and delicious pictures of food. You use OpenTable to book the reservation. You get to the restaurant, and there’s a sign on the door encouraging you to check in on Facebook or Yelp for a portion off of your meal. During the meal, you take pictures of the occasion, the food, and you post it to various platforms while tagging the restaurant name. After, you write a review on a various review site and share your experience.

Not to mention, you may choose a restaurant with a tablet as your waiter! Sure, a human delivers your food, but you placed your order on a tablet and were encouraged to play some of the games or search the web while you were waiting for your food.

As much as restaurants see phone usage being a problem, they are partly to blame since they’re on social media and sometimes encouraging the use of phones/tablets. However, this is where it gets sticky, because there’s no way a business would remove itself from social platforms for this reason, right?

In our fast-moving world, especially in this situation, how can both the customer and the restaurant “win”? How can both be kept happy, where service doesn’t slow, or maybe increases, and people are still able to gawk over their phones the whole meal? Do you have any suggestions or personal experiences?

Thanks,

Claire

 

Celebrity Endorsement’s Impact on Brands

Hello! This week we discussed how marketing campaigns that have used Twitter and blog headlines to grab the attention of busy people. I wrote about CoverGirl and their partnership with Zendaya in their new Super Sizer Fibers Mascara.

This got me thinking, what is the impact of using celebrity endorsements for brands and products?

Perception of Celebrity and Brand
Celebrities are putting their reputation on the line when agreeing to sponsor products and brands. When people see a respected celebrity appearing in a respected brand’s ad, there is a mutual perception that the brand can be trusted. A great example of this is Jennifer Aniston for Smartwater. Aniston has been the face of Smartwater for years. Her personal brand as a celebrity has remained in high standards, and Smartwater’s brand has managed to do the same. This is a mutually beneficial partnership.

Partnering Gone Wrong
Endorsements and partnerships can be a risky decision. If a company selects a celebrity or person to be their spokesperson and he or she winds up in a controversial situation that’s picked up by the media, this is instantly bad news for the brand, and especially the spokesperson. Usually the brand isn’t involved in the controversy, so the spokesperson takes the most heat, but the brand has to do the “clean up.”

Take “former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle” for example. After losing 200 pounds on a Subway diet, Subway immediately fired Fogle last year after he received multiple federal charges against him. Although “the Subway guy” is still associated with Subway just out of habit, Fogle has been removed from any marketing tactic distributed by Subway.

Overexposure
Do you sometimes feel as if you’re seeing the same celebrities over and over endorsing different brands? How does this make you feel about the celebrity or the brand? “At the height of Tiger Woods’ popularity, he endorsed over ten companies at once.” His credibility began to suffer. Some may think the celebrity is desperate to endorse any brand that will pay them. This also looks bad on the brand, because they can’t obtain a more unique spokesperson. Below is an ad from whenTiger Woods as a spokesperson for Sol Republic Headphones.

Celebrity Association
When you see a celebrity in a TV show or movie, do you immediately associate them with the brand they endorse? This is a positive aspect of celebrity endorsements. For example, “when people would see or hear Dennis Haysbert on the show ‘24,’” they associate his voice with Allstate. Good news for Allstate, that’s for sure!

Who are some of your favorite celebrity brand endorsers and why? What does their partnership with the brand make you think about both the brand and the celebrity? Are there any celebrities that would make you not want to purchase from a brand, and why?

Thanks for your feedback!

Claire

The IoT is Changing Our Idea of Grocery Shopping

Welcome! This week we discussed how the IoT has an effect on small and large businesses. The IoT has already brought major innovation and advances to businesses of any size, that is if they’re willing to jump on board with the IoT. But how does the IoT improve the grocery shopping experience, something I find myself doing more than once a week? I can only imagine the possibilities.

Proximity
Imagine living in your very own “smart home.” Your electronics and appliances are all in sync and feed their information to you through some type of smart watch. Your “smart” fridge knows you’re low on milk and your “smart” egg tray knows you’re out of eggs. Your watch knows you’re by your most frequented grocery store. They communicate to tell you to stop at this store and pick up these items. This is not without some interference from the grocery store sending coupons and promo codes to your watch to use at check out.

In the Store
Is it just me, or in your hometown do you run into three people you know before you make it half way through your shopping trip? If you can relate, you’ve probably awkwardly had to continue your conversation while shoppers reached through you to grab items, or bumped into your cart as you took up a majority of the aisle. These cumbersome interactions may soon become a thing of the past thanks to “The Supermarket of the Future.” This concept introduces touchpoints on monitors so products no longer have to be picked up to be examined, but a screen will give all the information necessary to help you make your purchase. No more knocking products off shelves just to get some information! Unlike the majority of technological advances, this concept encourages human interaction and conversation instead of inhibiting it. Shoppers will have more room to converse while at the grocery store.

Payment Process
Of course, the payment process will be automated. You won’t have to swipe any coupons or even pull out your wallet. Instead, you’ll pay with an app on your watch and the coupons will automatically be honored. This payment method at grocery stores will become the most common within at least ten years.

At Home
What’s even better than being reminded of items running low in your fridge while you’re near the grocery store? Not even leaving your house in the first place! Amazon Dash Button “is a Wi-Fi connected device that reorders your favorite product with the press of a button.” They pay for themselves by putting their $4.99 cost straight to your first order. Leave the button where you normally grab a refill of the product from (think your cabinet door under the sink for dishwasher detergent). When the product is low, hit the button and receive a refill of your product with free shipping through Amazon Prime in less than two days. There are buttons for everything from dog food to face lotion.

The IoT is bringing us some amazing stuff for grocery shopping! Are you excited for the grocery store of the future, and what are you most looking forward to? What has been your experience with using an app to make a payment? Would you use an Amazon Dash button or do you already have one, and what for? Thanks for your comments and feedback!

Claire

Emerging Media Trend: Augmented Reality

This week, our discussion was about brands that use a wide variety of online marketing techniques and differentiate their message across the various emerging media mediums. I spoke about Wayfair, and a classmate, Oniel, spoke about IKEA. Although I can’t link to Oneil’s discussion, I do want to continue on a topic he brought up: using augmented reality as a selling point for products. Check out Oniel’s blog here.

IKEA lets you “sample” a selection of their designs (about 90) with the help of an augmented reality app, so you can see how they would look in your own home. Personally, I don’t think 90 products even puts a dent on the thousands of products IKEA offers. Why this limited selection, and why were these 90 products chosen?

Using augmented reality to sell furniture is a genius move for IKEA. Shoppers who are looking to purchase online, instead of going into the store, can “see” how a product would look in their home if they were to purchase it. This is supposed to take the guesswork out of shopping online and “fulfills the consumer’s need for instant gratification and desire for digital experiences at the same time.”

I decided to try out the IKEA app which features augmented reality placements of furniture. I’m currently in the market for a narrow nightstand, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to shop.

I found a few things that were confusing with this feature on the app. I couldn’t find names or prices of the products I was able to test out. What if I fell in love with a nightstand and went on to find out it was totally out of my price range? How would I even know where to find the price, since the product name was also impossible to find? I think IKEA should be more upfront with product prices and names while using this part of the app. Below is a screen shot of my first attempt:

A readily available product description would be a huge help, too. Sure, you can “place” the product in the desired space, but it doesn’t actually tell you the dimensions. You’re able to make the product smaller and larger, which leads to confusion on what the actual size of the product is. I also found that this part of the app was very finicky. I tried moving the nightstand on the screen just a tiny bit, and with one touch found it instantly doubled in size and was shifted to the left.

 

IKEA has room for improvement if they wish to continue using this feature and getting a growth in business from it.

Have you ever used augmented reality for making a purchase, or on a different app? Did you find similar glitches, or was your experience smooth? What other companies can take advantage of offering augmented reality to boost their sales?

Thanks,

Claire