A Catchy Tune

Just like every successful product, Ear Buddies will have to have a fun jingle to stay in all consumer's heads. Now that we have down a functional web layout complete with a practical color scheme geared towards targeting a certain audience, it is important that we look at marketing techniques and one of those includes a jingle. The question now becomes what the format for the audio file posted on the website will be. I have two options: WAV and MP3.

If I am aiming for quality in the audio I post on my site, WAV files would be idealistic. They are substantially large in file size but the audio quality includes a wider array of frequencies which enhance the listening experience. However, most people cannot distinguish the difference between the WAV and MP3 format, and for that reason if I make the jingle accessible by download, I would have the download format as an MP3 file. This will take up less space on the computer and the download time would be significantly decreased. Either way, it is important that some type of phrase is associated with my product, and I believe that a catchy tune will do just that.

To be honest, I struggled with finding a use for the incorporation of material from this week's lecture, but I feel that by somehow including audio as a component of selling the product is a good idea. If you take the time to think about, the products that stick in your head when you go to the store to buy them are generally the ones that leave you singing their jingle within your head. This is where I feel that the use of WAV and MP3 files for different purposes would help my product expand to farther reaches of the marketing world. There is only one thing left to do: make the song...

Now, where did I put my Buddies....

As a business grows, it is important that you have a good system of tracking the whereabouts of your product. Too many times are items lost within the places they are stored, and as a "makeshift" business owner here, the idea of losing sales because of the misplacement of a product is just clearly unacceptable! However, there does seem to be a fix. Instead of the classic barcode placed on each individual Ear Buddy, I now have the option to use RFID chips. Not only is the switch fro barcode to RFID chips practical, it will save me money and my worries about security will be put to rest.

With the RFID technology I have the ability to know the exact whereabouts of each case of Ear Buddies I have within my storage facility. All I have to do is scan a RFID sticker of sorts, and that individual sticker holds unique information about that individual product like a product number, style, size etc. Say a case of my Ear Buddies goes missing, all I will have to do is go to my scanner and type in certain information, and the radio waves will pinpoint exactly where my product is hiding.

RFID has the ability to take my product line past just security innovation, for it creates another way of keeping everything organized. With the use of RFID, products can be located with quickly and can therefore be sent to customers quickly, thus resulting in some happy returning buyers. In this day and age, having a small business is all about staying afloat and to make that happen, you need to be able to have a slight edge. That edge for me is a practical product paired with the ultimate tracking/organizational technology: RFID chips.

Videos Galore!

The key to any product's success is good advertising. Over the next couple years, our nation will see a dramatic increase in online shopping and online video streaming, like on Hulu or Youtube, due to the increase easiness of online access and speed. With that being said, a key importance for the success of ear buddies will have to lie within the way in which my product gains attention online. For this, advertisement or e-hows must be created (this clearly involving video).

For this purpose, I feel as if HTML5 is the best way to go for platforms to run my video on. However, because it is not readily accessible yet to the population at bulk, I think I would first use the Adobe Flash Player. I would construct a website that has videos of my project as well as a user-friendly interface. As far as the method of delivery goes for my video content, the use of the progressive download system will be best for me at first, for I will have a very limited budget and will not be able to afford streaming systems when my business is just starting out. Later on down the line I will probably switch to online streaming that way I can put up videos that last loner than 5 minutes and I will be able to afford a server and all the costs that come along with it.

However, an even easier way to gain viewer video hits is to put product videos on youtube--a hybrid version of the streaming and progressive download mechanisms. With that being said, all use of online social networking sites will help gain attention for my product, so spreading the word through facebook and twitter will be key. As for right now though, simple tweeting and facebook posting will have to do for getting an idea on how popular this idea might just be.

Spread Sheets and Pretty Colors

Who wants to buy my product... someone... anyone? Well hopefully a lot of people. In that case, I need an organized way to make sure shipments go out to the right companies and an orderly way to make sure payments go to the right people. For this purpose, it would be a good idea to use excel. Not only does it provide an orderly approach to organizing information that pertains to my product, but also frees the problem of human error when computing data.

In a world filled with technology savy consumers, it is of the utmost importance to maintain a fully functioning site where people can easily order my product and share product information through social media. More importantly, however, is the way the site looks. For this, I can use the HEX values to get my site looking exactly how I want it to. For example, the pages should have a pink-purple like hue for this product is almost entirely geared towards female consumers. To achieve this color scheme, I would use the values when designing the site.

I tend to be a highly organized person and the use of excel would not only benefit my OCD craziness, but would in the long run benefit the expansion of my product. I also understand the importance of a good looking site and how it is the key to gaining buyers and attention from other media outlets. That is why I feel that Excel and HEX values can be used to benefit the expansion and success of my product.