Respond/comment on these 5 people at least 2 short paragraphs (with 3 to 8 sentences each), including add at least 2 references MLA (something that you make a comment on, for instance a quote). Each people have different topic!

Person 1: Alyssa

Topic: Nielsen Television Index

Technology is evolving and companies are scrambling to adapt to these changes. Companies must depend on consumer research to figure out who their customer is. For example, the Nielsen Television Index service monitors the television consumption of 10,000 homes in the United States. According to the text NTI, "provides daily and weekly estimates of the size and composition of the national viewing audience, Nielsen uses approximately 10,000 homes carefully selected to be representative of the population of U.S. households" (G. Belch and A. Belch, 398). The viewing patterns are monitored by the people meter, which catalogs who someone is and what they are watching. The people that are selected are chosen at random and viewed as a "cross section" of the households represented in the United States.

The Nielsen TV rating service offers important insight into consumer behavior and can help when trying to attract more viewers. The families that are involved in this service are picked at random and monitored by the Nielsen team. They can capture the television shows that are being viewed and how many people are watching it. Nielsen has further expanded their service to mobile devices to capture video content that could help their clients determine when to air something.

Nielsen firmly believes that this sort of service can attract possible consumers and provide valuable information about the consumer. The Nielsen website states, "Knowing how and when to reach prospective consumers is the Holy Grail of audience measurement and helps media companies and brands make the right planning and programming decisions" (TV Ratings). This service really allows Nielsen to monitor these consumers to determine ways to reach them and the right time to air something. The service maximizes its data collection by cataloging every channel from the moment the TV is on to when it is turned off.  

Person 2: Katelyn

Topic: Display Advertising

Display advertising is found throughout the newspaper and generally uses illustrations, headlines, white space, and other visual devices in addition to the copy text. This type of advertising is also online and comes in several forms such as banner ads, rich media and more. Display advertising relies on elements such as images, audio, and video to communicate an advertising message. Two types of display advertising in newspapers are local and national.

Local advertising refers to ads placed by local organizations, businesses, and individuals who want to communicate with consumers in the market area served by the newspaper. Local advertising is most commonly used by supermarkets and department stores, as well as retailers and service operations such as banks and travel agents. Retailers account for 85% of local display ads. For local businesses, some of the most common recommendations for a local marketing strategy are websites, social media marketing, video marketing, and optimized local directory listings.

National or general advertising refers to newspaper display advertising done by marketers of branded products or services that are sold on a national or regional level. These ads are designed to create and maintain demand for a company's product or service. They are also used to complement the efforts of local retailers that stock and promote the advertiser's products. Newspaper advertising is most commonly used by major retailer chains, automakers, and airlines.

Person 3: Chastity

Topic: Advertising

Often times when watching television many people flip through stations to avoid watching commercials. This tactic is referred to as zapping. Research shows that young adults zap more than older adults and that men are more likely to zap than women (Belch). The problem started with the evolution of technology and the creation of DVR/VOD.

"Advertisers, meanwhile, tried to co-opt the technology and make it work to their advantage. In 2006, KFC tested a novel spot that required DVR users to rewind their recording or even stop it to see a code,, which could later be entered at the chicken-chain's web site to get a free "snacker" sandwich. General Electric and Coca-Cola's Sprite would soon follow with variations on the theme. AOL and Fox tested a five-second "pod buster" that came on just as an ad break was about to end - presumably the exact moment when a fast-forwarder would resume regular speed and thus be forced to come face to face with the commercial."(Steinberg)

As much as companies are trying to keep up with the changing technology, the uptick in use of online streaming is making advertisers become more creative. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are all challenging the television industry and creating alternative viewing methods.

Person 4: Rosa

Topic: Media Vehicles

Media vehicle, is the specific carrier within a medium category, like Vanity Fair and InStyle are print vehicles; The Goof Wife and 60-minutes are broadcast vehicles. A medium is defined as the "general category of available delivery systems, which includes broadcast media (like TV or radio), print media (like newspapers and magazines), direct marketing, outdoor advertising, and other support media" (Belch).

Media vehicles are important in the fashion industry because they help promote things like brands or products. There are several ways advertising can be affective, although one of the most popular ones is television advertising. Television advertising, as an article on Wire.com said "the TV AD isn't going anywhere- it's going everywhere." Honestly, wherever there is a screen one will see an advertisement.

Another good example of a media vehicle is the internet. The internet keeps evolving more and more each year. Because it is the most used technology, companies are going to want to advertise on it. So the next thing you know "You grab your laptop and sink into your couch. You check Facebook and distractedly tune into a new Facebook Original Series. You're only mildly interested, but down in the corner, a little red notification pulses: a new batch of tickets from Lin-Manuel's latest musical has just become available! You drop everything and click wildly through the online checkout process. Got 'em-yesss" (Alba). Advertising is only going to keep evolving and tailoring to the targeted consumer, I wonder what type of advertising marketers will try to catch our attention with next?

Person 5: Tanya

Topic: Price Descrimination

After reading this weeks assigned chapters, I decided to write about price discrimination. According to our book Essential foundations of Economics, price discrimination is defined as selling a good or service at a number of different prices. There are many places and times where prices for a certain product or service is different between ages and professions. If you ever go to a movie you will see one price for kids 12 and younger, one price for adults, one price for senior citizens and another for students. Each one of these separate prices would be considered price discrimination. In the textbook they describe that through investigation, price discrimination makes a bigger profit. The reason for this is because they adhere to multiple consumers versus just aiming toward one target market. By creating a price that is in the best interest of each category they set prices toward, the price discriminator is enticing that category to give their product or service a second thought. Many times this will work and even though the price is lower than their normal price, the opportunity to attract a non-targeted customer ends up giving them a profit in the end. 

There are other forms of price discrimination, coupons. With technology advancing, our purchase history is as well. Credit card companies and loyalty programs are now designed to understand how you shop. With this means coupons and promotions directed toward you and your spending habits. With every purchase these companies begin to collect a database of what you spend and predict what you will buy in the future. An example would be grocery stores, while it may seem small each time you swipe your rewards card a bunch of coupons come out that relate to what you buy. How is this price discrimination? According to Forbes, Shoppers who are willing to give up a small part of their privacy through the use of loyalty programs receive better prices than a stranger walking into the store off the street. Another way that price discrimination effects people is through membership fees. A retailer or anything that requires a membership fee separates the general public by making certain things membership only or better benefits for members. Sometimes membership fees can be small and other times it can be very expensive. This kind of discrimination makes sure it separates different social classes and therefor controls who can or cannot use their services.

There are three degrees of price discrimination, first degree entails a company that charges the maximum possible price for each unit consumed. Second degree entails a company charging different prices for different quantities consumed. This type is much more common and can be seen in stores like Costco. This wholesaler uses a membership fees and sells in bulk. Third degree entails a company charging different prices to different consumer groups (Investopedia). This is also very common and subdivides its consumers for the product or service. Very much like the movie ticket example I mentioned in the beginning.