Week 4 EOC: There's An App for That

As a working freelance photographer, I often find myself trying to figure out the position of the sun in relationship to my current location and also when sunrise or sunset will be at my specific location. It’s definitely not uncommon to hear a photographer mutter to himself where’s my light or yell for an assistant to find out the same information. Well let me introduce you to “Where’s My Sun?” A new smart phone application to help photographers find the sun while on location shoots.

The application would use the on phone GPS system just like most weather applications do but in turn would tell you by showing an arrow where the sun is located in retrospect to your current standing location. You would also be able to determine the exact time the sun will rise and/or set in the area you are currently standing in. With this knowledge, you will be able to determine the exact times of “Golden Hour” light for shooting and you will never have to worry again about trying to keep the sun at your back. Also, when out scouting for a shoot location, the application would also be able to give you a 5-day forecast on the weather in the location as well so you don’t accidentally plan a shoot during expected bad weather.

I believe this application would be able to sell for $0.99 and have possible advertisement potential in photographic and hobby magazines to help boost it’s sales. The practical possibilities this application offers would out weigh the cost and being only $0.99, most people would buy the application out of sheer curiosity to see if it can actually deliver what it promises.

So download this application now and be ahead of the game on your next outdoor shoot.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

Living in a world where advertising is a daily interaction, to the point most people just don’t notice or care anymore, marketers are constantly trying to classify and categorize you as an individual to better their marketing campaigns. This is done by the study demographics. “Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics. The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people.” (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, pg. 71)
Demography has categorized people into the following: Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Generation Y. I happen to fall under the umbrella of Generation X. “Generation X is the 45 million people born between 1965 and 1976 in the “birth dearth” following the baby boom.” (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, pg. 73) Although Gen Xers seek success, they are not overly materialistic and value experience over acquisition. “From a marketing standpoint, the Gen Xers are a more skeptical bunch. They tend to research products before they consider a purchase, preferring quality over quantity, and they tend to be less receptive to overt marketing pitches.” (Marketing an Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, pg. 73)
Both Baby Boomers and Gen Xers have difficulty saving money for the future/retirement but from what you read previously, Gen Xers spend more cautiously compared to the free spending of the Baby Boomers. I find this to be true having grown up in this era and watching the increase in pay and technologies go up and up. Were when I was a child, my parents or their friends would be care free with their money and just buy whatever looked good. I find myself asking questions and researching a product before I even think about buying it. So once you think about them and consider their pros and cons, even though you might fit a particular Generation type, I still think we all as a race share some commonalities.

Week 3 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

During a time of recession in the United States, more and more people have to cut expenses due to high unemployment rates. This has affected many industries and has more often than not been the downfall of such industries. One such industry, Entertainment, more specifically Video Games has taken a hit. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled Videogame Makers Can’t Dodge Recession, it is explained that videogame sales have plummeted while people are “tightening their purse strings [waiting for game makers] to cut the prices of their consoles."

Due to fierce competition between the different video games makers, console games nearly meet their “death.” Dollar sales of consoles and other gaming hardware declined, mostly because of price cuts that have occurred in the past year from companies trying to survive the recession.  “Nintendo Co., for example, sliced the price of its 3DS handhold in August to $170 from $250. As a result, overall console sales dropped 9% in November to $982.4 million compared with a year earlier.” (The L.A. Times Business, Dec. 09, 2011)

Life seems to stirring once again in the general population as more and more people are finding work again. Companies like Microsoft and their Xbox just might be saved from this recession. “Thanks in part to the sixty-six million consumers who have purchased an Xbox and accessories, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted net income of $6.62 billion on revenue of $20.9 billion for the second quarter-ended December 31st.” (IRA.com. Thomas Hertog, 01/23/12)

Having recently studied the Boston Consulting Group matrix in Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10^th Edition, by Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler, I believe that the video game market, more specifically Xbox, is a “Cash Cow.” Cash cows are low-growth, high-share businesses or products. These established and successful SBUs need less investment to hold their market share. Thus, they produce a lot of cash that the company uses to pay its bills and to support other SBUs that need investment.  Having survived dangerously low sales, to only come back and begin to soar shows this

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

I am an avid coffee drinker, so I frequent coffee shops on a more than regular basis to say the least. Even though I go to multiple locations to get my caffeine fix, I find that nine times out of ten or at least 95% of the time, I go to the same Starbucks located in Henderson, NV near my college. To go to this location, I literally drive fifteen miles one way, when I have a Starbucks less than a quarter mile from my home to get my coffee and relax. The employees or Baristas at this particular location always have a smile on their face for me when I walk in. They treat me like I am personal friend instead of just another customer. When I am having a bad day, they notice and inquire about what’s wrong and have actually sat with me to talk and cheer me up. I have seen how well they treat the other customers but it never compares to the treatment I get. This kind of treatment just reminds me that “Sound marketing is critical to the success of every organization. Large for-profit firms such as Procter & Gamble, Google, Target, Toyota, and Marriott use marketing. But so do not-for-profit organizations such as colleges, hospitals, museums, symphony orchestras, and even churches.” (Marketing An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, page 3) If it wasn’t for the treatment I receive from the employees, I wouldn’t have such a strong loyalty to that particular Starbucks and would probably frequent one much closer to home or another coffee shop chain all together. Treating you like a friend and not just another number makes you want to come back more for the good feelings, when you could go anywhere you so desire and hear another drone voice asking “You want fries with that?”

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

My name is Joaquin Lares and I am an aspiring travel and portrait photographer. I have had a love affair with photography for as long as I can remember. I bought my first camera when I was in the 8th grade and have been taking photographs in one form or another since. Photography is an example of how I view the world, not just another point and click vacation photo. To be able to travel the world, photograph to places and people you visit, and share with the world your interpretation of your experience. There is nothing like it. Portrait photography is my second interest and is one of the more challenging forms of photography to learn but rewarding all the same. There is an inner satisfaction in capture the true spirit of your model and being able to display it for all to see through your creativity. Self-expression is one of the few joys anyone can experience in life that is purely their own and can not be influenced by outside source without your permission. I approach all aspects of photography, as a starving person desires food. I consume as much information as I can possibly learn from any given subject until I feel there is nothing else for me to possibly learn.