EOC Beech-Nuts Scandal

In 1986, Beech-Nut brand destroyed its name due to an apple juice scandal. Beech-Nut is a baby brand that attempts to compete with Gerber. However, after the apple juice scandal the company was involved in, Beech-Nut continues to fail still today.

An overview of the apple juice scandal:

Beech-Nut apple juice was being bottled and sold in stores nation-wide as “100% juice.” The creators and employees at Beech-Nut, however, knew that the juice they were selling was actually not juice at all. The “juice” was only sugars, water, flavoring and coloring. Parents generally do not want their babies drinking harmful chemicals and corn syrup which were being used in Beech-Nut’s “juice.”

“The company itself had pleaded guilty the previous fall to 215 counts of violating Federal food and drug laws, and had agreed to pay a $2 million fine, by far the largest ever imposed in the 50-year history of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Beech-Nut had confessed in a press release that it had broken a ''sacred trust.''

Needless to say, the Beech-Nut name has since then been shamed and is now nearly unrecognizable. When Beech-Nut was first originated in 1931, they were known for caring greatly for babies and were seen as a brand the public could trust. For years and years the company went on as such. After the scandal in the 1980s, Beech-Nut fell drastically and lost their reputation.

The following is a quote from Beech-Nut:

“We pride ourselves on using the highest quality, all natural ingredients to create great-tasting and nutritious items. If a product doesn't exceed our expectations, we won't sell it.”

Clearly, Beech-Nut has suffered heavily for its wrong doing. Both the President and Vice President received jail time and hefty fines for the apple juice scandal. Today, Beech-Nut claims to have successfully recovered from the scandal, which by an entire college level class’ unfamiliarity of the company proves to be an exaggeration. Trying to regain their brand status will be an incredible battle for a company with such a poor reputation.


http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/magazine/into-the-mouths-of-babes.html
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/BeechNut-Nutrition-Corporation-Company-History.html

Mid-Term, Johnson's Body Care

“Caring for the world, one person at a time... inspires and unites the people of Johnson & Johnson.”

Johnson’s body care is a line of body washes and lotions produced by the Johnson & Johnson corporation. Over 120 years ago, Johnson & Johnson was created to make hospital supplies, such as sterile dressings and bandages. Since the company was established in 1886 it has been creating new products and ideas and changed the way consumers think about personal hygiene.

“We aim to make the world a better and healthier place through everything we do—the products we discover and develop, the positions we take on public policy issues, the way we run our business every day, and the programs and alliances we build and join.”

Over the years Johnson & Johnson invented many products that changed hygienic technology. Some of the most well known Johnson brands include BAND-AID bandages, Baby Powder & baby care, Ultrasound technology, oral health care such as Listerine and Rembrandt, Tylenol, Benadryl, Zyrtect, Nicorette, Visine and Acuvue contact lenses, Women’s health care products such as O.B., e.p.t. and K-Y and most popular, skin care products such as Neutrogena, Johnson’s body care, and Clean & Clear.

The focus is on Johnson’s Body Care which is adult body washes and lotions. These products offer the same baby soft skin to adults that Johnson’s was able to provide for them as babies. They offer a variety of types of washes and lotions that include Melt Away Stress, 24 Moisturizing, Forever Fresh, Nourishing Green Tea, Deep Hydrating, Shea and Cocoa Butter, Gentle Exfoliating and 2-in-1 Wash and Shave. With the Johnson’s Body Care line, Johnson’s is targeting women ages 25-50 that care about their skin’s softness.

“At JOHNSON'S®, we believe from the moment you're born and throughout your life you need nurturing. That's why weve created these JOHNSON'S® skin care products just for you.”

Competitors of Johnson’s body care include Olay and Dove. These competitors create for very tough competition. Aveeno is also owned by Johnson & Johnson, otherwise it would also be considered a competitor as well. As such an established name and also a family company, Johnson & Johnson skin care lines do exceptionally well. After all, Johnson & Johnson did (most likely) provide for consumers as baby, as Johnson’s is the leading brand of baby care products.
Johnson & Johnson prides themselves on being a “family company” that is begun and operated under the Johnson family. Johnson & Johnson has spent the past 120 years working to further improve their company reputation. The following is the opening paragraph for Johnson & Johnson’s credo:

“… In meeting their needs everything we do must be of high quality.”


http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/
http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/our-citizenship/
http://www.johnsonsforyou.com/science_body.jsp

EOC Chapter 2 Questions

1. Advertisements changed drastically during the 20th century. Before the 1950s, advertisements focused on showing the consumer the practicality of the product they were attempting to sell. After the 1950s, however, advertisements began to focus on a fantasy life of the consumers as opposed to a real one. Since the 1950s advertisements have become more risk-taking and sometimes sexual to appeal to the desires of the consumers. “After World War II … To capture this new consumer dollar, what became important for retailers, manufacturers and designers was the inclusion of meanings and lifestyle in advertising to relate products to the American dream.” (Brand/Story, Joseph Hancock, Page 16)

2. Some of the theories related to fashion branding are The Barthes theory, the Baudrillard theory, the Williamson theory, the Hamilton and DeBord theory, the Agins theory, the Gobe theory and the McCracken theory. All of the theories discuss fashion branding as a means of communicating with consumers. Each theory expresses a different way(s) to relate a brand to its target customer. Each theory discusses how effective fashion branding and how to branding can be come successful. “The work of each of these researchers in the area of fashion branding can be combined to conclude that meaning, associations, emotions and storytelling are all key ingredients or building fashion branding success.” (Brand/Story, Joseph Hancock, Page 31)

3. McCracken’s theory suggests several meanings that are generally targeted by companies. He also suggests that without branding towards these meanings, a brand will not be able to achieve success. McCracken states that there are nine basic meanings that are targeted. These include gender, lifestyle, decade, age, class and status, occupation, time and place, value and fad, fashion and trend meanings. “For McCracken, these meanings are determined by the company, its competitors and collaborators, customers, marketing segmentation, product and service positioning, marketing mix and price of each consumer item.” (Brand/Story, Joseph Hancock, Page 30) I completely agree with all of these meanings because they all describe demographic and psychographic information which is ALL used by brands in early stages of determining their market. Once all of these meanings are established, the brand knows who its market is and can brand and advertise to that specific market. An example of the meaning class and status would be Chanel. Chanel brands to a market based on social class and status. Chanel’s high end products are incredibly expensive and only purchasable by those who can afford high-end designer fashions.

EOC Chapter 1 Questions

1. According to the text, Brand/Story, branding is “the cumulative image of a product or service that consumers quickly associate with a particular brand, it offers an overall experience that is unique, different, special and identifiable.” The text also states that branding is “A competitive strategy that targets customers with products, advertising and promotion organized around a coherent message as a way to encourage purchase and repurchase of products from the same company.” This means that branding is creating not only a product but also a lifestyle for consumers. A great example of brand is Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren offers high quality products in several areas from apparel to bedding to towels. Ralph Lauren is known for their high-quality, preppy style merchandise. Branding helps to establish a product’s identity by adding a certain style or charm to the product. For Ralph Lauren, this style is preppy.

2. Companies are able to charge high prices for everyday items such as t-shirts, jeans and sunglasses after they have established their brand’s reputation. Luxury brand’s, such as Dolce & Gabbana, are able to license their name and logo to companies that mass produce sunglasses, underwear and swimwear to heighten the prices of their merchandise. Consumers are willing to pay more for a brand with a luxurious reputation. Another item sold in the luxury market that was not traditionally perceived as a luxury good is underwear.

3. Three consumer groups that differ from my own are:
• 21-35 yr. old Men
• 45 + Women
• Children
These three consumer groups do differ from each other with regard to fashions and the types of brands they purchase. This is because all three groups want something different from their clothing. Men in the specified age category tend not to care about the brands that they wear or how much their clothing costs. Women ages 45 and up tend to want a look that is sophisticated and mom-like but do care about what brands they wear and are generally loyal to their favorite companies. Children are dressed by their mothers who tend to also stick to their favorite companies which vary greatly from the companies chosen for themselves.

EOC Chapter 1 Exercise

The Louis Vuitton ad campaign featuring Madonna was released in 2009. This campaign was and still continues to be very popular around the globe. Madonna’s timeless look and image combined with Louis Vuitton’s timeless and prestigious brand name created advertisements sure to win over the hearts of consumers everywhere.

Madonna is well known for her pop music and her bold fashion statements, making her not only a fashion icon but an icon in the music industry as well. Madonna’s popular self-image is a pop culture icon and will continue to be so for several years to come. Madonna has been able to re-invent, revamp and uphold her image as the years have passed just as Louis Vuitton has been able to do so since the early 1900s.

The Louis Vuitton high-status brand name is well known for their luxury goods. Louis Vuitton carries a variety of apparel and accessories and is best known for their outstanding luggage. Well known for their craftsmanship and extraordinary tailoring, Louis Vuitton is the most popular, distinguished and legendary name in the world of high fashion.

Another popular icon in this advertisement is the well-known Louis Vuitton bag on the right. Instead of choosing a newer bag, that perhaps, only fashionistas would recognize, Louis Vuitton decided to showcase their most popular fabric design with their world-famous logo.

It is no wonder why Madonna and Louis Vuitton were able to create and establish such a prevalent ad campaign together.

This ad, in particular, makes the consumer want to purchase Louis Vuitton products. This is achieved through effective marketing as well as brand strategy. Louis Vuitton and Madonna both have outstanding, popular reputations, making them great icons and brands for advertisemtn. By making Madonna the brand model in this ad campaign, Louis Vuitton is able to reach markets it has already achieved as well as markets that it has not thought to reach out to yet. If Madonna wants to wear it, wouldn’t any woman want to?

BOC Slip! Slop! Slap!

“Slip! Slop! Slap!” is a health promotion campaign that began in 1981. The campaign was launched by The Australian Cancer Council. The “Slip, Slap, Slop” campaign promoted wearing sunscreen and is a huge campaign for skin cancer prevention today.

“In fact, it has been so successful in raising awareness of the dangers of sun exposure that a new problem has appeared. Some groups are now failing to get enough sun and are suffering from a deficiency of vitamin D.”

The campaign urges people in the sun to slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat and wrap on sunglasses. Those involved in Cancer associations feel that these simple steps will help to keep people safe from skin cancer and the damage caused by ultraviolet rays.

“In addition to these tips, seek shade especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. While parents should use these methods for protecting children from too much sun, it's also important to teach kids to protect themselves as they get older.”

This campaign is believed to have been a great way to get people to protect themselves from the sun and ultraviolet rays. The results over the years of not doing so have led to many people with skin cancer, leather-like skin and more wrinkles and blotchiness than these people may not have had, had they used sun protection.

“Eighty percent of all sun damage occurs before the age of eighteen. Lots of adults have learned this the hard way.”

“Slip! Slop! Slap!” has become an easy reminder for everyone to stay safe while having fun in the sun.

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[1]http://health-psych.blogspot.com/2006/04/flip-of-slip-slop-slap.html

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/Features/Columnists/Creating_Community/2010/07/07/Slip_Slop_Slap__and_Wrap_your_skin/

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7092/is_n4_v9/ai_n28681309/