Author Archives: Jennifer Baker

My Take on the Joneses

Would you categorize the way the Jones family lives as personal selling? Why or why not?
I think this is more in the line of “influencers” than direct selling. And I think picked up on how social media influencers were becoming a think (the movie being made before they were a household word). But the movie unit did not do direct sales the way that the neighbor character was with her skincare items.

What similarities do you see between the sales tactics the Jones family employs and the marketing tactics of some of your favorite brands?
Much like advertising in the real world, the Jones family used “this will make you seem sexy/get you laid” as a key way to push items that have no direct connection to sex (like cars and jewelry).

Based on what you read in the course materials and what you observed in this movie, do you think the way products are marketed in this
movie is ethical?
No – I don’t think it is ethical to do sales pitches for items you may not even be personally a fan of without disclosing that you were paid to do this.

How would you feel if you were friends with someone in the Jones family before you found out their secret? What about afterward?
I personally am not a fan of having stuff just for the sake of having things and likely would not have talked to them much (or just found them snobby). But, I am a big fan of “things that legitimately make my life better” so probably I would have been interested in the toilet! Finding out after, definitely betrayed and hurt: how much was lies? How can you even tell in that situation when the lying has ended or begun again? Something our characters also struggled with.

New Product from Lefty’s, the Left Hand Store

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2023
Jennifer Baker
Lefty’s, the Left Hand Store
888-888-1000
marketing@leftys.com

New Lefty Can Opener!
Finally, an end to the can-opening struggle for Lefties

San Francisco, CA: Lefty’s, the Left Hand Store today announces our newest product, a Left Handed Manual Can Opener. This newest left-handed offering fills a need all left-handed consumers have felt and struggled with: opening cans with ease and comfort, no longer having to contort to use a can opener designed for their non-dominant hand. In addition to being easy for all left-handed people to use, this can opener will be especially helpful for anyone whose function in their non-dominant hand has declined over time, such as those with hand injuries, arthritis, or general aging, where their ability to manage with their right hand is even lower and the barrier to entry to using “regular” aka right-handed can openers, is higher.

Amazon reviews include “Finally ! I can open cans without having to think first ! My left handed self is happy!” (Dejanir, Amazon customer). A direct customer commented “I didn’t realize what a struggle it was for a lefty with a standard can-opener. This item is a must for all lefty’s.” (Reviewer: CassieK from Plano, TX United States)

Why choose our left-handed can opener?

  • Designed specifically for use by left-handed consumers
  • Much easier to use with the left hand than can openers designed for righties
  • Less wrist and hand strain due to using a product designed for your dominant hand
  • See it in action on YouTube! https://youtu.be/Hm71VFVfU6Y

Our Left Handed Manual Can Opener will be available starting December 15, 2023, at $19.95 (in orange) and $22.95 (in black). For more information on our left-handed kitchen items, visit https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/AllLeft_handedKitchen_s/63.htm?searching=Y&sort=5&cat=63&show=9&page=2.

About Lefty’s the Left Hand Store: Originally opened in San Francisco in 1978 – the very first U.S. store to specialize in products for left-handed consumers – Lefty’s closed in the 1990s and re-opened in 2008. Lefty’s has since expanded to a website (www.leftyslefthanded.com) and several kiosks at Disney resorts, as well as being available on Amazon.

Sourced from:
https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/Left_Handed_Orange_Handled_Can_Opener_p/905253.htm
https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/Left_Handed_Black_Handled_Can_Opener_in_Box_p/907837.htm
https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/aboutus.asp
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AESTA3RP6RLW75NZTUSC53QOYISQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_gw_tr?ie=UTF8
https://youtu.be/Hm71VFVfU6Y
https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/ReviewsList.asp?ProductCode=905253&Reviews=Y

 

 

My Favorite Flavor: Yum Crumbs

I found most of the pitches interesting (I was not very into the ski helmet) but was most drawn to the Yum Crumbs pitch, for a few reasons. The product itself seemed pretty great (and baked goods and ice cream seem unlikely to suddenly stop being in demand!). As a b2b business in particular, I thought it was in great shape, with a significant contract already with Wawa (only waiting for expanded capacity at Yum Crumbs to be able to order more) and multiple other cake shops and ice cream shops already on board. The convenience for small businesses in particular to easily change up their offerings through this one product is a strong selling point. But it’s fair to say that my strongest pull to this pitch was due to the family story and energy in the pitch and the origin story of Delson going from store to store pitching the Yum Crumbs.

As presented to the sharks, the main focus was on the ability of Yum Crumbs to be marketed to cake and ice cream shops as a way to bring easy variety to their offerings. Because Yum Crumbs has 30+ flavors, and there are not many existing sprinkle/topping flavor options available outside of Yum Crumbs, so the gap is clear and should be profitable to address. As one of the sharks pointed out, it should be significantly cheaper and easier for bakeries etc. to utilize Yum Crumbs versus having to make their own toppings. Small businesses in particular should feel a strong need to utilize this product to expand their flavor options.

I think the website is the best positioning for retail consumers (and noted that Yum Crumbs, along with The Fidget Game, has already updated their website to include “Shark Tank Bundles” and splash ads), and likely would not want to expend significantly more money on anything past that space given that their main market is small businesses. For marketing to small business bakeries and ice cream shops, I think getting involved in national food and beverage industry conferences is a strong way to market, investing in a solid salesforce (ideally all people with sales skills on par with Delson, who I think is particularly skilled!) and a high number of demos. Additionally, the door-to-door approach should be continued for another year or two – so far it has worked very well and expanding that network with face-to-face interaction I think is a strong investment for Yum Crumbs. Of course, the effect of being on Shark Tank alone with bring a boost of attention and sales for Yum Crumbs, and following up on that utilizing direct marketing (an email newsletter or some other alert of seasonal flavors I think would be especially effective) with help keep that boost going.

Choosing Italian Food Options in SLC

Choosing food for delivery is something I do frequently both as a personal consumer and as part of my job. My needs and concerns for either situation are often on opposite ends – low price is a concern when ordering for myself, whereas it is not a concern when ordering for my job, in favor of ease of setup and taste.

My research thus starts from one of those two points. For myself, as a non-driver pickup is not an option, so delivery is a must. DoorDash is my go-to first step for personal orders, whereas EZCater (designed for ordering for large groups) is my first step for work orders. With that in mind, I looked through the personal-order scenario, described below. I used the Salt Lake City court as the delivery address, as that is close to where I would be if I were ordering for work and likely nearby for a personal order as well.

Needs recognition: Personal ordering is always prompted by my immediate hunger. In this example, I have a strong craving for Italian food (unusual for me) and – being hungry – would prioritize delivery that is closer/faster.

Information search: Cost is a factor for me, and using DoorDash I give some priority to those restaurants that have a $0 delivery fee. I found a significant number of restaurants searching “Italian” on DoorDash for my SLC address, so I set the filter to “under 30 minutes” (this cut the options approximately in half, to 99 results). To further lower the number of options, I set the “Ratings” filter to only show restaurants rated 4.5 stars or above. This got me down to 66 results. After that, I just scrolled. The majority of the first results were pizza (something I am skeptical of anywhere outside the tri-state area) and various pubs, none of which seem particularly Italian to me, so I just kept scrolling. I did place a high priority on the photo that each restaurant chooses as their display pic, and found that I preferred a photo of pasta (to me, that reads as Italian food).

Evaluation of alternatives: I ultimately considered Zaffo’s Artisan Pasta or Antica Roma. In choosing between them, I noted that Antica Roma had over 1,000 reviews whereas as Zaffo’s had only 62. However, Zaffo’s had  two pesto dishes featured in their “popular items” choices that I found very appealing based on the picture and the description (“reginette” is not a very common American-Italian option in my experience which suggested to me that it the restaurant as a whole is more authentically Italian, as well as the desserts – only three, two panna cotta options and one tiramisu, listed under the title “Dolci”). Antica also looked to have great pasta dishes, but at more than twice the cost ($25 versus $11) and no panna cotta in the dessert options.

Purchase decision: I opted for Zaffo’s – the menu options gave me confidence despite the lower number of reviews, and additionally I strongly prefer pesto-based pasta dishes over tomato-based or cream-based sauces, which Zaffo’s had solid options in. Additionally the cost difference was substantial, a definite consideration when ordering for myself and especially if I am ordering for family members as well.

If I was ordering for work, I would have likely ordered from Antica – they had bruschetta and other appetizers (much more important when ordering for a team meal), and while I did not check, it seems likely they offer catering via EZCater, and going with the more expensive but also more reviewed choice is my standard approach for work.

I presume for other consumers, they would have additional options based on being able to do pickup if desired. Consumers with more disposable income would possibly also turn to Antica more quickly than I would. I also skipped a restaurant that chose a meatball sub image for their picture (Moochie’s Meatballs and More); I am not a big fan of meatballs or sandwiches, and presumably consumers who find those items more enticing would be more likely to consider that restaurant (or, pizza, if they are more willing to risk Utah pizza than I am – since there were 5 pizza options outside of the larger chain options, I presume others are interested in that where I am not!)

First-image photos definitely had a larger impact on me than I expected, as well as name choices!

DoorDash and ESG

For the purpose of this assignment, I opted to look at a company I use so often I almost forgot it is a company versus some extension of my life: DoorDash. I will admit, although I try to be fairly conscious as a consumer, I have not looked into DoorDash’s ESG efforts previously. I found out they are more thoughtful in their approach than I expected, and as a user of their services I am very pleased to know that!

DoorDash has an entire section of their website dedicated to their ESG efforts (Impact), which they break down into four broad areas: The future of work, empowering merchants, broadening food access, and environmental sustainability (the other three links in this section cover an introduction to their ESG efforts, a page describing how they measure results, and a page with links to an advocacy network they created in support of “policies that drive economic opportunity and empower local communities” – on this page they also have a link to register to vote). Separately, under their governance documents link on their website for investors, they have links to their 2021 ESG Report and 2022 ESG Update; the 2021 Report is their first ESG report.

The Future of Work: DoorDash has a clear interest in marketing themselves as a flexible option for employment, and especially as an income stream that is additional revenue or for workers who need more flexibility in their schedules than is usually afforded in fulltime jobs (the highlighted profiles on this page include a veteran struggling with PTSD, a full-time social worker who needs the extra money due to the low pay in that field, and a retiree with some physical impairments from his previous job who needs some extra income to supplement his retirement). To further support that, they offer a number of partnership programs designed to help they workforce with financial education (in partnership with the National Urban League), UnidosUS Caminos, and two Canadian organizations, as well as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and they also partner with the International Rescue Committee to provide access to financial resources to immigrant and refugee communities.

Empowering Merchants: DoorDash is clearly invested in growing local economies – for them, if small businesses do well, DoorDash too will prosper – and here they really put their money into action. They have the “DoorDash Accelerator for Local Restaurants”, which provides an intensive 8-week curriculum and a grant of $10,000 to small restaurants (with three or fewer locations and 50 or fewer employees) and proudly states that the “vast majority of participants from previous cohorts were people of color, women, immigrants, and refugees”. DoorDash recently initiated a similar program for business that provide packaged goods. Additionally, they have a Disaster Relief Fund, and a Restaurant Advisory Council to have ongoing open communication with the “independent restaurant community” about their needs.

Broadening Food Access: DoorDash has partnered with local social impact organizations (food banks, etc.) through Project DASH to assist with distributing food to those in need. They have made a number of commitments related to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, have set the DoorDash app up to accept SNAP and EBT benefits as payment, and have a program (Community Credits) that offers nonprofit organizations the opportunity to apply for DoorDash gift cards to give away to the non-profit’s program participants.

Environmental Sustainability: DoorDash has a number of programs to encourage the use of lower-emissions vehicles for deliveries (EV incentives, Bike Dasher resources and offers, subsidized EV leases in California, and discounts available for e-bikes), and partners with a number of advocacy groups to enhance road safety and infrastructure for bicycles in particular. DoorDash also has several partnerships aimed at supporting local business efforts to use recyclable or compostable packaging.

I think on the whole DoorDash has a fairly robust set of ESG practices and I look forward to seeing what 2023 brings for the company (which I now feel a little better about supporting so very frequently). I would like to see DoorDash offer additional encouragement of sustainable practices from its client restaurants (for example, offering a badge in the app so I can see that a restaurant I am ordering from aims to use mostly local food, or is employee-owned). I would also like more transparency about the fair wages (or not) of Dashers (i.e. the delivery staff specifically and not just the office staff); while there was a great deal about flexibility and financial education on the Future of Work page, there was not much prominently about the wages paid to Dashers and the impact of tipping (which can be so variable) on that.

Jennifer Baker

I am a business major aiming to transfer to CUNY SPS shortly. I do admin work for a law firm (so, I can answer all your Excel questions) and go partner dancing for fun.

 

My BMCC email is: jennifer.baker@stu.bmcc.cuny.edu