Midterm Assignment: Part One

The target audience is a bustling, understaffed airport, a family of four without a watchdog, or maybe even an inner city school with a prominent gang population. All of these institutions provide a need for security and can only accomplish the task with the limitations of an average human. To help solve their problems is a product called Groundbot. Groundbot comes equipped with sensors and two surveillance cameras with full rotation capabilities. Groundbot's two motors allow it to move in the direction that its inner pendulum swings, shifting its center of gravity. Controllers of Groundbot can manipulate its direction or Groundbot can rely on its programmed GPS coordinates which allow it to work alone. The device has an internal memory which also allows it to return to where it has traveled previously, without intruction. Infrared and x-ray vision are two future additions to Groundbot and, with the use of thermal imaging, instant scanning is accomplished without the use of faulty metal detectors. The best feature of Groundbot is that it does not fall asleep on the job!

A product such as the Groundbot might not be endorsed immediately without the proper use of marketing. In this case, it would be in inventor Viktor Kaznov's best interest to market this product using emotional branding that convinces the target audience that Groundbot is a reliable device that will help solve its security problems so that it can feel safe and not have to worry about having to metaphorically work or sleep with one eye open. Instead, the target audience could let Groundbot be its "eyes," then its homes, businesses, and other institutions could run more seamlessly. The branding for Groundbot needs to portray it in a light that, if Groundbot was animated, it would be a figure like Scruff McGruff "taking a bite out of crime" or Spiderman, a local hero. Groundbot needs to be that extension of the human eye that allows unwanted activity to be pinpointed at the source. Groundbot does not have the crime fighting action to actually take down a criminal however, it has the mobility, stamina and unblocked line of vision that a typical guard or police officer does not. Even though Groundbot has full autonomous range of motion and detection, there needs to be human reinforcement. With this in mind, Groundbot should be marketed as a sort of Santa's Little Helper, minus the cute factor. Groundbot is more of a business associate that works with the target audience to effectively accomplish their security goals.

The tactic of product placement across media might also work well for a product such as Groundbot. The popularity of television shows such as Law and Order, CSI, Dark Blue, Cold Case, and Without a Trace, paired with the cultivation effects of exposure on audiences would make for a great slot to put an ad for Groundbot. The cultivation theory states that repeated exposure to violence and crimes on television often increases the audience's perception of the frequency of real violent crimes in the world. According to FBI statistics only about 13% of real crimes are violent, compared to the 87% of crimes shown on television programs (Bushman and Anderson, 2001; Oliver 1994). Placing an ad for Groundbot after or during such programming would prompt audience members to associate the crimes portrayed on television with the security Groundbot provides from these crimes. Ads for Groundbot would also be effective in the advertising block before the previews of certain violent or crime-related movies. The media will most likely keep feeding its audience violence which becomes more and more extravagant with the advances of realistic special effects technologies. Luckily for viewers, Groundbot will be there so they do not go home or to work feeling uneasy about the safety of their own property.

As a completely different venue, Groundbot could be physically released in a public place such as a shopping mall for the purpose of guerilla marketing and administrative research. Groundbot will simply be allowed to roam free, or be manuevered by a controller, to survey the mall and the public's response. Promoters would most likely set up a booth or table that displayed Groundbot's product and consumer benefits with an actual Groundbot to view and experience. Perhaps in a controlled setting some could even be permitted to manuever the Groundbot and see its surveillance projected on a large nearby screen. As long as Groundbot's debut did not turn into an opportunity for voyeurs, then this marketing technique might create enough buzz to generate demand for the product.

These mentioned tactics are currently used reach large audiences and the future of communication (social networking sites, wireless communications, simulations, etc.) creates an even broader range of people to be inluenced/affected by marketing. The problem with new means of mass communication is the clutter that ensues. Groundbot's marketing and advertising campaigns need to break through the clutter that bombards listeners and viewers and somehow make a positive lasting impression.