Topic 1: About Me

• Marketing is used in every aspect of our lives and I find it useful to take this class and learn more about the foundations of marketing and how it impacts society 

• I'm a business major and my aim is to transfer to OSU's accountancy program

• I shy away from all social platforms and I believe taking this marketing class will help with my hesitation to be part of the social media community. This class will also help me learn new tools to market myself to employers

•  I like to spend time outdoors and one of my favorite pastimes is to mushroom hunt with my husband. I also like to spend time working on the three-acre property I live in and take care of my goats, chickens, cat, and dog

Topic 2:

In Forbes article American-Made: 50 Strong's Ashley Thompson Built A Business Making Plastic Water Bottles In The U.S., Amy Feldman describes Thompson’s ability to bring to market products made in America that can compete both in quality and price to similar import goods by utilizing the family’s plastics manufacturing business which was established in 1982.

One main point of the article is American manufacturing is alive. Thompson’s business 50 Strong has 100 full-time employees and sells their US manufactured products through Walmart.  Last year’s sales exceeded $10 million. Further, the company won a contract with Walmart to produce 5 million plastic bottles which were previously made in China.

The second point is that contrary to popular opinion American made products can compete with imported goods.  50 Strong can produce similar plastic water bottles in the US while still being competitive on price point.  Where imported water bottle prices range from $3 to $5, 50 Strong can domestically produce similar items at $2 to $4.   

Utilizing production processes efficiently can give business a competitive advantage. Thompson has learned that through better understanding production capabilities they can produce items with demand more efficiently and at a lower price point. An example of this is removing the middleman to reduce costs.

  

The value proposition for 50’s strong is making America stronger by making products in America. They then use this value proposition to market to consumers who wish to support U.S. manufacturing businesses.

Their marketing approach is unique in that most of their imaging from their website to what Thompson wears are carefully selected to promote their U.S. manufactured goods. An example of this is Thompson pitched her new product to Walmart while wearing a blue jacket and big red beaded necklace symbolizing colors of the U.S. flag.

What I learned from this article is that through strategic marketing, planning and efficient manufacturing processes an industry once thought dead can still succeed domestically despite international competition. What it takes is the ability to reinvent oneself as customer’s wants and desires evolve.