In Response to Sam's Post...

Starting a show at 9:28 clearly separates it from any other show, and makes it very easy to remember. Do you think this idea was as brilliant as I do? Do you think it will actually help viewers to remember what time the show is on? Do you have any other ideas for how to get viewers to watch your show?

The idea to start this show was a great marketing strategy. Like Same had mentioned, it separates the television show from its competitors. Most people start their shows exactly on the hour or half hour, but by announcing the show will be on at 9:28. More people who are first time watchers will easily remember the show by it starting two minutes before all other shows. This is a great strategy even if they do not announce it to the viewers. From experience, one of my shows when I was younger was on the WB and started at 9 o' clock. I am the type of person that is always antsy when commercials are on and flip through stations until my show returns back on. By doing this I noticed that my show started about two minutes before the time it was supposed to start. I realized week after week the show was on it always started before other shows on channels above and below it. I think another idea to get viewers to watch my show would be to advertise short commercials. I know for me personally, I dislike long commercials. If a show advertised how short the commercials were I may be tempted to watch the program. Do you think it is important to be always finding new advertising strategies for television shows. Do you think viewers get sick of the same shows if there are many seasons of the show?

Channel-Selection Decisions

When a firm is selecting marketing channels, there are many factors that may be affected by this decision. The factors consist of customer characteristics, product attributes, type of organization, competition, marketing environment forces and characteristics of intermediaries. A marketing firm should consider the target-market members when selecting a channel. The correct channel should be chosen to benefit the customer. For example, a customer buying hardwood floors for commercial buildings compared with a person buying hardwood floors for there home. The person selecting the flooring for their home would probably want to talk with the producers directly. The next factor that could be affected is the product attributes. The type of product you are selling has an influence on the type of channel the firm will choose. For example if a company sells produce they would choose a short channel because their product can go bad at a faster rate than other products. Also, fragile products are usually distributed through shorter channels to reduce the risk of damage to the product. The type of organization also influences the decision to choose short or longer channels. For large firms it may be more beneficial to choose large channels and the company may be able to negotiate deals with the vendors. Supply-chain managers should take competition into consideration. Another companies failure or success given their marketing channel can give your firm an idea whether or not to use the same type of channel for your firm. Marketing environment forces play a role in channel selection also. Bad economic considerations could cause a firm to use the channel that is the most cost effective for the company. Also, the advancement of technology could cause a firm to move to a shorter channel by using technology (such as computer software/Internet). The last factor is the characteristics of intermediaries. If a company doesn't feel as though their products are being promoted, the organization may choose a new channel to change that. If you were a small business, would you use a small marketing channel or a larger one?