A question about the audience

[michael hagerty]

I have a different question pertaining to audiences..and I have no clue as to the answer..Has anyone ever done research to see if any given product, service, etc is actually bought or used because someone heard a commercial on the radio about it ? I know radio wants to target the "money demo"..but do car dealers running spots non stop back to back ACTUALLY make a listener say to them selves ..'ya know...I'm think I'm gonna go buy that car"..I am the exception to every rule..Just because McDonalds says Fish sandwiches are two for 3.33..doesn't make me turn the car around and go get them..I can honestly say..I have never bought anything that was pitched over the air either on radio or tv. If I want a fish sandwich..I just go get one..If I want to buy a car (and I have owned more than 200 in my life)..I know what I'm looking for,and go find it..Is the general public so brain dead that commercials influence them to such a large degree that they blindly go spend their money in that way ?? I'm sure...Ed is chomping to answer this one..lol.and I'd really like to know..

I'll tell you how it works with me (your mileage may vary):

Every now and then, I'd like a fish sandwich. I don't love McDonalds' Filet-o-Fish, but I don't hate it either. Most often, I'll hit a local fish & chips place that sells a fish sandwich twice as big as McDonalds' for $6.00. It's so good I've forgotten about McDonalds.

Hearing the "2 for $3.33" McDonalds' ad at the right moment (in a hurry, don't have a full lunch hour for the mom and pop, not in that neighborhood, close enough to payday that $3.33 instead of $6 matters) reminds me about McDonalds and tells me that today, I can have two of theirs for close to what one usually costs. They're certainly convenient, and I don't hate them.

Now, for a lot of years, I've thought McDonald's had the only fast-food fish sandwich. Turns out Burger King, Jack In The Box and Wendy's have recently added them. How do I know? I heard the ad. Didn't make me rush out and buy any of them, but I know they're available and if I'm in the mood and one of those places is more convenient than the mom and pop, maybe I'll give them a try.

 

[semoochie]

Welcome back, Michael! I find that Pepsi really hits the spot, occasionally but for a regular routine, Coke works better for me. I don't know if other people have that reaction or not

 

[firepoint525]

With things like cars (as an automotive journalist continually driving the new stuff, I have an unfair advantage) I know that the brands (Honda, Chevrolet, Volvo) themselves mean very little. It's really about the executives, engineers and stylists who work for them at any given moment. People. Who move on, retire or die.

The problem with GM (and this was most likely a cost-cutting move) was that they built the same chassis, but gave it about five different names, depending on the make. Whether it was a Chevrolet, a Pontiac, a Buick, an Oldsmobile, a GMC (for trucks), or even a Cadillac (!), it was basically the same car with five different names. They even had a Cadillac version of the Chevy Cavalier, only it cost about twice as much! I remember a guy who had an early '70s Pontiac Ventura (which he was constantly wrecking!) that had about as many Chevrolet Nova parts on it as Pontiac parts. Giving the same car different names devalued the GM brand as a whole, and probably led to them discontinuing Oldsmobile. It must have been the slowest seller of all of GM's lineup. Of course, in fairness, I must point out that Ford/Mercury and Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge also gave different names (depending on the make) for the same car.

 

[firepoint525]

Allowing your loyalties to calcify beyond 10 years or so doesn't serve your own interests especially well. It's why grandma was lost when Studebaker went out of business, Montgomery Wards folded and they stopped making Postum.

As recently as 20 years ago, there was still a Montgomery Ward in Clarksville, TN, back when I lived there. Don't know if the fact that Clarksville is in Montgomery County was a factor in Ward's hanging on for so long there! ;D

 

[firepoint525]

Now, for a lot of years, I've thought McDonald's had the only fast-food fish sandwich. Turns out Burger King, Jack In The Box and Wendy's have recently added them. How do I know? I heard the ad. Didn't make me rush out and buy any of them, but I know they're available and if I'm in the mood and one of those places is more convenient than the mom and pop, maybe I'll give them a try.

Sonic now has one, too. (I had one in Houston over the weekend.) But you have got to look at the BACK side of their menu board (where the ice cream and milkshakes are listed) to see it. Who is going to think to do that?

 

[firepoint525]

Welcome back, Michael! I find that Pepsi really hits the spot, occasionally but for a regular routine, Coke works better for me. I don't know if other people have that reaction or not

I once tried both at the same time. For me, the only difference was that Pepsi burned more going down. Not a complaint, just an observation.

It is my understanding that the only real difference between them is that one is made with orange juice and the other with lemon juice. Don't remember which is which.

 

[deltas69]

Something similar happened to me with Coors. Kinda a sideways sidebar here about Coors..For a long time it was unavailable East of the Mississippi ( hence Smokey and the Bandit)..but we had sources that could get us some here in Gallatin..in 1974 a case of regualar Coors was 7.00 a fortune..but it was so good it was worth it..I was thrilled when I heard it was going to available now East of the Ms some years back..but severely dissapointed when it didn't taste the same..no where close..So my question to LANDTUNA is..has the formula stayed the same in your state..or has it changed..or do they use a different formula for
"us rednecks"...because after my first sip way back..I knew it wasn't the same beer I loved...so I have never bought any more..

 

[michael hagerty]

Since my first one in 1971, I have always thought Coors was filtered through a horse. I'm amazed whenever I find anyone who thought it was good.

 

[landtuna]

Something similar happened to me with Coors. Kinda a sideways sidebar here about Coors..For a long time it was unavailable East of the Mississippi ( hence Smokey and the Bandit)..but we had sources that could get us some here in Gallatin..in 1974 a case of regualar Coors was 7.00 a fortune..but it was so good it was worth it..I was thrilled when I heard it was going to available now East of the Ms some years back..but severely dissapointed when it didn't taste the same..no where close..So my question to LANDTUNA is..has the formula stayed the same in your state..or has it changed..or do they use a different formula for
"us rednecks"...because after my first sip way back..I knew it wasn't the same beer I loved...so I have never bought any more..

The MillerCoors site says that the original Coors Banguet beer is "brewed in the Rockies" and it has always been advertised that way as well so my thinking is that there is only one brewery for that beer and it is in Golden, CO.

If that is true then there should be no reason that it tastes different from one area to the next HOWEVER the original reason that Coors was not available east of CO was that it was not pasteurized and had to be shipped and kept refrigerated until sold. They may have made changes to this requirement over the years so as to open new markets. I can't say it tastes any different to me now than it did so many years ago but I notice the amount of carbonation now moreso than I used to and for that reason don't like it as much. I prefer the darker lagers with less carbonation in my all-too-gassy old age.

I do remember stopping in Loveland, CO (along I-40) in the early 70's to buy gas on my way east. Inside the gas station they had a gigantic walk-in cooler which was filled with Coors (cans only) and I bought a couple cases to take back. AFAIK that was the most eastern place you could buy Coors in those days (KS was a 3.2 beer state then).

 

[landtuna]

Since my first one in 1971, I have always thought Coors was filtered through a horse. I'm amazed whenever I find anyone who thought it was good.

Me: "Did my test results come back yet?"

They: "We are sorry to inform you that your horse has diabetes."

If you think Coors is bad you obviously didn't serve time in Vietnam. Pabst, National Bohemian and Schlitz were the only American beers you could find there (circa mid-60's). The standard joke was "When did they take out the 'l' from Schlitz?"

 

[michael hagerty]

Since my first one in 1971, I have always thought Coors was filtered through a horse. I'm amazed whenever I find anyone who thought it was good.

Me: "Did my test results come back yet?"

They: "We are sorry to inform you that your horse has diabetes."

If you think Coors is bad you obviously didn't serve time in Vietnam. Pabst, National Bohemian and Schlitz were the only American beers you could find there (circa mid-60's). The standard joke was "When did they take out the 'l' from Schlitz?"

Accident of birth. Vietnam was wrapping up by the time I turned 18.

 

[deltas69]

the Coors we had bootlegged in was from Texas..and was not kept cold en route and still tasted great to us..wish I could taste some from Colorado and see if it's different. I don't see reefers bringing any beer to the stores here..also used to drink Schlitz and Old Milwaulkie back then also...but was younger and less interested in taste I guess..lol I do drink Coors light on a regular basis..never could stand the taste of Bud...

 

[landtuna]

In the interest of getting back to the marketing discussion, I have always wondered why light beers became so popular. It is my personal opinion that light beer isn't worth drinking as it seems too heavily carbonated and lightly flavored.

Could it be the marketing? I notice that Coors Light, for instance, seems to get all of their advertising and a good part of Budweiser Light also. The regular beers are not advertised as heavily.

Or perhaps it is a more health conscious American beer drinker. Personally, I would rather drink less with more enjoyment than more with less enjoyment so the light beers don't appeal to me at all.

Thoughts (in a marketing vein of course)?

 

[landtuna]

the Coors we had bootlegged in was from Texas..and was not kept cold en route and still tasted great to us..wish I could taste some from Colorado and see if it's different. I don't see reefers bringing any beer to the stores here..also used to drink Schlitz and Old Milwaulkie back then also...but was younger and less interested in taste I guess..lol I do drink Coors light on a regular basis..never could stand the taste of Bud...

I do remember a local supermarket used to display pallets of Coors in the front of the store - obviously unrefrigerated - and was busted by the "Coors police" and was refused further shipments until they agreed to store the beer in the fridge. Can't remember the name of the store though.

 

[deltas69]

Light beer became popular as a "diet" option..less calories than regular beer...so us beer drinkers would not gain those unwanted extra pounds..only problem was...light beer= less calories ?? shoot I can drink twice as many of them.. ;D

 

[michael hagerty]

Light beer became popular as a "diet" option..less calories than regular beer...so us beer drinkers would not gain those unwanted extra pounds..only problem was...light beer= less calories ?? shoot I can drink twice as many of them.. ;D

It wasn't even about the calories, but the sensation of being full ("Great Taste! Less Filling!").

And the beer companies can then sell twice as much.

It could really only happen in America and with beer.

 

[landtuna]

It could really only happen in America and with beer.

I've heard the name "Panther Pilsner" applied to light beer. ;D

 

[dtuba]

Coors (and most domestic, non-craft beers) is Making Love in a Boat.

 

[jh]

Something similar happened to me with Coors. Kinda a sideways sidebar here about Coors..For a long time it was unavailable East of the Mississippi ( hence Smokey and the Bandit)..but we had sources that could get us some here in Gallatin..in 1974 a case of regualar Coors was 7.00 a fortune..but it was so good it was worth it..I was thrilled when I heard it was going to available now East of the Ms some years back..but severely dissapointed when it didn't taste the same..no where close..So my question to LANDTUNA is..has the formula stayed the same in your state..or has it changed..or do they use a different formula for
"us rednecks"...because after my first sip way back..I knew it wasn't the same beer I loved...so I have never bought any more..

I think it's the same. It wasn't that good to begin with, we just thought it was because we could rarely get it. Once we could get it anytime we wanted, it was no longer special.

Coors had a lot of problems after they first expanded their marketing area. Sales would be very good at first in the new areas, then dropped dramatically. The distributors they signed up initially could only handle Coors. It was very embarrassing for Coors when their Des Moines distributor went bankrupt after a few years, Coors had to step in and run it.

 

[semoochie]

I used to really like A&W Root Beer, when you had to go to their drive-in to get it. After they made it available in the stores, it changed somehow. It seemed sweeter. It wasn't just the frosty mug, although that was certainly a contributing factor. You could buy a container, take it home and it still had the same basic taste but that all changed, when it was made widely available.