The Influence of Music

I was reading a fellow classmates blog today, and he was talking about how music really does influence consumer behavior. I found it interesting because after thinking about it and listening to some old songs, I realized that just about every song is tied to a memory. Good or bad, music has an incredibly powerful influence on my life. Marketers use a very specific criteria when choosing songs to put in their ads. like it or not, music does has an effect on how people behave, people respond differently, but it does impact a person's actions.

Jake's article got me thinking about how music could be used to nudge people into making good decisions. The book "Nudge" written by Richard Thaler and Cass Sustein in 2008, defines a nudge as a way of using choice architecture to influence people's decisions, while not limiting all of their options. It is a nudge because it isn't forceful, it doesn't make you act a certain way, but it can alter or influence the way a person thinks and acts. Using music to nudge people would be like playing party songs on an advertisement for a Bud Light, or Sarah McGlaughlin singing sad songs for an anti-animal cruelty organization that is trying persuade television viewers to donate, or even playing soothing music to try to get a client relaxed for a medical procedure or a massage.

Music is all around us and has an impeccable impact on the lives of humans, it varies from culture to culture, but is consistent in the fact that every culture has their own type of music. Music has the power to latch on to your brain forever, when you hear a song that you haven't heard in years, you can still remember the lyrics. This is why music could be so easily used in marketing, if one only remembers to choose the right songs.

Montana Imegry

ZMET or Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique is a great technique used to discover an understanding of how us consumers use to metaphors frame the world around us. Companies use this technique to improve their marketing abilities. The prompt "Montana's Natural Resources: Share The Love" is a great way to discover the use of this technique, especially for me, someone who was raised in this magnificent part of the world. When I think of Montana’s natural resources I initially think of mountains, hiking trails, fishing, and other basic things that people assume about Montana. 

  

                                    

But after doing some thinking, there is so much diversity to Montana’s Outdoors, there is something for every type of person to enjoy. As a Montanan, I recognize that I don’t own this land, I share it with other locals, tourists, college students, Native Americans, and anybody who chooses to enjoy its wonderful amenities. there is also a rich beautiful history of people using its land and resources. 

People use choose Montana to share their culture by bringing others camping, tourists explore our national parks, we have outdoor concerts overlooking the mountains, and people come from all over the world to explore our skiing locations.          

This ZMET exercise really just made me feel blessed to have grown up in such an amazing plaee.

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The Impact of Money

In class today we were talking about food, not just food but the lack of food as well, and how it has an impact on peoples lives and attitudes. In my group this quickly changed to a discussion about poverty and how we have personally experienced and observed people with different incomes. Some of my friends that didn't grow up with much money are some of the most money conscious people that I have ever met. However, working for the Cleveland Browns I noticed that is not always the case. I saw players, mainly rookies with new contracts, blowing money on expensive cars, jewelry, clothes, Louis Vuitton backpacks, and more unreasonable items. After doing some research I learned that roughly 16 percent of retired NFL players go bankrupt. This can only be attributed to their ridiculous spending habits that they picked up while they were getting paid millions of dollars. When the money is no longer available it must be difficult to change your ways. And it's not just football, there have been other hugely famous MLB and NBA athletes who filed for bankruptcy. For example, Pete Rose, one of the faces of the MLB developed a huge gambling problem which ruined his career, reputation and his spot in the Hall of Fame.

                                                   

I like to think that if I ever came into that kind of money, I would be smart and conscious with it. Honestly there is no way to know until it happens, the best I can do is try to develop good spending habits now and hope they stick.

Intro

Whats up fam? I'm Tom, I'm a marketing student at Montana State University and its been a blast so far! Im the one on the left below I've worked in sports basically my whole life, i'm the one on the left below in the picture. I don't really know what else to say about myself so let the blogging commence. 

 

So this is my first time blogging.. Ever. This should be good practice for my future career in anything, communication skills are fairly necessary for a career in anything right? Honestly, I am not going to have a specific topic to talk about in each blog, others are doing things like travel, sports, music, movies, I am just far too ADHD to focus on one topic so this blog will consist mainly of random thoughts, experiences in my day to day life, and elaborations off topics covered in class. This blog will cover various topics of consumer behavior such as, but not limited to, nudges, the paradox of choice,  and the irrationality of consumers.