In response to Jason Rury.

Technology is keeping managers and marketers on their toes in this ever changing environment. They must be aware of trends and especially costs when trying to implement new value adding strategies. Will scanning bar codes and taking pictures out of magazines be a new fad/trend practiced by consumers?

Interesting question. I could definitely see scanning bar codes out of magazines being a fad, but I could not see it being a lasting trend. It is a good idea in theory, being able to instantly find out if you can get a better deal on an item from another place of business. But I see two problems with this.

First is that not everyone is willing to travel to another store to get the best deal on each individual products. In other words, some people like the one-stop shopping experience and find it more convenient to buy all of the products they are looking for in one rather than travel and save the few dollars. I know that they could be finding better prices online, but not everyone is willing to send their credit card info over the internet and then wait for delivery.

Second, you would either need a lot of bar code magazines, or a device with a large memory unit to be able to look up a variety of bar-codes and compare the prices to many competitors. This means buying another expensive piece of electronics, The i-compare maybe? And on top of that, prices change so fast you would need to update your system all the time.

Good idea, but it seems like a hassle.

Infomercials, outdated or effective?

Judging by the frequency by which I see infomercials appear on television, I could say that they are a great way to market products. On the other hand, I find them to be too long, too generic, and just plain predictable.

They all seem to take the same approach. The products that are marketed are usually ones that try to make some task in your life easier like cutting tomatoes, or draining the water out of your bowl of spaghetti. Then, it's five minutes of demonstrations and over-dramatizations of how bad your life was before their product was available for purchase. But wait, there's more! Then it's the additions of free products that have absolutely nothing to do with the main advertisement.

And of course if you call in the next seven and a half minutes, they will double your offer. Same old, same old for me. Seeing an infomercial pop on the screen is just simply a prompt for me to change the channel. I feel like they are not effective marketing tools because none of them do anything to differentiate themselves.

Are there any other types of advertising that you feel has run its course by now? Why aren't they effective?