Friday, March 27, 2020

Marketing 101 How brands change during times of crisis By Gina Meyers Brand, Product, Product Category, Product Differentiation

Marketing 101
How brands change during times of crisis
By, Gina Meyers
Brand, Product, Product Category, Product Differentiation

A brand is the name or symbol that represents a product. A product category is the generic class to which the brand belongs. The distinction between brand and product category is important for several reasons. First, the product category defines the brand’s competition. Defining the product category broadly or narrowly will therefore affect a brand’s strategy. Secondly, distinction between brand and product category is important is that a company may wish to develop a product line, that is, a line of offerings within a certain product category. PepsiCo developed a line of different flavored drinks under a Slice label, to compete in the fruit-based category. 

Whatever product category the company falls in determines what is the product line that they expand and create. 

Thirdly, a third reason for distinguishing between brand and product category is that, at times, a company may be interested in stimulating demand for the product category as for its brand.

In the time of war, or in the time that we are in, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, you will find many companies who have built their brand based upon specific characteristics and criteria, however, in a time of crisis, they are willing to take their brand and change the product they will create and sell.

Market fluctuations in the demand of specific products in the times of crisis will dictate what the companies decide to manufacture and sell, it will be based upon consumer demand.

This is why you see General Motors and Tesela, both known for manufacturing cars, creating, selling and manufacturing ventilators. Also, breweries and wineries who are capable of producing wine and beer, though there is still demand for their product as they are considered “essential businesses” and do not have to shut down during a time or war, pandameic or crisis, many are also mass producing hand sanitizer as the process is within their capabilities based upon their goods and the available supplies that they already use in their everyday business.

Product Differentiation:

In economics and marketing, product differentiation is the process of distinguishing a product or service from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as well as a firm's own products.

Consumer Goods are considered convenience, shopping, and specialty goods. For a company to stay solvent, responsive to consumer needs they must change their marketing model to accommodate the changing needs of the consumer and the world that they do business in.

In the past, small and large businesses could advertise to new and emerging markets based upon consumer interest/demand and company’s desire to produce niche products to their intended users.

Businesses that try to remain solvent in an ever changing volatile situation, such as during a pandemic, must be constantly changing their marketing model to accommodate the dictates and demand of regulatory agencies and end users/ also known as customers. 

In times of crisis, there is no luxury in “doing business as usual”. Even if you have an “essential business”, deemed necessary for the operation and functioning of a society.

Bottom line, if you want to survive, you have to get creative, keep your customers safe, and change with the market.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Helpful Books to heal through the trauma of the corona virus pandemic (published by Serendipity Press, Serendipity Media Group)











As an author and publisher, I have had the opportunity to share other's creative works and have also had the wonderful opportunity of creating book(s) that are enriching, enlightening, informative, and helpful.

Here is a brief list of book(s) that I have collaborated on that can help you to find the change you are looking for in your life and to digest new, positive information on your journey through this crazy, life changing time.

Be well!

My books of inspiration:


Life Lessons Learned Series

Manifesting Magnificence: A Personal Growth Workbook


Manifesting Magnificence: A Personal Growth Workbook, free preview


Attitude of Gratitude, by, Gina Meyers

Life Lessons Learned Through The Seasons of Change

Life Lessons Learned from Oprah

Be Proactiv, Stay Proactive, My Experiences with Judith Light

C'est La Vie, Paris: Life Lessons Learned on Cooking & More

Feng Shui Today




Everyone has taken a flight with some turbulence. And every cloud has a silver lining. In Life Lessons: Living a Life Of Inspiration, you will hear stories of optimism, faith, strength, endurance, compassion, and heart. There is magic in hearing the stories of the lives of others, their obstacles, difficulties and challenges. All of these stories share a common bond, a persistent spirit in the face of adversity. These short stories will help readers find inspiration in many different places. The Bewitched television series has changed people’s lives. Hear the stories of every day people, who have taken a positive attitude to the ups and downs of life, by finding inspiration from the television show Bewitched. Take flight and remember to be grateful and count your blessings as you hear true stories from a new airplane flight attendant and how hard it is to “earn our wings.” Are you so sick of being part of the lonely hearts club? Hear two dating dilemmas in Corporate Toothbrushes and the screen play Jealous Cat. Need a cup of comfort? You will find solace and strength in a short story in memory of a Grandfather, entitled: Souvenirs of Life, Remembering Grandpa Chig and Robert, An Inspirational Life. This small collection of emotional stories will assist a person mourning over the loss of a loved one, a job, an ability, a relationship. Others who have lost will share their stories on what they have gained, offering guidance and hope.
Perhaps some food for thought? Nourishment for the mind, body, and spirit and some scrumptious Italian-Sicilian dishes is on the menu and is served up with humor and compassion with stories that are sure to tug at the heartstrings. Here is your recipe for success, engaging everyday events shared into inspiring stories. Your prescription to health, happiness and well being, a story a day.





Friday, March 20, 2020

Motivating Music through the Corona Virus



Feel Free to start your own song list. Enjoy! During the Corona Virus Pandemic and stay in shelter order, enjoy these songs.

Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun!
Cyndi Lauper






13 Going on 30, Vienna by, Billy Joel






Midnighth Oil, Bed are Burning extended version




Mercy Me Performs Even if with Testimony



Deepeche Mode, Enjoy The Silence






Journey, Don't Stop Believing





Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Can't Hold Us Feat.






Right Now, Van Halen


Thursday, March 19, 2020

The Inner Waits For You, Reflections, by, Gina Meyers


Reflections….
By, Gina Meyers
"Life is like driving in your car. The windshield is large so you can see where you WANT to go including all 
the hazards, unknowns and Possibilities. The rear-view mirror is like your past. The view is MUCH smaller, you can't do much about it and it's OK to glance into it periodically for guidance, but don’t Stare or you will crash
into your Future!"


You can be better than before.

Resistance and resilience are only a few letters different and yet they mean a world of difference.

Not only can you heal your life, you can overcome your fears which are your biggest setbacks.
If you can be honest with yourself, you can change yourself and the world!

You are way more powerful than you think. 

Dredging upon traumatic memories from the past was not on my plate du jour. As a matter of fact, didn’t want any reminders of what I’ve been through, but that’s the problem with “accidents”, “car accidents”, they have a way of exposing the onion layers all at once.

I’m raw like an onion peel and yet I’m more happy, satisfied, and lucky than I’ve ever felt. Freedom. 




From tragedy to triumph 
When you have a traumatic event that unfolds before your very eyes,
You are forced to relive other tramas in your life regardless of if the actual trauma involved the same 
situation.

For me the symbols and the fear all spelled vehicle or car, for the most part.

Getting involved in a motor vehicle accident, not my fault, so far, cross my fingers, knock on wood, 
every accident I have been involved in has been someone else's fault, that doesn’t make it any better
really, it just gives me a little less guilt and more fear and worry and concern than anything. 

Here is my advice: 
You need to get over trauma as quickly as possible.
You need to regurgitate everything quickly as if you have the flu, then rest, recuperate, 
reflect, self-care, write, journal, paint, sculpt, bake, be quiet. As the song says. 

Billy Joel says it best  in Vienna.

Slow down you crazy child
You are so ambitious for a juvenile

Where is the fire, what’s the hurry about? 
You better cool it off before you burn it out


Truth is… you  can get what you want or you could just get old!
You are gonna kick off before you even get halfway through

When will you realize--the inner waits for you?



Certain people and personalities that you can’t fully trust when you are going through difficult times.
horder, the toxic person, the bully, the competitive spirit. Personalities or character deficits that you 
can partially trust in difficult times, the co-dependent, the know-it-all. These people may tell you “they told you so”, but they will be dependendable in the sense that they be around puffing their chest, 
if you can handle the bravado, then ok. Co-dependents will blame themselves for your problem, 
so if you need a shoulder to cry on, they’ll be crying on yours, but you’ll at least get the 
attention/affection if that’s something you need. People you should steer clear of in good times and 
in bad, the liar, anyone physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive, difficult situations flare up their 
already atrocious personality/character flaws. Also, this isn’t meant to sound manipulative, it’s a fact 
that we are all flawed human beings having a spirit experience. Or some people believe we are spirits having a human experience. 

Gina is the author of numerous unique themed cookbooks and books of inspiration: Purchase her autographed copies here: http://www.ginameyers.com/books2.html

Friday, January 17, 2020

How To Start Your Amazon Author Profile, by, Gina Meyers


















How to Start An Amazon Author Profile Page

Have your biography written.
Have a blogspot and you tube videos to share on your Amazon Author Profile
Make sure you have an email address.
Have a jpeg picture of yourself in the correct size and format.
Go to Author Central and set up an account
There will be a prompt that asks you to add you books, it will ask you if that is you and you will agree and then click on your book.
https://authorcentral.amazon.com
Here's how to start:
1.    Set up your Author Central account if you haven't already done so.
2.    In Author Central, click the Profile tab. You'll see sections for adding or changing your biography, photos, videos, speaking or other events, and blog feeds.
3.    Click the add or edit link next to a section.

Technical Issues for setting up the account

Setting Up Your Author Central Account
To set up your account and reap all the benefits associated with marketing your book through Author Central, follow these steps:
  1. Go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com/ and click Join Now.
  2. Enter your e-mail address and password and click Sign in using our secure server.
    • If you have an Amazon.com account, sign in with the e-mail address and password you use on that account.
    • If you do not have an existing Amazon.com account, select No, I am a new customer. You will be prompted to enter the necessary information.
  3. Read the Author Central’s Terms and Conditions, and then click Agree to accept them.
  4. Enter the name your books are written under. A list of possible book matches appears.
  5. Select any one of your books. If your book is not in the list, you can search for it by title or ISBN. The book you select must be available for purchase on the Amazon.com website. Selecting the book creates the account.
  6. When you receive the confirmation e-mail we send, confirm your e-mail address and identity.
We may contact your publishers to verify your identity, for example, by confirming your e-mail address with them. If you've signed in with a different e-mail address than the one your publisher is familiar with, contact them with this information so they can quickly approve you. Other than for confirmation of your identity, your customer information, such as product reviews or purchase history, remains private.
While you're waiting for approval, you still can use some of Author Central's features. For example, you can add or edit a photo or biography. We hold your content until verification is complete. Other updates, such as blogging and making changes to the books listed in your bibliography, are not available until you're confirmed.
Verification might take up to seven days. If it’s been longer than seven days, please contact us.
On the Contact Us form:
  1. Under "Select an issue," select My Account.
  2. Under "Select details," select I'm not approved yet.
  3. Select how to contact us.
Author Pages are created for each individual author listed as a contributor to a book and we aren't able to create a shared Author Page.
If any of your books have co-authors, both authors can join Author Central and manage an Author Page, both claiming the book. You can use the same photo and biography for both Author Pages, and can reference each other's Author Pages by including information about your co-author or a URL to their Author Page in your biography. You can also accomplish this in a blog post through your RSS feed, allowing you to direct your readers to each other's pages for quick access.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Papagni Winery, Winner for best Cabernet Sauvignon at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Congratulations to Papagni Winery on their award(s) at the 2020 competition.It is always a privilege to develop food and wine pairings for Papagni Winery. 2016 Papagni Cabernet Sauvignon, Gold2017 Papagni Chardonnay, Bronze2016 Papagni Grenache Rose, Bronze2018 Papagni Malvasia Bianca, Silver

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Roar Into the 20's, Publish your book with Serendipity Press today!



Don't stress, invest. For as little as $499.00, publish your book with Serendipity Press. To learn more, please visit our website at: https://www.serendipitymediagroup.com