In 2003, Toyota introduced the Scion; positioning errors; marketing the Xbox 360

The "It" Car for Gen Y?

In 2003, Toyota introduced an entirely new brand into the market. Scion (http://www.scion.com) is owned by Toyota, sold side-by-side at Toyota dealerships, and buyers have financing arranged through Toyota Motor Credit Corp, but that's where the relationship ends. Scion targets, and aims to represent, a younger, hipper market than the dependable Camry or Corolla. Scion's xA sedan, xB "breadbox", and sporty tC are marketed straight at "Generation Y," people born after 1977.
Scion is attracting and grabbing this market in a variety of ways, mixing product design with pricing with target marketing, resulting in a heady, irresistible brew. So far, it's working. In its first quarter, Scion sold nearly 33,000 cars, more than established brands such as Volvo and Suzuki. As Scion grows its customer base, it plans to release more cars onto the market...but not to the point of easy availability and the rows of same-looking cars one usually sees at dealerships.

?How is Scion addressing its target market with regard to positioning and the product itself? Is the product design its own form of positioning? How?
?Scion is aggressively targeting a specific age group. What are the advantages and drawbacks?
?What elements of societal marketing can you identify in Scion's: Product, Pricing, Positioning, Advertising

1.You have been asked to give a brief lecture on "Positioning Errors to Avoid" for a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Provide a brief summary of your lecture. In your lecture be sure to give specific examples, other than those indicated in the textbook, of known service companies avoiding or falling prey to "positioning errors".

2.Ricketts Heating and Air installs natural gas-fired central heating systems with timers. In the wintertime, if the owner of a system wants to have the house cooler when no one is there, but have it heated back up before anyone arrives home, he or she can use this timing system. How could Ricketts use service to differentiate its heating systems?

Marketing Spotlight - Microsoft
Microsoft was founded in 1975, when Bill Gates left Harvard at age 19 to work with high school friend Paul Allen on a version of the BASIC programming language. After moving the company from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Seattle in 1979, Gates and Allen began writing operating system software. What happened to the company since its founding is a well-known and often-told story. Key strategies that enabled Microsoft to achieve such remarkable growth in the competition-laden computer industry include product innovation, brand extension, heavy advertising, competitive toughness, and product expansion.
In 2005, Microsoft shook up the marketplace - and the marketing industry - again with its non-traditional launch for the Xbox 360. Read Microsoft's Xbox 360 spin(http://news.com.com/Commentary+Microsofts+Xbox+360+spin/2030-1069_3-5706144.html) and address the following questions:

1.What are the key elements of Microsoft's marketing strategy for the Xbox 360?
2.What are the similarities and differences compared to past product rollouts within Microsoft and compared to the rest of the industry?
3.Could Microsoft be considered one of the best and worst examples of marketing success in America during the 1980s and 1990s? Discuss.
4.Do any of the Microsoft strategies contradict future issues that Microsoft and other technology-oriented firms should prepare to deal with in coming years?