kjaindl

Personally, I love finding hacks on TiktTok especially if it is for one of my favorite restaurants. I like the marketing team should always be on top of what is happening on social media especially when it comes to their business. I do not think this hack is hurting the business at all. You are simply just getting more for your money and in this day and age everyone is trying to save money. I live in a small town in Delaware County PA and I do not think that the Chipotle workers would even know that this is a hack if I ordered it. I think the corporate team is more aware of it then the actually employees at every location. I think that since this is such a huge trend going around on TikTok that the employees should know what’s going on and what is on trend at all times.

I don’t spend any time on TikTok, so I hadn’t seen this. It’s definitely a clever money saving hack! I’m not surprised that Chipotle shut it down though. They listened, evaluated, and acted. This viral hack may have potentially encouraged more business, but they were losing a drastic percentage of the money they would have made on those full price meals. It adds up. And these days, the cost of basic ingredients has gone up significantly. I’m not suggesting we should feel bad for Chipotle, but I can see why condoning the hack didn’t make sense to them! That being said, perhaps they should have added a less expensive option as a “compromise” instead of completely removing it! If I were part of the marketing team at Chipotle, I would have supported the decision to disable the single taco ordering. I think it’s bad for business overall (and creates a huge amount of plastic waste).

These hacks are not really hurting the business. Even as an employee at these places there so much work already they would not have even notice. I still remember when my boss told me about the kid’s meal hack and would order it every day online that when he ordered it in-person the employees had no clue someone was ordering kids meals for themselves.

There are disadvantages to hack where it does change the flow of work and supplies for the restaurant, but I think those are opportunities to learn to how customers are interacting with your product. Obviously, people love their food that they are still willing to pay to just build a bowl themselves, so why not use that to make a promotional ad off it. I agree with Hillary that there should have been an alternative action to the hack than removing the option all together. It does come off a bit aggressive from the company end, especially, when people are just trying to save a couple of bucks on a place they like to eat.

I remember seeing this Tik Tok on my feed and reading through the comments. It was actually pretty surprising to me how many people were just annoyed at the poster for getting this option removed from Chipotle’s menu rather than getting angry at Chipotle (not that i think anyone should be getting mad any anyone for this). Usually people are quick to jump on corporations when they’re upset, but I’ve been seeing more and more of these Tik Toks featuring “life hacks” or “secret spots” in cities where commentors get mad at the creators of the videos. I remember this also happened a while back with Olive Garden’s kid meals hack: https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/4121909/how-to-get-more-food-olive-garden-for-cheaper/. I never did follow up on the story on whether or not Olive Garden removed this option from people’s online ordering experiences- but I think these stories are a great example that shows that companies do in fact listen to us to find out what their customers are doing and feeling about their products.

Hi Professor Jaindl,

If I was on the Chipotle marketing team, I would incentivize employees who are willing to share how it affects them. As a $41 billion corporation, customers probably wouldn’t be moved by seeing the profit losses they have caused with their “hacks”. However, many people can put themselves in the shoes of workers and sympathize with feeling overworked and underpaid.

There’s been so many Starbucks hacks similar to this. I worked at Starbucks for 3 years and I saw some of them myself. Customers would come in and ask for a couple of espresso shots in a Venti iced cup. They would proceed to fill up the cup with milk at our free milk station. Paying for an espresso, instead of a latte saved them money but as employees we were having to take more time to keep the milk station stocked.

Here’s a few other Starbucks “hacks”:
https://fortune.com/2022/09/26/starbucks-worker-begs-customers-stop-ordering-hacks-pumpkin-spice-latte/
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/starbucks-hack-free-drink-ice-b1971604.html

I believe people now are more likely to try a new platform but if that platform will stay relevant will depend on its features and word of mouth. I do think if more influencers are using a new platform, it would gain momentum and people would start to talk about it to their friends and those friends would open and use an account as well.

It is hard to tell if certain platforms will go extinct, look at Myspace, it is extinct now, but Facebook has been around forever and is still being used by a large population. Even I tend to keep my Facebook because I create events there when I have parties to invite people, keep a head count and have correspondence. I also use Facebook for its marketplace where I have bought a ton of items there and have sold some too. TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat don’t have those features therefore Facebook is still relevant in today’s industry.

Since we’ve seen this before with Snapchat and Instagram Stories and TikTok and Instagram Reels, I think Instagram users will slowly adopt IG Candid if it was introduced. Users were wary about Instagram Stories until they added additional features like Boomerangs and different layouts. The addition of Instagram stories made it a more “complete experience”, users could use the same features on the app, where they probably had the same friends, and didn’t have to check Snapchat as often anymore. I think Snapchat’s downfall here was eliminating some of its unique features, like best friends. The same happened with Instagram Reels and TikTok, Reels is more user-friendly, so creators can use Instagram to make their content and post it on both platforms without the “TikTok” logo on the video. As long as IG Candid has one or two unique features, I think it could take the crowd from BeReal, or at least the two can coexist peacefully.

Audiences are more likely to try a new platform if they know others that are using that platform as well. If the platform becomes popular, gains momentum, and many peers on the platform, I believe others will follow suit. BeReal reminds me of when Snapchat first came out. Many people were skeptical of the platform because it was just pictures being sent back and forth that only lasted a couple seconds. However, once friends and peers started getting on the app, it gained momentum and became popular among many. The same thing can be said about Instagram stories. Not many people used Instagram stories until it started rolling out features such as Boomerang and different fonts. The BeReal feature can become popular if peers see other peers using it on Instagram.

I think audiences are more likely to stay on a platform if they are in the older crowd, rather then adventuring out and joining a new one. I know for me, going on a new platform always gives me so much anxiety because I have to figure out how to navigate around it. But, for my friends, they are all hoping on the next platform to come out. For examples, BeReal is a new app that allows you to post a photo when they give you a time during the day. For me, I rather just use Snapchat because it is basically the same thing, but since it is a new thing, So I think it can really go either way. The younger kids are hoping on each trend and the older crowd rather stick to what they know.

Although I’m not sure if this applies to every type of social media, I believe Tik Tok succeeded mainly because it gave content creators enough support to create “good content”. Good content is shared by one another, and Tik Tok ultimately became popular in America (I think it was already big in China) through word of mouth. When apps continuously work to support its big creators, it succeeds. I think Vine had the potential to become like Tik Tok if it had tried harder to give its big content creators more opportunities (Thomas Sanders, etc.) but it didn’t think forward and ultimately failed. Social media apps that specialize in one type of content, but perfect the features of the app to give its users more freedoms will always succeed. We don’t need two or three different apps for video creation- we just need one good one. As long as Tik Tok stays updated and gives us what we want, other apps can’t possibly overtake it.

Instagram is completely dying thanks to the adaptations of so many features that make other apps stand out. Younger generations have already began to cease their participation on Instagram to explore other apps that have one definitive feature. Instagram slowly began to adopt features which ruined the identity of the app, making it busy and confusing for users. They may have tried to adapt to newer popular features that other competitive apps have had success with. Instagram is no longer innovative by just copying features of other apps to suffocate them from the market. It seems that Facebook purchased Instagram in order to have it swallow each competitor’s uniqueness which makes it too busy and out dated like Facebook itself. Sometimes companies can’t learn from their mistakes.

It depends. I think more audiences are willing to migrate and learn new platforms while others are content sticking to one platform and perfecting it. Personally speaking, there are so many new social platforms emerging that I’m not even aware of. I personally like to stick to a handful of platforms and explore new features. But I’m also not very big into social media so that’s sufficient for me. But I do think WOM and community determines the fate of these platforms. Typically, the more buzz and feedback a platform has, the more popular it is. TikTok has taken off since it was first introduced and it’s all people seem to talk about.

It’s been a trend as of late for brands to get into more activism. Instead of simply advertising, brands have been showing off that they care about issues, the environment, etc. This is due to an increasing trend of consumers being more loyal to brands that care about more than earning profits. Dove is one of those companies that has been doing this from the beginning and has been doing it successfully. Their ads say more than just being beautiful. Their ads focus primarily on being healthy and the best “you” you can possibly be. The most recent advertisement, #KeeyTheGrey, showcases this. This brand was built on diversity and inclusion so it comes to no surprise that they jumped on this hashtag right away. Other brands tried to jump on the bandwagon after they saw the hashtag gaining some traction. However, Dove makes the strongest statement since it goes hand and hand with their branding.

Dove’s success was larger than the brand’s main goal of selling product, but to inspire women who have been told their age makes them less than. This social message was broad however when presented by a large brand in the beauty industry such as Dove, the awareness and spread of information can be greater. Dove wanted to begin the conversation that not many of us talk about which would be corporate companies finding older women less vital to the workplace. Turning profiles to grayscale shows the impact and stand many are taking across the nation on such a topic in a meaningful way. Women’s beauty and knowledge should be recognized as they mature, not discriminated against for showing their greys.

It can seem less genuine if the campaign isn’t handled properly. We see Dove using emotional ads t to reach their target audience ta and infer the brand ethos of being a product not about beauty but health in general. We see other cases when company join the fray of a topic and fall flat in how it was executed but trail and error I feel never hurts. Unless it tones deaf to the situation. Dove uses current events that was not on anyone radar and construct campaign organic way to collect possible ads.

Hi Professor Jaindl,

I think this campaign was executed beautifully. They didn’t send their followers anywhere to make a purchase but provided them with a way to engage with their campaign in a unique way. Older women are more likely to think of the brand when they make a purchase, because they can see themselves. Because Dove is known for their campaigns aimed at redefining beauty, it comes off authentic; whereas a beauty brand who has only posted thin, young models, excluding minorities, it could feel like they are just hopping on to a trend.

Dove has always stayed true as a brand, they have always reinforced beauty, confidence and being beautiful in your own natural skin. I think this campaign really shows the realness of the world and what happens to women over time. Dove has always used “real” life people to relate to their audience versus influencers to maintain their brand loyalty and stay authentic. I love that Dove’s messaging is to embrace yourself and that they touch base on something ALL females go through, going grey. The timing of this campaign in support of Lisa LaFlamme is exceptional to help females across the world who may be going through the same thing. Dove continues to show that they are loyal to diversity and inclusion, and I believe this campaign will help drive more customer loyalty and even help many females who have been struggling with their self-esteem due to their grey hairs.

Dove has yet again taken a stance and stayed true to its values by standing up for women and making them feel beautiful. This campaign was successful for the brand because they actually took action and encouraged others to take action as well. I think Dove was very agile in their approach and was able to create a social media campaign that was relevant and valuable to the situation at the time. Given that this is a sensitive topic, Dove did a great job at monitoring online conversations and kept the focus on empowering women and boosting their self-confidence.

Both great reads! I think Tom is one of many celebrities who, as of late, has experienced and also opened up about the double edged sword that is social media. One of the major benefits of social media is it’s use as a platform – be it social connections, branding, political endorsements; however, when it comes to celebrities specifically, it provides us with this accessibility into their lives and almost false impression that we “know them” and therefore can post and comment about them without repercussion. These articles hone in on the damaging effects and what it feels like to be on the other side.

I loved reading both of these articles. I am recently a Tom Holland fan and a little sad to see that he is taking a break from social media, but totally understand where he is coming from. I think being a celerity comes with a certain figure you have to put on for the media and it sometimes can take a toll on a person. Social media is a big thing in todays world, but it also comes with the trolls that hid behind the screens and say rude things to people including celebs and it has an affect on them. These articles really show you how damaging it can be and what happens when you are on the other side of these comments.

There are certainly positives and negatives to social media. As someone who has made social media a part-time job, I’ve experienced a lot of them. Some of these negatives that come to mind (some of which are mentioned in the articles are the adverse effect on mental health (getting hate, triggers, comparison, assumptions, burnout), the spread of misinformation (fake news including surrounding politics and social movements), the threat to safety (stalkers, doxing, trafficking, bullying), and commodification (people selling themselves as a brand (influencers) and selling products for brands).

Despite the negatives, there continue to be positives. Maybe not all fun, but definitely pluses for both individuals and brands. More than ever, people’s livelihood depends on social media and people’s consumption thereof. And more than that, social media gives a voice to communities and spreads important ideas and creativity.

Great articles!

I would be completely lying if I said social media hasn’t consumed me in more ways than one. It’s interesting to see celebs such as Tom and even Kim Kardashian take a step back from social media to regain their humanity. We, as “normal” people forget that these apps are a lot for a person to take. And we aren’t even in the spotlight. The internet is a vast pool for folks to say and find whatever feels right to them. No matter the cost to someone else or themselves.

I found it interesting to talk about the limitations each app has to protect it’s users. I remember watching a documentary about social media and how employees who work for those companies don’t have social media or wouldn’t let their kids use it without it being restricted. It was very eye-opening. Will these heavier restrictions be a government issue? Or will TikTok just continue to be the fun app with no rules? TBD I guess!

Great Articles!

I will be lying if I said social media hasn’t consumed me in more ways than one, but I can understand where Tom Holland is coming from. Social media, and the people on there, can be a handful. For a celebrity it’s even worse. The trolls come at celebrities, forgetting that they are also human beings and they sometimes make mistakes. There are many people who expect too much from people on social media. Sometimes we all need a break for our mental health.

TikTok was meant to be a fun platform where people can make funny videos. However, now it’s becoming more of an advertisement platform than Instagram. It seems as if the majority of the videos are now advertisements, or influencers, or people trying to become influencers. This is good for marketers because influencers have become a great source of income for companies.

I can definitely identify with Tom. Not that I’m a celebrity that everyone is talking about but I have noticed the effect that social media has on my mental health. The main issue I have with social media and I’m often seeing the worst news, death, crime, hate speech and I feel much better when I can remain in the bliss of dealing with what’s going on in my personal life versus everything that’s wrong in the world.

I remember when Instagram used to be fun. You could see posts in order, people posted funny, unedited photos, there was less judgement and no ads, but it’s a totally different app now. I’m not surprised that Tik Tok is going down the same route.

Glad you guys could finally meet in person! I have definitely had that thought about “height” and meeting in person after being on ZOOM for so long!

I think the Cypress group has shared so much with each other and we are all honestly sick of each other after working together for so long! After working together, we have all expressed our own perspectives and ways of doing things. “#Over-communicating” has become a hashtag in our team culture and GroupChats as we all work outside of our day-jobs to pursue our Masters! I’m super excited to meet my team in person and other amazing people from our program! #DIM

This was an incredible experience to have the opportunity to work with so many thought-leaders and creative minds within the industry and out. After working for over 10 years in one organization, finding fresh new perspectives within this program is what precisely the doctor ordered . I could not have asked for a more rewarding experience to be taught by successful leaders in their respected professions, and more so, to team up and work with some of the most talented student-bodies .

Congratulations all.!

You guys are too cute!!!! I’m so happy you got to meet in person! Thank you for everything this semester.

I think as a cohort, establishing the Group Me chat and the Google Drive early were keys to our successful bonding. Both were incredible resources for all of throughout the whole program and helped us really form a little marketing community.