In the future our astronauts may not find any Transformers on the dark side of the moon, but thanks to a Japanese sports drink company they may find the “Lunar Dream Capsule.”
The company that could be responsible for the first advertisement on the lunar surface is known as Pocari Sweat. They are teaming up with the Singapore-based start-up Astroscale as well as a few others to make this project possible. The Lunar Dream Capsule will look identical to a normal can of Pocari Sweat but you know what they say, don’t judge a book by its cover, the Lunar Dream Capsule will be made out of titanium and will house more than 70 components that were custom-designed to shield the important parts of the capsule from the vibrations of the launch and the extreme conditions on the moon. Other than the parts mentioned above the Lunar Dream Capsule will hold a powdered form of Pocari Sweat in hopes that future astronauts will be able to mix the powder with water and drink it. In addition, the can will contain 120 laser-engraved plates, which will be etched with the dreams of 38,000 kids from around the world for future moon-landers to someday read. The Lunar Dream Capsule is scheduled to be sent into the cosmos in October of 2015.
The history of marketing winds a long and interesting path from the first magazine published in 1741 to marketing on the Internet in the present, the pursuit of the public’s attention has greatly changed in regards to mediums and methods. For much of history society has been using a technique called “outbound marketing.” This concept is marketing that interrupts the consumer, talking at them, instead of with them. This type of marketing flourished up until around the dot-com bubble. The decline in outbound marketing is considered a response to a 500% increase in the NASDAQ Index in technology-related areas. The decline was also perceived as a shift in consumer behavior. With the emergence of the Internet as a true sales tool people began to have more control over the information they receive. March 10, 2000 is considered the day that the dot-com bubble burst thus leading to the age of inbound marketing.
Inbound marketing is the embodiment of the idea of interaction with the consumer will lead to creating value for them. It often stresses the importance of information sharing, collaboration and user-centered design. This tends to create new ways for consumers to interact with the brand, creating even more interest. Inbound marketing also costs less and has a better ROI. In 2011 inbound marketing cost 62% less than outbound marketing and had a 60% lower cost per lead than its competing ideology. The idea of this two-way dialogue between brands and consumers is often facilitated by social media. The Nielsen Company estimates that 65% of all Americans owned a smartphone in 2013. This is where mobile marketing comes into play.
Nowadays more people are looking to their mobile phones for just about anything from locations of places to shopping and product reviews. Retailers’ revenue from smartphones in 2013 was 113% higher than it was in 2012. With the blowup of smartphones came the true potential of social media. Social media has not only allowed people to communicate with each other, but also businesses to communicate with the public. 71% of companies say that the biggest trend impacting their business is social media.
Marketing for the lunar surface is a groundbreaking idea and while it seems like it may be the new trend companies should remember that this might not necessarily translate into sales, especially in the short to intermediate run. Mobile marketing and social media are where the growth is being seen today and more and more companies are recognizing this as they are shifting more and more of their marketing budget to this area.