Phineas Fogg - Product Pitch "Adventure"

In the latest travels of Phineas Fogg, he lands on the tropical islands of Hawaii. In an interesting turn of events, he narrowly escapes death and discovers the newest addition to his exotic snacks called Mochi Crunch.

Upon arriving on the island of O’ahu, Fogg looks to obtain some of the praised sugarcane that has been a growing industry in Hawaii. Phineas meets with the King of Hawaii, King Kamehameha the III, to discuss a possible business relationship to import/export snacks and sugar with the United Kingdom. All the while, he catches the eye of the King’s love interest, Chiefess Kalama. Kalama was known to be very curious of the travelers that came to the Island, which angered the jealous king.

Phineas befriends a group of immigrant plantation workers of Japanese and Fiipino descent. They showed him some of the snacks and foods that they had while working in the sugarcane fields. One of them, which he enjoyed very much, was called Kaki Mochi.  It’s a lightly sweetened rice cracker, wrapped in a savory nori (dried seaweed). Fogg and the plantation workers spent a night under the stars telling stories, drinking beer, and eating this newfound snack.

The next morning, Fogg awakes on the beach, as he finds Chiefess Kalama snuggled up next to him. He was so drunk, he has no idea what had happened. He struggles to open both eyes when he sees a very angry King storming down the beach towards him. The King is in a jealous rage, as he sees his love interest in the arms of the Haole (foreigner). Phineas jumps up, collects all his belongings, bids the Chiefess farewell and hops into his hot air balloon. Just as he does that, the King swings his tiger shark club, missing Fogg’s head by just an inch and cutting the vessel’s anchor rope.

Phineas ascends into the sky with a grin and a bag of Kaki Mochi.

He later labels the snack "Mochi Crunch" the savory snack that pairs well with beer.

Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behavior

In today’s consumer market, there are four major factors that influence consumer buyer behavior. The first would be cultural factors. “Growing up in a society, a child learns basic values, perceptions, wants, and behaviors from the family and other important institutions” (137). Depending on where and how you grew up, we all have different values, perceptions and wants.

“A consumer’s behavior also is influenced by social factors, such as the consumer’s small groups, family, and social roles and status” (142). Social Factors also include: social networks, family, and opinion leaders. Many times, marketers aim to groups that certain people aspire to be a part of. A good example of this would be professional athletes or musicians.

Personal factors would involve a buyers age and what stage of life that person is in. What they do for work and how much they make obviously affects their buying activity.

The last major factor would be motivation. What drives a person to purchase a product? If you were thirsty, you would probably want to buy something to drink. Hungry? You probably would want to get a burger somewhere. It is that feeling that drives us to seek satisfaction.

Armstrong/Kotler.Marketing: An Introduction