Jeremy Kwan's Blog

Going into the video assignment I wasn’t sure what to expect; it was the first time I was assigned a video project in university and I knew the bar was set high.  Luckily I was blessed with one of the most well-functioning and cooperative groups of classmates I could ask for.  As a team we learned that communication was absolutely key, especially with this video project.  All the tasks were related to each other, we couldn’t do the video without knowing what we were going to say; similarly we didn’t know what to say if the proper research wasn’t done.

In the past, I was prone to being limited to my own ideas and often disregarded other ones.  It took me a while to realize that I was in one of the most intelligent, creative, and hard-working faculties in Canada and that taking advantage of this would only benefit the my own work.  I learned to better value the opinions of others and to utilize everyone’s strengths to the advantage of the group.  We had amazing researchers, writers, visionaries, and artists in our group that all came together to produce an amazing set of assignments and projects.

If I were to do anything differently, it would be to get closer to more members of my group.  We were often “strictly business” and I feel that I missed out on a solid opportunity to get closer to my group members on more of a friendship level.  But what I can take out from this project is the entire experience in itself.  Marketing had never been of interest to me but throughout this class, I learned that marketing is much more intriguing and broad than I could have imagined; my new found interest for the subject is definitely my top takeaway!

Go check out Cameron’s post that talks about marketing in one of the most peculiar ways I have ever heard of.  Click HERE to see Cam’s point of view regarding the subject as long as my comment!

In this blog post, Jonathan Greene talks about how certain social media sites are misused, comparing it to wearing flip-flops to an extravagant event such as a wedding.  He says, often marketers often end up looking like the odd man out simply by taking the wrong tones with their campaignse.  Greene then goes on to make comparisons in which I find totally relevant and surprisingly accurate.

Facebook is a pub-crawl.  The only way to market effectively with Facebook is to have an interesting enough topic.  Marketing on Facebook would be like having a salesman interrupting your while you tell your friend about an insane frat party, it is often ignored and annoying.

Twitter is a speed date.  You have a 140 character word limit to make a statement and to catch someone’s attention.  You must earn the consumer’s interest in a very short period of time or you will easily get overlooked.   Buddy Media found that Twitter messages under 100 characters performed 17% better. Marketing through twitter must be concise and compelling, its purpose isn’t to convince but to intrigue.

Greene’s comparisons are on point. For the most part, I don’t pay attention to ads on either social media platform but I do find Twitter to be more affective for marketing.  Facebook is used more for your circle of friends; everything else is often pushed into a corner.  For Twitter, I want to learn new things and am much more forgiving towards advertising to the point that I won’t shy away from advertising as I scroll through my feed.  Advertising online will generate results if the substance is interesting and concise, otherwise, any consumer will either ignore you like the salesman at a pub or move on to the next contestant like in speed dating.

Link to Greene’s Article Here

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“Things are different now…” These are the words of Acura’s creative partner at Grip, Bob Goulart who is partly responsible for Acura’s promotional strategy.  Acura is using its newest promotional campaign to advertise a knew model but more importantly to further showcase a company-wide philosophical reinvention.  Acura says that they want to revert from their image of being a rational brand and more of an emotional brand; they want to establish a clear-cut connection that synergizes “mankind and machine”.  Throughout Acura’s history, it was never perceived as a highly emotional brand, but recently Acura feels that to kickstart their promotion, appealing to the emotions of consumers is definitely required.

Succeeding in the automobile industry is said to be one of the most difficult things to accomplish.  Having just a nice car isn’t enough anymore, and being that the market for cars is so diverse, car companies can’t just connect with customers on a tangible basis.  The commercial that Acura launches emphasizes the connection between the car and the driver, unifying them into one while capturing its beautifully designed and engineered vehicle into a 90-second clip.

The commercial is indeed intriguing and I feel it does a great job at recognizing a good balance of both the customers’ functional and psychological needs.  Not only does the commercial portray Acura as a visually stunning car with very modern technological features, but it never takes the focus away from the driver.  Building a relationship with the customers is a crucial part towards a brand’s success and it seems that Acura is finally picking up on the trend.  Look for Acura to continue to revolve their marketing strategy in a more emotional and customer orientated manner as it continues to employ its current strategy.

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March Madness, a college basketball tournament that epitomizes school spirit, unpredictability, showmanship, and basketball entertainment is upon us.  It is said that this annual event is so popular that a job placement firm estimated that the games cost American businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productive hours; another states that it actually boosts productivity by increasing the energy of employees.  Some also say the tournament draws similar attention to major professional sporting events like the Super Bowl and the World Series.  The fact is, March Madness is a month long national phenomenon that takes a nation by storm- a wonderful opportunity for marketers.

National events such as March Madness offer an opportunity for all types of businesses to connect with their audiences in fresh and innovative ways. The genius of the March Madness branding is that it capitalizes on our obsession with sports and adds a compelling community angle that makes everyone want to get involved. These players aren’t getting paid millions of dollars like professional athletes are which makes it more relatable to the average viewer.  Also, March Madness has been known to bring a community together.  Local businesses often get involved in the hype and some have posted their own predictions on their Facebook page to create a sense of relatedness among local fans.  Events like this allow for businesses to create a relational orientation with customers and to maximize value simply by conforming to customer interests, whether they genuinely like the sport or not.  Even using social media such as a quick tweet asking customers which team they are cheering for can have a positive affect on an business. Don’t avoid the madness, embrace it, be a part of it! It only happens once a year so don’t miss out!

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To use attractive women in advertisements as a marketing ploy is one thing, but to exploit them and portray them in a sexist, misogynistic way is another.This Ford ad was part of a campaign featuring famous celebrities kidnapping their rivals with Paris Hilton being in the driver’s seat and the Kardashian sisters in the trunk locked up overly revealing attire.  But how does this help Ford in a positive way? Is it that their cars have so much room in their trunks that they can accommodate the three Kardashian sisters? Whatever it was, it has generated a great deal of negative publicity and controversy as the Kardashians have sought legal action.

For years visually appealing women (often celebrities) have been used to catch the eye of the customer, certain ways more controversial than others. But with that advertising technique still being used today, it appears that it is still a significantly above-average technique in communicating with the market place. When I think of Ford, I don’t think of the Kardashians or Paris Hilton but more so middle-aged men who have a great admiration for the outdoors.  I wasn’t sure what the creators of this ad were thinking but it is safe to say that the creators of the ad knew that the women used in the advertisement would generate a great deal of exposure. But with such a controversial advertisement they may have taken the saying “no press is bad press” much too far.

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I found some very interesting facts in Ethan’s post; I had no idea that Tim Hortons was the largest restaurant franchinse in the country and it seems like its only getting bigger. He talked about Tim Horton’s strategy in expanding into the Arab Gulf States and goes into detail as he brings up economies of scale, points of parity, and points of difference

To view Ethan’s full post and my full comment, click HERE

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A contract for a soccer player worth a quarter of a billion dollars may seem unheard of to most— but not the United States and Major League Soccer (MLS). This seemingly incomprehensible number is what America paid to bring European football superstar David Beckham overseas; but unlike most contracts, the record-breaking investment wasn’t to see the English soccer player perform on the pitch but rather his marketing potential off the pitch.

To commercialize soccer in the United States, the MLS implemented a long-term strategy that incorporated bringing arguably the most recognized athlete on the planet to their country. In 2007, Beckham made his long awaited arrival to America and was poised to change soccer in North America forever. Since then, TV audiences have been increasing each year and the revenue that stemmed from David Beckham’s success has allowed the league to create four additional teams, including two in Canada.

It is clear to me that soccer’s paradigm shift in the USA has been greatly impacted by Beckham’s presence. He has set a solid foundation for soccer’s success in the American culture. But the question “was he worth it?” will constantly remain until professional soccer in America officially takes off.

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The moment someone brings up music-based videogames, games like Guitar Hero and Rockband tend to come to mind. American based company, Harmonix Music Systems is the mastermind behind these revolutionary games; but in recent years, these games have suffered greatly due to decreasing sales. But Harmonix entrepreneurs Eran Egozy and Alex Rigopulos have once again outdone themselves by modifying an original, extraordinary gaming experience with an intriguing new aspect, otherwise known as the Dance Central series.

Dance Central 2 is now the second best selling game on Xbox Kinect and is having its most profitable year in 2011. It has captured the attention of people all over the world. With its wide array of music and dance selections, people of all ages can dance in a large variety of styles and to their choice of music on their own home consoles. Whether it is the classics or the Top 40, Dance Central has broken through to allow its owners to dance to whichever songs they please through a successful tactic― downloading music. With more than 100 million downloads, it is no surprise how this game is achieving its current success. Who knows what “game changing” ideas these entrepreneurs come up with next!

For More on the Success of Dance Central, Click HERE
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Sustainability is a growing trend among today’s society and Vancouver took notice early. One of Vancouver’s most eco-friendly commodities is highlighted in Robert Willis’ blog for translink.ca.

According to Willis’ blog, Vancouver’s Translink ranks the highest among all transit authorites around the world in sustainability— an impressive feat indeed. Translink is also the first and only member of the American Public Transit Association (APTA) to reach gold status in sustainability. Robert Willis interviews Translink’s Director of Corporate Sustainability, Trish Webb and records their entire conversation on the blog. They talk about the company, the benefits of sustainability, Translink’s gold status, and plans for the transit system moving forward.

Creating a sustainable product is neither easy nor cheap, but as Translink demonstrates, it is worth is in the end. Many pollution-related externalities are avoided due to the hard work companies like Translink have put in to creating a eco-friendly product. Unlike a lot of trends these days, I feel that “the sustainability trend” is here to stay just because people are starting to realize the social benefits that eco-friendly commodities can bring. With Trish’s goal to “reset the bar [for transit sustainability],” who knows what Translink will do next!

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