It seems like our project started just a week ago, but here we are finishing up our project and trying to make our video look as professional and appealing as possible. Through the planning process, we had a hard time identifying anything in the beginning, but after learning the 4Ps and STPs through adequate examples provided in class, we were able to go through the first two assignments easily.

I must admit that with other things going on including the midterms just a few weeks ago, there wasn’t much focus on the project until it was notified to us that the required video was only due in a couple weeks.

However, through it all, every individual in our team had the overall picture of what we needed to do in order to make this video happen, and in a matter of days, were able to formulate, design, and film the video for the assignment .

Although it has not been evaluated yet, I feel, overall, that the video was a great job, and that through performing the project, we were able to implement the marketing techniques that we were able to learn in order to improve a brand in total.

If we did had more time however, I would have liked if we could spend more time on research and getting more information on the video on a more entertaining way such would have improved the quality of our video even more

I would like to dedicate this blog post In response to Yohan’s blog stating the unethical aspect of the Audi’s 4-key rings. As Mr. Silver alluded to in class, Yohan’s perception to the commercial being unethical would have sprung from the fact that his Korean heritage gave him the cultural need to be refraining from such advertising techniques. For me, however, I seem to have been more influenced by the western style thinking that is also slowly implementing itself in the Korean society, as I do not find this advertisement as unethical at all.

As long as the advertisement does not contain false information , I believe anything should be possible. This type of competition would be beneficial to the consumers as they will be able to get a more realistic picture of the two products this way as each company will try to uncover the others’ shortcomings in order to make their own product stand out.  Digging deeper in to this “advertisement war” type of ads, as I posted a blog upon about a year ago, whereas BMW, and Audi went through several ads that showed how one was better than other, it shows how these ads do not necessarily deteriorate the image of either of these brands, but rather acts as a fun way to market both of these products.

For these type of truthful attack ads, although would be a nuisance to the companies being attacked, I believe that it provides great information for the consumers benefit.

Being involved in a couple student based clubs in UBC, the most important thing about organizing events turned out to be raising awareness, and getting the product out there. With UBC being a location with a demographic concentrated in the students section, a section that is particularly sensitive to social media, Social media marketing turned out to be, undoubtedly, the most important marketing technique available.

The article states how google’s failure to utilize wildfire as a social media  marketing outlet does not notify the decline of social media as a marketing outlet but rather shows  how social media marketing should indeed be improved upon and be used as.

One of the strategy that ringed true to me the most is gathering data, and having a clear target as in who the intended viewer is when using the social media marketing technique. There are promotion options with additional payments available in facebook, pinterest and other social media outlets. However, depending on the characteristic of the event, the product, or the service, there is always a set demographic that will be interested in the product. If the offered product fails to provide value to the customer, the social media marketing will be the most useless marketing technique out there, easy to browse over, and ignore.

While the other techniques that are also important in social media marketing shows the weakness of social media marketing, such as having a TV-ad , and in store ad, or campaigns to drive traffic, showing the uselessness of social media marketing unless the potential customers are directed to the social media tools in the first place.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232399

For the Sochi Olympics, as the sponsor of the US skating team, Under Armour has sponsored the US olympics skating team with its state-of-art sportswear, that was supposed to deliver optimal performances for the skating team. Tested in the labs, and thought to be the most efficient technology around, it was considered a secret by the team, only to be revealed on the day of the competitions.

However, the team was severely under performing, ending up with no medal in the end. Things started getting really bad for under armour as the players and coaches started blaming their losses on the under armour skating suits and even changed back to their old outfits. After it was made public, it didn’t matter whether the problem actually did lie in the skating suits itself, or whether it was just a matter of the US skaters being outperformed. The damage was already done, and under armours brand image was badly tarnished.

I think that the best thing under armour could do in the situation is to maintain silence, and  be quick on developing the next best thing, quickly covering up this negative direction that the brand is taking due to its olympic catastrophe. While the article indicates that under armour is trying to be defensive and talk about all their lab tests, it is quite obvious that no matter how much truth they tell, only the next performance will determine weather the brand image will be revived, or tarnished even more.

http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2014/02/19/under-armour-brand-management-problem-sochi/

With super bowl ending just recently, a whole new array of interesting advertisements arose, mostly in the form of funny, epic, eye catching commercials. However, there are the odd commercials such as the “puppy love- budweiser” commercial that stand out amongst the most. The commercial isn’t “epic, over the top, or even particularly eye-catching” despite being a beer commercial. It is however, emotional, makes you want to cry, and is totally irrelevant to drinking beer, and having fun.

So what it is that some people are considering this one of the most well thought out, successful marketing campaign? The ad, in itself, captures some of the most important aspects of the commercial aspect of marketing.

1. Does it stand out?

Yes. In the ad space surrounded by other epic loud and funny super bowl advertisements, a sudden change in theme and the overall feeling of the advertisement contributes to the ad standing out

2. Does it last?

Yes it does. With cute puppies and cute theme, it leaves many viewers thinking about the ad for quite a bit of time

3. Did it target the right people?

Yes. Unlike before, lots of women also view the super bowl as well, and such cuteness is likely to appeal to women more than men, and of course, there are a lot of men who like cute puppies as well.

4. What’s the value it is trying to get across to the customers?

In my opinion, not much. It gives you a theme such to “enjoy beer with you best bud.” But in my opinion, most people will just imagine cute puppies! and cute ponies! next time they see a budweiser, and buy a beer for no other reason than simply that.

So overall, this commercial thats looks better fitted to be a commercial for pet foods or children’s books, worked well for Budweiser, in a sense that it inserted the positive image that puppies and ponies give to people into their beer.

One of the most important objective of Marketing is to get the “correct” information across to the customers. Another objective of Marketing is of course, to make the product that is being marketed look great to the customers. Now consider this, as brought up in Paul Tassi’s blog , EA, Microsoft, and Machinima are currently being accused of paying(stealthily) youtubers to comment positively about the EA, or Microsoft products  within their videos.  Can we count this as an example of unethical marketing tactics? Or are we falsely accusing the giant companies?

Through watching the reviews, or youtube videos that are related to the product that they are about to buy, the customers hope to attain information to verify that the product that they are about to buy will grant them the value that they are hoping to acquire through the purchase of the product. Especially in the gaming market, the youtube reviews on the internet performed by those that have used the product serve as one of the primary tools consumers use before purchasing the product.

In the case of Microsoft and EA “bribing” the reviewers to make their games more appealing to the consumers, it is undeniable that the consumers are being blocked from the true nature of the games, and therefore, it can be concluded that it is an unethical action in part of the corporations. Although marketing campaigns performed by themselves can be done in a way in which their product is made to look impeccable, second hand reviews should not be meddled with.

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/01/23/wading-into-the-ethical-quagmire-of-being-paid-to-like-microsoft-ea-or-others/ )

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/News/2012/How_a_BCom_led_to_a_career_in_indie_rock#.UKX887T4M8A

We are currently in the Business program and possibly planning a career in accounting, marketing, or other numerous business career options. However, is that all university is about? We are about halfway through our first year, and that is about one eighth of our way to the end, and right now, it is hard to envision what we will be doing after university is over.

Last class, we got to hear about Tom Dobranski, a Sauder grad who ended up starting up a career in a rock band, and in another class, we heard of the Sauder grads who ended up becoming entrepreneurs. All those people had one thing in common. They were doing what they love, and the things that they learned in Sauder were of some use to them in their life.

Me personally, want to go back to Korea and start up a business right away after I graduate. While I have no idea how and in which way I will be starting up a business right now, I am confident that through the four years of education, I will get some general ideas of it, and when I go back to Korea, I will be able to go back with the only 3 reasons that I came to university for; a set vision, personal connections, and determination.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/106441–apple-s-ipad-mini-dilemma

With the introduction of the new Ipad mini, Peter Nowak finds it noticeable that the consumers will be unwilling to pay a whopping 200 dollars more for the bigger ipad with only a small advantage. It is a problem on whether the creation of a cheaper rival of their very own Ipad would create a noticeable decrease in the sale of the Ipad.

Apple computer has been loved by the consumers throughout its company history ever since its creation for its innovative product line. However it seems recently, whether it is the iphone 5, the newly released macbooks with slight changes from its previous models, and now the ipad mini, people can come to a conclusion that apple has failed to keep its company culture of constant innovation, and is now staggering to just improve on what is already available.

Should apple not be able to improve its company’s innovative level to its jobs-era, it is probable that it will suffer huge economic loss as its point of difference becomes diminished. It is crucial that they establish an innovative image on the market again and make sure they provide what the consumers want from them; something new.

A social enterprise is supposed to create social change through entrepreneurial activities, and Numi Tea, whose supposed values are “celebrating people”, “nurturing growth”, “embracing possibilities”, and “being the change” promote numerous activities to provide social aid and achieve a better society that it envisions. Numi hopes to achieve this through numerous ways.  First of all, it makes sure that its products are fair labor and fair trade certified, and that its products are sourced from ethically responsible producers directly. Also, through its eco-friendly packaging, and solar-powered producing facilities, Numi makes sure that it stays environmentally responsible. It is also true that Numi helps its community through funding events for beneficial non-profit organizations, and providing paid volunteer hours for its employees. All in all, Numi makes sure that its organization is socially responsible, and that it provides the community with a positive change. Now here’s the flipside of being a socially responsible company. All the responsible activities provide a pre-made marketing for Numi, granting positive image for the company and an environmentally friendly image, which serves well in its position as a tea company. Was Numi’s socially responsible activities all result of basic utilitarianism to create a better image for more profits?

Strategy and Markets: McDonald’s in China

In his blog, Austin points out acutely Macdonald’s failed business plan in China in which the usage of Macdonald’s original menu for the Chinese people resulted in reduced sales. A business must strategize accordingly to the target customers that they are aiming to sell their products to, and it seems Macdonald’s failed to adjust their North American style business plan to China. On the other hand, KFC china successfully adapted to China, with its China specific breakfast menu, including the congee that the Chinese people prefer for breakfast over those muffins, hash browns, and breakfast sandwiches.

It is known that due to this adjustment of business plan with relations to the regional aspect, KFC is more popular as a breakfast menu than Macdonald’s is in China. Through this we can find out that market research is crucial to starting up a business and determining its products for sale in a region. People’s preferences vary in many different ways whether it be by region, generation, status, or age, and proper market research will make it possible for businesses to set up an adequate plan for optimized sales.