Joe Xu's blog

Today, I have come across Vivi’s blog regarding the new teen star Rebecca Black and her video “Friday”, which has been a big discussion in the recent days. When I first heard the song, I thought it was just another video and I stopped listening to it half way through, but that was until my friends started complaining how bad it is that made me want to finish it.

Through some digging, I found that she’s actually a wonderful singer and that the tone of the lyrics was intended to be so. But what made her so popular and hated at the same time? I think the marketing of the song was one of the big factors. As Vivi mentioned, maybe youtube may not have been the best platform to introduce her type of singers. Though the song was aimed to be simple and catchy, but because of that, the increasing number of hate comments on youtube had made her into such a hot topic and a good conductor for bad word of mouth marketing.

From my honest opinion, though the result of all the hate comments may not be intended, but if she were to sing another song that’s decent, then her popularity will again skyrocket but this time for the right reasons.

Recently release iPad 2.0 has stirred up many frenzied queue for this lovely device. Though many are impatient, but all had to wait in a ridiculous line for ages before being able to get close to it. Naturally, many complained about the great services they received and the awesome thrill of getting an iPad 2.0.

Some complained about the fact that Apple retailers tell each and every customers “Why don’t you wait over there while we go in the back and bring your iPad to you, then we’ll answer any questions you have about it” and that is too much of a hassle and slowed down the line up. They believed that the salesperson should just prepare iPad 2s in a stack and hand them out as the people move in from the line-up. I think this approach was simply to help satisfy customers’ expectation of the purchase because Apple stores are not convenient stores where the key is speed.

Another that appears a lot if about the short supply iPad 2s available in each store. It is true that Apple should have expected high volume sales and can fill consumer hunger by mass producing, but by doing so will simply erase the needs and wants for the new iPad. Again, Apple provides futuristic and useful technologies that should not be treated as commodity goods.

Though Apple might have wanted to maintain its prestigious brand by fulfilling its knowledge gaps and give all its customers a memorable buying experience, but not everyone can see that.

In one of the recent article on “Honda Motors Co. recalls 21,700 Civics in U.S., Canada”, concerns and curiosity brought forth many discussions. Essentially the article talks about the extreme action Honda Motors Co. took in response to the standard safety issue it found on its prized vehicle, Civic.

Though the problem might not stand out as much on non-civic drivers, but it has aroused great impact on the branding of the Honda Civic’s image.  The Civic has always been a symbol to the Honda . Though it’s fuel efficiency may not match that of a Toyota Prius and its performance may not match that of an Audi Q5, but it is just an in between car with a very stylish look. At times when I see a Honda car, Civic always pops into my head, but I was see a Civic, Honda’s name never really crossed my mind. Having such strong brand association, any details on Civic will greatly influence the image of Honda.

This recall action Honda took will probably damage Honda financially, but through that, Honda can protect its brand equity and also maintain customers’ perceived value for Civics.

I think this is a good trade off for Honda because of the significance as well as the value of the Civic image. Through Honda’s recall action, all negative word or mouth comments for Civics will be stopped on its track. Also because of the many adjustments, including this one, on the Civic, a new group of customers, the “Late Majorities”, will also be attracted into its market.

What caught my today was a blog by Tim Nudd on AdFreak, “MIT Media Lab logo is actually 40,000 logos”.

This evolutionary use of branding really amazed me. All 40,000 different logos are all branded by the same institution name but for different people. I was amazed by the creativity of this logo.

Brand itself has high value. As a student, having a degree from a branded school does not differentiate the student from those who graduated from the same school. The MIT logo however, solves exactly that. It gives each student his/her distinct individual brands and at the same time shares the well-recognized brand from MIT. With that, people’s brand awareness to the MIT students will always be the better of the individual or the institution brand.

I think having that in Sauder will great benefit students not just in business cards, but also for the development of the Sauder image.

Whether Groupon help save money is still an on-going discussion. Picking up from the ideas discussed in Paul Cubbon’s blog, indeed the deal we get from Groupon is not what we perceive it to be.

Definitely, when people hear 50-60% off deals, everyone will want to have a dip. Most of the time though, some deals brought onto Groupon simply lack the competency to fulfill this demand people were expecting when they consume similar or past products.

The way Groupon was advertised is to provide continuous deals that will eventually catch the attention of consumers. Though the concept of not achieving same utility as usual may prevent a person from taking the deal, but the perceived value of different products and services are evaluated differently from people to people, so if an introvert person were to see a deal on snowboarding, a sport for which he/she has never done, then the cost or rate for this deal will not longer by a huge factor in the person’s decision. By constantly sending updates to prescribed consumers, eventually, the consumers will spend their money here or there.

There is also the factor of whether businesses are losing money or more on our perspective, whether or not we are saving money. Successful businesses always contribute most of their profits and bonuses on margin as well as premium from their products or services. Once they lose the opportunity for that premium, say the food in a restaurant is no longer as fresh, they can still earn the profit they expected and pull it off by giving some incentive. Though for us consumers though, bottom line is we are still spending the money on products or services with not premium accounted for.

In a recent discussion with my friend, I have taken notice in the brand Uniqlo. It was one of the fastest going clothing retailers in Japan.

Though Uniqlo is already quite well developed in USA, China, Japan, and many other countries, it continued its effort to increase in size and to expand in more countries. Their products are similar to Zeller’s and even Walmart’s in Canada that they are cheap, but it has also maintained an image of being stylish and popular amount different ages.

Still curious, I went to dig further into their success strategy and how they have accomplished such a feat and what differentiates Uniqlo from the top retailers like Nike Inc, Adidas Inc, and Lululemon Athletic Inc.

It turns out that they had once followed the same business plan as those industry giants that they put in excessive emphasis in fashion. As a result though, they had lost sales and trust of its most clients. Now Uniqlo focus mainly on superior quality clothing that will easily blend into the lives of many and easily change the fashion perspectives of many.

I think this business plan is really great because through their discovery in the fact that Uniqlo might not catch up in our current fashion trends, they decided to create their own fashion trend and let the industry follow its pace. Create such a brand obvious required a heavy investment and staff training to convey such an image. Problems still pop up from here and there, but it is definitely building a market that will greatly impact the industry.

Today, I am going to comment on Beverly Chung’s blog on “Will the e-reader revolution take publishing”.

Though I do agree with Beverly’s opinion in the fact that e-reader would not take paperback’s place. But that is only my personal opinion.

Paperback was the only way to go when I was still a kid, and even now, I still prefer paperback over e-reader. Though I have read many articles in regards to how convenient, easy and comfortable e-reader is, I still think that paperback books are easier to read and easier to memorize from.

Of course, everyone thinks differently and personality and generation gap will definitely be a big influence in people’s perception. The newer generation who usually use e-reader may see the convenience in it but may not understand the comfort of reading from a paperback book.

The debate in regards to will e-reader overtakes paperback may very well be personal opinions from the person’s experience with the two.

From that idea, with the increasing use of technology in the world, my prediction is that most likely that paperback will not be outdated, but will simply be forgotten through the passage of time.

On the recent article I read from eWeek about “Android Overtakes Symbian as Top Smartphone OS“, I figured it would be interesting to raise a discussion on the competition of the two OS Android and Symbian. The article itself brings up a pretty unsettling conclusion.

First, the fact on Android overtaking Symbian in one quarter of sales does not take in account of the current phones using Symbian out there. Since Symbian had held a title of been the top OS in the market for a good 10 years, the population of this OS is immense and cannot be “dethroned” from the result of single quarter’s sales.

Second, I realized this article focuses a lot on the competition between phone companies rather than the functionality of the OS, especially the competition with iPhone. It is true that the phone industry has definitely leaned more towards touch-screen functions rathers than key-pad functions, but it does not eliminate the convenience of key-pad phones. So for Android which has functions of both will contradict itself when used. The user who uses the touch-screen all the time will find the key-pad useless, and vice versa.

Third, continue from the second point, this ambiguity will actually support Apple’s iPhone in expanding their market because for those who experiences the appreciation in touch-screen, there will be a high chance for them to get the 100% touch-screen phone, iPhone. So being so focus on one functionality does have it’s pros.

Though I have to state that I may be a bit biased since I am an iphone owner, but considering the coming of the Tween generation, the most innovative design will definitely win the market. Since the iPhone only has 2 or possibly 3(if we consider the coming iPhone 5) phones, the Tweens will get bored of them soon enough. But Apple by far does have the most innovative brand, so they will have the higher chance to invite those that new generation to try their gadgets.

Recently, I found many online discussions that argue whether or not the 13th Zodiac should be accepted into our lives. This discussion started with an astronomy professor, Parke Kunkle, of Minneapolis Community and Technical College told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that due to the fact that the position of the Earth from the Sun has changed over the past decades, there now has a new Zodiac called the Ophiuchus. The introduction of this new Zodiac brought changes to the whole Zodiac calendar.

Below are the possible updates the Zodiac Sign Dates:

Capricorn: Jan. 20 – Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 – March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18 – May 13
Taurus: May 13 – June 21
Gemini: June 21 – July 20
Cancer: July 20 – Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10 – Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16 – Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30 – Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23 – Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 – Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17 – Jan. 2

Ophiuchus is a Zodiac representing a man grasping on a snake. People of this Zodiac are believed to have nature between Scorpio and Sagittarius. That is, they always have a curious mind and a personality that is open for change, a passionate attitude, and explosive tantrum from jealousy.

Though some may have accepted the fact that the new Zodiac is scientifically proven, there still exist an equal opposing force in neglecting this new Zodiac. Comments and feedbacks I found on the internet vary from science facts and the ever changing world to emotional distress and cultural believes. I guess it would be reasonable for people to neglect such news because it is definitely a surprise when a person went to sleep in one Zodiac and woke up in another.

I think the key in issue is the marketing of this new Zodiac. When presenting this new fact, Professor Parke Kunkle may have not considered much in the emotion and attitude of people. It may be true that the coordination of the Earth from the Sun has changed since the first 12 Zodiac signs were created, but there are many who believe in the special property and nature of those initial Zodiac. He had definite initiated the idea of the 13^th Zodiac, but if only he had also follow the affective, and behavioural component of marketing during his discovery,  he might not have met such strong resistance.