I am glad I am a part of our marketing team. I had a great time to work with Paige, Erica, Silvia, and Michael. It is my first group project in UBC. In the beginning, I was worried about whether we could get along with each other well. In fact, I really enjoyed woking with them. We helped each other, and work for a same goal. Each of us did our own part of work on time. We talked about our ideas to each other in order to get the best work.

We had a great time to make the video. We went to the lulu lemon store to film. We act like normal customers. Then, we did yoga. We filmed at least five times to get the best one, and no one complained about it. I remember that in order to show a jogging guy Michael is sweaty, he put water on his head and T- shirt on that cold day. We record audio separately in order to make the better quality of sound, then we match it with video. We kept editing the video until we satisfy.

The difficulty for me is to edit video.It is my first time to film a video like this, and I had no idea how to edit it. However, with Erica and Paige’s help, I learnt how to use iMovie. Actually, it is interesting to edit video.

Thanks all my group members!

 

Reading the article “How Big Brand Logos Lure Consumers”, I realized the power of brand logos.  Brand logos are usually some simple images or text. People can easily memorize the logo, and identify the type of companies from it. When people memorized the logo, they know what the brand is. All the elements in brand logos including colour, shape, text could effectively make the impression on consumer’s mind.

For example, the logo of Farrari is yellow. People feel fun and energy when they see yellow.  A good choice of colour is helpful for building brand image. All brands should be careful to choose the colours of logo. If the gold colour of Godiva’s logo is green, you may not feel the taste of chocolate. Then you lost the desire to buy its products.

The logos could even affect consumer’s buying decision.Logos remind consumers a brand products. When you are hungry and see a big yellow “M” on the road. You may want to eat in Mcdonald’s. In addition, a successful logo increases consumers’ desire of buying because it builds connection with customers. For instance, people who want to buy a comfortable running shoes could be attractive by Nike’s logo. It represents freedom and flexibility.

Logos bond each product together in the same brand. They are in a family, and has same family name. When a customer is satisfied with one product, he or she may like the brand. When the customer see this logo again, even in different goods, the chances of purchase is higher than other brands.

 

 

 

After reading my classmate Sung Ahn’s blog regarding to ‘flappy bird’, I realized how this app succeeds in marketing.

Flappy bird became very popular in early 2014, and it was removed by its creator in February 10, 2014. Before it shutdown, Flappy Bird earned $50,000 per day from in-app advertisement.  That why people can not understand why it is removed.

The creator Dong Nguyen explained his reason about shutdown: “Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed, but it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.”

 

I agree with Sung, the product becomes scarcer, more people are willing to buy it.  This case verifies this point. When the news about shutdown of Flappy bird was released, a huge number of people were rush to download it. It is like If you do not get it right now, you won’t have it forever. This pushed consumers to take actions immediately. They may not even think about what this game is about, and whether they like it or not. The limited time forces consumers make the decision. No matter the creator intended to do this or not, product with limited time offering is attractive for people. Firms love the word “ limited”, so we can see limited time offering, limited edition, and limited order everywhere. Usually, limited products worth more in consumer’s eyes.

In my point of view, the shutdown of Flappy Bird becomes legend. When Flappy Bird is in full flourish, it is gone forever. People would remember that. That is why any game similar to Flappy Bird becomes popular. However, all of them still represent Flappy Bird.

The creator Dong Nguyen shows his ethical reason to shutdown.  He not only consider about earning money, but also the impact of his product on people’s lives. I feel like that makes Flappy Bird more valuable. I believe that Flappy Bird is just the beginning of his success.

 

In China, hotpot restaurants are everywhere. Haidilao can be the most popular hotpot chain in China. People are willing to wait for more than a few hours for a table in Haidilao without any complaint. Some of them even enjoy the waiting time. Waiting for hours seems like a tradition of Haidilao. How it is possible?

When you wait there for a table, you can get free manicures, free shoeshines, free internet access, free chess game, free snacks, etc. Therefore, people would not feel bored or angry, and they get a lot of things to do. When you finally have a seat, waiters would offer you protective bags for cell phones. Of course, the quality of food is also good. Haidilao almost satisfies every customer with any need. The remarkable service attracts more and more people, and now it is well-known that Haidilao provides extraordinary service.

The CEO of Haidilao, ZhangY advocates “service first, consumer first” as business philosophy. The outstanding service becomes a sustainable competitive advantage. People can enjoy the delicious food and royal service at the same time. The customer satisfaction builds up loyalty. They are more likey to have dinner in Haidilao again. When they feel great about the restaurant, they are happy to tell people around them. The positive word of mouth from loyal customers not only drives more people coming for dinner, but also set good reputation. The success all based on the high customer value. Every business leaders know the importance of customer service, but not many business emphasis it so much like Haidilao. Every new customers are impressed by the exclusive experience.  Apparently, the marketing strategy of Haidilao verifies the incredible power of customer service.

With the increasing number of the billionaires, the demand for luxury goods also rises rapidly. A while ago, a Hermès diamond BIRKIN was sold for $203,150 setting a new world record for the most expensive handbag ever sold at a public auction. Obviously, Hermès is targeting the ultra-rich people.

Hermès has a very strong positioning in the luxury market, which it owes its almost 200-year old heritage. The incredibly high prices and limited edition series make the products from Hermès exclusive. This strategy definitely works. We can see so many people are eager to own the handbags from Hermès. In order to get Birkin and Kellly which are the most wanted Hermès handbags for women, people have to buy other stuffs like jewelry or shoes from Hermès . That seems to show that they are in the membership. If you just walk by the Hermès shop and go there for the first time, it is barely possible for you to buy a Birkin.  You have to keep shopping in Hermès. Some of the customers complaint that they bought goods that they do not really want to buy. However, no one forces them to buy. Their desire to show their achievements to others drives them to buy luxury goods. In addition, sometimes Luxury can be as indulgence. Consumers are willing to pay high price for goods that express their individuality. Luxury makes them feel good. That is why is so significant to know consumer psychographic analysis. To understand what consumers need is the key to be successful for a company.

 

 

 

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

 

In 2008, Sanlu Group, a chinese milk company, involves a food safety incident. The milk adulterated with melamine causes over thousand infants being hospitalized. Some companies, like Sanlu Group, pursue gaining their own profits by producing products that could damage people’s health or even life. This behaviour offends against  business ethic.The corporate reputation declines sharply by the ethical scandal, and more and more people begin to pay close attention to business ethics. When a company violates business ethical standards, it loses its consumers as well. No matter how reputable the company was, the scandal of the ethical violation is powerful to destroy the company.

All firms value highly about loyalty of costumers, so they provide good services and products with high quality to raise their costumers’ loyalty. A strong ethical foundation is considered to be a competitive advantage. An ethical company attracts more consumers, and keep them loyal. Todays, companies are aware of how important the business ethic is, so they build up high ethical standard. For instance, Starbucks shows its social responsibility to the health of environment. Starbucks uses recycled paper for the coffee cups, and installs the water filtration system. People respect this kind of ethical company, and are willing to purchase from them.

All companies should be clear about what is the right things to do, and strong ethics is helpful to build up a successful company.