Category Archives: marketing

Personal Marketing

Posted on March 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

As this is my last post for my marketing class, I want to try and write about something different. Previously, my posts have been about external marketing, a term that I may have possibly made up. What I mean is that these forms of marketing affect consumers on their surface; it did not involve any emotions, for the most part.

This year, seven of my friends took on a project hosted by Ernst & Young tocreate an initiative that will impact our local community regarding the environment, entrepreneurship, and education. My team, called the Community Composters, created and developed the idea to help Vancouver high schools reduce their waste and become more sustainable, in an effort to help Vancouver be the greenest city in the world by 2020. Winning this competition meant receiving $10,000 to implement our initiative. Unfortunately, the competition is now over and we have a great idea with no means to fund it. However, this is not stopping us from figuring out ways to help our community based around the knowledge and passion we gained from this experience. We will stay on the lookout for any opportunity that will allow us to follow through and improve upon our initiative; I personally would like to see our plan somehow executed in the near future.

How does this relate to marketing? Well, by the end of this competition, I am even more interested in helping Vancouver reach its maximum potential in becoming green. As a result of this new passion, I will without a doubt be spreading the word on composting, reducing waste, etc. Through positive word of mouth, I hope to be able to influence people and make a change to my community, one step at a time.

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Marketing Via Word of Mouth

Posted on March 19, 2011 | 1 comment

A few weeks ago, Glenda blogged about Khan, a statistics “god” who saved many people from the evils of not understanding stats. In her post, she mentioned how second year students found out about Khan Academy through word of mouth. The friend who I found out about Khan from heard it from another friend. And once I learned about it I started telling other friends, and the chain just keeps going from there. I agree with Glenda when she says, “because of [Khan’s] high quality service, their users did the marketing for them.” I definitely would not have found out about Khan if it weren’t for word of mouth.

So, I ask myself again: what does this mean for marketing? Word of mouth means free marketing for companies. However, word of mouth can make companies either worse off or better off. Companies would of course prefer if word of mouth is to their benefit, but they have to deserve positive word of mouth. Khan Academy is only known to students as being a very useful resource because it clearly explains concepts and problems related to statistics. If Khan was just another one of those irrelevant stats-related YouTube videos, students would not refer Khan Academy to other students. Khan deserves its reputation, and it is definitely well deserved. According to Khan Academy’s Wikipedia article, “Khan Academy is a not-for-profit educational organization … with a stated mission of ‘providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere.'” And, notice what I just did, without even realizing it? I am promoting Khan and suggesting that you should refer to him next time you are stuck on the various topics he has to offer: algebra, arithmetic, biology, calculus, chemistry, cosmology and astronomy, finance, geometry… the list just goes on. Let’s just say it’s worth it to check out Khan Academy yourself.

Here’s a clip of Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy, on TED.

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The Daily Exposure to Marketing

Posted on March 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Everyday, consumers are exposed to marketing of all kinds. Being a Sauder student, I’m not just referring to the advertisements on radio, magazines, and television. When I enter Henry Angus, the CA Hall is filled with booths, lining both side of the hall. There are not many days when there are no booths; there are always events taking place throughout the year. So what does this mean? It means that for anyone who walks through the CA Hall will see what upcoming events there are, and sometimes be approached by people to attend their event. If it weren’t for these booths, I would not know what’s going on in the school. There are just too many clubs and conferences to keep track of. Booths are, in my opinion, a very effective way of marketing the events that go on in Sauder.

I’m going to do some shameless promotion for a friend now. Me Inc, an annual conference, is coming up next Friday, and they have been present in the CA Hall for the past couple of weeks. Their bright orange and white banner really attracts students’ attention. There are always people from the Me Inc. team at the booth throughout the day, so students know they will be there to answer any questions they have. In addition, they have a pre-conference competition going on, in which they are trying to see who can trade a paper clip for the coolest thing. That’s pretty cool. So in terms of marketing, I think Me Inc. is doing a good job in getting students to remember their conference. And giving students free stuff is always a bonus.

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Why You Should Go On Exchange

Posted on March 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Before even entering Sauder, I knew I wanted to go on exchange. After going on annual summer vacations with my family and spending 5 weeks away in Quebec, exchange was something I was aiming for in my university life. Now in my second year, I am ready to go on exchange. And guess what? This September, I will be immersing myself in the French culture in the small city of Lyon, France for a whole term. My exchange dream is about to come true in a matter of months.

So what does exchange have to do with marketing? My friend Jordon mentioned in one of his posts that exchange will distinguish yourself from the numerous other people that will also be applying for the same job as you are. I agree with him when he says that going on exchange increases your market value. And it’s true. After all, there are many many benefits of going on exchange. Spending 4 months abroad means self-growth in terms of independence and maturity, and gaining a new perspective on things. During interviews and recruiting sessions, you will have a larger bag of conversation topics, ones that will definitely be different from those around you.

So what now? Well for starters, I will definitely encourage and promote for students to go on exchange. Your experience on exchange could possibly be your sustainable competitive advantage. Everyone’s experience is different, and what you take out of it may be different from the person beside you. But either way, there is nothing to lose. Hope to see you on exchange!

But first here’s a video of some tourist attractions in Lyon, France, where I will be going 🙂

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Using Social Media to Market a Good Cause

Posted on February 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

On Wednesday, February 23, the province celebrated Stand Up to Bullying Day. By wearing pink, people showed their support to stop bullying in schools, and even workplaces. Over the years, there has been a increase awareness in bullying, and action is starting to take place. This bi-annual event of wearing pink has mostly elementary and high school students participating in it. Being in university, bullying does not seem like a big issue, but it’s still not something we can ignore. If it were not for Facebook and YouTube, I probably would have forgotten about this day.

So what does social media mean? Back when Facebook first became popular, it was used mainly for connecting with people and sharing information, pictures, etc. Groups were just for random things, and events were just for birthday parties and family gatherings. Now they are used to raise awareness for events like Stand Up to Bullying Day. And each individual has numerous connections via Facebook, once one person “Attends” or “Joins” a group or event, his or her whole network of people will see this event. Likewise, YouTube is a source for raising awareness for good causes as well. Students at Churchill Secondary and David Lloyd George Elementary participated in a flash mob to raise awareness for bullying. With practice, they were able to create an impromptu performance and video to show their support. This video has gone viral, and has even received media coverage from local newspapers and television news.

So what does this all tell us? I want to first start off by saying that social media means something new to me now. It is no longer just about staying in touch with friends and catching up on their lives. No. Social media is now a mode of communication for causes to get their message across to a wide range of people, and it works. Now go watch the video, it’s pretty cool.

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Reusable bags: Good for the Environment and Good for the Company

Posted on February 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

For the past few years, there has been an increased effort to save the environment and be more sustainable. These efforts included replacing plastic bags in stores with reusable bags. This movement first started off with a handful of companies, mainly grocery stores and already green stores like Lululemon. Once this trend started to grow, the number of companies producing these reusable bags doubled and tripled. Before long, I found myself overwhelmed with the number of these bags piling up in my basement. No longer was it just stores who supplied these bags, but big name corporations as well; corporations whose consumers/target audience would not use these bags for their products/services. So why did these manufactures produce these environmentally friendly, green, good for the environment bags? For marketing of course. Because reusable bags are sturdier than the no-longer-commonly-used plastic bags, they can be used for a variety of purposes, like carrying groceries, books, and clothes. The possible usages for these bags are endless. And because that is the case, companies are taking advantage of this trend. Every time a person uses the bag, the company is exposed to a new set of people. Free marketing right there.

For the environment, there is a decreasing number of plastic bags out there,thanks to these reusable bags. For the company, the benefits are numerous: Externally (to its target market), the company portrays itself as caring for the environment and wanting to contribute to create a more sustainable future. Internally (to the company itself), they are gaining exposure to a group of people they normally would not target, and all at no extra cost to the company.

Of course, I’m not accusing these companies of having an ulterior motive for producing reusable bags. Instead, I am merely pointing out the fact that the desire for our society to be green not only benefits the environment, but companies as well.

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Blenz: making the world less lonely, one cup at a time

Posted on February 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Single and lonely? Like coffee? Have no fear, Blenz is here! This Valentine’s

season, Blenz is launching the Red Band, a way for single people to connect with other single people in the city. The Red Band project was created from a lonely individual working at Blenz, claiming that Vancouver is “notorious for having more single people than there is rain” (Canada Post article)

Personally, I think that this is a good idea. Blenz has offered a unique opportunity for single people in Vancouver to meet new people, and potentially find yourself in a new relationship. The Red Band project will be able to offer single people in Vancouver a chance to meet other singles in a casual and comfortable setting.

So what’s this got to do with marketing? Well for starters, Blenz is satisfying the needs and wants of a segment of Vancouver’s population: the single men and women. In general, single people do not want to remain single for the rest of their lives. So basically, we all need to be in a relationship in some point in time or another. At the same time, I’m sure we all want to be in a relationship too. In this case, the Red Band project is targeting the individuals who need to be in a relationship (for women it would be because their biological clock is ticking) and wants (for both men and women who want to have a special someone in their lives).

So this month, if you’re single and lonely, hit up a Blenz and maybe you’ll meet your future special someone.

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A blog post… on blogs

Posted on February 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

Until a few years ago, I never really paid attention to any blogs. Now, it seems like blogs are all over the internet, with various content in each blog. There are blogs that are dedicated to restaurant reviews, product reviews, etc. Blogs are usually written by consumers of products of say, restaurants. One of my friend’s blogs (http://poorstarvingstudents.wordpress.com/) is based on restaurants around town that are inexpensive yet yummy. So people like her are out about town, scouting out restaurants that satisfy the needs of “poor starving students.” Who benefits from these blogs? Students, of course, because we now know of more places that are affordable to eat at, but more importantly, the restaurants themselves. They are getting promoted to another consumer base, at no extra charge to them. It’s a win-win situation. Restaurants get free promotion! And if you’re a poor starving student like me, you would take the advice from these blogs and try the restaurants out for yourself.

So what does this all mean? Well, for starters, blogs are a good marketing tool. However, it’s a marketing tool that companies have no control over. They can’t go “hey you, include me in your food blog.” No, they have to deserve the post/free promotion. Blogs connect consumers to the product/service they consumed/used, and is an effective way to spread positive (or negative) opinions through media’s version of word of mouth. Relating it to what we just learned in marketing, blogging is an example of primary data, where the blogger finds information about a product (the meal at the restaurant) and writes about it in the blog. The restaurant review is backed up by the blogger, which makes it a relatively trustworthy source. In the end, blogs are yet another effective way companies benefit through the growing use of technology in marketing.

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Pre-Packaged Snacks: Convenience at a Cost

Posted on January 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

It’s 1 a.m. and you’ve just spent the night studying, cramming all that information into your brain for your final tomorrow. You’re putting your books away and getting ready to sleep, and then you remember that you still need to pack your lunch for tomorrow. Great. You open your pantry and see a box of crackers, cereal, etc., as well as granola bars, those pre-packaged 100 calories snacks, etc. Being the tired person you are, you grab those individually wrapped snacks. But why! Because you are tired and do not want to put in the effort to put crackers into a container. But still!

Take the snack Goldfishes for example. It’s the “snack that smiles back Goldfish”. In the snacks aisle at a grocery store, you have the jumbo 3-pack box, or you can opt to buy the box of pre-packaged Goldfishes. And if you look at the price, you will see that the box of pre-packaged Goldfishes have a higher price tag, and you are getting less compared to the jumbo 3-pack box! So why might you decide to pay this higher price when you know you are not getting your money’s worth? For convenience sake. Instead of dedicating time in your busy schedule to pack the Goldfishes into a container, you know it will save time by just grabbing the pre-packaged Goldfishes. The higher the price, the higher the convenience; the lower the price, the lower the convenience.

The colloquially called snack food industry takes advantage of the fact that some people are willing to pay a higher price for convenience. Individually wrapped snacks are such a common commodity now. There wasn’t much selection of these snacks back when I was in elementary school, but there are so many choices available now. Even for someone like me, who tries to avoid individually wrapped snacks because it is uneconomical, I find it hard staying away from it. All I can say is, pre-packaged foods have successfully targeted students in need of convenience.

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The Sound of Music: more than 45 years later

Posted on January 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Yesterday I spent my night watching Sound of Music and realized it is probably my favourite movie. I appreciated this movie for many reasons, but the reason relating to marketing is that I was able to watch it on tv, in pretty good quality, 45 years after it was released. When I first watched it as a child, it was on VHS. Over the years I have seen it available on DVD, and now Blue Ray. We can thank the technology of digital remastering for us being able to watch old movies on our current movie players. Remastering also allows the producers of movies to market their movie another time. Take Sound of Music for example. I don’t know much about what happened in the 60s, but I’m assuming that in 1965 when The Sound of Music first came out, it was marketed like how a movie is today. And over the years The Sound of Music has been digitally remastered to be suitable for VHS, DVD, and now Blue Ray. This means that the movie has been marketed to people from different generations too. If the movie could only be shown on a VHS, I’m pretty sure my generation would be the last ones to have heard of what The Sound of Music is. But because of technology, that is not the case. Now the kids currently in elementary school know what The Sound of Music is. And it’s just going to spread from there. Digital remastering benefits everyone: the future generation because they get to watch movie classics like The Sound of Music, students and adults who want to watch movies they watched as children, and ultimately the producers, who reap the benefits of having their movie being marketed to different target groups.

Now go watch The Sound of Music because it is a heart warming, sweet, and is very well written. This is also what a trailer looked like in the 1960s. Enjoy!