Annie Lui's Blog

I remember when I used to tug on my mommy’s shirt and whine with annoyance for those delicious, colorfully sprinkled Purdy’s ice-cream. It was one of the things that made me hyped up about going to the mall. The lady serving us always had the smile that captivated your heart and gave you the warm fuzzy feeling – displaying her unconditional love for chocolate and love for every customer. It simply makes the ice-cream that much sweeter.

I learned that Purdy’s had been recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Employers for the second year in a row. Run by the Flavelle family since 1963, they have upheld the traditions of its founder and continue to demonstrate an unmatched passion for chocolate. They have clearly established a well-defined organizational culture, placing employee satisfaction as their top priority.

Anyone could do the jobs in a typical Purdy’s retail store – scooping ice-cream, ringing the cash register, etc. But to do it with passion and love is on a whole new level.

In class 14, we have been presented with Zappo’s impressive handling of employees. They are able to motivate employees by putting them first. They realize the critical role of frontline employees, as they are the ones providing customer service.

Purdy’s Chocolate was able to capture this essence, which is evident in their success as one of the leaders in the chocolate industry.

Purdy’s Chocolate’s website

Yesterday, I saw a friend liking a group on FaceBook named “I was alive on 10/10/10 10:10:10 a.m.” which reminded me of a short clip I watched just a week ago. What was it?

Climate campaign 10:10 is a movement of people, schools, businesses, and organizations, aiming to cut their carbon by 10% in a year. Just a week ago, they have launched their explosive mini-movie “No Pressure”, which celebrates everybody who is actively tackling climate change… by BLOWING UP those who aren’t with a simple push of a button!

WARNING: Do NOT watch this video if you wish to avoid portrayals of extreme violence!

Shocking advertisement? Indeed. Enough to leave an impression imprinted in the mind of the viewer? Definitely. Ethical because their motive is to promote environmental awareness? Absolutely not. 10:10 thought they could produce a buzz to capture the attention of viewers, and they did, but it wasn’t something pleasant at all! I think it’s very horrendous and unethical. The message I received from watching this is nothing but, “go green, or we’ll kill you”.

Their sole purpose of going green and making a change for a better world is, in my opinion, ethical, but they’ve gone too far with this film!

It was not until I was in Grade 12 when I finally got convinced by a friend to create a Facebook account. Grade 12!

I have developed an inclination to avoid trends, or recent fads, that people became overly enthusiastic about. It gave me the impression that these came with horrific consequences like addiction. But I gave it a try – there has to be something in it that’s creating the entire notion!

Indeed, there was something. This something had the power to affect even us students in COMM 101. Last class, we discussed about social media. For many years now, social media has created a global impact. Facebook was only one part of the social media revolution. Other social networks like Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites gave users the ability to connect, share, and discover information. The downside, though, was the vulnerability put out to others. You could be making virtual friendships and having anonymous communications with people across the other virtual side of the world.

Even so, schools are utilizing social media to allow students to familiarize with the importance of online interaction. The profound effects of the online community were what made things go totally haywire overnight!

It’s amazing, there are even movies and dramas with storylines based on social networks!

Check them out:

500 Million Friends

Sunao Ni Narenakute

A look around the COMM 101 lecture room and one point we quickly notice would be the Mac laptop domination. On the bus, it’s the iPods, and in school computer labs, the Apple desktops. Some of us whom have once refused to “give in” to the trend that Apple have created, are now purchasing one of their products too.

So how did Apple ever manage to win customers from other high-tech brand names?

Here is where our discussions from class come in handy. We were introduced to the topic of product positioning. Clearly, to achieve their position they are at in market today requires strong branding. Apple exudes leadership, innovation, and creativity in spades. They are widely recognized as a premium brand, targeting less price sensitive customers. Their advertisements were always shown with simplicity – short with a catchy tune, which adds as a point of parity against their competitors. Unlike their counterpart, they are user-friendlier. Apple’s product names are much simpler and clearer, casting away from model names such as “G900” or “F700”. Macbook Pro, Mac mini, or iPod are easier to recognize in consumer’s mind than to have them develop any relationship with anonymous numbers.

Watch this!

Learn more about brand positioning

Do you remember Burger King’s viral subservient chicken campaign?It was probably the most groundbreaking ad of the last decade, which is followed by a few other campaigns on the Internet like the Samsung’s YouTube takeover game, the Cadbury, and more.

Now, we have, most recently, the Tipp-Ex whiteout viral marketing campaign exemplifying a brand promise: the power of whiting out (and changing the future).

To celebrate the back to school period, Tipp-Ex BIC Group’s brand gets creative with a YouTube inactive campaign called “A hunter shoots a bear.” Viewers are invited to write whatever they want into the whited-out area of the interface and rewrite the ending!

Only a week after launching the video and they have racked up over 4 million views on YouTube. I remember reading Ries and Trout’s Product Positioning as a preparation for the last COMM 101 class, and have come across the term “first mover advantage”. Burger King certainly achieved this by being the initial occupant using an interactive ad. However, Tipp-Ex most definitely made a mark in consumer’s mind by making great use of social media and word of mouth.

How well did the Tipp-Ex campaign perform?