I am thoroughly impressed with my friend Vivian Lin’s blog, C’est La Vie. It can only be described as an exclusive glimpse inside the mind of a TVxQ fangirl, with a marketing twist.

For you, Vivian!

What is a fangirl/fanboy? Let’s look at the definition, courtesy of Dictionary.com:

With companies striving to be more ethical and sustainable, are their good deeds and spotless reputations be inviting media to jump on their first mistake?

Patrick Byers thinks so, but only if we are talking about oil companies. Byers, author of the Responsible Marketing Blog, wrote a fantastic post back in July about how “‘Good deeds invite bad publicity’ takes the bridge too far.” Byers talks about a working paper published in the Harvard Business Review which claims that oil companies who make strong corporate social responsibility claims often garner additional criticism.

A direct quote from the paper is as follows:

We find the media far more likely to report accidents if they occur at a company

with a superior CSR record. Rather than acting as an effective form of insurance,

our results suggest that a strong CSR record can be a liability.

The first example of this to pop into my mind was the BP oil spill that occurred back in 2006. Considering the media storm that surrounded this accident, and the damage inflicted to BP’s reputation, most people cannot believe that BP was ranked on the  Global 100 list of the “Most Sustainable Companies in the World” in 2005 and 2006.

Given the environmental track records of oil companies, it is logical for the public to be skeptical of corporate social responsibility efforts that some companies proudly boast of. When companies like BP cannot deliver on their ethical obligations to the public and their stakeholders, it is inevitable that they will draw more negative attention than if they hadn’t been bragging about their good deeds in the first place.

Byers’ final argument, which I completely agree with, is that the Harvard Business Review paper cannot make a statement implying that “good deeds invite bad publicity” because the reputations of oil companies are very different from those of every other company.

In my previous post I made some connections between the art of selling yourself to potential employers to the marketing concepts that we have learned from COMM 296. The last base I wanted to cover was STP, then I have a sensational video to share that I originally saw in my COMM 202 Tutorial.

4) Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning: When you’re out hunting for a job, it may be tempting to apply for as many jobs as possible, aiming for volume over specialization. I argue that a differentiated marketing strategy works best (micro-marketing), rather than sending out a hundred generic resumes that show the employer that you didn’t take the time and effort to show how much you wanted the job. First off, narrow  your search to the target industry, firm, or position that matches your core competencies. Research what the qualifications are, and then position yourself as the strongest candidate for the job by clearly communicating your value to the consumer (your potential employer).

It’s hard to stand out in a crowd, especially with the downsizing that the recession brought about. Sometimes, even the fact that you are perfectly qualified is not enough to guarantee you the position, as there are likely other candidates with similar education and experience. Here is a video about Erica Norris’ job application for the Ellen show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIA79GN3nWE

Anyone who wants to get ahead in life needs to get into the business of selling. For real. The number one product you should be pushing, of course, is you!

The value of this proposition is being made clearer through another course that I am taking this term, called COMM 202 – Career Fundamentals.

A few weeks ago I attended a Networking Event where they set 400 COMM 202 students loose in the CA Hall and told us to shake hands and make friends with only a dozen guests. This week I’m preparing a cover letter and a resume for a marketing internship with an oil and gas company in Calgary. After spending countless hours highlighting and framing my skills, knowledge, and interests, I’ve got a great sense of how many of the marketing concepts we have learned in COMM 296 overlap with the techniques we are being taught in COMM 202 (in no particular order):

1)   Forming Relationships with Consumers: Focus on the quality of your friendships rather than the quantity. Sure, it’s great to have connections everywhere, but take the time and effort to really nurture the relationships with friends, teachers, and colleagues who you feel are really going to help you get where you want to go. The people with whom you have proven  yourself to are the most likely to refer you to your dream job!

2)   Building a Brand: Your reputation is on the line; word of mouth and other sources of information about you play a crucial role in how you are perceived by potential employers. Remember to behave yourself!

3)   Advertising: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are only a handful of online tools that you can use to grow your network and get your face (and resume!) out there. While these advertising mediums are a relatively low-cost option for advertising your CV, one of the nasty side effects of social media is that some of your information and pictures can be accessed by others before you know it’s been posted. Refer to number 2 on this list about reputation…

Stay tuned for the continuation of this list.

The prolonged recession has hit areas of the world such as southern Europe a little harder than the rest. In the town of Florence, Italy, restaurant owners Donella and Frank Faggioli have decided to allow customers to barter goods in exchange for traditional Tuscan meals. The idea is to encourage people to dine out despite the economic crisis. Their 40-seat restaurant called L’e’ Maiala is taking customers back to the good old days, where exchanges were based on haggling and handshakes.

Donella Faggioli trades traditional bottles of chianti wine for meals at her restaurant in Florence. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)

Bartering has existed for centuries as an alternative to money. With the recession being drawn out, it seems that firms are looking for ways to cut costs and adapt to the economic needs of their clients. According to the International Trade Association (IRTA), in 2011, over 400,000 companies worldwide earned nearly $12 billion in bartered assets (an accountant’s nightmare). IRTA also reports that bartering as an alternative to cash is expected to grow between 5 percent and 10 percent annually.

From a marketing perspective, Donella and Frank are on to something! The 4 Ps that make up the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) can sometimes  provide challenges to companies in terms of creative innovation. How many times can you redesign a product to meet your customer’s needs? After the explosion in e-commerce dies down, what other convenient ways can goods and services be distributed to consumers?

What Donella and Frank have done is taken the concept of Price P and expanded it to include method of payment rather than just amount. I think that the Faggiolis have also successfully taken value-based marketing to another level by using the bartering offering to promote relationship-building with their customers. While this sort of tactic is easier to apply small-scale in the service industry, such as with restaurants, it would be interesting to see just how much of a comeback bartering can make in our current economic climate.

Click here for the news article about the Faggiolis in the Toronto Sun.