Beverley Cheng's Blog

Finally, the last day of ONE of my classes has come. Although it is a little bittersweet, I took a lot away from this class. When I first started this class, my non transfer friends (who had already had taken this course) kept saying how the second half of Comm 299 was so much more important and useful. I took that with a grain of salt, expecting it to be a class that I would just show up to, half heartedly listen, and go home. Looking back at those thoughts, I realize that was the absolute wrong way to approach this class.

I took a lot from each lecture and tutorial. It made me realize that there is so much to prepare for, before I can even think about my career when I graduate. Although this class probably stressed me out more than it should have, I am glad that it did. It was a good wake up call, and honestly there is no other course that has done this for me. Comm 299 also showed me the amazing resources there are available to every student. From ta’s, to career coaches, to the Comm 299 Success Cycle, they all played a hugely influential role.

When I tell students about this course next year I will definitely promote it. I have learnt so much; how to approach companies, where to learn about different job industries, sending resumes and cover letters with relevant job content. This was a great stepping stone in building my career, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to take this course.

Recently I had read an article in a running magazine, about how the writer had run in a 4 mile race in North Carolina. Just over 6km, it didn’t seem to be very exciting. That is, until he started describing the 12 donuts that he had stopped to shove into his mouth. I reread that sentence about six times, until I realized he was serious. Then I began to feel a little queasy myself.

As I read on I learned that it was called the Krispy Kreme Challenge held in North Carolina, benefiting the NC Childrens Hospital. The rules were that the runner had to run 2miles to the donuts, finish off all 12 donuts, and run 2miles back. All in one hour.

Personally, I hate donuts. But I love running. But I hate eating and then running too soon afterwards. This race just was absolutely not appealing to me at all and so I was shocked to read that over 5000 people ran this race in 2009. Krispy Kreme did themself a favor, but probably also managed to drive away business after the race. Although many serious runners were in this race, this was also targeted to a huge number of people who do not consider themselves to be runners. People who just wanted to have a bit of fun, while also donating to charity and getting to stuff their faces with donuts AND have a valid excuse for it.

I believe this was a very strong marketing strategy on Krispy Kreme’s part, as they somehow managed to incorporate a healthy activity with the “challenge” of eating 12 donuts.

Personally, I would never do it. But if you’re ever in Raleigh North Carolina, definitely something to think about if you’re feeling a bit peckish.

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These past few classes we have been discussing Promotion, and more specifically, Advertising. Advertising is essentially all that people believe marketing to be, until they take Introduction to Marketing. Then their worlds are turned upside down.

I realize the importance of being creative in the firms advertising, catching eyes of by passers, and promoting what you what your image to be in so many words (and pictures) or less. I was reading Whitney Lindskog’s blog about the different kind of bags that retailers give to their customers, and how eye catching they are. These bags make people do a double take, laugh, and intrigue them into checking out and even purchasing from the store.

This made me start thinking about what I expect from retailers when I purchase products from their stores. If I am going to pay more then $200 for a pair of jeans, I expect those jeans to come in a nice, boxy bag. The way I see it, is it is a winning situation for both parties. I get to carry a nice, non plastic bag (that if I carry more than three at a time, I look like Samantha from Sex and the City), and the retailers get to promote their store.

By spending that little bit of extra money on packaging, the retailers get to increase their advertising in a very indirect way. Imagine the iconic pink Holt Renfrew bag. One glimpse of that shade of pink hanging from some very lucky shopper’s hand, and I know where they have been shopping. If you compare that to a very discreet, white plastic bag with the logo half covered or twisted around, no one will be very interested.

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I used to think I was mainly inspired by fashion designers, teachers or coaches. But when I came to university I realized that it wasn’t one person that inspired or influenced me, but a well rounded group of involved, smart and acheiving athletes. Coming to university I thought that everything I had going for me was enough, great grades, an athlete and generally involved in the volunteering community. When I came here I realized that I was close to the bottom of the list in terms of acheiving and doing remarkable things throughout my high school career.

I have been honored to meet athletes who manage to maintain a 90% average, play on national teams, help out at hospitals, volunteer coaching children and other fantastic attributes. When I ask myself what I can do differently in my life, I think about those that have already acheived so much, and are within my grasp to communicate with. These are not people who are known internationally for their successes, but they are people at UBC who are student athletes such as myself and have been able to stay determined and focused on what they want to acheive in life.

Everytime I feel like not getting up to run, or watching tv rather than studying, I think of these athletes who have acheived so much. They influence me to work hard to become that student athlete that other student athletes aspire to be and look up to.

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Rebecca Black. Alexandra Wallace. (Better known as the broad from UCLA who had some insensitive words to say about the Asian population at her school). These two names had no meaning to anyone just over two weeks ago. Now they are two of the most widely talked about names due to their videos that were posted on youtube.com.

Rebecca Black was founded by Ark Entertainment, a music production group that seeks young teens and hopes to turn them into pop stars. Although the attention, media and gossip was there, it was for all the WRONG reasons. Rebecca Black’s video and song “Friday,” sparked so much attention that within a couple days there was over 18 million hits on Youtube. But viewers were watching and listening to it for the greatness of the song, but rather for its awful lyrics, hilarious video, and overall terrible production. Parody’s, news articles, replies, remixes and quotes from celebrities such as Simon Cowell were the result of Rebecca’s song.

Alexandra Wallace on the other hand posted a video of her frustrations with the Asian population at her school. Although she “meant for it to be funny,” it came off as insensitive, racist, and embarrassing for herself. On Youtube, thousands of viewers replied to her rant with videos of their own; some furious, some making fun of her and her ignorant video. It became such a large issue that she decided to leave UCLA to avoid anymore harassment and ‘being ostracized from an entire community.’

These two examples just go to show how much power there is in any social media. Youtube.com is the largest video website and within such a short period of time, it had the power to turn two unsuspecting girls into the most talked about subjects. This can be tied in with marketing, because it is so important to realize that with one wrong move, you can market yourself and your brand in a completely negative light. These two videos going viral in a small matter of time had the ability to change both Rebecca’s and Alexandra’s life and personal brand.

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Because Amazon is the company my group and I are researching and since we have been discussing the supply chain for different companies, I figured it was appropriate to combine these two topics into my next blog post. Also, since I have recently purchased a pair of beautiful Womens Absolado-X Firm Ground Predator from Amazon, I am excitedly anticipating their arrival.

Amazon uses one main supply chain. Customers go to the Amazon.com website, browse for products, and place orders. Once an order is placed, Amazon.com decides which internal distribution center should be responsible for shipping the order to the customer. Amazon.com is then responsible for coordinating the fulfillment of the order. When products are sourced from its internal distribution centers, Amazon.com picks, packs, and ships the order. When products are sourced from a drop shipper, such as a book distributor, the distributor packages the item in an Amazon.com box and delivers it to the customer (Maltz et al., 2004).

Amazon is known for their tightly integrated and sophisticated supply chain. Jeffrey Wilke the senior VP of worldwide operations stated “”When we think about how we’re going to grow our company, we focus on price, selection, and availability. All three depend critically on the supply chain.”

Amazons supply chain is so tightly integrated that customers who order an item know almost immediately how long it should take to ship, how many pieces there will be, and any other relevant information. They rely heavily on their technology, and much less on actual human resources to fulfill any inventory issues.

I believe that due to Amazon’s unwavering customer service and speedy deliveries, this has helped them to become one of the largest online retailers, and sure hope to see my cleats in the very near future =)

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 Having recently come back from Mexico, I began to think about the marketing that is behind getting tourists to come to Mexico, and most importantly, getting them to come back. My family is big on travelling, and thus my father doesn’t mind sending himself or us halfway across the world to go somewhere new. But when it comes to Mexico, we’ve begun to frequent the country more often than Cuba, Dominican, or wherever any cruise ship can take us. Is it the food? The beaches? Or is it so much more than that?

I was reading up on Emily Turner’s blog about the marketing that is involved behind Las Vegas,  and what stood out to me is how Vegas uses their scandalous reputation to entice tourists from over the globe to come visit this notorious city. So I began to think what Mexico does to market itself so successfully that it is one of the highest ranked international tourist spots. Of course we could say that the sandy beaches, hot sun, and the prospect of getting an amazing tan would be enough on its own. But I believe there is so much more behind Mexican travelling marketing than just that. From my experience this is what I think gets people to come, and come back over and over.

Is it the beach volleyball? =D

1. The option of an all inclusive hotel, or having hotels with different plans i.e. European Plan, Breakfast Only, or no plan at all.
2. The excursions that you can go on that stretch for a wide array of interests – scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, visiting ancient cities, zip lining, etc.
3. The different hotel types that can cater to university students, families with small children, elderly people. For example, the hotel we stayed next to in Puerto Vallarta had a no children policy.
4. The easy travel experience: arrive in Mexico where you meet a rep from your travel agent, who loads you into an air conditioned van, and drives you to your hotel, where you are greeted by people with drinks, the concierge and the people who work at the front desk.

I believe that there are so many more strategies that Mexico comes up with, that I’m not even close to touching on. But overall, Mexico is an amazing country, with so much history, beautiful beaches and friendly people. Perhaps that is what the most important thing is after all.

I would be the first to agree that Lululemon has a gift of making an average bum look quite appealing. They know exactly how to make men, women and children look fit, stylish and slender in almost every article of their clothing. Having spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars at this store, I find myself a strong advocate of this retailer. Founded by Chip Wilson, this Vancouver based retailer opened their first store in Kitsilano in 1998. Originally created in response to the increase of females participating in sports, as well as a strong belief in the power of yoga, this brand has turned into one of the most popular apparel stores among Canadians.

Due to the popularity of Lululemon, especially among “tweens,” Lululemon came out with their second line, known as Ivivva Athletica. It is set to target girls between the ages of 6 and 12, and especially those who are gymnasts, dancers, athletes, etc. I find this to be a very strategic move on their part, as they are aware that young girls are aching to wear their clothing and that parents are probably less willing to spend great deals of money on a sweater that will probably end up dirty, very quickly.

Another marketing strategy that Lululemon came up with, that became quite controversial and frowned upon, was their Vancouver “Olympics” edition of clothing. Because Lululemon was not a sponsor of the Olympic Games and not allowed to market products under the brand, they named it “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition.” In a Canada.com article, Bill Cooper, the director of commercial rights management, had this to say: “We expected better sportsmanship from a local Canadian company than to produce a clothing line that attempts to profit from the Games but doesn’t support the Games or the success of the Canadian Olympic team,” he fumed. (Allison, 2010) Although many officials, as well as VANOC were extremely unimpressed with Lululemon, it was extremely popular among consumers and Olympic fanatics.

This blog post just barely touches on Lululemon’s creative, innovative and tactical marketing strategies. Among their other controversial ideas that create a disturbance among the public, they also smartly cater to several types of people; Yoga lovers, runners (as blogger Greg Krysa states), gym goers, and those who have absolutely no interest in exercise as well. Their quality and customer service speaks for itself, as Lululemon relies strongly on word of mouth for its advertising and customer feedback to keep everyone satisfied.

As a previous employee of American Apparel, I am quite aware of their policies, dress code, history and beliefs. Even the way they would market themselves was part of who I was, as I dressed like an American Apparel advocate every day (the dangers of staff discounts & giveaways).

American Apparel definitely uses differentiated targeting. Their main target is people aged 14-22, both male and female. Within that category though, they are targeting “the hipsters,” the “tweens” and especially the gay and minority communities.

AA is widely known for their vertical integration and their ‘sweatshop free manufacturing ethics’. It is something that separates themselves from other manufacturers, as their head office and main factory is located in downtown LA. Although they have had a huge decrease in sales lately which almost lead them to bankruptcy, AA has experienced huge growth since they first opened. Some of the unique and sometimes outrageous strategies (such their Legalize Gay campaign against California’s passing of Prop 8 ) they come up with define who they are as a company. It gets people talking about them, wanting to be able to identify and be a part of what they stand for. As Clamour Magazine states “Like Starbucks and Whole Foods, American Apparel has hit a niche market with a message about its business ethics – and carted off cash as fast as it can carry it.”

American Apparel has spun such a wide web, that fashion bloggers come together to discuss what they like, how they wear it, and what new styles they want to see more of. On lookbook.nu, fashionistas from all over the globe submit their photos, and many times are sporting some piece of American Apparel gear. Fashion blogger, Final Fashion mentions Dov Charney’s (the CEO of AA) ‘sexually charged advertising,’ another way that American Apparel manages to identify themselves as an explicitly unique company.

Although there is huge controversy concerning their hiring techniques, the sexual harassment charges against the CEO, and of course ads of naked models plastered over the walls of the stores, strangely American Apparel still knows how to market themselves the right way to different groups of people.

In regards to my previous post, I will continue on this theme of collaborations. Specifically, H&M; as they have blessed us with the beauty of selling top fashion designer clothing, at less than premium prices.

H&M, a Swedish retail company established in 1947, now boasts many stores over Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. In 2004, the large retail store offered an exclusive collection, collaborated together with fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld. The clothes sold within the hour. In November 2005, H&M came together again with Stella McCartney and it 2006 they launched a collection with avant-garde Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf.The other large designers H&M have teamed up with are Roberto Cavalli, Comme des Garcons and British designer, Matthew Williamson.

Their latest creative outburst came from the hands of one of the oldest French fashion designers, Lanvin. How did they manage to stir up such a storm about this collaboration, such that the clothes were sold out within the hour? How about the fact that any other clothing designed by Alber Elbaz himself would be sold at unattainable prices? Or their strategy of leaking one of his designs out so that it would be embraced, written up, and talked about by fashion bloggers globally.

Another marketing strategy they created was by targeting all types of women via the video shown below. Because women may still perceive Lanvin’s designs as too outlandish to wear, their advertisement does a great job of showing that any women can wear these clothes, anytime, anywhere.

Finally, what is in store for 2011? Rumour has it that it will be the past creative director of Gucci and YSL, the one and only, Tom Ford! I know that I cannot wait to see that!

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