As I was reading over fellow classmates’ blogs, I read an interesting post “The Price is Right!” written by Jo-Hannah Yeo.  The post was based on an article by Jim Connolly on Special Offers.  The article summarizes how to effectively use special offers to generate additional revenues without losing profit.

Being a somewhat price-conscious shopper, I have recently turned to online shopping to find the best deal around.  This new phase of shopping has led me to start shopping at PLNDR, an online company (sister-store of KARMALOOP) that specializes in discounted swag.  I’m now a loyal PLNDRer and proud member of the website, but since reading this article have questioned the special promotions that PLNDR has used to entice my business.

How PLNDR currently operates their deals.  The site’s purpose is simple; the brands you want at the price you want to pay.  They specialize in special promotion.  Periodically, I receive an e-mail from the PLNDR, announcing 20-30% off plus free shipping on orders over $100 or $200, etc, the catch, it ends two days from now or even… TOMORROW!  Time is now of the essence and as I scroll through all the new sales (all items are already 30-80% retail prices before the promo), I find that ‘one item’.  What do I mean by that one item?   I mean that one item that will make filling the rest of the order worth it (usually a watch).  Finally I place my order using my promo code (usually themed to the event i.e.: TURKEY30 for 30% off at Thanksgiving), and anxiously await my new gear and the next PLNDR Promo.

Jo-Hannah’s thoughts on Jim Connolly’s article…

”What I took most from the article was the 4 things that need to occur for a discount price to be rewarding for a company: specialty, scarcity, targeted, and timed.”

Time to break-down PLNDR’s strategy using what Jo-Hannah saw as the most valuable.

Specialty:   PLNDR definitely subtracts the price, offering many items at a major discount.  They do however add value in that they will waive the shipping fees for orders over a specific amount, a promotion that was a catalyst for my first purchase from their site.

Scarcity:  They do clean-up in this area, the items are there briefly, but if you do not pull the trigger on your order, you will not get the goods.  Many times I’ve missed out on gear due to the speed of finalizing my purchase.  The result, when I want something from the site, I get it!

Targeted:  They do effectively cause additional purchases, as in order to fill the discount quota, (i.e. $200) I often throw in an additional item that I would not have purchased otherwise.

Timed:  Even though items are heavily discounted before specials I do not buy unless there is a 30% off and free-shipping deal on.  This is rather ineffective as even though during these events I spend a fair amount, I was equally willing before the promotions to pay the original price for most items.  I have become their spoiled child and expect the same for much less.  PLNDR is “training… clients to wait for… offers, before they [buy].” (Jim Connolly)

Overall PLNDR is effectively gaining repeat customers who expect discounted prices.  Although, they do not fully utilize Jim Connolly’s advice on Specialty Offers, they have achieved loyal customers and become the first stop online for me when it comes to clothing.

Thanks Jo-Hannah for the great article!

I am a Blizzard maniac.

If you have never heard of the Blizzard franchise then you are likely not a PC-gamer.  Blizzard has become the staple of online fantasy gaming.  From; life-consuming MMO’s (Mass Multiplayer Online), intense RPG’s (Role Playing Games), to addicting RTS (Real-time Strategy) games, Blizzard delivers, period.  From their first major title Warcraft: Orcs and Humans Blizzard has set the bar high.  Graphics, cinematic, game play, replay value, you name it, Blizzard games are truly “Nulli Secundus”, Second to None.   Year after year, gamers, like me, wait anxiously for the next release date, sneak previews, game clips and so on.  Why?  Simple, when Blizzard does a game they do not mess around.  Gamers expect the best, and time and time again receive it, even if they have to wait years (decades even).

The Blizzard philosophy:

“Blizzard is proud to work with the best partners to create ancillary products from your favorite game universes. From board games to manga and novels, we are committed to bringing quality products to our players.”

From books to the massive BlizzCon (Blizzard Gaming Conference) that takes place every year, Blizzard has been able to bring the gaming universe to life wherever possible.  Blizzard is a strong believer in building customer loyalty and seeks player input whenever possible.  Fans live the brand.  For example, before releasing the much anticipated Starcraft II, Blizzard had loyal players (selected at random) beta test the game for free.  Blizzard gained valuable information from this trial run (potential glitches, imbalanced characters, etc.), but also gave those fans the opportunity to feel a part of the process.  As we speak, the newest Diablo installment (Diablo III) is being beta-tested by lucky players from around the world (yes, I am jealous).  Professional gaming leagues have been started based around various titles, world-wide tournaments are being televised online and even on TV, giving testament to the fact that what Blizzard offers its legions of fans is much more than computer games, they are lifestyles.

Blizzard is a brand I trust, they may make me wait, but in the end no other franchise can compare!

Some highlights from the GSL Starcraft 2 League (funny commentation)

Diablo III:  Cinematic Trailer

**Trailer is not for faint at heart**

Reading fellow classmates, Adrian Wong’s blog, about Carlsberg and their ‘Guerilla Marketing’ ad campaign put a smile on my face.  The ad simply struck a chord with me.   Adrian’s analysis of the effectiveness of the commercial is that, “Laughter compels consumers to review the ad several times and/or spread it to his/her friends and family members.”  My immediate reaction while viewing this clip was to repeat and view again.

Now, as Adrian predicted, I have shared the link with the rest of the world.  This commercial works.  How?  Why?  The answers to those questions are rooted in the fundamentals of marketing; I will break-down my case to show the effectiveness of the commercial.

Personally, I do not drink alcohol; therefore, Carlsberg is attempting to sell a product to a consumer without any intention of purchasing their product.  This would seem like an automatic failure on their part, but even though I do not drink I do believe that funny commercials should be viewed and appreciated.  Where does that leave Carlsberg in all of this?  Although they have not gained me as a consumer, I have forwarded their commercial to people in my social networking circle, free of charge, increasing their potential for new customers.  Not lost in all of this, is that Adrian was the one who showed me this clip.

This type of Pass-It-On marketing is becoming huge with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking types increase in popularity.  When social media is used effectively, low-budget, spontaneous, and crazy ad campaigns like this become possible.  It makes the product more relevant, and up to date with a rapidly changing world, at a relatively cheap price.  As summed up by Adrian, “A relatively inexpensive production cost is the beauty of guerilla marketing.”

While preparing for this blog post I was looking to find a ‘Marketing Blog’.  I have intentionally put this in quotations as the concept of a marketing blog was something quite foreign to me.  Fortunately, I did not have to search long to stumble upon Seth Godin’s ‘All Marketers Are Liars‘ blog.  At first I read his General Blog and was instantly intrigued, but although ‘Talker’s Block‘ was an insightful post, this did not quite seem to fit the bill of a marketing blog.

Luck seems to strike the same place twice, or at least it seemed so on this occasion, as on the left hand-side of the website there were links to other blog done by Godin in the archives, the one that caught my interest, mentioned previously, was his ‘All Marketers Are Liars‘ blog.  The title alone seemed to be suitable and the article ‘The iPod isn’t a Pod‘ spoke out on the ‘creativity’ or lack there of by the Apple corporation with their products.

His argument and main point of the article was to go after the lack of innovation while naming Apple’s new product, at the time this blog was published, the iPad.  He suggests that the name makes the iPad appear useless in the market, he writes, “We already have the “i” part, and we don’t value the Pad part.”  I agree with Godin, as I have never had a need or want for a pad and feel that the name, iPad, deterred me off the product from the beginning.  There are many benefits about the iPad that help to make life easier and entertaining, but I am in no rush to add a ‘pad’ to my life any time soon.

Interesting thought on the name, iPad

My name is Blake and this is my blog.  Before I get into the Marketing side of my blog I will first introduce to you Blake Matthew Trelawny Henley (That’s me!).

I grew up in Richmond, where I went to school at Westwind Elementary and then later at Steveston Secondary (Now called Steveston-London).  After graduating in 2008, I went to the University of Victoria, to study general courses while soaking in the University campus experience.  After finishing my first-year at UVic I decided to transfer to UBC with the goal of getting into Sauder.  I took second-year Arts at UBC and after failing to get into second-year Commerce I decided to take a gap year to work, but more excitingly travel.

During my year away from school (2010/2011), I was hired on with a Point of Sales company called Eigen Development as a Project Coordinator.  After a couple months at work I set off for Southeast Asia on a whirlwind journey that took me throughout numerous countries that included: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.  This ended up being the trip of a lifetime that lasted 94 days.  One of the major highlights during the trip on a personal level was getting accepted into Sauder while in Singapore.  My adventure abroad led straight back into work, where I joined back on with Eigen until June.  In June, I went to work at Anvil Island Daybreak Point Bible Camp as the Head Lifeguard.

This leads me to now, back into the mix of school with a shift a week at Eigen.

On to the Marketing side, I am taking this course to help broaden my view of business in addition to helping me determine which area I want to specialize in for third and fourth year business.  In the field of marketing my experience is mostly on the consumer side, where I have participated in purchasing products since I cannot remember.   My day-to-day life as a consumer extraordinaire can be challenging, but through many purchases; smart ones, pointless ones, impulse ones and regrettable ones, I am learning to be more market savvy and aware of the marketing aspect of business and my life every day.   My favourite commercial in recent memory is the ‘Magic Ball‘ Doritos commercial from the 2009 Super Bowl (Video below).  The commercial was rated as the most liked of the Super Bowl and surprisingly costed less than $2,000 to make by two guys who were not even from an ad agency.  If you want to read more on the side-story that comes with this commercial read this, a great article done by USA Today on it.

Finally, something about me that I would be comfortable sharing with everyone in the class… I enjoy baking cookies.