Looking through my classmates’ blogs, I came across Natalie Cheung’s blog about logos and slogans. I really agree with her opinion that the logos and slogans are two extremely crucial parts of a marketing campaign designed to increase brand awareness, as has been demonstrated by the likes of McDonalds, Nike and Apple.  This prompted me to think more about the qualities of good slogan.

• Mcdonalds: “I’m lovin’ it”
• Nike: “Just do it”
• Nokia: “Connecting People”
• American Express: “Don’t leave home without it.”
• Alka Seltzer: “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”
• Delta Airlines: “You’ll love the way we fly.”

All of these have a common theme: they’re very brief, memorable and they connect well with the company and what they do. This short statement reflects your vision, image and professional pride of the company. Much more than telling the clients that they provide great services or products, these slogans can successfully attract our attention, makes a strong impression and creates sharp market distinction. They increase brand recall  

Although the proper combination of logo and slogan may not determine market positioning of the firm, they have a great influence on how we, the consumers, perceives their image and competence.

[Thank you for reminding me last time. I posted an additional blog linking to my classmate’s blog. Can you plz look at it as well? Thank you :)]

This blog is in response to Andy Mao’s blog.

For starters, modern world marketing has “no boundaries” as success can be achieved when one applies the right strategy in the correct way. Many believed Apple had gone nuts when it chose to enter the smart phone industry, facing intense competition from specialists and adored brands such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, HTC, and Samsung.  However, Apple had keen eyesight and captured the weak spot of its enemies. While other products may be top-notch in terms of technology, almost all of the big brands were suffering from “marketing myopia.” By stressing purely on technology, the big brands forgot the mission of its products which is to make people’s lives simple and convenient. Complex operations and constant malfunctions of smart phones had users fed up yet no one bothered to clean up their mess and instead made matters worse. Apple on the other hand, came in and saved the day. With a simple home button and everything else operated at the desire of the fingertip, the iPhone (and iPad) offer consumers nothing but simplicity and the feeling that everything is within control.

Original Post by Andy: https://blogs.ubc.ca/wailungmao/2012/01/16/this-is-marketing/

The fashion company Zara has a marketing strategy that is quite unique. Zara only spends about 0.3% of their revenue on promotion. This would be the reason Zara does not appear on television or poster advertisements. Zara focuses heavily on their product, place and pricing as opposed to promotion. Zara rarely advertises any store sales or  have sales promotions other than sale items unlike other retailers.  It is also interesting to note that Zara never places their brand or logo on their products. In contrast to local retailers like J2 Clothing, Zara’s sales associates do not need to focus on personal selling. Their customer service within the store is rather weak. It is their innovative products and affordable pricing that keeps customers returning to their store. Their products seemingly advertises itself.

In addition, Zara has remarkable logistics and they are able to get a product from design to the shelf in just two weeks. With such efficiency, they are able to produce thousands of new designs a year. In fact, Zara produces new products every week as said on their website. Zara is known for their fast fashion, which means popular products may disappear off the shelf within days, forcing customers to constantly check for new items.

Zara also markets it’s brand through rapid expansion. With more than 1,500 stores around the world in over 70 countries, they open around 150 new stores every year. With the brand becoming world renown, the company is also focusing on sustainable marketing by opening stores which consume 30% less energy compared to the average conventional store. The new stores also save 50% of water consumption and maintains their CO2 emissions below 150 toms a year.

It is no wonder a Louis Vuitton spokesperson described Zara as “possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world”.

Today I read the article “The Trouble with Celebrity Endorsements”, which states that the celebrity spokespeople are actually expensive and risky, and they don’t always pay off.  From my opinion, I totally agree with this point.

Popular wisdom claims that getting a celebrity endorsement is key to maximizing marketing effectiveness. This may have been true at one point, but in today’s fickle and highly opinionated society, I do not believe that it is an effective marketing strategy. It is a pricy option and is limited in terms of adding value to the product and ultimately winning over the consumer.

Consumers are not what they were five years ago. I feel that we are more influenced by people in our own network than those in the media; we are not so easily won over by a famous face. For example, today’s generation is more likely to buy something knowing that their best friend has it, than if a celebrity allegedly uses it. Celebrities offer no validity to a product, and the more commercials, magazine and bus ads I see, the more phony they seem. Besides, what are the chances of a celebrity using an $8.00 drugstore product.

I believe, instead of spending money on a celerity endorsement, companies may need to refocus its efforts on making its brand more appealing, more affordable, or more easily available. Or they may simply need to find a way to develop a more attention-getting, interesting and compelling appeal.

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2008/sb20081114_106175_page_2.htm

Sina’s Weibo, the Chinese domestic micro-blogging platform, is going to enter the market that is currently dominated by US-based Twitter with its English version.

As mentioned in the articles, around 56 million accounts have been opened on Twitter, yet only an estimated amount of 21 million users actively publish each month. On the other hand, Weibo has 40 million users and 50 million active monthly users. Generally, about 10 million new accounts signed up each month, and there is an expected significant growth of revenue from Weibo in the following years. From the number illustrated above, it’s obvious that Weibo is used more commonly in people’s daily life than twitter. Base on my own experience, Weibo has already become an indispensable part of Chinese people’s daily life.

Marketing is playing an essential role here as 60,000 accounts of Weibo are verified accounts for celebrities and major brands. Weibo is making itself a successful marketing intermediary by enhancing marketing for brands and products using promotions and videos (“pushing campaigns out at peak times – 10 to 11.10am and 2 to 3.30pm – and looking at other chargeable service for brands”). Marketing authorities predict that Sina’s advertising revenue will grow about 50% due to this phenomenon. Sina’s Weibo appears to have become the social media of choice for most brands to stage their engagement with the Chinese market.

Twitter should definitely be aware of the potential considerable threats of the English-version of Weibo.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/pda/2011/jul/15/weibo-twitter-china

http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/161115/20110611/sina-plans-u-s-launch-of-weibo-as-twitter-rival-techweb.htm

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