http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/new-samsung-ad-mercilessly-mocks-apple-fans-136743

This commercial posted on AdFreak is pretty interesting. In respond to this post, after watching this Samsung commercial several times, I think Samsung did a good job focusing on the benefits of buying a Samsung Galaxy rather than and iPhone. However, Apple iPhone fans enjoy waiting in lines and enjoy the anticipation on the new iPhone that recently came out. My personal opinion is that once someone has an iPhone, it’s rare for them to buy a different phone. The Apple iPhone is like no other phone and once someone buys one they realize how special and efficient it is. This commercial does focus on the Galaxy being larger and some other benefits that the iPhone does not have, but once you have an iPhone you won’t want to buy any other kind of phone.

One example is that my sister has been using iPhone for at least 5 years. Her iPhone was broken this past summer, and I told her that she should probably switch to another brand and try something new. She kind of thought about it, but at last she still bought a new iPhone. Her reason is that she is much more familiar with an iPhone and she doesn not want to change to something that she is not familiar with, even though other phones might be better than an iPhone in terms of innovation and functionality.

This shows that the switching cost for existing loyal iPhone users is pretty high. They are very much used to using iPhones. I think Apple has done a very good job making customers so loyal to them.

Why Wait? The Next Big Thing Is Already Here

In response to Tylor Macdonald’s blog post on Septebmer 19, 2011, I agree that Nike was attempting to show the consumer that anyone can be an athlete. We can find the evidence just by looking at Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It”. What this slogan means is that you can do whatever you want. If you want to be a great basketball or soccer player, just do it, because nothing is going to stop you from being a great athlete. The only force that can stop you is yourself. As a result, Nike’s products become the sign of success.

Furthermore, Nike’s product becoming the sign of success can also be explained by their usage of famous athletes in its commercials.  Nike has been using a lot of sport stars in their advertisement. People who watch its advertisements will think that a good athlete needs good equipment, or that good equipment can lead to a good athlete. As we have learned in class that one of the factors affecting consumer behavior is social factor, which includes reference groups, social networks, and opinion leaders. Not only has Nike been using reference groups to advertise its products, but it has also used social networks to promote its products. For example, Nike promoted its products on Facebook and Twitter by updating its status and letting followers know about the newest products and promotion.

If I have to choose an item, say a pair of basketball shoes, from Nike, Puma, Adidas, and some other famous brands, I would choose the one that fits me most. I won’t choose a particular brand because of the super stars they have used in their commercials because I know that it’s just a kind of marketing strategy, but it doesn’t affect the real suitability of the products for me.

In response to Jiayue (Claire) Zhang’s blog post – Apple’s Iphone4S disappointed its fans!
I agree with her that it is really disappointing that the new iPhone 4s is not the same as what most consumers have expected. However, I think that this will not affect Apple too much because there are numerous loyal customers of Apple.

Why are there so many loyal customers? It is for the reason that Apple not only showed its proactiveness, but it also targets customers. Apple showed its proactiveness by implementing Apple’s new feature on the iPhone 4S, “intelligent assistant” or Siri, which is a kind of voice recognition system that can interpret our commands to the phone and then do the tasks we want it to do. I believe that this system has been invented a long time ago, but none of the cell phone manufacturers have implemented this system on their cell phones. Apple is the first to launch this system.

Besides that, Apple targeted customers – Obviously, Apple targets Innovators as well as early adapters. These are people who like to have fun with technology. Moreover, Apple targets middle and upper income people who are willing to pay a bit more for a better user experience. This is a more for more positioning concept (mentioned in the book) that will create values for customers and generate profit for Apple in the long-run.

I read this question on one of my friends’ wall on Facebook, “Are you guys buying the look of an iPhone or buying the features of it?”. This led me to think that we are not actually purchasing an iPhone for its look, but for its excellent features.

Video Link: Hong Kong Airlines “Kung Fu” Commercial on YouTube

This is a commercial made by the Hong Kong Airlines.  When I first watched this commercial, I did not understand why Hong Kong Airlines was mentioning Wing Chun, which is a type of well-known Chinese martial art, in the commercial. The only reason that I could explain why they were mentioning it is that Wing Chun is from China and that every Chinese would most likely know about Bruce Lee since he studied Wing Chun. As a result, I did not think this is a good commercial, and it did not attract me at all.

As I think deeply, I realized the true meaning behind this commercial – every flight attendant is obligated to protect every passenger. Since the 911 incident, every country is afraid of terrorists, and so is every airline. Most countries and airlines took numerous actions to prevent similar tragedies from happening again, and at the same time reassure travelers. Hong Kong Airlines reassure travelers by pointing out that their flight attendants will be able to protect every passenger. This increases the service value of Hong Kong Airlines.

 In my point of view, it is a good marketing strategy to attract customers by taking good use of the opportunities (also threats) created by terrorists. Hong Kong Airlines targeted customers who want a safe trip. After getting new customers and retaining existing customers, Hong Kong Airlines will be able to achieve their goal, which is to go public next year.

However, nothing in the world is perfect. There is a big problem in the commercial. One may think that flight attendant may not be strong enough to subdue terrorists, or that they may be too confident of their own ability. Both will form another tragedy.

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