Month: March 2013

I recently stumbled upon Diana Pan’s Blog where she wrote about IKEA Richmond’ s Chinese New Year celebration.  Unfortunately, I didn’t visit IKEA on this day to witness the excitement first-hand.  The use of promotions incorporated with Chinese traditions including prices being at $8.88 which is the luckiest combination of numbers in Chinese culture, demonstrates how IKEA is trying to create value for its customers.  As we all know, Richmond has the largest population of Chinese immigrants, who would be the major demographic group for the Richmond IKEA.  As a Vancouver-born Chinese, I appreciate how IKEA is trying to relate to the Chinese culture and share in our traditions at Chinese New Year, but I wouldn’t make any of these Chinese-inspired purchases because they are too Western.  I believe that these promotions appeal most to people who are not Chinese because it exposes them to Chinese culture and things they are not used to.

I did some extra research on the topic to find that IKEA had spent a lot of effort incorporate Chinese offerings in their product line.     This may not be at the Canada locations, but I found a short catalog celebrating Chinese New Year with Chinese inspired furniture along with brief descriptors of the meaning behind different items.   As a Dutch company of Swedish origin, it is amazing to see how it has diversified in out to reach more customers.  It shows how IKEA embraces the different cultures of its customers and recognizes the importance of being an international brand.

Another comment this blog post brought to mind is a recent article I read about signage in Richmond.   As the population is mostly Chinese, there has consistently been debate about businesses having signage only in Chinese without any English.  For me, there are ultimately two sides to this.   First, it makes me think about how multicultural Canada in that we have a whole city that’s an actual like ‘Chinatown’ where it’s not a Westernized tourist attraction.   Immigrants can come and live in Richmond, not have to know any English, and live as if they had never left their original country.  In that way though, the other side is that with only Chinese signage, these Chinese people never need to be incorporated into Canadian culture.  As much as preserving one’s own culture is important, it’s also important to be open to new ones as well.  Also, there are more than just Chinese people living in Richmond, who sometimes may get upset that there are so many stores they cannot visit because there is no English.  Part of being a Canadian for me is that I can experience any culture in Vancouver and feel welcome in it.  As many others have been saying, yes, owners should have their own control over their business, but with time they need to realize how important having English on their signs is.

Times are changing and the online advertising industry is taking over as in 2012 spending costs for online ads in the US equaled to $38 billion.  But as a consumer, online ads are the ones I rarely notice at all.  For myself, my eyes are adjusted to avoid the sides of my browser knowing that there will just be boring ads trying to sell unwanted products at deep discounts.  If these ads don’t actually attract customers, why are they still there and why are companies investing so much money into them?

I discovered that those ads I don’t notice are the ones that are doing it wrong.  In an article titled, “The best online ads of 2012 weren’t ads”  I learned that the online ads that actually work are the ones that don’t actually sell anything but instead tell a story, engage and compel consumers.  The best ones were the ones people wanted to share with their networks because they believed in the message behind them.

Some of the top contenders for best ads I liked included:

1.       Nike “Most Active Day Ever”

Nike was able to sell a message of being active and coming together as a community to do it.  They recognized that by promoting the importance of doing things to better yourself, consumers associate Nike as being a positive brand that is concerned about the consumers.  By first promoting a lifestyle associated with their brand, the customers will soon follow and purchase products from Nike, which has become part of their evoked set.

2.       Oreo “Daily Twist”

The Oreo is so recognizable by just its two cookies at the top and bottom, there wasn’t even a need to show consumers the Oreo logo.  The ad is simple and fun, but carries depth in its message making it an ad that people want to share.

Not to mention, Oreo’s buzz worthy ad during the Superbowl through a viral tweet: “You can still dunk in the Dark.” Oreo, only one of the many brands under Nabisco, have dominated in the cookie/cracker industry by growing its product line through diversification.

3.       Sharpie “Grap a Sharpie & Start Something”

I personally like this ad because it reminds us as consumers about what it was like to be kid, where imagination and creativity were at its height.    It moves people to re-ignite that create side of them that often gets lost as we grow up.