Clarence So's Blog

As we came to a conclusion of our marketing course, we spent the last lesson learning about marketing ethics. And a video shown in class on downsizing products reminded me of a similar experience that gets on my nerve… sometimes. At Subway’s in the Student Union Building, there are instructions as to how you can make your own sandwich as well as the different types of ingredients you can choose from. For me, I am a big fan of flatbreads, and on the instruction choices, picking a foot long flat bread is a valid choice, yet they never have foot long flatbreads in that particular Subway’s, only six inch.

So is this ethical or not? For me, I feel that this is slightly unethical; if they say they have foot long flatbread, then I should be able to order a foot long flatbread, if not, then they should remove that choice from the instructions. The first time I went and saw the foot long flatbread as a choice, I was super excited, yet they tell me they only offer six inch. In other words, if I want a foot long flatbread, I will have to order two six inch flatbread sandwiches, which costs way more than the value of a foot long flatbread. How discouraging is that?! Though this is only a small matter and there are other choices besides the flatbread, I find our last lesson today ties in to this matter quite fittingly. Hope Subway’s becomes aware of this problem and either provide the foot long flatbread or just remove it from their menu choice.

Tim Hortons recently began promoting their new smoothie drinks and this got me wondering, why promote this product now? As we are in mid-spring, summer is about to come. Time of season is a big factor in the decision to place this product in the market. But who are they targeting? I’d say Tim Hortons fans who are health conscious. Tim Hortons is well-known for their low price, good quality coffee, danishes, and donuts. Therefore, promoting a drink such as their new smoothies is considered to be a brand extension. In a way, this is a great way to boost their sales, as consumers are generally hungry to try new things, especially from a well-known company brand. This again shows how brand equity is a huge asset in attracting customers and expressing reliability in their own industry. Tying back to the target market, I said the smoothies are targeted for Tim Hortons fans who are health conscious. This is based on the ingredients Tim Hortons uses in their smoothies compared to their other popular goods. The smoothies are made with real fruits blended together to make a chilled drink with appetizing color, as oppose to the sugary coffee and donuts. Being a chilled drink and made with fruits gives off a sense of the summer vibe, as consumers will feel refreshed from the smoothies on a hot summer day. Tim Hortons did a great job in pushing this product out into the market at a very appropriate time.

Since we are on the topic of promotional strategy, I would like to bring us back to our adorably diligent pint-sized Vader.  I must say, this was one of the best commercials I  have seen in a while. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to bring in a blog post from outside UBC, by the name of Sasha H. Muradali, who runs the Little Pink Blog. In her blog post, she commented on the message and tactics Volkswagen used to promote their 2012 Passat.

Sasha first starts off with the comment made on Volkswagen’s Youtube channel, regarding the message conveyed in the commercial as,

…a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the all-new 2012 Passat in the driveway.

As we all know, promotion is about getting the right message to the right audience using the right media. Most of us would definitely have a close association with the Star Wars saga, and how such phenomenons in a fictional story cannot be applicable to the world we live in. So in using Darth Vader and our knowledge of the Force, we have clear symbols and images which we can easily relate to, and this is called encoding.

Now we continue on the the second part of the comment made on the Youtube channel

It leverages humor and the unforgettable Star Wars™ score to create an emotional commercial.

This here is the decoding process in which consumers decode based on perceptions, attitudes, and learning. We see that this commercial is humorous and emotional, because of the fruitless efforts of a pint-sized Vader trying to use the Force whilst playing the unforgettable Star Wars score in the background.

It was interesting to read Jessica Wong’s post on the new Starbucks logo for 2011. As she mentioned, this new design removes the outer ring labelled “Starbucks” and what remains is their siren mascot. However, I have to disagree with Jessica’s point that the new logo will confuse customers.

Starbucks came into business since 1971 and has made a strong brand equity throughout the years, even today. Right now, its has over 16,858 stores in 50 countries and generating a net income of $946 million. It is hard to believe one who dwells in the city does not know the Starbucks brand. As coffee has become an integrated part in the lives of those in the work force, the knowledge of understanding the different qualities and categories of coffee is inevitable. We know that Starbucks is considered one of the high-end top-quality brands in the coffee industry. With their solid reputation of service and quality in coffee, along with their ubiquitous stores around the world, the siren has slowly been engraved in the minds of the people in today’s commercial society.

To me, removing the outer “Starbucks” ring is another step of repositioning their brand to another level. As mentioned with its solid reputation, there shouldn’t be much difficulty in recognizing that we are drinking coffee from Starbucks as we hold a cup with the siren logo imprinted. My point is, Starbucks has a strong foundation in the promotion of its brand to the public that there shouldn’t be a difference with or without the outer “Starbucks” ring on the logo. Whenever we see the siren, we immediately think it’s Starbucks. I believe the stage Starbucks is in, is old enough to let go of its flotation ring and swim  for further success.

If we all have been keeping up-to-date with the news on technology, we should be aware that Steve Jobs has introduced the new iPad 2 that’s coming out on March 11. The main things about the new iPad 2 are its a third reduction in height and weight compared to the iPad 1, nine times more graphic power than the iPad 1, additional front and rear cameras, a smart cover, more functionality and applications, and all that whilst maintaining its renowned ten hour battery life. The outlook of this new product is very interesting in terms of marketing. Although the iPad 2 has not been released into the market yet, Apple seems to have a solid plan in increasing the rate of adoption for the new gadget once it is released into the market. The new features I talked about earlier are all mentioned in their promotion video that I have posted below. This is clearly a product development strategy as they are targeting existing customers (those who are owners of Apple products) with a new product. Observability is one of the ways in which Apple uses to accelerate its rate of adoption. Apple retail stores are keen on allowing customers to come into the store and test out the new technology. Being able to see and touch the product will give consumers a better sense of what they are playing with, and will impact hugely on their consumption behavior. In addition, Apple has a strong branding, where the trust between consumer and retailer is very strong. I believe many loyal Apple fans will rush in to get their hand on the new iPad 2 as soon as possible. With its strong Apple trademark, loyal supporting advocates, and a new innovative product, the iPad 2 will be the top choice on the market.

Apple iPad 2 Promo Video

This morning, I had to wake up earlier than usual to rush down to Shoppers and purchase four different brands of chewing gum for our marketing activity. As I came to the candy aisle, I was struck by the plethora of choices for consumers just for chewing gum. It occurred to me that the packaging of all these chewing gums are vital in making a huge impact to the consumer. Without their packaging design and shape structure, a chewing gum will just be a pellet or a colored stick, with no clear distinction between one brand from another. What I noticed in my observation of the chewing gum section was that there weren’t many brands to choose from, however, these brands had large brand awareness: Excel, Extra, Dentyne, Trident, just to name a few. Each brand was well-known in their own way, which makes it difficult for the consumer to give an evaluation of perceived value if he/she only looks at the brand name.

What struck me the most was Dentyne’s packaging. The choice of packaging color was different from the other brands (commonly light green and blue). Dentyne’s packaging had colors such as black and turquoise. Not only that, but their packaging was shiny. These two features really caught my attention. To me, that sets Dentyne gum apart from the rest of the Wrigley gums, and ultimately keeping the Dentyne gum while I gave away the rest to my teammates. This shows how packaging plays a significant role in marketing.

Lauren Nipp’s post on RBC’s Mobile Banking left me a great impression about how the advancements in technology can create such a convenience to our everyday lives. I agree with her thoughts about RBC seeing a market opportunity in release a mobile banking app to those who wield smartphones. In a thriving economy such as Vancouver, people want to use their time more efficiently, for time is short. Being able to  access all your banking information in the palm of your hand, instead of traveling to the bank and doing the same thing makes a huge difference in one’s time management.

Lauren also mention about the SWOT analysis done by RBC. However, I will take a different approach and focus on the segmentation strategy, as this topic is recently covered in marketing class. RBC is implementing a  benefit segmentation. This means RBC is grouping consumers on the basis of benefits derived from their products or services. To further state, RBC customers with smartphones will be able to reap the benefits of downloading RBC’s mobile banking app to conveniently access and manage their banking accounts. RBC then has to evaluate its segment attractiveness. This is done through their poll as Lauren mentioned, where they were able to identify who are within their market and their specific needs. In response, most people like the idea of a mobile banking application, but some are worried about the security of the application. RBC then makes a promise that customers will get reimburse if there are any unauthorized transactions conducted. With the safety and convenience assured, RBC takes the next step by making promotions on buses, bus stops, billboards, malls, etc., hoping to attract more customers into RBC and repositioning the corporation as the “top convenient bank.”

Riot Games is the company responsible for creating the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) – League of Legends (LoL). LoL is a session-based, multiplayer online battle-arena game where rival teams consisting of five players in each, compete against each other for victory on highly stylized battlefields and landscapes. Since its release on October 27, 2009, LoL has a record of  more than 1 million members from around the world in the LoL community, earning five awards in the first annual Game Developers Choice Online on October 7, 2010. What kind of marketing strategy does Riot Games use to attract 150,000 players from North America and Europe to compete in LoL each day?

Riot Games made LoL a rated Teen, free-to-play online game, making it available to everyone who resides in North America and Europe. The LoL developers have created a cinematic trailer, promoted in large gaming events, and relying on positive word-of-mouth to gain more than 1 million members. Riot Games’ sustainable competitive advantage lies in its customer excellence. Using its advanced gaming technology and large community forums, LoL developers focused on what players wanted and whatnot. They conducted occasional polls to players for suggestions and requests on the kind of direction LoL should take; the #1 request being free-to-play. Until now, Riot Games and its developers have continued to build the game in accordance with the majority of players’ interests, and releasing new ‘champions’ roughly every two weeks. There are over 50 champions that players can choose from in-game, to strategize and battle with one another. The release of these new champions adds support to their customer excellence as it allows Riot to retain loyal gamers, as they wish to find out about the new features and abilities that the champions are capable of.

Reference:

http://www.riotgames.com/

http://www.leagueoflegends.com/

http://www.gdconlineawards.com/

League of Legends Surpasses 1 Million Downloads and Win Awards

For my second blog, I decided to try something witty and deviate from expressing my opinions on a particular good/service, as I try to get a better feel of blog writing. I will attempt to apply marketing concepts to watching a live tennis match which lasted from 12:30am-4:00am. Watching a tennis match has always been a instinctive habit of mine when I picked up the sport, and knowing that tonight was the 2011 Australian Open Men’s Semi-Final match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, there was a great psychological need to watch this epic match. Before the match started, I needed to know when it starts, who was playing, and where can I watch it online for free. These three factors were considered in my external search for information, which includes searching at http://www.australianopen.com for information on the match and asking a friend for a site with free, good-quality live-stream. However, there is a performance risk associated, as I have a 9:30am marketing class the next day which I may not be ready for.

The alternatives to watching a live tennis match is to check the results on http://www.australianopen.com the next day. This ties in with my motives under the psychological factors of consumer decision as I have a great urge to find out who will be first to enter the men’s final. Perception-wise, I’m just tired of reading scores and statistics and wanted to watch some live action!  And hopefully from this match, I will be able to learn the tactics, techniques and style of game play that both players implemented during their match. Although I have spoiled myself after watching such an intense game, I will most likely have post-purchase dissonance, as I will be walking like a lifeless zombie into Comm 296 the next day.

Reference:

http://www.australianopen.com

http://atdhe.net/

January 17, 2011 marked the first day of the 2011 Australian Open. Those who were watching the games on that day must have heard of what happened in the match between World #14 Agnieszka Radwanska and veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm. During the match in the last set 6-5, Radwanska stepped in for a backhand shot, only to be shocked by the snap of her racquet head. Caught in a daze, she could only walk back to her chair to grab another racquet.

What interested me the most was, how would Babolat, the tennis racquet brand who sponsors Radwanska, be looked upon after this incident. In my eight years of playing tennis and watching the professional games, this has never happened before. Babolat competes with many other sporting brands in the tennis community including Wilson, Prince, and Head. Competition between these companies are pretty cut-throat. They all excel in their own tennis racquet technology and there is a mix of loyal fans for each brand within the tennis community. With this incident, Babolat may lose competitive advantage, because Babolat racquet owners may think, “will my racquet break just like Radwanska’s?”

I believe two issues that are of concern are Babolat’s strategy in customer excellence and product excellence. Customer excellence refers to the retaining of loyal customers. There is a possibility that Babolat owners may switch for racquets of another brand, though I believe that chance is slim as this incident only happened once and is abnormal in today’s tennis. However, it might affect future customers who are shopping for racquets, as they may rank Babolat lower than others. And in product excellence, there will be some impact on the “durability” category when customers shop for racquets. Whether or not this incident will hurt Babolat’s reputation will depend on the responses of the tennis community.

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cxSNpoeQf0

Tennis.com: Radwanska d. Date-Krumm