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MARKETING

The Fun Theory

Volkswagen has an initiative called thefuntheory.com. The site is dedicated to changing people’s behaviours for the better by using fun as an incentive. Here is a video of how more people chose to be healthy and take the stairs (instead of the escalators) because it was more fun.

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I love this initiative of Volkswagen’s because not only does it provide entertainment to the people who stumble upon the video on youtube, it DOES show how fun can change things for the better. In addition, this is such a positive initiative for the company to be linked to and to be involved in. It has successfully increased Volkswagen’s brand awareness, and people have more positive attitudes towards Volkswagen’s products.

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MARKETING

PR is 24/7

Last Friday, I attended the International Business Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. While I was listening to the speakers, most of which are business professionals, I wondered why they took the time to prepare material and attend the conference (I’m sure they had other important tasks to attend to). I realized that speaking at the IBC is one form of promotion for their organization  – PR.

But I believe PR is more than what business people say when they are in the spot light. Even at lunchtime, or during coffee breaks, those business professionals are representing their company. For example, if I see a speaker doing something inappropriate after the conference, I will link that individual to the company he/she represents, and pass judgement on the company as a whole. That’s why I believe PR is going on 24/7, and that the higher your position in a company, the more your actions  affect the company image.

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MARKETING

Reverse Psychology in Marketing

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I was browsing through Rohit Bhargava’s influential marketing blog when I came across the “Hollywood Declares Themselves” video that encouraged young people to vote in the US elections. Countless Hollywood celebrities endorsed the DeclareYourself campaign by appearing in this video. What made the video more unique and memorable was the fact that for the majority of the time, the celebrities urged the viewers to not vote. They kept saying things like “why vote?”, “why should we care about education”? I agree with Rohit that the reverse psychology grabbed people’s attentions, and allowed them to understand the real message.

Also, this ad was effective because not only did it encourage the viewers to vote, it told the viewers HOW to vote. Most ads for products already does this (eg. At the end of the TV ad, the announcer might say: product sold in various Shoppers Drugmarts), but as Rohit pointed out in his blog, many election campaigns do not focus on this, and are therefore not as effective.

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MARKETING

Harry Potter Marketing Strategies

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Last night, I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One (Yes, I am a early adopter/innovator). I enjoyed the movie until the last part, where the movie abruptly ended. The producers have decided to present the last book in two parts in order to cover all the details, and of course to make more money. I think this strategy has both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it allows the movies to be more entertaining (since more time has been put into each movie), and increases the revenue. But on the other hand, some customers may be frustrated at the cliffhanger ending in Part One, thus causing a negative attitude towards the Harry Potter franchise.

Note** Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One has been wildly successful at the Box Office. According to AFP news, it made 61 million on its first day, which is the fifth best opening day ever.

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MARKETING

Sex Sells

I recently read my classmate Eric’s blog post: Peta . He comments on the new PETA ads, where celebrities support animal rights by posing nude.

All of the ads are also sexually suggestive, because this instantly grabs people’s attention. Many marketers have known that sex sells best for a long time, and have been using this trick to sell products. In fact, a large amount of ads for trendy clothing stores are sexually suggestive (Calvin Klein, Guess, DKNY…etc). I don’t think this is unethical or immoral of the marketers or the companies, because they are using marketing tactics to increase consumer awareness of their products. And it’s definitely true that people will remember an ad that is sexually suggestive versus one that is boring. Using sex to sell products is becoming, or is already a part of our lives. Products that have nothing to do with sex are being sold with sex. For example, here’s a German vacuum company’s ad:

It took me a few seconds to spot the vacuum in the ad.

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MARKETING

The Great Search

I got my wisdom teeth pulled out this weekend. They started to bother me 2 weeks ago, and since I am new to Vancouver, I had to find a new dentist/oral surgeon by myself. (and fast!)

As I was going through my search for a great dentist, I realized that I went through the entire consumer decision process. Because I considered a dentist as a shopping good, I was fairly involved in my search and was willing to put in some effort in order to avoid pain. I also had several evaluative criteria, for example, it must be close to residence, must have open spots in the near future, and must be clean and reputable. Most of my search included asking my friends who had their wisdom teeth taken out who their dentist/oral surgeon was. I trusted their advice more than anything else, which is a valuable lesson for service-centred companies. After much searching, I found a oral surgeon at the Oakridge medical centre.

http://oakridgeoralsurgery.com/

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MARKETING

New Marketing Technologies – RFID

I recently discovered that during the summer of 2010, Coca-Cola invited 650 teenagers to spend three days at the Coca-Cola Village to sunbathe, go on water slides…etc.

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After watching a promotional video of the  Coca-Cola Village, I was impressed at how amazing the mini amusement park looked, and how much fun everyone looked like they were having. It made me want to join in the fun as well. However, Coke did something special during this event. They used RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology to identify and track each teenager throughout the 3 days. There were also RFID readers at different locations throughout the Village for teens to swipe their RFID tags (attached to their wrists) and automatically update their status on Facebook.

Using RFID in marketing is a new concept, but firms are catching on fast. I found two more companies who are using RFID as part of their promotions. The most interesting part of RFID to me is how Coke linked it directly to social media for teens. I think it’s a brilliant idea because nowadays, whenever young adults experience something cool, they want to share it on facebook instantly. Coke’s RFID tags and reading stations at the Coke Village provided the teens an efficient way of doing this, and promoted the company simultaneously.

Here are several other companies that are using RFID technology in marketing: http://www.thetrendwatch.com/2010/09/09/brands-linking-rfid-to-social-media-top-3-examples/

IBM did a video about RFID technology increasing efficiency and potentially eliminating checkout lines. I found this extremely exciting new because I hate waiting in line at stores. This would make everyone’s lives so much better, especially since everyone has a fast-paced lifestyle right now.

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MARKETING

Can’t Believe I Might Become an Apple User

I have always been a PC person instead of Mac. I thought Macs looked very professional, but were too plain for my tastes.   I like vibrant colours and customized designs, so I bought red Sony with customized engravings instead of a Mac for university. But now, I am looking to buy a new phone, and I am considering the iphone 4. I am not planning on converting to Mac/Apple, and I definitely don’t consider myself a fan of Apple products. I am interested in the iphone 4 mainly because of the “cool” factor. I have not researched the features of the phone in detail, and am not interested in learning about the technical side of the phone at all. I just want the phone because it looks sleek and is considered “the new thing”. To take this to a whole new level, I will wait for the white iphone 4s to come out in Winter 2010, because then, I will be the first one to have the white iphone, which would separate me from the crowd even more.  🙂

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MARKETING

Desperate Product Placement in Music Videos

I recently came across an interesting blog by Abby Tayleure about the enormous amount of product placement in Lady Gaga videos. Abby has rewatched Telephone and Bad Romance and had noted the specific times in the videos where the product is shown. She counted 17 of them in total.

After reviewing the list of brands featured in her music videos (Virgin, PlentyofFish, Wonder Bread, Miracle Whip, Chanel, Polaroid, Hp, Coke… etc), I feel that the advertisements did not have a huge effect on me. I admit that I find Lady Gaga’s music videos were highly entertaining because they are weird/crazy/creative (or whatever word you want to use), and the products were all unexpected, and provided surprise for the audience in that sense. However, I believe the companies wasted their money by paying Lady Gaga and Beyonce to use their products in the music video, because I did not change my attitude towards the brands that were featured. After reading a bit more online about Lady Gaga and product placement, I found others who shared my view. Most of the brands that were shown in the Lady Gaga videos are not luxury brands, nor modern brands. I do not associate Miracle whip, Polaroid, or Hp with social trends. Ie, they are not Nutella, Canon, or Apple. They are the “desperate” brands who wishes to gain some publicity by appearing in a popular music artist’s videos. In contrast, Nutella, Canon, and Apple already have a loyal following, and would rather spend their marketing funds elsewhere.

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MARKETING

Baby Carrots Promote Healthy Living

Last week in marketing class, I saw the most amazing advertisement for baby carrots. The marketers took a new perspective on baby carrots, and promoted it to an usual audience — teenagers– with video game-like sound effects, graphic images, and a deep male announcer voice. Here is the link to their website: http://www.babycarrots.com/ I especially like the tagline of “Eat ‘Em Like Junk Food”, because it clearly appeals to the younger generation, and is easy to remember. Another point I liked about this product is the healthiness factor. I appreciate that the promoters are guiding teens away from real junk food, and towards baby carrots, which they claim are “like junk food”. Healthy eating is an important issue in our society right now, and I believe the marketers for this company are doing a good thing by repositioning new baby carrots.

Eat 'Em Like Junk Food

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