Conrad Chan's Blog

After reading the article on “Hold Onto Your Straws! Here Comes Pepsi NEXT”  on brand channel, I was surprised that Pepsi finally decided to produce a new product to compete with Coca Cola. It seemed like Pepsi and Coke have just derailed from producing new products and decided to invest in other products such as Vitamin Water. Pepsi NEXT boasts 40 calories per 8-oz serving and has 60% less sugar while promising the rich taste of full-calorie cola. Consumers have been waiting for a soda that offers the same taste, but contains much less sugar and calories since consumers have been more health conscious in the past few years . NEXT will definitely be a strong competitor of Coke Zero as this new product is almost a perfect substitute of Coke Zero and consumers will be attracted to the decrease in health risks and also to the claim that the taste will remain like the regular full-calorie cola. It has been a while since either company has produced a new product based on their original line of Coke or Pepsi and this sudden release of Pepsi NEXT will spark interest in consumers.

PepsiCo was able to understand consumer needs and innovate a new product that would meet those needs. With little firms competing in the industry of sodas, their new product would differentiate them from competitors and this could potentially capture a large market share as they will have a competitive advantage with the new superior product. With Pepsi already well known around the world, Pepsi NEXT may have a short introduction stage and profits may begin to increase soon after the product’s release as Pepsi NEXT quickly enters the growth stage of the product’s life cycle. It would be interesting to see how other brands will react with such a strong threat.

After reading Jacqueline Chen’s blog post on Apple, it got me thinking of how Apple is ahead of their competitors. There isn’t another company that has the publicity and lineups that Apple has when a new product is launched. The marketing strategy of Apple is genius in that they can have consumers lining up for hours and even days just to get a hold of one of their products. A friend once told me, “Once you start owning Apple products, you don’t stop.” I found this to be very true. If someone owns an iPod, they may also have an iTouch, iPhone, iPad or a Macbook. It is rare that you would hear someone say they have more than two products from the same brand, like say Nokia, Samsung or even RIM.

Apple has accomplished this by differentiating it’s products. The iPhone was a huge leap in innovation along with the app store which has changed the meaning of “phone applications” forever. Then Apple came out with the iPad in which competitors subsequently followed with the huge success of the iPad. Apple has only been able to accomplish such milestones by understanding the marketplace and consumers, and then producing products to fit the consumer’s needs and wants. It is rumored that Apple will be launching a new iPhone which will be cheaper and smaller for consumers. This will allow Apple to further capture consumers in hopes of pulling more consumers from their competitors and thus raising profits. Apple virtually has a product for almost any age group. The iTouch music players for the teens. The iPhones for the teens, young adults and adults. The iPad for young adults and adults and Macs for students and adults. Almost any age group can purchase and use their products.

After reading’s Tiffany Pai’s blog post about TOMS Shoes, I thought of their campaign “One for One Movement” in which every time a customer buys a pair of TOMS shoes, the company will donate a pair of shoes to a child in a developing country.

TOMS has decided to raise awareness for their brand and a charitable cause through this campaign. Much of the population agrees on charitable causes (people’s views on society), but most are unwilling to donate their money. This is especially true in tough economic times, but TOMS has come up with a “win-win” situation for the consumer. There are many consumers who are interested in donating to developing countries, but just don’t have the financial stability to give their money away. Therefore, the consumer can buy a new pair of shoes from TOMS and the consumer is also contributing to a charitable cause. As Blake Mycoskie says in this blog post, “buy one pair of shoes, make two people happy”.

The campaign itself will undoubtedly attract consumers who are more focused on ethics and changing the world. This is a psychological influence on the consumer’s motivation, beliefs and attitudes in buying their product. Therefore, through benefit segmentation, the company has differentiated the brand from all the other brands through superior customer satisfaction and  the company is able to attract the consumers who are wanting to make a difference, which is TOMS Shoes’ target market. Through this concentrated marketing campaign, the company will also be able to build loyalty status from it’s customers and will continue to capture more of their target market. In addition, TOMS Shoes has also taken advantage of e-commerce by allowing consumers to purchase their shoes online. Therefore, it is made even more convenient for customers (loyal or new) to purchase their products.

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”.

Throughout the year, Comm 299 has helped me develop my public speaking skills, resume and cover letter skills, interview skills as well as networking skills. The public speaking half of the year allowed me to be more confident while speaking in front of an audience. The feedback that was given to me also helped me improve the negative aspects of my public speaking skills.

The second half of the course was more focused on resume, cover letters, interviews and networking. The resume and cover letters helped me realize how out of date my resume and cover letter format was and how weak they were. I was really surprised to find out how CAR statements are done and how to format the resume to look professional. I used to google how to write resume and cover letters and they turned out to be extremely mediocre compared to the Sauder School of Business format. I’m actually ashamed of what I had written before and can understand why I was never asked for an interview when applying for a job position.

However, my greatest lesson learned from this course would be from the training I had received from the interviews. I had never done any interviews and I always had a standardized format in my head. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the interview skills that I had developed myself were not adequate for the world which is why I probably have never had a job before. The powerpoints and tutorials significantly contributed to my learning in terms of interviews and how they are done. I was extremely impressed with the format and it was surprising to me at first. I was really glad I was able to learn how to introduce myself, how to structure CAR statements in order to sound professional and how to structure my answers for strengths and weaknesses. Above the interview skills, I really learned how to build up my professional side and really build my own brand. Although the resume and cover letters helped, it was the interviews that really helped me develop my brand. In addition, the mock interview that we did for marks allowed me to witness what a realistic interview w0uld be like. I was glad that I was able to be familiar with the atmosphere and setting of interviews which would prepare me for future interviews.  The mock interview allowed me to realize how nervous I would get during an interview which would allow me to control it better in the future when I go in for actual interviews.

I’m extremely excited to go job hunting in the future as I feel like my strengths have been magnified and I have built up a strong brand for myself. I am now more confident in myself and more confident when I get invited for an interview. I now know what to expect and hope to utilize the skills I have learned in the near future. Comm 299 has been one of my favorite courses this year and I have definitely learned life long lessons from this class.

Throughout our one and only life time, we learn many lessons. These lessons can be taught from school, parents, friends or even random strangers. I was given the opportunity to attend the Me Inc Conference held at Four Seasons Hotel. During our lunch, we were able to meet delegates and ask them questions. Almost all the delegates that I had spoken to all gave me the typical answers to my questions. However, there was this one delegate (I don’t remember his name) who just sat down and asked us a question. He sat down and asked us why we are here at the Sauder School of Business. The three of us gave the same old answers like, “Oh my parents wanted me to come here” or “I thought commerce helps us make the most money.” I personally love commerce and I really don’t see myself in any other faculty. I almost feel like I was born for this. He then went on to explain that he used to be a rock artist and never went to University. He then re-educated himself and then came out to start his own company. His point was that too many people work in a workplace where they aren’t happy with what they’re doing. He told us that we only have one chance at life and if we aren’t happy with what we’re doing, then we need to get out immediately. Although I’ve heard that from friends and family before, it was nice for that point to be reinforced although I do love what I’m currently doing. Then one of the students asked him, “So how can we be different from all the other students we’re competing against?” The man was extremely ecstatic about the question and told us that it really isn’t difficult to be different. He went on to say that people in this world just don’t keep their word. For example, if someone says they’re going to be there at 10:30, they will show up at 10:35 or even 10:40. If someone says they’ll call next week, they don’t end up calling. He also went on to elaborate that if he was going to be late by 10 minutes, he would call the person and let them know so they don’t have to be there waiting. In those 10 minutes, the person could go for a walk, go to the washroom or buy a coffee. His point was that in order to be different, it doesn’t take a lot. By being a man of your and living to your word, you are already different and people will see and respect that. By the end of the twenty minutes, I still didn’t know what he did or which option he came out of, but that was the most rewarding networking opportunity I had ever gotten. As simple as it sounds, it’s true. Many people today don’t keep their words and in order to be different, we just need to live to our word. Although this happened recently, it truly was one of my greatest lessons learned from someone else.

Article 1: http://business-ethics.com/2010/09/13/why-genetically-modified-foods-are-not-labeled-in-u-s/
Article 2: http://www.ideaconnection.com/solutions/7098-Unsafe-genetically-modified-food.html

Genetically modified foods are products that have been mixed with other genes from another species to produce a final product that carries specific characteristics. For example, nut genes were spliced into soybeans in 1996 in Brazil which led to near death situations for individuals as a result of allergic reactions. Article 1 states that the majority of processed foods are genetically modified, but are not labeled and are treated like traditional foods.  In my opinion, this is unethical. Some argue that genetically modified foods are just as safe as the traditional foods and therefore, require no labeling. However, from Article 2,  it is clear that it is not the case. For example, “Genetic engineering may produce mutations or unanticipated side effects, such as toxins, allergens, or lowered nutritional value in foodstuffs.”  By not labeling the genetically modified foods, consumers are unaware of what they’re ingesting and may be eating harmful foods. A survey done by Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 53% of Americans would not eat genetically modified foods. However, since they are not labeled, it is almost impossible for consumers to realize whether the food is genetically modified or not.

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