mɑrkətɪŋ

Although points made on Alison’s post (https://blogs.ubc.ca/a34s/2013/11/27/just-equipment-co-op/) are true, such as infuriated long-time customers over the change of the new logo, some changes had to be made due to poor financial performance.

In order to improve profits, MEC had to analyze the current health activities of the target market and proceed to STP. 71% of members of MEC actually live in urban centres and 70% of profit increase in 2012 consisted of yoga, running, and cycling sales. The statistics prove that the urban health lifestyle is a growing industry and in order to follow along with the trend, MEC decided to rebrand themselves as a more versatile brand – urban everyday products as well as affordable outdoor gears. Since 70% of these members live in urban centres, chances of them finding time to frequently head out into the wilderness are rare. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, these urban consumers turn to more accessible activities such as yoga, running, and cycling. These low maintenance activities can be done in many places and at any time. The market for these urban products is definitely popular with competitive brands like lululemon.

Moreover, loyal consumers keep going back to MEC because of their knowledgable staff who are outdoor-enthusiasts and passionate about outdoor activities. In addition to a higher buyer remorse-free purchases, MEC is also very involved in the community. MEC offers free and low cost workshops and events such as running, cycling, how to pack for a trip, and marathons. By being active in the community, MEC is marketing themselves to urban consumers while showing that they still care for the environment and social responsibility through well-informed knowledge on products and connecting like-minded people who love maintaining a healthy life.

This is a response post to Valeria’s post about marketing approaches of Coca-Cola. I agree with Valeria that Coca-Cola does segment the market depending on geography. I’ve personally experienced the difference in 3 of the 4 Ps in marketing while I spend my summers in Hong Kong.

During summertime, the weather in Hong Kong is rather humid and temperature could reach up to the high 30s. With such sticky and unpleasant weather, it is natural that consumers avoid drinks that are sticky and sweet. Coca-Cola created this unique product called freezing coke; it is regular coke with a slurpee consistency and can be bought in one of the specialty vending machines scattered around Hong Kong. It costs around the same as a regular bottle of coke.

Let these two gentlemen explain to you what freezing coke is and how it works!

Product and placement of the 4 Ps are different here as they created a refreshing drink that is only available in random locations scattered around Hong Kong. As a result, Coca-Cola created a convenient and specialized product.

Unlike Pepsi, Coca-Cola rarely use the faces of celebrities to promote. However, since celebrity endorsement is huge in Hong Kong, having celebrities on their ads would increase market sales. The woman on the left of the billboard ad is a famous singer in Hong Kong.

These are some differences in marketing strategies I’ve noticed from travelling between Canada and Hong Kong. The downside of geographic segmentation is that there is inconsistency. A person who learns about such products online but have no way of consuming it would potentially develop negative feelings towards the company due to the fact that they can’t access the product.

Valeria’s post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/valeria/2013/10/23/is-there-an-opportunity-to-grow/

I’m no regular Starbucks consumer. In fact, I avoid purchasing from them at all costs. However, when the iconic red holiday cup rolls around, I can’t help but to guiltily purchase a drink. What’s so great about these red cups? Aside from the limited-time drink flavours such as peppermint, eggnog, caramel brulee and gingerbread, the content in the cup is still coffee.

The reason is probably because the cup itself is symbolic – it signifies the beginning of the holiday season.

The red cups have taken on almost a cultural role, at least in the US, and now in a lot of other markets around the world as well. When the cups turns red at Starbucks, that’s one of the first cues that the holidays are upon us.

Terry Davenport, Senior Vice-President, Global Brand and Creative Studios at Starbucks

I believe the success of the red cup is the result of STP done correctly. The red cup and holiday specialty drinks target not only regular Starbucks coffee lovers, but also to those irregular consumers (like yours truly) who enjoy all things representative of the holidays. Christmas colours, decorations, and flavours that are present in Starbucks’ holiday line evoke a warm and fuzzy festive feeling. Since it’s difficult to differentiate in the business of coffee, companies rely on specialty drinks to reel in greater profits. Starbucks had a 10% increase from the sales of specialty drinks last season.

Another reason I think the red cup is so significant is partially due to social media. Whenever the red cup returns, one can immediately find pictures of people holding red cups all over the internet. With the help of photo-uploading platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, people are almost immediately notified upon the arrival of red cups. This increases brand awareness as this “free advertisement” circulates around social media.

Therefore, I cut myself some slack for caving into Starbucks because not many companies can ignite the holiday spirit in me as well as Starbucks can.

Source:
http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2013/10/29/when-starbucks-goes-red-introducing-starbucks-holiday-2013.html
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/starbucks-red-cups-runneth-over-holiday-cheer-and-wide-profit-margins

UN Woman, a United Nations organization for gender equality and women’s empowerment, had recently released some powerful images of real suggested autocomplete searches on Google regarding sexism in the world today.

The message conveyed is loud and clear: gender inequality is still prominent in some parts of the world. Women are commonly discriminated against and viewed as inferior.  The suggested search bars are placed over the women’s mouths, depicting the lack of liberty and helplessness many women experience today, as they are disregarded and silenced of their rights.

Obviously, I went ahead and did some googling myself and found the results in my suggested search bar were identical to the ones in the images. As a woman living in where I believe is a fairly gender-equal city, it is upsetting to see that women in other countries lack the basic civil freedom we have.

This is a brilliant marketing idea as it incorporates a company that everyone is familiar with — the most popular search engine on the internet. The usage of Google allows for the ad to target a broad range of people, as people are bound to check if these suggested search results are, in fact, real. This would allow the public to feel the effect of the message on a much more personal level. Not only is this a creative way to reach out to people, it also creates a huge impact on people as the results emphasize the severity of many sexist beliefs. Such a touching and unique advertisement is sure to bring awareness to everyone and will hopefully work to eliminate gender inequalities.

Source: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/18/new-ad-campaign-uses-popular-search-terms-to-show-how-the-world-really-feels-about-women/

You would think a high-end alcohol brand like Belvedere would know better than to publicize this not-so-classy advertisement. The following image was posted to Belvedere’s official Facebook and Twitter.

Daily Mail UK, 2012 [http://www.dailymail.co.uk]

If it isn’t obvious enough, let me walk you through why this ad was taken down within an hour it was posted. First off, there is a frightened woman who seems to be struggling in the embrace of an overly happy man. Second, the text “unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly” further suggests that there is some sort of unwillingness in the woman’s behaviour. The message? Your partner may not go down on you smoothly, but Belvedere will! No Belvedere, you cannot compare a woman with an alcoholic beverage. This blatantly obvious sexual assault suggestion is not only offensive, but sends out a terrible message to consumers and promotes rape culture.

Their initial action? They tweeted an “apology” which did not state or reinsure that rape is in no way acceptable:

We apologize to any of our fans who were offended by our recent tweet. We continue to be an advocate of safe and responsible drinking.

— Belvedere Vodka (@belvederevodka) March 23, 2012

 

Of course, the company was criticized for their lackluster apology, so the president of the company apologized and showed that they do not condone sexual violence by donating to an anti-sexual violence organization.

Yes, Belvedere is a very smooth drink. What I don’t understand is in what way should anything relating to sexual violence ever be involved? I am no marketing or advertising genius, but I can probably think of countless other ways to promote the smoothness of a beverage than what they have done. How did the Belvedere team not see this disaster-ridden ad go up in flames?

Not so smooth after all, Belvedere.