Cristina Cuyegkeng's Blog

As this term is coming to an end, I took a step back and thought of how this class has affected me, and I realized something. COMM 296: An Introduction to Marketing has actually acted as a marketing tool for marketing. I used to think that all marketers cared about was manipulating consumers to buy their products so that they could make money. Not once did I ever consider that they actually had my best interests in mind. Advertisements and commercials never really made an impact on me, true they were entertaining and caught my attention, but once those 30 seconds were over, the commercial never really stayed with me.

When making purchases, I valued the opinions of friends and family who had tried and tested products and brands.  If none of my contacts had tried a brand then I would look at customer reviews online. Why? Because I didn’t trust company websites. Of course they’d only put the good stuff on there! They want to make money! But this class really changed my perspective.

Jenny, you might say, acted as an advocate for marketing. She informed me on the benefits that marketing had, and persuaded me that marketers only want to cater to customers’ needs. True, making profits matter, but the way she teaches the class makes me feel as if the money-side of things is just a plus, that, at the end of the day, it’s all about providing the most satisfaction to customers.

Even the book acted as a “marketing tool” for companies that were featured. Maybe they could even be considered as some form of “content sponsorship”. All I know for sure is that this class has really made me re-evaluate the way I see things. It’s made me give advertisements a chance, and I find that not being skeptical about it has actually made me enjoy ads more. I guess you can say that Marketing has successfully marketed marketing to me.

Here’s a little spoof that shows how Marketing changed my mind about marketing without me even realizing it:

In his blog, Ted talked about how TOMS’ marketing concept of sharing is changing the “egocentric” practice of shopping. I agree with this statement in the sense that TOMS is one of the first clothing companies that really made its practice of giving back transparent to customers. I believe that it is precisely because TOMS’ practice of social responsibility is the backbone of the company that customers believe in the TOMS One for One Movement. However, I am not entirely convinced that this changes the “egocentric” practice of shopping.

It is definitely a good thing that society is putting more emphasis on giving back to the community. This is most evident in the trend of Corporate Social Responsibility that has really come to be a major marketing tool for many companies. Why? Because in our current economic situation, we consumers need to know that we’re really getting value out  of our money. Knowing that some portion of our purchase contributes to the less fortunate definitely gives value in the sense of “feeling good.” It makes consumers feel good about their purchase and even justifies it. But does this make the practice of shopping less self-centered? Is purchasing goods like TOMS shoes really about giving to the less fortunate or making ourselves feel better for spending on ourselves? Or maybe, companies have marketed their practices of giving so effectively that consumers believe that they’re actually buying a product because they care about giving back and not only because it is fashionable to do so.

In his blog, Chris Marvingt talked about how Nike has forged a relationship with its customers by (1) reaching a large number of people through various media, (2) listening to what customers have to say, and (3) supporting a cause. This is a statement that I agree with. I would like to add, however, that Nike forged this relationship also by targeting forgotten market segments.

In 2006, Nike came out with the “Tell Me I’m Not an Athlete Campaign” which targeted female dancers. The campaign came out with this ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Zo_5wyXMA

This campaign hit me because I’ve been dancing since I was four – ballet, jazz, cheer dancing, hip hop, contemporary, ballroom, anything and everything. I believe that dance is a way of life, something that roots deeply into who I am and the way I live. I also did soccer, swimming and badminton on the competitive level so I knew how “other” athletes saw dancers as. For years, I argued with teammates and friends about the notion of dance as a sport. And let me tell you, IT IS. Dancers train just as hard and long as any other athlete. The only difference is that we make it look effortless, that we don’t show how tired we are after dancing for hours at an end. So, to see Nike’s campaign, was amazing.

Through this ad, Nike captured the segment of female dancers, like myself, who have fought long and hard to have dancing recognized by society as a sport. By doing just that, Nike was able to market themselves as a company who had the same values and beliefs as dancers. We’ve learned just how important that is in class as, when consumers buy a product, they don’t look at just the item but at the lifestyle it reflects. By integrating dancers’ beliefs and lifestyle into its brand, Nike was able to broaden its market and further differentiate itself from other sporting brands.

We all have our favorite brands and stores, things we have continued to purchase despite having an alternative. Why exactly is that? What keeps us hooked to these items or stores? So I asked myself, why do I continuously go back to MAC Cosmetics and Aritzia?

First and foremost, the products they provide are of an amazing quality. Because I have extremely sensitive skin, I am very careful about the type of products that I use. MAC has prided itself in providing long-wearing hypoallergenic products and they’ve become a brand that I trust with my skin – I wouldn’t think of switching brands. The same goes for Aritzia and their clothing. But quality is not the only reason why I advocate these brands, it’s about the experience I’ve had with them. A product needs more than just physical value to obtain loyalty and advocacy from its consumers – it needs a memorable experience as well. Drawing from Drew’s latest blog (http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/) entry, I found that MAC and Aritzia follow the same things.

“People do business the people”: When I shop at these stores, I always have that one person who continuously checks up on me, someone who notes my mood and adjusts so that they become like-able to me. This follows onto “it being all about the costumer”. They advise me on products, note my preferences and provide me with excellent service until I have left the store. I noticed that they also keep the store and themselves well-kept. MAC and Aritzia sales people are always well dressed and try to maintain an approachable appearance. All in all, they have received my loyalty and advocacy by not only providing amazing products but also by providing an amazing experience which keeps me coming back.