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Two more weeks left of finals and my second year of University will be over. People often say that the older you get, the faster time goes by. I didn’t realize how true this was until my first year of university. Throughout this term, I’ve had the privilege of working beside some extremely intelligent individuals. The marketing assignments made me realize that everyone is in it for the same ambitions, goals, and drive. I was very lucky to be able to work with people that took the assignments seriously and had real/effective input to contribute to the project. I would have to say that by the end of the term, each and everyone of us became so much closer; not just as classmates but more as friends.

This marketing project was able to open my eyes and expand my knowledge in the field of marketing. Prior to this project, or even this course, I thought of marketing as simply advertising a few flyers and commercials. It wasn’t until the middle of the term that I really realized how complex the field of marketing is. I was fascinated by the different channel distributions each company has to undertake to reach their final step. I was also fascinated by how multifaceted the world of marketing consists of; from the 4Ps (product, promotion, place, and price) to the whole process of designing the channel and supply chain. Through working on this project, and on the course as a whole, I have been able to enhance my interpersonal skills through interacting with my group members, as well, I have improved my speaking skills by voicing my opinions and ideas.

If I were to re-do this assignment, I would probably spend more time on the video part of the assignment, as well take more time to thoroughly edit the different parts of the assignment to assure that all the necessary contents have been touched on.

My top take-aways from this marketing project, as well as the course are:

1. Don’t leave things to the last minute

Our group did quite a good job on this. We were always ahead of schedule and finished everything on time. However, if we had started a tiny bit earlier, it might have made all of our lives easier (due to conflicts with other course assignments, tests, and exams).

2. Marketing is crucial to succeed as a company

I’ve realized how important marketing is to a company. Marketing isn’t just about printing ads and posting them on the school wall. It’s about the bigger picture, and I’ve learned that without effective marketing strategies and a flair of creativity, a company won’t be nearly as successful as it can be.

So, I guess I’m going to end my Marketing Blog with a quote from Gregg Pitt to all the students, like myself, who are stressing over finals during these last two weeks.

If you guys are really wondering if you are burning out mentally. Take a day off and go to your local hospital. Go to the cancer wing. Look at a 4 year old, who wont ever see their teenage years, probably wont ever see their next birthday. Go and see someone who is mentally or physically retarded, or see when a soldier who just came back from war who doesnt have legs anymore. Stare that guy down. Look him right in the eyes and tell him, as you stand there with 2 capable legs that you are burned out. That you dont want to use them. See if that doesnt kill him right there. Because he would do anything to have that opportunity.

-Sir Gregory Plitt

DONT GIVE UP AND STUDY HARD EVERYONE! and have an amazing summer break.

Thanks Tamar for an amazing Marketing semester! =)

With the plethora of social networking sites, ingenious and ever-so useful smartphones, and multifunctional gadgets taking over society, the face of marketing had definitely undergone a major makeover in the past decade. The article, “25 Things You’ll Have to Explain To Your Kids About Marketing One Day” comments on the the different aspects of marketing that has either died out or has become a mere blur of the past.

Some of the things that stuck out to me from the article and made me realize how much society has changed with the spurge of new technology are:

1) “There was a this thing called the YellowBook, and that’s how people would search for local businesses.”

Haha, this made me giggle a bit. I have probably never used a Yellowbook in my life, but I still remember the days when we would receive two huge bundles of “Yellowbook” and my families name, address, and phone-number would be included in it. It’s interesting to see how easy it is now for people to stay connected with one another without the use of these so-called “Yellowbooks”. An obvious example would be the use of Facebook. Even if your a million miles away from your friend, Facebook makes it extremely easy and convenient to stay in touch with each other. Bye bye Yellowbooks. It’s a bit sad to know that my future children won’t know of your existence

2) “And there was a time when younger demographics spent more time doing this…

than doing this…”

I remember waiting at my doctor’s office one morning, and I came across this 5 year-old kid that was sitting next to me and he was playing the game “Candy Crush” on a brand new iPad.

It’s unbelievable how much things have changed. I owned my very first electronic device when I was 15 years old, not 5.

It’s really fascinating to see how much can change from a few innovative gadgets. Internet has drastically changed the world of commerce and has had huge effects in the marketing industry. Marketers nowadays do a lot of their advertising through online social media in the forms of viral videos, blogging, promotional campaigns on social

networking websites, and consumer discussion forums.

So, if you guys are interested, take a look at the article that I came across. It includes a lot of interesting things how how much the marketing world has changed over the past decade!

Have you ever wondered how free mobile phone apps make money? I’ve been wondering for awhile now, and I finally did some research and according to an article that I read online, 73% of mobile apps are free, and of those, 80% of those apps rely on ADVERTISING as their main business model. 

This just shows how crucial effective marketing is to a company. In another article that I stumbled across, the author wrote, “To get software out to your users, it takes a lot of marketing and sales sweat — first, to let them know it exists, then to explain to them why your code is better than anything else anyone has out there.”

“Marketing is a key piece of the software business model.”

 

Some Ways to Market a Mobile Phone App:

1. Interactive Ads (eg. At Bus Stops)

 

2. Facebook

Facebook has its mobile-only “Sponsored Stories” ads to the list of ad products buyers can purchase.

 

3. Marketing Firms that help advertise Mobile Apps

4. Newspapers and Reviews

5. Word of Mouth

6. App Ratings

 

The use of social media to promote products, events, brands, and much more is continuing to increase at a much rapid speed compared to fifty years ago. It’s quite alarming to see how influential social media can be for a corporation. Michael Stelzner, founder of the Social Media Examiner (one of the world’s top social media magazine), wrote a blog on “10 ways to Use Social Media to Promote an Event.”

It was a great post to read and it really showcases many different ways of promoting an event in our current society.

It’s interesting to see the way Michael incorporates social media marketing as well as content marketing to promote different events. Content marketing is simply when marketers provide consumers with valuable information or entertainment (content) that will have a positive influence on the consumer in some way or form. Michael’s blogs taught me that social media is extremely significant and has a huge affect on getting the word out.  His 10 ways of using social media to promote an event teaches many of us that with the increase in social media, there comes many possibilities and opportunities for companies to get their products out to the public. With that said, with the social media boom, there’s definitely going to be even more possibilities leveraging social media in the future that will allow companies to save lots of time as well as money in the field of marketing.

#1. Create Video People Will Share

#2. Giveaway Tickets to Create Buzz

#3. Socialize your Google Ads

#4. Interview Speakers for Special Content

#5. Create a “Group Tips” Blog Post

#6. Create a Special Graphics for Your Speakers

#7. Create a Tweet for Attendees

#8. Add a Twitter Widget to Your Event Page

#9. Create an Event on Facebook

#10. Utilize Facebooks FBX Ad Targetting

 

For those who are interested, Michael Stezner has a really neat site that talks all about his thoughts/ideas/tips on social media. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

I found this article to be extremely noteworthy of reading and I urge many of you ladies to take five minutes out of your time to read this. It’s important for us girls to be aware of the different types of dangers out there and take careful caution to avoid them.

However, on a marketing perspective, I think the picture below is prevailing and influential, to say the least. Marketing is about getting one’s idea and thought out to the public, and the image below does just that. Click on the picture below and it’ll redirect you to the site of the article. 🙂

Kan Nagahata’s most recent blog focus’s on this year’s SuperBowl Commercials. Was it too entertaining? Was it too focused on only one target group?

Kan’s blog states that some of the analysts found the commercials “disappointing” because it wasn’t diversified enough and it was only targeted to entertain one group of people. I, however, must disagree with the opinions of these particular analysts. Why?

I first must begin by stating that some of the commercials provided by the SuperBowl this year was indeed a bit too long, but I personally think that that’s just how SuperBowl commercials should be. Their unique, out of the norm, and they’re called Super Bowl Commercials for a reason. Most commercials that we see on TV are around 20-30 seconds long. Some leave us confused, and some leave us with merely a “that-was-a-total-waste-of-my-time” look on our faces. The Superbowl Commercials, however, leave many of us laughing, crying, screaming, and much more drastic emotions that we don’t normally get from our daily TV show commercials. SuperBowl Commercials are: One-Of-A-Kind and Creative. 

Wow…. Just look at those abs… Like seriously… 

With that said, I want to bring our attention to one of the most talked about commercials in SuperBowl this year. It was the commercial with the Calvin Klein Model that went viral. Not only did he win instant-fame from a 31 second commercial, but his abs is just unreal. This 21 year old model had his entire life changed within an instant from a short 31 second clip of his “abs”. I’m sure many girls, like myself, ended up drooling over his one-of-a-kind body.

I wanted to bring this commercial up because 1. I find the commercial extremely entertaining to watch and 2. This just shows how powerful good marketing is. It’s really incredible to see someone’s life change in an instant over a 31 second clip. Now everyone knows him as the 21 year old “Calvin Klein” Model. Not only does this put an amazing image on Calvin Klein, but I’m certain that this 21 year old model will be appearing on various talk-shows and will be getting tons of offers to appear in different modelling magazines.

Wow, L.U.C.K.Y. and… attractive. 🙂

As I was reading my daily news and scrolling around on Facebook and Twitter this morning, I came across this amusing/interesting news article that I felt like I must share. The article’s title is, “Chinese IKEA Customers Make Themselves a Little Too Much at Home.”

IKEA has always been one of the most affordable places to go to when people want to purchase furniture. Not only are their products price effective, but they also have a nice look to them. From my past experiences of visiting IKEA, I realized that their store is designed to look like a one-way maze. As customers enter IKEA,  they go through a series of phases that take them to different departments, all of which are all beautifully designed to fit the most modern taste. I remember when I was a kid, I would very much enjoy visiting IKEA with my parents just to see how they would decorate the little kid’s bedrooms, and to wish that one day my parents would surprise me with a room decorated exactly like IKEA’s. I’ve also seen people sitting on the chairs and trying different accessories on in IKEA, but it wasn’t until I came across this article, that I actually found out that people SLEEP at IKEA!

Not only was this article amusing, but it was extremely comical for me. Just reading the article, and looking at the pictures made me giggle. People in China would actually go shop the IKEA store, not for the furniture, but for 1. The Air Conditioner and 2. To sleep. 

I guess IKEA’s marketing strategies really does lure customers into their store, even if their not planning on buying anything. Haha.

At IKEA, Customers can choose the right sofas that they like, and take a little nap from a long-day of work.

Not only does IKEA provide beautiful and affordable furniture/accessories, but they also provide hard-working business man with a place to relax during work break. 

Too tired? I think so. 

One of the very first things that my instructor, Tamar Milne, pointed out in our earliest classes of Intro Marketing, was that marketing isn’t simply about advertising and promoting for a company, but it grasps a much bigger picture. Marketing acts as the grand mediator of the self-interests of a business and the needs of the buyer. In simpler form, you could say that marketing acts as a viaduct that links the consumer side to the producer side. And most importantly, marketing has the ability to let others know about who you are as an individual; where your talents, hobbies, traits, and personalities lie. 

For instance, one of my favorite YouTube channels is that of Jenna Marbles. Her YouTube videos portray her to be this hilarious comedian that viewers enjoy to watch. These videos “market” her personality, passion, and hobbies. Because of her YouTube videos and the way she “markets” herself, millions of people around the world know her as Jenna Marbles, the YouTube comedian.

Jenna Marbles’ earning is said to be estimated around 600 THOUSAND to 2 MILLION dollars per year, on her YouTube videos alone.  I find this number to be extremely outrageous for someone who is simply producing 5-10 minute YouTube videos on a weekly basis. But this number, whether true or not, shows how powerful effective marketing can really be.

Click this link to watch one of my favorite videos from Jenna Marbles. Watch the video if you haven’t already and for the first timers, you’ll realize that Jenna Marbles does a implausible job of marketing who she is to the public. This video alone, received 48 million views.

 

 

The constant growth within the marketing industry has become one of the main ways of generating revenue for an organization. However, aside from delivering effective award-winning advertisements, the marketing industry has, as well, a downside effect on an individual’s self-esteem. The digital world of media marketing has created this false world that makes it impossible to achieve. Celebrities, good or bad, have been looked upon as “role-models” and are presented as people that should be emulated, which in turn have taken a negative toll on many aspects of an individual’s lifestyle.

Model, Cameron Russell gave a bold presentation on Ted Talk which centers around on what society views her as versus whom she really is as an individual. Cameron Russel states that the images we see of her does not reflect reality, but are careful constructions built by stylists, makeup artists, and photographers. I believe this saying best describes one of the main ethical issues that have been arising within the media marketing industry.

Many individuals nowadays, even myself, have been getting mind-washed by what marketers are advertising. A good instance of this is how a vast majority of girls, like myself, believe that having small, slender figures is the only way to be accepted in society. This idealism that having the “perfect” body is the only way for us to fit in with the norm has a way of making us do certain things that might not necessarily be good for our self-esteem or for our health. I, for one, am continuously seeking for ways to lose weight primarily for the desire to feel that little boost in my confidence level even though everyone around me may not think it is necessary for me to lose those extra pounds.

What I personally took away from Cameron’s Ted Talk was not only how society profiles those that look differently from what we perceive as beautiful, but also the influential affect that media marketing has on an individual’s self-esteem and lifestyle. Everyone should feel beautiful in their own body, and oftentimes these “beauty” is hidden behind what society views as “beautiful” which in the simplest form, is created by cameras, stylists, lighting, and/or photoshop.