Ellen Tsang

I was very saddened when I heard about Steve Job’s death – he was truly a leader of innovation who has undeniably changed our lives and how we interact with technology. As Erin mentioned in her blog, with the passing away of Steve Jobs, many people wondered if Apple would lose its touch (no pun intended).

Up until now, Apple has been extremely successful in positioning and marketing their products. To many marketers, Apple is the very epitome of a supreme brand which has won over the undying loyalty of its many customers. So what are the secrets behind their success?

Elite Brand Positioning

Apple uses premium pricing at the outset of a product’s launch to maximize profits from Innovators and hardcore fans and portray elitism, then discounts later on to target the other market segments. Apple also opened up their own official Apple Retail Stores in key cities over the world in high end shopping areas.

Apple Retail Store on Fifth Avenue, New York

Advertising focused on how consumers interact with the product

Unlike many of its competitors, who use the more-is-better philosophy and often bombard customers with so much information that they are put off, Apple works on the concept that less is more. On one hand, with a clean and intuitive interface, you almost do not need to read the manual to use their products. On the other hand, their commercials are minimalist. Instead of being laden with facts and details, Apple ads show a silhouette of someone rocking out on their iPod with minimal text. Instead of only focusing on the features of their product, Apple focuses on how consumers interact with technology and how our lives could be changed by their product. Their “less is more” marketing strategy allows Apple to really stand out amongst all the clutter we are exposed to everyday.

Hopefully, Apple can carry on Steve Job’s ‘legacy’ as a leader in marketing and innovation.

http://www.zazzle.ca/gifts?ch=coconutpie
http://www.zazzle.ca/coconutpie

Simply gorgeous.

I was watching a music video on Youtube when I came across this ad by Google.

The 90-second Chrome commercial below, which aired Tuesday night on Glee, helped raise national attention for the “It Gets Better Project”, a project was started by gay rights activist Dan Savage, encouraging struggling LGBT teenagers to have a more positive outlook on life. The ad has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube, surpassing even President Obama’s own “It Gets Better” clip by about 300,000 views. It has won first place in GLAAD List of 2011’s Best Gay-Friendly Ads according to Adweek. In a way, this could be an example of socially responsible marketing taken to another level. This is a great example of a company which doesn’t only try to sell it’s product in it’s commercial, but instead uses its commercials to send a message out to the world in hopes of shaping a better society. This ad had a positive emotional impact on me, my respect for Google has grown even more! Go Google. : )

Business cards are a necessity for almost any business, whether it is based online or offline and the way that you actually design the business cards really makes a big impact on the way your business is perceived. This is why it is important to make a good and well designed business card.

Brandglow

TunnelBravo

DJ Business Card

See The Rest@Triphp Webmaster Blog

“E-Commerce stores are ever-evolving and often redesigning their sites to keep on top of their competition. We’ve selected a showcase of 20 beautifully designed, but modern and simple e-commerce websites.

Ranging from well-known brands to small startups, they all leave their own print on the internet and bring out the brand personality. We hope these designs will inspire you.”

— Excerpt from Designer Daily

20 beautiful (but I believe, not so simple) e-commerce websites

Possibly one of my favourite ads ever – Pantene Chrysalis.

Usually when you get interrupted by ads when you’re trying to watching something on TV or Youtube, most people would find ads bothersome and can’t wait for it to be over. But for Pantene Chrysalis, I was completely engaged by it. Probably the only commercial that has ever made me want to cry, this inspirational advertisement tells the story of a deaf and mute girl who learns to play the violin against all odds. This is more than a commercial, it teaches you the life lesson to Never Give Up.

Pantene Chrysalis was also named by AdFreak as one of the 25 Best Advertisements That Aren’t Apple’s ‘1984’. I really have to applaud Pantene for creating such masterpiece, its ability to engage us emotionally is why it is one of my favourite ads of all time.

Watch it here : )

“From Black into Darkness, shadows sees follicles bent and broken; and slivers and sparks as Dark and Dandruff collide. RAGE! Rage against the breathe of fear! Now frozen… silence marks the dance macabre. Into the Darkness, the Icy Blackness follows!”

The first time I watched this ad I thought it was some funky movie trailer. I laughed so hard at the end when I realized it was a shampoo advertisement.
The Clear Shampoo ad, “Ice Arrows” is clearly not just the average shampoo ad you see on TV where pretty girls swish their hair back and forth.
It has even been chosen by AdFreak as one of the ‘ 25 Most Epic Ads That Aren’t Apple’s ‘1984’‘.

Icy Black Warrior

Nowadays, with so many different commercials bombarding us 24 hours a day, it’s extremely difficult for marketers to attract our interest and win share of customer from competitors, especially with the rapidly increasing technologies in The Digital Age allowing e-marketing all over the Internet, Facebook and Youtube.  With its dramatic and hilariously random voiceovers and its thrilling graphics, Clear’s “Ice Arrows” does a superb job of just that: it grabs our attention and leaves us with with a lasting impression that is hard to forget.

Defeated Dandruff!

Launching this truly atypical and entertaining commercial has allowed Clear to create a buzz amongst viewers and benefit from word-of-mouth marketing. Perhaps to really stand out from competitors, marketers really need to create something downright epic.

Watch the Icy Black Warriors defeat the evil Dandruff here!

“Your interests are your greatest point of competitive advantage”.

— Philippe Desrochers, COMM 299 Career Fundamentals Instructor

This was one of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard during my COMM 299 Career Fundamentals Course and it has really inspired me to focus more on what benefits I could gain from my personal interests and skills. It is indeed very true that we will all have similar skills coming out from post-secondary education. What really makes us stand out is our personality and interests. I have always held a great interest in Product Design and Graphics Design. In fact, I was still thinking of design ideas whilst I was studying for my last Macroeconomics midterm, even though technically I should not be telling you that, shh. :p Currently, I plan on majoring in Marketing and this course has really taught me that I could really develop and use my interest in Design to invent a career opportunity for myself in the future. My passion and knowledge about design, as well as my creativity, would most certainly help me in developing my advertising skills and give me a competitive edge in the industry. That’s why I’ve decided to take a Visual Arts course this coming year, so I can cultivate my other skills, and at the same time get to do what I love! : )

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?”

– Fanny Brice –

In Junior High, I used to be insecure and lacked self assurance. One of my closest friends has gradually taught me that no matter what other people say, you should always believe in yourself, “Whatever you want to do or who you want to be, someone out there is going to dislike your or judge you for it, so might as well just go for it and listen to your own voice.”

A professor has also expressed before, “Just be yourself, and find the things which fit YOU best. There’s no use trying to fit a square into a triangular hole.”

I have come to understand this concept and I think that whilst we should be flexible and act according to what is most suitable during a particular situation, we should always try to be ourselves, without being disrespectful or rude of course, whether you are networking, at a job interview, or simply trying to make a new friend. If you forcefully attempt to fit yourself into a group or environment, it will just lead to negative consequences in the future when you find that you are unsuited for it.

I learnt to accept myself for who I am and found my ground, gained self-confidence. Now I can confidently say I love myself for who I am and there is no need to hide myself or change myself to fit in. We are who we are for a reason and we should celebrate this fact and learn to express our individuality honestly and openly to ourselves and the world.

I recently read an article on Reuters about a study examining the inequalities homosexuals face in the workplace. (http://ca.reuters.com/article/idUKN2450662120071024).

What I found which was highly unjust and shocking was that gay men who live together can earn up to 23% less than married men, and 9% less than unmarried heterosexual men who live with a woman. It would have been thought that in this modern society in which we live in, society and organizations would be more open towards homosexuality,

Possible causes as to why gays are victims of labour discrimination and lower wages in certain industries include employers’ prejudice or automatic preferences of heterosexual people over homosexuals causing them not to hire gay men. Other factors include employers’ beliefs that customers may not want to interact with gay men or discrimination associated with AIDs  such as misconceptions about the transmission of HIV and AIDs having a negative effect on the productivity of the worker.

The LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transexual)-related laws bans all anti-gay discrimination in Canada. However, this study evidently shows homosexual discrimination is still present in our community. I don’t believe the LGBT laws are doing a good enough job to stop this unreasonable discrimination. In most states, a homophobic employer can still legally fire an employee on the basis of sexual orientation.

So, what do we need to do to put a stop to all the bigotry that still exists within our society? I guess all we can do is try to better educate the public and future generations and try to gradually change society’s perception on homosexuality.

From: http://www.slapupsidethehead.com/tag/workplace-discrimination/