This project gave me a great insight into how a real marketing team would work in the business world. There were three main aspects of the project that I really learned from: working with others, team meetings, and the project itself.

Working with other people is a challenge in itself for obvious reasons; there is the possibility of conflicting views between individuals, challenging personalities, individual lack of initiative etc. What our group struggled with was mainly conflicting views. It took our group a long time to come to conclusions about what direction our project should take, and it hurt us time-wise. However, it was from that same diversification of perspective that our final product was well done and had so much substance embedded in it.

The team meetings were a real test of our group’s ability to coordinate schedules. Although facebook was the chosen method of communication with each other, I learned that one channel of communication is not enough. There were times members were confused about meeting dates or just were not aware of them whatsoever because a facebook message was the only notification they were given. A follow up text/call from an assigned coordinator would have been the best option for boosting morale.

Finally, the project itself called upon members to demonstrate their resourcefulness and creativity in a number of ways. The written projects showed us the importance of immersing oneself in their work so that quality remains high. As well, the video project required us to be confident, and taught us the significance of having excess time to edit and add new ideas.

All-in-all, the marketing project was a learning experience I will never forget and constantly apply to the business world in the future.

It is absurd to expect a company to enter a market without any prior market research. Nowadays, with competition constantly on the rise, it is vital that some form of data mining must be employed in order to properly appeal to consumers. A business venture without any market research is like a ferrari with no gas; sure, you will look promising. But once you start moving, you won’t get very far.

Recently, Japanese clothing store Uniqlo caught wind of Bangladesh’s transition into a major global economic force and decided this would be a perfect opportunity to expand their company. They spent six months researching the market, and asking Bangladeshi women whether they found the clothes attractive or not. With only positive feedback, they moved in immediately and began selling their clothes.

Sales were going quite well at first. However, soon after opening, the company took a huge hit in sales. This came from the fact that Uniqlo provides Americanized clothing styles, yet when you take a look at Bangladeshi women, they all wear saris and traditional clothes.

How could Uniqlo have prevented this embarrassment and saved themselves a great deal of time and resources refurbishing their store to fit the needs of the Bangladeshi lifestyle? Simple: by asking the right questions. Uniqlo blundered because they did not fully equip themselves to sell in Bangladesh.

This shows the importance of making sure that the culture of the company matches the area it is selling in.

Links: http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/10/02/uniqlo-finds-wealth-of-data-in-bangladesh-not-for-profit-venture/

http://www.grameenuniqlo.com/bd/

In response to Graham Kingma’s blot post, I fully agree that a company’s integrity and customer loyalty heavily rely on the transparency of their social media. However, I must add that transparency is also important in every aspect of marketing. In a society with increasing demand for product information, if important product aspects are ambiguous to consumers, then there will be a lessened opportunity for sales.

In 2004, independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock took it upon himself to eat nothing but McDonalds for 30 days in his movie “Supersize Me.” The results of the movie were nothing like the world had ever seen before. Fast food was rarely questioned because nobody ever stopped to think that it was decreasing the life quality of a nation. In response, McDonalds was so threatened by the film’s powerful message, that they withdrew the “super size” option from their menus and evermore began implementing healthier options.

Supersize Me Results

In 2013, it is much harder to get away with covering up damaging information. Most fast food stores have product health information posted somewhere visible in every location. Mandatory product transparency does not solely apply for the food industry. In 2008, Splenda was sued because their slogan, “Made From Sugar,” was actually nothing more than a “highly processed chemical compound made in a factory,” and this smeared Splenda’s brand.

In a knowledge-seeking society, it is becoming increasingly difficult to false advertise or cover up incriminating information. Needless to say, practising corporate social responsibility will create a higher lifetime value of customers and maintain a brand’s image.

In Michelle Lee’s blog post, she analyzes the effectiveness of Target’s move into Canada. I agree that Target’s reputation is at stake since their move into canadian territory. However, I think the unease brought by Target’s change in location is NOT due to their size, nor their corporate dominance.

The only visible flaw in Lee’s argument is the fact that she makes Target appear as if they are some leviathan organization that plundered and pillaged its way into total market dominance. The one key detail that needs to be considered is the fact that Target bought out Zellers and simply refurbished the preexisting store space. In comparison to previous Zellers customers, the increase in consumer interest isn’t severe enough to tyrannize smaller businesses. As well, locals are already desensitized to super-sized retail stores. Canada has Costco, Sears, The Bay, and The Hudson’s Bay Company; it is unlikely canadians will be taken aback by a new addition.

Target does run a cause for concern though. It derives from the political metaphor of an american invasion. Think big-picture: Canada has developed a sense of identity by being a peaceful country who aims to increase the quality of life for all of its inhabitants. When an american-based company overtakes a canadian brand like Zellers, it comes off as invasive, and to consumers it may look like an infringement on canadian culture (since the US has such a questionable history with peacefulness).

Although Target has a distinct allure to canadian citizens and will be able to reap the benefits of high profit from this venture, if more american companies plan on globalizing themselves, Canada may be a difficult starting point in years to come.

In recent times, the boundaries of advertising have been stretched and improved upon through means of producing memorable and aesthetically pleasing masterpieces. For wealthy corporations with endless funding and nothing short of an army of computer technicians at the ready, the creative possibilities know no bounds. However, since small to mid-sized businesses have comparatively restrictive budgets, there harks a need for ingenuity and ensuring that their money can effectively and positively grab consumer interest and lead to loyalty.

Here is an example of an extremely successful ad by JG Wentworth:

JD Wentworth Commercial

I haven’t seen this commercial in over 2 years but I still remember that if I need cash now, I call JD Wentworth. Notice that their ad had nothing extravagant (other than a viking costume). What made this commercial so vividly epic was the simply preposterous combination of opera, riding the bus, and a large man in a viking costume.

In contrast, here is Flea Market Montgomery’s sad attempt at appealing to consumers:

Flea Market Montgomery’s

Even though both JD Wentworth and Flea Market Montgomery spent limited money on their advertisements, Flea Market Montgomery’s lacked for several reasons.

For one, the ad was too long; in a time-poor society, lengthy commercials often create prepurchase dissonance and are  dismissed despite any actual marketing genius.

Secondly, the vocals were repetitive and uninteresting. If a jingle is going to be incorporated in a commercial, it MUST be aurally pleasing.

Finally, commercials are the first impression consumers have on a company. If there is any “choppiness” to the ad, then it comes off as lazy and a waste of lifetime.

I’m going to leave you with a series of ad campaigns by Dodd’s furniture, probably the greatest low-budget ads ever made:
Hindiana Dodd
Dodd’s Serta Trek
Wizard of Dodd

In Natasha Lomas’ article, she predicts that Apple will maintain their dominance in the tablet world until 2017 due to the release of the iPad mini. As well, Lomas estimates that the selling price of apps could fall as low as 8 cents per app, in order to keep the public eye intrigued. And with Windows 8, Blackberry 10, and other operating systems appearing, Apple will need to prepare for sharing their revenue with their competitors.

I think that Apple was always headed for a decline in revenue and attention because their new releases have been far less than spectacular. The iPad mini? iPhone 5? With very minute changes to their old products to create their new and “improved” lines, it’s shocking that RIM, Windows, or Samsung haven’t jumped at the chance to come out with a ground-breaking product.

As for the app price decrease, I’d have to completely agree. Paying one dollar or more for a game/song/tool just feels like far too much money is being given to the designers, given the large amount of people that must download the apps.

All things considered, Apple’s future profitability is going to decrease when they cannot produce another unique product.

I am going to elaborate on Christopher Yim’s post regarding the Canadian decrease in beer consumption over the previous ten years.

My whole family comes from various areas of Italy, all of which drink notable amounts of wine with every meal. However, on a warm summer’s day, there seems to be nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold Corona. Now, my personal opinions as to why the consumption of beer in Canada is decreasing and demand for imported wines and spirits is increasing comes from the fact that beer is relatively expensive in Canada (as opposed to USA, where a can of Coors is cheaper that a bottle of water), and wine can always be found at fair prices.

The range of wine prices varies greatly in the market. All with similar alcohol levels, cheap wine has been becoming more abundant because of the fact that people do not want to empty their wallets for a blood alcohol level of 0.15. This boost in popularity of wine was expected because of how much wine varies. There are specific wines for eating steak, cheese, or pasta, and I have yet to hear of a beer that would go well with filet mignon.

In the first 24 hours after Activision released “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2,” a record setting 500 million dollars was received in revenues. As astounding as this is, the video game industry must deal with one noticeable issue: constantly keeping gamers interested in their games.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Trailer

A very successful game must have an interesting storyline, fluid gameplay, and a uniqueness that sets it apart form the rest of the games. A growing obstacle that always glares in the face of game designers is the process of coming up with new ideas for games which allow consumers to gain a sense of self-reward from the experience. In my opinion, the normal approach to game design is slowly becoming too repetitive, and eventually, the gaming business will suffer losses in revenue.

My recommendation to firms such as Activision or Infinity Ward would be to focus less on originality, and increase the reward players receive. By giving the gamer a vicarious experience, the game will be more prone to get pleasing reviews. This way, the company can cut costs on graphics design, and expect a boom in sales.

Ever since 1930, Hostess Brands has been the sole producer of famous foods such as Twinkies, Ho Ho’s, and Wonderbread. However, recently the company announced that it is going to be liquidating its assets. This opened up opportunities for other companies to take part in the bidding for the rights to produce these extremely popular products.

So far this year, Twinkies have brought in sixty-eight million dollars in revenue. As well, there have been various Hostess products selling on E-Bay for as much as $5000. But how does a little yellow junk food become such a powerful asset to a company?

Twinkie Commercial

Twinkies have become so integrated in American lives because of dominant marketing. By always having clever slogans, and manipulating name-brand association, the Twinkie has become known throughout most of America. This highlights the importance of establishing a strong presence in the market as it’s developing. The junk food market is now well aware of how much potential to sell the Twinkie holds, and companies all desire to own the product. Through effective marketing, it’s possible to make a product live on for any company.

Links:
– http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/twinkie.htm
– http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/19/twinkies-to-survive-hostess-sale
– http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/twinkie-demise-sends–prices-sky-high-8327365.html