Month: October 2014

Because we have yet to hear the official announcement of Snapchat Ads… I can only imagine what they will be like.

Why might the upcoming snapchat ads add value or not…

Snapchat is built around the idea of non-intrusiveness. When you open the app, you are not bombarded with anything. The only way you view anything is to opt-in by opening snapchats. If you choose to not open it, nothing happens. Don’t like what you see? Simply lift your finger off your screen, and the image or video instantaneously disappears. Similarly, people who view crowdsourced stories opt-in. Only those who are genuinely interested on what’s going on in that specific scene/event will see the content – you can rest assured that they are paying attention to the content. Spiegel says that Snapchat ads “would not be targeted to users based on tastes, and from his description, they will not interrupt users’ one-on-one communications”. This is consistent with snapchat’s current scene. In this aspect, I think ads that are viewed through crowdsourced stories will be effective in delivering messages to people who are relevant. It is up the each business to determine whether or not its brand is relevant to the specific “story”. 

On the other hand, Snapchat is built around the idea of short clips that ultimately “disappear” (well, for the most part. other than the numerous leaks). It may be difficult for businesses to deliver a call-to-action to Snapchat users when the ad only appears for a certain amount of time.

I’m sure a lot of you experienced the same thing I did, as one of the 81 million users. You were shuffling through your music playlist on iTunes or on your iPhone when an unfamiliar tune comes on – U2. Or you discovered numerous updates on social media about the mysterious U2 album automatically downloaded.

As marketing students, we are constantly reminded that it’s not about the reach. It’s about reaching the right people. You would much rather post an ad message in front of the few right people than to gets in front of every single person in the world. For the latter, often it will backfire with annoyance leading to negative perceptions of the intrusive brand.

“For the people out there who have no interest in checking us out, look at it this way: The blood, sweat and tears of some Irish guys are in your junk mail,” Bono said.  Why waste your resources on something that will make zero or even negative effects? Perhaps a better option would have been to gift the album (free download) – which would attract U2 fans and those who are interested. That would be a nice gift and likely be spread through social media – especially amongst the fans out there.

Living in Vancouver all my life, it’s hard to imagine purchasing a car through e-commerce. When I came across the article of “Why People Actually Buy Cars Online in China“, I was intrigued.

One of the key things that the article outlined was that articles on VW are shared via. WeChat. This is interesting because WeChat’s main demographic are Chinese. WeChat is an app for communication where you can also share articles to your friends and family, thus, it is quite personal. More than 90% use the online community (weibo) to research on cars. This emphasizes the importance of understanding the online community that your target market is in and how they behave on these online platforms.

As outlined in by Accenture in China’s automotive market report, research has been done to confirm that people in China rely on friends, family, social media and manufacturer’s website to make purchase decisions on cars. I imagine the automobile behaviour is quite different in North America, where I would rely on dealership visits and test drives. I began wondering where the difference lies between North America vs. China. One possibility may be that the Chinese spend more time on their mobile devices during their commute to and from work, relating to the point of “meet consumers where they are, not where you think they should be”. In the fast-paced lifestyle in China, it may be more convenient to just see an online video of vehicles, read friends and family reviews and recommendations, and refer to social media channels to influence purchase behaviour.

I cannot imagine myself purchasing a car without physically touching, feeling, and driving the vehicle before purchase. However, it will be interesting to see how consumer behaviour changes in North America over time. Will we end up trusting brands enough to make a big hefty purchase online?

Markers used to find celebrity endorsers for their advertisements. Now, marketers scout youTubers the become endorsers, influencers and brand advocates. Why does it work?

YouTubers are “just like you and me”. Almost every YouTuber has shared their story on how they started on YouTube (very likely through their “draw my life” video). The general theme that I get from watching YouTube stars: they emphasize that they are ordinary people. Because we get the gist that they are just like me, I tend to trust their opinions more than celebrities. Anything that celebrities endorse seems a lot more “played out” than a YouTuber talking about a product using their cameras at home. Of course, there are exceptions.

Before, I used to experiment with cosmetics based on price, packaging, product claims. Then, when I got a smartphone, I would do a quick google search on product reviews while I am roaming the aisles in the store. Now, I discovered the YouTube world of product reviews and “first impressions”. Whenever I am prepared to make a large purchase of cosmetic products, I will be sure visit YouTube first. I know which YouTubers have the same type of skin as myself and same type of eye shape (YES! It makes a difference in what kind of products to buy).

These videos are a lot more informative than you think! I like seeing product reviews in action. The videos that I find most helpful are when YouTubers share their raw experiences with a product. The experience can go from the smell of the product, the texture, how it applies, how well it lasts through out the day, etc.

Of course, YouTubers need to be careful when posting videos of product reviews. Maintaining a YouTube channel is very much like maintaining your own brand. Some YouTubers are branded as genuine while others have made the mistake of being solely money-hungry.