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After reading Scott Song’s blog regarding Beats by Dr. Dre, I couldn’t help but think back to my summer of 2011 when I was considering buying a brand new pair of headphones. At the time, I was considering between three brands of headphones which were Beats by Dr. Dre, Bose, and Skullcandy. In the end I ended up purchasing a pair of Skullcandy earbuds which broke in a short time of three months, leaving me in much regret for buying them in the first place.

During my information search period of the buyer decision process, I looked into many different forums that compare the different headphones. In these forums, Skullcandy headphones have been said to have relatively good sound quality but break very easily. This I experienced first hand and agree they do in fact break really fast. However, the amount of reviews that showed satisfaction in Skullcandy headphones slightly out weighed the bad and so I chose the Skullcandys.

After taking Comm 296 marketing, I related back to this decision process and noticed how the opinion of other consumers affected my decision a lot more than the information on the company’s website. Seeing how Skullcandy had so many bad reviews regarding their malfunctioning headphones, they should consider finding ways to create customer satisfaction by engineering more lasting earbuds. This may help eliminate the bad reviews given by consumers and generate more sales.

As one of the most renown smart-phones out there, Apple’s iPhone has certainly grabbed a lot of attention. Everywhere we look on the streets we see people holding one, whether it be 4, 3gs, 3, etc. So how does Apple do it?

On Oct. 4, 2011, Apple announced it’s newest generation of the iPhone, the 4s. This video demonstrates all the functions of the iPhone 4s and tries to draw the audience into buying it, but who are they targeting?

At the beginning of the video, the vice president of the iPhone Product Marketing talks about the specs of the iPhone 4s. In my opinion, this is trying to target the younger, more demanding of their gadgets, segment of the market. Next, the video talks about Siri, their new personal assistant application. As it acts almost as a secretary, many business owners would be tempted to buy the 4s in order to stay more organized. In addition to Siri, business owners who travel will also be draw to the fact that the 4s is a world phone (can work anywhere in the world). The last major point they use to draw in customers is the eight megapixel camera. People who like to take photos will now have a reliable camera where ever they go. Not only does it take good pictures, it can also shoot 1080p videos, allowing the owners to record moments whenever they like.

It is amazing how Apple can market to three different types of potential customers in just five minutes. From technology fanatics with the new duo core, business people with Siri, to people who love pictures/videos, Apple has clearly appealed to all three of those segments.

What instantly comes to mind when you encounter a lingering odour?

In this Febreeze commercial, a red fish “swims” around the living room, drawing the attention of all the family members. It is later revealed that the fish represents the smell from a previous meal. After identifying the “fish”, the family turns to Febreeze to get rid of the odour, and a narrator explains how Febreeze doesn’t just cover up the odour, it eliminates it and leaves a delightful scent.

Given this commercial, it is evident that Febreeze is targeting households where home cooking is practised. However, close attention to details reveal even more subliminal  messages. For example the baby in the scooter at 0:05 of the video. This hints to the audience that Febreeze can also cover up the smell of the baby’s used diapers, appealing to the baby caretaker’s market.

In terms of how this commercial considers the macroenvironment of the company, we look at the trends going on in our current world. In our society, we are leaning heavily towards a more healthy living environment. This commercial exhibits how Febreeze doesn’t just cover up the odours caused by bad bacteria, it eliminates them. They appeals to the social trend of staying clean and healthy.

As for the rest of the marketing concepts applied to this Febreeze commercial, I will have to finish more of the course in order to analyze them.

It seems only it was yesterday that I was in the Swing building taking on my first public speaking presentation. I still remember being very nervous, so nervous to the point that my teeth were slightly chattering. Week by week, I am faced with the nerve racking anxiety that hits right before taking the front of the classroom. But as time went by, I noticed my teeth were no longer chattering, my speech grew increasingly clear, and my anxiety slowly disappeared. In addition to my new public speaking confidence and skills,  the second term of Comm299 has taught me many things regarding job interviews. For one, I have learnt how to make an effective resume and cover letter. And two, I have experienced a mock business interview. Even though it was a mock, I was able to experience the mood that would be present in a real interview. Overall, I found Comm299 to be a very useful course and the things I take away from it would definitely follow me for the rest of my life.

Throughout my life, there has always been authoritative figures that surround me and tell me what to do. My mom, dad, teachers, tutors, aunts, uncles, cousin, grandma, the list just goes on and on. However at a very young age, I learnt that it was not 100% necessary to listen to them; I had a right to say “NO”. This was completely true as these figures had no control over my will and my actions are all up to my own decision. However, there was this one person that could always order me around even when I was resilient to the commands, and that person is my elder brother. As an older brother, one can always just beat up the younger sibling and force him to submit to his orders, but my brother was different, he always used reasoning to convince me to do his work for him. This vibe he gives off is able to inspire people to do tasks for him. Whether it be at home asking my parents or I to do the dishes, or at volunteering events asking someone to run things around, people would never have any resistance to his orders. One day I hope to be able to match his interpersonal skills or even surpass them in order to maintain healthy relationships with everyone around me.

On Dec. 3, 2010’s Vancouver Sun, a column mentioned, “Dogs can foster greater employee trust and collaboration in the workplace.” I found this to be quite intriguing as I personally have a love for dogs. To look at this in terms of business, would it be beneficial to have dogs in a

workplace in order to create more trust between employees? Certainly it may help with boosting morale and collaboration, but dogs may also have negative effects. As not all people are dog lovers, some even being afraid of dogs, the presence of canines may frighten those workers and cause their productivity to decrease due to a constant fear. Another problem with dogs would be the chance of an employee having allergies, which would cause constant sneezing and sniffles and thus reducing productivity once again. This shows that new ideas should be thoroughly thought out before putting them into action. Next time you are given an innovative solution, think it out carefully before using it.

“There’s a soldier in all of us.” That is the tagline for Black Ops, Activision’s newest video game in their series of Call of Duty, and was shown in one of their commercials. This commercial features average people, with special guests Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel, in everyday clothing running around shooting guns along with explosions. With this commercial came controversy that emerged over the fact that it depicts war as something that is fun and glamorous. However, they fail to mention the physical and mental health concerns in soldiers, as well as the tragic outcomes of war on both sides of the battlefield. It is true that this commercial fails to send the message that the reality of war is a horror that should not be taken lightly, but has this commercial gone over the limit and should be banned? I personal do not feel this way. Although it does depict everyday people as soldiers, people should be logical to tell the difference between video games and real life. If they cannot achieve this differentiation, then they are not mature enough to handle these types of games as the rating of Black Ops is rate M for Mature. Of course there will be some issues with these commercials (it is a “war game”), but it is up to parents and guardians to ensure their next generation knows the difference between a game and life.

In November 26, 2010’s Vancouver Sun, an article introduced me to the term ‘MOMpreneur’. Mompreneurs are moms that carry out tasks that every other mother does, such as taking their kids to school and picking them up, caring for the kids when they are sick, as well as

playing with them when they get home. However, one thing sets these mompreneurs aside from regular soccer moms, and that is moms strive to reach their entrepreneur dreams. Take Julie Kelly for example. Kelly is a mother of two and has the daily routine of seeing her kids off to school and welcoming their return after school. The period between those two actions is where Kelly carries out with her business named Chilly Dogs. Her business is making clothing for large dogs, such as Great Danes, to keep these massive beasts warm during the winter. Although her business is small, Kelly’s Chilly Dogs home company is certainly successful with 25 per cent growth every year for the past decade. This comes to show that entrepreneurs can be anyone and still be successful if done with the right procedures.

On October 20, 2010, Apple released a redesigned version of the MacBook Air with two possible sizes, being 11 and 13 inches, to choose from. Compared to the 13” MacBook Pro, this device is often underpowered for some tasks, had not optical drive, and only has two USB ports. To add to this, the same sized, 13 inch, base model MacBook Pro is cheaper than the MacBook Air by one hundred dollars. So why are customers still driven to buy the MacBook Air? If they wanted something small and portable, they could’ve easily bought a netbook at a certainly lower price. On the other side, if they wanted a powerful laptop, they could’ve gone for the 13 inch MacBook Pro, which is still cheaper than the 13 inch MacBook Air. It is evident that it is neither the functions nor the price of the Air. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference and whether the customer is willing to use that money to buy the MacBook Air.

Last week, in my public speaking class, I was given the assignment of researching and presenting about Nike sweatshops. My findings about the sweatshops exceeded my expectations on the degree of immorality and inspired me to raise some awareness about this issue in our world. Workers of sweatshops are often moved into unsanitary living conditions where they are forced to work overtime with little pay. Despite the fact that sweatshops are constantly occurring in our world, nothing is being done about it. These workers are forced to work 16 hours a day, every day of the week and are often denied sick leave or access to adequate medical care. In addition to these horrible conditions, shocking high rates of sexual harassment has been found along with reports of frequent verbal and physical abuse. With their products being made with such low costs, where does all the revenue go? According to Thirdworldtraveller.com, Nike paid 105 million dollars in 2000 to sponsor Tiger Woods while sweatshop workers get 10 cents per hour. Given these facts, are you still willing to buy Nike products and support these slave houses?