Marketing Blog

I had mixed feelings about the final part of our marketing group project being a video assignment. One one hand, it seemed as though it would be far more interesting than a regular presentation, and I usually enjoy creative work. On the other, I knew it would probably mean lots of work – brainstorming ideas, planning, filming, editing… Now that we have finished our video, I can safely say that I had quite a good experience with it all in all.

Forming a group in the beginning didn’t quite go smoothly for me, and I was grateful that Daniel, Julie, Alex and Simon accepted Tim and I as latecomers into their group. I felt as though the diversity in our group gave us an edge; we all had unique perspectives and skill sets that we brought into the project, and I enjoyed getting to know my group members better. Most of the time, we were focused on the tasks at hand and worked well together. Sometimes however, I feel we could have managed time a bit better as our meetings ended up running quite long, especially in the filming stages.

The project itself was interesting to do, although I had zero knowledge on cars, the products we focused on. I learned lots not only from doing research for my assigned parts but through my group members and their work. My lack of initial knowledge prevented me from making large contributions to the group which I regret, but I tried to make it up by spending lots of time brainstorming and filming the video. I really liked our group’s ideas for the video (time lapse and drawings). I am satisfied with our final product and had a good time working with my group through this term.

2013 has been a significant year for the gaming community. Not only were several major blockbuster titles such as Grand Theft Auto V, Assassin’s Creed IV and Call of Duty: Ghosts released, this year hailed the launches of two next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft – the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, respectively. The consoles have been subject of heated debates in gaming communities. So-called “fanboy wars” were and still are a common sight, Sony and Microsoft fans fiercely defending their favourite console. The most common point of discussion, of course, are the successes and failures of each console’s launch. In regards to this, Brandchannel comments that Microsoft’s overly ambitious targeting of a broader audience has cost the Xbox One (which I’ll refer to as the X1), or rather, benefited the PS4.

The above ad confirms Microsoft’s marketing message for the X1 – to be an all-in-one home entertainment system. Was it really a wise move on Microsoft’s part to attempt to sell the X1 to a much wider audience? Obviously, the largest user groups of gaming consoles are, well, gamers. There is a certain reputation, I think, that gaming consoles bear in the eyes of people who have no interest in video games. It isn’t necessarily a positive one. If they wanted the X1 to join the ranks of regular home entertainment devices, I don’t think Microsoft presented a strong enough incentive for non-gamers to purchase it over their usual choices.

Brandchannel mentions that Sony on the other hand has been focusing solely on its regular target segment of console gamers, which may be giving it an advantage over its competitor. Sony had the edge over Microsoft’s on-the-fence marketing strategy which left neither gamers nor mainstream consumers fully convinced. This goes to show how crucial selecting an appropriate target segment is in marketing a product. Aiming big isn’t necessarily the best.

After reading my fellow classmate Eunice Park’s post which discussed the merits of viral Youtube videos as a marketing tool, I initially agreed with her sentiments. However, after further thought, I began to feel less sure. I tried to recall examples of truly successful viral video marketing and none immediately came to mind. Of course, this can possibly be attributed to me usually spending time on Youtube only watching videos with a tight focus on my interests such as music, movies and video games.

And here lies the problem of attempting to use viral Youtube videos for marketing – I don’t believe that reaching such a large number of consumers is as easy as it sounds, even with the widespread use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. A comment on this article about viral videos sums up my thoughts on this – saying “I’m going to create a viral video” is akin to saying “I’m going to write a bestselling novel”. A firm cannot control whether or not their video creation goes viral. According to the statistics page of Youtube, 100 minutes of video are uploaded to the site every minute. For a video to go viral in this vast sea of material, it has to have something that makes it stand out. Finding that ‘something’ is no doubt difficult.

How many so-called ‘viral’ videos were actually intended to be advertisements? Here is a list of 2012’s most-shared Youtube videos. Out of the ten videos listed, only two are ads (“A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square” by TNT, “Best Job” by Procter & Gamble). I think viral videos may seem like a great marketing tool at first glance but in reality is too unreliable a method to be used regularly for marketers.

It’s said that PSY never expected his song to become such a phenomenon. This is quite a common instance in viral videos – they’re unpredictable, sometimes unintended.

In order to make advertisements grab the attention of the masses, advertisers often rely on provocative imagery — commonly, sex or violence. Ads that imply questionable values or messages also seem to be frequent. For example, far too many fashion advertisements are overly sexualized and perpetuate both male and female stereotypes, as in the examples presented here by Business Insider.

I think relying excessively on shocking and provocative imagery for marketing is unethical. These types of ads can promote or glorify dangerous notions, such as that of sexual aggression shown in the image above. Of course, it catches one’s eye, but is it necessary to achieve this in such a tasteless and frankly offensive manner? Should it be acceptable to make viewers uncomfortable and to glamorize something like gang rape for the sake of selling a product?

“Oh, it’s just a silly fashion ad,” one might say, “Everyone knows it’s not real. I won’t let that affect my thinking.”

Perhaps because it is so pervasive and ingrained into our daily lives, many seem to dismiss the significant impact advertising has on us.  Advertising agencies hold huge power over us and the messages that they convey become hammered into our consciousnesses, without us realizing it. This is especially true for this age of widely available media and information. Advertising may be one of the biggest forces that shape our ways of thinking and values, so the damage that can be done through even seemingly insignificant fashion ads is huge. Although it is the marketer’s job to sell products first and foremost, consideration should be taken into how their methods may affect viewers. It is important that companies take the responsibility of thoughtfully evaluating what they are feeding to the public through ads and commercials.

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