Finally it came to the end of the semester. I am very greatful for having such an excellent instructor who show the enchantment of marketing to us. I really enjoy the course. The lectures, assignments and blog postings are both challenging and interesting. It is more than the knowledge itself, it helped us to implement the course content to the real business world. Anyway, the course is awesome and i really like it.
Then, here is something not related to marketing itself but tips for exam preparation. Started within 3 days, hope everybody good luck ~
The 1st tip : Never fear or hate exam and be confident.
The 2nd tip: Prepare a good time table.
The 3rd tip: Select a proper atmosphere for studying.
The 4th tip : Sit well
The 5th tip : Make notes while studying.
The 6th tip: Sleep well and Eat well.
The 7th tip : Write and Present well.
The 8th tip: Never malpractise in exam hall.
The 9th tip: Believe in God, Believe in you.
The 10th tip: Good luck.
The greatest event throughout the year- Chrismas, is about to coming in one month. There is no doubt that all retailers and marketers are trying their best to attract more consumers. However, due to the economic recession in recent years, will the market experience a harvest this year? According to Deloitte Survey, across Canada, 44 per cent plan to spend less this holiday season than they did last year, four per cent plan to increase their spending, and 52 per cent plan to spend the same amount – which amounts to little or no change in consumers’ spending from the last two years. These data makes much sense than they appear to be. The newly applied HST in BC as well as the depreciation of US dollars makes the neighbourhood a paradise for shopping. Several friends of mine are planning go shopping in US during the vacation. It seems though economic is getting better, people are still cautious about their holiday budget.
I just found a really useful article in Yi Zhao’s blog about how different banks work on their customers primarilly offering them various benefits.
Link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/yizhao1/2010/11/07/6th-week-update/#comment-4
As a international student, when I first arrived in a totally unfimiliar country, I was totally confused about my accounts and made lots of mistakes (unpaid billings, unappropriate account, so many passwords). With the help of this article, now I can have a basic understanding of choosing the best bank for myself !!!
web link: http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/marketer/article.jsp?content=20101109_145531_7976
While “baked” and “fried” are usually methods of food preparation, in a decidedly un-PC ad campaign from Toronto greasy spoon Dangerous Dan’s Diner, they’re actually the target market.
The eatery, whose menu includes items like The Coronary Burger and The Big Kevorkian, has developed a campaign catering primarily to young adults experiencing drug–induced munchies.
Radio ads running exclusively on Ryerson University’s radio station, CKLN, feature unscripted, drug-fueled conversations on everything from Frisbee golf and Grease to how tattooed genitals will look on an old person.
All of the participants speak in the lazy drawl of the stoned, while each ad is filled with the sounds of laughing, frequent coughing and a bong burbling away in the background.
The radio ads are accompanied by a series of print ads showing Dangerous Dan’s menu items in all their greasy, drippy glory accompanied by messages like “You bake. We fry,” and “22% of Ontarians are obese. We can do better.” Some of the ads feature the tag “Dude, we deliver.” (Its success will likely hinge on whether its target audience can remember where they left the phone.)
The campaign was developed by Toronto’s Tattoo Sound + Music.
According to Forbes, Canada ranks 35 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with a percentage of 61.1% of its citizens with an unhealthy weight. So it is time to say no to fast food and get some excercise!
In recent years, I have been using several types of web browsers but unluckily I never found a perfect one. When I was viewing Derek Li’s blog, I saw an article (Creativity FTW) introducing Google Chrome and find it pretty interesting. I have been a Chrome user before and was not impressed by it. But the advertisement is really innovative and impressive. I totally agree with Derek about the primitive method to present the clip. We are so familiar with all kinds of ads presented in high technology ways and all of a sudden a manual and germinal ad just showed up. The huge difference completely drew my attention. There is no doubt Google is creating things with innovation.
Just found an interesting article called when should a company be funny in marketing from http://www.wordsellinc.com/blog/content-marketing-blog/using-humor-in-marketing/
Humor plays an important role in marketing areas such as campaigns and advertisements. However, not using appropriately, humor can be a double edged sword. The article provides 7 situations when humor will make a difference in marketing. The third one “when others are being serious” seems to be pretty outstanding. There are certain industries considered to be not appropriate for humor. As a result, the author argues breaking the rule and think out of the box will definitely get you noticed. But this again comes up with an ethical problem. For example, attending a funeral dressing up like Lady Gaga will obviously draw wide spread attention, but such behavior is really inappropriate in certain situations. Generally speaking, humor is a double edged sword, using it in a right way will be attractive while misusing it only leads to disaster.
Nowadays, children obesity has drawn widespread attention. There are multiple reasons for this phenomenon. Fast food is definitely one of the most important causes. On one hand, the huge amount of fat, energy and calories contained in fast food make children out of shape. On the other hand, compared to other healthy food, fast food does not provide the feeling of fullness. That is to say, no matter how much you had, you will hardly feel you are full. The conclusion when children eat fast food is that they are more likely to consume more of it than they would a meal prepared at home that included “healthy foods.”
Capturing the huge market, food manufactures will not miss the opportunity. By using bright colors and objects such as toys that are appealing to children, they attract and manipulate children. Such advertising strategies attract parents’ and health groups’ attention who try to eliminate effects brought by fast food ads on children. Some efforts have been made to stop making children believe fast food is always the way to go.(Mcdonald: Committed to communicating in a clear and responsible manner) There is still a long way to go to fight against marketing fast food to children.
In contemporary society, fierce competition in the field of advertising has drawn widespread attention. To some extent, advertising is not only a tool to attract consumers but also a weapon to knock down their direct competitors. Attack ad plays an important role in negative campaigns and serves to pointing out opponent’s faults and contrasting them against its own platform.
On one hand, attack ad is effective and impressing. In the video, AMD criticized NVIDIA’s product for its cooler system and try to focus on the “Keep Cool” campaign. There is no doubt that the best way to win a battle is to knock the opponent down directly. Therefore, attack ad points out the failure of the product and makes consumers think twice before their purchasing. Appealing to those who may not necessarily be interested in the area but happened to be watching television when the ad came on and were struck by the claims it made without knowing if they were true or not, attack ad effectively ruin the competitor’s reputation while advocating their own campaign.
On the other hand, attack ad might be both misleading and unethical. Obviously, statements in the ad may or may not be true, but regardless of its authenticity, statements in an attack ad are often exaggerated. What is worse, sometimes two companies are so much centered into getting their opponent down that they forget to do some actual improvements. After all, the most important way to build customers’ loyalty is building the brand instead of try to knock others down.
Web link: http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9895
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Toyota apologizes to Chinese consumers for improper ads
Japanese car maker Toyota Thursday apologized to Chinese consumers for running advertisements that many Chinese complained were aimed at humiliating them and domestic industry.
The advertisements, for two new types of cars – Prado GX and Land Cruiser – had drawn widespread indignation and criticism from China’s netizens, who see them as a deliberate act by the Japanese car firm to insult the Chinese. The two ads, which ran in the latest issue of Auto Fan, a Beijing-based monthly, look harmless enough at first glance, but many Chinese readers said they were furious at the implied message of Japanese superiority relayed by the advertisements.
The first ad shows a Toyota Land Cruiser pulling a broken-down truck, which looks similar to a Chinese military vehicle, up a rocky incline. The suggestion, according to critics, is that Japanese SUVs are more durable than China’s military equipment – a statement sure to draw heated remarks in China, considering Japan’s military past in the region.
Controversial Japan ads draw Chinese anger
Last December, the State-owned magazine Auto Fan published an advertisement for Toyota, showing one stone lion saluting and another lion kowtowing to a Prado, with the slogan: “You have to respect Prado.” In Putonghua, Prado is translated as Ba Dao, which means “high handed” or “supremacy”.
From this case, we can see the importance of ethical trends. There is no doubt that ethic is becoming increasingly important in contemporary society. Ethics are vital to the foundation of sustainable business relationships. According to International Ethical Business Registry, there has been a dramatic increase in the ethical expectation of businesses and professionals over the past 10 years. As a result, in marketing strategies, more emphasize should be drawn on ethical issues. Especially in a multi-culture world, a simple misunderstanding could cause severe trouble. Therefore, before marketing development or product development, certain research are necessary to make sure whether the product is appropriate for the targeting market.
It is also very critical to identify the characteristics of the potential customers. If Toyota’s case occurred in a western country, maybe it would not address such a huge problem. However, it chose to annoy the Chinese. Based on history of WWII, it is not surprise that the ad will cause such an unethical problem.
I just read an interesting article in the textbook. It argues that the so called “free gifts” increase the cost of the product or service and therefore mislead consumers about the “real” cost. Indeed, there are numerous ads saying that they are offering gift card, laptop and iPhones for free!!! However, if you understand that nothing is totally free in this real world, you will be able to find the tricks behind these “free gifts”.
First of all, you will have to take the risk of giving out your personal information even including your credit card number. In the video, the first step to win a free gift is usually updating your personal information, which makes it possible for your information being disclosed. Then, you have to invite some of your friends to be a member of the web, which makes the amount of potential vulnerable people even larger.
In addition, some of these “free gifts” also have lots of requirements. You may have to complete super complex surveys or purchase great many unnecessary items to win the gift. (Check this: Is the $1000 Free Wal-Mart Gift Card Really Free?)
There is no doubt that a free gift is a good way to make an offer more attractive. But more detailed regulations and laws are really necessary to control this grey area. Otherwise, free gifts will only deceive customers.
