Category: COMM 296

Having been exposed to countless group projects throughout my high school education and some during my first year of university, group projects are nothing new to me. The introductions, first meetings, getting to know each other–it’s all something I enjoy about working in groups. Not being able to choose our own groups allowed me to meet classmates that I wouldn’t otherwise have met and that is one of the  takeaways from this project.

One of the main difficulties I faced with my team was time. It seemed that no matter how hard we tried to coordinate meeting times, none of us had mutual times that worked out for meetings. Luckily, with technology, we were able to do online meetings and did most of our work through their. We also took advantage of class time that was allotted for the project.

As for the project itself, I appreciated the fact that it was split into 3 sections. I find that having it separated into different assignments really allowed us to delve in and focus on each part. This way, our research was more thorough and our thoughts and ideas were more fleshed out, rather than if we were to do everything at the very end (since university students like to leave things to the very end!).

I’ve always enjoyed doing in-class presentations, but being able to shake things up a bit and do a video presentation instead allowed our team to be more creative and present our ideas in ways we wouldn’t in a traditional presentation. It brought out skills in team members that wouldn’t have been touched upon and allowed us to learn new techniques.

All in all, this project was definitely a worthwhile and educational process that I would recommend be continued in the coming years!

One of my favourite marketing blogs, Branding Magazine, has posted an article on Starbucks’ foray into a new business venture–trains.

And this isn’t just Starbucks deciding to be some train’s official coffee supplier or the sponsor. Oh no, Starbucks has decided it will create a new store…on rails. The new Starbucks train is completely functional and coffee-store styled train, complete with lounge bars, standing bars, and Starbucks’ array of pastries, and, of course, their coffees. So far, Switzerland is the first country to have these trains up and running.

The interior of the train will be reminiscent of the popular Starbucks stores, just re-adapted as a train.

Personally, I think this is a brilliant idea. For me, coffee always seemed like to staple for people who are on-to-go. What else is a better to bring with you when it’s early in the morning and you need to rush somewhere quick?

For those who tend to run a little late, being able to grab a coffee while you’re reaching your destination probably seems like the best idea in the world. And it sort of is. No longer do people have to purposely stop by a local Starbucks to grab their morning wake-up calls, all they have to do is hop on their designated train and let the barista on board of the train take care of that for you.

And lastly, where do people tend to go when they need to get work done? A coffee shop of course. So now not has Starbucks created a space for people to relax and get work done, they can travel while doing so!

Starbucks has taken “on-the-go” to a whole new level.

This blog post is a response to Kristine’s “New Google Ad will make you cry, without understanding a word that is said“:

It seems like nowadays, many advertisements are focused on playing with the viewer’s heartstrings. Recently, I viewed one of Skype’s addition to their “reunion” themed advertisements about two girls named Sarah and Paige who both are born with only one arm. Needless to say, it was hard to get through this video without feeling a tug of emotion and a tear or two.

After watching the Google ad that Kristine posted about, the same tugging feeling happened again. Kristine’s post highlights the fact that Google is constantly reminding us of how often we use their services and how much we rely on them to tell us things like what the weather is, what flights are happening between which countries, and even help reconnect two long-lost childhood friends. She also mentions how Google was able to show their brand without overtly showcasing their brand.

However, what I took away from watching the video is how that by targeting our emotions, the advertisement has made itself memorable, worthwhile, and, most importantly, note-worthy. By note-worthy, I mean that it’s now worthy of being passed around social media. It’s now become interesting to watch. Rather than being one of those ads that appear before a Youtube video that you want to watch, it’s now the video you want to watch. You don’t want to click away from this advertisement–you’re clicking to watch it. And that is the biggest feat of all in terms of advertisements. How many advertisements get overlooked and skipped? Too many too count.

What Google has done with this touching video is a sign of brilliant marketing.

For fellow insomniacs out there who’ve found themselves doing nothing but sitting in from of the television watching infomercials, have you ever wondered if anyone in their right mind actually falls for the exaggerated benefits and supposedly limited time offers?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise though, that infomercials are still airing because they do work!

An article by Rohit Bhargava simply sums up why infomercials are so effective. According to him, there are 5 core lessons to be learned from watching these half-hour long commercials:

1. They have a backstory
2. They show the product in action
3. They use real testimonials
4. They make a specific offer
5. They give a reason to act now

By providing a backstory, they are able to pique interest in the product in customers who weren’t even aware they were interested. They suddenly find themselves curious as to how the product came to be and why it was invented. Once they’ve hooked the customer in, the show the product in action. This proves to potential customers that the product works. It shows off how easy it is to use, how convenient it’ll make your live be, and so on and so forth. They do so until you’re convinced you might actually need this over-sized blanket with holes for your arms and head.

To reinforce that, they provide testimonials of people who gush about how great the product is and how it changed their lives. Finally, they give you an amazing offer, a special pricing or discount, and for the finale, they give you a reason to act quickly.

How many times have we heard “pick up the phone now” or “call within xx minutes” for such and such limited time offer? Too many times to count.

This tried and true method has proven to be gold as the infomercial industry is currently a $4 billion one.

It’s no shocker that obesity rates are on the rise. It’s also no surprise that the blame for obesity has fallen on the soda and fast food industry. So why do these companies like to depict healthy and physically active people on their television commercials and advertisements? What happened to truth in advertising?

One particular soda company that comes to mind when it comes to promoting a healthy lifestyle: Coca-Cola. Over the years Coca-Cola has been an active sponsor in major sports competition such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. They have also hosted healthy lifestyle initiatives to help get people get off their bums and on their feet.

Does this take away from the fact that their product is one of the main components of an unhealthy diet?

This method of depicting an image that is so vastly different from what we know to be true seems to be  the company’s subtle way of diverting attention away from the non-nutritious aspects of the drink and shifting the blame from them to the consumer. In a way, they’re trying to say that if the drinker gains weight, it’s not Coca-Cola’s fault; it’s the drinker’s. 

On the surface, Coca-Cola seems to be proud supporters of reducing the obesity trend. In truth, they are using such marketing methods to detract attention from the unhealthy downside of the sugared drink while also increasing their product sales and target market.

Links:

• Healthland