Month: November 2010

It seems these days everything is about sex. Should we have to be subjected to these degrading advertisements? These advertisements objectify women, and make us feel worthless.

These ads from BMW, Dolce and Gabbana, and Calvin Klein really heat it up. They all perceive woman as an object, that can be treated in whatever way the man finds suitable. It is offensive to women, but where should we draw the line?

Now, I’ve had enough of it all, the company’s responsible for these ad’s have gone to far, and done it too much. Yes sex sells, but we’ve seen it all before. It is overplayed, and I for one am sick of it. I have seen enough partially naked men and women to last me a life time.  Other than these ads being extremely offensive, they are are being pushed upon consumers, do we really need to see them every way we look. These ads are too risqué for our streets. With young, impressionable children playing, how will they interpret these sexy ads? What will this mean for our next generation?

I think there need to be stricter guidelines for advertising campaigns, and possibly censorship if they have gone too far. According to the Canadian Marketing Association, “Marketers must not participate in the dissemination of unsolicited material that is sexually explicit, vulgar or indecent in nature, except where required to do so by law, such as a common carrier.” The problem with this guideline is the fact that it is very subjective, an ad that I might find vulgar, might be innocent to others. So, I think the CMA needs to define what is sexually explicit, vulgar, or indecent, even if it goes so far as to measure how much skin is allowed to be showed, or even what kind of acts.

I think retailers have the advantage when it comes to giving a customer a great experience. The atmosphere in a store can be what draws us in, or drives us away. Having come across Bass Pro Shops, it is a great example of what draws in a customer.

Bass Pro Shops is an outdoor sporting goods store. The inside theme is one that you would find, outside. They have mountain scenes, equipped with big horn sheep; ponds filled with fish; and even a waterfall! And each location’s set up varies.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d go to this store just for its environment. They’ve even got the ponds stocked with fish so you can try out casting on a new rod! It’s every girls dream! Ok, not every girls, just me. Its a complete masterpiece, kinda like Disneyland to children. This store is along the lines of a department store, its got everything, from mens and womens apparel, shooting ranges, and even a restaurant. Pro Bass Shop attracts customers based on there environment, they offer an experience that other outdoor stores don’t.

Another good example of stores that successfully sell their experience is the Rain forest Cafe. The environment is a rain forest, with vines hanging everywhere, large aquariums with exotic fish, and animals making sounds. I believe the target markets is mainly families, because it is lots of fun for children. But, no matter how old I get I will always enjoy it, it is something different than the regular streamline restaurants like Earls, or Kelsey’s.

There are other stores that I avoid, such as Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch . They have a dark atmosphere, with an intoxicating smell, and I don’t mean intoxicating in a good way, I mean knock you to the floor, head injury intoxicating.

This is a picture of the inside of a typical Hollister store, its very dim, which makes it difficult to see the colours and the true style of the clothing. You pick out a pink shirt in the store only to bring it into real light and its suddenly yellow. The atmosphere of this store is targeted to younger segments, I would say young high school students, because I remember at one time enjoying shopping there, but wouldn’t step foot in there now. I do remember not liking the sales staff, I perceived them as the “perfect teenager” and didn’t really get the sense of welcome when you walked through the doors, it was more judgement.

The experience of a store is half the fun, and can be a sustainable competitive advantage.

Harry Potter. Enough said.

There is no words to describe my feelings for the Harry Potter, and no way  to even doubt the fact that I, along with thousands of others are loyal followers.

The adoption of Harry Potter culture all begins with the ultimate fans. The first group to adopt HP are the innovators, those fans that have been loyal from the beginning, who have read all the books, gone to the midnight book releases, and waited in line for the movies, dressed in cloaks, with wands in hand. These innovators know all the characters, and even the spells (Wingardium Leviosa, just saying, thats how cool I am). They also help gain the market acceptance, let their friends know how good the book is.

The next group is the early adapters, those who weren’t there from the beginning, they have read all the books, and seen all the movies, but haven’t taken their  love for HP to the next level like the innovators have. They have a good idea of the plot line, but don’t reread the book for the small details that have been missed like the innovators do. They do love the idea of HP, and enjoy the read and entertainment. The early adapters are the opinion leaders, they spread the word on the quality of the book and movies, and that HP is worth the time and investment.

The third group of early majority would be those who borrow the books from friends to read, and see the movies, just not on opening nights. They have bought into HP once others has accepted it.

The fourth group is late majority, those who just watch the movies, and probably rent them. Why read the books when you can watch the movies?

The fifth group is laggards those who don’t read the books, or watch the movies, unless they are on TV.

HP7: The Deathly Hallows, for me has been one of the most anticipated movies of my life. When I PVR shows, I actually save them so I can watch the HP preview over, and over again. The marketing for the HP movies has caught a generation and is one of the most well-known movie releases of our time. HP which I would say was once thought of as a social trend, is now part of a culture, even universities have created quidditch leagues. It has caught consumers from all different types of segments, all ages, genders, areas, lifestyles, and cultures. I would say it is the ultimate product, and the most successful marketing.

Game consoles really have it made, its so easy to market the original console, and as soon as that first sale is made, they have a loyal customer.

Wii has many accessories, product development is a must for Wii, because consumers aren’t willing to buy a new version of the console repeatedly. So, instead they use product development to create new accessories, and new games. By making must have accessories for each game, they increase their sales for the current product (Wii Console) while still using the same consumers.

Wii had a sustainable advantage above the other consoles, being the only one using motion sensor, but now that there is a new competitor in the market, Playstation move, how will Wii react to maintain their advantage. Who will come out on top?

Having a chance to look up some information, digital trends, seems to think the the playstation move is a better system, having better inertial sensors and can not only sense what direction your moving in, but where you’ll end up and how close you are to the tv.  I I personally think what it comes down to is consumer loyalty, I am a loyal wii customer, and wouldn’t think of switching, now if Xbox came out with a new sensory system, thats another story.