Being on exchange here at UBC, I am very glad to have had the opportunity to be involved in this video assignment. It was unlike any assignments at my home university in England, as it involved a lot more creativity and originality. The whole process from planning the scenes, to filming, to recording the voice-overs and editing the video clips was an interesting experience, a welcome change from the typical group presentation where each student has to explain their slides.

Initially, I couldn’t really imagine how it would work out, given that neither of us knew much about video-making, but it brought us together as a group. Although group assignments are known to involve conflicting opinions, in this particular group I think everyone was very comfortable and different perspectives simply helped to improve the final outcome. We all tried to contribute however we could, and we ended up really enjoying parts of the project, particularly the filming where great acting talents came to light.

It was however, more time-consuming than other assignments, as we had to learn how to use the video technology. Also, at times we had difficulty coming up with ideas about how to express the content of our project in the form of a video. Then again, having had these issues means that the next time we are required to produce a video, we’ll be more prepared, so it has served as a valuable learning experience.

Public relations (PR) involves managing the communications and relationships of a business to achieve various objectives by generating attention from the media. According to our marketing course textbook, one of these objectives is to build and maintain a positive image of the firm. However, a blog post ‘Brand reputation and why all PR is actually good PR (unless you’re already famous)’ on the ‘Influential Marketing Blog’ (link below) got me thinking about the potential effect of public relations.

Creating brand awareness is an important objective. In the introductory stage of the product life cycle, consumers need to know about the new product, referred to in the mentioned blog post as ‘the challenge of obscurity’. In the maturity/decline stages, consumers often need to be reminded of the product. Especially for companies with a strong vision and core values, maintaining a good reputation is essential.

If any PR really was good PR, wouldn’t marketers have a simpler job? If any kind of attention a company is attracting will be beneficial then companies wouldn’t invest so much time and money in coming up with the right promotion and activities for the company to be associated with.

In 2012, during Hurricane Sandy, the clothes retailer American Apparel sent out emails offering a 20 percent off sale if customers typed “SANDYSALE” in the online checkout “in case you’re bored during the storm.” This sparked a lot of controversy especially on Twitter, with mainly very negative responses. Attempting to promote their products during a tragic natural disaster was extremely inconsiderate and a clear example of when PR can harm the way consumers feel about a company.

Therefore, I think it is important to focus on what consumers are actually saying about a brand rather than simply ensuring it is being talked about.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/10/31/american-apparels-hurricane-sandy-sale-brilliant-or-boneheaded/

After reading Ryan’s blog post ‘Tim Hortons Gets Artsy’ about Tim Hortons’ new advert, I agreed that it was quite effective and it got me thinking about how competitive the coffee market is.

The Tim Hortons commercial is essentially a description of their distribution channel, how their coffee gets to the customer, from sourcing the coffee beans to buying a cup of coffee in the store, portrayed in a very artistic way.

Consumers have a variety of options in this market, which means that companies really need to work on differentiating their product/brand somehow. This is backed up by Ryan’s points about Tim Hortons attempting to retain market share by promoting the quality of its coffee. I think that locating in the right areas is also an important factor, as many times consumers will simply get their coffee at the nearest coffee shop if they don’t have strong preferences for a certain company.

It is interesting to contrast this promotion that Tim Hortons uses to the promotional tactics of smaller less known coffee shops. I was reminded of when Andrew McKee, the owner of Great Dane Coffee located in UBC gave us a first-hand perspective on this in our marketing class. He mentioned that the promotion of his shop was mainly by word-of-mouth and if you have a good product, consumers will themselves recommend it to others. This seems to be an example of when social factors affect the consumer decision process, in this case recommendations from family/friends and reference groups.

Therefore, I think even though both of these are coffee shops offering similar products, each of them will decide on their promotion based on their resources and what their customers seem to respond well to.

Tim Hortons coffee cup

Great Dane coffee cup

When established brands introduce new products, they need to ensure they maintain their brand image and this can be difficult to do.

A line extension involves the use of the same brand name within the same product line and increases the depth of a product line. Usually, trying something which is a variation of a product consumers know and trust is less risky than trying an entirely new product. Even then, some line extensions have been unsuccessful.

An example of this would be PepsiCo’s ‘Pepsi AM’ released in 1989, when there seemed to be a decline in coffee sales. Attempting to capture the market for morning beverages, PepsiCo introduced this soft drink with 28 per cent more caffeine per ounce than the original Pepsi. However, the consumer response was mostly negative as the idea of soda with breakfast was not appealing, and it was discontinued in 1990. I think PepsiCo had the wrong target market here, expecting coffee-drinkers to break away from a traditional breakfast.

Pepsi AM

A brand extension involves the use of the same brand name in a different product line. This can be risky because if the new product does not live up to consumers’ expectations of a particular brand, it can adversely affect their views of the brand in general. At the same time, a positive reaction could lead to increased sales and profits.

An example of this would be Duracell’s Powermat, released in 2013. This provides wireless charging for mobile devices by placing your phone in a specific phone case and on the powermat, as well as a back-up portable battery for emergencies. The company recognized a need for on-the-go chargers. Thanks to its strong reputation for high quality batteries, the company managed to use its core strengths to create a successful product in a different category.

Duracell Powermat

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/2/prweb10389667.htm

http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/top-25-biggest-product-flops-of-all-time/#!slide=982932

Many leading companies are currently using shorter commercials to advertise their products, with 15 seconds being the new 30. It was challenging enough to get consumers informed about a product and persuaded to buy it in 30 seconds, now marketers are increasingly attempting to achieve this in about half the time. This includes companies in a variety of industries such as Kraft, Pepsi, Old Spice and Samsung.

One reason for this is the fact that as consumers, our attention spans are decreasing. When watching videos on sites like Youtube, commercials can now be skipped so viewers are paying less attention to ‘long’ TV commercials. At the same time, longer commercials mean consumers are exposed to the brand for a longer time and are sometimes more memorable.

Also, the more relevant reason to do this would be the current economic conditions leading to lower advertising budgets. If the same message can be conveyed to consumers in less time, the adverts could even be aired more frequently.

According the market research company Kantar, over half the commercials run by packaged-goods companies and 60 percent of fast-food ads are 15 seconds. Thanks to brand recognition, by showing a picture of the product offered and its price, consumers instantly get the message. Although this may be the case for established well-known brands, it is often more difficult for less-known brands. Newer businesses may still need to create awareness among consumers about what they are offering, in which case longer adverts may be more appropriate.

I think in today’s world as we are constantly exposed to such a vast number of products and services, it’s understandable that we get distracted easily and so shorter ads seem like a good idea as long as they provide all the information necessary.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-18/news/42183297_1_scarecrow-communications-ads-quikr

http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20101028/15-seconds-of-fame-new-tv-ads-snappy-short-cost-half-as-much

Until recently, ethics were not highly featured when thinking about marketing. However, lately  there seems to have been quite a shift towards marketing approaches with a positive initiative behind them, with companies not just meeting ethical standards but actually implementing marketing tactics that aim to improve communities as well as promote their business.

Buy-one-give-one (BOGO) is when for every product purchased by a consumer, one is donated to a person in need.TOMS shoes, the footwear brand launched in 2006 is one of the most popular examples of this approach, with their ‘One-for-One Movement’. Another example is Smile Squared, a business donating a toothbrush (seen as a basic necessity) to a child in need for every $6 tootbrush purchased. This approach is becoming increasingly popular possibly due to the fact that it enables consumers to do a ‘good deed’ in a clear direct way, thereby making the consumers feel good themselves. In these cases, even if the product is slightly more expensive, consumers may still be willing to purchase it in the name of philanthropy.

However, nothing is ever perfect and even these attempts have some faults. In areas where TOMS shoes are distributed, local footwear businesses are facing difficulties. Also, donations have always been seen to create an aid-based dependency in the countries that receive them. The distribution of shoes is seen as a short-term fix in communities where long-term sustainable solutions are more necessary.

Having said that, I think it is definitely a step in the right direction.  These companies could be investing their resources on other marketing tactics which could increase their short-term profits. It seems as though companies are increasingly relying on the possible long-term benefits expected from using ethics and social responsibility in marketing.

http://www.nusereview.com/2013/04/09/bogo-a-marketing-campaign-or-social-impact-tool/

Smile Squared Mission Video

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