kayanlok's Blog

In several of my classmates’ blogs mentioned Apple as well as its compeitor RIM. One of them was “RIM is losing but not lost”  which states the strategy as well as advantages RIM could use to bring back the market. Not to criticize RIM, its products and strategies do, of course are quite successful, however I believe that Apple’s branding is on a whole different level.

Different than many technology companies which brand themselves focuses on products. Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. The Apple brand personality is about lifestyle; imagination; liberty regained; innovation; passion; hopes, dreams and aspirations; and power-to-the-people through technology. The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity and the removal of complexity from people’s lives; people-driven product design; and about being a really humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers.

RIM’s brand image of being profession and convenient still markets blackberry as a tool, no matter how good it is, it still a tool only. On the other hand, Apple brand is not just intimate with its customers, it’s loved, and there is a real sense of community among users of its main product lines. The brand equity and customer franchise which Apple embodies is extremely strong. The preference for Apple products amongst the “Mac community”, for instance, not only kept the company alive for much of the 90’s (when from a rational economic perspective it looked like a dead duck) but it even enables the company to sustain pricing that is at a premium to its competitors.

From a brand architecture viewpoint, the company maintains a “monolithic” brand identity – everything being associated with the Apple name, even when investing strongly in the Apple iPod and Apple iTunes products. Apple’s current line-up of product families includes not just the iPod and iTunes, but iMac, iBook, iLife, iWork, iPhone, iPad, and now iCloud. However, even though marketing investments around iPod are substantial, Apple has not established an “i” brand. While the “i” prefix is used only for consumer products, it is not used for a large number of Apple’s consumer products (eg Mac mini, MacBook, Apple TV, Airport Extreme, Safari, QuickTime, and Mighty Mouse).

Overall, Apple’s branding strategy is evolutionary and unique in its very core concept in comparison to its competitors or just about any other electronics businesses. I firmly believe it is such a differentiated concept that’s been capturing the customers rather than simply who superior its products are. Hence it illustrates to us the vital importance of branding.

Recently, I have noticed a website that talked a great deal about pricing strategy: http://bx.businessweek.com/pricing-strategy/blogs/. The topic ranges from pricing strategy to new entrants to general discussion about other pricing strategies. There ‘s one that caught my attention: pricing to consumers expectation which is the same as the book definition of consumer value pricing.

Now first of all , this is a rather difficult pricing strategy to find the customer’s perceived value for a particular product, let along the fact that everyone has a different perceived price as well as reservation pricing. Technically speaking, individual pricing, charging each customers his/her reservation price is the best strategy for the firm since it can capture both the consumer as well as producer’s surplus. However, it is impossible to put to reality, the only example would a very good second car dealer which still might not exact such a pricing strategy. Also there’s risk involved with customer value pricing, not only the information is too hard to collect and are usually incomplete, but also the fact that if consumers’ perceived value for the products is lower than the production cost for it will result the firm suffering from a loss.

Pricing, when done properly, is one of the most difficult tasks any business faces. Yet it is usually only given a perfunctory once-over.  Customers have a range in mind that they’re willing to pay, but if you ask them, cheaper is always better.  Ask a customer what they paid for something after the fact, and they’ll probably have a hard time remembering exactly.  Price something too low, and people wonder about the quality.  Price too high, and you’re out of budget.  How can you meet your customer’s expectations without directly asking them? But come to think about it why not asking them, indirectly of course. For instance, a questionnaire regarding their purchasing pattern such as for substitute products or supplements, as well as their household income to determine the approx amount their are willing to pay for the product.

Also segmenting the market into small segments, then target a specific one using this pricing strategy is not such a bad idea. If extract every customer’s perceived value is too hard then narrow the customer numbers down, such as by house hold income, geographical (nation’s GDP to estimate), etc.

Given that, even if a firm’s not going after this pricing strategy, it is still a wise idea to consider what’s customers’ perceived value.

Everyone has a certain quality vs price tradeoff that they’re willing to make for any given product or service.  There’s a quality level below which no one will pay.  Same as a high quality level.  In order for someone to be willing to pay for your product, you need to be within their range.

Think about the different stores where you can buy groceries.  There’s Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Kroger, Hiller’s, Walmart, Meijers, etc.  There are also more direct sources such as farmer’s markets and co-ops.  Each of these locations targets a specific price vs. quality niche.  For customers willing to pay for top quality foods and convenience, Whole Foods is their store of choice.  For those who are more price sensitive, Walmart is the choice (where there is still a certain threshold for quality).  Even lower on price are discount food stores where people are willing to pay even less for less quality.

“Nike is successful at success at success” A puzzling title yet inspiring title by Jessica Li that has caught my attention. The blog summarized Nike’s blazing success at its focus on business sustainability as well as its resonance on its audience with its” fast and powerful” image.

First of all, Nike is arguably one of  the most established marketing leaders, however just as famous is its scandal of “sweat shops”. The undoubted global trend of increasing awareness of “green” has put enormous weight on firms to take social responsibilities. Learning from the “sweat shop” mistake which led Nike to a loss of over 10 million dollars, Nike takes initiatives this time to implement its already successful products. Since 2007, Nike has reduced the emissions produced by its facilities nearly 15%. The company made a conscious decision to stop focusing on purchasing renewable energy certificates and start focusing on managing actual reductions. This has taken Nike’s 2009 energy footprint back down to 2007 levels. “Sustainability is key to Nike’s growth and innovation,” Mark Parker, Nike’s CEO, said in the report’s press release. “Making our business more sustainable benefits our consumers who expect products and experiences with low environmental impact, contract factory workers who will gain from more sustainable manufacturing, and our employees and shareholders who will be rewarded by a company that is prepared for the future.”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_-gU5B0HAw[/youtube]

Adding an additional social cost line to the supply curve is definitely a smart idea by Nike, with its new ads and campaigns allowing customers to be fully aware of its social responsible actions contributes in creating brand loyalty. Personally, I do adore Nike’s products, knowing its green and from a fair wage workers makes the purchase far more comfortable even if the price is slightly expensive. Even consumers from those of developing countries are gaining awareness of the social impacts due to business activities, in order to keep capturing these emerging markets as well as lead in market shares global wise Nike will have to make business sustainability an essential components to its marketing mix.

Moreover, remember Jessica mentioned Nike’s success at marketing the image so that customers would feel the same way.  From my point of view this is the biggest success of Nike’s marketing strategies—-to let consumers identify with the brand. A personal example would be my boyfriend who has been a loyal Nike fans and he holds firm the belief that Nike shoes would actually make you become a better player and even make you jump higher. Being as bizarre as it sounds to me, Nike does have its way. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fCdWXNaZwA[/youtube] Nike, just like any other sports brand, spends huge amount of money on famous athletes, such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James etc. to portray the so called “fast and powerful” image. I believe Nike took it further by asking athlete to actually explain how the shoes will enhance performance as well as asking them to use it in matches. Just like video, it is convincing to ears of someone who can’t differentiate a basketball from a soccer, let alone to someone who’s a completely LeBron fans. Keeping releasing the latest series under players’ names has successfully segmented the market in a very creative way. Also a brilliant way to keep all the fans at their toes and emptying their pockets for the latest release knowing they already have a dozen of pairs !

Hi,my name is Sallyan and this is my second year in Sauder. I went to high school in Abbotsford and I found that I have much more fun living in Vancouver because of the good food everywhere.
My recent experience with marketing is to work as a marketing intern for the Vancouver Fashion Week. My duty of this job was to develop strategies and plans with my marketing teammates to promote the event to the world.
The reason why I take Comm296 because this is part of the course requirement in Sauder.
On the other hand,one of my favorite ads is the Cudbury commercial in which there are two children sitting in front of a grey backdrop at a photographer’s studio and move their eyebrows up and down to the beat of a song.I think this commercial fulfilled its marketing purpose in a great extend since it left people a strong impression of the brand.This ad was so popular and it has been viewed more than four million times on YouTube and similar sites in its first three weeks.

Hi,my name is Sallyan and this is my second year in Sauder. I went to high school in Abbotsford and I found that I have much more fun living in Vancouver because of the good food everywhere.
My recent experience with marketing is to work as a marketing intern for the Vancouver Fashion Week. My duty of this job was to develop strategies and plans with my marketing teammates to promote the event to the world.
The reason why I take Comm296 because this is part of the course requirement in Sauder.
On the other hand,one of my favorite ads is the Cudbury commercial in which there are two children sitting in front of a grey backdrop at a photographer’s studio and move their eyebrows up and down to the beat of a song.I think this commercial fulfilled its marketing purpose in a great extend since it left people a strong impression of the brand.This ad was so popular and it has been viewed more than four million times on YouTube and similar sites in its first three weeks.

Comm 299 is a very useful class. During my time at the class, I have learnt much more about myself as well as a lot of skills that would make me a better candidate in the future job market.  Also, in the class, we were introduced a personal development tool called Strengthsquest; by using this tool, I learnt that I have the themes of deliberative, empathy, futuristic, competition and harmony. Knowing these themes allows me to understand my strengths and weakness and thus I will able to choose the most suitable jobs for myself according my interest and ability. As well, I believe the interview skills and the resume writing skills that I learnt from class will make me a great candidate in job applying in the future.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzzIu4LO_-g[/youtube]I’m an international student from Hong Kong. Before I came to Canada, I took an exam called Hong Kong Certificate of Education Exam (HKCEE). The HKCEE is written at the end of a five-year secondary education. Students must get the minimum score to qualify to enter the two-year, sixth-form courses. No more than 40,000 students can usually achieve the minimum score. Most students, who don’t make it, don’t qualify for their original school. Some might start working or go to lower-grade schools for a chance to study. I passed this exam; but many of my friends didn’t. When we received the results, classmates were calling parents both smiling and crying. When those students who failed begged another school to take them, there was a typhoon that day. When I saw these students the next day on TV, I felt sorry for them. I was glad that I had studied hard, passed and I wasn’t one of them. I told myself, I would not be one of those students, ever. It’s an unforgettable experience that influenced me the most and It’s the greatest lesson I learnt from others so far.

Zara was launched in 1975 as a local store and it is now the world’s third largest clothing retailer. It only takes two weeks to develop a new product and get it to stores, compared with a six-month industry average, and launches around 10,000 new designs each year. Zara has resisted the industry-wide trend towards transferring fast fashion production to low-cost countries.

What makes Zara successful?

1.Develop a system that requires short lead times=More fashionable clothes

2Decrease quantities produced to decrease inventory risk=Scarce supply

3.Increase the number of available styles and /or choice=More choice, and more chances of hitting it right

By using these ways/strategies,Zara became Spanish success.

Starbucks is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle Washington. It is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with over 17,800 stores in 49 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, almost 800 in the UK, and nearly 1000 in Canada. As its enormous  number of stores in the world, it is  better for it to be organized regionally. By regionally organized, Starbucks can target different market better because customers who are from different countries might have different tastes. Regionally organized also enable them to make decisions faster because managers and employees know their customers better than higher-level executives.

The YMCA was established over 150 years ago as a charity dedicated to the health of both individuals and communities. It is a social enterprise because its mission is to foster the growth of all persons in spirit, mind and body and heighten their sense of responsibility to each other and the global community. They also offer a wealth of programs and services tailored to meet the unique needs of the communities they serve.

There is another type of company called traditional enterprise. The main difference between  a social enterprise and traditional enterprise is that social enterprises focus more on achieving social goals while traditional enterprises focus on profit maximizing.