courtesy of google images

Kraft Foods Inc is an amazing company that has done so much for themselves, society and the economy. It was truly an amazing company to explore, probably a company I wouldn’t have thought twice about if it wasn’t for this assignment.

Overall, I found assignment 1 the most helpful in my learning experience of marketing. I think a facet I typically neglect to acknowledge is the external factors affecting a specific company and the CDSTEP and SWOT analysis helped to develop my learning process not only to Kraft but to other companies going forward. The ability to research a company, or anything for that matter, probably isn’t one of my strengths and I’m glad that I got to develop these skills during this assignment.

Assignment 2 was short and sweet. I liked that it allowed our group to be more creative in how we wanted to position the brand in our target consumers’ eyes (as we chose a segment Kraft doesn’t typically target).

Assignment three was where the struggle came in. The premise of what we had to talk about was great, however looking back on it, I definitely would have rather done a presentation than a video. I’m a person with very little knowledge on anything to do with technology let alone movie making and it was an absolute nightmare for me to even think about. On the bright side, I’ve picked up a couple new skills for when I one day enter the workplace.

The great thing about the assignment altogether was that it followed the course from start to finish and was really an overview of everything we done in class. In addition to that we got to research the same company through the project which I thought was extremely interesting and added to my marketing learning experience.

courtesy of google images

When reading through Rachael’s blog I wasn’t surprised to see an athlete as the head spokesperson for Bell’s “let’s talk” mental health initiative. Although Bell successfully diversifies spokespeople through musicians, comedians, and television personalities, it really hit home for me to see both Clara Hughes and the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team promoting this initiative.

As an avid athlete growing up I’ve experienced unbelievable amounts of pressure pushed upon me from coaches, family members, and teammates. Although after enduring a severe knee injury which will forever halt my performance as an athlete, I’m lucky enough to be one of the few who has not been emotionally damaged through such a negative experience. I couldn’t say the same for majority of my teammates, and too often I hear about professionals quitting due to depression.

Bells “let’s talk” initiative is brilliant as it shines a positive light on  athletes who have had mental problems and allows them to talk about their issues, spread the word on prevention, and encourages them to play the sport they love. It’s genius how Bell sponsors the Whitecaps FC, who then support an initiative through personal experience.

“Let’s talk” will benefit Bell substantially. Not only through short term donations  of $4,813,313, but in the long term Bell will increase customer retention by creating a community of supporters who see value in being part of this initiative. Instead of donating money via business to business, Bell had incorporated millions of phone owners to take part in this initiative, including THOUSANDS of UBC students. Since business’ typically want publicity out of donating, this creates a long term lasting impression in peoples’ minds about Bell. This is much more intelligent than making a one off payment everyone will forget days later.

Have you ever entered a contest via your cell phone and subsequently received text messages about random products and promotions after that?

I sure have, and it ended up creating a phone bill over 300 dollars. This new marketing tactic is called the SMS bait and switch, a version of the unethical marketing practice “the bait and switch”, where a company lures you in to win a specific product at a discounted price, then sends you text messages (usually costing two dollars per text just to read) that promotes different products other than the one you originally wanted. Weird, right?

Wrong, this tactic is used over a vast number of industries.  Derek Johnson’s blog post discusses the bait and switch tactics used by Pro-Cuts who offered four tickets behind home plate at a Rangers game if fans entered a contest. Although this marketing tactic gives the ability to reach a huge customer base, pro-cuts now has the personal phone number of over 40,000 fans of which they choose to take advantage of, which is seen as unethical.

This directly violates Dr. Silver’s ethical marketing rubric. It takes advantage of people who don’t fully understand the costs of each text messages, and preys on people who are fans of the rangers, not pro-cuts. Another unethical part of it is that it is unsolicited. You become the personal target of a new promotional deal without initial interest in the product. Marketing is supposed to give information, establish relationships and get people to do things that are valuable to them; SMS bait and switch does none of the above.

As someone who has experienced SMS bait and switch first hand, I can rightfully say it sucks.

She’s just not a girl, she’s THE girl. Axe’s line of commercials entitled “Fear No Susan Glenn” (click to watch video) makes this refreshing new statement. Unlike the typical crowd of stereotypical gorgeous girls chasing after your Average Joe, Fear No Susan Glenn taps into the sensitive side that men have. Axe creates a deeper affective attachment to axe,  as it suggests men should live life without regrets; go after the girl of your dreams.

This was extremely risky for Axe, as its typical campaign “zero to hero” generated 186 million dollars for Unilever. Axe is renowned in marketing circles for positioning itself as bottled pheromones; a magical potion that can transform the scrawniest, acne-prone Aver Joe into a confident, chiseled sex magnet. But now they’re taking on a new position. Why?

Susan Glenn gives Axe the opportunity to market to a new segment. No longer will preteens be dousing themselves in axe cologne before the middle school dance. Axe is looking to attract a more mature audience; men who are weak in the knees in love without a clue what to do; the definition of generation Y males.

In addition to creating new market, Axe is trying to get more involved with their market. When launch

ing this new campaign, Axe follows men around the country on a nationwide road trip and urges them to find and go after their Susan Glenn. This campaign is powered by social media c

hannels and fearnosusanglen.com, where fans tell their epic declarations of their o

wn Susan Glenn. The initial Susan Glenn commercial shown above sparked the idea for a five episode follow up blog starring Max Greenfield (see part 1). This is creating a community for Axe buyers, making customers visit the Axe website more often and overall correlate the girl of their dreams with Axe. Genius.

Axe Encourages Men to Fear no Susan Glenn

Can A Commercial Be too Sexy for it’s own Good? Ask Axe

As the Super Bowl hype spreads across North America, it’s an advertisers dream to get a piece of the action. Millions of viewers glued to their seat made the Super Bowl prime real estate for marketers. The price to run advertisements during the Super Bowl has increased over the past 10 years and a 30 second ad now sells for up to $4,000,000. Crazy isn’t it?

Maybe not, advertising researchers at the University of Colorado found that the stock prices of companies rose after the media began to hype the company’s upcoming advertising appearances.  The pre-game action has become more important than the actual game.  The stock price rises in anticipation for the actual commercial. This is because companies launch teaser commercials that relate to the Super Bowl in order to create buzz and correlate their company with a national event. Coca-Cola launched “The Coke Chase” encouraging viewers to vote on how it will end at the Super Bowl. Conversely, Pepsi’s strategy is to allow viewers to create their own commercial to help introduce the half time show.

In addition, the importance of advertising during the Super Bowl has become increasingly important as there is a social trend to substitute away from watching TV during primetime, and use other mediums such as Netflix, downloads, recording and streaming online. The Super Bowl ensures advertisements will be viewed by a company’s target market.

It is arguable that the Super Bowl ads are juvenile and forgettable, which is why it is to the utmost importance that companies create a commercial that will encompass the target market and persuade people to buy their brand. A call to action at the end of the commercial suggesting that it needs to be done for/before the Super Bowl is key!

Taken from “coca.cola.ca”

I believe that despite the fact that the cost of airing a commercial during the Super Bowl is almost at 10 times the cost of a normal commercial, it will be worth it for the company. As there is a growing trend to flip past commercials, stream TV shows online and download shows without commercials, this is the only way a company will be able to communicate to its target demographic through commercials. Talk about it leaving an impression on a consumer: Super Bowl commercials are the ads that viewers never forget. Also, people will associate these companies with an ethical, national event that no one wants to miss.

References:

Why Companies pay Big Bucks to Advertise During the Super Bowl

The Real Reason That Super Bowl Ads Are Worth The Money

Nike and Adidas, the rivals of the sporting goods industry, choose to implement very different marketing strategies to affiliate themselves with worldwide sporting events. This affiliation is of great importance as there is a large correlation between global events and sales.

In 2010, Adidas became the official sponsor for the World Cup costing them a whopping $100,000,000. Adidas believed they had won the world cup brand war. However, in the midst of all the World Cup angst, Nike launched a three minute commercial titled “Write the Future.” This video stole the hearts of every viewer. When viewers thought about the world cup, they thought about Nike.

In 2012, Nike was at it again. Days before the opening ceremony, Nike launched “Find your Greatness,” a video that motivated the “Average Joe” to strive towards success athletics. In addition, Nike made it a priority for its brand to stand out on many of their celebrity athletes, which included 400 track runners sporting their unforgettable neon green track shoes.

Once again, although Adidas paid $150,000,000 to be the official sponsor of the Olympic Games, Nike had taken over.

Was it a mistake for Adidas to become the official sponsor of both of these events? Although a huge expenditure, Adidas wanted to ethically link their company with the event and lifestyle that they want to promote.

Nike manipulates the athletic community as they use ambush marketing to create a link between the consumer, their company, and a global phenomenon such as the Olympics. It is ironic how Nike is supporting the type of event that encourages people to be hardworking, sportsman-like, and have integrity when their marketing tactics are the exact opposite.

It is going to be no surprise what marketing tactic Nike implements for the next big event.

References:

Adidas may be the Official World Cup Sponsor, but Nike Wins the Battle of the Buzz

How Nike Pulled off Brilliant Ambush Marketing In the Olympics

Olympics 2012: Nike Plots Ambush Campaign

The Relationship between Sponsorship and Sporting Events

Photo credits:

Nike vs. Adidas

Green Shoes

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!