Once upon a Kimmie

After reading through Abriel Chan’s blog (https://blogs.ubc.ca/abriel/), it made me wonder about KFC’s overall reputation. KFC use to be very popular but recently, many stores are closing down because they don’t get enough sales. They aren’t developing strong loyal relationships with customers and therefore have trouble remaining open. I love KFC’s popcorn chicken because you can’t really get it anywhere else, but their prices are quite expensive. Compared to McDonalds, KFC doesn’t hold a sustainable competitive advantage in the fast food market. I know for a fact that in the states, Popeye’s (a fast food fried chicken restaurant), is one of the most popular places to eat at. I completely agree too because when I went to San Francisco – I loved it!

All fast food joints will have problems related to what is in their food. But most loyal customers don’t mind because they continue to consume on a regular basis. I agree with what Abriel said – that it could be the situation the 2 year old was in, but it also portrays the kinds standards KFC has. I already thought that KFC was going downhill so the incident doesn’t really bother me.

What I really wanted to talk about was the DOUBLE DOWN. Newly introduced by KFC. Here’s a link to a blog about what to eat and what not to eat: http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/blog/kfc-double-down-update-double-downer.

Check out their description of the Double Down.

“My stomach began to feel like a brick. I wanted to quit after a few bites but I soldiered on, ignoring my increasingly intense stomach pain. The Double Down did to my gastrointestinal system what Sherman did to the South, leaving a scorched-earth trail of destruction in its wake. After the initial flavor burst of herbs and spices faded, I was left with a series of stomach-turning pairings, the most horrifying being really bad pepper-jack cheese—school-lunch cheap and school-lunch nasty—and odious bacon.”

I personally have not tried the double down yet, but my younger brother has. He was very excited to head downtown to try out this new “sandwich”. When he came back he didn’t say very much. I asked him how the double down was, and he said his stomach hurt afterwards and he felt really disgusting inside. He said it was the fattiest food he has ever eaten and it didn’t digest well in his stomach.

I suppose what my brother had quite the similar experience as  the blog site stated.  With such great advertising and success in causing a hype for this new product, it really does cause an upset stomach.

Let me know if you’ve tried the Double Down and how your stomach digested it! 😀

As I was watching TV, the Merry Pringles commercial comes on and it immediately catches my attention.

Here it is:

I absolutely love this commercial because of the music, the colours, and the positive energy it gives off. Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year because it’s so festive and joyful. The music in this commercial instantly reminds me of Christmas. Without even having to think twice, I can tell already that it is near this time of the year. When the pringles fly through the air and someone picks one and eats it. The “crunch” noise gives me a tingly feeling inside and it makes me feel happy. It’s quite a quirky noise, but it’s catchy and it happens  3  – 4 times during the commercial. The commercial carries a beat in the background that really makes the commercial more interesting to watch.

I get a very positive, happy, vibe from this commercial but I don’t really think about the product itself. I like Pringles and everything, but this ad didn’t force me to feel like that I need to go buy some now. The ad makes me correlate positive feelings and Pringles. Because, now whenever I think about it, I ask my friends, “Did you see the Pringle’s Commercial?” — Raising more awareness to the product itself. The Christmas joy also connects Pringles to a happy time of the year. This demonstrates what we talked about a few classes ago, how companies can cause their customers to have certain feelings and then always correlate those feelings towards the product.

I went to Best Buy on Cambie Street the other day to buy a lap top case. As I walked in, I was looking for the giant sign that said “Computers”, which should be hanging from the ceiling. I look around and finally see it. I walk over towards the many aisles and walk through them all. I finally find the area marked Lap top accessories. I go straight to the 13inch lap top cases and contemplate about which one I really wanted and which one valued the most to me. I compared the prices and the qualities of each case, but ended up asking a sales person about which one they would recommend. Once I grabbed the lap top case that I wanted, I walked towards the check out aisle.

On my way out, I remembered that I wanted to look at the Ipods. I looked up again towards the ceiling for a sign that would lead me towards Mp3’s and such. I looked up at the signs and saw  “Cell Phones and Ipods”. I was really surprised to see that a section was labelled Ipods and not something more broad. It just shows that Ipods have taken up such a large part of the market, and therefore can hold its own section. I assume that Best Buy knows that Ipods make up a large chunk of their sales, and therefore they put a sign on its own for the convenience of their customers. Automatically, customers will know the exact location of where they can find this popular product.

This relates to the second definition of merchandising. We learned in class that the organization of the way products are displayed is part of promotion. Best Buy’s category signs are labelled specifically and hung a certain way to attract customers. The were probably set at a certain height that they figured consumers would best react to.

Meinhardt is a high-end organic grocery store, similar to Choices and Capers. Meinhardts has two locations, one on South Granville and one on 16th and Arbutus. I work at the one on South Granville. The location of this store is in the heart of many shops. The shops range from shoppers drug mart to William Sonoma to American Apparel. The neighbourhood is quite busy and there is a consistent flow of customers that shop along the streets. Meinhardt is a small local grocery store, but they sell products that are of “high-quality” and rare to find at competing stores. Certain products are imported in and cannot be found anywhere else. Customers make the effort to go to Meinhardt just to find specific items.

In my opinion, Meinhardt prices are much higher than Safeway or Superstore. The atmosphere of Meinhardt stores is more elegant and luxurious. The soothing music, warming environment, and the smell of baked goods bring in customers that live nearby. They exhibit qualities of premium pricing. Premium pricing means that firm deliberately prices a product above the prices set for competing products to capture those customers who always shop for the best or for whom price does not matter. Customers at Meinhardts know that the prices are expensive compared to Superstore, but they still shop there because of how they value their products and services. Meinhardt is somewhat like a brand. Many customers that I help mention that the prices are very expensive, yet I see them come in the store every day. The customers may keep coming back because of the location and convenience of the store, but majority are there because they are loyal to the brand and Meinhardt’s represents a certain status or class.

While working at Meinhardt, for an entire week, we gave out free discount cards to customers. Customers responded in many different ways. Some who purchased a lot declined the discount card because they either didn’t care, or they thought there are other costs involved. Some customers responded with “it’s about time they did something like this”. It seemed to me as though the customers were reluctant to shop there but they continued to on a regular basis. And then when Meinhardts introduced this new discount card, the customers were more inclined to shop there. I think it was a very smart marketing strategy.

I found it quite interesting to see how customers reacted to promotions in the store and the newly introduced discount cards. Also, Meinhardt just began giving out cookie samples and they are testing to see how effective having cookie samples are in relation to their sales. I heard some customers say “ I deserve a cookie sample for the amount of money I spend here.” I get a lot of mixed feelings towards different aspects of the store. I pay much more attention to what goes on around me in the store in terms of supply chain, management and promotions.

Buy one get one half price. Everything under $10. Everything 50% off. Spend $50+ and get a free gift.

I have always been attracted to big bright signs on the windows of my favourite shops saying, “Buy one get one free” or “Buy one get the second for half price”. I use to feel that these promotions were very good deals because I would gain more for the amount that I have to give up. I felt that I had more consumer surplus over the producer surplus and thus therefore must be happier because of my discounted purchase. These promotions somehow always resulted in me purchasing more than I intended to from the start.

This was around five years ago, I was shopping for Christmas presents at Metrotown by myself. I went into Ardene’s to buy my little sister a pair of earrings. I walked into the store and they had promotions EVERYWHERE and the prices were quite low. I knew the quality of the products weren’t that great, but I was young and I had no money, so I decided to shop there anyways.

I remember going to Ardene’s with my mom when I was even younger, and they had these surprise packs. Inside the surprise packs were a variety of different accessories. The surprise packs were priced at two for five dollars. How could I turn down such a great deal? Over a few occasions, I received or bought more and more of these “surprise packs” and accumulated more accessories. I soon realized that I had a full shoe box worth of these accessories and maybe used one out of the twenty. Thinking back now, I realized that I wanted the surprise pack for two reasons. It was a surprise and you paid $2.50 for a bunch of items that totaled to $15 (I added up all the individual prices of each item).

Anyways, so I was looking through the unlimited choices of earrings and accessories and I finally picked out a set that I liked. I brought it to counter and the total was $14. Immediately the lady says “If you pick out one more pair, you’ll get one pair for half price!” I thought to myself, I guess that makes sense — I’ll go pick out another set. So I looked around for a little longer and then come back with another set. When I finished making the purchase, my receipt said $21. I thought to myself again, I didn’t really want the new set, why did I buy it? I ended up spending $21 compared to $14.I just picked out any pair because it was a “good deal”.

From that day on, before I make any decisions involving promotions, I ask myself, “Do I really need the second one or that extra unit or something?” Even though I am gaining more for what I give up, I end up spending more than I would originally spend. Long story short, promotions can get inside your head and are intentionally there to get you to spend more.

Busy Weekend. Halloween Fun.

Back to Marketing Reality.

A few classes ago, we began the discussion on the first “p”, product. I use to always think that a product was either a good or service because that was the way we were taught way back when concepts had to be simple. Tamar mentioned that anytime she says the word “product”, she could also be referring to things that are intangible, such as a new ideas and political aspects.

As I stand at the check-out counter at Meinhardts Grocery Store, I think about how being a cashier covers the four aspects of a service.

Intangible – The service I provide as a cashier is to scan the items being purchased and complete the payment transaction. For example, swipe the credit or debit card, or receive cash and give back the correct change. As my job is categorized as a customer service job, it is intangible. Intangible is a characteristic of a service; it cannot be touched, tasted, or seen like a pure product can. Because I am serving customers and assisting them in their procedure to purchase groceries, I am a service and my service cannot be physically touched or purchased in any way.

Variable – At the moment, all purchases must be made by cashiers and therefore by humans. Recently, a few Safeway’s have implemented self-checkout counters. But at Meinhardts, we currently still have person to person customer service. The more humans are needed to provide a service, the more likely there is to be variability. Variability is a quality that may vary because it is provided by customers. Everyone is different and everyone displays different levels of customer service. It can depend on your mood, attitude, on the situation, etc. With customer service, if things go wrong, it’s too late to change it. For the most part, I give excellent customer service, although I have a few days on the tired and gloomy side. Everyone is allowed to have a bad day once in a while.  

Inseparable – As a cashier, the customers bring all the items they want to the check-out and I process the order and receive payment. Therefore, the consumption of the goods is present and the service needed to complete the process is present. Inseparable is another characteristic of a service; it is produced and consumed at the same time, that is service and consumption are inseparable.

Perishable – As I deal with the same or different customers, I can never store my service for another day. I’m either there helping customers, or I’m not. Perishable means that the service cannot be stored for future use. Customer service is more of an on-the-spot kind of thing. We immediately respond to the situation and react with the appropriate response. We are there to help make your visit more pleasant and satisfy all the needs of the customers at the moment.

After a busy day at work, I know I’ve got marketing stuck in my head!

Sooooooo I was scanning through Rena Zhou’s Blog, and I came across something that we both ENJOY!! FOOOOOOOOOD!! 🙂 –> food makes us happy when life gets hard.. especially during exam time.

Since I have been studying midterms for the last 2 weeks, I’ve decided to write about food.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/renazhou/ – Check out her posts on Tim Hortons and Starbucks! She briefly describes when she first went to these places and then explains them in terms of the marketing mix. BLAH. I don’t think i’ll go into the marketing mix, but I will explain in detail how wonderful one of my favourite restaurants is!

Also, just to let eveyone know, I have a food album. As in I take pictures of my food wherever I go. Or mostly when I’m away, and eating super yummy food!

So one of my favourite restaurants is Zakkushi!! Here’s a link to to their website: http://www.zakkushi.com/

This place is a must try! The first time I went to Zakkushi was with my piano teacher of 12 years. She wanted to take my sister and I out for a special meal. I then went a few times again with my friends and for my birthday!

Zakkushi is a Japanese Style cusine and they serve skewers and other unique japanese dishes. They have certain charcoal that they use to cook their foods to perfection, and it tastes really good. Even though the prices are a bit on the high-side, I still really enjoy going there for special occasions. My favourite skewer is the cheese-mochi-maki. It is pork wrapped around with a sticky rice wrap with cheese. The food feels so delicate and fragile, yet full of flavour and texture. It’s something you can’t really explain, you just have to go there and try it!

You can’t compare their food to anywhere else! So if you do decide to go check it out, leave me a reply about what you think of it.

Here’s a picture!

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I was scanning through some classmates’ blogs and stumbled upon a friends’ post about his Carbon Footprint. Here’s the link to his page: https://blogs.ubc.ca/edhsu516/. Check out his Carbon Footprint of 3.678. I was talking to him about it and he said his carbon footprint should be higher now because he drives to school every day.

I’ve always been quite curious about my carbon footprint so I decided to take an online test to measure mine!

I was quite puzzled when I first looked at my results because I didn’t really know what 4.711 meant. I scrolled down and read a bit about the explanations for my actions. Here is the breakdown:

daily commute (14%)

Land transportation makes up the largest portion of British Columbians’ carbon footprint, yet it is one of the areas that has the most low-carbon options available to us!  I am already taking some great steps in reducing my carbon impact, but they want to challenge me to the PersonalGreenPlan_2010.pdf and see what else I can do. In taking on changes such as riding my bike, walking, carpooling or taking transit, consider the other positive affects this will have on my life – from a more active lifestyle, to more personal reading time, less road rage, more time to hang out with friends or an opportunity to meet new people!

long distance travel (19%)

I do travel with my family quite often. To places such as Mexico. While long distance travel can be tough to avoid — stepping on a plane for family or work purposes, consider taking a couple extra days to enjoy a scenic train ride, or using the bus over shorter distances. Videoconferencing or local vacations in Beautiful British Columbia are among many options available to you when considering long-distance travel.

food (46.6%)

I’ve done a good job at keeping a relatively low food-print so far – but I should think about what further changes I could make that would result in a more locally-produced, vegetable-based and a low carbon diet.

shelter (20.4%)

I just moved into a brand new house and so most of the appliances I have are very eco-friendly and efficient. There are dozens of small and medium changes people can make at home – check out the options in the Change Exchange and make sure everyone in your house is on the same page so your can share in your success!

Measure your Carbon Footprint and see how well you are doing! Small changes can make a big difference.

If you haven’t seen the Band-Aid Brand commercial yet, here it is:

I am stuck on Band-Aid’s Brand and Band-Aid’s stuck on me.

I love the commercial for Band-Aid Brand. It’s so cute and the jingle is very catchy. While I’m sitting in the car, I’ll probably be humming or singing the tune of this jingle. This marketing strategy is quite effective, because the kids on the commercial are adorable and the jingle itself is very recognizable.

I found this blog on Band-Aid Brand and I’ve decided to talk a bit about it! http://www.calgarydaddy.com/2010/07/sing-band-aid-brand-jingle-and-raise.html

In this blog, Shane is mentioning about how Band-Aid Brand is fundraising for Safe Kids Canada. Every time someone sings the jingle at any of the available locations, they will donate $1.00 to Safe Kids Canada. If they were coming to Vancouver, I would definitely go out and bring all my friends to sing the jingle!

Every time I see this commercial I rewind it and watch it over and over again! After reading about Band-Aid Brand fundraising money for a good cause, it makes me love the brand even more!

About my first blog, writing about a laptop isn’t really my cup of tea. But that was the first thing that came to my mind. This week I want to let you know more about myself and what I enjoy doing! After a long, stressful week at school, I am in desperate need for some relaxation. My best friend, in terms of relaxing, is my TV!!!

Here is my TV list of the week and this usually carries on throughout the year… 🙂 I’ve had to make some cuts and changes due to a heavy academic workload and extra-circular activities, but TV is what makes my day and what I look forward to after a long day of work!

Monday – Gossip Girl
Tuesday – One Tree Hill (on the verge of cutting this from my list, but we’ll see…)
Wednesday – Survivor (on the verge of cutting from my list as well…)
Thursday – Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy
Sunday – Desperate Housewives

Off Season shows/occasionally watched shows include: Pretty Little Liars, Hell’s Kitchen, Biggest Loser, Friends, Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol … (yes… I know I am a TV FREAK)

Gossip Girl – I only started watching GG within the last two years. I missed the first few seasons, but I picked up quickly on what was going on. Gossip Girl is quite intense and every episode is left off with a cliff hanger. It just makes me want to watch the next and the next and the next! Unfortunately, I have to wait a whole week. What makes GG different than the other shows? Privileged teenagers with way too complicated lives, high-class private school in a hierarchy system, and mixed up friends/family relationships. GG is also based on a book. Full of drama and MANY misunderstandings. Love it!

One Tree Hill – I watched the first five seasons last summer, after my cousin introduced the show to me. Wherever I went, at home, at a friend’s house, in Mexico, on a cruise, I brought my portable DVD player and watched multiple episodes at a time. It’s quite addicting because once you watch one episode, because you want to watch the next one and the cycle repeats. OTH is about a small but not too quiet town in North Carolina, where the greatest source of pride is the high school basketball team, the Ravens. This series progressed quite successfully, but after season five, two of the main characters, Lucas and Peyton, quit the show. After that, the show ratings declined and the show became less interesting. That is why, I am considering if OTH gives me maximum happiness.

Survivor – This show has been around for many years.. Something like 1o + years? I remember when I was in grade 7 or something and I saw this show, I was like… hmm not interested! But ever since last year, my younger brother started watching the show and slowly I got lured in to watching it too! I developed a strong support for a few of the participants and followed up by watching the Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains season. It was very enjoyable and interesting to watch. I don’t think I would ever survive on the show because I hate being outdoors and mentally, I would NOT be able to kill a chicken, cook it, and eat it. Although, the challenges look very fun!

Vampire Diaries – WHAT CAN I SAY? This is one of the most intense shows ever! It is also based on a book. You might relate VD to Twilight, but VD is 10x better than any of the twilight series and it does not contain the bad acting portrayed in Twilight. VD had the most intense season finale (along with Grey’s Anatomy), and it left EVERYONE on the edge of their seats. I couldn’t stop talking about what happened in the finale and I re-watched it more than 5 times!! Although VD is quite scary, it is one of my top favourites!

Grey’s Anatomy – I love this show because at one point in my life, I wanted to pursue a career in sciences — to be specific, in optometry. The situation and plot of the story is drastically different than GG or VD, and it’s a completely different genre. I never get bored of what’s going on, and it really portrays the life of doctors and nurses. Their lives are unpredictable and there are always extreme cases that are very interesting to observe. The season finale of last seasons’ GA was VERY suspenseful and shocking! Just what I like!

Desperate Housewives – It’s a corky, fun and entertaining show! At times there can be quite the scare, but overall it is a very enjoyable show to just lay back and relax! Secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighbourhood, after the mysterious suicide of a neighbour. Too good!

That was a bit long… didn’t mean to blab on that much! But as you can tell, I can go on and on about the shows I watch! From first year, I already had to cut down more than half of my shows! 🙁

That’s it for now — Toodles!