As I was searching for an external marketing blog, I stumbled upon one of the best advertisements that I have ever seen. AdJoke.ca had posted this video on their blog. Recently, this ad had won the YouTube Ad of the Year award.
Embrace Life
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p916yeFa2Xk[/youtube]
Today I read an interesting blog by Tessa Der, on the recent collaboration of high end designer Lanvin, and the affordable, but popular store H&M. Tessa questioned in her blog whether these types of partnerships between high-end designers and affordable retail stores, will decrease the value of high-end labels. To answer her question, I believe that these collaborations will gain the respect of many consumers. Personally, I wouldn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on clothing that I know that I will only wear once. 
You know it’s almost Christmas when Starbucks releases their Christmas cups! It’s funny how a cup can bring so much excitement! Here’s a blog that definitely got me in to the holiday spirit!
https://blogs.ubc.ca/juliamchiu/2010/11/14/a-cup-can-change-your-mood
I don’t know what it is about Starbucks’ holiday drinks. I don’t know if the drink itself makes me happy or whether its just the cup itself. All I know that a Starbucks’ holiday drink is not the same without the cup.
There has been some buzz over the upcoming NHL All Star Game held in North Carolina. Instead of having fans traditionally vote online to fill the spots of various positions, the two decided teams, will then choose two captains that will make the hard decision of filling two rosters. This will ultimately replace the old system of Western Conference vs. Eastern Conference. This change will be made in hopes of sparking new interest into a what some people say a “stale” event.
In the past, the NHL All-Star game has introduced new events such as the breakaway challenge, which have created some funny story lines involving the flashy Alex Ovechkin. But yet these changes still seem to create times of awkwardness and boredom through the weekend long event.
Now going back to the issue of the upcoming game, one of the biggest concerns, and nobody wants to be in this position, is having to be picked last. Brendan Shanahan, NHL executive, said that in order to avoid this problem team captains will be allowed to pick more than one player when the list of available players narrows down.
Fans will still have a say within this new system as they will vote online the top 6 players from each position.
Will this new system create more popularity amongst fans? Why do the NBA All-Star games spark so much buzz and celebrity attention, whereas the sport of hockey does not? I believe that no matter what the NHL decides to do, the popularity of the sport is not enough to generate enough buzz that will exceed or match the hype of other All-Star Games. Maybe a suggestion, is to hold All-Star Games in markets that they know will succeed, like somewhere in Canada.
It’s funny how the biggest brands out there rely on celebrity sponsors to market their brand. One company that I thought of that doesn’t rely on celebrities is Apple. I was just sitting in class today, observing my surrounding and noticed that almost everyone had a mac. As for as I know, Apple’s road to success never included celebrity endorsements. My assumption is that Apple is so innovative that consumers are automatically drawn to their products.
Halloween is tomorrow and I still don’t have a costume. I spent all day looking for the perfect outfit for tomorrow and I still haven’t found anything. Going from store to store trying to think of any possible ideas, I really started to notice how much Halloween is marketed. Stores would be decorated with bats, ghosts and spiderwebs.
It’s funny how holidays can predict the amount of sales that a store can generate. Companies can alter their marketing mix to help them provide higher profits. With major holidays, such as Christmas, you tend to see stores provide special benefits (ie. discounts for loyal customers).
Tonight’s the finale of Jersey Shore. Who knew that placing young Italians who classify themselves as “guidos” and “guidettes”, into a house together can explode into a major phenomenon? The story behind the show seems ridiculous, follow a bunch of unemployed kids who party all the time. You have to laugh at their stupidity but yet you have to love them at the same time. I have to admit, I’m addicted to the show.
The characters are so memorable, like Snooki and her poof and Mike and his “situation”. The journey they take us on is so different from our regular lives. We sit at home for hours and hours studying and they go clubbing every single night, with a main concern of what t-shirt they should wear. I guess the whole appeal of the show is exactly that; how different their lives are compared to ours. When I watch television, it takes my mind away from studying and allows me to focus on anything but studying.
Jersey Shore has this inapt ability to grab its viewers, enticing them to follow the show, and ultimately relate and feel for the cast of characters. Personal utility offers some reasoning behind why we engage ourselves with these shows. We feel a certain relationship with the characters as we relate their lives with ours. With that we are hooked in by the enjoyment, involvement and perceived learning that we get when watching Jersey Shore.
Benefits are key when coming up with a new idea. Company’s want to provide consumers with product and services that make their lives easier and obtain the most value that they can possibly get. With the launch of Netflix in Canada, convenience is brought to a whole new level. Netflix is an online movie/ television provider that let’s you watch your favourite television shows and movies anytime you want. With a simple sign-up process and a click of a button you can watch the newest releases and old classics.
With itunes and now Netflix, it seems like we don’t need to buy videos or even get out of the house. So what happens now to video rental stores, like Rogers or Blockbuster…remember those? I recently went to the local Rogers video and discovered that the price of renting movies have dropped and now they are selling previously viewed movies for an average price of $16. Another thing that I noticed was the downsize of the shop. From once being a booming shop, now seems like a deserted place on the brink of shutting down.
Why aren’t these video rental stores popular? They provide everything that can satisfy movie lovers: cheap rentals, and the latest movies, with reasonable return times. Well the answer is convenience. New company’s such as Netflix, have taken convenience to another level. Customer’s don’t have to worry about returning movies and paying late fees or even getting out of the house, everything is online. This new wave of technology attracts consumer’s who are tech savvy or those that want to be tech savvy.
Twitter is a strange form of social media. Why would people read short messages about the whereabouts of a person or what someone is doing at a certain point in time.
I am a tweeter. I love the simplicity of it and how I can follow what my friends and favourite celebrities. It’s fascinating how Twitter became so popular. Without the use of advertisement, celebrities have evolved this little networking site to one of the most popular forms of social media out there. Twitter allows you to get close to your favourite celebrity. It’s kind of like stalking your favourite star without being creepy.
If you haven’t watched Mad Men, you should start watching it now. Set in the 60’s, it follows the life of Don Draper, an Ad Man working in the busy and fast past life of Madison Avenue. I’m extremely envious of his ability to persuade companies of his ideas. Whenever he speaks he demands attention. The show of course wouldn’t be as successful without the supporting cast. There’s so many different story lines that each and every episode is an exciting tale to follow.