Lulu Lin's Blog

Among all the lessons I learned from Comm 299, understanding my own strengths and weaknesses is probably the most important one. Comm 299 provided me with systematic ways of finding out my own strengths and weaknesses, and it taught me how to leverage my strengths in a job environment. For example, Strength Quest provides a more objective way of viewing personality attributes. The result of the SQ has helped me better define and describe my own strength in a C.A.R statement.

As a student, I always envision my proudest achievement would be the day I graduate with honour. However, recent events in my life had opened another window for me and I’ve come to realize that my proudest achievement would be the time and effort that I spent on getting myself to where I am today. The fact that I was able to get back on my feet after conquering a deadly illness and continue pursuing my dream had shaped my views of the world. It was in the upward, struggling climb that I felt most fulfilled and accomplished.

Frito-Lay isn’t just into making tasty chips, they are also into being socially responsible by committing themselves to taking steps towards environmental sustainability, starting with their Sun Chips brand.

One of the ways Sun Chips uses to achieve this goal is by packaging its tasty chips in their eco-friendly bags that are fully compostable. These bags are made from plant-based materials that are designed to break down in 14 weeks when added to an active compost pile.

In addition, Sun Chips has one plant in Modesto, California, that uses solar energy, instead of fossil fuel, to make its product. This factory has a four-acre field of solar collectors, which have concave mirrors that absorb energy from the sun.

Sadly, this environmentally friendly campaign does not last too long, as chip eaters are griping about the loud crackling sounds the new bags make. A Facebook group called “SORRY BUT I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THIS SUN CHIPS BAG” has attracted more than 25,000 fans.

Now, Frito-Lay is returning to its old, non-biodegradable packaging, for 5 of the 6 SunChips flavours. The company declares that it will continue to use the noisy bag for its Sun Chips Original flavour.

This is certainly a good way of showing that Frito-Lay is committed to it’s vision towards environmental sustainability. Unfortunately, sometimes, without thinking, seeing, or even hearing in this case from the consumers’ point of view, can have serious drawback even when the initiative is good, as indicated by Sun Chips decreasing sales since the compostable bag was introduced.

Curious to know how loud the bag is? Here is a video for you!

I really like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty and think it has jumped outside the box of how beauty products are marketed. However, recently I just found out the campaign might not be as genuine as it seems.

An advertisement on US Craigslist started the controversy. The ad looks for women with perfect skin, no tattoos, nice smiles and bodies. Critics said this was a stipulation of cutting out other types of women.

Another controversy, started back in 2008, also called out Dove for photoshopping its Real Beauty photos. According to The New Yorker, Pascal Dangin, who works regularly for Vogue, Dior, and many others, said those photos were digitally manipulated just as much as any other fashion photos.

I’d say this is ironic and hypocritical of Dove. Even though this news isn’t ‘new’ anymore, it is definitely not as widely known as I imagined it would be. And how silent Dove was in regard of this rumour seems strange to me.

You can watch the video below:

Pfizer Canada starts something with first branded social media effort

Pfizer Canada is a health-care company that’s dedicated to helping Canadians and animals live healthier lives. “It takes more than medication to be truly healthy” is Pfizer’s belief.

Pfizer Canada is starting a project for its birth control brand, Alesse. The campaign targets young Canadians with a goal to help them achieve their goals, and the two winners will receive $5,000 in financial support.

The contest is also being promoted via social media channels, as the targeted generation is more reachable and responsive.

Subliminal marketing has been a popular, yet controversial topic in the business area for decades. I came across William Dorr’s blog post about Subliminal Marketing and I gave it a deeper thought…

Most people debate on whether it is ethical, but they seem to forget the most basic question – can such subliminal message register in our minds and thus influence our behaviours?

I studied a bit about subliminal stimuli before, and my answer to this? Yes, subliminal messages can influence some aspects of human behaviour, but only to a very limited extent. And here’s why…

In the late 1950s, James Vicary, a public relations executive, arranged to have subliminal messages flashed on a theater screen during a movie to urge the audience to drink Coca-Cola and eat popcorn. He subsequently claimed that popcorn sales increased by 50% and Coca-Cola sales increased by 18%. As a result of this experiment, the National Association of Broadcasters outlawed subliminal messages on American television.

Astonished? Keep on reading…

However, several attempts to reproduce Vicary’s results under controlled conditions failed, and many studies conducted in laboratory settings, on television and radio, and in movie theaters indicated that there is no reason to be concerned about control of consumer behaviour through subliminal marketing. Later on, Vicary admitted that his study was a hoax designed to revive his failing advertising agency.

What subliminal stimuli can influence, with great limitation, are things such as perception and attitude. For instance, if subjects are exposed to subliminal presentations of aggressively words such as “attack,” they would later judge others behaviour as more aggressive.

So, in terms of marketing, persuasive and explicit messages are far more influential compared to subliminal messages that are perceived subconsciously.

Here’s a question I’d like to ask…Many of us have heard about the rumor of subliminal messages (“sex”) in Disney movies. If you are a believer of subliminal messages, do you ever notice the subliminal message or how it has affected your behaviour before someone pointed it out to you explicitly?

Placebo effect or subliminal marketing? You can decide for yourself.

Resource: Psychology-the science of mind and behaviour by Michael W. Passer and Ronald E. Smith.

I have been doing some research in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While most of the people know what it is, the benefits of it for companies, consumers and environments, there are still many issues that we, as consumers, should think about instead of taking things at the face value.

CSR: a trend or a genuine concern?

Twenty years ago, incorporating social responsibility into business model differentiates one firm from the rest of its competitors. Today, not having a social responsibility as part of a business is a disadvantage in the industry. Are firms really taking on the responsibility of how their businesses impact the society or environment? Or is CSR just another pretty packaging that firms use to increase their bottom-lines?

I think one way to exam those factors is to look at the company and its CSR activities as a whole. Besides putting on a label and claiming a portion of the product’s purchase would be donated to charity, does the company involve the entire employee population to be part of the good cause? One example of effective CSR effort is done by CIBC. The bank recognized the Run for the Cancer has become a passionate cause of many of its employees, and seeing this as a great opportunity, CIBC decided to put its resources and brand behind the movement. The result is a $33-million donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, with 175,000 participants.

CSR: labeling

Another issue concerns the proper labeling of products. I once purchased something to show my support to a good case and then later on found out such said donation has a cap of $2 million so all the purchases pass that amount goes straight to the company. Such obscurity gives rise to movements towards better consumer awareness of companies’ CSR activities. In a campaign called “Think Before You Pink,” the Breast Cancer Action group urges customers to be more attentive to how much of their spending will actually contribute to the cause.

Do you read all the information regarding CSR activities on the label? If you don’t, you should start doing so.

Size of the toothpaste opening, how trivial this is in the eyes of consumers. But have you thought about how a company could change this to improve their company performance by a ton?

This is a marketing strategy used by a toothpaste company many years ago.

The company decided to increase the diameter of its toothpaste opening. As a result, profits raised by a tremendous amount because consumers were using up toothpaste a lot faster than they normally would.

Simple eh? Yet as I read more about corporate scandals and learn more about the meaning of marketing, this makes me wonder if such a strategy should be considered clever, or just straight up deceiving.

Ethic has always been a gray area in the business world. But how exactly do you evaluate what is and what is not ethical? By the absolute sanctity of honesty or benefit/cost analysis of an action, or it ‘depends’? If you were told that the toothpaste brand you are currently using also did the same thing, would you feel deceived?

If you like Old Spice’s commercial, I’m sure you’d like its parody as well.

The connection to marketing? Think about how many company/event mascots you know and how vivid their images are when you think about them. A smile already came to my face when I tried to recall. Winter Olympic, FIFA, Coca Cola, to M&M, which mascot does not remind you the company, the products, and even all the great experiences you had when patronizing the stores or participating in the events? A company’s logo is definitely important, but think about having a mascot and all the merchandises that can generate sweet amount of revenues for the company.

There is no doubt that a good mascot can be a powerful positioning strategy for any company.

So what now? Maybe you are pondering all the gibberish I just said, but I know I’m going to hug my $100 Mukmuk plush and dream about the wonderful 2 weeks of vacation before I wake up to another day of studying for midterms.

“Advertisements are like pebbles on a beach. They are there, but they are never the center of your attention. You might want to lie on the soft sands or go swimming in the water; you will probably never notice the pebbles that are there. Occasionally, you might find one with a interesting shape or texture, and spend a few moments of you attention on it, but it will surely be out of your mind in a minute or two. But if someone tells you that the rock you are hold is of a special substance, and must have traveled a long way to get to this beach, and could be a sign of good luck, all of a sudden you might want to hold on to that rock. It has taken a life of its own. An advertisement need a good story and some emotional elements to be able to linger in a person’s mind. There is no stronger stimulant on the brain than powerful emotions.” – Quoted from Behind the Billboards

Well said, David.

Advertisements nowadays emphasize on short-term visual impacts more than anything; yet the real unfortunate part is that many more resort to, whether intentionally or not, using unethical elements to catch viewers’ few seconds of attention. Look around and observe. Most commercials use catchy (to the point where I find them annoying sometimes) phrases to make sure they burn an imprint in your minds.

However, as much as people enjoy good, emotion-arousing commercials, are they as effective as they seem when it comes to promoting the products or services the companies are actually selling? This I ask myself.

At this point, I’m trying to quickly recall my experience. I remember Dove’s Self Esteem commercial clearly. Yet when I’m deciding to purchase a related prodcut, I rely more on what I know about the product itself rather than how strong of an emotion I had when I was viewing the commercial. Thinking about this, another question arises: do commercials that target consumers’ core emotions attract new consumers more than strengthening the existing consumer base? Or is it the other way around?

I don’t yet have answers. But one thing I know for sure; people enjoy creative and innovative commercials, but what they remember, 5 hours from now, are the ones that created ripples in the hearts.

Last, I want to share one of my favourite ‘awww’ commercials of all time