Mandy Cheung

Recently, Pokemon Black and White has been released. Back a few years when Pokemon first started- I was a BIG fan. I bought the cards, watched the show, movies, and battled, and played it on Game Boy. After versions Gold and Silver- I stopped playing, but the recent hype on Pokemon Black and White has got me playing again.

So in class we have been talking about advertising – so let’s do an analysis of Pokemon Black and White’s Advertising.

So this new game is rated E for Everyone. It’s target audience does not target only the young generation that are still watching the show, trading cards, but also the generation – including me, watched Pokemon start from the very beginning. Students my age around university are playing Pokemon Black and White- the hype is back! We talked about push and pull strategies for marketing- I honestly did not really see many advertisements for this new game so it’s rather a pull strategy where it is designed to get consumers to pull the product into the supply  chain by demanding it.

Personally, it was by word of mouth that I knew about the new game. But apparently, this has been a very important marketing tool for this new  game. Whenever I mention to my peers, they all know what I am talking about already and are already playing the game. Pokemon did not spend a lot on advertisements- instead, I find word of mouth to be one of the more powerful marketing tools.

So anyway, like I said- I began playing the game. It is really addicting- reminds me of my childhood when I used to play the earlier versions such as Blue/Red/Green/Yellow. Love it!

Here’s the official trailer for the newly released game:

and here’s a link to the official game page:

http://www.pokemonblackwhite.com/en-us/

Gotta catch ’em all!

Mandy

Music’s hottest topic: Rebecca Black’s new song- Friday. So after reading a blog post on http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/videogaga/71429/is-youtube-sensation-rebecca-blacks-friday-the-worst-song-ever/, I wanted to write about how the new “horrible” is the new “good.”

In class we learned about the communication process. Process begins with the sender – in this case, is Ark’s company. This song was really the first big “hit” for them, and everyone is hoping to be their last. Mentioned in the blog post above, the song’s transmitter was really when a blog posted as the “Songwriter isn’t for everyone.” This was the song’s major promotion and since last “Friday,” this song has been blogged about, Tweeted, Facebooked, Youtubed and all. Approaching the encoding part of the communication process, audience all watch and listens to the new song. Through Youtube, Itunes, and all different marketing channels the audience is able to hear, see, and process the song. During the communication channel, there were more noise as the days went by as more people made parodies of the song that affected audience that was looking for the actual song. Finally, we’re here today at the feedback loop. The song appears to be one of the worst songs ever written, and there’s not one person that doesn’t know this song. On a marketing level, Rebecca Black has done a great job to market her song. She has created brand awareness- even top-of-mind awareness.. but just not necessarily on the positive side.

And for those who have not yet watched this video….

Mandy

I’ve decided to write about my dream wedding since my last post on jewelry from Tiffany & Co. Since a little child, I have been very fond of Disney fairy tales, and wish that the magic can be with me until the day I get married.

So Disney’s main “good” is its theme parks, fairy tales – and so they are able to extend their brand and taking this opportunity to provide wedding services. Since Disney is a well known and well established brand- the brand Disney not only protects it from competition and price competition as Disney wedding packages are extremely expensive! With branding, Disney does not need to promote this line as the Disney is famous for creating fairy tales- and couples are expected to have the perfect wedding done by Disney. This is also the reason why Disney weddings are worth a lot in terms of market value. Its unique, one-of-a-kind experience, no competitors can match this luxurious experience. It is given that almost everyone is familiar with the Disney brand- so brand awareness is very high. Couples willing to pay the amount it costs to put out one of these luxurious weddings’ value is to get this one experience- the best of the best. And the website: http://disneyweddings.disney.go.com/weddings/florida/collections/overview

I would have to say the best line within the Disney Wedding is Couture.

Here’s a clip on the website: Disney Wedding

Now- to make things a little more interesting, let’s contrast with a newly innovative wedding idea: McWeddings at McDonalds. To start us off, let’s watch a short clip: McWeddings. My first impression of this idea: WHAT!? Interesting. So I guess McDonald’s been trying to increase its product lines by creating a wedding service. Personally, I do not find this appealing. If I were to have a wedding- dream wedding is Disney, but ideal still will not be held at McDonald’s. Though McDonald’s brand awareness is very high, I am very shaky on the market value and perceived value from customers. As seen in the video, there are people that do buy this new idea, but I think having a wedding at McDonald’s …just doesn’t feel right.

Anyway, just a little interesting wedding idea I found to be. My dream wedding is still at Disneyland!

Disney- a magical place like no other.

Mandy

After reading Bond Lai’s  (https://blogs.ubc.ca/bondlai/) blog post on River Rock Casino – it got me thinking how casino’s are so successful. In fact, I was one of the “few friends” that went that night with him too. Although I park and ride there every morning to go to school, after having been 19 for over half a year already… – finally decided to step foot into the actual casino for a game!

So in class we’ve been talking about pricing – and it’s interesting to think about how casino’s “price” their “goods.” By “goods,” I mean the games (whether it is slot machines, black jack, big 2, etc). I guess we can all agree that River Rock Casino is very profit oriented, just like any other casinos around.

Let’s look at the simple game of slot machines: you can play the ‘penny slot machines’ (although each spin is not exactly a penny), or up to even $5 for each spin. So why are there difference choices of bets even just for slot machines? Well, I guess I can answer this because penny slot machines appealed to me. With not a lot of disposable income…AND wanting to experience the ‘gambling’ experience- I decided to play the penny slot machines with $5. Of course, I ended up losing all $5- but because with $5 I was able to experience and is what I valued. These different pricing strategies allow for attracting different groups of customers, depending on their perceived value on how much they can gain from a simple slot machine (although my 2 friends did win over $50 just from slot machines that night)!

As for my other friend’s that I bumped into that same night at the casino… they went to the higher ‘pricing’ gambling games such as Black Jack – where minimum bet is $20. Although the price is higher, as long as there is demand for it and the customers perceive this game to be a greater return, then pricing can be higher for each bet. Minimum bets for every game is fixed at the casino. The variable cost is how much you want to bet after entering the game.

Though I’d argue that the “casino” is a luxury good – for those that are addicted, it has probably become a normal good as part of their necessity to gamble and may be caused by the income effect.

So here’s a little promotional clip on the casino resort as a whole in case you’ve never been there before:

In all, the casino experience was definitely thrilling and exciting, but I can say with confidence it is not the place for me. It’s great to experience it (perhaps winning would even make the experience better)… but we all know that most of us that go in the casino will lose anyway… so definitely not a place I suggest if you’re looking for something to do in Richmond!

Mandy

So after reading https://blogs.ubc.ca/hoitingtai/ blog post on Diamonds I decided to write about my favourite luxury brand… Tiffany & Co!

Product, Branding, Packaging- this New York luxury brand has it all: Tiffany & Co. Not going to deny, I personally am in love with this brand, and I am positive that so are many girls out there. So how did this brand got me in love?

Product Assortment & Product Line Decisions:

Breadth- Tiffany & Co. offers a wide variety of products, ranging from brooches to necklaces, to card holders and writing instruments – a brand suitable for both women AND men too!

Branding:

Value- Since Tiffany & Co. is a luxury product, its consumers must have high values for the price it sells its jewelry at. The design, the quality, and the legacy has all contributed into building the brand Tiffany & Co. holds today as one of the leading jewelry stores globally to compete against all its strong competitors.

Equity- Higher class consumers are well aware of the brand Tiffany & Co. Some products of this brand are exclusive to them and are well differentiated from other jewelry lines, such as the Tiffany Keys line. As for brand loyalty, as a lover of this brand, I am very loyal- and wish that in the future, I get proposed to with a Tiffany & Co. ring, the most prized jewelry a girl may receive.

Branding Strategies:

Naming Brands & Product Lines- The corporate brand is Tiffany & Co., but under this brand, many of their product lines are named after the designers- such that of Elsa Peretti. These individual product line brands give ownership to the designers, but overall, helps brand the corporate brand of Tiffany & Co. in the end.

Packaging:

Product Labeling- Tiffany & Co. focuses mainly on secondary packaging. As jewelry does not require primary packaging, it is important to establish a brand through its secondary packaging. Clearly, Tiffany & Co. did a very good job of secondary packaging, as we all know “the little blue box” refers to Tiffany & Co. – and when we see this blue box, us girls know its something good!

And being in love of this brand, I do own 2 pieces of their jewelery which I received as a graduation gift from my aunt 2 years ago:

http://www.tiffany.ca/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=GRP02488&mcat=148204&cid=573050&search_params=s+5-p+8-c+573050-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+-k+

and

http://www.tiffany.ca/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=GRP02480&mcat=148204&cid=573050&search_params=s+5-p+13-c+573050-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+-k+

And these are the keys to success that my aunt gave me, to wish me the very best in my post secondary education.

-Mandy

The number of Vancouver Group Buy Sites have been dramatically increasing over the past few months. Groupon, being the first Group Buy Sites that I’ve subscribed to- seem to have the most attractive deals to me.

These Vancouver Group Buy Sites can be categorized as services in a marketing perspective. The four characteristics of any service:

Intangibility: Using Groupon and other Group Buy Sites are services because simply there is nothing to be touched, or tasted. You’re purchasing through these websites to get your “product”- which is usually a coupon.

Inseparability: When purchasing from these websites, the service is being produced and consumed at the same time. From reading the textbook, it says that service is inseparable from its consumption, customers rarely have the opportunity to try the service before they purchase it” – which is why websites like Groupon offers “The Groupon Promise -Nothing is more important to us than treating our customers well. If you ever feel like Groupon let you down, give us a call and we’ll return your purchase – simple as that.” This amplifies the trust from a consumer’s point of view towards the company.

Variability: Groupon varies from the other Group Buy Sites from their deals. Due to their wide range of partnerships with big companies, they are able to get a lot more attracting and popular deals around cities than many of the Group Buy Sites.

Perishable: As mentioned in the textbook, services cannot be perished for future uses. For example, Groupon Coupons have an expiry date that is close to the near future. Coupons must be used before this date otherwise it will be treated as a sunk cost at the purchasers own risk.

Being a regular purchaser of these deals, I am quite loyal towards Groupon. Their deals are often to be most attractive to me- maybe due to its large network of partnerships with big companies, they seem to be able to get a lot of good deals. Below, is a short video about Groupon- how Google tried to acquire this $5 billion worth company:

Unfortunately, Google wasn’t able to acquire the company as the projected revenue was much higher than what Google had offered- Groupon surely holds big potential to be very successful!

-Mandy

So Dine Out 2011 has officially came to an end.

Luckily, I was able to be able to enjoy one meal from one of the participating restaurants in Vancouver: Water St. Cafe with a Dine Out menu price of $28 per person.

Thought it might be interesting to do a simple market segmentation on this Dine Out experience I had:

Geographic: Water Street Cafe, located near Waterfront in downtown Vancouver where it is still rather cold at night since it is right by the water. Since it’s in downtown, the amount of population is very large, and Vancouver overall is a growing population.

Demographic: While being in the restaurant, I saw mostly middle-aged men and women, then a few tables with students around my own age. A mix of men and women, since there is no bias towards either sex when it comes to enjoying a good meal. Since the price does lean towards the more expensive side; the population that showed up at the restaurant are more wealthy, probably with a good amount of education, perhaps in the business industry mostly.

Psychographic: Since Dine Out offers 3 menu prices: $18, $28, $38- Water Street Cafe being priced at $28- is somewhat valuable to customers. The 3 course meal they offer is perhaps more geared towards people with richer lifestyles, enjoying a $30+ dinner per person and perhaps target towards those who care about food very much.

Behavioral: Personally, I only went to the restaurant cause I’ve been told the restaurant’s food is very nice- and since Dine Out is here, why not! But if it was not for this special occasion, I personally will not go often. Since this is considered “luxury good” it is rather price sensitive. When the economy is bad, people will perhaps not seek for gormet food as often. However, the dinner was very tasty- so the benefit is very subjective I would say!

So after some analysis… let’s look at some pictures from last night!!

starting off the night with some oysters… mmmmm!!

a picture with my boyfriend, Colin Zhang and our oysters :D!

then the main dish… veal scallopini!

group picture with everyone’s main dish :)!

And finally, a girl’s favourite part of the meal… DESSERT: TIRAMISU!!! <3

Had a fantastic time, and that’s it!

-Mandy

Yes, I am running for CUS 3rd Year Rep! Due to safety hazards, candidates are not allowed to be handing out flyers as part of their campaign (apparently students slip on them). So, aside from posters, I figured the best way to campaign is to use …SOCIAL MEDIA!

So for this post, I am actually going to be on the other side: I am going to market myself!

The first question that usually comes to voters when you try to market yourself is usually… ‘why should I vote for you?’ I am not going to go on about how I will hear your ideas and provide voice for you because that is pretty much given to be my responsibility. Instead, I think students should vote for me not because of how qualified I am but instead because of who I am – because really, I think everyone running is perhaps just as qualified. We all have a variety of experience and can qualify as a leader.

Of course, I plan to…
1. Assist in creating a bond between the diverse culture we have at Sauder today.
2. Setting the budget to ensure that your student fees do not go to waste- used wisely and responsibly.
3. Eliminate any feelings of intimidation between CUS Board of Directors and you, fellow classmates, associates, and friends.

I believe that I will make a good representative because of my character. Physically, I am small but I am full of energy and enthusiasm. I am friendly, dedicated, accepting, and easy to approach. Last year, when deciding who to vote for as the Second Year Rep – I considered how likely I am able to go up to that person without feeling intimidated and how likely I can talk to them without feeling they are more authoritative than I am.

In my opinion- I think my best selling point is my smile: I can promise that every time you pass me by, 99% of the time I will have a smile on my face (that 1% will go towards any bad days)

So, if you want to support me- please go check out my facebook event page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182589405114065

Thank you for your support and look forward to meeting some of you!

<3 Mandy

As part of the fund development committee of the Richmond Youth Foundation- we hosted our first fundraising event of this new year- clubbing at Caprice! (A great way to attract youths to support youths)

For those that has never heard of the Richmond Youth Foundation here is our website link: www.ryfoundation.org :). Basically, the RYF offers young leaders financial help to begin youth projects and other support so that they can make the community a better place.

Anyway, thought I should do a mini CDSTEP on our event yesterday:

Culture: In our generation, clubbing is part of youths culture. It was a fun way to socialize and have a few drinks and dance their stress away.

Demographics: As many of our friend’s were all born within the Generations Y- many are now legal to go clubbing- so we set our target towards the youths in our generation (Y for Youths!)

Social: Youths in our generation consider going to a club on a Friday night as a social event. It is socially acceptable to find people our age at a night club having some fun!

Technology: We promoted our event mostly through Facebook (oh…the power of facebook). Of course, word of mouth is very important – and so are our cellphones!

Economic: Our tickets were on sale for $10- and many of the youths are able to pay this price. It is actually cheaper to go with us cause usually cover is $12! Many students do work, so $10 is absolutely payable and economical!

Political/Legal: Richmond Youth Foundation classifies youths as being aged 25 and under. Since it was a clubbing event, our legal issue is to ensure our customers are 19+!

Here is the poster we used to promote our event:

and… I guess we did a great job because…

In conclusion: we raised over $1400 for the Richmond Youth Foundation!!!

Companies and foundations are always starting initiatives to make the community a better place. Check out Colin Zhang’s blog https://blogs.ubc.ca/colinzhang/ to learn about Coca Cola’s exciting initiatives if you don’t know already!

-Mandy

Recently, in class, we discussed an article on the downfall of concerts which gave me the idea to write my first blog post on my favourite artist: Lights! It was only a few months back that Lights was here in Vancouver and I got to see her live!

For those that do not know who she is:

Anyway, so having learned the marketing mix, I can relate it much to her concert.

Product: CDs, tshirts, hoodies, wristbands, tote bags, calendars

Price: It is pretty much expected that products sold at a concert are more expensive cause it adds value to your experience- the tshirt I bought was for $25 at the concert. The ticket itself wasn’t too bad for a concert: $30- worth my money to watch her live!

Place/Distribution: For the ticket, I bought it online – then as the concert came closer all the tickets were sold out and people were selling her tickets for over $200 online! At the concert, products were placed right by the entrance doors to the concert so it is very convenient for fans to either line up before they head in, or drop their stuff off inside and come right back out. However, I found the distribution to be rather poor with only one person handling the cash, delivery, and everything else.

Promotion: The products (especially the tshirts) – were pretty much self promoting. I swear, everyone at the concert had a LIGHTS tshirt on!

My two girls and I were very lucky to get the last 3 shirts in this design at our size:

and myself:

group picture with the boys:

<3!

PS. Who knew a few months later I’d bump into her at Cypress when I was snowboarding!

and my very own personal picture with LIGHTS:

-Mandy