wonderful idea

The market is surly going for smart phones these day. Faster communications nowadays is changing how everything works. I don’t know when did it all start but i wanted it so much and I was dying for an iphone. If you all remember, I had had a Macbook Air newly purchased from apple. And today, I got an iphone 4 that I have always been waiting for on a 3 year contract. Do I qualify as an apple advocate? Oh and if anyone is still waiting for iphone 4, it arrived yesterday in Richmond Center Fido store.   Go get it, cause you know, they don’t take pre-order for iphones.

After I got the iphone and after I read Yujia’s blog about iphone app- the latest way of marketing, I realized how there are a lot of other businesses that grew with the iphone, for example, apps, bumper cases, jail breaking programs,(in order to install 3rd party applications on the iphone), unlocking services (cause we love the iphone and wanted to be able to use it when we are out of the country), and mobile web browsing and mobile social-interface are two of the big ones. These are product line extension, meaning that new products are created to add depth to the previous product.

On the other hand, I have realized that whenever there is a way to get a product by paying for it, more business open by offering services to customers to find another way around paying for it, but charging their customers for a fee. It has happened to virus protection programs, computer and now cellphone softwares, and the unlocking of iphones. I guess that’s why there is always a underground market for all  kind of services. It because customers in the market seeks the most benefit out of the price they pay, thus the market is efficiently operating by itself.

I was reminded of these creative escalator ads after reading Zee’s post on Awesome 3D Street Arts. It would be awesome to see some these 3D arts on the street. It even becomes brilliant when companies use these 3D arts to advertise their own company. Please go to the following link view the 15 Great Escalator & Stair Ambient Ads: http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/stupendous-steps-15-great-escalator-stair-ambient-ads/.

Here is a video showing the escalator ad for hair saloon in movement.

I also like this Pizza Kingdom one showing the cheese got stretched on separating pizza slides when the escalator moves.

Sorry for not updating my blog for so long. This is due to the stomach pain I was experiencing. No one will know how it feels without having to vomit every time you try to eat or drink and there for deprived from food for 2 days and lacked energy for even walking. Anyway, it was a horrible experience and I have noticed something after I got home from the emergency center of UBC hospital.

At the time when I was suffering, the price of treatment and medicine mean little and unimportant to me. I know exactly what I wanted, which were intravenous dripping of antibiotic and glucose, when I was waiting in the hall. I trusted the doctors very much and believed that they will help me so that I can recover, but I after I waited for 2 hours, all I got was Maalox (which is a product you can get everywhere without doctor’s prescription). I am very disappointed in the health system here since I trusted them so much, but the Maalox irritates me even more and made me condition even worst.

By that time, I was willing to pay any price to get the medicine I needed since I haven’t eat for so long that I can’t afford to go to another hospital. I was hoping that there is a place that I can go and get the treatment I wanted as long as I pay for it. Think about it, it is very inhumane to make an urgent patient wait for so long and then send he/she home after just giving them basic advices. I am very upset about Canada’s health system because what I have gone through is a common situation shared by everyone in the country. What upsets me even more is that the average income of an emergency doctor is around $35,000/month. I have heard stories from my friend that last time a fire spark went into his eye, but he waited for 3 hours in the emergency centre and got sent home for it to self-heal.

Now I am sure that private hospital and health related insurance has quite  a big market in Canada since all the government does is take money from pocket of the rich and spread them evenly among all people, which will not provide anyone with satisfactory health treatment since there isn’t enough money or doctors. I am totally not satisfied with the health care system for the amount of taxes I pay. Maybe this is the best example showing how one of the macro-environment factor (politic/regulation) can affect an industry, therefore lowering standard of living.

This weekend, I got myself the new 13inch Macbook Air. I am sure that all of you have heard about it and have seen one somewhere, so  I am not going to introduce it here. It was a major purchase that I made and I want to share my experience and apply the marketing theory upon factors that I think has influenced my Consumer Decision Process when I still remember how it feels.  ps. I am not advertising here but the Macbook Air is extremely cool!

Well, it is a long story, but first I recognized my need for a new notepad because my old one has got a fragile hard drive that’s not durable for take out anymore. It is both a functional and psychological need because I need it for schoolwork and I want to look cool to my friends by getting the latest product. I think here there are Marketing Mix as well as Social Factors. I was thinking of what I am looking for and comparing that with what I can afford and where can I get it. That was where all the research of information begins.  At the same time, the direction of my research was influenced by my social reference group including my friends, peers, and groupmates. I remember how it seemed surprised to me at first that all my marketing group members are using Macbook Pro when I was the only one using hp (not a bad comment, I am using hp, but mine is too heavy b/c it’s not a notepad), but later it just doesn’t feel right if I don’t start using Mac as everyone else does. lol

I remembered two years ago when I saw the Mac vs. PC commercial series, and I think that was hilariously funny. If you don’t know what I am talking about, go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z0Ia5jDt4&feature=related. Sorry about not posting the video directly, but I can’t figure out a way to put a video in the middle of my paragraph. I am not saying that I agree with the ad, nor do I think it is ethical, but it was powerful. Since then, my perception about Mac has changed. I used to think that it’s incompatible and hard to use, but since I saw the commercial, I think of it as youthful, clean and simple, no virus, and fun. It is hard to describe but I think the effect is due to the comparison with a PC, the white and clean background, and the my perception of the two guys representing PC and Mac in the commercial. This is one of the Psychological Factors.

 I am also influenced by the Situational Factors such as store atmosphere, salespeople, and in-store demonstration. I feel a sense of belonging when I am in the Apple store because there are a lot of young people like me who are also interested in the product. One big surprise was that I also see some older customers around who are serious about trying out Apple products. Once again this is a powerful message to me saying that Apple is so popular that even aging population want to try them hands-on. The in-store trial is very important because switching cost is high for me to go from a PC to a Mac so I want as much information as possible before I make my final decision, and I wouldn’t be making the decision as fast as I did if I don’t get to try the Macbook Air several times . The way the salesperson addresses my questions and concerns makes me feel that I am understood and am actually getting help. I will also give them credit for that. It was just that the store is crowded due to the launch of iPhone 4, but overall the shopping experience is pleasant.

According to my own experience, the theory taught in class does work. I think all 4 factors has influenced my decision process, but the product itself and its promotion has influenced me the most.

Despite how well a marketing strategy might be, I think what matter the most is the people that are actually carring out the strategies. This is especially important for a brand name and for supermarkets. I myself would actually evaluate the satisfactory level of customer services provided by a store, which I believe represents the opinion of a fraction of the population. Now I am going to share some true stories that happened to people around me.

Jojo likes to and has the ability to shop at high quality cosmetic departments, but the fact is she appears to be very young and small in her appearance. When she is shopping at some counters selling brand name products, not in Canada though, she always gets ignored or suffers from contemptuous attitude of the sales person. She is so upset that she would rather go to a more expensive store to get the same product but with the service that she deserves.

My sister was viewing some products one time while talking with her friend on the phone. The sales was impatient about waiting  and started complaining to her colleague. When the phone call is finished, my sister got in an argument with the sales person and I talked to the manager of the store about the inadequate serving attitude we got. Even though that was something that my sister liked about, she didn’t make the purchase. After that event, we never went into that store once more.

When I get fliers in my mailbox, I tend to throw them out. By the way, I think this is an ineffective promotional method, and it is unfriendly to the environment as well. But if I got one that’s handed to me by a person, I will give it a look and give it back to save some trees from being chopped up if I am not interested at all.  Most of the time, I took action in response to the ones handed to me because they are either appealing to me, or it was relatively easy for me to do something about it in terms of time and location. I found this to be better than some junk in my mailbox.

Afterall, marketing is a human-oriented study which marketers try to understand their customers better, then, shouldn’t they put more effort into serving them better as well? It is so important that customers get treated nicely and respectfully, because a bad experience gets propagated 10 times faster than a good one.

This is foursquare’s commercial. I think foursquare is a brilliant idea. It is fun, attractive, easy to do, and it’s got some very important marketing aspects in it. For small businesses and especially local businesses that do not have a big brand name, becoming partners of foursquare and offering special discount to foursquare users is going to increase their businesses and popularity in its community. It is a really great promotional tool for small businesses. It is also making observations of consumer spending habit by making users check in at stores they go to, so it can analysis the data and sell the data to companies that are interested. More importantly, consumers offer the data volunteeringly for an exchange of discount at specific stores, which does not cause foursquare anything. At the end, back to the question I asked: “Could Foursquare be the next most popular promotional tool for small businesses in the world?” As it was founded in 2007, and only in 3 years it has attracted 3 million users worldwide, I think it is quite possible.

Hi everyone, back with some interesting things up there. The official site is www.foursquare.com , so check it out and  tell me what do you think about it. I personally think that it is pretty cool, and the video in this post and on the official website will tell you how it works.

I am not sure if any of you are already foursquare users, but I am going to join. In a nutshell, foursquare is an online social interface where you can find tips and advice for things you must do and things you should avoid when you are going to stores, restaurants, and other locations around the city. You can also connect with old friends and find new friends go to your favourite stores.

To use its service, you need to sign up for an account, which is free, and have a mobile phone that can access the internet. It then automatically links your account with your facebook and twitter account so you only need to share your tip once if you are going to do so. Later on you can start checking in locations listed on foursquare using your phone and the foursquare account will use the GPS system to confirm your check in. You can read tips written by others regarding that location so you can have a better experience. By checking in enough times, you unlock badges, so it is like an adventure game that you got to play in person and the mission is to unlock the city. If you become the person that checks in most often at a location that is linked with foursquare.com, you become the mayor and can enjoy discounts at certain store. You can also establish new locations that people can check in later.

I have not seen a clothing brand’s commercial as touching as this one, and I think I might not be able to see Burberry produce another commercial as good as this one. It was like a little movie that has  its story to tell, and the product or brand that was advertised took an important role as the medium in the story.

I think it has communicated the image of the brand very clearly, which is to give warmth, to connect people in they lives, and remain its good quality for basically a lifetime for whoever that’s using its product. It has presented some sweet childhood memories in the commercial, and the last line in there which says “The good things in life never change.” is very interesting and meaningful because each and very of one of the audiences might interpret it differently or relate it to different things but all or mostly would have this comfortable feeling. It think this promotional method is very smart. For me I thought of an old friend who has always surpport me and is always there, now I d will relate this feeling to the brand when I think of Burberry.

I am not a zealot of Burberry, but I do think that this is very great for sharing.

Welcome to my blog everyone~~ This is a marketing blog in which I will talk about marketing and fun things I see or read that are related to marketing. I hope grammer and wrting skills don’t count for the content of my blog, but I will try my best to make everything understandable. 🙂

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