We all know Justin Bieber, and have heard of his rag to riches story to fame. His story highlights the power that social media has on society and the importance of a good personal brand image. His manager saw the potential in Justin and his potential to attract the Tween and older crowd which currently are one of the most influential consumer group in today’s market. On Justin’s Facebook and twitter page alone he carries over 38 million followers or likes, which is a tad larger then Canada itself. Justin’s fans also show immense customer loyalty towards Justin. As they feel like relatable to him, having watched him from Youtube videos develop into one of the most popular artists in North America. With his success of branding himself from his amazing music, personality, and good hair, he has the power to influence consumers to buy a product just because he is using it. Manufacturers have taken advantage of his image and have branded several different products with Justin Bieber’s face in order for it to appeal to his fans, a 40 million market. With the christmas season coming, I have seen several commercials for Justin Beibers new holiday CD “Mistletoe,” his new perfume scent ” Someday,” and to get a Justin Bieber stocking , and ornaments to fulfil his fan’s christmas holidays. With all eyes on Justin It’s vital for him to keep up a good image. To be completely honest, before I watched Justin’s new autobiography ” Never Say Never,” with a classmate Sami Dodson, I was never a big fan of Justin. Until watching it, seeing his story, and how normal he was, as well as a musical genius, it completely changed our views on him. In fact, the movie itself has some sort of brainwashing tool that made me obsessed with Justin, and made me join his 40 million fan army of BELIEBERS. To conclude, Justin is a prime example of amazing self branding, and how it can attract the attention and admiration of millions.

As most of you have probably heard, Mcdonalds has put on their annual promotion of offering consumer’s a small cup of their premium roast coffee from November 1-6. This marketing strategy shows Mcdonald’s effort in trying to penetrate the coffee market, and take away market share from it’s largest hot drink competitors, Starbucks and Tim Horton’s. Although it may seem absurd that Mcdonald’s  would think they would have a chance competing in the coffee market , there are some great benefits due to Mcdonald’s actions. For one,  a buzz around Mcdonald’s and their coffee is created as it grabs the attention and interest from new or existing consumers.This marketing tactic also attracts a mass load of new consumers to try their product who normally wouldn’t think to buy coffee at Mcdonald’s due to consumer’s predetermined perceptions of the company. And lastly, the buzz and excitement created from the promotion, trickles directly down to the customers into consumer-generated media. Consumer’s ( Like myself) become excited over the promotion and in turn become promoters for Mcdonald’s  through word of mouth promotion. The second I heard about the free coffee week at mcdonalds the first thing I did was to update my Facbeook status to inform all of my friends about the deal in hopes that they too would take advantage of it. This act definitely sparked a buzz on Facebook, as my status received 15 likes (two of them coming from students in my Com 296 class Samantha Dodson and Sean Goodall) and 10 comments on my status. It has been proven that word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective marketing tactics because the value of the product comes off as more genuine and as a more trust worthy source, and because of this I think the millions Mcdonald’s spent on advertising the promotion and giving away unlimited free coffees was well worth it for the company  in the end.

Recently, Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple passed away due to Pancreatic Cancer. Although the head of Apple is gone, his Empire and Legacy lives on. Not only was he the co-founder of Apple computers and Pixar Animations, but he was also an inspirational figure for millions of people, famous for his speech at a Stanford University Graduation, as he delivered an encouraging and inspirational speech to many. Steve jobs played such a big role in Apple’s success not only because of his ingenious innovations, but also for his charismatic personality that was utilized in Apple’s marketing tactic when releasing new products in the market. Although there has been many speculations of Apple’s fate due to Steve’s passing, Apples brand now lies on the shoulders on Steve’s newly appointed successor Tim Cook. The big question now remains on the performance of Tim Cook and if he can successfully live up to Steve Job’s delivery with product development and marketing. For the past quarter of a century, Steve Job’s has successfully created a cult of Apple loving consumers, and a culture among young working professionals who seek to differentiate themselves from other computer users. Steve has positioned Apple’s brand as a lifestyle product and it is one of the world’s most recognized brands, creating a solid base for Tim Cook to build upon. It will be interesting to see if Apple’s marketing strategy will change now that Steve Jobs is out of the picture, and If Tim Cook will live up to Steve Job’s recommendation. All eyes will now be on Tim Cook to see if his capabilities lives up to expectations of delivering Apple’s next greatest innovation.

Tesco’s newly rebranded grocery franchise , “Homeplus,” had only one objective in mind, increasing market share–without increasing number of retail locations throughout Korea. Homeplus thought of a clever marketing strategy in bringing their retail store into the busy consumer’s life. They placed electronic grocery aisles throughout all the subway platforms in the waiting area for consumers. These electronic aisles aren’t regular grocery store asiles, they use the increasingly popular QR code technology to scan and purchase everyday grocery items, and have them delivered to the consumer’s front door, by the time they arrive home from their commute. This brilliant marketing tactic deployed by Homeplus has increased their online sales by 130% between Nov 2010-Jan 2011. Homeplus  recognized the void in what consumer’s lifestyles–time, and they have successfully implemented a solution to grocery shop without  interfering with consumer’s busy schedules.

On Tuesday September 19,  I  got assigned a team in my Marketing class to analyze a company, both Micro and Macro environments and come up with a new marketing strategy for the company. Our team chose to pursue research in AXE, since they are a well known company who specializes in grooming products, mainly Deodorant spray and body wash. When I was researching the trend of advertisements that AXE uses I realized that almost every single Axe ad contained sexuality/seduction and comedy as their main themes. This makes perfect sense considering their target market is males from ages 14-25, and what better way to attract a males attention by sex or comedy. One commercial that especially caught my eye was the Axe Detailer “can clean your balls ,” campaign. This commercial was banned from Television due to its  content shortly after being aired.The commercial is more humor based, and uses a simile for man parts with all types of “Balls,” because we know all men come in different shapes and sizes. Despite the Axe Detailer “Clean your balls,” campaign, the video still went viral online, and has been watched by millions. It is interesting to find that even though it got banned, consumers are still watching the video for self amusement, an EXCELLENT marketing strategy in my opinion. I think that even if advertisements are riskee and are banned, the company can still promote it’s product through consumer’s word of mouth, especially with such a genius ad. I am a prime example of the benefits Axe is getting from the video going viral. After making me crack up while watching it, I just HAD to post it on my Facebook to share with friends.

See video below how Axe Detailed, can “Clean your balls.”

Clean your balls

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