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CUT! Comm 296 Reflection

Our group’s initial choice for the marketing project actually wasn’t TD Canada Trust. We had to switch from Pepsi to TD after finding out that Pepsi wasn’t in the UBC Library database, which ended up not making much of a difference in the end.

At times, if I had to be honest, I deeply regretted choosing TD. It was not an easy company to analyze due to its financial nature. My group members and I found ourselves constantly looking for simpler, understandable data. In addition to this challenge, it was difficult finding specific points of differences that were individualized to TD due to its extremely competitive market. We had to ensure that the other big banks weren’t doing the same things as TD when we wanted to point out a competitive advantage or stand-out appeal. Oftentimes, they were. If I had know how complicated TD was, I would never have chosen it.

In hindsight, however, I’m actually really glad that we chose TD. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have learned so much about the company as well as the banking industry – subjects I had little interest or knowledge in. As someone who loves marketing for its creative aspects, I’ve always run away from the technical sides to problems despite knowing that they, too, are extremely important in business. After learning about TD through this project, I realize that numbers may not be as scary as they seem. Once you start understanding how they work, they’re pretty enjoyable to work with!

The coolest part about this project was recognizing some of the terms in the research data (interest rates, employee turnover, cash flow) thanks to some of my past commerce courses. This definitely helped us simplify the tangle of data on TD.

And of course, I learned a ton about teamwork. Being specific with deadlines and delegation is so important when it comes to working together, and I was extremely fortunate to have been in a group where every single member was dedicated to contributing her own part.

All in all, Comm 296 was a very hands-on course that gave me lots of valuable experience and insight into the world of marketing, even in a dry and number-based industry like banking. I wouldn’t exchange this experience for anything.

Oh, and my biggest tip for next year’s Comm 296 students… Background music will bring your video to life!

Slacktivism, Charities, Social Media – What It All Means

I first read about this study in my Sauder 360 e-Newsletter when its title caught my eye – “New Sauder Research Slacktivism Liking on Facebook may mean less giving.”

I think the part that caught me the most off-guard was the fact that social media pushed people away from giving meaningfully and generously, as opposed to having a positive effect or even no effect.

If you don’t know what ‘slacktivism’ is, don’t worry – I didn’t know either up until this article. According to an article from First Giving, it was during the sweeping storm of a campaign for Kony 2012 that people began using the term. A combination of ‘slacker’ and ‘activism’ and labeled by many as ‘feel good activism’, slacktivism refers to one who supports a cause with small and very easy gestures to pretty much feel like he or she is contributing. Even though not a lot of people may know the term itself, I feel like slacktivism is a huge part of the current generation and the lifestyle everyone lives nowadays. If all you’ve done to help out a certain cause is ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ something, you’re guilty of slacktivism. I know I certainly am.

To be honest, it makes sense. Now that we’re exposed to so many viral issues around the world every single day, it’s difficult for people to devote their time and effort towards a single cause. By spreading ourselves thin, our contributions per cause becomes less significant, leading to quick and easy ways of getting involved. Most people probably have the same thought after pulling a slacktivistic move: “At least we did something right?”

I feel like slacktivism also works on both sides. If marketing provokes slacktive reactions, clearly the marketing could have been more striking – no? With great marketing comes great responses – see what I did there? – and my belief is that if you affect the right people the right way, you will see the change you want to see. If you go for the simple, easy, effortless marketing, don’t expect anything else but the same impact to be reflected from your audience and/or target market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DfztIIqbTI

And you know what? Charities are paying attention to this new discovery. When I was corresponding with Hope International, an international development agency that is based right here in Vancouver, their representative mentioned this study and how her own organization may take this into consideration regarding their future social media marketing. Whether they’ll change what they do with their social media drastically is hard to say, but I believe being aware of slacktivism is the first step towards deepening your impact on those who care.

Google’s Ads: Good Enough to Make You Forget About Privacy Issues

I’m all about tearjerkers, but that doesn’t mean that I’m blinded by my feelings. I actually enjoy analyzing the manipulation of emotions just as much as being manipulated emotionally, as strange as that sounds … which is exactly what I did with Google Maps’ video ad, which I found in an AdFreak article.

This ad, which was released by Google Maps one month ago, is about the true story of Saroo Brierley. After being separated from his family in India and adopted by a family in Australia, Saroo finds his way back home with the help of Google Earth 25 years later. There were some things that the video was lacking, such as info on his book describing the entire experience, but I still got goosebumps watching this video.

What caught my eye was this part from AdFreak’s article on the video:

“You will cry. You will forget that it’s an ad for Google. You will also forget about Google’s privacy concerns and how eerie it is that your blind date can see every detail of your house before you meet.”

It’s so true. I sure wasn’t thinking about the controversy over one’s privacy online – I was too busy celebrating the happy ending of Saroo’s journey. Who could ever have predicted how life-changing Google Earth could be for an entire family?

And in this case, I believe it’s okay for us to put aside our protest about our privacy for once and just appreciate this miracle of a story. There are times when you should fight for what’s right, but there are other times when you should simply be thankful for what we have today before you start complaining about the things that were unimaginable only decades ago that we now take for granted. Like Gizmodo’s article says, this story carries a sentimental and striking message about the power of Google and of the Internet itself. It’s a message that our generation really needs, and I couldn’t agree more with it.

“[H]is story is a good reminder that the internet isn’t all leaked cell phone pic and cat memes.”

I feel like this ad probably helped out the story of Saroo Brierley and his book more than Google Maps. I sure wouldn’t have known about this story had I not seen Google’s video. All the reviews I’ve seen so far have been nothing but positive. I can’t wait to pick up this book from the library and give it a read.

RE: The Empire of Inexpensive Clothes Revealed

As a loyal shopper at Forever 21, I found Selina’s blog post on the dark side of this massive franchise very intriguing. Not surprising – I wrote a paper on sweatshops during my first year in uni – but intriguing nevertheless.

Now the true powerplay is in the hands of the marketers, specifically the PR team. How would YOU deal with this kind of negative publicity that may tarnish your brand image? The infamous Kardashians certainly aren’t a role model in PR. In 2011, their shoe lines were accused of horrific working conditions for factory employees who “often work up to 84 hours a week in non-air-conditioned facilities and earn only $1 an hour”. The rep’s response: “This story is not true.” That was it.

I’ve noticed that most companies who face issues with sweatshops try to disregard the negative media as much as possible until it goes away, like Forever 21. One company that demonstrated themselves as a role model in this kind of situation dealing with sweatshops, however, is Nike. Ironic, I know.

I’m sure most people have heard about the Nike scandal several years ago. It was one of the first companies to have their factory workers’ conditions be exposed and challenged by the public.

“Nike wasn’t the only or worst company to use sweatshops. But it was the one everybody knew.”
– Max Nisen, Business Insider

Nike initially denied these claims and shift the blame onto others, all of which resulted in even more lashbacks. Hence they adopted a comprehensive “rebranding” in terms of their corporate social responsibility and openly addressed the issue by not only releasing tons of data on their manufacturing conditions but also making public announcements on how they will improve those conditions.

Does this mean that the sweatshop practices in Nike is eradicated completely? Of course not. It’s been in place for years and there’s no easy fix for such a complex and sensitive predicament. I still do think it’s a step in the right direction, though. Change begins from the inside, and I have faith that brand management will play a powerful role in driving these companies to maintain fair and safe manufacturing practices.

Selling Through YouTube Fashion & Beauty Gurus: OK or Not OK?

One of my guilty pleasures is watching fashion and beauty gurus on YouTube. What kinds of videos do fashion and beauty gurus upload? Their videos range very widely, from make-up tutorials and shopping hauls to fitness routines and vlogs of their personal lives.

I’m unsure as to when I noticed this, but I discovered that these fashion and beauty gurus have a become a highly valued commodity… to fashion and beauty companies.

It started when I saw that certain gurus included a disclaimer in the video description or the video itself, promising the viewer that the items featured in the video were not “sponsored” by anyone.

Now what does that mean?

It means that no companies were feeding the guru money to say positive things about the products, or at least implied this intent by sending them products for free, and that the guru had purchased everything with their own money and whatever opinions she expressed in the video were her own, honest and genuine.

A special example would be Michelle Phan, easily the most famous beauty guru on YouTube. She now owns her own make-up brand, em cosmetics, which is now used in every one of her make-up tutorials since its launch and hence promoted to all of her subscribers, somewhat subtly. You’ll see what I mean in her most recent make-up tutorial:

The question is: is this okay? Clearly this is beneficial for the companies because this is an excellent way of getting their name out, through (self-claimed) experts who have already earned the trust of hundreds and thousands of viewers out there. I know I’ve certainly been tempted to shop at many of the stores mentioned during a video.

I personally don’t mind because I learn about stores or brands I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, and I’m capable of judging whether or not something is trustworthy regardless of someone’s opinion. However, I can’t say the same for the more vulnerable viewers – the younger shoppers, the shopaholics, the trend followers – who may be easily convinced to spend on things that their role model gurus gush about. This is such a grey area of ethics that cannot be simplified by regulations because companies and gurus are technically not doing anything wrong.

This sponsoring trend has only come to life in the past one to two years and it’s spreading fast, from gurus like Michelle Phan with millions of views to new gurus with only thousands of views. This concerns me in regards of the potentially wasteful purchases that vulnerable members of the YouTube audience will make, and I can only hope that gurus will be aware of their influence on their viewers instead of taking advantage of them for their own benefit.

If You Don’t Donate Now, This African Child Will Die.

Do you ever feel awful whenever you ignore ads using images like these? As if by not donating, you have… no soul?

Then congratulations to the marketeers of non-profit organizations, who may argue that this strategy “helps” the people of Africa because it gets what it wants: money.

I know this is a worn-out topic. After my trip to Ethiopia in July with the ARC Initiative, however, this has become very personal and real to me.

This is an iconic song written for the famine in Ethiopia during the 1980s. It even led to the Live Aid concert in 1985, which had an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion and was broadcasted across 150+ countries as it took place simultaneously in London and Philadelphia. The image of famine has stuck with Ethiopia since.

And this is Sintayehu, our driver and Ethiopian father during our month-long stay. When asked about how Ethiopians feel about how Africa is portrayed in the media, this is (roughly) what he said in an unusually aggravated tone:

“We absolutely hate it. Sure, there are people who struggle like that. But that does not define us. There’s so much more. We are proud people. Even if we are materialistically poor, we are rich inside.“

I know that the aim of pity marketing is money. But distorting the image of the people of Africa beyond their control is unethical and manipulative. It’s not only against their will but it desensitizes people’s perception of poverty. Many people skim over these images mindlessly nowadays.

The people of Africa are proud and strong, and I believe that showcasing their beauty is much more powerful than pity marketing. I am a first-hand witness to their love for life and willpower to survive and I know that there is so much more to them than what the media has established. Fortunately, this pity-marketing trend has been dwindling as of late – I had to search pretty thoroughly for the photo at the top – and it’s a sign that we are on the right path. A sign that we are one step closer to truly knowing the incredible people of Africa.