Remember when McDonald’s just sold burgers, and Tim Horton’s just sold coffee and donuts?
In his latest blog post, Angus Chak discusses the influence market research and society have on each other.
I would suggest that there is such a significant push and pull between the two, that they not only influence each other, but also themselves (so society influences market research influencing society who influences market research, still with me?).
Take the new explosion of fruit smoothies taking over Canadian fast-food outlets. According to a recent article in the Financial Post, these drinks are the fastest-growing menu item in the restaurant industry with over 72 million servings sold nationwide. Between the new market offerings from Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Burger King (soon!), and incumbents Jugo Juice and Orange Julius, it’s becoming unclear who is responsible for this trend. Is it because of the food outlets, who, like Starbucks, were driven by market research? Or is it because of consumers, who are driven by the plethora of new market offerings (and the marketing bonanza that follows)?
With the latest spike in smoothie purchases being made after Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s entered the scene, it is possible that consumers simply bought more smoothies because there were cheaper and more easily accessible. This is while Starbucks introduced their fruity beverages ‘following market research feedback showing increasing demand for “healthier food and beverage choices in its stores”’ (FP).
The overarching change in the fast-food industry – with outlets offering new, often healthier, products to chase the stigma related to fast food – is a major driver in the introduction of new beverages. McDonald’s is leading the charge, “reaching out to younger customers” by offering both coffee and smoothies and “converting millions” (The Record, Reuters). The question remains, though, who is converting whom?
Are you buying smoothies because more places are offering them? Or are more places offering them because we’re buying this type of product more?
Amongst billions of downloads, how many of the apps on the Apple App Store are borne from stolen ideas?
Look to the left, look to the right.
Apparently, quite a few.
In a recent series on the tech and culture site, The Verge, a number of copied app concepts have been profiled. It appears that, especially in the realm of mobile gaming apps, it is becoming increasingly common for a great original idea – often made up by a brilliant indie developer – to be cloned. The clone is often backed by a million dollar marketing portfolio from a multinational app publisher.
In his recent blog post, Chris Lam discusses how controlling the simple economic concept of supply can allow a firm to “control” and “manipulate” global demand for diamonds and thus leverage much of its marketing through this. And he’s absolutely right; but controlling the wants of the people by fiddling with supply is really only feasible in monopolized or dominated markets without significant growth. And clearly, this is not the nature of the mobile app market.
So what’s an indie dev to do?
While some have resorted to waiting for Apple to handle the situation, while some have taken the fight to the cloners. All the while, the offenders have essentially “cloned their way to success”. Edge Magazine recently reported how high profile game publisher, Zynga, has done just that.
The end result is an marketplace dominated by the “one-percent developers”. One where dominant companies sell millions of copies of games based on ideas of others. It’s become evident that being the first developer to come up with a great idea is not going to push you up the charts, a multimillion dollar marketing budget will.
When your newest smartphone heading into 2012 is being compared to a 90’s era Palm Pilot, you’re doing it wrong.
Samsung had been hyping up its newest ad campaign for it’s newest mobile handset, the Galaxy Note, for weeks, and the end result (as shown above) was broadcasted this Sunday as part of the NFL Superbowl Game. The ad features a individual cellphone owner using the new device beside a line of somewhat disgruntled fans of a certain electronics company (it is implied that these are fans of Apple, who are waiting in line for the “next big thing” from Cupertino). As people in the line spot the Note, they are enamoured with the fact that the half-tablet, half-phone includes a stylus. After this the entire block seems to explode into a crazy rendition of The Darkness’ “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” for the final minute of the 90 second clip.
As Mashable reports, the fact that Samsung decided to highlight a stylus – a feature of the once popular Palm Pilot – caught the attention of many viewers: especially given the ad’s tagline “The Next Big Thing Is Already Here”. Twitter users were stupefied by the fact that Samsung’s decided point of differentiation for their newest phone was a staple of the best of 90’s tech. Given some of the other standout features of the Note (namely it’s 5 in. screen, high pixel density, powerful processor) it’s interesting that Samsung decided to position it using the “S-Pen” as the way for the product to be defined by consumers.
Consumers are bombarded with information about products and services, especially during the Super Bowl. Positioning a product through ads allows consumers to simplify the buying process, organizing their thoughts on certain products based on their most impressive features. Samsung’s made this decision easy for consumers, and it doesn’t look like it came off favourably for the company who spent millions on the spot.
Hey all,
I’m Matthew Lee, a second year student like many of us in this class. I’m taking 296 because I’m considering making Marketing one of my majors, so I’m excited to see how I like it. I’ve been on either side of the coin when it comes to this industry – as someone who’s big into gadgets/mobile phones etc, I naturally buy these products; I’ve also been on the other side of things having been involved in the Western Canada arm of Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect Launch in 2010-2011 initiating retail demo programs throughout the year. I’ve also done some promotions work for the likes of Port Metro Vancouver and UBC’s Learning Commons.
My favourite ad, the above Nike ad leading up to the 2010 Fifia World Cup. Being a huge soccer fan, I loved seeing all the different stars featured as well as the hilarious depiction of the emotions attached to the success and failure of sports teams – how we idolize and crucify talented athletes based on their performances in a single match. Being a big hockey fan (in addition to soccer) and living in Vancouver, I can appreciate this demonstration. The ad also combined many different aspects of the entertainment industry, which I loved.
I’m a big music fan. I listen to virtually any genre of music you could name and possibly some others. I’m always up for giving and receiving recommendations as well! If you actually care to look, here’s my last.fm profile, you’ll notice I listen to just about everything.
Anyway, looking forward to a great term of marketing with all of my classmates!
In the current economic climate, many small businesses need to pinch pennies to keep afloat. Because of this, outsourcing of certain business services is becoming increasingly prevalent. A recent PR nightmare in the tech space would suggest that this isn’t always the best of ideas.
N-Controller, an up and coming video game peripheral manufacturer hired a separate marketing firm – Ocean Marketing – to promote their Avenger controller attachment for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The attachment, meant to improve reflex timing and allow disabled gamers to use two-handed controllers, was launched mired with shipping delays and inventory shortages. When a customer sent an email – importantly, a frustrated, but polite email, mentioning their excitement for the product – to N-Controller’s customer service department, the response was shocking. Initially, the reply from Ocean Marketing was curt, answering the delivery inquiry with a date (as detailed in the since published email chain, literally “Dec 17”). As the customer persisted, the external marketing rep grew angry and insulting. The argument intensified with the rep name dropping game developer executives and conference organizers, mentioning how “nobody cares” about the individual customer’s issue.
That’s when the tech community stepped in. Mike Krahulik, organizer of the major video game convention PAX, stepped in when the customer forwarded him an email the Ocean Marketing rep sent. Krahulik responded to the rep’s claim that the Avenger was to be featured at the convention by saying any booth related to the peripheral would be banned. The rep foolishly engaged in a war of words with Krahulik, leading to some scathing articles on major technology publications such as Engadget, Kotaku and IGN.
Due to the immense pressure N-Controller has faced from this incident, they have since cut ties with the rogue marketing firm, and has donated $10,000 in cash and $50,000 in product to Child’s Play, a charity supporting disabled youth in enjoying video games. That’s a costly way for the small manufacturer to buy back some respect, but it’s a gesture that has been well recognized across the industry.
The main lesson here is for small businesses to be wary of the type of people they outsource their frontline marketing/PR services to. It’s becoming clear that how a company wishes to position itself in a market goes far beyond the flashy splash ads in magazines or on websites – it reaches into the relationships your staff builds with a community, not a market. Given the backlash to the inane behaviour of the Ocean Marketing rep, it’s obvious too that an exciting product alone can’t hold up your marketing arm without a proper structure of respectful customer service and relationship builders behind it.
-Blog Post for Comm299-
Nearing the end of yet another term here at UBC Sauder School of Business calls for reflection. Comm299 is a course on career fundamentals, and has taught me many things about myself and what Sauder offers it’s students. As such, I’ll refrain from long, drawn out statements, but a series of smaller things I’ve learned over the course of the term, a la Esquire’s excellent What I’ve Learned series
About Myself
As the above image suggests, StrengthsQuest seems to think I’m a pretty good team player – my “Signature Themes” are Individualization, Restorative, Arranger, Includer and Strategic. I’ve always heard from others that I have a knack for managing people because I “get” them. Still don’t really buy it, but having an online assessment restate it is interesting.
Interviews used to scare me, because I usually take some time to process questions, but after a lot of lessons (many being generously personal) and in class exercises from my TA, Cole, I found “general stems” to certain types of questions. This doesn’t mean scripting an answer, but having a topic/point of involvement to discuss when prompted with a certain type of question.
My answers to many interview questions tend to be longer and more drawn out than they need to be. Something that I’m working on.
I can be spontaneous if a good enough opportunity presents itself. When work and a couple of classes got cancelled the day of the Me Inc. Conference (informed of the cancellations, literally 12 hours before the conference date), I made a quick decision to join my peers into what surely can be considered the second rite of passage for first year Sauderites, after FROSH, of course.
In terms of those information interviews and approach letters, I guess I was ahead of the game. In that sense, I’ve definitely been trending towards a good path to success.
I’m a pretty eloquent writer, but a lack of proof reading makes me sound silly.
About the business world/Sauder
The business world is full of neat freaks. Good thing I had a great adviser from the BCC to help me go over it. Turns out ex-299 profs are sticklers for this stuff and can pick misaligned margins out of endless white – just like many executives can.
Networking had a sort of stigma heading into 299 (and Me Inc.), with people talking about how Sauderites often “network” just to get ahead. Turns out my initial belief that networking is all about creating relationships from which both individuals can benefit.
Music is a great way to engage a class. Our TA used it strategically as we entered the class and worked on certain exercises. Kept me – among others I’m certain – from zoning out.
Business people are humans too, it turns out. I’ve got to meet a couple of amazing people because of 299’s instructors’ encouragement to attend Me Inc. and go out and find the people who inspire me. I’ve found some possible mentors and am very excited to what these new relationships may become!
-Blog Post for COMM299-
Greatest Lesson I’ve Learned from Someone Else
Two years ago, I worked for Port Metro Vancouver’s Community Relations department as a Leadership Student. A paid position, Leadership Students were given the opportunity to work with the port authority’s Community Relations Staff (CRS) in presenting harbour tours, giving classroom presentations and taking part in various other community events. On a usual event, two Leadership Students would join two CRS on the job. Many of the CRS were either in their parting years at the Port or had already graduated, and often gave us advice on post-secondary education and left us with many life lessons. Leadership Students are often picked from supposed “have not” high schools, and it was important for many of us to have mentors work with us so closely.
One member of the CRS, Chris, worked with me quite often and is credited with teaching me one of my greatest lessons. Many of the Leadership Students don’t end up in Commerce, and some don’t even end up in university, so Chris found my aspiration to get into Sauder to be of particular interest to him. During some of the slow times during events, I would ask him for his thoughts on what sort of involvement would be valuable to include on my Sauder supplemental and on resumés and such. At that this time in high school, many of my friends were involved in several . His reply, which now seems completely obvious, was a big deal for me. He told me that it doesn’t matter so much what type of involvement or work you do, but more the growth you gain from that experience. He went on to say that what is important to admissions staff or employers isn’t the number of areas in which you are involved, but the length of the involvement, and an understanding of how that involvement has grown you as a person.
This was an important lesson for me in my high school years as it gave me the peace of mind to pursue fewer involvement opportunities that truly interested and inspired me, rather than putting myself in many small, less meaningful roles. Having gotten into Sauder and into some higher profile workplaces, I can attest to the notion that when it comes to being involved, depth is often greater than breadth. The opportunities that I’ve chosen to be involved in, I feel, have definitely been a positive impact on how I see my life, and has introduced me to like minded people (many of which have become good friends). For this, I am grateful to have learned this lesson, however simple it may seem.
According to a recent Globe and Mail article, a new online publishing site, TheGameCrafter.com, is pitching itself as a a new platform for innovative game creation. The site is providing all the tools developers would need to come up with games: planning, designing and packaging potential ideas. This is one of the few game creation sites that choose to focus on tangible games, not video games. This means card games and board games are the focus, not first-person shooters and real-time strategy titles.
TheGameCrafter will provide raw materials to turn these ideas into real products to be sold on their site. This is huge news for those looking into game creation. It gives people a cheap startup ability to anyone who has a “good idea” but is too afraid to pitch their ideas to big game companies and also allows them to make money and a name for themselves while testing out consumer reaction to their ideas with few and little costs.
The Game Crafter even provides templates and conceptual mockups to help stimulate interest and innovation on their site.
According to this Vancouver Sun Report, the majority of products marketed as green have been attached to corporate greenwashing. TerraChoice – an environmental marketing brand based out of Ottawa launched an investigation of over 5,200 products. The investigation resulted in findings that over 95.6% of the products contained at least one misleading green claim.
The finding also contained dramatic results for children’s toys and baby products in particular, with 100% of children’s toys and 99.2% of baby products containing a misleading claim about their environmental impacts.
Greenwashing is defined as “the act of misleading consumers about the environmental practices of a company, or the environmental benefits of a product or service”. It is a problem becoming increasingly rampant along with the wave of environmental hysteria (warranted and otherwise), with 30.9% of all products carrying a “certification-like” logo, leading consumers to believe the product was approved by a green third-party – a figure up from 23.3% last year.
With this news, it is clearer than ever that finding environmentally friendly products is really quite unclear. Without better regulation of such advertising and promotion, consumers may continue to support non-environmentally friendly products unknowingly, despite their good intentions.
Engadget is a technology weblog centered around consumer electronics. Launched in 2004, Engadget is updated several times a day with news on current and future gadgetry: ranging from cars to cellular phones. Engadget is an entrepreneurial group as they are pursuing a business venture by changing the way information about consumer electronics are communicated with, well, consumers. They, and other blogs such as Gizmodo, are making money by hiring (or being) gadget gurus to express their opinions on these consumer electronics between posting insider and/or first-run information to the public.
Weblogs are a low-risk, high failure rate industry, but Engadget and other such sites are making a good run at it by executing the idea of providing consumers with expert-like opinions on a more personal level.