Meng's Blog

Yesterday afternoon I and a friend Jenny went to Save On Food to do some grocery shopping. As we have seen a video of product shrinking size in previous marketing class, we were interested to see if there is any changes noticeable in Save On.

Of course, a person like me, who haven’t been to Save On for a long time, it is not surprisingthat I have not find anything different. However as I was looking through the range of products, I noticed something interesting. In the refrigerated section where all the meat products are placed, there is a slot stocked with eggs. Naturally the odd placement attracted my attention and I went to look for details of the egg, and it turned out that the eggs contain special nutrition.

Seeing the eggs in the meat category makes me recall the concepts of product placement, and interestingly in class we did go through similar cases with different products. By putting the eggs in the meat slots makes the egg products stand out and attract customer’s attention, thus lead to greater possibility of customer buying the products. This is a very smart placement decision. In addition, using unusual placement increase the likelihood of customer reading on the details of the eggs, thus the nutritional value would be perceive and the weakness on high price would be minimized.

Of course there are problems with the slotting as well. Besides the fact that special placement would cost egg manufacturers additional charge, the association of eggs with meat products may also cause negative impression on customers with vegetarian diets.

In the most recent blog post from marketingmag.ca, editor Jeromy Lloydtalked about Facebook’s new marketing strategy.

In the blog post, Jeromy Lloyd discussed how Facebook has been noticing lack of support for the agencies, and thus introduced their new plan that would made “just for them”. To support the plan, Facebook is going to launch a special platform for agencies that would allow users to share their work on Internet.

Personally I think this is a interesting new approach for Facebook. Being a Facebook user for over three years, the way I perceive Facebook is being a social network for individual to share their interest and their life. In some way I cannot really connect Facebook with professions and works. Although applications such as job market do add to the working aspect of Facebook, I still see this network being different from other professional social networks such as LinkedIn.

With that much said, I think Facebook is taking certain risks in launching the platform. If the platform is being adopted quickly by Facebook users, then Facebook would have greater range of services to capture greater share of market, and with its brand recognition I can see Facebook excel even further ahead of its competitors. However on another side, there are potential risks that Facebook users may not like such platform because, in a sense of speaking, this platform would mix up one’s social/ personal life and one’s professionality. As there are quite a number of people who would enjoy to have their personal life not linked to their job very much, this attempt to lauch platform for agencies might result in certain degree of brand dilution.

As  Apple continues its journey into technology advancement, new forms of promotions were also developed to take advantage of the medium created by Apple. Browsing through my fellow classmates’ blog posts, my friend Jenny’s blog caught my attention.

In her post, Jenny elaborated on a new type of promotion she came across that involves using I-Phone to see motion ads on a magazine. In addition, Jenny also discussed the effectiveness of such technology. In her analogy, Jenny has not only discussed how the iAD would be attractive to customers, she also elaborated on how this for of promotion can potentially prolong the product life cycle of printing advertising, not to mention the win-win situation when Apple cooperates with AXA to promote both the magazine and the I-Phone. Lastly Jenny also give a great insight into the potential risks involved with the new iAD technology including narrowed customer base and relative high cost to develop the technology.

Overal I think Jenny is effective in describing  the benefit and cost of the iAD, however as I see advertisement I see the theory of AIDA in the promotion. Firstly when people see the advertisement they will be attracted by the iAD, next the information on the advertisement would interest magazine readers to see how it is like viewing the advertisement with I-Phone. Thirdly with more iAD being introduced both Apple and AXA would create a desire among readers and apple users to acquire both products which in the end led to the action of buying the I-Phone or subscribing to the magazine.

There is about one and half month left before I board on the plane back to China. Being away from home for a really long time, I was really excited and started search on web of interesting things to do back home. So one day I was searching for good place to eat I came across a very unique restaurant called the “The Number Eight School”（8号学苑） and decided to blog about it.

 “The Number Eight School” is a themed hotpot restaurant in Beijing, and as its name suggests, the restaurant only service the 80s. Like the baby boomers and X and Y generations, in China there is also different generation cohorts. the 80s are defined as the group of people who are born between January 1st 1980 to December 31st 1989. In order to target the specific generation cohorts, owners of the restaurant actually require their customers to show a valid ID before entering the restaurant. This restriction has become a attraction and makes people want to go, but at the same time people like me, who are just months away from 1989s would probably never have the chance to experience the restaurant.

Having a clearly defined customer segment makes  “The Number Eight School” also clear on the way of delivering services. With the generation cohorts in mind, the interior of  “The Number Eight School” has been designed to resemble a primary school classroom, the typical class room a 80s would have been sit in when they are kids: The cash counter is a teacher’s desk in front of a blackboard that welcomes all “new students”; on the black boards you can see “class rules”,”daily quizzes” and  “class schedules”( operation hours) written with chalks; the dining tables were students’ desks with middle part cut to fit a hotpot stove, and each table has a subject label. In addition to the unique design, all servers should be called “teachers”, and you can obtain and “transcript”(membership card) if you answered the “entrance exam” correctly.

Besides the interior design, the restaurant owners also have put on collections of toys, books, mengas that are very popular among the 80s when they are yound. Each person who come to  “The Number Eight School” would have a experience back in thier childhood while enjoying delicious hotpot. Personally I really want to go to such an interesting dining place, and I put all my hope into their possible future “The Number Nine School” for the 90s generation cohorts.

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Today in Marketing Tamar showed a video of how Adidas implemented technology that turned a entire wall into digital shelves for all of Adidas’s shoes. Because the technology used was very interesting, I took sometime to look up Adidas on line. When I entered Adidas’s online website, what caught my eyes were not the technology or the fancy advertisement they put up, but the variety of products Adidas offers.

Navigating through the Adidas website, one can see products that would suit nearly every one’s needs. The  products are sorted into different categories. Besides the old classification for men, women and kids, Adidas also categorized its products according to customer needs. For example, on the website, there is a part that is designed for customers shopping for sport ware, but there is also a link that would satisfy customers with style in mind. In addition, special products such as Adidas Street for skateboarding and Adidas Star Wars for Star Wars Fans are also being promoted. Adidas has established their brand image through having connection with sports, street entertainment as well as current hot topics.

Image Source: content/uploads/2010/10/Adidas.jpg

How long does it take you to create a Google account? Probably 5 minutes, how long does Google make you to create an account? As long as you give in or give up.

Maybe not many people noticed, but recently Google has adopted bundling of their services and this change has been so clear that Google is pushing its users to accept the bundles.

Like many university students, I enjoy video streaming online and is a frequent user of the youtube website. Starting from last year, youtube services were bundled together with other Google services and users were asked to link both account. Many users accepted and linked their account together to get rid of this redirect page that show up every time when they log in. I was not one of them, I have a google account for school related things, so I was not willing to have this account linked to my youtube user names. I refused to link both account in the first place and I observed this interesting change in Google’s approach to its users. In the beginning, a redirect web page shows up after log in with the option to skip, few months later, the skip sign disappears so I would have to click the youtube sign to get out of this page, and I hung on to it for a few more months without linking my accounts. just a few days ago, when I last signed in youtube website, I was again redirected to the page where I have basically memorised their suggestions on linking accounts, but this time there is no way I can skip this page to watch videos on youtube. At this point, I faced a decision of to link my accounts or give up youtube user account; as many would guess, I give in and linked my account.

Personally I woudn’t see the bundling was very apealling to me and I was in fact a bit irritated when forced to link my accounts, but I should also admit that it is a smart way to increase the number of users and for Google, who can not introduce bundles with any price as its free, force linkage seem to be an effective tactic.

Image URL:http://www.google.com/events/smallbus_apps/images/apps_ring.jpg

I’m not a huge game fan, nor do I habit of play any games. The only game that I would devote myself to is The Sims. Sims is a life stimulation game that allows players to freee design their won character and lead them through various life stages.

As a loyal player of Sims, I have witnessed the Sims brand deveope through various stages. Although a product life cycle cannot be applied to a single product, but rather a general industry, I cannot help but notice the similarities that exist between development of brand with product life cycle.

In the beginning, when EA first introduced, not many people really know the game. Athe that stage EA is focusing more on penetrating the market. As The Sims become familair with player, the brand starts to move into the growth phase. Firstly, new expansion packs are introduced to enrich the original game, with  the introduction of each expansion, players can gradually lead their sims through various experience; whether it is being a superstar on stage, or take a vacation away from home, the room for exploration has greatly enlarged.

Beside extending existing product line, EA has also added  new product to the Sims product mix. Based on the original The Sims, The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 were also introduced. The Sims 2 marks the transition from 2D image to 3D world, while The Sims 3 had expand the entire game field to a residential area rather than any particular household. Besides changes in graphic and size, many other traits were kept the same. The model of original game with expansion packs stayed unchanged, the diamond on top of characters become a symbol and was actually made into USB stick to be a limited collection for pre-sale package of The Sims 3. Currently the Sims Brand is still focusing on the promotion of The Sims 3, but I believe that this brand will be in the growth phase for a long time as more new games are introduced into the product mix.

Picture Source

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http://www.digitalbattle.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/the_sims_logo.png

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Sims/+images/33297679

February 3rd marks the start of another lunar year in Asian countries, and it also marks the start of a marketing fever season. If you look closely at the holiday season products this year, you will notice how everything is related to Bunnies in some other way. Personally I have find it very interesting to see how a cultural and social trend can impact marketing so much.

Unlike the Santa Claus for Christmas, in Luna calendar there are actually 12 iconic figures. Mouse, Bull, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pigs each represent a year and all together make the twelve years- cycle of Lunar Calendar. Naturally, when every year end comes , people would want to shop for gifts and items that are “in-the-trend-of-lunar-years”. This frenzies is a great opportunity for marketers of course, each year new product/gifts have to be marketed to meet customer needs.

The pictures above are taken from the web as examples of Bunny year product, it is very clear that the ring in the first picture is targeted at a younger generation with a cute design and more caroonish bunny image; the second picture however, shows a gift that is targeted at a much older custerm group than the ring, it has a sturdy design, with words of wisdom carved to the base.

The fever of bunny does not just end with marketing and product design, but it has boosted sales in pets market as well. In tune with the coming bunny year, a trend of rabbit pets is forming, I have find a video news on how rabbits as pets and related accessories and gadgets has been a big sale because of the coming bunny year. It is funny though , at the end of the video the reporters talked about how a zoo introduced so called “rainbow bunnies” but were criticized by netizen for using paints to fool the consumers. But all in all, I think whether it is the products that are on major sales, or the trend of buying a rabbit and dress it up, or even the zoo’s now seem crazy attempt on attracting visitor, we can definitely see the effect on cultural and social traits on marketing behaviours.

Sources:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JpStsjA6wI

Pictures:

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I was randomly looking at my Facebook site when I came across the link to Julie Li’s blog. After reading through her entry on the boy band TVXQ adapting to both Korean and Japanese idol market, the post really got me into thinking is the increasing trend of idol stars going abroad and how they marketed themselves according to different markets.

Besides TVXQ, there are also many other examples of successful Korea idol/idol groups in other countries. For example, the 13 member boys’ group Super Junior has been very famous across Asia in recent years, and their third album title song “sorry sorry” topped Taiwan’s music chart for 33 weeks straight. Another girl group Wonder Girls has made their appearance on the U.S. market and were guest singers in one of the Jonas Brother’s concert. Groups like Kara, SNSD and FT Island all had their victorious tour in Japan.

In recent years, there has been an increasing competition in the entertainment market in Korea with many “newbie” debuting each year. The increase in competition maybe one of the causes to make idols to turn to international audience for a bigger opportunity. In return, with more Korean stars exposed to other countries, a culture of “kpop” evolved that demands for more idols that also encourages many entertainment companies to send their stars abroad.

Of course, going abroad as idol stars would not be as easy as if anyone who go abroad to visit, it takes a great effort to adapt to the local market. Julie in her post had discussed how TVXQ has presented their image as good dance singer in Korea but is known as ballad singers in Japan; they are an example of market adaptation. However besides transfigure styles according to local market, other methods have also been used. For example, whether it is already debuted group/single or trainees in practice to become a star, they are all taki8ng various languages in preparation of future going abroad option. The boys group Super Junior is a excellent example in this scenario. Having 13 members in its group, Super Junior has members who are fluent in Japanese, other in Tai and Chinese, and everyone of them have basic knowledge of the languages mentioned above. Knowing local languages became an important edge and helped them to be successful on the international stage. Another method to overcome culture and language barrier would be include local members in the group. For example, when the Wonder Girls debuted in U.S., they have included a new member who is originally from Asia but have lived in U.S.

Overall, I think the Korean idols are good examples of new market adaptation. Of course there are groups from other countries who are also going to market abroad, but it has been such a trend in Korea that I have decided to use all examples from Korea.

Link to Julie’s post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/juliezli/2011/01/27/22/

When we are out shopping for different items, it is often not surprise to see the product label with “made in China”. In fact, the relative cheap material and labour cost had made many businesses to chose manufacturers in China to produce their products. Just like many others, I was very used to the idea of “made in China”,in fact, I was too used to the term that when I saw ” made for China” appear as one of the top 11 trends in 2011, I was took off gaurd.

The trendwatch.com has recently published what they percieve as the yop 11 trend in the coming year, with “made for China” being the number four trend on the list. While many manufacturers were still in the old “made in China” era, it seems like other businesses have see the marketing possibility of Asia. The trendwatch.com has given some example of how certain western businesses have marketed in a way that adapts the consumer market in China, such as Levis Jeans and BMW.

While reading through the examples of how each business adapts to the Chinese market, I had a better understanding of the meaning of “made for China”. In previous years, there has always been a market in China with businesses becoming more globalized, multinational businesses such as Apple, McDonald and even Zara had earned their share of market in Asia, . However at that time, businesses were still more focused on how to make Chinese customer understand their product rather than orientate their product/services on what was sought after by the local Chinese consumers. However, the business examples in the trend list were more consumer orientated in the way that they tried to bring in a product/services that would satisfy consumers’ need by adapt to the culture, local trend and even local competition.

Personally, I think the transition from “sell in China” to “made for China” is very significant because it remind me of the transition from “product-oriented” market to ” consumer-orientated” market, where businesses who understand the need of consumers often achieve greater success than the ones who underestimated the power.