From the title my blog, it’s quite obvious that this is the final blog of the course. Throughout the term, I have learned a lot about marketing. Nowadays, I can’t even read ads without applying the concepts I have learned in this class and it has been a pleasure to learn so much.

Recently, I read a blog talking about creative marketing versus ordinary and obvious marketing. This blog was from Influential Marketing Blog and is titled “The Upside of Being Ordinary and Obvious” (http://www.rohitbhargava.com/). According to the blog, sometimes it’s actually more effective being ordinary and obvious. When one is shopping for a necessity, there really is no reason promoting such a product with flashy, creative advertisements when what consumers really need is just the practical use of that product.

 One clear example I can think of is the Mac versus PC. Both have their strengths and their differences appeal to different types of people. In the minds of most consumers, the difference is really just the practical use of each computer. Mac is shown to be more artistic and creative while PC has been used for the most of our lives that there really is not much reason to switch. Many software and tools can only be used on a PC while others are only for Macs. So in the end, there really is no reason to compare which one is better when it just depends on the user.

As our discussion comes to an end, being an ordinary person and being an extravagant person also has their own advantages. While we were growing up, being ordinary always seemed so “uncool” and only the extravagant people get all the attention. However, as we mature, we realize that being ordinary with a stable life can make us even happier.

From class, we have learned about the different bases related to market segmentation. The concept of segmentation as defined in class is dividing the market into different  segments and appealing to each individual segment. As supported by an external marketing blog (http://behavioraltargeting.biz/segment-marketing/), market segmentation can yield more potential benefit for the company. However, is this marketing strategy of segmenting really

fair? According to the example given by the marketing blog, firms may choose to appeal to different segments through their rifle preference. Unfortunately, this can easily turn into a type of discrimination  as there are always going to be various people within the segments who prefer other appeals. If enough people feel like they’re missing out, chances are, segmentation suddenly becomes discrimination. This should be of concern since it can create a negative impact of the company’s image, especially if there are a lot of unsatisfied customers.

As hard as it is for marketers to target specific groups to appeal to, it’s also hard for consumers to look for specific companies that actually match their preferences. Most consumers don’t have a favorite brand due to the fact that marketers target small segments of people. In fact, sometimes each individual person may be too unique to fall into segments categorized by marketers. Also, people change very often and with such a dynamic life, it would seem really difficult and almost even impossible to be able to maintain good relationships with consumers using such strategy. Therefore, as practical as this concept of segmentation may seem, the significant aspect of it is quite skeptical.

Just a few decades ago, the theme of being environmentally friendly was not well accepted by the world. To the general public, this concept was portrayed as being a hippie “tree hugger” sitting in sketchy places smoking some marijuana and playing guitar. However, in today’s society, being environmentally sustainable is one of the biggest trend. As intelligent marketers, most companies now somehow involve themselves with the theme of being “environmentally friendly” to attract the present “tree huggers”.

Shopping for groceries are not the same as many years ago either. As has the environmentally friendly trend has evolved, trends for being healthy, educated, and ethical has also entered our society. With more conscious customers, marketing has become a much more complicated job. Not only do marketers have to somehow appeal to their targets with the products, but they also have to appeal to social trends and personal beliefs. As mentioned in Vincent Lee’s blog article,

McDonald’s – Retailer of Burgers, Fries and… Books?

 (https://blogs.ubc.ca/vincentl/)

even McDonald’s felt the need to adapt to the “healthier” trend by providing books that are actually good for them. Just as Vincent said, the product is what should really matter, but due to these trends, we can see that not just the product matters anymore. As much as I agree with Vincent’s view about how this is just another McDonald’s scheme to cajole consumers into purchasing more “McMeals”, social forces now seem to have more weight on consumer’s buying decision.

A student with a whole bunch of science knowledge and a limited understanding of marketing. The fact that I had to write something about marketing was somewhat tough for me. In addition, this is also my first time writing blogs, which made it even harder. So I decided to get an idea about how to write a blog and what marketing is about by looking through others’ blog. From what I’ve observed, the trend seems to be writing about how much marketing experience and awards you’ve had in your past. Unlike my friend(https://blogs.ubc.ca/jenniferchin/) who has traveled and won awards from marketing, I actually have never even thought about this subject. So instead, I’m going to write about my marketing observations.

From the first class, I found out that marketing is about satisfying consumer needs by providing products and services. So then I thought to myself, was there a time when I was satisfied by something?

And that was when I found the connection, a recent one in fact. During beginning of term everyone was frantically buying and selling textbooks, especially those who want to save some money by buying used books. Although there are many used books out there, it was not easy looking for the right people who actually have the ones you want. One way to do it was to find people through friends, but wasn’t too effective since friends are limited. Luckily, I found this Facebook group where UBC students had been selling and buying books. Although the set up wasn’t very organized, it was effective enough to allow students to exchange books between over 3000 students. Although I’m not quite sure if this has anything to do with marketing, but I can guarantee the money I earned and saved was very satisfying.

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