Michelle Lee's Blog

Throughout this semester, we have been working on a marketing project, specific to a company of our choice. My group chose Target as our company to research. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project as this was the first time I had to do a video component.

Working on the project was a good way to integrate what we have been learning in class with a marketing presentation. By separating the project into three separate sections, it enabled my group to focus on each part on a more concentrated level. It helped us be more specific in areas that we wouldn’t have focused on if the whole project were due at one time. For example, I know that we would have spent a lot less time on researching different target markets if we were stressed to finish the whole editing component of the video.

As this was my first time creating a film, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was a little worried about using Final Cut Pro because it looked so complicated. However, after trial and error, I was able to get used to it. It ended up being a lot of fun because I feel like it enabled my group to be creative when creating the film. With so many options for creating transitions and text entrances, we tried to create a video as diverse as possible. I particularly liked the video project because I believe that our group can be marked more fairly in regards to content as compared to whether our words come out properly. Of course presenting is a crucial skill, but as technology becomes more prevalent, having the skills to work with different mediums is also becoming as important.

Having stumbled upon this blog post a couple of days ago, I was shocked to find out just how powerful certain companies are. It is quite fascinating, and even scary to see how these 10 corporations have taken control over consumer purchases.

For example, Nestle, one of the 10 companies in this chart, owns almost 8,000 different brands. It also has relations with other major corporations such as L’Oreal and the clothing brand Diesel. This large product scope indefinitely contributes to Nestle’s large yearly profit, where sales increased to 45.2 billion in half of 2013 alone. Knowing that Nestle has a vast product mix, it was smart to do brand extensions and not constantly using their brand. For example, when I think of Nestle, I think of chocolate bars, not Gerber, a baby-food brand under Nestle. This use of individual brands allowed these products to separate themselves from Nestle’s brand image of delicious candies.

Another example is Unilever, a corporation that serves around 2 billion people. Their products range from Vaseline to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. As a consumer, I make no connection between these two brand, let alone spending time to think if there is in fact a connection. This does show their success in marketing to many different consumer groups based on different profiles that match these different brands. For example, Ben & Jerry’s is marketed as a fun ice cream for people who love desserts, whereas Vaseline would be marketed towards consumers who possibly have dry skin.

Because these corporations have been successfully marketing to separate consumers, I was unaware that the same companies own many of these brands. I commend them for becoming that powerful, but it also makes me want to start supporting the smaller local companies as well.

Zara had 21.4 billion dollars in sales in 2012 and has been growing substantially across the world due to its fast moving cycle of new clothing. It has become a go-to for the fashionable consumers because they know Zara is always bringing out new clothing. The total process of designing a product to shipping it across the world to various stores can take as little as two weeks. Because of how quickly their products can be launched, Zara is given a huge advantage in the fashion industry, as it is a very fast-paced and demanding industry. Communication across the channels is crucial to Zara’s successful supply chain management. Because around 450 million products are produced a year, the company needs to ensure that communications across the channels are efficient and meticulous.

As trends in the fashion industry are constantly changing, designers must be able to keep up with what consumers want. What makes Zara a success is its supply chain. For example, to cut shipping time, their factories are located in Europe. This may increase production costs compared to producing in Asia or India, but time and possibly shipping cost benefits seems to outweigh production costs. To add, each item is produced scarcely rather than being mass-produced like other brands do. Because of this exclusivity, demand increases, which also allows price to increase. This can positively affect the bottom line if Zara can consistently bring out new products. Zara’s supply chain model is risky as there are constant variable costs from working with new designs, but because of Zara’s high customer loyalty, the company knows that these costs can be covered from high consumer demand.

After reading my classmate Julia’s blog on SMS marketing, my interest on this mode of communication grew. Julia commented on how people are over 90% more likely to read promotional ads sent to them via text message. I find this to be completely true. Though I wouldn’t recognize the number, I would still be curious as to what the text says.

This type of direct marketing can be extremely effective to the younger generation. Technology has become so prevalent that it seems like some kids are glued to their smartphones or laptops. Marketing through this means will likely result in many younger kids becoming aware of what is being marketed. Agreeing with Julia, I am also 100% more likely to read a text promotion over an email promotion.

However, I find this mode of marketing to be also quite tricky. When I read a promotion through my text messages, I find it annoying. Not only that, but I categorize any text promotions in bad light. This is similar to email promotions; I automatically think that the email is a scam with no credibility. Marketers need to be aware of the current perceptions of this mode of marketing.

Also, though I may read it, my response to the message may be heavily delayed. I would probably just delete the message. If these promotions are to sign up on a certain website, it may be difficult if people don’t have data on their phones. This can become expensive for many people.

Though this method of advertising may become popular in the near future, I don’t see it as being the best way to promote. I personally see this method of marketing the same as email marketing in a sense that the type of ads that come through are usually not worth reading.

A couple months ago, Target announced that they were opening their first stores in Canada. By the end of their international expansion into Canada, Canada should have around 125 to 135 Target stores. As these stores are opening across Canada, there has been much debate whether or not this was a good move. In the States, consumers view Target as a trendy, reasonable store. This is similar in Canada, however, there are also some fears. From Canadian consumers perspective, they are worried that large stores like Target will take away from smaller family run Canadian businesses. In order for Target to be successful, they need to market themselves in a way that deals with this threat. Target states in its corporate responsibility page that they like supporting local communities by working with local suppliers. However, not many consumers know of this fact. If they market this so that consumers are aware of what Target is trying to achieve, consumers will be less resilient to the company. For example, Target is currently working with Roots to create a cheaper special edition clothing line. This will allow Target to capture the target market of consumers who don’t want to spend as much on clothing, while still staying loyal to Canadian brands. In order for Target to be successful in Canada, they must be cognizant that Canada is a slightly different market than the United States. There are a lot less “giant stores” and many citizens like it that way. Target must modify its marketing strategy such that one of they’re biggest focus should be to let consumers know they are trying to work with local communities. By marketing themselves as more personable, Target will be able to shake their old reputation of just being another large corporation and position them in more favourable light.

Good companies are able to market themselves in a way that aligns with their core values and philosophies. But does ethics play an important role in the foundation of businesses?  Many companies have been adding ethical and social goals to their business foundation as not only does this have a positive influence on the society as a whole, it enhances the image of the company. Through the transition of marketing in the 1900s to one that is value-based, companies are creating customer profiles by analyzing consumer behaviors in order understand their needs and wants. For example, a growing trend towards environmental responsibility has increased the number of environmentally friendly products. Companies can use these findings to implement good ethics in their business practices.  Seventh Generation, for example, states its social and ethical goals in its mission statement. They create products that are “healthy for the air, community and environment”. Though many companies are now practicing social and ethical responsibility, this has been more of a recent phenomenon. Many marketing campaigns have been deemed unethical through the revelation of marketing errors. Some ethical problems in market audience include, selective marketing or targeting the vulnerable. On many accounts, children are targeted as they are less likely to understand the marketing tactics employed to persuade a purchase. Children love Happy Meals from McDonalds because it comes with a toy. It is a marketing tactic that suggests kids need a product to be happy. Unfortunately, some of these misconceived perceptions become engrained in the brains of children that prevail throughout adulthood. Luckily, as consumers as becoming more adept to increasing their quality of life, such unethical marketing techniques are slowly losing its effect. Consumer awareness of taking care of themselves and their surrounding environment has been pushing companies to do the same.

The possibility to fuze your passion with what you learn in Sauder was exemplified by Tom Dobrzanski during his presentation in class. Tom owns Vertical Studios and uses his businesses skills for artist management and tour booking as well as just managing the whole studio.

Currently this Vancouver based recording studio has recorded well known artists such as Said the Whale, Hey Ocean!, and We Are The City. The recording studio has been growing in popularity that it is expanding into a larger industrial-residence space.

Tom discussed not only the background of his company but also how he initially funded the company, which is basically the main aspect of starting a business. It was interesting to learn how a sad story ended up funding his now very successful business. (this really does enforce the cliche “every cloud has a silver lining”!). He also talked about how he was always very passionate about music and how great it was to be working in the music industry while still applying what he learned in Sauder.

His presentation really enforced the idea that it is possible to work and still do what you are passionate about. And isn’t that what’s important anyways?

The Insider is a blog that touches on a range of business issues that have been present in BC. I came across the blog and found an article by Tony Wanless on the need for the reinvention of businesses.

Wanless describes how businesses have been operating in the same manner because of inertia: what has been done to get things done is still used to get things done. However, as the world becomes more social, the way businesses are operated must also learn to adapt to a more social environment. What needs to be done, as stated by Wanless, is to focus more on employee skills and emotions in order to make businesses more “human”.

This post was interesting in the fact that it highlights the needs for businesses to be adaptable to its environment and that sticking to “intertia” is not what’s going to keep a business successful. It is interesting to think that how adaptable businesses are to changes is a potential determinant on a particular business’s success. It is a useful concept to understand as, due to technology, the world keeps changing quite quickly.

Save on Meats is a social enterprise located in the downtown Eastside of Vancouver. This restaurant serves meat dishes while also providing jobs to people who need them. Mark Brand is the owner of this meat butchery/cafe. This social entrepreneur recognized the problems of homelessness in the Vancouver Eastside area and decided to use entrepreneurial principles to make a social change. Save on Meats currently provides 65 jobs to employees who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to find one due to reasons such as addictions, or mental disabilities.

This is just one example of the many social enterprises out there that are very successful. It shows that you can still run a well functioning business while also making a social change in the community. Brand marketing is done through presentations or through television specials but Brand only allows them to go through if his social message is presented. This shows strategic planning as well as resourcefulness which are both important in maintaining a social enterprise.

Save on Meats have attracted many potential business partners such as Arlene Dickinson from the tv show Dragon’s Den which could help expand its potential and overcome some financial and consultive hurdles.

More on Save on Meats: http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/11/12/save-on-meats-subject-of-cbcs-big-decision/

Janice Cheam recently came to our class to discuss her company, Energy Aware. Energy Aware focuses on becoming more environmentally aware by focusing on living more sustainably through the use of less scare ressources. More people are becoming aware of the direct impact we are having on the planet and are trying to lessen this impact. Energy Aware’s PowerTab is a useful product for such as it displays how much energy is being consumed at that moment.

As she was explaining how she started out, I realized that a really important factor about starting a business is having commitment to your idea and what it stands for. Janice was talking about how it took her a long time to find investors, not because they didn’t believe she would be a success but because she needed the right evidence to show she would be a success. Not only did I learn that the start up of a company cannot be rushed but it also requires a lot of patience and almost faith to know that the hard work will pay off, which, in Janice’s case it definitely did.