Michael Kim's Blog

Hedge Fund: a private investment fund which may invest in a diverse range of assets and may employ a variety of investment strategies to maintain a hedged portfolio intended to protect the fund’s investors from downturns in the market while maximizing returns on market upswings.

Source: www.wikipedia.org

Why start with such a Finance heavy topic? First off, I love Finance, second off there’s a unique aspect that laces marketing into how hedge funds run.

Hedge funds are essentially elite investment portfolios that earn big money, simple. But how many people have heard a radio advertisement, or magazine advertisement on a hedge fund?

Zero.

Why? Legally, hedge funds are not allowed to market their products to their clients.

Wait? That makes no sense then how do they attain their customers?

Simple: Hedge Funds pick you and you choose to either invest in them or not.

It’s possibly the finest form of micro-marketing with a sense of extreme exclusivity.

Obviously hedge funds are left for the super wealthy and ridiculously well-off individuals and families. These are the target market that they market to but in a very specific and strictly structured methodology.

In addition, hedge funds are in contrast to mutual funds which I am sure at least one person has heard of an advertisement for mutual funds.

I admit it, its shameless advertising blogging about my own new club but since I was one of the people involved in marketing the entire project so I decided to market it in this blog as well.

So the project will consist of three key components.

Facebook – To get everyone talking about it.

Twitter – To send on the go updates when we want to.

YouTube – To get the visual aspect running.

Currently the Twitter and Facebook part has been successful but YouTube hasn’t been rolled out yet.

We received applications within minutes of posting the website which seems like people were anticipating for something like this.

To shameless advertise again!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/UBC-Trading-Group/180028382043613

Tweets by UBCTradingGroup

Are our websites!

I decided to go back to my first blog where I talked about Smartphone wars.

The reason I’m going back was because of Vicky’s post: But I JUST got my BlackBerry!

With the upcoming release of the BlackBerry Playbook lots of blogs are going insane about it!

Engadget won’t stop blogging about it because it’s one of the most anticipated devices of 2011.

If you ask me, the PlayBook is already behind.

Technology is moving fast, when they announced that it will be dual-core it was a big deal because there were few true dual-core tablets on the market but that was about 6 months ago. Now with the release of the new iPad 2, its kinda getting crazy.

Sometimes technology moves at a pace we can’t keep up with, going back to Vicky’s post. She just got her BlackBerry while she finds out that Androids are taking over the market!

Yeah technology is something that’s very hard to be on top of but I love it.

It’s like dog/cat years for technology!

How do marketers keep up with stuff like this I wonder? How does it affect their promotions?

My educated guess would suggest that they consistently work day in and out to just barely keep up with the pace that our technology advances. It’s cool to see how it will all turn out.

-Michael

Everyone knows the infamous Apple store.

Now how many people have heard of the Microsoft Store?

It was started in 2009 by Microsoft (duh~!) by opening their retail stores that feature Microsoft products.

Microsoft is a unique company in the sense that they are so closely associated with computers but they’re only a software company that mostly develops software.

Sure there are the odd mouse and keyboards that they produce but other than that what could their retail store really have?

This article suggests 10 ways that it differs from the legendary Apple stores.

It’s obviously a joke towards them but what I believe is Microsoft is moving into a territory that they shouldn’t deal with.

They’ve had their massive success through utilizing retailers to feature their products such as HP, Dell and every other computer manufacturer other than Apple so why even try to deal with anything else?

Microsoft is doing what Apple does but it’s like they’re opening a store and all you’ll see is a bunch of Microsoft Office boxes and computers that aren’t created by Microsoft.

I think there’s a reason why there’s only 7 stores (only in the US) and they haven’t expanded much from it.

I’m sorry Microsoft, you guys have tremendous amounts of cash to blow. If you have that much capital, why not give me some so I can do some Forex trading and make some money for you?

I remember working on my Organizational Consulting Group project, it was called “Vis-a-Vis” marketing solutions.

It was an idea that revolved around this clip:

This is where I see as the natural evolution of Facebook: Personalized marketing

It is obvious that Facebook contains a vast amount of information (personal and otherwise, but mostly personal with photos of last friday night)

Currently Facebook itself is valued around $40 billion to $60 billion (exact numbers I do not know, go ask an Investment Banker) which is not based on the current revenue it makes but the potential that the company can provide.

Now I’m assuming part of the valuation includes something like the “Vis-a-Vis” marketing’s concept that can be utilized from the massive amounts of data that Facebook contains.

Personalized marketing at its finest using Eye Scanners: Is this the future of marketing?

In my humble opinion it will be the “Face” of marketing soon, using your past preferences and personal listed preferences that you update online linked with your personal identifier such as your Retina scanning to gather and mine data which results in the “perfect” personalized marketing.

Now what is the value that I would put on this?

There’s a lot of ethics issues involved with this type of “personal” marketing because legal issues may come up and lots of legal issues must be jumped over in order to reach its maximum potential.

I valuate the idea at $1 billion (if such infrastructure can be developed that is)

Let’s face it, everyone enjoys the nightlife in one way or another.

I’m no exception, I love going clubbing on the weekends to blow off some built-up steam that I gather over the gruelling week.

It got me thinking: It’s a giant marketing competition between all the promotion companies.

I prefer not to go into detail about the promotion companies since it’s not a topic I take pride in having the knowledge of but I noticed one pattern in all of them:

Massive and heavy usage of Facebook Events!

I can go on and probably write a book about how great Facebook is for marketing but especially the Events feature is probably the single most important for all the promotion companies that I always get invited to.

It’s kind of fun, just scrolling through your Facebook to see what’s going on in future dates, on a friday night etc.

It’s interesting knowing that Felix Huang talked about movie “The Roommate” which became a success using similar social media methods such as YouTube and CollegeHumor.

It’s funny how people will come up with new ways to market, think about how it will change in the next 5 to 10 years.

Next week I will be talking about Facebook and it’s impact on marketing and how its changed every single factor that we live our lives by.

Marketing is an effective tool, and I was thinking of the whole product-based era of marketing.

What did we learn from it?

My understanding so far, is that a superior product will sell itself no matter what the price, and everything else and in a sense that creates value which is the current focus of marketing.

Now I want to talk about something that is one of the most misunderstood industries in the world!

High Performance Road biking or Cycling components are a specialty segment, that focuses on the elite athletes.

This segment is dominated by 2 dominant players and a new recent entrant and it is by far one of the most segmented and specialized market from what I can pull off from the back of my head.

Campagnolo – Italian, hand-crafted, and amazingly high performance oozing with the tradition, passion that Italian products are famous for (think Lamborghini supercars, and Ferraris). Campagnolo is known by only a handful of cyclists who’s dealt into true high performance components.

Shimano – Japanese, machine drilled, high performance and high technology just like what Japan’s known for, its the most widely known and most used groupsets around the world! If you look at even your most basic mountain bike it will have shimano in them and they don’t just deal with cycling but mountain biking, fishing rods and it’s a giant company with lots of resources.

SRAM – American, started as a mountain biking component company. They’ve just entered into the market with the most cost effective and bang for the buck type of product. It’s space-age design is just like how Americans do it by using technologies from other companies and combining to create a fantastic new product but maybe they break down easily.

For more information visit their respective sites:

http://www.campagnolo.com

http://bike.shimano.com

http://www.sram.com

The conclusion is this, the origins of the product reflect how the product performs, looks and its developed. It’s a known fact that a lot of marketers use this “origin” technique to appeal to different markets!

Now knowing what the three companies are:

How do you think the prices are?

Think of dropping a few grand for just little tiny cogs, gears, and levers (and I’m not exaggerating). And dropping tens of thousands of dollars to build an amazing jaw dropping epic masterpiece (yes it costs more than your first car easily)

Here’s an example of a campagnolo groupset provided by Ribble Cycles (my favourite store)

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/groupset.asp?action=GenerateConstructor&part=GSCAMP2011SUPREC11D&sub=conf_GS&bike=1

Did you see the price? $2000, yes for pieces of metal and gears. (No it is not covered in gold)

I’ve been around politics all my life, as most people are.

My involvement on the other hand began at the tender age of 16 when I became an active volunteer for the Conservative Party of Canada. My involvement led to a Board of Director position with the BC Young Liberals, a position I still hold today.

It should be noted that I’m also the elections administrator for the CUS Elections Committee working with the team to ensure a fair and equitable process with the CUS elections.

I get a first hand view of candidates and their marketing materials and looking at them it’s funny. Some are extremely creative like Johannes Rebane’s Campaign

On the other hand some have taken a serious approach like Moses Richu

These are just video marketing, some have taken the approach of actively meeting members and setting up booths in the CA Hall to gain votes.

It’s interesting, being part of the Elections team that actually sets the rules it’s amazing to see what people can pump out with keen restrictions that we place upon campaigning.

Being part of the Elections Committee I’m unable to cast a vote nor give a biased opinion which is quite sad considering there are so many candidates that I would love to give support to.

The only thing I’m allowed to do is promote the entire elections process.

For more information about the CUS Elections please visit:

http://www.cusonline.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/CUS-ELECTIONS-2011-CANDIDATE-BIO.pdf

http://www.cusonline.ca/governance/elections

Any of the above websites are a useful tool to getting to know the elections process. It’s quite exciting!

Politics exemplifies how effectively a person can market themselves and the one who does it the best wins the position.

Interesting concept of “active marketing” I would say.

If you hear the word “K-Pop” what comes into your mind?

For myself this video is pretty much self explanatory

Girl’s Generation or “Sonyeo Sidae” is one of the most popular K-Pop girl bands ever in Korea

They’re comprised of 9 members aged from 18-23, and they’ve taken Korea and all of Asia by storm.

They’ve perfected the whole “sexy marketing” with a flair of “cuteness” that appeals to asian markets everywhere.

Although they’re slowly gaining momentum in North America it’s obvious that they won’t be comparable to the giants such as “Lady Gaga” or “Beyonce”

It’s a known fact that they’re fabricated by production groups to be what they are now but it was successful.

This is marketing at it’s finest, taking all of Asia by storm and “Girls Generation” is pretty much the pinnacle of K-Pop.

There’s another band that’s quite famous even in North America

Far East Movement’s “Like a G6” is synonymous with the word “party” and getting wasted.

Tell me you haven’t heard this song on the radio recently and I’d say you’re a liar.

What most people don’t realize is that F*M (Far East Movement) is actually compromised of Two Korean members but they’ve taken a truly opposite approach. They’ve westernized everything and made it successful hitting #1 on Billboard Hits everywhere!

What’s the difference?

In my opinion it’s creativity; Girl’s Generation is fabricated by music giants in Korea, whereas F*M started off as a group of adolescents who genuinely enjoyed creating good music ended up being one of the most successful bands ever.

Sadly, F*M hasn’t gotten close to the popularity that Girl’s Generation has in Asia but I believe they deserve a bigger recognition.

I guess staying “Fly like a G6” isn’t cute enough.

Smartphone, that word would’ve been reserved for the most sophisticated and tech-savvy individuals just a few years ago but now it’s become the standard of cellphones.

There are three main players in the smartphone platform market: Android, Blackberry OS, and the iOS

The current dominant platform in North America has become the Android just a few days ago, and this is a huge leap for Google (the developer of the Android platform).

How was Apple so successful in dominating the market with their iOS? How did Google surpass Apple? And why are Blackberries still preferred by businesses everywhere?

It’s all about defining the target audience, Apple markets towards everyone. The whole “family friendly” image that they output is part of their success and its heavily supplemented by their easy to use interfaces.

Android on the other hand, targets the true smartphone connoisseurs who are tech-savvy and are willing to go that extra mile to customize their smartphone to make it unique and dynamic. Android did so by making their platform Open Source and easy access to development materials for the platform.

Blackberry OS is purely targeted for serious, and conservative individuals. This is what business people seek, since Blackberry OS has the best security, it’s simple, direct and down to the point there’s nothing fancy about it. That’s why it’s so loved by the business community.

Defining the proper target audience will allow the company to create niche to market in, but recently Blackberry OS has been steering away from its business side to target the “hip” audience which seems to be failing.

My prediction is that Blackberry will die, Android and iOS will be the dominant players for the market.