I really enjoyed assignment 3. I will even go so far as to say that this assignment was my favourite project so far in my university career. The reason this assignment stood out amongst all the other assignments I have done so far in university is because it allowed me to showcase my knowledge of marketing, and allowed me to flex my creative muscle. It was absolutely awesome brainstorming ideas for the video. I wanted so badly to create something that was not a presentation for a change, and the flexibility of this assignment allowed my creativity to run wild. I remember becoming immersed in the creation of the script and brainstorming ideas to make our video funny and informative at the same time.

Each person was responsible for the composition of a scene based on one of the 4Ps of Lululemon. After that  was all done, I was more than happy to compile everything. Having done some scriptwriting as a high school student, it was extremely fun to make everything flow, make sure all required information was present, and insert a few jokes here and there just for kicks. The video editing process was enjoyable too. Though my team member Mark did most of it, it was enjoyable for us as a team to watch him do it on a screen in one of the CLC meeting rooms, suggest ideas to improve the video, and learn some technical skills as well. Now every time I watch our final product, I remember all the hard work and enjoyment associated with it. I’m pretty proud of what our group pulled off.

Our team was extremely cohesive throughout the whole process. Everyone put their best foot forward and contributed generally equally in the different areas we each excelled in. Filming went smoothly, and it was an extremely enjoyable process. I have heard that some other groups had some trouble with this project since they may have lacked scriptwriting/filming experience. Maybe I was just lucky that all members of our group shared the same vision! I just wish we had a minute or two more to allow us to include more of our jokes!

After reading Jeremy’s blog post on the patriotic approach to branding that Molson Canadian used to appeal to consumers, I could not help but give my opinion on a similar product that has recently picked up huge momentum globally in the area of high-end outerwear: Canada Goose.
Compared to Molson, which ignites local consumers’ patriotism so they would be more inclined to purchase Molson’s products, Canada Goose uses the “Canadian” branding to convey unparalleled value in its products. The signature armpatch that is on all Canada Goose products reads “Canada Goose Arctic Program”, which conveys a sense of intensity and toughness in its brand as well, depicting that Canada Goose products are designed to keep you warm even in arctic temperatures. To add to that is Canada Goose’s pricing strategy. Canada Goose products epitomize the idea of prestige pricing. Even its lower priced jackets cost around $500, withs its higher end products costing upwards $1000!
Though Canada Goose had existed for years in Canada, It has only recently gathered steam in the Canadian market. However, the company seemed to have had a strong foothold in the international market for a long time. Its quite amazing to compare two products that are similarly branded by the “Canadian” brand have two completely different brand images and target markets. In my opinion, those who wear Canada Goose in Vancouver are just showing off their affluence. If you’re living in Vancouver you don’t need a full blown fur trimmed parka. You should instead be investing your funds in a more practical article: a nice umbrella.

It’s that time of year again. The weather is starting to get nippy, daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter, and Christmas is just around the corner. And with the Christmas season come the excessive spending of money in the “spirit of giving” that is so emphasized in late November and all of December.

After reading Seth Godin’s November 21st blog post #BlackFriday = media trap, I could  not help but agree. This annual phenomenon that happens the first Friday after every American thanksgiving is encoded by marketers as an unofficial start of holiday spending. Decoded by consumers as one of the first days for “major discounts”, I personally believe, as Seth does, that it is all a gimmick to pull people in the doors and get them to throw their money at cash registers in exchange for goods that are actually not actually discounted.

By advertising the idea of “huge savings” to consumers, it creates interest, then desire, and finally action in the form of huge lines to get into stores to nab “dirt cheap” merchandise. In truth, close to no retailers actually offer real savings. Capitalizing on the success of Black Friday is a new addition called Cyber Monday, when high-tech and computer stores offer “huge savings” on their products as well.

However, even though I know days like Black Friday and Boxing Day are generated by the media to promote more holiday season spending, I allow myself to fall for it a little. To be completely honest, I feel a little less guilty blowing all the money I saved over the year on the days when an illusion of huge savings exists. Let the chaos begin.

The Movember Foundation is an organization that promotes mens health through the growth of moustaches during the month of November. I’ve compiled couple points on why Movember is such an effective marketing campaign. (Note, “mo-sistas” can participate as well, I just chose to refer to all participants as male for simplicity’s sake.)

 1. It is very easy to participate. You don’t have to pin any ribbons on yourself or obtain relevant clothing to promote your cause. All one must do to raise awareness for Movember is to put down the razor for a month, and let your facial hairs flow.

 2. Every man is a mo-ving billboard. You are obligated to keep your facial hairs until the end of November. Therefore, you are wearing your “ad” front and center on your face at all times and exposing it to all person’s in your immediate surroundings.

3. It promotes conversation. It doesn’t matter if one’s moustache is barely visible or thick and curled to perfection. People will ask about it, especially if one doesn’t usually grow a moustache. A crack about how poorly one’s facial hair growth is can turn into

4. It costs nothing. The organization does not have to invest its precious funds purchasing wearable promotional materials, or spend unnecessary cash on distribution. Every man already has the ability to make one themselves.

 5. It brings meaning to a rather pointless tradition – Men around the world have been growing out their facial hair in November for no reason other than to grow out their facial hair. By mo-tivating people to promote the Movember foundation, there is a sense of

fulfillment for “Mo-Bros/Mo-sistas”, as well as more awareness raised for the foundation.

So if you happen to come across a person with a moustache, a wispy excuse for a moustache, or a moustache drawn on the person’s upper lip with a sharpie, ask about it. Join the fight, or donate to a good cause.

If you would like to donate to my ‘stache, here is the URL:

mobro.co/mikeso78

Sources:ca.movember.com

http://globalnews.ca/news/941461/movember-growth/

This is really late for my third assigned blog post, but better late than never right?

Last week, BlackBerry released its BBM messaging service for iOS and Android. This highly anticipated move netted 10 million downloads on day one of release, and has since reached 20 million users as of today. My question is, what does Blackberry hope to achieve from that?

What distinguishes BBM from its competitors such as Whatsapp and WeChat is that it is free, and its interface is much more streamlined than any other data messaging service on the market. It therefore possesses a competitive advantage over its other messaging services, but in the end, how is BlackBerry going to make money off making BBM available to non-BlackBerry users?

Since BlackBerry Entered the smartphone market late, marketing from the two tech giants Google and Apple have already shaped customers to see iPhone and Android phones as their trusted choices for smartphones. Though BBM would raise more awareness of BlackBerry as a company, I don’t feel that anyone would ever look to BlackBerry as a possible alternative because they have already been shaped to side with Apple and Samsung for example. It’s difficult to capitalize on a free app. Any attempt to monetize the app by adding a subscription fee or in-a

pp advertisements would more than likely cause BBM’s subscriber base to plummet, if not disappear entirely. We will see in the coming months how it all plays out for BlackBerry.

reference article: http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blackberry/20380/bbm-android-iphone-its-finally-here

With ever increasing connectivity to the internet, social media has become a staple of modern social interaction. The social media giant Facebook began with a respectable 1 million users at the end of 2004. Currently, Facebook has over 1 billion active users, a thousand fold  over its 2004 figure. With so many people online and using social media on a day-to-day basis, use of social media for marketing purposes has proven an effective way to inform consumers about new products.

The original “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” video has since garnered over 46 million views.

One of my favourite examples of effective social media marketing is the Old Spice: “Smell Like a Man, Man” campaign, which advertised men’s deodorant products. In their charming and creative commercials,  (which were run traditionally on television, as well as spread all over social media websites via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others), the narrator addressed a female audience on how “their man” could smell better. In doing so, Old Spice not only conveyed the image that men who smell better are capable of the impossible (by having the narrator do ridiculous things such as turn a goat into a harp) but also tapped into the social aspect of consumerism by addressing the “ladies” that would like their “man” to smell better.

The whole marketing campaign relied heavily on the use of social media outlets to spread their videos virally. It increased sales figures by 107%, and now has a strong fan base in the internet community. I feel that Old Spice has also re-branded itself to appeal more to a younger, more Internet savvy generation with its use of ridiculous humor in its commercials. With the world continuing to integrate technology into their lives, There is no doubt that social media will increasingly strengthen as a means of marketing products.

link to the original video: http://youtu.be/owGykVbfgUE

sources:

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/08/31/the-10-best-social-media-campaigns/

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/08/30/11-social-media-marketing-lessons-from-the-old-spice-campaign/

To me, marketing has always been a double-edged sword. When I was first exposed to it in my high school marketing class I was extremely attracted to the idea of market research; How strategic portrayal and positioning of your product towards a certain demographic can lead to increased sales, brand loyalty, advocacy, the works. What really bugged me, and still bugs me to this day is how I feel many marketers seem to over-exaggerate their products, seemingly brainwashing consumers into a certain obsession for a product that is much less exciting than actually depicted.
I found this especially prominent when toy companies market to kids. I vividly recall seeing a commercial for Lego “Bionicles”. The advertisements depicted the powerful “Bionicle” toys fighting immense monsters with awesome weapons. The advertisement would run every time there was a commercial break (approximately one third of a supposed 30 minute TV show was devoted to advertisements) which peeved me quite a bit. After seeing that “Bionicle” commercial in midst of my regular Saturday morning cartoons the ten year old me begged my parents to let me buy a “Bionicle”.

Seeing the success of the original six “Bionicles”, marketers decided to surround the toys with a mediocre storyline and proceed to push out several more generations of “Bionicle” toys and books. Well, it definitely worked on the young and naive Michael So. By the time I was twelve, I had collected all six of the original “Bionicles”, 4 of the second generation of bionicles, and their whole series of six novels that depicted the origins of the six original “Bionicle” heroes. Talk about taking advantage of kids that didn’t know better! The fact that they do so little to control such marketing strategies astounds me.

what inspired me to write this post: http://responsiblemarketing.com/blog/2013/07/22/marketing-to-kids

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