Mikey's Marketing

To all my followers,

I have enjoyed this past months of sharing my marketing opinions, ideas and what not with all of you! I hope you all enjoyed following me. Do not think I am leaving and not coming back, but due to excessive academic workload I will be gone for a couple weeks.

I just wanted to talk a little bit about my experience bloging! This was my first blog ever, but it was a good way to share my thoughts about things ocurring in the marketing world. I hope all of you bloggers and readers enjoyed it.

I will more likely be back with you guys before the year ends! But please keep me posted with any interesting things that go on while I am away! Because you guys have to remember this always “Marketing is everywhere”!

Hasta pronto,

M&M

I’m back as I promised with news from Lebron James and his return to Cleveland,

What happened before the game?

Before the game, fans peppered him with obscene chants and booed every time he appeared on the giant TV screens beneath the scoreboard. They held up signs that read, “Quitness” and “Play Like It’s Game Five” — a reference to his playoff failure against Boston last season, when many fans — and owner Dan Gilbert — felt James had quit. There were five guys wearing a single letter each on their white T-shirts that spelled out: LeBum.

So guess who won? Cleveland or Lebron James? Well…

“DESPITE ABUSE FROM CROWD, JAMES SCORES 38 AS HEAT DROP CAVS”

Lebron had a brilliant return to his old home, while scoring 38 points and having one of his best performances all year. Not even the insults from the crowd were enough to stop him from playing his game. Final score was 118-90 for Miami Heat.

What did HE say?

He never apologized to Cleveland or its fans, but said he appreciated the way he was treated as a young pro.

“So many things went through my mind,” James said. “I have nothing bad to say about these fans at all. We grew from the year before I got here, a 17-win season to the last two years I was here, we had the best team in the league in the regular season. I understand their frustration. I was frustrated also because we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to. I wish this organization and these fans, who are great, the best.”

This was the best thing Lebron could have done to show upset and broken hearted fans that he is no all they say. But I wonder what will occur now? Will the Lebron James drama settle down, or will we see some new commercials coming out soon!

Bye for now,

M&M

Hola,

I was looking into some new Chinese new products in the Trendwatching.com website and I came up with this Chinese brad for sports apparel called “Peak”. It immediately raised my attention because of its similarity to a brand in Mexico thats also makes sports apparel called “Pirma”.

Below you can see pictures of an example of a shoe from each firm and the similarity of their logo, not say the name.

“Peak” in the left, “Pirma” in the right

I feel like products are very similar and there is no doubt that Chinese are always looking for growing markets where they can compete and obtain a piece of the market share to gain profits. Not only this but if we consider the prices offered by Chinese products, talking specifically about the difference between a pair of shoes there are advantages for the product made in China.

My opinion is that this is kind of a knock off, and it probably is as it isn’t the first time Chinese get ideas from other existing products. I want to make it clear that I have nothing against this, I thought it was interesting because I use to buy this brand when I lived in Mexico a couple years ago. Rather I think its smart on the side of the Chinese that are always looking for markets where they can enter a gain their fair amount of profit by attracting a percentage of the market share.

Remember tomorrow Lebron is back in Cleveland… countdown, I will be back tomorrow with updates!

Bye for now,

M&M

Im back!

Just in time to share with you an article I read in Drew’s McLellan’s Blog, The Marketing Minute. The article is called “Use word of mouth to score your next job”, it talks about the significance of word of mouth for selling prodcts and services every day, “67% of consumers say that word of mouth is the # 1 influencer of their purchasing decisions.”

The impact this article had on me is how Drew suggests that the same way word of mouth helps firms sell products or services, we can do the same by marketing ourselves. The main idea discussed in the article is how to build a network of people close to you and let them know your situation. The situation being that your are looking to find a job in a certain industry, telling them about your strengths and weaknesses, etc. The point of getting a hold of this network of people who want to see you succeed is that they will use “word of mouth” to put your name out there and if everything works well and you are lucky opportunities may arise from networking with these people.

I totally agree with the way Drew build up on this idea of “marketing yourself” and I  find it interesting because I can relate with what many people in Sauder offer as advice which is to network and build relationships and connections with people you meet. Basically that is the whole idea of the Sauder experience to get to know people around you, networking will bring opportunities you never know when. People you met might work with you some day, you may work for someone you met, you may hire someone you met or reccomend someone you met to certain job, etc.

So go on and market yourself and network with other people, the more people you know, the richer your channel and the more likely opportunities will arise for you in the future!

Just like Drew said, if word of mouth works when people are making buying decision “Why do you think it would work any differently when someone is “buying” a new employee?”

For a more detailed step-by-step explanation of how to market yourself to create word of mouth among people you know and potentially find a job, follow my link to the article in Drew’s blog!

See you soon,

M&M

Hello everyone,

As I write, tension, and a mixture of feelings that include hate, anger, sadness and many more are building up as Lebron James will be back in Cleveland on Thursday night, first time since he decided to leave the Cavaliers to go to Miami Heat. Fans have turned their back on who they called “The Chosen One”, as a feeling of betrayal invaded each and every one of the Cleveland fans hearts.

I was reading Connor Radil’s blog post where he brings up the Lebron James novel and discusses on  Nike’s commercials. Well written comments as he gives follow up with a new post where he shows the response of Nike to its previous commercial. (If you would like to see the commercials, follow the link to Connor’s blog!)

The point of discussion I would like to bring out is, why would Nike put two of their biggest marketing stars against each other? After MJ’s commercial in response to the Lebron commercial, Lebron appears to be like the guy that took the wrong choices and MJ is obvisouly the good guy, which there is no doubt about what he achieved and how he achieved it. They mention all his hard work, sacrifice and effort as qualities that got him all they way to the top!

At the end of the day, this is a marketing strategy Nike is using to promote both Lebron’s and MJ’s shoes. MJ’s shoes, which represent and symbolize the hard working, dedicated, team player. As for Lebron, Nike is trying to get their loyal customers acceptance for Lebron again!, as many of his fans turned their back on him after THE DECISION; leaving Cleveland and joining Miami.

This story is to be continued… I will bring updates as to what happens on Thursday night in Cleveland as the Heat takes on the Cavaliers!

Ciao,

M&M

Hola,

I wanted to share this commercial I found in “The Marketing Blog”  as Christmas Holidays approach, but obviously not before final exams!

If you still cant get a little bit of that feeling of Christmas, watch this video and I assure you will bring back memories, good times and most important remember that this joyful times are approaching. The commercial is part of CANADIAN TIRE advertising, I will talk more about the ad itself below but take a look at it so you get a feel of the good old times. This is the link to the blog post where you can see the video: ‘Tis the season for sentimentality 

About the advertising there is not really that much focus to Canadian Tire as one would expect. The main focus is the theme of Christmas and family. The only time we see Canadian Tire come up is when they show the bags, telling us they had shopped there. I think this is because Canadian Tire is showing the value of family, love and how that is the most important thing at the end of the day. This ad I would say is more like a gift to all of its customers, a message thanking all those loyal customers and wishing them a merry Christmas with all their loved ones. The reason I say this is there is really no products being promoted, its more the focus on the brand and its value.

I will keep up the search for more Christmas adverstising to compare how different firms, brands will approach their customers this Christmas holidays! Meanwhile you can start getting in the spirit, and start thinking what presents you want!

Hasta pronto,

M&M

Hola Amigos,

I’m back early this week with an interesting video for all of you that follow me, and for those that don’t to invite you to follow my blog.

I was watching a youtube video from TREND HUNTER TV 2010. (Trends in 2010 – 2010 Consumer Trend Report from TREND HUNTER) They were talking about the 20 trends of 2010 and I was particulary interested in two of them; trends # 10 and # 17.

Why did these trends catch my attention? Well because they explain a reality of how society is transforming nowadays. Trend # 10 is “Exposed Vulnerability”, it talks about how social media ans social networks permit total access to people’s lives. For instance, who would think a couple year before that people would update twitter while giving birth, or another example you might have heard of was, football player Ochocinco from the Cincinatti Bengals updating his twitter status at halftime during an NFL football game! It seems like there is no privacy anymore, everyone is EXPOSED! Why do people feel this urge to let “the world” know what they are doing? I know marketing is everywhere, but is this about marketing ourselves?, or why is the number of people that do this increasing everyday? I must say, that this became a trend since famous people started it, artists and even sport players used this to keep their fans informed.

The other trend I wanted to talk about was # 17, “Rental Culture”. It talks about how we can basically rent anything we want now! From toys, to luxury objects such as jewelry, to clothing, to fine arts you can get anything you need. Just imagine this, being able to rent out some nice paintings to decorate your place before holding a cocktail party at your apartment, renting a suit and an expensive watch as your outfit to host your party. So what is this? This is just creating a “fake status”! Creating your perfect world based on renting a bunch of stuff. It might work for some people, some others may no like the idea, but does it work for you?

Hasta pronto amigos,

M&M

Link to video: Check out the video and let me know what trends catch your attention!

watch?v=goMoO3DLDNw&p=A567D10A93C68198&playnext=1&index=26

Hola a todos (Hello everyone!)

I have to practice my Spanish if not I will forget and my spanish will become rusty! Just a quick fact about me, I am Canadian-born but grew up in Mexico. So we could say I am MEXI-CAN! haha

Anyways I want to apologize for not making an appearance in my blog last week, just had a very busy week with school. But not even that could separate me that long from the world of marketing.

I want to tell you guys that I came up with a very peculiar thought of how company’s should approach their customer long-term relationships. The idea is by creating a “love affair”, I found this idea in Drew McLellan’s blog; Drew’s Marketing Minute. Drew talks about FIVE powerfull reasons as of why it is necessary to create a love affair with your customers.

1. It feels good: It feels better to serve people who you care about, and they care about your company.

2. It´s easier to sell more to a current customer who loves you, than a new customer: It is harder to obtain a new customer than to retain an old one.

3. It´s more profitable: New customers are more proce sensitive.

4. It generates word of mouth: As we have seen, if people love your company, product, service they will talk to other about it. Word of mouth is a huge and powerfull marketing tool. 

5. It´s incredible for employee retention: I totally agree, personally I would enjoy to work in a place that is all about being kind and considerate to customers. You are basically socializing and building relationships while working. 

I can think of a couple brands that people nowadays love! For example Apple, Nike, Adidas, etc. I would say that I love ADIDAS! As a soccer fan and player I have always found ADIDAS soccer cleats the most comfortable and classy. Some might debate NIKE has better technology in soccer cleats, but ADIDAS has their own unique style that make those boots feel like they were customized and made to fit only my feet!

Which brands do you have a love affair with? What do brands do to make you feel love towards them?  

Hasta pronto,

M&M

Hola amigos,

What are fashion brands looking for in football, or what we would call soccer? Do they have a strategy, is this a new segment in the market or are they just looking for world stars to wear their brand to gain recognition? We have seen Calvin Klein with the swedish soccer player Freddie Ljunberg, we have seen David Beckham with Armani, more recently Cristiano Ronaldo with Armani. But now the new fashion brand that is looking to dive into the soccer world is Dolce & Gabbana.

“Dolce&Gabbana have upped the ante in their drive to become the most connected fashion brand to global football; inking a deal to dress the current English champions Chelsea, as well as the man many rate as the planet’s best player, Lionel Messi.” Below is a picture of some Chelsea players wearing Dolce & Gabbana suits, one of the company’s moves to become part of the soccer world, before getting Messi as their image.

This is obviously a big move by Dolce & Gabbana to have this sport celebrities using their clothing, considering some of its closest competitors like Armani, Calvin Klein have done the same. My question is why would Dolce & Gabbana choose Lionel Messi as their figure?

The reason I question this selection is that if we compare to other soccer players that have been part of these fashion campaigns Messi is very different. We see Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ljunberg as this “celebrities” that are aside of being top notch at their sport also considered sex symbols amongst women, what we would call a “stud”.

But Messi???? He is the opposite of the players mentioned above, he is not that good looking athlete, with ripped muscles, and sexy that all women like. So I think it is pretty interesting why Dolce & Gabbana chose Messi, because it is not what everybody would hope to see. Let’s be real, for many, Messi is the best player in the world today so having him as an image is pretty meaningful. My personal opinion is that Dolce is striving more to show class and doesnt need to select this show off players to show the value of its fashion designs.

If you are wondering who is Messi and how he looks in a Dolce & Gabbana suit take a look! So why do you think he was selected as the new model to wear Dolce & Gabbana?

Hasta pronto,

M&M

Hola Amigos,

Scanning through some of my classmates blogs I came up with a blog post that caught my attention, not that I am really a gambler but I like to bet on sports once in a while for fun, without getting passionate about it because I know sports and gambling are not best friends! Morgan’s blog talks about a website where you can bet online called playnow.com. I found that promotion of the $100 deposit bonus pretty attractive and to be honest really regretted not hearing about it before OCTOBER 5TH, I was also kind of upset Morgan did not tell me about the chance to get a free one hundred bucks!

Anyways my hunger for money did not stop there, I actually went in playnow.com website to see if I could find any other promotions that would give free money after betting! I dont know if it surprised me or not but GUESS WHAT I FOUND ON PLAYNOW.COM???

PROMOTIONS + PROMOTIONS + SOME MORE PROMOTIONS!

Tuesdays and Wednesdays Slot Tournament $3000 GIVE AWAY! (check promotion!)

Bet on sports and get 20% back on your bet! (check promotion!)

Even for the Lottery, buy a ticket and GET A FREE EXTRA (check promotion!)

Lots of promotions to check on fellas, coming back to Morgan’s post I just want to say I totally agree that this is a way to prove that customers can TRUST playnow.com. All the money they give away will not be nothing compared to the effect this strategy will provoke. People having their confidence boosted with $100 and feeling powerful will just fall in the game of gambling and leave more than $100 for sure!

GO AHEAD ALL YOU GAMBLERS AND GET SOME FREE MONEY TO START GAMBLING, LET ME KNOW WHERE IT TAKES YOU!

Hasta pronto,

M&M