Tag Archives: marketing

11/19/12

RE: GoPro’s Marketing and Why It Works.

Oh man, I remember seeing this video. Michael Chang, who wrote the article “GoPro’s Marketing and Why It Works”, is the very person who showed it to me. I watched it with my mouth hanging wide open for the entire five minutes, entranced by the superior quality of the video and, of course, the crazy action sent my senses tinglin’.

Michael points out two major points of difference for GoPro cameras: size and quality. To expand on these claims, GoPro cameras are designed to be light and small for easy portable use, with exceptional resolution as blatantly demonstrated by the video. However, any products could claim these characteristics to set themselves apart from others. What makes GoPro a significant brand to a customer like me is their ability to captivate the audience with a single video.

When Michael first showed me this video, I had never heard of GoPro before. It branded itself into my mind unforgettably, however, as the video stimulated me with beautiful scenery that I certainly don’t get to witness every day. It also captured me with delicious scenes of surfing, snowboarding, rafting and motorcycling – activities that I wish I was capable of. By feeding someone like me, the audience, with wishful thinking about all the blood-pumping adrenaline I’m missing out on, GoPro simultaneously rouses an internal longing for its product. The two areas overlap, causing one to yearn for GoPro to fill the lack of excitement in one’s life. I, for one, cannot deny that I fell for this brilliant marketing approach.

Props for that amazing video, GoPro. Where can I get one of your cameras? And perhaps a surfing board?

11/9/12

The Success Recipe of Tagga

Even though Amielle Lake visited the class as a part of entrepreneurship, I think her work strongly ties together with informational technology, which Carson Woo spoke about in a previous class. As interested as I am in marketing, which is why I was captivated by Amielle’s story, Carson’s lesson brought out some very essential things to keep in mind when operating a business.

To describe Tagga as a marketing company would be doing it injustice. Tagga goes beyond simply advertising products – it strives to transform how companies can advertise products in such a way that they can measure the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. As impossible as this sounds, Tagga brings this idea to life through technology. By fusing marketing with technology, this Vancouver-based company is paving an entirely new path of bridging a connection between the companies and their consumers. It’s starting to receive some major spotlight – from Adidas to Red Bull, companies are starting to be intrigued by this new software that provides precise data about the behavioural patterns of their consumers and their responsiveness to advertisements and products.

Both classes were huge eye-openers for me because up until that point, I had happily neglected the importance of technology. Trying to understand all that jargon seemed impossible, so I never considered bothering to learn about business-affiliated technology. It seems, however, that major breakthroughs cannot happen without the technology to support it if not be the breakthrough itself. Without doubt (and perhaps choice, as well), I am intrigued!

A cup of marketing brains, another cup of innovative technology and a bucket of courage to take the leap  – and there you have it: Tagga, one of the most promising upcoming businesses on the horizon.

 

Sources:

Business Week’s article “Life Lessons: Amielle Lake”: http://www.biv.com/article/20120904/BIV0201/309049935/life-lessons-amielle-lake

Carson Woo: http://mis.sauder.ubc.ca/carson-woo/

Tagga: http://www.tagga.com/

Tagga – Case Study of Adidas: http://www.tagga.com/portfolio/adidas/

Tagga – Case Study of Red Bull: http://www.tagga.com/portfolio/a-youtube-video/

Photo from here.

10/28/12

Red Bull, You Genius Son of a Bull

I was intrigued by the brief mention in class about the diversity of Red Bull’s activities. After some investigation, I have to say… I am quite impressed.

As a hopeful future marketing consultant, Red Bull was a very fascinating case study because it takes its marketing strategies outside of the box – innovative marketing tactics that are so innovative that hardly anyone minds the Red Bull propaganda. Which is awesome, because there is nothing more that customers hate than advertisements.

For example, instead of sponsoring an event like brands typically do, Red Bull hosts its own events – extreme sports events that embrace the energizing theme of its product. Previous events include Red Bull Joyride, which is featured in the photo at the top, and Red Bull Air Race, where world-scale pilots perform stunning stunts (ha!) before an audience of thousands. Such events captures people’s attention, hence raising overall awareness of the brand.

Another approach that Red Bull takes is engagement with its customers. And by engaging, I mean individual, word-of-mouth promotion. Red Bull Wing Teams are composed of students driving around in a Red Bull marked van, offering Red Bulls to people on the street. The company also supports young musicians through Red Bull Bedroom Jam and aspiring writers through Red Bull Reporter, appealing itself across the spectrum.These are only a few activities that I’ve come across in my research of Red Bull. The local scale of these projects build personal relationships with people, familiarizing the product for all the great opportunities it provides.

I’m gonna be honest here… Red Bull sounds like heaven for marketeers. Who else wants to apply with me?

 

Sources:

Red Bull International Official Website: http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Red-Bull.com/001242745950125

Red Bull Joyride: http://www.redbull.ca/cs/Satellite/en_CA/Red-Bull-Joyride/001243006065584

Red Bull Air Race: http://www.redbullairrace.com/cs/Satellite/en_air/Official-Red-Bull-Air-Race-Homepage/001238611393596

Red Bull Wings Team: http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Red-Bull-Wings-Team/001242965768603

Red Bull Bedroom Jam: http://www.redbullbedroomjam.com.au/

Red Bull Reporter: http://www.redbullreporter.com/

Business Case Study: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/red-bull/engaging-consumers-through-word-of-mouth-marketing/word-of-mouth-wom.html#axzz2Ce1cE8tX

Photo from here.