Month: September 2011

In one of our marketing class, one of our clicker questions asked us about the number of brands we use daily? The options were along the lines of less than 50, 50, 100 or more than 100. I picked less than 50 thinking that this was the most reasonable; you can’t use a 100 or more brands in one day. It’s impossible!

“Is it?” my friend next to me asked me, “think about it. When you wake up, the blankets you use, the clothes you put on, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo etc; that’s got to total up to more than a 100 in one day!”

“Oh ya, I didn’t even think of that!” I replied.

The point is, brands are everywhere. When you wake up in the morning to when you get back to your bed the number of brands you encounter throughout the day are endless. We may not be aware of it but it’s everywhere. We breath brands everyday, influencing our perceptions of various products, services and companies. Without brands or branding, companies spiral down to nothing.

Why do people choose to buy such expensive products such as those from Chanel, Burberry and Loui Vutitton when there are products that can be bought for a cheaper price but still of good quality? The answer is simple. Branding. Such fashion companies build such a reputation for themselves as a result of creating brand loyalty. They create advertisements based on celebrity endorsements, sponsor high-end-fashion magazines, with simple yet chic images of skinny models. People want the elegant and rich lifestyle, high-end fashion designers provide them a picture of that: buy the product and that’s how you’ll feel. Deceiving? Yes. Ineffective? Abosolutly not.

Furthermore, with companies being able to build such a successful brand reputation, they are able to set prices high knowing that there are thousands of consumers out there still willing to purchase that purse or those shoes for thousands of dollars. I know I have. To be able to beat out competitors and rise up from the ground, marketing must start with building the brand because that’s the key to consumer demand. A brand may be simple yet it’s value can be worth so much more.

First blog post for marketing…where do I start?

I guess I’ll start here. Hello everyone! I am not going to begin my introduction by stating my name since it’s pretty obvious what it is from my blog name. But I will start off by saying that I am an international student, born and raised in the Philippines until I was seven. I then moved to Sri Lanka and had an amazing four years there, then began my next six year adventure in Jakarta, Indonesia, where I spent my High School years. All that moving around…pretty crazy huh? People often tell me that I am very fortunate to be given an opportunity to live in so many countries; and I am blessed to have been given this experience. Yes, I got to travel, yes it gave me exposure to various cultures, and yes I made friends from all over the world. You develop a tough skin to protect yourself from such drastic changes in your life and develop confidence in yourself.

I am now a university student at UBC, and having been exposed to marketing in my High School IB Business class, I realize it’s marketing I want to pursue when I graduate.

Marketing plays a very important part in our everyday life; we see it everyday, working it’s way into our minds, and often wonder why did we purchase this? Why do we choose this brand from countless others? In fact, I believe that marketing is the most crucial aspect of a business as it is the one that launches a business forward, sells products and services. Brand image, company reputations etc, are all part of marketing; it is a combination of numbers, analysis and creativity. Exploring consumer thinking and behavior is what makes it so fascinating. That aspect of Psychology that can be brought to the table, making marketing open-minded and innovative.

Hands down, my favorite brand so far is Apple. It’s innovative designs satisfy our wants and needs and its advertisements are simple yet elegant. One word: inspirational.

Oh and I love Harry Potter, so I guess an interesting fact about myself is that I’ve read the last book seven times!