I’m a big Disney fan. I love Mickey and Minnie. I have a Magic Access annual pass, which allows me to visit Hong Kong Disneyland whenever I want to.  Being in love with Disney and fond of studying Marketing, 7 Magical Marketing Lessons From Disney World is an interesting article to read.

I agree that Disney World has done a superb job in “taking the dumb money”. As the author mentioned, some of the rides and attractions in Disney World are sponsored. However, I do not think that those sponsors are giving out “dumb money” as they are actually promoting their businesses by featuring their brands in Disneyland. For example, Hong Kong Disneyland’s “Autopia” is sponsored by Honda. The attraction allows guests of all ages to drive to the “road of tomorrow” aboard shiny electric cars . I believe this would be an effective way for Honda to advertise their automobiles as Honda’s commitment to innovation, safety and family values aligns with Disneyland’s image. In addition, by showing Honda’s logo all around the attractions,  most of the kids, especially boys would relate cars with Honda, and Honda can get its brand into their retrieval sets.

“Don’t prevent the inevitable” is another successful marketing strategy of Disney World. In Hong Kong Disneyland, they would take photos of guests while they are on board for the thrilling ride of “Space Mountain” and “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”.  These photos capture different facial expressions of the riders are shown back to them on screen when the ride is over.  A couple of years ago, people could still use their own cell phones and cameras to copy the photos from the screen. However, in order to prevent visitors from doing this and not buying the photos from them, Hong Kong Disneyland now put signs on the faces of the riders and this would entice them to purchase the photos if they really want to see the “original”.

Disney World has been doing great in its marketing strategies and I believe I will certainly discover more when I visit Disneyland next time.

“There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn.”-
Hubert de Givenchy. Iconic actress Audrey Hepburn is the most beautiful woman in my
heart for she is classy and elegant with a perfect face. Tiffany & Co. has become one of my favorite brands since Audrey Hepburn had starred in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, wearing the Tiffany’s Yellow Diamond.

Recently, I came across this video on a YouTube channel with Audrey Hepburn starring in Galaxy Chocolate UK TV advertisement. As a Hepburn fan, I was delighted to see her on screen again. So how did Audrey Hepburn make herself resurrect after her death in 1993 and appear in the commercial ad as the new “Galaxy girl” to sell the indulgent Galaxy chocolate? The ad agency AMV BBDO created the ad with a combination of footage shots on the Amalfi Coast in Italy and computer-generated imagery (CGI) animation of Audrey Hepburn. Making use of Audrey’s entire feature film catalog and all available press and documentary photographs as reference, the team recorded more than 70 possible muscle movements and blended facial expressions to reconstruct Audrey’s face. Arnold, a new renderer was then used to perfect the complex look of skin and make Audrey looks real.

It is totally amazing that technology nowadays is so advanced and innovate, in which it can even bring a death people back to life to star in a commercial ad, especially when Audrey Hepburn is described as a timeless glamorous star. Although there are criticisms and controversies amongst viewers, saying that the ad is distasteful, creepy and insulting Audrey Hepburn’s legacy, despite the blessing from Hepburn’s sons for they believe that their mother would have been “proud” to be in the ad as she “often spoke about her love of chocolate and how it lifted her spirit”, I think that this ad will definitely attract Hepburn fans like me to attempt to purchase a bar of Galaxy Chocolate to experience a taste for being Audrey Hepburn.

Recently, French luxury brand Louis Vuitton accused the owner of a hair salon in Hong Kong for infringing its trademark as chairs covered in its trademarked check pattern are found in the salon. Louis Vuitton demanded a published apology and payment of HK$25, 000 in damages. This news has aroused my interest in looking at the importance of trademark for branding.

A trademark is a recognized sign, design, or expression, which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others. Some products have higher prices than the others not only because they have better quality, but also a recognizable trademark. Many products provide the same functions. However, some companies are able to charge higher prices than the others because they have a well-established trademark. Consumers are willing to pay larger amount of money to buy those companies’ products because they help them to convey higher social status and prestige. Therefore, a good trademark is definitely a strong asset for companies to generate huge profits and companies should target consumers who value famous brands to identify themselves by establishing a unique and recognizable trademark.

It is understandable that Louis Vuitton wants to reserve the right in using its trademark as large amount of money is spent on establishing its brand by creating the famous and well-known check pattern. However, in my opinion, Louis Vuitton should not request for such huge sum of compensation from small-business owner since people might think that it is an act of bullying. And this might cause damage to the reputation of the company. Moreover, the owner actually did not aware that he was infringing the trademark and I think it is more important to educate the people of property intellectual rather than penalizing them with severe fines.