Month: November 2010

As my last blog post I thought it would be funny to search on google images “funny advertisements”, and I came across an interesting promotion for BMW.



I could not stop laughing! I always wondered what guys really were thinking… But I find that this advertisement is very effective in the fact that I knew it was BMW by the shape of the car in the front and I don’t even like cars!! Having good promotions are ideal and especially when you can communicate your product benefits. In this ad i believe that the male is an extremely good looking fellow who has the “ultimate attraction” towards BMW cars, implying to its market of men that BMW cars are like a dream come true and can be attainable. It is like a fantasy situation with an attractive girl and man, however, instead of living in the moment, the man is thinking about cars instead of what is readily in front of him promoting the fact that all men think about having a BMW. I like this ad because I just thought it was interesting, entertaining, and extremely sexy! 🙂

As I was going through my fellow classmates’ blogs, I stumbled across my fellow peer Morgan Krechel’s Blog (http://morgank1.blogspot.com/)  about Avion Tequila. I watch Entourage religiously and I was very surprised to find out the Avion Tequila is in fact real. Needless to say his views on the tequila was of extreme dislike, I will be one of those individuals who will buy a bottle to satisfy my urge or trying the liquor because of its great publicity on Entourage. This just goes to show that yes a product might not be of superior quality, but if publicized in the right way, will become highly profitable.

There is evidence which proves how highly popular shows, people, and just the entertainment industry in general can market products just by reference. Gwen Stefani can show up wearing a dress made of garbage and it will become a new trend because of her fan base of loyal followers and she is an idol for so many individuals.  As in my earlier blog from Don Perignon , with the right idols promoting a product, the fans will follow. Avion Tequila will continue to be profitable as long as Entourage is still in the limelight and fans are willing to pay the price for a few hours of “fame”.

With time some events, products, or ideas do not need to be marketed any longer, people just know. When I think of a tissue, I will use the word Kleenex interchangeably, or any laundry detergent as tide, but how is it just known that Wednesday is Pit night? I have never seen a poster, sign, or any sort of marketing for those nights yet every single student at UBC knows about them. I have heard about those nights since before I even went to UBC! Is Wednesday at the Pit a tradition? I know my uncle who graduated from UBC in 1990 used to DJ at the pit on Wednesdays! That was like before we were born!

The way the Pit runs just reminds me of the importance of marketing through word of mouth and loyal customers. Wednesdays are a tradition since almost every single UBC student has to go at least once in within their 4 years. Since I have never heard any negative comments, I do not believe there is too much undesirable customer behaviour with negative word of mouth. More like if there is one loyal customer they force their friends to go and so even if you do not like the pit you still end up going.

I was watching Sex and the City 2 for about the millionth time this weekend and I just got to thinking that as soon as you think of Sex and the City you automatically think of sex, a city, and a cosmopolitan. Carrie and the girls have “introduced a whole new generation of drinkers…to the fabulous world of the cocktail.”  (http://ohgo.sh/archive/sex-and-the-city-the-cosmopolitan/) From reading a blog based on trying drinks that have been featured in the show and movies alike, the cosmopolitan is definitely the most epic. It has started a trend in drinking. It is rare to find a group of girls who go out and are lounging by the bar not drinking a cosmo.

The cosmopolitan is a product, however Sex and the City is the brand which differentiates the Cosmo from other cocktails. As girls go out for a night, they are looking for that experience which they have seen so many times on the infamous series. With drinking cosmos it satisfies their vision of the night.

The problem being that since cosmopolitans and Sex and the city are closely related, there is high chance of post-purchase dissonance. If a girl had too many drinks, had an unsatisfactory night, or a drink that is not consistent with her previous drinks, that could change her perception on the show. Since the cocktail drink is now world renowned, (I know this because me and my sister have had cosmos with a few girls in a small bar in a remote part of Greece and the bar tender knew what it was!) there is a high chance that the drink is not made identically at every location available. Although there maybe some women who will react unfavourably, there is a large population that are completely loyal to Sex and the City and since Carrie Bradshaw’s favourite drink is the cosmopolitan, so is theirs.

Personally, I love cosmopolitans and the main reason why I tried it is because of one of my favourite tv series. I wanted the experience of going downtown with my closest girl friends and have an amazing time just like the show. What can I say? I a complete loyal fan of Sex and the City!

Belvedere Vodka is like many other alcohols in the way they promote themselves using social media. Since this is a world where the organizations with the new technological advances have the power and the other companies which do not adapt to new trends i.e. social media, are suffering terribly. In marketing alcohols, however, governments have certain regulations on how they can promote certain drinks. As my friend has mentioned on his blog a few weeks ago (https://blogs.ubc.ca/kevingrewal/) Belvedere has found a way to brand themselves without breaking any government advertising law.  With a grand prize of cash and a “dream job” as a Global Ambassador for the vodka, Belvedere has gained “unregulated advertisement”.

Alcohols should be able to promote their product, however, by having drunk individuals drinking their vodka and displaying it for the world to see is not ideal promotion. It creates great controversy for younger audiences who are under-aged and have great accessibility to the internet and are able to see these videos on youtube and facebook. They are being influenced to drink at an earlier age with all the “unregulated advertisement” on the internet. Although it may be excellent for the firms with almost free publicity, it harms the youth who are exposed to these videos. They may believe that the way the videos are aimed at showing the uniqueness, creativity and passion for drinking Belvedere, it promotes a more desirable image for youth to consume the drink. I think that in this new era, even these free promotional videos should be regulated.