In the beginning of the semester I never thought that we would be doing a video project as a final project instead of an in-class presentation.  At first, I was thinking how would this work and that wow, 5 minutes is a long time for a video.  But it turns out that the video project was fun and different which is always better than common and predictable.

I really enjoyed the semester long Marketing Plan project. I especially liked the idea that it was separated into parts because it really helped me understand each component better. With the class drawn to a close, I can proudly say that I learned a number of invaluable skills:

• Conducting a proper SWOT analysis
• Company analysis
• Creating a marketing plan from start to finish

In addition, I really enjoyed working with my Goupon team. It has been a lot of work throughout the semester, but I could not have asked for a better team. Every member was engaged in group discussion, decisions, and had fun (at least I did), and in the end we produced a fantastic Groupon video. It is kind of funny because we thought that producing a 5 minute video would be difficult, but I guess not since our video ended up being 7 minutes.

Check out our Groupon video!

Overall, it was a great experience, especially the video since it was unexpected. However, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t glad that the Marketing Plan project was over, but that goes for all my classes and projects too.

The “Hear what you want” commercial for Beats by Dre’s new Studio Wireless Headphones featuring Kevin Garnett is definitely up there with my favourite “Powerade ION4 Olympics” and “The World is Just Awesome- Discovery” commercials. When you watch this commercial you instantly feel connected with Garnett, the 37 year old Brooklyn Nets basketball player who has been deemed too old to continue on playing basketball. Seeing Garnett shut out all the negative comments and noise through the Studio Wireless Headphones and a good song is relatable to all consumers. We all have had a time where we have put on a good song to make us focused and forget about everything else.

I agree with Nathania that this commercial targets consumers’ affective attitude of empathy towards Garnett. Personally, I related with him. There have been numerous times where I’ve plugged myself in with headphones and a good song to shut out all the hectic noises of the world to concentrate, focus, and gather my thoughts.

In addition I also agree that Kevin Garnett is an excellent aspirational figure for the Studio Wireless Headphones. Nathania shared in her blog that  consumer’s purchasing behaviour is affected by empathy and understanding. However, I think Beats also chose Garnett because he is an athlete and athletes are associated with listening to music. We constantly see athletes listening to music before a game to help them focus on the exertions they are engaged in. Also music and general performance have a positive relationship called disassociation, where an individual detaches themselves from a particular activity. If Beats had chosen a different aspirational figure, say, a musician, I feel that the commercial would be less powerful and effective for their product.

“Tough, Brave, and Relentless” – David Gianatasio, AdFreak

Additional Sources:

http://www.seriouspowerlifting.com/4231/articles/listening-to-music-increases-athletic-performance

Pizza Hut, Panago, Papa John’s, Naked Pizza, oh right, Domino’s, I know what that is. Let’s face it, there is nothing special about their pizza, in fact it is kind of tasteless. This being said, after more than 50 years of doing business, Domino’s is agreeing with their customers that their product sucks too. It is a courageous thing for a company to do, but the leadership team of Domino’s knew that something had to change if Domino’s was to stay as a real competitor in the Pizza industry.

Therefore, the company decided to change Domino’s entire brand focus and image. The era of the original “Domino’s in 30 minutes or less”, which ensured that the pizza got to customers quickly regardless of quality was thrown out the window. Domino’s new direction was about listening and reacting to customer’s honest feedback using social media and direct advertising, which lead to the Pizza Turnaround campaign.

Take a look at the Pizza Turnaround campaign for yourself.

Domino’s risky strategy of and re-making and re-baking the pizza has really paid off. As of September 2010, the company has become the 4^th largest e-tailer in the market. Russell Weiner, Chief Marketing Officer of Domino’s, says that changes happened overnight as they were, ”two days away from running out of pepperoni”. Moreover, the campaign has really allowed Domino’s to be transparent through their approach of asking customers to post their feedback, whether positive or negative on various social media channels. The leaders of Domino’s have fixed the problem through their Pizza Turnaround. However, their newest challenge is how to continue on being a success through innovation and listening to their customers.

Watch the Bloomberg episode here.

Do you know what a 3D printing is? Frankly, I didn’t until I read an article about how biomedical researchers managed to create a mini liver that lasted up to 40 days. I think that’s pretty spectacular! Imagine how many lives a 3D printer could save.

But first, let’s take a step back and understand what and how 3D printing works. First off, 3D printing is a type of technology that allows you to create an object.

Watch here to see how 3D printing works.

Innovation Theory Model

It’s pretty cool, however, I don’t think that consumers are ready for 3D printing. 3D printing has been around for decades, but it is still in the early adopters stage. It has made its mark at the industrial, large corporation, and business levels by providing services to consumers. For example, UPS is testing their service of offering 3D printing at stores while Shapeways  has created a business of 3D printing. However, the technology is still to new as consumer curiosity is just starting.

Due to   this growth of curiosity, 3D printing sees an opportunity to enlarge its market size by attracting average consumers. Though the obstacle that they will have to overcome is how it will directly integrate into a consumer’s life. Currently, companies like MakerBot, sell affordable household printers for consumers at around $1000.

MakerBot Replicator 2

However, the catch is that the average consumer printers can only manufacture objects made out of plastic. They cannot create objects that are made up of multiple types of material, which are the majority of consumer products. Therefore, I think that 3D printing is not ready for average consumers as it does not offer:

• Relative advantage
• Simplicity
• Compatibility

Click here for the documentary

It’s Sunday morning, and I’m watching TV with my dad. We flip through the channels and stumble upon a Bloomberg documentary called “The Naked Brand: The Future of Marketing”. This 40-minute insightful film discusses how corporations can help save the planet one step at a time by running a transparent and sustainable business.

Fifty years ago, companies could just tell everyone how great a product was and consumers would believe them. However, today with our technological advances consumers are only a click or tap away from having access to product reviews. Corporate advertising is no longer a reliable source and we can no longer be fooled anymore. Social platforms have helped make companies transparent to us, the consumers, even if they do not want to be.

In an interview between “Socialnerdia” and Jeff Rosenblum, the creator of “The Naked Brand”, he discusses how corporations need to start focusing on creating great products, providing excellent services, and become environmentally sustainable, as that is what the consumer culture is evolving to. Consumers will respect these corporate values, and in turn, their behaviour will help build a strong brand image for the company.

“Advertising has always played an essential role in how we function as an economy and as a society; it is the connection point between consumers and corporations”   

– Carter Brokaw, Chief Revenue Officer, Slacker Radio

I found this documentary to be interesting and clearly illustrates what advertising will become in the very near future. I believe that corporations are heading in the positive direction as they realize that being transparent is ethical and produces customer loyalty. This also transfers over to the profitability of the business.

Let’s all give a round of applause to the creator of Tide Pods! Some of you may be asking why, and don’t worry I’ll tell you. For those of you who don’t know what Tide Pods are, they are small dissolvable packets of concentrated laundry detergent that you can just pop in the laundry.

Tide Pods are designed to fit customers who are time efficient, environmentally conscious and into saving money. Tide has been around for a long time and has built up its brand loyalty. However, with this new innovative product and campaign of “Pop In. Stand Out” (pop it in the laundry and get stand out clean laundry) Tide will be able to expand and gain new customers.

Not only are Tide Pods marketed well, but they also follow P&G’s sustainability goals. Tide Pods are fully dissolvable and therefore create no waste. P&G stated that their long-term goals involved:

• Using 100% renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging
• Having zero consumer and manufacturing waste go to landfills
• Designing products that delight consumers while maximizing our conservation of resource

In my opinion, I think that Tide Pods are the golden product of the laundry industry because no other product can ensure a certain number of loads and efficiency. The number of Tide Pods equals the number of loads. It is that simple. Competitors in the laundry industry should be scared as P&G and their new Tide Pods have projected sales of $500 million, which I believe are due in part to their ambitious goals about sustainability and improving customer lives.

Sources: http://www.pg.com/en_US/sustainability/environmental_sustainability/environmental_vision.shtml

http://news.pg.com/blog/innovation/new-tide-pods-pop-stand-out

http://www.canvas8.com/public/2013/05/24/tide-pods-zero-waste.html

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