J.H.'s [ Life&Marketing ] blog!

I love Groupon! I enjoy checking my email every morning to know what is the deal for me today. It’s like opening a gift box. Something magical and mysterious.

Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website leveraging collective buying power to offer awesome discounts at local retailers and service providers. It’s a great way for small companies to advertise because the cost is low and the advertising success is easy to measure (number of people who participated). I would say this partnership as co-marketing because both companies came together to promote their brand.

I passed by Banana Republic at Metrotown the other day and was amazed by its new renovation. I didn’t realize a change in store appearance can make such a big difference to my perception. The new renovation in my opinion brings the store to life. It feels younger?I think the biggest difference is the exterior. You can now easily see the inside and the open space.

Although the new store is more welcoming, the old store’s design is more classic and more recognizable.  The new one could easily be mistaken as Club Monaco or any other store.

I have not stopped by the new BR but according to the news: “the new store features ten rooms of different clothing styles, each having their own distinct purpose. Every room is incorporated as a customer’s ‘closet’ for a more home-like feel. In addition to the store’s expansion, consumers are now able to shop for Banana Republic shoes, which are only available on selected outlets. The store also brought back the ‘petite section’ which was temporarily discontinued due to the construction. The store’s new look has also attracted most of their regulars with a finer, more elevated structural design, interior and exterior.” Interesting.

Apparently, the new look is not just for a better store appearance, it’s a mark for Banana Republic’s new concept: the “Revolution” stores. This concept is BR’s testing project for it own experimental research on how the revolution stores will bring the company better business and the possibility of duplicating the success to other locations.

Maclean’s magazine recently published a controversial article suggesting that some  universities are “too Asian”. As I was reading some of the 1000+ comments, I noticed some people have suggested Maclean’s real intentions are to increase sales and to garner media publicity. Could this be possible?  I don’t think Maclean’s would take such a high risk just to achieve a  short-term increase in sales.

I was browsing through those yoga pants on lululemon.com when i found this tab:

I like the line “unlock the gift of yoga”. The word “unlock” adds a mysterious feel and the other key word “gift” just invites people to click the tab. Well, that’s how I found myself in this webpage http://www.lululemon.com/giftofyoga/?cid=hpgoy, which reveals what the gift is about. Basically, Lululemon is giving away free yoga passes to people who Check In on their mobiles at a Lululemon store. This marketing strategy is brilliant as it promotes yoga to its potential consumers, while adding value to its brand. There’s also a clear statement on the whole purpose behind this campaign noted on the webpage: “Because we think that yoga can bring us all together and change the world.” Isn’t this campaign super inspirational? Just like how Lululemon has always positioned itself as yoga-inspired athletic apparel. The downside, however, is that people who do not own a smartphone have no chance in getting the gift. Could it be that Lululemon wants to target people who own smartphones? Or this simply means it’s time to get a new phone and join the trend?

I received an email from Chictopia.com last week. For those who don’t know, Chictopia is a website similar to lookbook.nu where fashion-conscious people around the world share and post photos of their outfits.

Here is the email I got:

“Hello Coed Chictopians!

Want to show off your stylish school spirit? Victoria’s Secret PINK is spotlighting the best fashion on campuses nationwide in their new Style U feature. Style U is all about real style from real girls on campus. PINK is kicking off Style U with a focus on spirited game day looks. Submit your pics, and show off your best game day style at vspink.com!

What’s the chicest way to rep your school? The PINK Collegiate Collection, a line of co-branded gear for 59 schools, has everything you need to create your game day look. From hoodies to yoga pants, stay spirited and stylish with the PINK Collegiate Collection. Checkout the collection and rep your school atvspink.com.”

I think Victoria’s Secret is smart at obtaining users’ email addresses from Chictopia. With one simple email, all Chictopia users are informed about the fashion-related contest and introduced to VS’s PINK Collegiate Collection.

After reading this blog post from my classmate William Afil , I was reminded of the SpongeBob band-aid I bought a while ago. I prefer band-aids with happy faces to the traditional ones even though they cost slightly more. Why? Because I know SpongeBob is going to do an awesome job cheering me up when I’m in pain. Look at them. Aren’t they just adorable?

Now that I think of it, I rarely get brainwash by the messages in advertisements but I’m the kind of consumer who will easily fall for products with cute images/logo/packaging.

^ M.A.C’s Venomous Villains collection for Fall 2010 features four of Disney’s Villains.

^MAC Holiday 2010 A Tartan Tale Collection + Viva Glam.

A brand’s perception is reshaped when popular elements are thrown to its products and advertisements. If not for the launching of these new and limited collections, I never would have deemed M.A.C as a cute and young brand. Thus, by repackaging its products with attractive images, a company can actually expand its consumer base.

Today is my lovely friend’s birthday (muahahaha!). In the past few weeks, my friends and I were busy deciding which gift to give her. To put this in a marketing term, we were going through the consumer decision process. After many discussions, we ended up getting her a gift from Tiffany&Co. I think Tiffany&Co. did an outstanding job in establishing its brand image and perception. We chose Tiffany’s product because of its brand image: quality, prestige and value. When I see ██, I don’t see a colour (and I’m not blind). I see “Tiffany&Co.” I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. Tiffany associates its brand with this specific colour, which highlights its competitive advantage in brand recognition. In fact, the colour “Tiffany Blue” is even protected as a colour trademark by Tiffany&Co!

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Here is an ad I’ve seen on the 99 bus.

Will I buy it? Maybe, if they taste great. Will I buy it because of the ad? Probably not. It’s true that the idea is fun but the reward is not appealing to me. Remember the keyword: CHANCE!!! “Capture all 5 for a chance at a $25000 reward” When I see this ad, I cannot see myself being the winner.  In my opinion, a reward does not need to have great value but should be promising and easy to win. Otherwise, $25000 is just another number.

I love micro-blogging. A Microblog’s entry is usually concise, consisting only a sentence fragment, a photo, a link or a video. It allows people like me who do not enjoy writing tons of paragraphs and spending too much time on a blog to share! Unlike a traditional blog, a microblog  usually allows two-way communication between the user and others. The file size and the content of a microblog are also smaller than a traditional one.  A few popular micro-blogging services include Twitter, Tumblr, Jaiku, Posterous and Plurk.

Personally, I prefer Plurk because of its unique content and easy steps to upload a photo (unlike Twitter).  In addition, all the updates including yours and your friends’ are displayed in a horizontal scrollable timeline, which is convenient to follow.

>There are cell phone applications designed for microblogs.

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[I just logged in to my long abandoned twitter account and found out there’s a new version. XD Why am I always slow on things?! ]

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