Robin Huynh's Blog

Creating a website is one thing: getting people to visit the site is another. Companies have to promote their websites both online and offline and through broadcasting on ads and other sites. Most people will leave a website that does not reach their “standards”. Companies must continually update their websites to keep them current, fresh and useful.

Websites should be attractive initially and should encourage people to return and make repeat visits.

7 C’s:

Context: layout and design

Content: text, pictures and sounds that the site contains

Community: user-user communication capabilities

Customization: ability to tailor itself to each user

Communication: communication channel abilities (user-user, site-user, two-way comm)

Connection: degree the site is linked to other sites

Commerce: able to process commercial transactions

Successful marketing and business operations, especially in the online realm, heavily depend on the company’s website. It should be easy to use, professional looking and attractive.

Some screenshots of my favourites:

tresbienshop.com

streetetiquette.com

thehue.ca

freemanbrand.com

Supreme, a streetwear company from New York City with it’s foundation rooted in skateboarding, art and hip hop, has grown it’s brand since it’s conception in 1994. Supreme may not be as well known as other fashion labels but it is considered a god amongst streetwear brands globally. Supreme products are extremely limited and are only available at certain times both on their webstore and the 8 brick-and-mortar stores around the world (located in Japan, London, New York, Los Angeles) as well as select retailers globally.

I think that Supreme has positioned their brand in such a way that it no longer relies on attributes or benefits to customers. They draw much of their inspiration from:

Hip hop:

The Bad Boy Records x Supreme collaboration t-shirt features Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ready to Die” album cover, an album considered as one of the best rap albums of all time.

Art:

The iconic Supreme box logo is clearly inspired by the work of renowned artist Barbara Kruger and her use of the Futura Heavy Oblique font.

Fashion:

Supreme splattered over Gucci and LV print

Culture and media:

Supreme x Disney

Supreme’s Japan Benefit tee released just after the 2011 quake

Kate Moss x Supreme

Supreme has successfully positioned their brand so that is creates surprise and excitement because their designs and pieces stay true to the beliefs and values they’ve had since ’94. They are preserving the skateboarding, hip hop and streetwear culture all over the world. Many of their items and collaboration pieces sell out in a matter of seconds and can be found being resold online on eBay or fashion forums for high prices. People will camp out in front of the store the day before the next collection releases:

Supreme Harajuku

Supreme Los Angeles

Supreme London

Supreme has also done quite a bit of co-branding through collaboration with many companies, some of which you may be familiar with:

Supreme x Budweiser

Supreme x The North Face

Supreme x Playboy

Supreme x Victorinox

The list goes on. It might seem kind of ridiculous to think that slapping on a giant “Supreme” could add any value to an item, but it is these collaborations that communicate with customers emotionally rather than just through the attributes that the product has. Though some of the collaboration products seem to have nothing to do with skateboarding or streetwear culture, Supreme maintains their brand because they are a huge part of the 90’s skate scene. They have grown their brand so much that virtually anything they release can sell and will sell whether people like it or not. It has even caught the attention of celebrities:

Chris Brown wearing a Supreme beanie and the “Apache” shirt

Rapper Drake in Supreme x The North Face

Rapper Tyler, the Creator with a Supreme camp cap

In April 1994, Supreme opened its doors on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan and became the home of New York City skate culture. At its core was the gang of rebellious young New York skaters and artists who became the store’s staff, crew and customers.

Supreme grew to be the embodiment of the downtown culture, playing an integral part in its constant regeneration. It’s not just an institution, it’s quality, history, authenticity and most of all lifestyle. And like any true lifestyle, you can’t buy it. Skaters, punks, hip-hop heads – the young counter culture at large – all gravitated towards Supreme.

While it grew into a downtown institution, Supreme established itself as a brand known for its quality, style and authenticity.

Over its 13 year history, Supreme has worked with some of our generation’s most groundbreaking designers, artists, photographers and musicians – all who have helped continue to define its unique identity and attitude.

– http://www.supremenewyork.com/about

I must have read this phrase a million times. As discussed in class and in the textbook, marketers are trying to create and extract superior consumer value. Different people have different perceptions of value which is why companies must find their target market and differentiate themselves from their competition.

This got me thinking about some of the companies that I’ve made purchases from and their policies and mission statements. What made me purchase something from them and what was my experience like?

1) Zappos (back when they still shipped to Canada)

Zappos.com is an online footwear and clothing retailer. They offer endless options for footwear ranging from dress shoes to runners to casual footwear. The best part? Free shipping.

Many big companies offer free shipping but Zappos differentiates itself not only by providing a variety for consumers and free shipping, but the shipping is fast! Most companies give you the option for free shipping and you can expect your parcel at your doorstep in 2 or 3 weeks. Zappos does it in 4-5 business days. Need to make a return? Shipping is on the house and you have 365 days to make the return. That is service. That is customer value.

Mission: to provide the best customer service possible.

2) L.L. Bean

You may have seen their leather/rubber duck boots around campus (or similar ripoffs, they were the originators 100 years ago!)

L.L.  Bean has free shipping with no minimum order or end date! They’ve got a lifetime warranty and are guaranteed to last; “Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise. We do not want you to have anything from L.L.Bean that is not completely satisfactory. ”

MarketingDaily on Mediapost.com wrote a small article on L.L. Bean’s marketing

Since its founding in 1912, the retailer has always guaranteed customer satisfaction 100%, no questions asked — which means it only offers products that pass its rigorous standards. “This campaign focuses on all the ways that L.L. Bean stands for quality and customer satisfaction,” he says. “So the idea of this campaign, which is extending the free-shipping offer we began in the spring, is the promise that we do what’s right even when it is not easy. Doing things right has always defined what we do, and now it even defines the way we ship.

These two companies are based off top quality customer service and have successfully differentiated themselves in their respective markets and have created and delivered superior customer value.

Upon briefly discussing the advertising war between the car companies (Bentley, Subaru, BMW, Audi) in class, I thought of other industries and the companies that dominate them. Not only in the auto industry is there fierce competition, it exists (and has existed for years) among the carbonated beverage heavyweights Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Here are a few examples between Coke and Pepsi:

The rivalry has also spurred some of loyal customers to take action:

A small South Korea-based marketing blog, Ad Design Hub, posted a few examples of comparative advertising among competitors:

It’s interesting to see how companies react and behave in response to the actions of their competitors. Usually these advertising tactics employed by competitive rivals in an industry poke fun at the opponent. Ethics can also come into play when a company is putting down one of their competitors. I do think this kind of advertising has a profound effect not only on the customers but also on the employees and shareholders (these advertisements can stimulate pride and confidence in the company) which are an incredibly important part to a company’s further growth and success.

However, sometimes competitions and advertising or comparing products can go awry. A fellow marketing student here at UBC gives some interesting insight on the conflict between Facebook and Google, another example of a marketing war. See Rose Koo’s article.

Sources: Ad Design Hub,  Advertising Wars article on 10steps blog

Hey everyone! My name is Robin Huynh. I am a second-year Commerce student and like many others, I am unsure of my major as of yet. I’m leaning towards marketing but I’ve also got real estate in mind. I am taking this course because it is required. However, I do have an interest in marketing (or what I know of what marketing is). As for my experience with marketing, the first one that comes to mind is with a company that a couple of my friends and I had started back in April. I am the co-founder of an online raw denim retailer called ABC Denim. Since it’s inception, we’ve had to market our products, our blog, our store and ourselves to all of our followers, friends and family as well as partners overseas. This past summer we had gone out to Las Vegas to attend numerous textile and clothing tradeshows to help get our name out there. It was a great learning experience, we met many, many people and discovered a lot about the industry. We intend to go again this summer. My favourite ad is a toss up between the Old Spice commercials or the Nike: Write the Future commercial

Something personal about me? I cannot swim, snap my fingers or whistle properly.

My greatest life lesson was taught to me by Will Smith. There is a video on Youtube that features Will Smith talking about life. This video has taught me to be content with my life, to reach for my goals and believe, to hone my skills and “lay my bricks perfectly”, to make a difference and do good, to protect my dreams and to make my life mean something.

Apolis is a clothing company with a different philosophy. Because their different point of view influences their processes, I believe this company is entrepreneurial. Apolis believes in giving opportunities to those who are less fortunate. They give these people an opportunity to work. Every once in a while, Apolis takes a trip to one of the countries that manufactures its garments. The countries in their previous trips include Bangladesh, Uganda, Nepal and Vietnam. Apolis identifies itself as a for-profit social enterprise even though they are heavily inspired by philanthropy. Apolis was founded only in 2004 and judging from the prices for each item, Apolis seems to have a substantial amount of wealth. They have been able to finance numerous trips while simultaneously producing and distributing goods all in a 6-year timespan. The company faces great risks since they are in two competitive industries: philanthropy and fashion. They face competition from many non-profit organizations and other philanthropic groups. Apolis is also up against the countless number of fashion brands ranging from the local stores near the Apolis headquarters to the fashion giants (Ex. Gucci, Louis Vuitton). Costs must be very high because Apolis chooses to use high quality material for all their goods and every good is handcrafted. With such high costs and a wide array of competition, Apolis faces risks that have the power to take them out of business. However, it is innovative to combine philanthropy and fashion which is what makes Apolis an attractive company to be dealing with. Their unique vision and implementation has led to collaborations with a few well-known brands such as Filson and patagonia. These collaborations have helped to elevate Apolis’ name which adds to their already positive, philanthropic image. This ultimately gives them an edge in the market because of its appeal. For these reasons, I believe Apolis is an entrepreneurial company.

SOURCE: APOLIS

If you have watched the famous Facebook film, “The Social Network” then you are aware of the ethical issues in the creation of Facebook. Previously in class, the topic of business ethics has been discussed. The gist of the film follows like this: Mark Zuckerberg agrees to join the Winklevoss brothers in their venture; Harvard Connection. Harvard Connection was to be a website for the students of Harvard to interact and live the college experience online. What Mark does is he leads the Winklevoss’ on, takes their idea and creates his own website, then called thefacebook.com. “The Social Network” follows the lawsuits against Zuckerberg as well as the initial stages and release of Facebook. The film portrays Mark Zuckerberg as a dedicated and smart individual. And he is these things, however, this film fails to consider the views of the Winklevoss brothers who initially had the idea. In an interview with the Winklevoss’ by Bloomberg, more to the Facebook story is uncovered.

According to the Winklevoss brothers, Mark Zuckerberg not only avoided the brothers for 90 days to make thefacebook.com, he also copied their execution plan. Zuckerberg saw the Winklevoss’ plan to expand Harvard Connection and used it to expand Facebook by spreading it to surrounding schools. The Winklevoss’ also had to settle with $65 million from Facebook. Facebook claims that this money is worth more than 4 times the internal value. It was not.

Now look at Facebook. It is a social networking king. It has gotten so big that it is virtually impossible to overcome. Mark Zuckerberg has the money that the Winklevoss brothers deserve. I may have thought differently if the topic of ethics was not introduced in our class but I believe that it was very unethical of Zuckerberg to take the idea of Harvard Connection and create Facebook. The story of the Winklevoss brothers is just shadowed by the hype of Zuckerberg and his “creation”.

The past couple months, Kanye West as been carrying out his promise: to release a new song every Friday until December 25. He collaborates with many artists and he told Swizz Beatz (another producer) that these people need his new music. Kanye West says every weekend the people will have a new joint from the family. The best part? He is offering the official downloads of the released songs for FREE on his blog. This initiative by Kanye West may be for his passion for music and his fans, or merely a marketing scheme to gain more popularity and recognition. It’s probably a bit of both. I am a big fan of Kanye West and I appreciate what he is doing for his fans. His revenues will surely grow from the release of his album which has unreleased songs. The hype is huge for Kanye West right now. I think this tactic of his will work very well. Hell, I want to buy his album even though I can get it all for free. As a matter of fact, today is Friday and it’s going to be a G.O.O.D. one.

In class, we discussed brand positioning. Previously, Kanye West’s target market was somewhat restricted to people who listen to hip hop and top 40 music. Kanye West hasn’t changed his genre but he is making it available much easier. Through this action, his target market is much wider and he will be heard by more people since his music is available to everyone for free. Kanye West is sticking out from the crowd and leaving his competitors behind.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENTWEEKLY

The NFL has agreed to replace Reebok as its sportswear provider with the powerhouse known as Nike. This move is predicted to increase sales dramatically. Reebok had held the NFL Apparel License since 2001 and Nike will take over in 2012. Their contract will last 5 seasons. Nike’s sales have been slower since the financial crisis but they hope that the deal with the NFL will boost sales once again for Nike. I think this is a great deal for Nike. The NFL is a huge organization that is followed by so many people. Also, Nike owns New Era Cap Co. which is famous for their quality and featuring sports teams on their caps. With the addition of the NFL logos on New Era caps, sales will surely grow because of New Era’s popularity. I think Nike just put another crown on its head.

In class, we went over the concept of buyer power and brand positioning. In this case, Nike seems to have bought out Reebok’s contract with the NFL. They would not have been able to do this if they did not have buyer power. The NFL may have been submissive to Nike’s offer because Nike is just the most well-known sports apparel company in the world….

SOURCE: BUSINESSWEEK