Marketing Plan Does not Stay Afloat
April 7th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
I remember about a month ago, one of my friends showed me a video of these guys who had created a sport liquid mountaineering, which put in simple terms is running on water. The video was about 3 minutes long (over 9 million hits on youtube), and it described the brief history of this group of friends who developed the sport. The video (posted below) contains many clips of them seemingly sprinting on water, in some instances getting upwards of 10 strides before they sink. Well, it turns out the whole video was a farce. The video was actualy made by some unknown shoe manufacturer, who’s waterproof shoe is used by the runners in the video, to gain some publicity. When I found out it was a farce, my heart broke. I was really looking forawrd to trying it for myself in the summer, as I’m sure a lot of people were. This may qualify as the dumbest/most unethical marketing tactic of all time. Not only did this company create this misleading video in hopes of increasing the sales of their shoe, but they initially denied allegations of being behind the creation of the video, which they were. They positioned their product for a use that is not actualy possible and on top of that, they outright lied to their consumers. Furthermore, they barely mentioned the use of their shoe in the video. I mean if you’re going to go about marketing in such a twisted sleezy way, you may as well do a good job of it. As you can see I was really looking forward to running on water, oh well. In the end, I doubt this company will last much longer as in this one video I’m pretty sure they destroyed whatever reputation their brand had.
Lessons Learned
April 4th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
I think the greatest lesson I’ve learned came from my 12th grade calculus teacher. He always encouraged me to maintain my positive attitude and keep a smile on. I’ve always been a pretty care free happy individual but I’ve found that through 2 years of university that my carefree temperment is often tested. I see a lot of people around me getting super stressed out over exams and getting worked up over marks and requirements, and it gets kind of depressing really. It is really easy to become so focused on school that you live and die by every exam and paper, especially when they actually may dictate where you go in school/life. But what I always try to do, is remain positive and just accept that whatever happens happens. I find that through doing this I get less stressed out and in general live a more enjoyable life. I always try to keep a smile on and lighten the mood because university can get to be really serious place, and honestly I don’t think it can be healthy to be constantly worried and stressed out. I acredit my calculus teacher as the reason I passed first year calculus but the most important thing I learned from him was to keep a smile on.
The Power of Social Media
March 23rd, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
As I was going throughsome of my classmates blogs I was’t surprised to find an article on Sean McNulty’s blog about Rebecca Black. In about the span of two weeks Rebecca has gone from an unknown singer with mediocre (very mediocre) talent, to an internet sensation. All of this was due to her music video entitled Friday, which is currently zeroing in on 40 million views on YouTube. This video has been a topic of discussion across news stations, Facebook, Rebecca was a trending topic on Twitter and the single itself is now available on Itunes. In spite of all the attention that the video has received, the video itself is exeptionally bad. Rebecca sings lyrics that could have been written by fourth grader in a nasal autotuned voice that is almost painful to listen to. This prompts the question, if the song is so awful why have so many people seen it? And why am I writing a blog about it? That is all explained by the power of social media and the internet. The video was produced by Ark Music Factory, which was an unknown, low budget music producing company and from what I can see got zero promotion other than being posted on the company’s website and YouTube. I’m not exactly sure who discovered the video, I just remember seeing it posted on my Facebook one day, then about a day later it was everywhere. I assume that the video just spread exponentially across social media sources like Facebook and Twitter to the point where most people with a computer had seen it. This goes to show how powerful networks like Facebook and Twitter are at dispersing information. Unfortunately for Rebecca, it wasn’t due to her lyrical content and vocal ability, it was due to an audacious lack of it.
What I have learned about myself in class (299)
March 20th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
I think the most prominent thing I’ve learned about myself in this class are what my skills are, thanks to Strengthquest! Well, actualy, I already knew what I was good at. What I’ve really learned in this course, is how the skills I posses translate into assets in the working world. Before this class, I did not have a super clear view of my “value”, mainly because I did not really know what an employer is looking for in an employee. Now that I’ve gone through a large portion of this class, I’ve gained a lot of insight into what gets you where in the business world and in seeing this have been able to size myself up and determine what I have to offer and see where that may take me. In general, I’ve gained quite a great appreciation for myself in analyzing and embellishing all of my strengths. In addition, I’ve found that self-improvement motivates me. I’ve always been a very competative person and in writing resumes and going to interviews, I’ve found that I have a desire to be better than everyone else. This desire motivates me to go out and accomplish new things in order to add to my personal resume. Unfortunately, I’ve found it hard to go out and do awesome things as I’m usualy bogged down with work. Although, I guess school is a good form of self-improvement, atleast I hope it is.
March 17th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
About a week ago, in a game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadians, Zdeno Chara checked Max Pacioretty of the Canadiens, head first into the turnbuckle between the two benches. The hit left Pacioretty severely concussed and with a broken fourth vertebra. The NHL decided to not suspend Chara, as the hit was deemed a “terrible consequence” of the game. None the less, the hit, which could have easily cost Pacioretty (22 years old) his playing career, added to the NHL’s reputation as being violent and dangerous.
Air Canada, one of the NHL’s main sponsors, lashed out at the NHL and threatened to pull their sponsorship of the league if something isn’t done to clamp down on dangerous hits to the head. Although many other sponsors expressed their concern over hits to the head, having one threaten to pull their sponsorship is unprecidented, in the NHL and sports leagues everywhere.
I can see where Air Canada is coming from, being an airline where safety is at the forefront of concern, associating themselves with a sport known for its element of danger does not seem like a great idea. However, I have come to the conclusion that Air Canada’s statements are no more than an empty threat aimed at gaining some form of publicity(this is a very biased opinion). There is no way Air Canada would pull its sponsorship of the NHL. If they were to do so, and threaten the stability of the league, every canadian who loves hockey (99% of canadians), would never fly Air Canada again (if they don’t already as it is a lowsy airline). At the end of the day does the NHL need to crack down on hits to the head? Yes. Does Air Canada need to realize that hockey (like football and other sports) is a dangerous game? Yes
Electric Car’s Time to Shine???
March 9th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
The recent spikes in the cost of crude oil have reminded the world as a whole how handcuffed it is by the cost of fossil fuel. The recent uprisings in the middle east (Libya) have triggered a sharp rise in the price of a barrel of oil. What people may not realise, is that the rise in oil prices is not so related to a shortage in supply of oil as it is speculation. Libya is only responsible for a small portion of the oil produced in the middle east, whereas Saudi Arabia, which is not currently in the amidst of an uprising, produces a very large, large portion. The reason the cost of a barrel of oil is so high is due to the perceived risk. As an uninformed consumer, I myself look at the mess in the middle east and can’t see it ending soon. In addition, I would then say if the prices of oil are so high mainly do to uncertainty, I don’t see them coming down soon as I’m certain the conflicts in the middle east aren’t just going to stop. This being, I begin to evaluate my own personal reliance on crude oil and how I can limit it. I am going to assume this is the thought process of many people.
In opposition to the negative impacts of rising oil prices, North America (mostly united-states), has began to recover from the recession. Spending has increased and the economy is improving. Now, assuming there s a large quantity of of people looking to lower their reliance on oil prices and who have a little extra spending room in their budget what happens? Demand for electric/ fuel efficient cars! So all car manufacturers should take advantage of the situation before their competitors do and start advertising.
Lupe’s Fiasco
March 3rd, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
Lupe Fiasco’s 3rd studio album entitled Lasers, is set to be released next tuesday, March 8th. Lupe, has made a name for himself through is lyrical abilities, his candidness, his socially conscience approach to music and essentially by marching to the beat of his own drum. In an era where hip-hop music has been inundated with made for radio singles, Lupe Fiasco’s style has differentiated him from the rest of the competition and garnered him an almost cult like following. However, as Lupe and his fans have found, being different in an industry where popularity is everything, is not easy. Lasers has supposedly been, in some way shape or form, completed since 2009. The reason for it not being released earlier, according to Lupe, was that he needed to dumb it down. Atlantic, his record label, wanted him to produce something that would be picked up by the masses, and Lupe’s signature style of wirtting lyrics that take the average person a few replays of the track to get the full meaning of, did not cut it. Lupe, being the true artist he is, resisted Atlantics pressures to alter his work and a very long and public conflict ensued. Being a business student, I can see where Atlantic is coming from. In a time where music sales are being killed by illegal online downloads, maximizing what ever profit they can does make sense. However, at the same time, in looking at Lupe and his fan base, Atlantic should have realized that yielding to corporate pressures and making mainstream music is exactly what they are against. In the end , Lupe Atlantic reached a compromise, Lasers is essentially a hybird album combining some mainstream beats with anything but mainstream lyrics.
Spreadables
February 24th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
Spreadables is a new app, that essentially tries to control or enhance the word of mouth promotion of a product or brand. Up until now word of mouth has been recognized as a highly powerful promotional tool, but one that is very difficult, or impossible to control. What spreadables does is provides a widget feature, much like those that link to facebook or twitter, that allows customers to make quick and easy referrals to their contacts with regards to a product, by merely clicking a button. After clicking the button, customers will be able to send messages to their contacts through an array of different sources. The app is said to be highly customizable in order to meet every companies requirements as well as it is integrated with social media software such as facebook and twitter. Another cool feature of this app, is its analytical abilities. The app measures word of mouth referrals, as well as provides infomation such as where the majority of their referrals derive from. I think this app is in general a pretty cool and innovative idea. What I see it as doing, is essentially providing incentive for customers to promote a product. However, facebook and twitter do already provide the means to do essentially the exact same thing. This being, I am not convinced that this app will catch on. Maybe if they generate some positive word of mouth they’ll change my mind.
Red Lasers
February 8th, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
Bold, cutting edge, inspiring and creative, are all words one could use to describe recording artist Lupe Fiasco. They are also words one would use to describe his recent marketing campaign for his up and coming album entitled “Lasers”. Lupe, who is an avid blogger and tweeter, and one can assume tech savy indiviual overall, has launched an add campaign which embraces the abilities of modern technology, more precisely smart-phones, even more precisely the barcode scanners on these phones. What the marketing campaign for Lasers has done is develop a scannable barcode that (red laser technology (kinda suiting)), when scanned, allows you to pre-order Lupe’s new album via smartphone. I have been a fan of Lupe Fiasco for a while now, and have always seen him as a lyrical genius, this new add campaign has just proven to me that he may just be an overall genius. I would not be surprised if this became a trend among artists. Giving people a reason to use their expesive new smartphones as a means for something besides texting and calling, and making that reason to pre-order an album is truly marketing genius. It certainly worked on me. In addition, last friday night, in New York’s Union Square, an enlarged image of the barcode (QR code), along with related video, was cast upon surrounding buildings using multiple prism series lasers. When it comes to marketing, much like in the music world, Lupe Fiasco is again one step ahead of the competition. The link to Lupe’s blog is below
Red Bull
February 2nd, 2011 • Uncategorized • No comments
One of my favourite things to do when I should be studying is to watch YouTube and my favourite thing to watch on YouTube is extreme sports. Being a fan of action sports, words cannot describe how thankfull I am for Red Bull. It seems like literally every extreme sport, whether it be FMX, snowboarding, rally car racing, sky diving or even helicopter acrobatics is sponsored by Red Bull. Red Bull sponsors hundreds of extreme sports athletes and provides them with a seemingly endless supply of equipment to fit their every need. Whether it be Shaun White`s private halfpipe only accessibly by helicopter or Travis Pastrana’s fleet of rally cars, monster trucks and dirt bikes, they provide it all. It has gotten to the point where if you type in Red Bull on google, you don’t get articles relating to the RedBull energy drink that the company actualy manufactures, but rather the latest stunt one of their athletes has performed or a recent event held by the company. In seeing, all of the money that RedBull puts into its atheletes and its events my first question was why? Because of the word limit I’m going to cut to the point. The executives at Red Bull are geniuses. They have clearly identified that a huge segment of the market for energy drinks are people with a thirst for adventure and thrill. By inondating the extreme sports market with its name, Red Bull is making a strong connection between its brand and the thrillseeking lifestyle of an extreme sports athlete. RedBull energy drink is an undifferentiated product, that sells at a higher price than much of its competition. None the less, RedBull posses around 50% of the energy drink market. Below are some of my favourite RedBull athletes.