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I just read this article and I thought I could share it with you..

Most people may think peer pressure is only applicable to teenagers. However, a closer look reveals that we humans are always affected by the behaviours of others. Therefore, when I read the article about the innovation of OPOWER in order to encourage people to reduce energy consumption, I found their approach quite fascinating. However, when you look at it objectively, you can find pros and cons to it. In the first place, it is economical. It does not require colourful, mind-boggling TV commercials or eye-catching highway billboards. You just see in writing how much hydro you have used and how it compares to those of your neighbours. However, I wonder if this idea will work in mega cities such as New Your City and Toronto. It stands to reason that it will be extremely time-consuming. It is a great idea in theory, but in practice, I believe it will not be greatly accurate and reliable. Besides, we need to investigate to see that whether 2.5% energy-saving is worth the time and money that this innovation requires.

What do you think?!!

Enjoy the article..

I think this blog posted by Jennie Yang  is very interesting..

It is rather surprising and kind of untypical of the Canadian government to be so negligent about what Canadians consume. I have not yet had a chance to read if the government has justified their unwillingness to label the so called genetically modified foods. However, I personally do not think even if the government agreed to label such foods, it would make a significant difference on the market.

In the first place, how many people do we know or have we seen that read the labels and details provided on packages. I have seen and know only a few. How about you? In the second place, Labelling genetically modified foods may discourage some people from buying them and send them looking for foods without that labelling. This will definitely lead to a spike in the price of these supposedly healthier or safer foods. This increase in price will force lower income people to look for lower cost foods, which eventually could be those labelled genetically modified foods. And finally, have we done many surveys to find out what percentage of the people knows what is meant by genetically modified products? Personally, I believe that the word “modified” may even give a positive tone to the label and many people might think such products have a modified or improved quality. My Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines “modify” as “to change something such as a plan, opinion, law or way of behaviour slightly, usually to improve it or make it more acceptable”.

Even if we can prove that products laeblled genetically modified are harmful, we need to call them something else; otherwise, even labelling them may be misleading many people, especially laypersons and ESL people.

While browsing through the various postings by my classmates this week I came upon  calvin kwok`s blog  entry about the Blackberry Bold 9780 and how the price for this phone differs from Telus to Rogers to Bell. This started me thinking not only about price discrepancies in the marketplace, but also about why companies retain loyal customers despite having higher prices than other companies in the same field. The main thought I had is that these companies are actually in the business of providing a service, and that they use products mainly to attract customers. But once they have the customer, the service will be what keeps them. Products are generally bundled together with a package of services, and it is the package that needs to be examined for value not just the product. For example, two years ago I had a package from Rogers that offered me international phone calls for $1.75 per minute. Then Rogers offered a Blackberry that came with a package of $.30 per minute. As an international student this was a quite a savings, and this is the main reason I would hesitate to switch to another company just because their latest Blackberry was a lower price than Rogers.

Vanessa’s blog  about why there is so much disparity in prices for Big Macs around the world caught my attention because it focuses on questions I have often asked myself. My assumption has always been that the price of any product is determined by the very macro influences Vanessa mentions, namely local production, delivery costs, advertising and whatever the market will bear. These may actually be the true reasons, yet there is something about this that doesn’t seem to add up. The most costly part of any hamburger is the meat, so one would assume a Big Mac would be more expensive to produce in countries that have very little land they can devote to raising cows and that require the meat to be flown in from distant markets. One country that fits that description is Japan where pasture land is scarce. Yet the least expensive market (in the Ukraine) and most expensive (Sweden) are both in Europe, where eating meat is traditional. Also, Japan has had financial difficulties in the past couple of decades that would make the importing of meat expensive, certainly more so than Sweden. Perhaps this is where the “whatever the market will bear” influence comes in to play because as far as I know Sweden’s economy has been and still is very stable compared to Japan’s so consumers in Japan may be eating out in fast food restaurants far less than in Sweden.

From my perspective, this is a successful commercial. It has several characteristics of an effective commercial. In the first place, it uses a popular singer of that time, Robert Palmer, who was still alive when that commercial appeared on TV. Secondly, the ladies in the song convey harmony and energy. Most importantly, the name of the song, Simply Irresistible, really makes Pepsi irresistible. A popular singer is singing it. The singer is accompanied by his usual dancers. In other words, every aspect of the commercial is positive and intriguing. Using a controversial singer like Britney Spears might attract some and repel some others. However, as far as I know, Robert Palmer had a positive image among people at that time. He was popular with different age groups, so people from all walks of life would be encouraged to have a Pepsi. In short, utilizing great music, good voice, and beautiful dancers makes this commercial truly irresistible.

This commercial that aims at promoting the famous Dutch beer, Heineken, is funny or even hilarious. It can make the viewers laugh or at least smile. However, I doubt it if it can encourage beer-drinkers who are not familiar with this beer to purchase it. Why? Is there something wrong with the production of the view? Not at all. In fact, the clip is amusing but misleading. Well, there are two reasons why I believe this beautifully and professionally produced commercial is a failure in terms of marketing. In the first place, it degrades ladies. It implies that old ladies are ugly, and we need to drink beer to see them beautiful. Secondly and more importantly, the end of the commercial implies that the effect of this beer is extremely brief. The man in the commercial rubs his eyes for a second, and then he sobers up. I don’t think beer drinkers would want to try or buy a beer whose effect disappears in a second. A successful commercial is one that encourages potential customers to purchase a product, and I wonder if people would buy a product that acts well but only for a few seconds. Durability of a product is a very important factor for customers.

Prior to taking Marketing, I was always under the assumption that marketing is the costly commercials that we see on TV: simple products such as a soft drink or a chewing gum are presented with such extravaganza by using celebrities, bright colours, ear-pleasing music, and tempting tag lines. Even when Tamar pointed out that marketing was everywhere, I thought she was exaggerating. Passing by a sandwich board on the sidewalk while going for a cup of coffee, I started to notice that not only is marketing present everywhere, but it also does not have to be costly. This simple sign on the sidewalk is attractive due to its bright colours and is seen by a large number of people because it is on a busy street.