Month: November 2010

I didn’t realize that different advertisements had different purposes until having today’s lecture. I was always thinking  all the ads to be the same. In my eyes before, all the ads have the same purpose: focuings people to buy. But, I suddenly found out that there were so much details behind persuading.

Advertisement, or promotion, is various based on the stage of their product’s life cycle. During each phase, the ads have their own focus. For example, when the most popular electronic product, iphone 4 first launched in the market, their ad is trying to explain every single new features to customers. The purpose for their ads is to inform people what is new there and to educate potential customers about the product.

On the other hand, if a good is during decline phase, the main purpose of  ads becomes  to remind people that the product is still there. No one wants his products to be forgotten by people soonly, so he needs to take some actions to help people remember.

But I was not wrong before. All the ads do have a main common purpose: to persuade people to purchase. This purpose existed all the time. You can always see some ads saying” Buy me”, “Try it today” or “Don’t miss it” and so on. Advertising is really a strategic task, which needs to plan carefully, to use appropriately and to control timely. What I want to say here is that ads do make a difference for a product. If you want a good sale, pay more attention on the ads and find out what you really want the ads to do.

Marketers always use some strategies to offer their customer something seems really attractive, but actually the truth is so different.

When playing games, especially the random ones, probability is a big issue. The game designer needs to calculate the outcomes carefully to make sure the game is profitable from his or her point of view. But all the players want to win as well. If their expected value is below what they pay for game, they won’t play. It is like a zero-sum game, someone must lose in order to make others win. So the designer better to take a serious consideration about how to make the game looks profitable for the players while he is the winner actually.

So, be careful, players and buyers.

When you go out shopping, the first thing of a product jumps into your eyes in its packaging. Packaging plays an important role in deciding weather you want to buy it or not. Companys put a lot effort in packaging its product. Some focus on making it appealing while others want to make it convenient.

Packaging function differs from situation. Suppose I go to Safeway and look for some snack that I can bring to school so that I won’t be starving during intensive classes. I want both OREO and nutrition bar, but the OREO only sale for a big  box while the bars have small snack packages. Definitely at this point, I would go for nutrition bar, even though I prefer OREO a little bit. Convenience is what I want when choosing snack. Snack is really nothing, but when this situation goes into an infinite number, it really matters.

Here is another case. My auntie just had a little baby few days ago, and I decided to take the weekend off to see the new life. Being a older sister, I want to bring some gift to my little new girl. I went to the gift store and two things attracted me there. One is a cute Teddy Bear and another is a music box. I love the Teddy so much but I chose the music box finally. Why? Because the Teddy only has a regular bag with it while the packaging of the music box is so amazing. It’s something I need to give to others so the packaging is crucial for me. That’s true. When people send gifts to others, they always package it well to make others feel good. Packaging is the first impression left on people’s mind, and the first impression determines everything.

Did you guys have fun on Halloween, or did you put your beautiful pumpkin lantern in front of your house? Yes, winter  is coming and summer has gone. Now it’s time to say goodbye to your favourite summer special frappuccino and get ready to have a cup of hot chocolate! Everything has a timing, even for drinks. People like different types of drinks based on season and the weather. Pumpkin is the symbol of fall, so a cup of pumpkin spice latte might be a good choice for today.

Read from Crystal Chu’ blog, https://blogs.ubc.ca/crystalchu/, I found out that people tend to buy seasonal drinks more often if there is a sign saying” limited time only”. This need marketers to pay highly attention to potential opportunities to attract customers and satisfy their needs. Catch the chance, and you will win! Marketing has timing, different seasons, different holidays and events help getting the market a lot. We all like something special, something made for a certain reason. When having these products, we may feel like listening to a story and obtain some extra experiences. My words might be overstated a little, but the sense is true.

Go and get something just made for today, that is what marketers design for you!