01Apr / 2013

It’s that time of the year again…

Seeing as today is Easter, I thought that it’d be most appropriate to talk about one of my favourite treats: Cadbury Mini Eggs! There’s always an influx of Easter treat related commercial advertisements on television stressing that consumers need to “get them before they’re gone” (particularly with Cadbury Creme Eggs, the eggs are personified and literally explode during each commercial to emphasize the limited time nature of their existence).

As someone who isn’t a huge fan of chocolate (Chocoholics, you may gasp), I have recently developed an odd craving for mini eggs. Perhaps its to do with the constant advertising that I’m exposed to, but I did not have the will power to resist the temptation of those tasty little eggs. When we discussed distribution intensity in class, I was so sure that mini eggs belonged on the relatively exclusive side of the continuum. However, I quickly realized that mini eggs are intensively promoted and distributed everywhere when Easter nears, although they due have a limited window of availability. From store brand versions, to even the UBC Bookstore, mini eggs are everywhere!

Despite being intensively distributed during Easter, the fact that these mini eggs have a limited time of availability allows producers to mark up prices ($1.99 per small bag of 42 grams) due to relatively inelastic demand from consumers. Another interesting note is that Hershey’s is the parent company of Cadbury, and also sells a brand of mini chocolate eggs called “Eggies“.

Ever since I could remember, I have had an attitude that Cadbury represented the highest quality of chocolate (relative to other widely available chocolate brands, including Hershey’s), and actually refused to purchase Eggies despite its lower price. This just shows how effective Hershey’s has been with their marketing strategy, leveraging the brand power that each of its products have. I have certainly enjoyed my portion of Mini Eggs, and I can’t wait until next year. Perhaps I’ll give Eggies a chance now that I know that they’re from the same company!

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18Mar / 2013

The Feed – An Online Foodie Community

Doesn’t this make your mouth water?

I watch cooking shows whenever I can, and one of my favourite PBS shows is America’s Test Kitchen. Basically, every episode has a theme (such as potatoes) and the chefs work hard to test recipes until they’re consistently “perfect” (factoring time, complexity, and number of ingredients). Check out this video for an amazing Potato Galette recipe. They do a fantastic job of effectively simplifying recipes (via demonstrations and using substitutes such as gelatin instead of braised beef bone) so that viewers don’t need to work so hard to decode the original chef’s message.

I finally decided to check out their blog, which is appropriately named “The Feed“, and I love how user friendly it is with large buttons and a clean display. I also think that community aspect of the blog is extremely well done, because the posts add value to its users (such as through tips and tricks gathered over the years) and encourage participation.

Edible Stained Glass

Another cool aspect is called “Foodles” which are, you guessed it, food related doodles (particularly that links to an infographic about cakes). This really aligns with America’s Test Kitchen’s objectives of educating and helping cooks of all ages and skill levels in their pursuit to satisfy their foodie cravings. Most importantly, their tantalizing images do an amazing job at affecting their target market’s physiological state (I’m getting hungry as I write this post).

Mmmm… Pizza

Although there’s a lot happening on this blog, I feel that the clean layout makes it easy for users to digest (particularly the live Twitter feed, which is something that I usually find to cause a website to become too busy). Following the AIDA Model, the television show provides awareness for the blog along with garnering interest, the tips engage users, and lead to their eventually trying out new recipes. I’m definitely bookmarking this blog!

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04Mar / 2013

“My Starbucks Idea” – Share. Vote. Discuss. See.

As a typical Starbucks fan, I became excited when I read Annie’s post (here), where she effectively describes the communication process which is demonstrated in the “Ideas in Action” blog. Aside from the service oriented approach that Starbucks employs with its baristas creating hand-crafted drinks for customers, this blog allows consumers to voice their ideas about anything Starbucks related, and highly popular ideas are often implemented in stores. One great example is to put names of customers on all beverage cups, a practice now adopted by every Starbucks I’ve visited in recent years. Not only are customers more likely to respond to the barista when their drink is ready for pick up, but the feeling that each drink is made personally for you is surely something that positively affects Starbucks (despite having a high density of store locations).

I agree that Starbucks acts as the sender and often uses the Internet as their communication channel (due to the high level of exposure it has with their target demographics of students and professionals), but what’s more important is the consumer involvement that exists on this blog. Various blog writers (who are employed by Starbucks) transmit their messages to consumers in the form of product endorsements, or simply promotional information.

In Annie’s post, she talks about the “Inside Story of Starbucks’ Tribute Blend” which chronicles the life of the coffee beans associated with that blend, and the journey that is accounted allows readers to better understand a bean’s path to their delicious cup of joe. By educating consumers, Starbucks is utilizing informational appeals, which increases the probability that those highlighted products will be purchased since it provides explanations for what benefits those products provide (such as the distinct taste of aged Sumatra coffee). After all, as mentioned in class, people don’t buy features, they buy benefits.

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04Feb / 2013

“Every Story Starts with a Reservation”

Tourism Vancouver has truly succeeded in creating an event that foodies near and far can look forward to each New Year: the annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival. With an increasing roster of participating restaurants (231 and 241 in 2012 and 2013, respectively), the festival allows consumers to enjoy three-course meals at three affordable price ranges: $18, $28, and $38.

The beauty of this festival is that these menus are unique to Dine Out Vancouver, and individual items are guaranteed to be priced cheaper than listed on regular menus. It is this unique promotion that Tourism Vancouver uses to help market and encourage consumers (including non-foodies) to try out new restaurants, with relatively low monetary risk involved. However, 2013 marked a bigger, and better festival, complete with a separate event for food carts, and increased partnerships with local hotels.

I think that this marketing campaign to promote Vancouver restaurants is genius; the excitement generated by the foodie community acts as free advertising of the event, and likely leads to many first time visits to restaurants that have an expensive reputation. Once having experienced the quality product that participating restaurants offer, consumers will remember the great food (affecting their benefits usage rate), along with the great deal that the festival offered. The result is increased motivation for consumers to visit Vancouver restaurants, even after the festival period, and perhaps to further take advantage of other food and entertainment the city offers.

The slogan of the festival is “Every story starts with a reservation”, and I think that the inviting feeling that is conveyed by these words helps to show consumers that Dine Out Vancouver is about getting together with friends and family to enjoy great food. After all, cheap food items can be found in abundance, but great times with loved ones are priceless. It is this message that allows Tourism Vancouver to truly touch the psychographic aspects of consumers including attitudes and lifestyle routines, and the reason for Dine Out’s 10+ years of success. I can’t wait for 2014’s festival to come around!

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Samantha's Marketing Journey

Category Archives: Promotion

It’s that time of the year again…

The Feed – An Online Foodie Community

“My Starbucks Idea” – Share. Vote. Discuss. See.

“Every Story Starts with a Reservation”