The previous writing assignments were easy for our team since we would always meet up and discuss the time we should get the work done and which member is in charge of which part. However, the video project was different since it was not as simple as member A finishes scene 1 by himself, member B is in charge of scene 2, and so on. The video project required every team member to be present for every moment of film making and soon enough we faced a challenge. How should we film our video?

The previous assignments were standardized and given a rubric to follow with. The video project was completely up to our team to decide everything – there was no requested style or scenes, but only a seven minutes limit. Our team originally came up with a music video idea, merging creative lyrics and music beats into rap. Unfortunately, we realized with our time and resources we would not be able to create a music video that reaches our standard. We started to brainstorm for another idea and together we came up with something everyone definitely supports: The True Story of Lululemon.

We were each assigned to a scene and one scene was given a one minute limit. We individually wrote our script then merged all the scripts together so our final script was written by every team member. The location and time of filming were decided as a team, if more than two ideas were present, we would evaluate and choose the one that was a better fit. We finished our filming in two days since every team member had different availabilities due to work and school to handle, but in total we spent only a few hours to film. Overall, I really enjoyed working with my team and completing this assignment as it allowed me to use my creativity and connect better with my team through non stop discussion and meetings.

Response to Tess Kwan’s blog post “Makeup isn’t just for women!”

While browsing through my classmates’ blogs, this one caught my eyes. No, it was not because the post was discussing about guys or makeup, but the fact that more products are becoming unisex. It is an interesting trend that is becoming more obvious throughout the years. If we think back to just five years ago, who would have thought males will be wearing makeup and purchasing yoga pants? Were we too conservative or did the society change? I say both.

We always tend to categorize products while the marketing team always sees another shed of light in the end of the tunnel. We assumed females wear makeup so makeup was feminine and males should not and would not wear it. However, the marketing team thought otherwise: it is a great opportunity to expand the market target and increase sales. Was it a successful transition? Yes. As one can see from Kwan’s blog post, the package and design are made more masculine to attract male customers. The color of the bottle tends to be gray or black and the shape also tends to imitate the design of liquor bottles. With these efforts and the original benefits of makeup, helps one to look better and younger, male customers now purchase and wear makeup like females do!

Original article link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/tessk/2013/11/16/makeup-isnt-just-for-women/

Response to “Apple marketing executive says Samsung hurt iPhone, iPad demand”

The hottest phones in the market are Samsung’s and Apple’s. Is it a coincidence their phones seem to have similar features? The “pinch and zoom on the screen” and “phone’s flat, black glass screen”. Such doubts have caused two companies to constantly trying to obtain patent over each other and suing for compensation.

Today we are going to look at the bigger picture: instead of focusing on which company is “right”, let’s look at the trend that’s happening in almost every industry. Is Samsung’s phone causing Apple to develop certain features or the other way around? That scenario would be describing causation, the action of causing something. Or, is it a correlation that both companies are developing similar features to satisfy consumers’ current demand and preference? That would be a correlation. Another well known case can be Lululemon Athletica’s yoga pants: are other brands following Lululemon by developing similar products (causation) or are they merely trying to satisfy consumers’ wants and needs? (correlation). I think things become different when we try to determine if it is causation or correlation, because we do not try to score a win or avoid a lose, but instead understand the main concept behind all these cases.

Original article link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/15/us-apple-samsung-retrial-idUSBRE9AE15I20131115

Apple launched its new product a few days ago and as always, loyal customers lined up to be the first ones among others to obtain it. It is understandable why Apple can always keep customers wanting to come back and purchase more: non-stop innovation, users friendly products, great after-purchase customers service, and Apple has become a sign for trendy as well.

However, there are more competitors entering the tablets market and as they are selling more, should Apple worry about its price? Its market share is already less than before. Apple’s new products are always better and lighter than their previous generations, but their price maintained on the same level. I personally believe Apple does not have to worry about its price. Its pricing strategy allows the customers to identify Apple as the brand that offers quality and worth products. iPad Air costs more than other brands’ tables, but it offers certain benefits that other tables do not such as the various apps to install and the ultimate one pound light weight.

Response to “BlackBerry co-founder was vehemently opposed to touchscreen BlackBerry 10 smartphones”

BlackBerry has always been known for its physical keyboard feature on its phones. With the increasing trend and users of touch screen phones, is it a good idea for BlackBerry to abandon its unique feature and follow the crowd? Is it helpful or harmful for the company to develop touch screen phones and compete with other strong competitors who have been publishing touch screen phones for years? Touch screen phones demand has grown to 90% and it has been reported that Iphone occupies 25% of the market share. In this article, the BlackBerry co-founder insistently disagrees on abandoning the physical keyboard because he believes there are certain customers who desire the original BlackBerry for its physical keyboard.

The views on his decision are oppositely extreme: his supporters agree with him on reserving the original feature and praise his drive for market differentiation; his opposers disagree for his lack of a new vision and inability to adapt with the current trend. I believe he is right for wanting to reserve the original feature, but I also believe he should have adapted slightly to stay in the market strong. This situation reminds me of Ritz’s chips. Ritz has been known for its crackers, but wanting to expand its market share it decided to start selling chips, too. It was not easy since it was a new territory Ritz had to conquer, but it focused on knowing what the customers desire and prefer, and its new chips product became a success. BlackBerry could have done the same to dominate both the key board and touch screen markets and bring its business to another level of success.

Original article link: http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2013/09/28/blackberry-co-founder-was-vehemently-opposed-to-touchscreen-blackberry-10-smartphones/

Response to “Tell McDonald’s: Stop Using Toys to Market Junk Food to Kids”

Since I was little I would remember asking my parents to take me to McDonald’s because it has published a new set of toys: perhaps Toy Story’s theme or Hello Kitty’s. I was not the only kid who would want to go to McDonald’s for its toys; according to CNN.com, forty percent of kids had done the same. This is a substantially large number which worries me because happy meals are not healthy meals. 93% of time they consist of french fries and 78% of soda. San Francisco state has disagreed with McDonald’s marketing skill and banned Happy Meals with toys.

McDonald’s toys are their distinct quality that makes them stand out comparing to other fast food brands (Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and more). I understand McDonald’s reason for using toys to attract kids, but what it could do is modify their Happy Meals menu. It does not have to offer only fried food or soda, it should start offering salad or corn soup instead.

Original article link: http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-mcdonald-s-stop-using-toys-to-market-junk-food-to-kids

Response to “McDonald’s Apologizes For Unapproved Ad That Mocks Mental Illness PSAs”

This article discusses the use of McDonald’s Big Mac’s advertisement. In the ad, a woman is clearly resting her head in her palm in anguish with the tag lines “You’re not alone. Millions of people love the Big Mac.” This ad is seen on the Boston metro and has been discussed all over twitter. It has successfully attracted people’s attention to McDonald’s Big Mac, but at the same time it heated up debates since it mocks mental illness. As it turns out, the same picture has been used to promote mental health while McDonald took it to advertise its Big Mac. This act has offended a lot of people and caused them to doubt McDonald’s ethics. It is important for a company to think about how its actions will affect the consumers and society. In this case, the consumers feel horrible about this ad and possibly about Big Mac since it is the subject of the ad, and the society sees McDonald’s marketing skill as unethical. Marketing is about promoting and selling one’s product. I think as a marketing technique, it is creative for McDonald to create a parody of something everyone’s familiar with, because it attracts attention and brings people to talk about it. Unfortunately, most people found the parody rudely offensive which probably brought negative effect to Big Mac since the ad mocks those in need of mental illness help. Is this ad successful? The answer depends as it can be viewed differently from a marketer’s point of view and general public’s.

Original article link: http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-apologized-for-ad-mocking-mental-illness-2013-4

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