William Dorr

While looking for commercials on YouTube I came across a toy manufacturing company called Goliath Toys. Goliath has released a rather interesting toy called Kackel Dackel. Please refer to the video above for a better understanding of the toy. Somehow I lack the appropriate words to best describe it.

This toy makes me wonder, is this really intended for the little kids shown on the commercial? Is this some kind of joke? Would you ever give your child this toy? My point is, I don’t think the ones who designed this toy had the true intention of selling these toys to kids. I believe this is what I would call one of those “fun gifts” where you go to a Secret Santa friend reunion and you give it someone and everyone present laughs about it. Even though I’m not that old I still feel i have the right to say, ” In my times, I used to play with Lego and build things, today kids play with somewhat “interesting” toys.”

I was curious enough to look at the website and Goliath is a German company and they actually advertise the product as a children’s toy. Well…I guess I was wrong. The toys are in fact destined for children.

All I can say is that times change…

First of all, if you haven’t seen this video you SHOULD watch this. Chinese engineers have done what no one has ever been capable of doing :

First thing that came to mind was my home back home in Brazil….If i recall well, it took approximately 12 months to build and complete the house. I mean, we have a pretty big house at the beach with a pool , two floors high but absolutely nothing compared to what the Chinese have done. In fact if i use the number of floors as a driver i can say that it would take the Chinese 19.2 hours to build my house. This is less than one day! It took Brazilian workers 365 days to build it. No wonder the Chinese are dominating the world and our GPA’s. Anyway, I thought that it was a very interesting video and impressive planning and engineering. Second thing that came to mind was what the name of this company and how can I invest in it. I actually looked all over google to try to find the name of the company but i was not succesful and probably if i did find it, it would most definitely be quoted at a Chinese stock exchange. Third thing that came to mind, “if i were the CEO or VP Marketing I would try to find ways to show the world and bring forward the company’s image. This simple video can cause an enormous effect and can potentially solve many problems in the world. The technology the Chinese engineers are offering the world is something that can be very beneficial if used wisely. I truly believe this company should try to expand its knowledge and develop these kinds of technology in areas where people need it the most… They could become a very important image and company that could do amazing things to the world. Im sure If i were a big investor and had money I would donate it to them and ask them to build one of these buildings in poor african nations which really need housing. I sure do these ideas benefit society and are used wisely toward good ends.

Close by to where I live, there is a Dog Bakery. Yes, it is literally a dog bakery where they only sell dog cookies and treats. I know for sure because i went in there once just to try them out and they actually taste disgusting and I guess its what dogs like. Anyway, as I walked by it with my girlfriend during the weekend I told her, “I’m am so sure this business is not doing very well…they wont last long.” I apologize for being negative towards them but i just did not see a dog bakery as a profitable business. Interestingly enough I woke up looked at my blackberry (pretty sure its the first thing many people do when they wake up)  and saw the dog bakery in my neighborhood being advertised. I find it amusing in several aspects, firstly due to the fact that business that aren’t doing so well use Groupon to increase volume of sales and hopefully improve their business. Secondly, I find it very amusing because I realized that I was able to apply some marketing concepts I learned in class. I analyzed the market (although not in depth) and was able to assume such conclusion and i guess my hypothesis was proved by this incident.

Well, I actually hope the Dog bakery business turnsout better and is able to increase their business and grow. Unfortunately, all the feedback that I have heard so far from the companies who used Groupon as a marketing and selling strategy were very negative. Meaning, many of these company’s even lost money.

I joined a stock market simulator called Investopedia about two months ago. Since then i have been following some companie’s stock indexes including Apple Inc. and RIM (research in motion) the developers of the blackberry. I bought quite a few stock of RIM and was very content to know that on the morning of September 28, 2010, my RIM stocks went up. I was fortunate that RIM has just announced the release of an Electronic Reader/Pad Gadget that offered similar features of the iPad but it had a camera.  I was very surprised, it made me think, ‘” Will all the Blackberry fans lean towards this new release by RIM? I thought so, but for my surprise, very little advertising was done and very few, if not most of my friends were not aware of that release. It shocked me because “Now” seems to be the blackberry trend phase since most of my friends are blackberry users. On the other hand, as I started to think I realized that Apple has a huge advantage in the sense that they have an App Store with a greater variety of apps to chose from. It is very hard to compete with such a strong competitor. Many people may value it less by seeing it as just an imitation. And if we consider RIM’s competitive advantage, first thing that comes to mind is Blackberry messenger, which enables blackberry owners to comunicate for free as long as they have a data plan. To what extent is the Blackberry messenger useful in RIM’sPlaybook? The answer is, it is not relevant, it doesnt add much value to the Playbook consequently its popularity may be jeopardized along to its success. Well, as a RIM supporter, I really wish they come up with better features and that they are able to build up a succesful marketing mix for their product. And as a consumer, keep up with the war and keep prices lower.

To what extent is subliminal marketing ethical? This issue has generated controversy over the years yet subliminal messages are still present, whether trying to sell toothpastes or trying to elect presidents.

I watched this video on  subliminal advertising and it fascinated me. I assumed it is credible. It is truly amazing how many images we keep in our minds and how much it can influence us.

It made me think how psychology plays such a huge role in marketing and how vulnerable we are to these subconscious messages.

I’m sure many of you are aware of what  Groupon is and know what kinds of business they proportionate but what many of you don’t know is that it is not always rainbows and butterflies, at least not for everyone. For those who dont know Groupon, Groupon is a website which puts together a deal sometimes over 50% off of a good or service and they ask that a certain level of people is achieved so that the deal can be made. The result is, people get good deals with amazing discounts, GROUPON get 50% comission (which is a lot) and the seller get the other 50%. By setting the minimum limit Groupon guarantees a high number of customers for the company offering the service or good. I have to say i think it is a very smart idea to come up with something like Groupon. I would have loved to have thought about this idea. Unfortunately, I was reading a blog the other day and I saw how not everyone from this, at least not everyone who is aware of the possible risks.

http://www.retaildoc.com/blog/groupon-worst-marketing-business/

The Blog stated that Groupon was the worst retailing strategy for someone’s business. Personally I agree. How can you agree to sell your good or service for more than half of its value? I mean, ok you will make a lot of money if many people buy but there are so many costs and variables that need to be considered. Plus, you have to give 50 % of your profit to Groupon! FIFTY PERCENT! The seller ends up with very little. I mean, a whole economic case study and marketing study has to be made to aknowledge the costs and benefits but it seems pretty clear that some businesses are not going to be better off by Groupon.

Today I visited the Groupon website and realized that they were selling the UBC CANOPY WALKWAY in the UBC botanical gardens. I thought to myself, ” WOW, I went in there for free and people are paying 11 dollars per person to get in there. 1400 people already bought this deal meaning 15400 dollars in cash which is 7,700 dollars in clean money to GROUPON! In one day, in ONE city. Good job to the guy who created this website…..

As I was reading over one of my friend’s blog I came  across an interesting concept which has been implemented in countries all over the world. It’s called “Dinner in the Sky.” Where a group of people have the opportunity to enjoy dinner on a structure hanging at about 40 meters.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/tszkitng/

http://www.hakuna-matata.be/ditsvid/swf/a_video_worldpressmovie.phpery

As opposed to Kit, I was very curious at first and thought it was such a cool concept to have dinner while enjoying a beautiful view. As I watched the video however, I realized that the concept proposed is not very lucrative and offer several flaws. First of all we have to consider the fact that the dinner is proposed for about 20 guests. In order to come up with such a structure, keeping in mind that it is temporary, the costs become very high. Therefore we can infer that the price of such an experience becomes very high. Secondly, this “Dinner in the Sky” concept has been seen by many customers as something new and creative. It has caught people’s attention and therefore becoming a world wide trend. But just like every trend cycle, the returns will not be very positive especially since there is a lot of indirect competition. Many  restaurants around the world offer the same experience however in closed environments, which for many people may be seen as more comfortable.  In Vancouver for example, The Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant provides its guest with an unforgettable experience of having dinner in a very classy environment while the customer also has the opportunity to enjoy the view and a great dinner. The client does not have to deal with unpleasant feelings that the “hanging table” might offer such as cold, safety issues, physiological needs (restroom), and even the fact that one has to stay in the chair with seat belts while eating.

I think there are a lot more considerations that need to be made and several different strategic approaches have to be taken in order to turn the Dinner in the Sky into an actual profitable business otherwise it is just another soon to be forgotten trend.

Brazil has quite often been associated in the international community as the country of the beautiful beaches, the beautiful women and the nation of soccer. However an internal fact that has become popular knowledge to the Brazilian population is that beer is quickly associated to half naked women. Wherever you go to in Brazil, in the streets, shops, supermarkets, outdoor you will always see a half naked model either holding a can of beer, drinking beer or doing some sort of sensual pose along with the beer. I remember from my high school days that is always generated a lot of controversy between the population. Conservatives argued that it generated bad influence to the youth while beer companies argued it was the best way to promote their products. But is it really the best way to promote the products? I mean, I understand that the population easily associate the beer brand with a “sexual object” leading to the conclusion that that particular product is gonna generate them great utility. I understand both sides points of view but I have to disagree with what the beer companies are doing. There are many negative effects that will be generated by this kind of practices. Fortunately, in the last few years, it seems that the beer industry has adopted other methods of advertising their products which also generates positive brand recognition.

Author Thuller discusses some very interesting points regarding this matter. He caught my attention with some very well planned commercials and great insights.

http://novanuvem.blogspot.com/2010/05/cerveja-precisa-mesmo-de-nudez-e-sexo.html

I guess we are in right track. The Brazilian beer industry is finally moving on from the cheap and sexist commercials.

This is one of the videos presented in the blog by Thulles which I found pretty amazing.

I’m sure most of the people, who were raised during the internet era and had access to a computer, had a lot of fun watching funny videos in the world wide web through resources such as Youtube and or even by simply typing “funny videos” in any search engine. Many of which consisted of amazingly well planned and developed commercials. Well, humm…, at least that was part of my childhood. Anyway, I think it is very entertaining and interesting to share these videos especially now that we are acquiring a broader knowledge about marketing. It could be our opportunity to apply some concepts and analyze aspects in each commercial. Feel free to post commercials and or any advertisement that interests you and that you think could generate positive discussion!

Once upon a time, when I was a little kid I had just finished a can of Coke and my brother said, “Did you notice how the can of coke feels like it’s heavy when you shake it even though its empty? It’s “cuz” they want to make you feel that there is still some coke at the bottom of the can so when you go for that last sip, it is actually empty and consequently makes you want more… it’s called Marketing.” It was the first time I heard THE word.

That moment has stayed in me for so many years and I am very glad, curious and pleased to know that I will be able to approach and explore this amazingly clever and interesting world, the World of Marketing!