COMM 296 -- Marketing Is Everywhere!

Hey all, 
my name is GuanQiong He, u can call me Jovial instead.

A little bit about myself. 
I’m currently in the 2nd yr at the Sauder School of Business, and hopefully I can get into Finance next year. 
I am a trilingual speaker. I can speak Mandarin, English, and Japanese. Moreover, I am interested in music, Karaoke, Japanese anime, writing, and language and culture study. Now I’m preparing for my exchange program to Osaka University in Japan. According to my schedule, I will go there this mid-September. I’m really looking forward to it and am excited about it.

Successful promotions can take many forms. Instead of the traditional approaches such as mail and phone call advertisements, beer boards, posters, TV commercials, and online ads, product manufacturers nowadays spend more money on finding detailed and creative promotion ideas which will guarantee visibility of their products and stunning effects on consumers already overwhelmed by the flood of ads coming their way. These fresh and creative ideas add color and interest to products and quickly attract customers’ interest with their creative presentations. Creative takes on marketing work!

Actually, as I pay more and more attention to the marketing world around me, I have learned that interesting promotion ideas are not always brand new and do not have to be very expensive. Many creative ideas that prove to be popular and memorable simply place the product in an everyday context, such as a painted street bench that looks like an opened KitKat bar. This way, a very familiar, ordinary KitKat bar becomes a highly interesting object of attention.

Here are some good examples:

The bags with printed pictures on it attract immediate attention because it appears as if the hand of the carrier of the bag is in another person’s mouth. The idea is not only interesting, but also full of humor as it is an ad for a nail biter product. A clever idea like that is sure to be noticed and appreciated even by people who claim to hate advertisement.

Here, the bus door appears to be a shark’s mouth which opens and closes. The product itself is not new; however, by using its image in a specific spot, it is noticed and remembered again.

Putting your hands in your pocket seems like reaching into your Doritos Chips bag.

I think that ideas like that are received so well because customers appreciate the integration of the advertisement into an everyday product.

Other creative ideas:

(Posted on March 30th)

Linking to and commenting on Crystal Qiao’s marketing blog: How do Companies Stay Competitive at the Maturity Stage?

(Original Logo & package)

(New logo and package)

When I looked at the picture of a Big White Rabbit candy package that Crystal put on her blog, I was immediately transported back to a time when I was a ten-year-old girl and Big White Rabbit candy was my favorite snack. To this day, I feel drawn to Big White Rabbit’s milky and creamy taste. As Crystal said, Big White Rabbit candy used to be one of the most popular snacks for both kids and adults in our childhood. Unlike today’s candy manufacturers who cater to a variety of taste preferences, Big White Rabbit candy only offered one milky taste. I believe that I and people in my generation have such a strong emotional attachment to Big White Candy because of its simple, exclusive, and yet unique taste which is so easy to remember.

According to Crystal, Big White Rabbit has reached the maturity stage; after reaching a peak, sales have been continually decreasing, the price of the candy has been dropping considerably in order to generate some market shares, and competitors have abandoned the sole production of creamy candy with the taste of milk. However, I do not believe that Big White Rabbit will be driven out of the market because the company has already responded and taken measures to survive by expanding its product lines and taste offers in order to keep loyal customers and attract new ones: The logo has been updated and the symbolic cartoon rabbit has been transformed into a much cuter and more modern character; the packaging, too, has been given a face-lift; now you can buy Big White Rabbit candy in additional flavors such as yogurt, mint, plum, and other Chinese traditional dried food flavors; in addition, there is a new line of medical candies and the company is also producing jelly these days.

(More than one taste)

(Posted on March, 24 th)

TV and web advertisements have become the main strategies to promote products. Companies spend large amount of money on generating creative ideas and eye-catching images in an effort to attract consumers. Ad producers research people’s preferences and study psychological factors in order to appeal to the customers’ desires and to leave a lasting impression of their product in the customers’ minds.

For example, in a real estate ad, you may see the a spacious, brand-new apartment with quality hardwood floors and luxurious furniture; a tender breeze sways the curtains and offers a glimpse of the fully furnished terrace while sunshine floods the state-of-the-art kitchen; a little girl is watching a show on the latest television set, and when her beautiful and elegantly dressed young parents join her on the white leather sofa, the sparkle of the flickering fireplace embraces the family with warmth and happiness. This ad does not only show an up-scale apartment, but also implies that a place like that creates a happy family. People watching ads like that on a regular basis cannot escape this image of an ideal way of life, and eventually may try to work longer hours or to take on second or third jobs in an effort to generate enough money which would make the purchase of the perfect home possible for them. In China, ads have raised the standards of a quality lifestyle to such a degree that a young man cannot get married without having a stable, well paying job, a good car, and a nice apartment; these exaggerated requirements for starters pose a social problem for many young Chinese men.

(Two korean real estate ads promoting beautiful life.)

(Posted on March 17th)

Commenting on Michael Fleischner’s professional marketing blog Google Preview. Are You kidding? Retrieved from: <http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com/2010/11/google-preview-are-you-kidding.html>

In his blog, Michael shares his opinions about the Preview feature that Google recently added to their search site. In Michael’s view, the new feature is not only useless, but may even lead to a negative web search experience. However, I think Google actually does a good job with this new feature, because the preview function saves people a lot of time and enables them to get to the right information without having to open and close too many websites.

I compare the convenience of the Google preview feature to a feature offered on many sites selling clothes. When you search a site for a new outfit for example, you are usually face with a plethora of small pictures of items and links which offer more information; if we move the mouse over a certain picture, a larger version of the picture pops up and we can have a closer look at the item without having to open the whole link for the product description. The ability to zoom in is convenient and timesaving.

Since Google, one of the largest search engines, is actively used by people searching for answers or information or students doing research, the preview feature enables readers to quickly scan the content of a webpage; the preview shows titles and keywords in enlarged letters and it is easy to get a general idea about an article. The search for appropriate websites becomes easier and quicker. I think this feature will be used by a lot of people.

(Posted on March 10th)

Linking to and commenting on Cherry Xu’s marketing blog: Starbucks? Tim Hortons?

I agree that Tim Hortons and Starbucks differ in many ways. Not only is their menu different, but they also attract a different crowd. Cherry’s textbook breakdown analysis points out that Tim Hortons is preferred by lower income people while Starbucks attracts those who are willing and able to pay more for their coffee. From my own observations, I confirm that Starbucks attracts business people. At UBC’s Sauder School of Business, frequent meetings are held and business people flood the place; most of these business people walk in with a cup of Starbucks coffee in their hand. Therefore, as a commerce student, and I am sure I speak for all of us at the Sauder School of Business, I believe a Starbucks right near our school would be very beneficial. Not only would the visiting business people be able to buy their coffee fresh, but also every commerce student could practice to walk in while wearing suits, to order their Cofe Americano or Cappuccino and then to discuss the latest business section of The Times while lounging in comfortable leather arm chairs. If universities are to be a micro cosmos of the real world, students at UBC should be given an opportunity to practice the Starbucks coffee ritual early on 🙂 .

( Posted on March 3rd )

Nintendo and Sony lead and represent the entire Japanese game industry. Even though they do overlap in certain areas and target customers, each console has its very own typical characteristics, which enable them to distinguish themselves from other competitors and remain competitive long term.

Nintendo – Wii

Since the introduction of this new game console in 2006, Wii has become one of the most popular family game systems around the world. With its superior and revolutionary features such as wireless motion-sensitive remote controller and built-in Wi-Fi capability, Wii has attracted millions of gamer and has created a new trend of motion control game consoles.

Price: 250-280 CAD

Game types: sports, battle, and VS games

Player age range: all ages

Best target market: families with small children

Wii has lots of related accessories such as classic controller, Wii wheel accessory, Wii speaker microphone, and Wii Zapper etc. These accessories enable players to play more types of motion-sensitive games. Wii is a console which can be altered, upgraded, and improved with the purchase of additional accessories according to player’s needs.

Sony- PlayStation 3

Compared to Wii, PlayStation3 from Sony is more like an exciting and powerful game box. It aims at creating the best picture images and bringing players the finest visual quality. PlayStation 3 has great functions and a huge amount of storage for games, add-ons, music, videos and photos. It also supports multi-media and online services, an extra value to consumers.

Price: 300-400 CAD

Game types: games with a deep storyline, action, and battle games etc.

Player age range: 79% players are between 13-25 in age

PlayStation 3 is the only console that is fully 3D capable. Following the trend of motion-sensitive games started by Nintendo, PlayStation 3 has developed its own motion control system in order to compete Wii.

(Posted on Feb 21st)

(“BOOKOFF”‘s cute logo)

In Japan, when you want to buy discount books or audio products, you would often hear young people mention a store called “BOOKOFF”. “BOOKOFF” is a chain store devoted to selling secondhand books including fiction, comic books, and magazines, as well as used CDs, DVDs, and video/computer games. Within only 11 years, “BOOKOFF” has developed quickly and continuously expanded its market around the world. Now, “BOOKOFF” has opened a new store in a convenient location in downtown Vancouver. This small but special store offers customers thousands of used books at low prices, and thus contributes to environmentally friendly recycling efforts.

(“BOOKOFF” in downtown Vancouver)

Products: Although “BOOKOFF” sells used products, you would never think they are secondhand. “BOOKOFF” carefully checks every product they acquire; you will not find any dirty, torn, or worn-out copies here. Customers quickly realize that “BOOKOFF” offers exceptional value.

(Customers are shopping in the store.)

Price: “BOOKOFF”’s prices are at least twice lower than the regular price. I was so surprised when I first found out that 70% of the comic books, which are sold at $6 – $8 in regular bookstores, are sold for $2 in “BOOKOFF”.

Place: Except for its 1112 domestic stores covering most provinces and cities in Japan, “BOOKOFF” opened overseas stores in Korea, France, Canada, and the United States.

Promotion: “BOOKOFF” follows the “green” trend and encourages people to sell and buy used books in order to save natural resources and to protect our environment. Its eco-friendly idea has been embraced by many booklovers who will not have any trouble spotting the store’s easy to recognize yellow/red signs with the Japanese word for “books” on it. Furthermore, “BOOKOFF” keeps its official websites up-dated, posts book ranking lists in their stores, and announces discounts on its store windows in order to attract more customers.

(large and clear sign)

(Special thanks promotion: drawing lottery once for every 500 japanese dollar purchase.)

(Posted on Feb 5th)

Japanese comics and animation are in great demand around the world. Today, you can watch the latest episodes on Youtube with different language subtitles, or you can find an English version manga magazine at a bookstore. Japanese manga would not be so popular to world-wide readers without its large production and marketing groups behind it. Due to clever marketing strategies, the Japanese comics and animation industry has taken off and has quickly become one of the three major industries in Japan.

Weekly and periodically manga magazines:

–       Customer-specific publications.

For young boys or guys:

So-called “shuonen manga”; “shuonen” means teenage boys so it is easy to tell the target market just by looking at the name.

Story type: adventure, fighting, war, save the earth, science, and sports, etc.

Theme: friendship, teamwork, courage.

Character types: high school boys, muscular men, people with special skills or power, etc.

Well-know publications: “Shuonen Jump” (no.1 best seller), “Shuonen Sunday”, etc.

For school girls:

So-called “shuojo manga”,”shuojo” means teenage girls who also represent the target readers.

Story type: school life, friendship between girls, boyfriends, families, love, dating, etc.

Character types: cute girls with big eyes and long eyelashes, Cinderella type girls.

Well-know publications: “Flower and Dream”, “Margaret”, etc.

–       Readers’ survey in every volume.

Example questionnaires: Choose three of your favorite stories in this volume.

Choose three characters that you like the most.

–       Involvement of the readers.

Readers’ feelings and suggestions to the story often appear along the margin of each page of comic book.

Several pages are edited to the book to showcase readers’ drawings of the characters.

–       Inclusion of small gifts in each volume.

ex: pencil box with picture of a particular manga character on the cover

a pink purse which is the same as the one in the story

( Posted on Feb 1st)