Category: Uncategorized

Presenting your business Online

I just finished reading an outside marketing blog which talks about how do develop an online presence for your business. (link: http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-develop-online-presence-for-your.html) .From the reading,  it seems that to create an online marketing website is as easy as facebooking and which also same your money compare to other ways.

Nowadays, more and more people have to use internet , therefore , the efficiency of an online pretation is significient. An online presentation could have more advatages compare to other means. For example, website delivers more infomation about your business in a more specific ways. And it also contain images video clips which attracts more attention from the viewers.

The other night I had a dream about a commercial that I saw that day. What the commercial was about I don’t really remember but it did get me thinking about something. Could it be possible to advertise in people’s dreams? What if companies were able to place ads within our subconscious and then we awaken with a sudden urge to buy a specific product? A scary thought but with the advancement of technology, I don’t doubt the possibility of implementing this form of marketing, if it has not been done so already.
I did some research on the idea of advertising in people’s dreams but it doesn’t seem that there are any examples of the it being used in reality.
However, after some further research I learned that companies have been trying to do something similar to what I have been thinking in that they target the consumer’s subconscious. Subliminal messages have been around for a long time and have been used as a powerful tool to get into the mind of the consumer. They are said to be very effective in persuading and to evoke emotional responses in them. But subliminal messaging has been banned in several countries such as the UK and Australia as it is deemed to be manipulative and violates an individual’s rights and freedoms.
So I suppose that even if firms were able to advertise in people’s dreams deliberately, it would not go over too well with consumers as it takes away from their freedom of choice and what they choose to be exposed to.
But even if subconscious advertisements are illegal, will that stop companies from engaging in them? Something that is so hard to prove and is so easy to get away with for many firms, companies may just disregard human rights in order to gain a bit of competitive advantage against their competitors.
Advertising beyond the consumer’s full range of attention is a hot issue in the world of marketing and continues to be up for debate. So long as there are companies competing to gain a bit of market share, there’s no telling what lengths firms will go to in order to maximize their profits.

 Today I will be talking about Apple Inc., a company that I’m sure all of you have heard about, the inventor and manufacturer of the popular iPod and MacBook products.

We all know the story: Apple was a struggling corporation, a computer company that had existed since nearly the very beginning, but appeared to have entirely lost the battle against Microsoft.  This all changed, however, when Steve Jobs, one of Apple’s founders, returned to the company after a 13 year hiatus, and led it back to being a major player in the computer industry.

But how exactly did he do it?  How did Steve Jobs manage to take a raft that was barely struggling to stay afloat in the stormy sea that is the electronics sector and turn it into the grandest, proudest, and most stylish vessel around?  The simple answer is that he is inhuman, a miracle worker.  The long answer is actually shorter than the short answer: marketing.

Sure, the invention of the iPod, the MacBook, and subsequently the iPhone, and most recently the iPad are what brought Apple back to respectability.  But marketing is the reason why these products succeeded in the first place.  Technologically, an iPod has the same capabilities as any other standard mp3 player,  and a MacBook is no faster than a Windows laptop computer.  Yet these Apple products manage to sell for twice or even three times as much as their non-Apple counterparts, thanks to Apple’s unmatched marketing department.

Apple’s design team has somehow managed to make the company’s products appear appealing to all consumers.  Ask somebody about their opinion of how the iPod looks and you will probably receive a response along the lines of either “hi-tech,” “cool,” or “stylish.”  Remarkably, Apple’s products are designed in a way that they appeal to people of both genders, and all ages.  Further reinforcing this perception of their products is their advertisements that will imply the notion that their products are not only visually appealing, but also technologically groundbreaking, flat out superior to those of their competitors.  Not using an Apple product would be just plain dumb.

After Apple manages to “convert” this first wave of customers, their success then becomes amplified due to the “mob mentality” of other consumers.  Upon seeing other people with iProducts, people often purchase some themselves in an attempt to join the group, to be en vogue, “hip.”

In my next blog post, I will further explore Apple’s unduplicated marketing success, as well as examine exactly how Apple manages to sell their products to the public.

Up to now, I have 3 bank cards, RBC, BMO and the latest one, TD Trust. I opened an account in TD Bank due to the promotions it had for students. Guess what? I can receive 50 CAD for opening an account, applying Visa and use the service of Simply Save (which transfers money to saving account automatically every time you use money from chequing account.

So what do I do with three banks? Let me list out the benefits of each bank and why do I open account in the following bank?

BMO: This is the 1st bank I had in Canada. For some reasons, I don’t know why I choose this bank. It is probably due to the convention that all my seniors having accounts atBMO despite the low interest offer. But the only attraction is the 2 free interact emails that it offers to account holders. Seriously, interact email provides a lot of convenience to users. I applied for a SPC Mastercard at BMO too. Mainly it is because it is the bank where my sponsor deposit most of my money in BMO as well as the convenience of having CC.

RBC: I wanted to have GIC initially or term deposits but all the banks offer so so rate. RBC has an high interest saving account is 1.15%. Because I do not have SIN, I can’t have TFSA (Tax free savings account). But the 1.15% is as good as it with the difference of 0.1%. In short, I love the high interest rate offered.

TD Trust: It offers great Visa card cash rebate rate. It is 1% for 3000CAD worth of purchase above otherwise 0.5% instead of BMO’s 0.5%. Well, this is only 0.5% but for people like me who use CC to pay residence (here goes most of my allowance) and it definitely makes a lot of difference on that. Well, I am attracted to the marketing of TD bank. I felt the 50 CAD  is most attractive of everything. Which bank can offer that? Other banks can only offer competitive advantage in terms of different services but nothing is more practical than 50 CAD. It entails the students to apply for VISA card but I feel it offers the best rate among all oother banks. Most importantly, it is without annual fees which is very practical for students like me. I am actually enticed to switch my main bank to TD but some bureaucracy prevents me from doing so.

That’s all for now. TD bank is really great. I encourage everyone to apply for TD’s bank account and receive the 50 CAD!! It is a really successful marketing strategy, what do you guys think?

I think some of the most interesting marketing tactics emerge in the fashion industry. Since the fashion world is constantly changing, evolving, innovating, the marketing team must embrace that change and innovation in their advertisements. There’s a new line for every brand each season, and there’s a new campaign for every one of them; therefore, to be able to stand out amongst its so-called competitors, a campaign must be…well, outstanding.

The fashion world is congested with attractive models wearing luxurious or inexpensive, albeit still enticing, attire. Women, especially sexy, charismatic and successful women, are often featured as the focus of those campaigns. Although there is an increasing trends that women aren’t the only avid shoppers, many ads are still targeted to women. In the recent GAP Black Magic campaign introducing a premium black pant line, 7 very well-dressed women are featured in each of the seven types of black pants. It seems that dressing well is the first step to looking and being charming and succesful. The GAP pants cannot be compared to a pair of Prada; however, the high standard of the Black Magic campaign made the pants really look premium and very, very desirable. A lot of fashion bloggers have given the campaign great reviews.

GAP Black Magic is so successful because it utilized an extremely powerful word: feminism. The 7 featured models are all very attractive, strong, career-driven, and well-dressed. The new age of feminism isn’t about being equal to men, it is about setting up women’s own rules in the realms of being a woman. Women don’t compare themselves with men anymore, they are beyond that point; they are exploring what it means to be a woman in their own realms.

Soccer in Europe is far more popular than what North Americans expect it to be like.  Heineken, World’s leading beer brewery company, used this knowledge to launch their new promotion strategy with sensational and innovative approach.  First, Heineken chose hundreds of die-hard soccer fans who were anxious to watch the UEFA Champions League game AC Milan vs. Real Madrid.  Then, the company asked  family, friends, lovers, and bosses of the targeted people to force them to attend a false classic concert.  With despair and anger hidden deep in their heart, victims reluctantly gave up the game and went to watch the concert instead.  However, soon after when the concert was “over” and the game was on, the victims’ mood, emotion, and  facial expressions all changed dramatically and enjoyed watching the game.

This was an exotic and entertaining event to the victims as well as people who watched this.  However, with marketing perspective, this was more than just one-time extraordinary event.  When the victims’ frustration turned into a joyful & unforgettable moment, Heineken’s logo appeared and implied that their product (beer) will give the same result (feeling) of joy and excitement, just like how they feel the same way from watching soccer.  10 million people watched it, 1.5 million of them watched it live on TV.  5 million people shared this on the internet, blogs, social networking services etc.  Whether the viewers/readers were other European soccer fans or economists on the Wall street, Heineken was successful in appealing their brand awareness to different markets in the world.

Extraordinary Pantene Commercial

Yesterday night I was looking up some commercials online and I found one pretty interesting. Since I am a consumer from the shampoo brand Pantene, I decided to look it up and see if I find something interesting. I found a Pantene commercial from Thailand that relates personal situation with the product, but in a different way. Instead of directly showing the product and its features, the commercial goes to a deeper level.

Different from the other commercials, this Pantene commercial does not show any of its products. It simply relies on a story about a deaf talented girl who is reject by the others for being different. Although the brand logo, “You can shine”, just appears at the end of the commercial, Pantene is effective in selling its image. The commercial presents various themes that are related to real world situations. Like the girl in the story, many consumers may have experienced rejection for being different. Therefore, besides directly linking to consumers’ personal lives, this commercial brings awareness to social issues that are still happening today, but are sometimes forgotten by the majority. The most interesting part is that this commercial is basically in a story form, therefore it does not only targets consumers, but viewers overall. Pantene actually does not reveal its brand until the very end, so even viewers who are not consumers from that brand watch the whole commercial in order to find out what happens next. It is only at the end that they discover what the commercial is all about: Pantene.

Nowadays, not only women care about their appearances, but men also care what women care about. Many brands like Dior , Lancome and other women make-up brands have entered to the males grooming product market.The products they developed is specific to male and it also sells for a expensive price. Axe is a male grooming product from Unilever compare to the price of Dior and Lancome products , who targets on the normal income group ,which sales at a acceptable price and which put a huge amount money in marketing. I believe most people see Axe commercial on TV at least once.Axe’s biggest strengths are their consistent vigour in branding effectively through the media, and this has been noticeable in all the markets they are involved in, either under the Axe or Lynx name. They stick to one consistent idea to market the majority of their products: male users of the products will inexplicably become irresistible to attractive females. These commercials have undoubtedly been effective in many of the markets that the brand is established in, partially because Unilever capitalized on the consumer use and growing dependence on advancing technology (television, online media, etc).To expend its business in the future , 

                It is clear that these aspects have factored into Axe’s previous marketing strategies, and they should continue to be taken into consideration when shaping future strategies in order for Axe to achieve success. Axe should utilize their strengths in strong branding and use of media and take the opportunity of expanding into new multi-cultural markets. With globalization and technological advancements moving at such a fast pace these days, expansion is a great opportunity for companies that can afford to do so, and Axe would likely perform well if they make the most of their strengths.