yuxizhang's blog

Recently while browsing the blogs of my fellow class mates, I came across Serena’s blog that discussed the popularity of KFC in China.

 

In her blog Serena states that unlike the McDonald trend in Canada, Chinese people really love KFC and there are more KFC stores than McDonalds. Serena identifies KFC’s success because of their branding, selling a healthier alternative of fast food. I have the same observation.

When I went back to China last summer, I experienced both McDonald and KFC. While McDonald stayed mostly true to their North American roots by have an almost identical menu with few variations to the different taste of its consumers, KFC really surprised me.

 

 

What struck me the most was the breakfast menu, while there are more American options like hash browns , sausages and egg, there are also some traditional asian breakfast options like congee, soy milk, milk tea and radish pancakes.  This approach gives people options to choose, it also successfully caters to the needs of its clients. KFC has successfully targeted and has a full understanding of the needs of the market. By diversifying its products to fit the taste and needs of its customers.

 

KFC also identifies itself as a healthier alternative of fast food, catering to the concern of Chinese parents. They have really customized their product to fit the needs of consumers creating a new trend and new type of fast food that is differentiated and popular in China.

 

 

As I was browsing the Internet in search of a marketing blog, I came across an interesting Ad featured as the “social image of the week” in the blog “Convince& Convert”.  Volkswagen UK Caters to Dog Love with New #woofwagen Campaign, the title, captured my attention immediately because of two things: dog, and the witty hash tag #woofwagen.

 

The post mainly touched on how the Volkswagen dived into the social media trend and viewed this as a unique and innovating aspect of the ad. However, social media advertising isn’t something new, what really interested me about this Ad is the subtle message that Volkswagen is sending to its targeted audience. Along with the witty hash tag and the comparison of different breeds of dogs to the different models of the car, Volkswagen is projecting itself as a young and hip (the hash tag) and dog loving brand that suits all different kinds of personalities.

 

Volkswagen not only clearly identified its consumers but also successfully targeted them. VW is targeting the younger cohorts, generation Y, although this age group varies the most in age- teenage to young adults with families, I believe that the Ad appeals to this group the most. Since this is a tech savvy generation, the hash tag will not be unfamiliar to them, and the idea of the different dogs representing different models of cars is innovative yet fun, something the younger generation would enjoy.

 

However, it can be argued that VW is not just targeting people of a certain age range. As I learned in class you don’t always have to target people based on their age, and gender, you can also target them based on their interests. By having the different dogs in the commercial also target all dog lovers, which can range in age, taste and interest.

 

Watch the commercial yourself and be the judge: #woofwagen Ad Campaign

Recently I came across Lydia Dai’s blog “What’s the core market value of The Body Shop?” The blog identifies the value the brand presents to its consumers; differing from other brands by promoting green, eco-friendly, and human-oriented values. Thus, the brand is successful not only because of its excellent products, but also in delivering to its customers a differentiated marketed value.

Lydia states “The core market values of The Body Shop differentiate their products, and also gives their consumers an image that they are not just using this product, but the product is sharing the same thought with the consumers.”

 

I think this is a really important, in today’s competitive industry where technology is becoming more and more advanced there isn’t really a product that is unique. Especially in the beauty industry, the ingredients to the products that women use are similar. The Body Shop differentiates it self from its competitors by using differentiated ingredients and using that unique difference to add value to the consumer’s purchase through marketing.

 

“Natural, inspired by nature, ethically produced beauty products” The body shop promotes it’s values through promoting community fair trade, defending human rights, against animal testing, active self-esteem. By promoting these values, body shop is telling its customers while they enjoy these beauty products they can feel good about bringing a positive impact to society.

 

 

Consumers buy based as much on an emotional connection with protecting the Earth and animal rights, as their satisfaction with the cosmetics.  The Body Shop has used value-based marketing to promote its products and maintain, attract existing and returning customers, making them a leader in the industry.

Beauty:  1. A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, esp. the sight. 2. A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense.

The definition of beauty or being beautiful does not always entail one to have certain features and it is certainly not defined by the makeup or clothes one wears. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if our perception of beauty was distorted from the beginning?  In today’s society our interpretation of beauty is certainly not the definition of beautiful, starting at an early age we have been fed the idea of an ideal woman.

 Barbie dolls have been around since 1959 and throughout the years there has been various changes made to Barbie’s appearance, however, the “perfect” body and the always flawless hair has stayed the same. Barbie was marketed as a “Teen-age Fashion Model,” and has been the dream toy of many young girls. With this unethical advertising, children are made to believe that the only way of being beautiful is to be like Barbie.

The makeup industry is also guilty of false and unethical advertisement, the models on billboards and in magazines claimed to have transformed into someone much more beautiful with the help of certain cosmetic brands. When young girls see advertisements, they view the people in them as role models and want to look like them. But when the advertisement is fake, how can anyone become as close to looking or being like a person who doesn’t even exist?

Dove exposes how models in billboard ads are made: dove evolution

I recently stumbled across a blog site called Small Business Trends they are an “online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them.” It is an online platform for small business owners to find information on management, marketing & Sales, Finance, Technology, and various other resources.

 

 

 

This blog is updated daily by some of its talented writers with current information and statistics. Some of the highlights of the website include polls gathering information about the community of users that subscribe to Small Business Trends. With this they are able to gather insight into how other small business owners and entrepreneurs are thinking and provide feedback or analyze the results to help business owners understand and learn more about other owners.

Another great feature about this website is the convenience it provides, with organized headings, readers can quickly pinpoint the information they are looking for. Readers can also Tweet, Facebook, and comment on all the articles, this is a way is advertisement for the website itself. I enjoyed looking at this helpful website that provides insight for small business owners, so check out this WEB SITE!

http://smallbiztrends.com

As the trend of being green is spreading around the world, people are realizing the importance of leading a lifestyle that is eco-friendly, in class 20 we talked about Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility with James Tansy. Corporate social responsibility means achieving economic growth with social and environmental limits. And as consumers are becoming more and more aware of the impacts that businesses can have on the environment and making better choices regarding consumption, a lot of businesses are switching gears and becoming more sustainable. The showcase of clean technology during the Vancouver Olympics and the harbour air carbon neutral strategy, not to mention the ever so famous LuluLemon are just some of the examples.

Recently another company has caught the attention of many with its contributions to becoming more sustainable. Walmart is kicking its sustainability up another notch. In a recent even, the company has announced more initiatives that will green its supply chain worldwide. It is proposed, “by 2017, 70% of all products sold in the US will come from suppliers that use its sustainability index.” Slowly, recognition of the importance of being more sustainable will spread through out the business world.

In class we were also asked to calculate our carbon footprints, it was very useful to know how lightly or heavily we each tread on the earth, and helpful to think first in personal terms and then translate to understand the carbon footprints of various businesses

To calculate your carbon footprint go to

http://go-beyond.ca/carbon-footprint-calculator

To read the full article on Walmart going green

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24279

 

Comments and thoughts on Juvan Houang’s blog

Social media has become very popular and helpful among businesses, with the rising number of people using social media, it has grabbed the attention of many business people an alternative way to the traditional ways of marketing.

Zellers, Canada’s second-largest chain of merchandise discount stores, has locations in communities all across Canada. However, recently years it has been struggling to earn profit, so it has been attempting to use different ways of advertising. $8-million in sales was made thanks to coupons and digital promotions. However, with the limited budget they were still not able to use traditional ways of advertising, so they were forced to try advertising on social media. It worked out great! Zellers was able to generate more profit and attract more consumers!

With Zellers as a great example, maybe it is time for other companies to look at this new way of advertising. Social media advertising not only is cheaper than the traditional way of advertising, but also attracts more consumers, and reaches a broader audience. Will social media become the new ways of advertising?

After reading Joanna Huang’s blog post on the article, “Well on our way to merging with machines,” not only did I learn that Israel is home to some of the most important research and development labs for big multinational companies but also hosts the operation of the titans—Microsoft, Google, IBM and soon Apple.

This article outlined the importance of technology in our lives and came up with some technology trends that are likely going to be popular in the future. According to Intel, perceptual computing, also known as motion gaming is expected to “play a much bigger role in the world at large”.  However, what really caught my attention was the concept of merging humans and machines. According to Oded Agam, head of vertical solutions strategic planning, he envision that the future nano-machines will be able to “enhance our capabilities, and they’ll be able to repair us, like a repair shop that will happen inside our blood cells and increase our lifespan…humans and machines will start to have the same capabilities.”

It seems like with the development of technology anything could be possible in the future, but it really makes me wonder, are we becoming too dependent on technology?

Addition to Andrea Banzon’s Blog post 

For several years there has always been a popularity contest between the black berry and iPhone, however, recent months it almost seems like that Black Berry is slowly losing it’s customers. As Andrea puts it “consumers have moved on to the next big thing”. The tech industry is an ever changing one, newer and better phones have moved into the market, posing as threats to even the newly released iPhone 5. Yes! It is the Samsung Galaxy SIII, from the picture shown in Andrea’s blog shown below, it is evident that the Galaxy has twice as many features as the iPhone 5, could the iPhone be in danger?

 

With the new and innovative technology, and rapid consumer taste changes is Black Berry really losing the game? Recently, RIM the company which produced the Black Berry is introducing a new line of Black Berry 10 devices which will be the framework for growth over the next decade.

Will this all-in, last-ditch effort be enough to revive the company?  To read more about the Blackberry 10 click here!

Know the difference between iPhone and Blackberry?? Want to see a video ??

 

 

Some of us might still remember the mini-car Nano made by the Indian company Tata; recently, Nano is taping into the American market. The Nano was designed to be a step up from a motor scooter, along with cheap pricing, developers hope to lure Indian families off their motorbikes. Could the risky venture into the US market benefit the company? One of the selling points for the Nano was it’s price tag of about $2,500, however, due to safety regulations of the government and the taste preference of consumers, a few more features were added bringing the price up to $10,000. These additional features include addition of airbags, air conditioning, and a 60hp engine (35-hp in the Indian version), but some argue even with these updated features the Nano is still considered too basic for Americans.  With the increased price, Nano has now lost its main advantage of being the cheapest car.

Another factor that may have consumers second-guess purchasing these cars is the size of a Nano. Being nearly two feet shorter than a BMW Mini, it might be hard for a driver or passengers of a larger built to sit comfortably in the seats. Despite the negative feedback, the CEO of India’s Tata group, Ratan Tata, seems to have confidence. “The US is a very enticing market”, he said, “We hope that the sub-$10,000 car has appeal.”

What do you think about the Tata, will it be successful breaking into the US market, and would you buy one?

To see a video of the Nano crash test click HERE !

Sources

http://nvonews.com/2012/10/16/tata-nano-usa-release-is-a-reality-price-begins-at-around-3000/

http://autos.aol.com/article/tata-nano-coming-to-usa/

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/tata-bringing-world-s-cheapest-car-to-the-u-s-.html