Zoey Wu's Blog

I fairly enjoyed how the marketing assignments for comm296 was structured and executed. The fact that all 3 major parts were connected, and built upon each other was a pleasant way to learn about creating a marketing plan. One of the hardest things I find in university level courses are the way to integrate newly acquired knowledge with real-life applications. The assignments for comm296 did a good job of allowing us to practice and apply what we learned in the classroom onto an existing company’s marketing plans.

By working in a group, I was also able to get a good simulation of the real work environment. It became gradually apparent that every team member was more adept at one area over another, and all members had expertise they could contribute to the team. As opposed to having to master all aspects of creating a marketing plan, I enjoyed being able to utilize and contribute my strengths in writing and editting, while letting my teammate take charge of the video cutting.

In addition, what gave me the greatest reality shock was how complex the process was for a marketing plan to be born. Before taking this course, my primary impression of advertising and marketing was a team of people having to merely come up with creative ideas. Little did I know that a final marketing strategy recommendation has to have gone through comprehensive analysis of the environment, the target segment, and the current marketing mix. There are a lot of factors to consider and creative sparks can only take you so far. Interestingly enough, while we had to keep all the previously mentioned factors in mind, we were not constrained by budget. I’m sure in real life scenarios cost would be a huge influence and would completely skew our results.

I’ve gotten a quick and clear glimpse into the realm of marketing, and I can’t wait to explore this world in front of me even more.

As an audience for Kpop (korean pop culture), I’ve always been curious of how the phenomena managed to rise to fame amidst heavy global competition. After reading Chapter 10 of the textbook about Products and Branding, I suddenly realized how Kpop is simply being marketed as a cultural product and I, as a consumer, have just fallen into its clever branding.

The talent agencies that manage the stars are essentially the manufacturing companies. Through intensive training and makeovers, the companies are able to create value, thats sought out by young audiences worldwide, in these young talents. But this is not what differentiates Kpop from other popular music acts around the globe. What the label companies have been able to accomplish is build a solid brand for themselves.

Take, for example, the giant of the Kpop industry, SM Entertainment. The name of the company itself alone is able to elicit positive responses from any Kpop follower. This company is the home of almost all the top boy/girl groups in Korea, and it has been able to produce hit after hit by utilizing its strong brand and reputation.

The company itself is promoted just as heavily as its artists, through documentary feature movies like “I AM”, company-wide collaboration acts called “SM TOWN”, and company concerts. All these marketing endeavours has been able to help SM Entertainment build brand loyalty and facilitate continuous purchases from its fans. Marketing costs for new groups are drastically reduced because as long as they are crowned to be under the company, they are automatically ahead in the race.

Co-Branding, another tool that SM Entertainment has perfected using, has allowed for new groups to be marketed along with older and more famous groups. These labelmates are often promoted together during the rookie group’s debut era. This enhances the fan’s perceptions about the new group’s abilities: it signals its high quality that is linked to the company’s brand name and the more well-known group.

No wonder Kpop has been such a phenomenon, and one of the secrets behind its success lies in effective branding.

Sources:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/07/what_marketers_can_learn_from.html

http://sites.davidson.edu/anthro/global/2012/03/25/k-pop-marketing-image/

I recently switched from a Blackberry 9900 to an iphone 5. To say the word “switch” is actually quite inaccurate: before I put my Blackberry into the back of my drawer, I was already using the iphone 4s as a substitute along with the Blackberry to make up for all the functions it didn’t have. Can you imagine carrying two phones around at once? Although I did enjoy the illusion of appearing as a busy business giant, I did not like how much the Blackberry lacked in terms of smartphone functions.

It seems like I’m not the only user to ditch the Blackberry for it’s more well-rounded counterparts. Blackberry has started a downward spiral in its market share, dropping from the whopping 44.5% in 2008 to 8.4% in September last year. In the era of Iphones (Apple) and Androids (Google) dominating, Blackberry needs to step up its game in order to remain relevant in the market, and it’s beginning to do so as mentioned in Suki Chan’s Blog Post.

Suki points out that RIM (Research in Motion, Blackberry’s Developer), has begun the process of rebranding by changing its name and appointing Alicia Keys as their creative director. I agree that this is a smart move for rebranding. Blackberry has long existed as an individual brand, separate from its umbrella company, and now that it embraces a family brand the same as its manufacturer, the company itself can finally steal some spotlight. Apple and Google are empires with an immense amount of influence distributed via its multiple products, Blackberry must board on this train and start constructing a cohesive company name and brand of its own. “One Brand, One Promise” is definitely a good start.

However, a good start only helps them half the way, the new product itself has to resonate with consumers. Blackberry’s previous loyal customers have been mainly business people who value privacy and security. With the new Z10, it’s target segment seems to be migrating towards a younger and more fun-oriented crowd, and are losing its main features such as a professional physical keyboard. Their positioning has changed in order to compete with the versatile iphones and androids, and some people are worried if the main benefit they offer is still applicable to its subscribers.

Sources:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/30/3932046/rim-changes-name-to-blackberry

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/01/rim-blackberry-rebranding/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324329204578272114027831402.html

Drew McLellan brought up an interesting topic in his recent “Marketing Minute” blog: Can the ethusiasm of sales people actually undermine their attempts to increase sales?

Speaking from personal experience, I am terrified of sales people. This all starts with the minute you walk into a retail store. You always sense right away if they are working on commission when sales attendants hover over you like a hawk. The over-the-top enthusiasm and attentiveness creates an unbearing stress bubble. I often flee right away if I feel the anticipation for a sale in the store is too high, and there have been countless times when the sales attendents, whose jobs are to lure customers into buying, have actually been the force to drive me away.

While I understand that a considerable amount of people rely on sales attendents to provide them with information and demostrations that lead to a sale, in the words of Drew, “you have to find a way to know who your real audience is, capture their attention, market consistently and have something of value to share/teach often enough that you stay on their radar screen until they’re ready to buy.”

It takes time for a consumer to be ready to make the purchase decision, and the consumer behaviour theory states that an individual goes through psychological, social, and purchasing situation influences before they open their wallets. Continuing to push them in attempt to accelerate this process will only drive them away.

Futhermore, I’ve experienced an abundant of occurences when sales people emit negative attitudes such as disappointment and humiliation to customers. This is often the case when you try on a couple of items and either it doesn’t correspond with your self-concept, or may not be approved by your social reference group, and you decide to pass. Sales people tend to take this personally and punish you for wasting their time and efforts by acting drastically different from the kindness you experienced initially. What they fail to realize is that although the customer did not purchase THIS time, it doesn’t mean the store is not in his/her evoked set: they just jeoporadized future profit for short-term loss.

When I first stumbled upon this image, I was fairly shocked at how the marketer managed to connect BMW used cars to women who were no longer “virgins”. What a “brilliant” campaign that targets perfectly the mindset of male customers of second-hand high-end vehicles. Admittedly, this poster was able to answer the question of “why buy a second-hand car that’s quite expensive?” flawlessly. AND it speaks directly to its biggest customer segment, seemingly doing an amazing job at attracting business. Indeed, for a car with such prestige and luxury-based performances, who cares if it’s a second-hand? Yet, the abuse of objectifying women has rendered this poster to the unethical end of marketing.

It’s not uncommon these days to see a promotion employing stereotypical images of women or use sex as an appeal to the product. Everyday on television, we see diligent and caring housewives running around their houses cleaning and cooking, conveying how efficient the laundry detergent is how it has changed their “lives”. This enhances the stereotype that women are meant to be stay-at-home moms, and whose life goals are to cater to their families. Furthermore, more demeaning stereotypes include those in which women are presented as less intelligent, unable to assume leadership roles or make decisions, submissive to or obsessed with men, or skimpily dressed in order to appeal to the sexual interests of males. What worries me is the fact that people are becoming accustomed and used to these set roles for women, and it rarely bothers or offends people when they see these marketing tactics.

Indeed, it is a challenge to balance marketing ethics while trying to remain competitive in the market, and it may be convenient to target women in their traditional roles in order to sell them the products. However, we must consider if it is ethical to bombard the population with these advertisements, and how we can avoid stereotyping and objectifying women in marketing.

It is commonly known that one of the “strategies” less high-end establishments use nowadays is the enforcement of cash only payments.

These determined tax dodgers ask to be paid in hard currency for numerous reasons, the main one revolving around taxation.

The elimination of credit cards that charge a merchant fee for every transaction, anywhere from 1.5 to 3 percent, along with the lowered taxation rates allows them to maintain their limited profit. Indeed, in order to break-even, restaurant owners under-report income to tax authorities by not using payment methods that could leave a detectable record.

What these tax evading dining options fail to understand is the impact of this on customers. In North America, cash is no longer the preferred method of currency exchange: people tend not to carry around a large amount of cash to defend against theft and robbery.

By not allowing the use of credit cards and Interac, the restaurants are defying business ethics of honesty and
 integrity. In addition, people splurge more when they use plastic,
 while pulling out cash can undermine the 
desire to spend, psychologically. Here,
the restaurants play with the blurry line
 between the customers’ wants and needs. Although credit card is not
 absolutely needed when spending, it is 
much enjoyed. If continued to be denied at
 these places, consumers will drift away.