Monthly Archives: March 2013

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