rebrand

Taking note of new and innovative social media strategies used around the world. This blog was created for the MKT 400 course at Ryerson University.

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This week in class we discussed the consumer decision making process. We touched upon need recognition, which brings me to my blog post for the week.

Everyone needs a toilet, right? When you gotta go, you gotta go. Luckily, Charmin launched an app this year to make finding a bathroom easier. Sit or Squat helps users find washroom around their general area. To make the app even more worth while, users can also rate the cleanliness of the bathrooms to give other users that the luxury of using a clean bathroom (ironic, right? That clean, free bathrooms are a luxury). Users can also filter the results to washrooms that are open, have a baby changing station, or even have a tampon dispenser.

I like that Charmin recognized the need for help in finding clean bathrooms around the city. As a girl, it really is a struggle sometimes to find a decent place to...go. Not only is the app really useful, but it results in great brand awareness for Charmin. As far as I know, they've been the only toilet paper company to release an app like this. The app helps them to have top-of-mind awareness in the customer's mind.

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Can You Smell That? It's Microsoft's Brilliant Stealth Marketing Strategy For 'Destiny'

Microsoft is prohibited from running any advertisements for Destiny. So Microsoft isn't advertising Destiny the game. They're advertising Destiny the fragrance instead.

This week in class we discussed the lifestyles and culture aspects of consumer behaviour. We also touched upon guerilla marketing, which is something I found interesting. While walking through the different parts of Toronto, I sometimes stumble upon guerilla ads and think nothing of them when I first see them. It's only when I'm maybe a block away when I realized that the random sculpture or artwork on the sidewalk or in a bus shelter is actually a guerilla marketing campaign.

Stealth marketing is a form of guerilla marketing, except that it doesn't necessarily have to be in physical form. It can be digital, just like Microsoft's marketing strategy for a new game called "Destiny". The game was part of an exclusive deal between Sony and Activision (the game developer), and therefore Microsoft could not release ads for the game. Instead, they released ads for "Destiny - the fragrance". Once users clicked on the ad for Xbox's new "scent", a disclaimer pops up saying that Destiny isn't a new fragrance, but in fact a new, highly anticipated game that Microsoft could not run ads for.

The idea is clever on Microsoft's part. They found a loop hole in a contract and sneakily worked their way around it. However, some may view it as unethical. Stealth marketing is a way to lure people in through subliminal messaging. Often, the consumers are unaware of the advertisement until they read the fine print or click through a link. 

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This week in class we discussed brand personalities and the approaches they take to personifying their brand. As a class, we discussed the personalities of different Canadian coffee shops - Tim Horton's, McCafe, Starbucks, Second Cup, etc. We noticed that based on what is in their stores and advertisements, we can deduce how the companies' marketers want their consumers to perceive them.

An example I found later on is Skinnygirl Cocktail line started by The Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel. The company was inspired by Frankel's cookbooks that had low-calorie recipes targeting women. In short, Skinnygirl targets women who usually like to go out for drinks with their girlfriends, but don't want to spend the $10 on a 1 oz. drink. Ladies can now have a girls' night in to enjoy Skinnygirl cocktails such as flavoured vodka, margaritas, mojitos and sangrias. 

Skinnygirl's brand personality is very feminine, flirty, colourful and young. If the brand was a female, she would have a high-ranking job at a magazine or in the fashion industry by day, and meet her friends out for dinner and drinks at night. 

The company uses a materialistic theory in its brand personality. It appeals to consumers' desire for material goods and products that will make them feel a certain way when using them. In a way, it uses the subculture of young, modern day women in order to appeal to this market.

I actually really enjoy drinking Skinnygirl cocktails. For one thing, it's way cheaper than what I would order at a trendy bar, and the drinks are definitely not as watered down. I think Skinnygirl is effective in its marketing because it encapsulates their target market really well in its ads and TV commercials.

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In this week's lecture, we discussed Robert Cialdini's Harnessing the Power of Persuasion and the six principles of persuasion: liking, reciprocity, social proof, consistency, authority, and scarcity. These principles are used in every sales or marketing tactic and it's a clever way to get into the subconscious mind of the consumer.

I love watching this show from National Geographic called Brain Games. Last season, they had an episode of brain games based on the principles of persuasion, and showed multiple ways that marketers and advertisers can make their products, advertisements, etc more appealing to consumers. One game in the episode that I really took note of was their example of the principle of authority. They had a comedian dress up as a news anchor, and asked random individuals on "breaking news" that never really happened. Upon seeing the camera crew and the comedian dressed in a dapper suit, they immediately believed all the outrageous news he was telling them. They later tried the same experiment with the comedian dressed in casual clothing. The result? No one paid attention to anything he told them.

The episode doesn't touch upon every principle; it doesn't even mention Cialdini. But it acknowledges the persuasive strategies marketers used to capture and keep the attention of consumers. 

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Week 8 - Attitude & Attitude Change

In this week's lecture, we discussed consumer attitudes and the lengths that marketers will go to in order to change their attitudes. In particular, we went into depth in discussing the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements - do they really work? Does it always change the minds of the consumers? For the participation assignment that my group and I wrote this week, we talked about how effective David Beckham is as a brand ambassador to brands such as H&M, Armani, Adidas, and Samsung. I think that part of his appeal is due to the fact that he has a pretty good reputation in the public eye. For starters, he's very good looking and he has a beautiful wife (whom I have idolized since I was three). He hasn't been involved in any major, publicized legal conundrums, and he also is portrayed as a British soccer saviour. What's not to like?

I could go on forever about how much I love Posh and Becks, but this blog post is about another David: David "The Hoff" Hasselhoff. I got home after class and I set out to find an example of a celebrity endorsement that went totally awry, and I found this commercial. It's for Cumberland Farms, a chain of convenience stores in the U.S that also offers their own brand of snacks and drinks, like the iced coffee (or "Iced Hoffee) that Hasselhoff is promoting.

The ad is absolutely horrid, from the jingle to the fake beachy background (that has no connection to a Rhode Island-based company) to David Hasselhoff! But perhaps that was exactly what Cumberland Farms' marketing department was going for - as a result, sales for their #icedhoffee went up by 147% (Angel, 2013) I think that they were aiming to stimulate the affective component of attitudes; Cumberland Farms wanted to elicit an emotional response from consumers, and featuring a controversial, internationally-known D-lister like David Hasselhoff in their ads did just that. A normal person would think the ad's message wouldn't have a big impact because there is no match-up between Hasselhoff and Cumberland Farms - why would a celebrity like him endorse a store chain that is only available in the Eastern United States? In addition, what gives him credibility, or what makes him likeable after all the negative press he's received in the last few years?

To sum this up, this ad is effective for all the wrong reasons. I think that while it helped boost sales in the short-term, having controversial public figures like The Hoff can damage a company's credibility or reputation, and while it's fun to get a rise out of customers, decisions like this should be taken more seriously.

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This week in class, we discussed the effects of ads and consumers’ perception of them.

Funny enough, I found this recent article from The Globe and Mail about how scent marketing is a “projected billion dollar industry”, but also a big moral dilemma.

But I can totally see why - in theory, scent marketing seems like a really smart idea. It gives an augmented experience to the consumer that a 2D visual ad can’t compare to (unless, of course, there’s a scratch-&-sniff card on the ad somewhere). Using scent marketing, companies can establish that connection with consumers easier by relating their scents to past experiences, and by appealing to their emotions.

However, there are some bad sides. The article goes on by saying that it is an ethical issue because consumers may not be aware that they are being influenced olfactorily. But while scents can have positive connotations, it can also have bad ones. For example, I had a retail job at a store that sold candles and home fragrance items. The smells actually became repulsive to be after inhaling it for so long. Now, whenever I walk by the store, I need to plug my nose because I can’t stand it (also it brings up bad memories of working a stingy retail job with bad hours).

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Creating beautiful videos usually require a lot of things put together - the right producer, the right lighting as well as tripods and expensive equipment.

Since the launch of Instagram, beautiful photos have never been made easier. Cool videos can be created in short instances without having to...

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Know your limits!

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During class this week, we discussed the importance using social media marketing for businesses, and I think this video encapsulates the concept really well.

Taking advantage of the hot days in New York City, Evian promoted the use of the hashtag #evianbottleservice on Twitter for their followers to see. Eventually, enough consumers caused the hashtag to trend and Evian took to the streets to provide not just water… a bottle service. Complete with umbrellas, silver trays and smartly dressed staff.

The planning for this marketing event was also very clever. Evian is obviously known for being the "classier" water, and providing a bottle service to everyone made them feel pampered and most importantly, hydrated.