Pepsi in Red in China!! - Product line

Pepsi in RED??? YES, in China, they are changing their cover in Red!

I at first was wondering if they are doing it to compete with Coke Cola....Or Because Red is a lucky color in Chinese Culture.

This product line in Red cover may hit big since the Chinese believe deeply in the luck a red color can bring, that is also why the traditional Chinese wedding is all in Red.

Apple on the head - Brand loyalty

HAHAHA, I'm blown away by this guys' tattoo!! Now, THIS is what you called a BRAND LOYALTY!!!

Throughout the whole Marketing class, I think to build a brand and make your consumers be loyal about your brand is the hardest to achieve.

But hey, I guess Apple has made it! ^o^

GNC's Mission Statement

GNC has this commercial a year or 2 ago. It is promoting it's mission statement - "GNC is committed to providing a shopping experience that exceeds our customers' expectations."
It was FUNNY!! Cracked me up... But hey, it got its attention, and magically, I really do believe that if I want to find any kind of medication/suppliments, GNC is the store I may go to.

Touch test - Focus group

I saw this video on Youtube which it show this company formed a focus group and asked people to be vision-covered and just use their hand to feel the item, and state what they feel.
I found it really interesting that at the end, they conclude most people find Cotton to be most appealing, whereas the scissors are least appealing, and 3 out of 5 people would hold "Fresh" with their foot for more than 3 minutes!

How to sell soap - The importance of Word of Mouth

How to sell soap - about viral marketing

So here I found a Viral marketing strategy video, which uses a simple example (How to sell soap) to show us this strategy. It is a cute little web commercial, you kind of feel like "it's" talking to you, as it's having a conversation with you. After the 2 and a half minutes, I realized that it is about the WOM - Word Of Mouth strategy we talked about in class.

Word Of Mouth is more convincing than any type of commercial, it gives you a guarantee from someone who do not have any beneficial relationship with the business. It makes you feel like: "Oh, she used this, and loves it, it should work on me, too!"

With our group's project, we use the WOM strategy since restaurant service is not something people would love it only through your fantastic commercial.

Flavored Straw from Australia

As I was browsing on web, a little link on the side of the page has this little ad -- Got milk? Flavored straw. And I remembered that years ago this was a big hit in Australia, and in Taiwan, too.

If you don't know what this "Flavored straw" is, it is a thicker-than-usual straw that inside contains little flavored sugar dots (vanilla, straberry, chocolate, etc.) When you use the straw to drink your milk, yoo then taste the flavor from it.

I can't help but think that it is an AMAZING innovation for all families, students, kids, and whoever wants to enjoy a cup of flavored milk.

The inventor realized a problem in the market, even though there are many different varieties of flavored milk on the market, but if one wants to taste different flavors, he/she would have to buy a big gallon of EVERY milk, and this can lead to a big waste because they only want to taste it. In this case, it solves this problem for all of us, by creating the flavor in the straw instead of in the milk, it is much more convenient and fun to enjoy different flavors of milk now.

I bought a pack of "mint and chocolate" flavor, and I'm going to try it! :D

Diet Snapple and pricing

I was at the Bookie last week looking for something to drink. And I saw this new "diet Snapple" with a new flavor and and HUGE price sign indicating $o.79. A normal Snapple costs at least $1.50, here is a DIET (popular word these days) Snapple only cost $0.79. I immediately bought it.

This reminds me of what we discussed in class today, about the importance of pricing. A high price can bring up the product's value, but it can also cause a decrease in demand in some cases; on the other hand, a low price can encourage more demand, but consumer may question the quality in the product.

I, however, am one of the low-price products' fans. And this diet Snapple earned its $0.79 from me.

Just a little conclusion after drinking the $0.79 diet Snapple, I do not like it. It's got too strong of a "blenda" taste... Oh well, it did told me that it's "DIET." >.<

John Underkoffler Speech - The Future of UI

From a friend's facebook post, I saw a link to youtube that talks about The future of User Interface. After viewing this video, I was AMAZED by how technology can bring us human to something like this.

Just like how it shows in the movie "Minority Report," where Tom Cruise uses his fingers to bring images and information from the computer. This John Underkoffler is telling us that in 5 years, this technology is going to be used in not only companies and organizations, but will be friendly for all users.

GOT TO WATCH THIS VIDEO, it really will amaze you!!! ^_^

Emobenefit - Personal experience

Have you ever sell a textbook online? Through ebay, Amazon, or half.com?

Well, I did.

And when we talked about selling not just a product/service, but an EMOTION in Marketing class today, I thought of my person experience of successfully selling a product through understanding the consumers' emotions.

2 semesters ago, I took a management class and when the class ends I no longer need to keep the book. So I thought I'd sell it back on Amazon.

On the listing page, it requires me to put down some of the information regarding the book I'm selling. So I went to Amazon's textbook pages to see how people put down theirs with the same book.

That was when I found that there were over 15 exact same book that's on sale online, and I'm one of them. Here I thought, my book is not the brand new one, nor is it the cheapest one could be sold, how can I attract the consumer to buy my book?

So I put down the following statements on the description part of my product, and after 2 days, Amazon sent me an e-mail confirming my successful transaction. Here it is:

This is the newest version of the management textbook ... Its condition is ... most importantly, IT GOT ME AN A FOR THE CLASS!!! A must buy!!! ^_^

I don't if my magic words worked, or I was just lucky. But hey, who wouldn't want to buy a book that may bring you good luck on the subject learning? ^o^

Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe?

Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe? ^_________^

So I was going through my email, and my friend sent me a picture file asking me --> Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe?

Let's play a little game!

I want you to take off your glasses, or stand a little further from the screen. Tell me who you see ? (Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe?)

What about you put on your glasses, and stand closer to the picture, now who do you see? (Albert Einstein or Marilyn Monroe?)

Hahaha, well, I found it very cool, and this just make me think of one lecture class where we talked about "what you see may not always be what it truly is." Therefore, observing consumers are very important; their facial expression, their blink of eye, their smile, or confusion. A good marketer should be sensitive about these things.

Hope you enjoy this fun game! ^_^

The real meaning of marketing (Very truthful ^o^)

The Buzzword in today's business world is --> Marketing, but people often ask about the simple definition of it. So what are some different marketing strategies?
The video is using one simple concept of how a woman and a man's conversation in a party can turn out to be a great way of promotion (marketing).
We learned in class that to promote a business' product/service requires good "promotion" technique. A commercial can catch your eye in 5 seconds if it's done successfully whereas a bad advertisement can be totally useless even it lasted for 10 minutes.
This video is using a real life conversation and different ways of saying the same thing but giving people different feeling about it. It can be persuasive, can be funny, and it can be useful in real life.

Having a bad day in office?

I was browsing on Youtube, and here I found this FUNNY video. ^_*
It's an advertisement for "Evolution Business Consulting." I found this ad very powerful for most general public. Normally, when we see an ad that's for business consulting, we might just ignore it since it doesn't sound interesting in any way. But this ad has used a video that ALL OF US can relate to - a busy day, bad atmosphere in the office, boss being a pain in the bxtt, and so on.
When we learned in class about consumers' need, this advertisement has successfully attract most of our attention. And it will leave a footprint in our mind. When we meet some problem with business, it's very likely that this video pop up to our mind and moreover gives us a "oh, why not" thought for trying the toll-free number. And there goes a chance of doing business.
On the other hand, nowadays people send videos through emails, blogs (yup, this is what I'm doing haha), and social network websites. This video will be spead to the whole nation with thousands of people viewing it due to the fact that it's FUNNY. And there goes a lot more chances of exposing the advertisement, therefore attract more needing consumers.