Further details about Marketing YOUniverse

It is human nature to be egocentric, to the point of being selfish– we all want what we want, when we want it. Thanks to the evolving technologies and communication mediums that enable quicker and up-to-date information, today’s consumers are able to leverage this truth and become better informed about products and services than ever before. These developments not only drive competition but also create spaces for dialogue, fostering the empowerment and involvement of consumers in the marketplace. Brands are becoming more adept at leveraging this consumer insight and consumers are increasingly embracing their individuality and rewarding companies who cater to their unique needs.

With new technologies, customization, and research insights, brands can now target consumers better than ever before and deliver their value propositions in ways previously unthought-of. Demographic- and geo-targeted display banner display ads target consumers who fit the narrow target profile but also makes use of browsing history to sync their products and services with consumers’ interests. Low-cost, customer-focused mobile telecom carriers have served as catalysts in the industry to make the experience less restrictive and enable consumers to pick the phones, plans and services they desire. Similar moves are being made in the airline industry, with the advent of Ryan Air and JetBlue and across industries with the rise of information and experience-sharing websites such as TripAdvisor and CNET.com.

YMA feels that this emerging consumer trend will be a particularly interesting and impactful one, as it will influence the way marketing and advertising is approached and executed in the coming years. Be on the cutting-edge of marketing by attending the YMA “Marketing YOUniverse” Conference.

Register here at yorkmarketing.ca

The Ever Evolving Facebook

So the other day, I was taking a ‘break’ from studying and was browsing through Facebook. As soon as I clicked home, I saw something change in my newsfeed. Correction, I saw a lot of things change in my newsfeed. No longer two-tabbed with the “Top Stories” and “Most Recent”, my newsfeed suddenly got a sidebar that seemed to be rolling non-stop, showing me pretty much everything that’s happening with my friends, and their most recent activities.

All the posts and updates that Facebook seems to think is important to you is shown on the main feed, with the option of further fine-tuning by clicking on the blue triangle on the top corner of each of said posts to denote importance.

And let’s not forget about the new Facebook Timeline that the company will be rolling out in the next few weeks. Supposedly the next huge thing for Facebook, Timeline will pretty much sum up your whole Facebook life on your profile. Not only will the new Facebook (how many times have we heard that said?) allow you to share pretty much anything you want easier, but it will also go through everything in your Facebook history (ever), and put it on the timeline, depending on the relevance. Therefore, the longer you’ve used Facebook, the more stuff from your past the social media site will be able to dig up and reveal on your timeline—and the easier it will be to find it. The privacy settings will remain the same as those applied to your profile and wall, unless you want it otherwise.

Here's a screenshot of the Facebook Timeline...note the years along the side!

So what does that mean for us students? Depending on your private settings and security, future employers do routinely scan popular social media sites as part of the hiring process. They will be able to see if you are the type of person you claim to be and plenty of other salacious tidbits of your life…unless you spend some time organizing and cleaning things up!

It’s amazing to see how much social media has integrated into our lives, no? I’m definitely curious to see how marketing companies are going to take advantage of this change in the future! 

Timeline is scheduled for release on September 30^th for everyone. There IS a method of getting it now (for all you impatient ones, here's a guide), but for me, I think I’ll wait for Facebook to roll it out for me. So what do you guys think? Facebook's best invention yet, or not?

About the author: Karen Chen

Tea/coffee addict, travel junkie, dance performer, art lover, business student. She reads books in her spare time, and definitely spends an unhealthy amount of the day on the internet. Karen is also looking forward to be going on exchange to Toulouse, France this coming January; it will be an adventure for sure!

SAMMA Summit 2011

SAMMA Summit 2011 unites South Asian leaders from CNN, Foursquare and PepsiCo

Leading conference across media, marketing and entertainment sectors shines a spotlight on growing influence of South Asians in business

New York, NY, August 1, 2011 – South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment Association (SAMMA) is pleased to announce that the 2011 SAMMA Summit will be held on September 16-17 in New York City. With the generous support of Time Warner Corporation, the conference will be held at the Time Warner Center.

This year’s conference, the third since SAMMA’s creation in 2006, will bring together almost 300 South Asian leaders across the marketing, media and entertainment sectors. Headlining speakers span Fortune 500 companies, media entities and emerging technology leaders, with the current roster including:

• Ann Mukherjee, Chief Marketing Officer, Frito Lay, deemed Woman to Watch on the Future of Marketing by Advertising Age
• Naveen Selvadurai, co-founder, Foursquare
• Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN, Emmy ® Award winner
• Floyd Cardoz, restauranteur, chef and winner of Bravo Top Chef Masters 2011
• Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Vivaki/Publicis

“We created the SAMMA Summit with the intention of shining a spotlight on the quickly-expanding unparalleled impact South Asians are having in the marketing, media and entertainment spheres,” said Rajan Shah, President of branded integration firm Phenomenon and co-founder, SAMMA. “We’re proud of the leaders that are participating in this year’s Summit and hope to simultaneously inspire a whole new lot with the next emerging wave of talent.”

SAMMA’s membership has grown five-fold since the organization’s inception with increasing support from Fortune 500 companies and leading brands that recognize the opportunity amongst an influential and growing demographic. The buying power of Asian Americans in the Unites States is expected to increase 40% by 2012, reaching more than $2 trillion.

To coordinate interviews with attending SAMMA speakers or high-res imagery, please contact:

Sushma Dwivedi                                                                              

Sushma.dwivedi@fleishman.com                                           

212-453-2381 or 917-981-9152                                                                    

Art & Copy – A Must Watch for Marketers

It’s early September, it’s getting colder and getting darker earlier, the US Open is entering its second week, and the CNE is winding down. As I write this, school is due to start up in three days’ time, as much as we do NOT want it to. Thankfully, the TIFF Festival is around the corner to brighten our spirits and bring some great films and stars. To tide all you movie buffs until the festival starts, I thought it would be fitting to share a wonderful documentary that helped to expand my perspective and knowledge of the advertising industry.

Let me be the first to say: for those of you who have neither the desire to work in advertising nor interest in the industry, but are interested in studying and pursuing a career in marketing – you need to watch this film, and I’ll get to “why” later on.

The documentary is Art & Copy and it “reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creative…people who've profoundly impacted [the ad culture and landscape], yet are virtually unknown outside their industry.” (source: http://www.artandcopyfilm.com/synopsis/) The film discusses the challenges creative people face in the industry and how they were able to overcome these multitudes of problems that still persist today. One I found interesting was the structure of an ad agency. Today, it is not uncommon for creatives to be “paired” off in agencies – one copy writer, one art director. Believe it or not, before the 1960’s, the art director and the copy writer never collaborated when designing an ad. Copy (the text and information) was priority – not the design, hence the prevalence of information-driven, boring ads.

That was just one segment of the film, which goes on to exhibit quite a few successful campaigns and profiles the creative geniuses behind them. Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me – the unsavoury genesis of Nike’s “Just Do It” and the grammatically incorrect “got milk?” campaign.

My favourite story? George Lois and the launch of Tommy Hilfiger. Lois speaks his mind and has quite the foul mouth, but listen to him speak and review his portfolio and you’ll see how poignant and interesting his work is. I thought this story in particular was worthy of a shout-out.

WHY do I think that all marketers should watch this film and not just those looking into advertising? Because you work as a brand manager at P&G or as a marketing associate at Pepsi, you will likely have some sort of interaction with your company’s AOR (agency of record) and a hands-on role in the advertising of your product or service. Having spent a summer working in an agency doesn’t make me entirely unbiased, but more often than not, “bad” advertising is the result of a poor client-agency relationship. Plain and simple. A lack of trust, a lack of creative freedom, and poor brand and product strategy will translate into mediocre, craptastic work. (If you disagree, I look forward to your comments below.)

Now, I’m not saying that agencies are completely innocent, there are always a few stinkers – however hilariously terrible they may be. I believe it truly is the client that makes the difference. Something to think about: an agency can create an award-winning campaign, but at the same time produce a terrible failure. It is the client that has the last say as to which idea is chosen, and it is not always the one the agency deems the best.

With that said, all I want you marketers to take away from this is how to approach working with agencies in the future. They may not be the easiest people to deal with, but their job is to be creative, to come up with different ideas and to challenge mental constructions and customer perceptions. Give them the freedom to challenge what has been done, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.


A note about the film: A DVD is available to buy, but if you’re an avid torrenter like myself, it is incredibly easy to find.

About the author: Deven Dionisi
Deven is a 3rd year student, looking to specialize in marketing and strategic management and hopes to run his own agency in the future (or assume leadership of an existing agency – he isn’t too picky). Going on exchange this coming winter in Milan, Deven is looking forward to traveling around Europe and attending the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Blogosphere: Friend or Foe?

Bryan Grey-Yambao (bryanboy.com), Tommy Tom (jakandjil.com), Garance Doré (garancedore.fr), and Scott Schuman (thesartorialist.com) sit front row at D&G’s Spring/Summer 2012 show equipped with laptops provided by the company.

Manila teen writes blog. Fashion industry takes notice. Gets a Marc Jacobs bag named after him, rubs elbows with fashion industry’s elite, and bags six-figure income in ad revenue.

This may sound far-fetched, but for Bryan Grey-Yambao, better known as Bryanboy, this modern-day fairy tale is the life that has been forged upon him by his popular fashion blog. Now a front-row fixture at fashion week and a good friend of Marc Jacobs himself, Bryanboy attests to the essential role that blogging plays in modern-day communications, entertainment, media, and marketing.

Ever since blogging took off in the last decade, blogs have become an indispensable resource for the discussion and expression of interests, as well as the dissemination of information. However, not until recent years has blogging garnered so much attention and had so much influence on the general population. Many companies and politicians alike have acknowledged the importance of connecting with their target market/audience online, as well as leveraging the cult-like following of popular independent bloggers to further their marketing efforts.

Given their rise in status from merely a form of personal expression to a respected and highly-embraced means of social media, blogs are surely here to stay. However, for the publishing industry which churns out the newspapers, magazines, and trade journals of which blogs are robbing their readers’ time and interest, this has raised concern of late. In an era where yesterday’s news has become like last year’s, blogs offer the instantaneous sharing of ideas which tangible publications cannot. For example, monthly magazines typically begin to materialize 2-4 months before the publication date, highlighting their emphasis on seasonal content, industry trends/issues, and general interest pieces, rather than of-the-minute news which blogs may offer. For personal lifestyle/interest, photo, and video blogs, the instant gratification of having a responsive online community of fellow bloggers acknowledge your talents and opinions is a further testament to blogs’ mounting appeal and staying power.

Personally, I do not think that blogs are a substitute to published material, but rather, they fill a void. Looking around my own room at stacks of unread magazines that I subscribe to and then at the list of my most visited websites, it is clear how my own appetite for fashion and business news is no longer satisfied by glossy pages primarily. Still, I do believe that the quality of content in a magazine is unrivalled by that of any blog, and for that, I will continue to open my mailbox to the bold masthead of the magazines I love. But hey, to each their own. This is a blog post after all.


About the author: Jessica Young

Jessica is a 2nd year student who is an avid magazine and blog reader. Her magazine collection measures taller than her 166cm self and her favourite blogs include jakandjil.com, dealbook.com, altamiranyc.blogspot.com, hanneli.com, and blogto.com.

Forget TV shows; let’s think TV franchises

Television plays a central role in popular culture. It drives conversation at the workplace watering hole and sparks debates over social media. But besides showing up on your TV, television shows rarely have a presence on retail shelves outside DVD box sets and posters. The big networks make their big money from advertising dollars—which are driven by ratings and the size of TV audiences and are in turn at our mercy, the media consumers.

A problem arises when TV loyalists are empowered to watch their shows outside of the critical primetime premier slots that advertisers pursue for major commercials. For me, my commercial-skipping TIVO does just that. PVRs, Netflix, Apple TV and online pirating have transformed television into an on-demand service. As a result, measurable TV audiences have seen significant declines in recent years. Networks are forced to juggle declines in advertising revenues and audiences who demand high-quality, high-cost shows in exchange for their viewership. Smart television studios know they have to look beyond the small screen if they’re going to successfully mitigate the pitfalls of the $700 billion US television advertising.

Cue the television franchise. I’m not talking about highly successful sitcoms like Friends or Entourage. I’m talking about shows that offer the potential for endless merchandise, sponsorship and licensing deals - a marketer’s dream. Disney’s been pumping these out for years, such as the Hannah Montana franchise which the NY Times estimates drove $1 billion in retail sales in 2008.

Who wouldn't be smiling when you're part of Fox's $500 million cash-cow, Glee.

Fox’s Glee is the most recent wonder to take the industry by storm. Forget that the musical television comedy has won 4 Emmys, 4 Golden Globes and has drawn 10 million+ viewers ever Tuesday night for the last two years. Glee has sold 21 million digital singles and 9 million albums. It has sponsorship agreements with Chevrolet and exclusive retail partnerships with Macy’s and Claire’s. It spurred 2 international concert tours, a 3D concert movie and unleashed countless brand extensions: clothing lines, video games, nail polish, jewelry, iPod apps, and even Hallmark cards.

Contributing an estimated $500 million to Fox’s top line, Glee has become an indispensible part of the network’s programming. Love it or hate it (and I love it!), the franchise is setting the example for shows old and new. NBC has added Smash, an adult Glee knock-off starring Debra Messing, to its 2012 line-up. Even AMC’s always-classy Mad Men has partnered up with Banana Republic to launch a branded clothing line that’s in stores now.

During its gap year between seasons 4 and 5, AMC's Mad Men partners with Banana Republic to debut a Don Draper inspired clothing line.

Going forward, franchises like Glee will not be the exception. The networks realize that they’re no longer producing shows - they’re producing brands. The relished business models of the entertainment industry are being revolutionized by the way we consume media. Hollywood has long understood the value of product placement and merchandising agreements. The music industry is learning from singing super-brands Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. Inevitably, marketers will play a greater role in the launch of the next big sitcom, movie or superstar.

About the author: Telly Carayannakis

Self-proclaimed Gleek - I've got every Glee album, the Glee Karoake video game and saw the concert tour when they came to Toronto. Going into my 3rd year at Schulich and will be travelling to Paris for an exchange program in January!

The Not-So-Secret Ingredient to Customer Commitment

When you think of a marketing initiative, what are some of the first ideas that come to mind? Maybe an online campaign, a new and exciting ad, or, perhaps, a brand new product design. But what about that one thing that has the ability to “make or break” the consumer’s commitment? That one thing is good old customer service!

What exactly is customer service anyway? I would hope that most businessmen and women know, but let’s recap. Giving the customer exactly what they want is part of it, but that definitely does not make up the whole package. You must strive to make your customer feel like a million bucks! Customer service is providing each customer with an outstanding and unforgettable experience each and every time they participate in a given service, or purchase a product. The key word here? Experience. Think, what is it that you, as a company, would want your clients or customers to experience whenever they deal with your representatives.

So now that you know what customer service is, what does it have to do with marketing? Well, think about it. The ultimate goal is to sell your product or service. Is it easier to sell to a happy customer or to an angry customer? I don’t know about you, but I have never heard of a corporation that strives to irritate their buyers. Furthermore, customer service can positively or negatively add to a company’s public image. Thus, customer service is a major component to drawing consumers in and, well, keeping them there. Let’s take a look at a few companies that have made customer service a major part of their marketing initiatives.

1. TD Canada Trust

The first thing I think of when I think of TDCT is customer service. This organization has been recognized by J.D. Power and Associates 6 years in a row for their customer service. As an employee for TD, I have learned very quickly that customer satisfaction is integrated in everything we do. From the way we greet our customers to walking them out the door when they leave a branch. For example, TD has recently opened their branches on Sundays. Why? Customer convenience—one of TD’s major strategies to having a happy and committed customer.

2. Apple

A company doesn’t have to provide a service to give great customer service. The sale of a product and customer service should go hand-in-hand. Apple has done a pretty good job of combining both within its locations. Think about how many people swear by Apple’s products? Do you think those people would be as committed to the company if every time they dealt with a sales representative they were treated horribly? I didn’t think so either. An article from Computerworld.com outlines that “[Apple’s] focus on product innovation and customer service has won it a cadre of famously loyal customers, unlike any other PC vendor”.

3. Starbucks

I’m suggesting Starbucks out of pure personal experience. Every single time I go to get my Grande Non-Fat White Chocolate Mocha the employees ask me about my day, compliment me on my outfit or find a way to strike up a friendly conversation regardless of how busy it is. This is not just at one location, this has been at several different Starbucks locations in the GTA (Trust me, I’ve been to quite a few!). This is proof that a customer service initiative is something so small but makes all the difference. Going to Starbucks to get my favourite latte is always an enjoyable experience because the employees make me feel welcome. Starbucks has captured the combination of a great tasting product and an enjoyable customer experience to grow their loyal base of consumers and maintain a positive public image.

Clearly, customer service is something that cannot be “brushed-off”. It is a major aspect involved in developing a company’s brand. A customer service package or plan is something that should be integrated at the very heart of a corporation so that it is instilled in their employees and exemplified in their product or service. I feel that customer service is something that is over-looked as a major aspect of a marketing plan. Of course it is vital to advertise the actual product or service itself, but a major competitive advantage to get your company ahead of the game is to pair that great product or service with an amazing customer experience.

About the Writer: Samantha Consiglio

Proudly entering my 2^nd year at Schulich and currently working for TD Canada Trust as Customer Service Representative. My inspiration for this post came from my training with TDCT!