Asher Wen

Strategist, Marketer, Nerd

THE SATURDAY BRIEF // 06.07.13

The Saturday Brief

Here’s some marketing news that you might have missed this week on The Saturday Brief. It looks like there are quite a few pieces centred around skincare this week in Singapore, with some tech news coming globally!

1. Does Tigerair’s New Logo Resemble Scoot’s?
Marketing Interactive
Tigerair unveiled its new branding earlier this week. Marketing Interactive thinks it looks a little too close to Scoot’s, with good reason. With both airlines being affiliates to Singapore Airlines, I wonder what is the strategic purpose of maintaining two different budget airlines? I would have wanted to write a post about the new brand, but I just didn’t manage to find the time. Perhaps next week!

2. Laneige Goes On Social Media Push
Marketing Interactive
Laneige has appointed Blugrapes as its new social media agency after a closed pitch. With the skincare market favouring Korean and Japanese brands these days, it would be interesting to see what Laneige pushes out in the coming months!

3. Japan’s Kanebo recalls cosmetics over skin stain fears
ChannelNewsAsia
Speaking of skincare, Japanese Kanebo has recalled 54 skin whitening products over fears that a compound in its products, 4HPB, would cause “white stains” on your skin. Some of the products recalled are also being sold in Singapore but has not been related to any complaints locally.

4. Shiseido Launches Ibuki
The Moodie Report
If this is old news for The Moodie Report, having reported this last month, it’s new news for Singapore. Shiseido launched its Ibuki skincare range this past week here on our island with a flipbook campaign. Ibuki, literally meaning “New Breath” is aimed at the elusive young audience of 25-34 year old millenials.

Coincidentally, a Japanese-associated product is just what we recommended for Shiseido in our Final Year Project, what with the Asian trend of skincare favouring products that are made and formulated for Asian skin. Glad to see that they took our advice! (teehee!)

5. Almost every major consumer electronics manufacturer is now working on a smart watch
Quartz
Everyone is talking about smart watches nowadays, with Sony having released its version of the future last week. Companies are rushing to jump onto the bandwagon that got started on a rumour that Apple is producing its version of an iWatch. Since we know that Apple is never one to pioneer a new device, but follows up with innovative ways of using existing technology, it would be interesting to see how all these unfolds when Apple announces its line-up of new products this Fall.

6. Apple Fashions a New Position for CEO of Yves St Laurent as it Eyes Wearable Future
Brand Channel
This is pretty interesting news: A fashion house CEO as VP in a Tech company. This probably gives us a hint as to what Apple has in store as its next big thing. I think it will definitely be wearables as everyone is guessing, but somehow I think it might not be an iWatch that everyone is expecting. I, for one, would be disappointed if it were a mere watch…

7. How Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom Is Making Good On Facebook’s Billion-Dollar Bet
Fast Company
This interview with CEO Kevin Systrom gives us an idea of what he thinks about how Instagram should monetize itself. I am glad that he is not trying to force banners or paywalls on our throats like say, YouTube or Facebook. The idea of having ads enhance the user experience is a great one. Have a read.

8. Motorola Unveils Patriotic Ad For MOTO X Smartphone Just In Time For Independence Day
Fast Company
As we all know, it’s Independence Day over in the United States. Motorola has rolled out its first ad campaign since being acquired by Google, and it appeals to the patriotism of Americans, urging them to “buy local” with the tag line, “Designed by You. Assembled in the USA”. This highlights the background of both Google and Motorola being U.S.-made companies. Would patriotism work in the smartphone market though, with Apple and Samsung being the two perennial giants?

9. Nike Celebrates 25 Years of Just Do It
Brand Channel
It is quite something for a slogan to last for 25 years. This is especially true for apparel, where fashions come and go like the win. That’s why it’s a particular coup for Nike to have clung on to its slogan for so long. It is, of course, world famous. And it doesn’t seem like it is going anywhere.

10. When You Talk To A Lamp Post And It Talks Back: Smart Cities Get Playful
FastCo Create
Finally, I leave you an interesting article from FastCo Create about smart cities. The Hello Lamp Post project allows anyone to talk to urban objects in Bristol through SMS. This is possibly a peek into how cities of the future could be like, when such technology is applied at a wider scale. Would you want to talk to your lamp post?

Until I get there.

Looking out into the horizon

I have been interning in Estee Lauder Companies now for 7 weeks now.  This time has given me a taste of what it will be like when I am out in the working world in one semester’s time.

This is not the first time I am on an internship.  It certainly isn’t the longest internship I have been on either.

I previously did a 7 month stint in SUTL Group managing their branding exercise.  But I guess each internship or job brings its own learning points and questions.

At the end of SUTL, I came out having learnt much about how to manage a projection – talking and handling agencies, sourcing for vendors, juggling expectations of the management vs. the perceived ‘greater good’ of the project.

I learnt how to see things from different perspectives, and literally spoke to EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. in the company to make sure that we were all aligned before the new brand was launched.

I was blessed enough to have a great boss who gave me good feedback about areas for improvement, and I felt I learnt a lot of on-the-job skills that I would be able to apply to any job that I would undertake in the future.

If SUTL was my practice ground, Estee Lauder would prove to be the mental preparation room before I head out to the Arena of Real Work.

The thoughts that run through my mind are vastly different from those I had when in SUTL.

Gaining exposure to an MNC like Estee Lauder has sparked off more thoughts about what kind of job I want to get into as a career.

I am suddenly keenly aware that I am able to do quite a number of different things, and that the market offers much more options that I previously thought about in my narrow varsity view.

It is not just the different possibilities of industry and function.  It is the different job scopes that exist even within the same industry and the same function.  And what of the things that I would never see in a Singaporean firm?

The product development that happens in the U.S., Japan and China.  The strategic thought that is birthed in the global headquarters.  The consumer research that would only happen in bigger markets.  What am I missing out on?  What do I really want to do for good?

These are questions that I never asked myself before, but have come up to the fore probavly because I am going to graduate in no time.  And probably also because most of the people I know have already begun their working lives.

After mulling over this for a long time, I realise that I have no answers.  I can only leave it up to God to show me what opportunities will open up in the coming 6 months, and which companies find me attractive enough to want to hire me.

Until then, I will do my best in everything I do, like I always do.

 

(Photo Credit: Dakiraun)

THE SATURDAY BRIEF // 29.06.13

The Saturday Brief

It’s been a slow-going week in terms of Marketing news. With the haze situation dying down and the hail a once-off incident, Singaporeans are finding comfort in the national hobby of queuing up for things.

1. Hello Kitty: A Formula For Marketing Success?
Marketing Interactive
Check out what Marketing Interactive has to say about the Hello Kitty craze that is sweeping our nation. There have been videos of vicious demands that McDonald’s managers cough up more Hello Kitties to fulfill customers’ insatiable hunger for these feline soft toys.

What magic does Hello Kitty hold? It does seem that whenever McD’s does anything to do with Hello Kitty, everyone explodes in excitement. Hello Kitty specialty shops though, don’t experience long queues. Why is that so?

2. Ramsay Too Much For Singtel Brand?
Narketing Interactive
Our hawker fare is dying, and Singtel is trying to revive it by challenging Gordon Ramsay to a fight. I can already guess the ending. We would win, because if Gordon Ramsay takes the trophy, it would really spell the end of an era of great hawker fare, with a national television show to prove it. Then again, it’s something that we all know, isn’t it?

The question here is, what has Gordon Ramsay got to do with Singtel? What is the story Singtel is trying to paint by coming up with this campaign? Does it help the Singtel brand at all?

I believe Singtel is trying to distance itself away from the perception that they are simply a telco, and try to brand itself as an entertainment company with its mioTV, much like what Starhub has been able to do more successfully.

What with their HungryGoWhere acquisition, it sounds pretty credible instead of forced like what Marketing Interactive says. Will it work? We may never know. These things take years to change in consumers’ minds.

3. Is This the Beginning of the End for Barnes & Noble?
Brand Channel
Moving our sights to beyond Singapore, B&N is struggling to keep its ebooks business alive by being a market follower to Amazon. Having just bought a Kindle, I can totally understand how the market forces are aligned against them. It’s not just ebook reader vs ebook reader anymore, it’s LCD tablets vs. a less functional ebook reader. Why then would I go for a second-best one, especially if I was considering something of much higher price?

4. Sony puts micro ads on Wimbledon player, ushers in an era of 4K marketing
Engadget
Sony puts tiny ads on Wimbledon players to promote their super-large TVs. It’s ingenious really. Normal screens wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but Sony’s enormous 4k screen would show it large and clear in electronics stores. This form of micro-advertising seems to be all the rage too, with Coke and Pepsi doing it as well (see point 6).

5. With new Android gaming console, Google goes to war on Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and Apple
Quartz
More in Tech: Android has it’s own gaming device that it is using to pit itself against Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft! It has a super low price tag too. Personally I think the gaming market is too particular to be disrupted, but if Google manages to convince a few big name game developers to defect, or even to create games on its platform, why not?

6. Coke and Pepsi Try Out Back-Handed Advertising
Brand Channel
I said it was a trend didn’t I? Both Coke and Pepsi seem to be finding ways to hide their logos in plain sight, or to create a deeper meaning to the brand to excite customers. Yay or nay? I thought Coke’s execution was better thought through, with an experience to remember the brand by. Static advertisements hardly do the trick nowadays.

7. Coming Soon: Downton Abbey Wine and Breaking Bad Beer
Ad Freak
I LOVE DOWNTON ABBEY! And I would totally buy some Downton-branded wines if they are good enough. I am guessing many would too. TV shows have been selling licensed products for a long time, but it seems like there is an increasing trend. See what AdFreak has to say.

8. As Food Network, Smithfield Foods Cut Ties, Paula Deen Sees Fans Rally
Brand Channel
Paula Deen has been all the rage over social media for admitting to saying “The N Word”. Food Network has since cancelled her show, with many previous sponsors deciding to drop her. Fans are rising up in support of Paula Deen with a Facebook page and all.

The episode shows how sensitive companies and consumers still are to racist slurs. With social media making it so much easier to voice our opinions and for what we say to spread like wildfire, there is a greater need for self-censorship than ever. Panopticon effect yo.

9. Samsung forms carbon fiber joint venture in bid to back away from plastic
BGR
Samsung is trying to move away from the plastic casings that have been criticized for making their phones feel like cheap toys. They are doing this by going into carbon fiber. With so many things going for Samsung these days, it is high-time that they do this and upgrade their products to occupy a higher position. But would that mean higher prices for consumers? If it does, would people still be attracted to Samsung, when other phones might offer the same OS at a cheaper price?

10. Beware the Cannibal In Your Product Line
HBR Blog Network
Last but not least, some academic reading for us to learn more about cannibalisation in product lines. It’s a very real issue that a lot of companies face. After all, there is a fixed number of consumers, yet increasing number of brands in the marketplace. When is it really the saturation point?

That’s all for the Top 10 Marketing news this past week. Happy weekend!

Oreo: The brand that chases the news

How is everyone this lovely Friday?  It’s been a busy week for this author, and hence quite quiet here at MAJOR: MARKETING.

I thought I would post some stuff that has fascinated me on social media, just for your entertainment. And I guess one brand sums up everything pretty well…

Oreo!

Oreo has been doing a marvelous job of staying hyper-relevant and on trend to all that happens over social media.

What I found really amazing was that they run a GLOBAL Facebook page rather than a local one! Doesn’t that make it doubly hard to stay relevant? And yet I think they are doing great, at least on the Singapore front.

If you are not from Singapore, here’s what they did:

Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty

A Hello Kitty fever is hitting Singapore. Long queues line up outside of local McDonald’s outlets where girls wait for their favourite cat, brothers queue for their sisters, and boyfriends wait in line for their girlfriends. The fever is so hot, in fact, that eBay is currently selling these feline soft toys at astronomical prices. Oreo has entered the fray quickly with “Hello, Cookie”.

Hail
Hail Oreo

Just after the haze hit, there were reports of a hailstorm in Singapore. Normally unheard of in our sunny little tropical island. The rare weather event naturally fascinated most Singaporeans.

Being the self-deprecating lot we are, a viral video has been spun out of an interview with a local who commented that the hail stones looked like grapes…

Of course, Oreo did not miss out on the opportunity either, and came up with “Hail, Oreo!” mere hours after the news and videos of the hail came online.

(On a side note, I totally love this video. It’s so awesome that it’s playing on loop on my computer right now! Hilarious.)

Haze
Haze

By now, the whole world knows that we had the haze that hit PSI 401 last Friday. I also featured it in a previous post about companies who jumped on the haze bandwagon to promote their brand and products.

Superdad
Superman + Father’s Day

Then there was Man of Steel that happened close to Father’s Day. Oreo killed two birds with one stone by celebrating “Super Dads”.

This has to be one of the most on-trend brands ever, further perfecting the real-time marketing they pioneered at Superbowl. Staying on top of the news has kept Oreo at the top of mind of consumers. The humour that comes with these posts also help to create a fun personality for the cookies. Brilliant, really. Looking forward to see more from Oreo!

THE SATURDAY BRIEF // 22.06.13

The Saturday Brief
It’s that time of the week again, for THE SATURDAY BRIEF! Time passes really fast doesn’t it?

While we are enduring the haze here in Singapore, let’s take a quick look at what we missed in Marketing news around the world this week.

 

1. Haze Prompts Creativity From Companies in Singapore
MAJOR:MARKETING!

This week was all about the haze, haze, and more haze. From Singapore at least. Find out what companies are doing to capitalize on the bad weather in order to build their brands or to sell their wares (the latter is probably a bad idea, frankly).

 

2. Apple Finds Its Footing Again With Evocative Film About Third-Party iOS Apps
Ad Freak

Apple shows consumers what its iPad can do with a long-form video. It’s not about selling more, it’s about meaning more.

 

3. On Heels Of Countless Famous Collaborations, Converse Launches “The Simpsons” Sneakers
Time

We are seeking more and more collaborations across brands, both from onscreen and off.  The Simpsons are coming alive in your Converse sneakers this time.  Isn’t it ironic how this is kind of a reverse product placement?

 

4. Researchers Explain How Brands Make You Fall In Love
FastCo Create

Now we can finally find out why we can’t get enough of Coke!

 

5. Microsoft To Reverse Xbox One Policies After Fan Revolt
Forbes

About time! Microsoft is going to allow you to play games from your friends, and without an Internet connection too.  I guess there are only very few brands who can pretend the competition doesn’t exist, and get away with it.

 

6. P&G Hosts Massive Everyday Effect Giveaway Event in New York City
Brand Channel

I would be uncomfortable with this normally because I always thought the idea of a House of Brands approach was to make lessen the power of the corporate brand.  In this case, however, P&G did a great job in showing New Yorkers how its products improve their every day lives.  They need that awareness too, seeing how they didn’t do too well last year.  Now, COME TO SINGAPORE!

 

7. Apple Wants to Drive Future of Infotainment, but Will Car Brands Move Over?
Brand Channel

Never one for standing still, Apple now wants to own the car infotainment market. Would auto companies let it? From what we read from Ford, it seems that most consumers still prefer traditional knobs and dials over touchscreens in their cars. We’ll see how this goes, Apple.

 

8. At Cannes, Brands Find Themselves Redefining the Boundaries of Advertising
Brand Channel

It was the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity last week! If you missed out, check out this summary from Brand Channel. Also, you can go to the Cannes’ Lion website to find out more about the amazing campaigns! Advertising never looked less itself.

 

9. Introducing Video on Instagram
Instagram

Now all the selfies and food shots would be able to move… erm. Yay? But honestly, this is a better offering than Vine, I feel. By virtue of the fact that it is built to be shared on an existing platform. Not much of a stretch to use it.

 

10. Transgender Marketing: 12 Campaigns That Defy Sexual Stereotyping
TIME

Interesting look at how marketing has evolved. We are no longer “targeting” traditional segments. With big data and social media, more of these will follow,where we break down stereotypes.