Advertising Week 4

19.09.16 (Week 4)

Jessica Ngu Wei King, (0323639)
Advertising Principles & Practice (BGCD)Advertising Practice In Support Of Marketing 

Lecture

Outcome from the lectures: 

I understood that:-

• The definition of free market economy
• In free market economy, the prices change depend of supply and demand
• The functions and effect of advertising in free economy 
• What product differentiation, market segmentation, and positioning is 
• The product life-cycle (Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline), everything has a shelf-life 
• Explanations for each cycle

Instructions

In class exercise

On Tuesday class, we were given an in class exercise. As usual, we were divided into  groups., Zizi, Yana, Merry and I were in the same group. We were required to watch a video on times. The video was about a Volkswagen's Polo ramming a Malaysian Police car from the back and then speeding off. The incident was recorded by a dashboard camera and was uploaded onto YouTube which then went viral on social media. Our task for this activity was to leverage on this advertisement on behalf of Volkswagen's Polo brand of cars, and increase the brand awareness of the car. We can approach this by using humor, wit or any other means necessary and make play of the incident to ride on its popularity. 

We come out with this Headline, 'Heil Polo"

10 sketches (week 4) 

Research

Primary research

For this week's research on the competitors, I've went to the shops out there few weeks before, and I found out that the few competitors for Playsafe condoms are:
1. Durex
2. Okamoto
3. One
4. Care
5. Playboy

Fig.1 Competitor brands that found in one of the stores 

Secondary research
I went to Sunway Pyramid to see whether there's any condom ads around, but unfortunately I can't find any. So I went online to find the ads for other competitors. 

1. Durex 
I've seen a lot of Durex ads online before, they are good at advertising their products in a creative way and very different from others. They really focus on advertising their products, which I think this is why it gained trust and create awareness for the consumers (Most of the people know this brand).
Few ads from Durex which I got it from google: 

Fig 2  

Fig 3

2. Okamoto 

Even though Okamoto doesn't really focus on advertising their products, they still produce quite interesting ads for the 0.03 series condoms. 

Fig 4, 5, 6 Okamoto 0.03 series ads 

3. One 

I couldn't find much ads for this brand, but they still do have ads for it. 

Fig 7  

Fig 8 Only found on the packaging of the condom

4. Care

Fig 9, 10, 11 Care ads uses girls/ women to advertise their brand

5. Playboy

Fig 12 

Fig 13

Even though there's no condom ads can be found outside, they still do have their own fan page on Facebook and advertise through it. 

Fig 14, 15, 16, 17 Durex advertise their product through their Facebook page

Fig 18, 19, 20 Care Facebook page 

Fig 21 Playboy Facebook page, they had roadshow to promote their product last December 

Fig 22, 23 One has their own page too, they also uses popular people on Internet to advertise their product 

I also did a lot more research on Gen-Y based on their buying behaviors/ patterns: 

Since Gen-Y are always connected to the Internet, they tend to make purchase online more often too. However, most of the millennials would review blogs or comments first (especially comments given by theirs peers whom they trust) before making their purchase, compare to the older generations, where they rely more on traditional media  (Dan, 2015). 

• 65% out of 100% of people in Malaysia shop online
• In Malaysia, Gen-Y tends to shop more online, which takes 40% 
• Surprisingly, guys in Malaysia shop online more than girls
• Free shipping, convenience and deals are the turn-ons 
• On the other hand, most of the people who wouldn't buy online is because of the expensive shipping fees
• Most people bought clothing & accessories online
• The final buying decision is based on the detail about the product, following by reviews and deals. 

However, I've noticed my friends buying behaviors:
When purchasing online: 
- The prefered platforms for online shopping are Instagram following by Facebook, websites and carousel. 
- Ask for more detailed photos of actual product before buying
- Check review and quality of the stores
- Most of them prefer paying by cash/ bank transfer rather than cards (reason being: they are afraid to use credit cards online)
- Reasonable price and good quality
- Don't buy electronics online (except for official websites)

When buying in physical stores:  
- If not sure which brand to buy, they will stick to the ones that are more familiar/ recommended by friends/ seen in their house before
- Prices are always the first consideration
- Next its the quality 
- Always want to find cheap yet good quality products

Besides, I've interview few of my friends about their attitude towards advertisements, and I've found out that:-

• They will not be influenced by ads (especially on tv, radio, games, and YouTube) at all.
• They find that ads are annoying and its wasting their time
• Some pay money to get rid of ads on games/ spotify
• They tend to remember Facebook ads that shared by friends rather than ads from tv/ banner & etc. 

Feedback

Specific 

Good work on the in the in-class challenge! Research on competitors was evident, there were a lot of samples however you need to articulate your thoughts about the samples. What did you learn, what was your view? etc. Some interesting idea developments. Need further explorations.

Reflection 

Experience

This week is quite stressful for me, as there are a lot of work to do for every week and for different subjects. I can still manage to jot down notes from the lecture, but sometimes I am still unable to focus. The discussions for sketches is getting interesting as everyone of us starting to have some ideas that have 'legs'. In class activity was fun. 

Observations

I realized that work with groups are better than working alone. I find out that It's getting difficult for me to manage my time. It is also getting stressful for me every week. I find out that it is really time consuming to think if an idea every week, as it is quite difficult for me. Whenever I am out of ideas, I will improvise my last week's sketches in order to come out with a new one. 

Findings

Group work are always fun than doing it all alone because there are variations of ideas and it can be generated very quickly. I personally like group projects than doing it all alone. Maybe I will reduce my time for procrastinate in order to get thins done faster. Improvising ideas is good as well, but I'm trying to come out with more new ideas that make me doesn't get bored drawing the similar ideas sketches every week. I also try to be more sensitive about my surroundings every time in order to find new inspirations for the sketches. 

Book of the week 

This week's book is 100 ideas that changed advertising, Simon Veksner

The book started with a brief introduction of advertisement and how it changes over the years. Then, it introduces then 100 ideas that changed advertising. I will summarize some of it that have a stronger impact to me in bullet point:

• One of the ideas is publicity stunts. The stunt itself may only be seen by a few, but if it is bizarre or controversial enough, the resulting PR could be seen by millions, and its all free advertising.
• Sex in advertising. Sexual imagery has gone from non-existent to virtually omnipresent today. Sexy ads achieve significantly above-average recall scores. 

• Product demonstration ads. No selling method is more successful than someone showing you exactly how a product works.
• Comparative ads. This method of ads has an undeniable power and is frequently used by the 'underdog' competitor, such as Pepsi vs Coke (I personally think its interesting to see ads like this, but unfortunately I've never seen this kind of ads here in Malaysia).
• Ambient. It appears everywhere, at its best, the use of this ads can create power; and provocative ads. The best thing about this ambient is that it can surprise anyone at an unexpected place. 

References 

Dan, S. (2015). Forbes Welcome. Forbes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2015/01/20/10-new-findings-about-the-millennial-consumer/#1a9e758c28a8

Advertising Week 3

13.09.16 (Week 3)

Jessica Ngu Wei King, (0323639)
Advertising Principles & Practice (BGCD)
Creative and effective advertising message for a specific target audience 

Lecture

This week Mr. Vinod started the lecture by asking the class "Do you think you are creative?" and "What does creative mean to you?" All of us has the similar answers for it. After that he started with different definition of creativity. Mr. Vinod explained to us how creativity works in this field and the importance of 'blind trust' in advertising. He also showed us some advertisements from old spice which allows us to understand more on how an advertisement make people to remember them in an unique way. We had an in class activity which we were paired into groups of two and search the meaning on different market segmentations. For my group, we did a brief research on geographic segmentation. After the lecture, we had discussions for our weekly sketches. 

Outcome from the lectures:
I understood that:-

• The definition of creativity
• How creativity works in this field
• Some amount of imagination is needed to be creative
• We need to be able to generate new/ different possibilities 
• The more you create, the higher chances to be creative
• When you aim for creative ads, you need the 3 things,  make a relevant connection between brand and its target audience, present a selling idea, and be unexpected. 
• Achieve 'blind trust' from target audience, and that kind of trust will be difficult to change.
• You can't be just doing what people like all the time, because they don't know what they will like. 

Instructions: 

In class exercise

Market segmentation

We were divided into groups of two. Each group were to define and explain one of the market segmentation. As for my group, we were asked to search about geographic segmentation. We have 5 minutes to search about it and discuss together later on. 

The four market segmentations

1. Behavioral Segmentation

    Division of market based on patterns, audience,

    responses, buying habits

2. Geographic Segmentation

    Division of market based on location

3. Demographic Segmentation

    Division of market based on age group, ethnicity, race, 

    religion, gender, income, education, etc

4. Psychographic Segmentation

    Division of market based on consumer's: interest

    personality, attitude, values, etc

10 sketches (Week 3)

Research

Primary research

Secondary research

For the target audience insights research this week, I've started the research by searching the definition of Generation Y. From what I searched on the Internet, Gen-Y, also known as the Millennials, is the generation born in the 80's and 90's. 

Through some research and the youtube link that Mr. Vinod provided on TIMeS, I have summarized the characteristics of Generation-Y in a mind-map. 

Meanwhile, I found some interesting infographic from pinterest about Gen-Y

Feedback

General
Whenever you look at research/ insights, you need to use your observations, take that information and synthesize it.

Specific

Please correct the info at the top to week 3 from week 2. Documentation of in-class exercise was visible, good. Documentation of the information in words and synthesizing the information will help in your understanding but also facilitate your progress for Project 1. Uploading diagrams does not showcase understanding. What did you understand from your research? Good book, hopefully it will give you ideas on developing techniques for the said. 

Reflection

Experience

This week's lecture is slightly longer than usual, especially during the discussion time. However, I enjoy looking at others idea sketches,because it can be surprising to see what my classmates think, but I never thought of it. It is interesting to see that there are so many possibilities for the condom ads. 

Observations

I observed that during this week's lecture, I was unable to focus that well compare to the previous weeks. I realized that I can take down notes very quickly. I also find out that I am really running out of ideas for the 10 sketches every week, even though Mr. Vinod said that the ideas are everywhere, yet I still can't find any inspirations from my surroundings. 

Findings

I was unable to focus probably it's because I slept late the previous night, and because we always have morning classes before Mr. Vinod's class. Since I am running out of ideas for this week's sketches, I've improvise my previous sketches based on the feedbacks during the discussions. I hope I can produce new interesting ideas for next week's sketches, until week 8. 

Book of the week 

This weeks book is Basic Advertising Ideation, Nik Mahon

I find this book interesting because it use examples with clear diagrams and inspiring imagery to explain its content, which I find it quite easy to understand. The book provide an essential introduction to the process of generating creative advertising ideas and concepts. I've found some interesting ideas from the book.

The mind map charts out various thoughts in order to
come out with an creative ads for low-fat donuts

The Morphological analysis

It allows you to explore different, interesting and unusual combinations.
The images can be combined to prompt ideas.
(I personally think that It is something
like a mind map, but in a more systematic way) 

However, I will summarize the book in bullet points:

• A great idea can come to us at anytime and anywhere-often when we least expect it.
• Our most creative moments can sometimes occur when we decide to break the rules or turn them on their head.
• Asking lots of questions is just one way to open up your thinking and have fresh creative advertising ideas each time. 
• Every so often, try breaking your normal routine- everything from your daily schedule to the way that you tackle creative problems. 
• Don't be afraid of exploring alternative routes of particular reason other than the fact that they look interesting! If you already know its going to work, then you're not going to produce anything new. 
• Try out different things, take a risk and experiment. 
• Remember: quantity equals quality and for every 100 ideas you have, you may create one or two 'gems'.
• Take a look at what other products in that category are doing, it may help to tackle some creative ideas. 
• Look at what makes people laugh, cry, get angry or curious.
• The key to communicate with the audience is to demonstrate empty within them.

Link to Project 1

Link to Project 2

Advertising Week 2

05.09.16 (Week 2)

Jessica Ngu Wei King, (0323639)
Advertising Principles & Practice (BGCD)
Project 1 

Lecture: Advertising and Marketing

During Monday's lecture, Mr Vinod  introduced the basic definition of 'marketing'. He explained different definition of marketing from different resources. We also learnt the four elements of marketing (4P's). After the lecture, we had some discussions on our 10 sketches. We were asked to give comment to each other so that we can improve our sketches. After that we were given two forum questions to answer. On Tuesday, we discussed our forum questions on the topic 'how does marketing function in a Communist System', then we have some class activities which we were asked too find an advertisement, and analyze it. Before the class ends, we also had an activity on doing designing a flyer for a Japanese Language class. It was a fun activity. 

Outcome from the lectures: 

I understood that:-

• The definition of marketing
• The 4P's of marketing
• The differences between marketing and advertising
• Marketing is about developing a demand for a product and fulfilling the customer's needs
• Advertising is about convincing the customer to choose your product among others 
• Advertising is a job to find out what people are looking for
• If you sell your product the same way with others, it is not gonna work 
• An effective ads is to make people smile in their mind or laughs like hell (That will help to retain for a longer time) 
• Marketing is not just concerned about selling, it's also about strategize 
• Mr. Vinods definition of marketing: Its about desire (wants), there's nothing to do with 'needs'

Instructions

The Brief
Insight. (PlaySafe Condoms)

Duration of Assignment
4 Weeks (Briefing on Week 2)

Description
The student has the task of researching and analysing the brand/product: Playsafe Condoms for the purpose of developing “insight” that would eventually be used to develop creative and effective advertising message.
The brand: Playsafe Condoms
The product: Air Ultra Thin (See figure 1.)
SMP/USP: Extremely thin condom for extra sensitivity Target Audience: Gen Y.

Figure 1. Playsafe: Air Ultra Thin, 10, 2 & 1 pieces of condom packaging.

Students will need to gain “insight” into; the brand & product using SWOT analysis; the target audience using market segmentation; and the competition by identifying their USP/SMPs and through the analysis of their respective advertising.

There are two types of research approaches that you will use inadvertently: 1) Primary research and 2) Secondary research. Primary research entails you physically handling the product or visiting the manufacturing plant or talking to a sales person or visiting the retail outlets (Point of Purchase/POP), etc. Secondary research entails data gathering from, websites, magazines, journals, health magazines, etc. You will approach this by looking into the 3 areas mentioned below:

1. Brand & Product insight
To do the above you will need view the links below:

• What is SWOT analysis?
  http://articles.bplans.com/how-to-perform-swot-analysis/
  
• What does the end result of a SWOT analysis look like? http://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/fmcg/2372-durex.html
  
• P.O.P.: Buy the product, visit the retail outlets where the product is sold (7/11, Pharmacies, etc.), Speak to the sales persons, Contact/visit Takaso office in J.B., speak to the marketing representative (narrow the scope to advertising and marketing material for Malaysia only).

2. Target Audience insight

• Segmentation for Gen Y: Behaviouristic, Geographic, Demographic & Psychographic
  
• Who are they? What do they look like? What motivates them? What are their beliefs?
  
• Empathy: What they say? What they do? What they feel? What they think?
  Its good to know what people always do (Behaviour), that’s knowledge. But its even more important to know why they do the things they do (Motivation), that’s insight. If you know their motivation you can predict their actions, that’s foresight. If you can predict their actions you can take advantage of the outcome, that’s power.
  Always try to seek and understand the, bigger picture and the deeper motives.
  Resource:
  http://www.netmba.com/marketing/market/segmentation/ http://study.com/academy/lesson/generation-y-definition-characteristics-personality-traits.html http://www.generationy.com/about-generation-y-in-the-workforce/characteristics/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEDXSZBeYQ8 

3. Competitors (Malaysia Only) 

• Who are the competitors? (SWOT analysis)
  
• How and where do they advertise?
  
• What is advertising strategy? (USP/SMP)
  
• What do their Ads look like?
  
• What is the difference in the product?
  
• Where is it sold? 

Requirements
The student must document the above research and analysis in their eportfolio and A3 hardcopy portfolio. The results of the research must be collated, analysed and presented in a PowerPoint presentation. This will be uploaded to your eportfolio and printed as thumbnail slides 4 per-page for your A3 clear sheet hardcopy portfolio.
Submission 

1. All gathered information (printouts, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented chronologically in the A3 Clear Sheet folder. The works must be labelled and dated.
2. All gathered information (screen grabs, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented
3. chronologically in the eportfolio for every week, for the duration of the project.
4. Powerpoint presentation of final analysis: Brand/Product, Target Audience and
5. Competitor. Printed as a handout, 4 slides per page.

Objectives
1. To develop students ability to gain and utilise insight for effective advertising 

Deadline
Week 6 (3 oct 2016)

In Class Activities: Decoding an Ad and an Ad Campaign 

In this activity, we were split into groups of two. We were required to find an ads and decode it (identifying the proposition, creative idea, the strategy and elements used). For my group, we decoded Ricola's advertisement.  

Ricola sore throat candy Ad 

What is the product/service being sold/ advertised? 

Ricola throat candy

What is the proposition?

___

What is the creative idea in the advertisement? 

The ad uses twisted headline to create a sense of humor. The line 'You (cough) look good' instead of 'You look good' simply means that you need to have the throat candy in order to make sure that good news really sounds like good news.  

What is the strategy underpinning the Ad? 

It created a sense of humor in the ad so that every time when the consumer look at this candy in the supermarket, the ad will automatically comes into their mind and might consider to purchase it. 

What are the different individual elements in the idea? 

The ad consists of:-

- The product

- The logo of product

- Headline

- Tagline 

After that, we had this activity which is to design a flyer for a Japanese language class. The whole class has discussion and come out with this mind map together. 

10 Sketches (Week 2)

Research

Primary research 

Everyone in our class decided to chip in money to buy a pack of play safe air ultra thin condom online as there we couldn't found it in the store here. One of our classmates ordered it online from condom003.com, and each of us paid Rm3.2 for it. We also got a free condom of the other brand which allows us to compare between 'play safe' and the '520' brand condom. There were 10 condoms in a pack, so we split it among ourselves and used the spare ones to explore it together. 

http://www.condom003.com

Front view of play safe air ultra thin packaging

Side View

Back View 

Opening the packaging

Instructions on how to use the condom 

Some important notes for the users 

This is how the condom looks like before unrolling it 

Playsafe condom vs 520 brand (free gift)

Comparing the two condoms 

Comparing playsafe with other brands: 

- The thinness of both condoms are almost the same
- Playsafe is shorter compare to the other brand
- Playsafe is not as oily as the 520 brand

I also went to few stores to check out their competitors. Here are some photos I took while doing research in the stores out there. 

Watsons 

The first store I went into was Watsons in Sunway Pyramid

There are a few brands sold here

They also sell playsafe products, but there is no Air Ultra Thin product

Guardian 

Different selections of condoms sold in Guardian

Wellness Pharmacy

Condom brands sold in wellness pharmacy 

Caring Pharmacy 

Condom selection in Caring Pharmacy

Bens Independent Grocer, Publika

From what I have researched in those stores, I found out that there isn't many stores that sell play safe condoms (one out of four stores). On the other hand, almost every store out there has Durex, Okamoto and One brand sold in their store. However, there are still some variations of brand which includes playboy and care. I asked some of my friends about their choice of condoms, and most of them prefer using Durex (mainly, because it is famous for its brand). I also asked their considerations while choosing condoms (eg,thinness, sensitivity, safety and etc). Most of my friends used condoms just for safety. 

Secondary research

After reading the SWOT Analysis for Durex, I attempt to create one for playsafe company (Takaso) too.

Playsafe Condom SWOT Analysis
Company: Takaso Resources Berhad 
Category: Personal Care Brands (Health)
Sector: Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
Target group: Gen-Y

Strengths: 

• Won a few awards: Malaysia good design by Malaysia design council, Excellent brand award by Lembaga Geta Malaysia (LGM), 2007, Watsons health & beauty awards in China
• A lot of variations and types to choose from
• Cheaper than a lot of other brands (economical)



Awards won

Weaknesses:

• Not easy to purchase from physical stores
• Doesn't really do advertising and marketing on their product 

Opportunities:

• Play safe actually has a lot of opportunity on building their brand image (focus more on advertising)
• Cheaper condoms allow them to have more customer

Threats: 

• Limited consumers choosing their products oner other brands
• Other brands have better brand image than their company, hence more consumers choosing others product
• Government restrictions on advertising

Competitors: 

• Durex
• Okamoto
• One
• Care
• Playboy 

Feedbacks
General
Specific
Please ensure the link to the brief for exercises is also placed with project 1. I'm glad that you documents the in-class exercises and the mind-map demo. Your work on primary and secondary research is good, I think you were a little too brief in your explanations after the research, would a little more explanations allow for more insights? Interesting idea sketch; turn you on, I wonder if it is an Idea with legs. We will discuss more about the sketches in the discussion session. Good suggestion of a solution in your findings for your reflection. 
Reflection 

Experience
This week's lecture is quite fun for me as we get to work in groups during activities (I personally like group activities more). Also, it is quite interesting that we share our sketches in class together. I think that it is a good way to improve myself as my classmates were giving me opinions and comments. On the other hand, my friend and I went to the stores out there to take pictures of the condom. It was kinda awkward when the workers there were looking at us strangely, even though it was a fun experience. I got a lot of informations there. 

Observations
I noticed that doing research and e-portfolio has become easier for me compare to last week. However, I still find it interesting that how my classmates come up with some interesting and fun ideas, it somehow motivates me. I also noticed that my sketches and ideas were quite boring and inappropriate compare to my classmates. I realized that Im still not able to come up with ideas easily, it seems like it has become more difficult for me this week. I was quite afraid of it. 

Findings
Although I am afraid of it, but I will still try to have fun while coming out with ideas for sketches. Whenever I'm stuck, I will go out and have some fun or have a break and then continue my work. I find it quite helpful too. 

Book of the week

This week's book is 151 Quick Ideas for Advertising on a Shoestring, Jean Joachim 

I think this book is quite easy to read and understand because it uses simple words and telling the points in short paragraphs. I have not finish the book yet, but I'll summarize what I have learnt from the book in point forms:

• Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). USP defines who a company is and what its products and services are.
• Sometimes a USP can be just in two words, such as 'Unlimited credit'. 
• Your USP is who you are, don't hide it. 
• Big ideas means big businesses. A big idea is a concept that gets across your USP in a memorable way (with few words or great visuals).
• The bigger your ideas, the greater your advance against the competition. 
• Use strong selling words for success, such as, free, new, limited time and you. 
• Any offer that stated 'Limited time' will make more sales because the consumers will want to buy it before its too late. But mean it when you use it. 
• It has been proven the using the word 'you' in ads will produce more sales. 
• When you own the business, always strive to sell the best products and services, make the best offers, and have the best customer service. Be proud of what you do. 
• Small space ad units make a difference. Small-space print ads come in a variety of sizes. If the creativity is well executes, a small ad can command more attention than a large one. 

References 

History & Overview | O&C Resources Berhad (440503-K). (2016). Takaso.com.my. Retrieved 9 September 2016, from http://takaso.com.my/v2/?page_id=97

Link to Project 1