Tuesday, May 29, 2012

WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE TO HAVE CHINESE FOOD?



Nowadays, Chinese food is becoming more popular in the world, especially among the people who regard eating as enjoyment. They like to have Chinese food, and show their enthusiasm in it.There are several reasons for Chinese food’s popularity.  First, a growing number of people are tending to realize that food can be cooked in many ways, and Chinese food is famous for its cooking ways. For

China moves to tame microbloggers amid censorship claims




(Reuters) - China's Sina Corp has introduced a code of conduct for users of the local version of Twitter amid accusations of censorship to rein in what has grown into a raucous online forum to air political and social grievances.

The code of conduct, first announced earlier this month, stipulates that users of Sina's Weibo microblogging site cannot post information that is against the

Monday, May 21, 2012

GM Going 'Hipster'


First Facebook, now the Super Bowl? In case you haven’t heard yet, GM has made some serious changes to its marketing efforts over the past few days. First, the well-known automotive company cut its ties to Facebookadvertising just days before the social media sites IPO. Then a few days later GM declared that it would no longer sponsor the 2013 Super Bowl. So what’s going on here? Has the marketing department decided to go ‘hipster’ and cut out any sort of advertising that’s mainstream? Why would GM cut its two marketing campaigns that reach the most viewers? One word: Price.

Let’s first start with Facebook. The social media site warnedcompanies a few months ago that just having a Facebook page would not be enough to become relevant in the social media world. GM, like many companies, decided at this point or beforehand that they agreed with the statement from Facebook and purchased advertising on the site. However, now GM is pulling all of its paid advertisements from the site but will continue to operate is free page. Why the sudden change of heart? According to its internal research, the automotive company discovered that the Facebook advertisements were not quite as effective per dollar as they had thought. There are many companies and competitors, however, that still believe that Facebook advertisements are worth, including Ford (which recently decided to increase its Facebook ads).

A more interesting and shocking cut that GM made is its sponsorship of the 2013 Super Bowl. While Facebook reaches many viewers, how many of them ACTUALLY read look at the ads (don’t lie…you know you ignore them). The Super Bowl, however, is the Nation’s Biggest Stage not for the game that is being played, but for something almost as entertaining: THE COMMERICALS! Why on Earth anyone could decide that advertising in the Super Bowl was just not worth the cash anymore is beyond me. Yes, the prices have risen over the past few years and are projected to increase yet again this year (2012: 3.5 million per 30-second spot; 2013 – projected: 4 million per 30-second spot). But it’s THE SUPER BOWL, almost every American watches it! How is 4 million dollars not worth reaching roughly 300 million potential customers at once? We are talking about the nation’s third largest advertiser that spent about 2.8 BILLION dollars last year on domestic advertising. Does a half million dollar-per-commercial really effect the budget THAT much? I doubt it.

While I can easily justify in my mind the cutting of Facebook advertisements, I am having great difficulty in wrapping my head around GM’s reasons for cutting its sponsorship to the Super Bowl. What are your thoughts? Have the marketers at GM lost it? Is Facebook (or Super Bowl) advertisements that effective/ineffective? Comment below!

Monday, May 7, 2012

The Avengers Strikes Gold...and so does Acura: Does Product Placement Work?

In case you have been living under a rock, hit movie The Avengers struck gold last weekend. It broke tons of box office records as fans ran to see the witty genius of Iron Man team up with demi-god Thor and the monstrous yet lovable Hulk, among other super heroes. Like many other box offices hits before it, the film featured tons of action, computer generated images, fight scenes, and classic character foil. What else did it include? Lots and lots of product placement. Brands from Oracle to Farmer's Insurance made appearances, according to Brand Channel's count. The most successful placement: Acura (do I have to include a spoiler's warning for saying that?) Anyway, an Acura SUV was featured right in the middle of a dramatic and energized action scene. The question is: does product placement work?

Marketers and fans have become familiar with product placement; so much in fact, that they have began to poke fun at it. However, according to Martin Lindstrom, author of several critically acclaimed marketing books including Buyology, product placement only works if it is prevalent and critical to the plot of the movie. What candy was used in the movie E.T.? What car does James Bond drive? What kind of car is Bumble Bee in Transformers? Chances are, you can name at least of few of these brands because you remember them playing a significant role in the movie. The results? Lindstrom proved that sales do significantly increase. [academic plug: the book overall is a very catchy and interesting read for all marketing majors] Other less important product placement has been proven less effective.

So, keep this in mind all of you aspiring Hollywood directors and future marketers. Can you think of other famous product placement that you remember?

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Job Searching Lessons From The Unemployed Senior


As a marketing student looking for a job once I graduate, I understand how frustrating it can be to land a good job in marketing. Although I haven't actually gotten a job yet, I thought I'd share some of the lessons I learned during this process. 


1. Network, Network, Network!


"It's not about what you know or who you know. It's about who knows you" - some dude I met

Networking is the most underutilized form of  job searching. Employers are simply looking to hire good people, and the more employers you meet and get to know, the better chance you will have at landing a good job. 

  • The Smith School offers information sessions for many companies. Attend any of them that have the slightest interest to you. Meet the speakers, get their business cards, follow-up and connect with them on LinkedIn. 
  • The NYC SUSA trip, (happens every fall), is the best chance to meet    employers from the New York City area. The marketing group visits top advertising agencies  every year and for those of us looking to work in NYC there is no better opportunity to network with NYC employers.
  • terpAMA and other student organizations have professional events for students to connect with employers on a weekly basis. Attend these events and meet these professionals even if they are not hiring! 
Always remember, even if you don't want to work for a certain employer networking with them is still beneficial because you never know who they know. It's a small world. 

2. Use Resources

As students we have a variety of resources at our finger tips. Believe it or not I actually got an interview after using talentzoo, a job search website specifically for marketers. Other similar websites include TalentWorks and the AMA Job Board

  • Professors: They actually want to help you. The better job you get, the better they look. So, ask your Professors to help connect you with potential employers...they know people too. 
  • A friend of mine actually uses other schools job search platforms to look for jobs. So, ask your friends from other schools to let you use their login information to look for jobs offered at their schools. This can be very beneficial especially if your looking to work somewhere other than the Washington, D.C. area.
  •  In order to combat the thousands of people that apply online I used LinkedIn to obtain the email of HR managers at companies I wanted to work for. It does take some time because you have to figure out what the company's email structure is to figure our their email, but it is well worth it. 


3. Get Involved

Getting involved in student organizations also has boundless benefits. An interview I had last week was set up by one of my fraternity brothers. He knew someone that worked in Advertising in NYC and got me an interview. 

There are many organizations within the business school and beyond to get involved in, and they do help you during your job search. This is especially important for some of the underclassmen that may not have that internship experience.


Lastly, this process can be frustrating and it is easy to lose motivation fast. At times you will feel like you hit a wall and have no hope.Those walls are for the people who don't really want it as bad as you and the more walls you climb, the more likely  you are to succeed. 

For those of us lacking motivation...