Time to go Online?

Today, in-between my lectures, I decided to have a quick look at my inbox and there it was, a 75% off on select products from H&M. Thanks to that, I spent the next 30 minutes doing online window-shopping rather than listening to my lecturer. Online window-shopping can be a lucrative stress reliever for an over-worked, marginalized poor student like me, and also a motivation to work even harder to afford the clothes. With various sales and offers around, January could seemingly be an extremely hard month on the bank account.

In the past I have bought some products online, but only because of the big discounts that were offered. It's a wonder how the email marketing of my regular brand has made me spend money without even leaving my seat. It is noticeable that for most brands, the online retail works independently to their high street ones. For this, the brand can provided lucrative deals online to consumers as they can cut down on costs like rents, labour, distribution, among others. As for the customers, they are spared of the commute to the store along with queuing up for trial and payment.

I must say I am surprised by the increasing trends of online shopping in Asia. According to a McKinsey, China's revenue from online retail was $210 billion in 2012, making it the second largest e-tail market in the world. According to PwC, 50% of apparel shopping in India is done online. While more and more people are turning to the internet to fulfill their shopping needs and it seems like a trend that'll stay, I am still quite traditional when it comes to buying clothes and accessories because I prefer to touch, try and feel.

Raise your glass!

It’s that time of of the year when everyone just wants to party, thanks to Christmas and New Year's Eve! It’s the holiday season with festivity, good food, lots of shopping, big gifts, bigger parties and even more alcohol. It has come to my realization that in this month itself, I have been to more parties than the whole year combined! And now, the Transport for London (TfL) has provided the proverbial "icing on the cake" by allowing free transport on the morning of January 1st, to end the party season. During my past New Year Celebrations in London, I wondered, how much money would TfL stand to lose by allowing free transport for the period when most of London is out and about.

Today while rushing to get some last-minute shopping done, a poster caught my eyes. It was not just about the free transport provided on New Year's Eve, but that the sponsorship for the whole scheme by the British alcohol company 'Diageo'. Diageo is the largest producer of spirits in the UK with annual revenues of over £14.5 billion. I really liked the fact that TfL along with Diageo was asking people to drink responsibly. As advertising of alcohol and tobacco is highly regulated, they rely heavily on sponsorship advertising to promote their brand.

Campaigns to "drink responsibly" in most parts of the world are actually carried out or funded by the alcohol companies. The "Drink Aware" campaign in the UK and 'The Century Council' in the US are funded by the alcohol companies to promote responsible drinking. But when it comes to promotion for the brand, most of the alcohol and tobacco companies rely on sponsorships. Some popular alcohol brands sponsoring are 'Heineken' for the Heineken Cup for Rugby and 'Anheuser-Busch' and 'Budweiser' for NASCAR. Tobacco companies have been severely hit after many countries banned the endorsement of tobacco brands in different events, most prominently Formula 1.

We will not see any advertising of the Marlboro Man anymore, but it's better to be safe than sorry. It’s the holiday season, so let us all have fun and be responsible as well. Merry Christmas!

Earn it like Beckham

A primary school boy when asked by his teacher, “What do you want to do when you're older?” replied “I want to be a footballer”. His dream did come true, and today he is not just a well-known footballer but also a fashion icon, model, actor,entrepreneur, a husband and a devoted father. Along with his singer/businesswoman wife, they form what is called a“power couple” accumulating an estimated net worth of £165million. David Beckham with his sportsmanship, looks, image and family makes him appealing to the consumers resulting inthe creation of ‘Brand Beckham’.

Beckham is one of the most recognized faces on the planet, and well-known to the masses. He is currently associated with the endorsement of Adidas, Burger King, Sainsbury's and Samsung. He was in an endorsement deal with Pepsi for 10 years till 2008. He played a leading role in campaigning and winning the 2012 Olympics bid for London, and was also involved with the UK’s bidding for FIFA 2018, which was won by Russia. He has his own perfume brand and last year launched his underwear line in partnership with
H&M. According to Forbes magazine, he is the world's richestfootball player and 7th most reached sportsperson in the world.

A good-looking footballer, fashion icon and family man who's always punctual and professional is a sponsor's dream. ‘BrandBeckham’ was not an overnight story but was the creation of Simon Oliveira of XIX Entertainment, marketing team of Adidas and his former manager Terry Byrne. ‘BrandBeckham’ has been a successful story of the sustainability of one’s name, even after the end of his sports career. Some of the other popular ‘human brands’ are Roger Federer, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey  and Tiger Woods, just to name a few.

Viral Videos on YouTube!

This time I decided to do something different for my blog! Instead of the regular entry, this time I have decided to share some viral videos from YouTube.

With the increase usage of social media, sharing has become quick and anything interesting are going viral reaching millions of people across the globe within days.

'Kony 2012' became the most viral video in history with over 34,000,000 views on the first day of its upload on 5 March, 2012

 

PSY – Gangnam Style

Charlie bit my finger - again !

 
The Sneezing Baby Panda

Super Bowl??

One fine morning couple of weeks back during my morning routine, I logged on to Facebook and was confused to see ‘Super Bowl’ on most of my US friend’s status. I know what ‘Super Bowl’ is, but never had an idea about its popularity. What caught my interest is not the sport (I have a repelling effect towards sports, in general) but the advertising. In fact, the research company Nielsen found in 2010 that 51% of the 'Super Bowl' viewers prefer the commercials to the game itself.

Really funny ad featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Justin Bieber!

The ‘Super Bowl’ is often been the most watched broadcast in USA. The day of the ‘Super Bowl’ is a de facto holiday in America. The average cost to advertise for a 30 second spot for the 2013 broadcast was $4 million. The ‘Super Bowl’ commercials had been telecasted since 1970s, but gained popularity since 1984 with the Apple’s Macintosh commercial ‘1984’ directed by Ridley Scott. Budweiser has been advertising the most on the ‘Super Bowl’, more than 25 times since 1998!

The 'USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter' is a live survey done by 'USA Today' and for the year of 2013, it was won by Budweiser. The Budweiser commercial showed a cute Clydesdale having a reunion with his master after 3 years, which goes to show how the audience is attached towards commercials which are emotional.

If someone wants to reach an audience of more than 160 million and have a big money to spend, then the ‘Super Bowl’ is definitely the right place to start!