design management

this time i want to talk about my dissertation. my dissertation is about design management and how to use design build a brand value. 

usually people feel surprise when they notice my background is design instead of business, i guess because they think there are not much connection between marketing and design. and this always take me a while to explain to them why i am doing this. but sometimes i will ask myself do really i completely understand the connection them? honesty i really can't answer this question. i really want to explore this topic and i believe this would be help in my future too. this is one of the reason i chose design management for my topic.

design is an efficient management tool for developing a more customer focused culture for a brand. in business, relations between design and branding are more complementary than divergent. both work to build a product strategy that differentiates the company from the competition and strengthens its competitive advantage. the designer contributes by creating the differences that are perceived by the consumer as benefits, this can impact on consumer behaviour, no matter from the retail store, a brand or a product.  brand is the most frequently used process of differentiation. 

in theory, design and branding share the same mind-set of develop an understanding of customer needs and the factors that influence those needs in order to establish healthy customer relationships. In practice, the relationship between design and branding poses  problems that spring from a reciprocal ignorance of the other profession. 

the relationship between design and branding are not limited in graphic design (e.g. brand name, logo and advertisement). there are much more for example product design ( product performance), packaging design (out look of product), environment design (the store setting and window display). 

the concept of design management has grown fast in last decade. and branding has become a important part in marketing and marketing strategic. so what happen when design management merge with branding? i hope after this summer, i can explore much more on this topic.

and i hope this will give you an idea what is design management, i guess this is not a popular topic in marketing :)

target market: young adult 21 - 26

it's not easy being on the brink of adulthood. you might have just completed college or have working for a couple of years. you are suddenly responsible for more things than you ever thought possible. perhaps you are just buying your first car, or even buying your first house. maybe you're thinking of getting married. but one thing is for sure - you don't want to give up on fun stuff. some days, you still have the urge to be a kid. some days, you just don't want to be old.

designers and marketers targeting this age group need to be aware of this duality. this age group knows it needs to make certain decisions responsibly. so it's a group that seeks out more information about certain products and services that it used to. 

but at the same time, members of this age group lead incredibly busy lifestyles. so brand names mean something because they are the ultimate time-saver. yet unlike the younger demographic, they no longer use brand names to be a part of the club.

and one other thing to remember - you can't talk to them like they're not still hip. after all, young adults still want to have fun.

sandstorm design needed to talk to this age group with an incredibly challenging project - to get young adults in the stage of Oregon to stop somking. and they have to design the X-Pack Smoking cessation Program. research confirmed the conflicting stresses of this target: they had started smoking in their more carefree days and now were beginning to regret their decision. they needed help, but help came with caveat. it needed to be fun at the same time.

enter the x-pack. a self-help smoking cessation kit, packaged in a way that is attractive to the target audience, with a mix of quick, simple information along with fun things to do instead of smoking.

among the components: a youth-oriented smoking cessation guide complete with a quit plan and quit day checklist; motivational messages; testimonials of successful quit attempts by peers; information on nicotine replacement therapy. and, of course, the fun stuff: various products to keep the hand and mouth busy during the quitting process (gum, cinnamon toothpicks, stress putty); and an incentive for registering the product (a borders books and music gift certificate). all materials were based on the best medical practice, combining insights from both adult and adolescent smoking cessation research.

and everything was packaged in a way that said 'we know you are still hip.'

have you ever try " electronic cigarette " ?

e-cigarette( electronic cigarette) is something feels like a cigarette, looks like a cigarette but it isn't bad for your health.it even has vapor. In many ways, it is like an actual smoking experience.  http://www.e-cigar.ca/

An e-cigarette is an alternative to smoked tobaccoproducts, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. It is a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by delivering a vaporized propylene glycol/nicotine solution. In addition to nicotine delivery, this vapor also provides a flavor and physical sensation similar to that of inhaled tobacco smoke, while no tobacco, smoke, or combustion is actually involved in its operation.

in Hongkong e-cigarette is a illegal product. however, after the government of Hong Kong increase the excise on tobacco, it create a huge market for e-cigarette.

in the position of e-cigarette company, they brag about their products are no harm of health, which can replace the real cigarette. also it can be used for quit the habit of smoking. the producers even product lots of different flavor..such as strawberry, banana or different kind of design on the cigarette. 

   the left one is e-cigarette and the right one is real cigarette.

the reason of this product is illegal is because it contains nicotine (even it is much less than the real cigarette), which can cause you cancer. 

although the advertisement brag about e- cigarette can helps you to quit, it also can inviting people to smoke. because it might gives people a perception that it is not easy to get addictive. that is what HongKong government worry about. 

i can understand as a marketers this is a huge opportunity to make a lot of money. but i think sometimes they need to find out the balance of society morale too. instead of just making money from the consumers. 

target market : teen 13 - 20

at this age, it's all about being cool. really, what else is there? when you 're a teenager, it doesn't seem to matter where in the world you live, what your income lever is, or where you go to school. you share the same feelings of teen all over the world. you want to be seen as smart, hip, fun and aware of trends. you want to be liked, accepted. you want to belong to a club or a group, even if it's a group that's rebelling against all other groups. you want to fit in somewhere.

again, you want to be cool!!!

one way to be cool when you're a teen is to join a group of people who speak your language. not just native language, but your 'teen" language - the language of your peers.

so Weiden +Kennedy teamed up with Plazm Media and created a poster campaign that ran for Nike - one that embrace adolescents' unique dialect.

"all cotton" is a basketball term. those in the know know that it's a term for making a shot without hitting the backboard. so in teen talk, the 'all cotton club" is where beat meets the street.

to make the promotion even more topical, the posters ran only in new york city, in the bus shelters and subways around the area where the original "cotton club" first opened its doors. it was what Nike and Weiden + Kennedy called a "city attack" campaign - blanket a small area that has your core target audience and make it impossible to ignore. and the look of the posters was hand drawn, the way it was on the original 'cotton club" posters.

 

specifically, the posters were designed to promote the benefits of two new performance basketball shoes by Nike. "the air powermatic"  is a basketball shoe specifically designed for power and an inside game, whereas the "air flightposite" shoe is designed for fitness and the outside game. but, much, much important than that is the fact the posters made teens feel like a part of something. they were a way   to make teens feel cool.

target market: middle life 46-60

wake up and smell the coffee. slow down, you're moving too fast. relax, enjoy yourself. go ahead. you're worth it.

in this age, people gain perspective. certain things become easier than they ever were. perhaps they're more secure in their job, or their children have grown. they seem to be more aware of how life works. they appreciate indulgences, feeling they've worked hard for them.

this led me to the topic of how to target middle age group market: middle-aged consumers & conspicuous consumption

first and foremost, marketing to the midlife group follows the rule of marketing to anyone: talk to them as people. these are folks who have come into their own as individuals and who are reflecting on their life. if they are not content with the choices they've made thus far, they're in trouble.

also because of their life experience, they have a lot to offer, since they've seen such a broad spectrum of growth and invention. if your target market just right, you can show how this new addition (your product or service) can add to their life experience.

another way to market to this age group is to feature famous people that are their age e.g. actors. these people can give a sort of connection with figures they've grown up with. as a result, they will make positive associations about company's product or service because of their associations with that famous person. The key when using this marketing tool is to find the right person who will create these positive feelings of familiarity and trust.

finally, another way to market to the middle-aged group is to appeal to their desire to stay and feel young. more and more, products and services to this demographic appeal to the need to live a healthy, active lifestyle. this generation of people don't consider themselves old.

for some purchase decision, this group for whom brand loyalty maybe establish, and there maybe resistance to change. in fact, this group of people that often re-adopts brands from childhood. at the same time, they don't see themselves as totally inflexible either. they will try new things if the cues are in place that tell them, "this is something worthy of my time and energy, it is well made, well designed, this is something that's unique to me."

mid-age group is a complicated demographic. there are many factors to consider. feel free to give your comment and opinion :)

Positioning yourself in the creative marketplace

with the overall decline in the global economy, many designers find themselves crossroad. work is no longer abundant, and budget have decreased significantly from year past.

in today's volatile marketplace, advertising designers now face many more challenges, to survive, they are reevaluating their approach to promotion and restructuring their position in the marketplace. they are beginning to take an honest look not only at how they work, what they have to uniquely offer and the markets and clients they choose to work with but also introspectively at their creative interests, aspirations and their definition of what it means to be successful. the book " The graphic designer's guide to creative marketing" shows how can position yourself as a creative in a marketplace.

when it comes to promotion, creating distinction is key. because of the tremendous distractions going on the world, promotions need to be truly unique and thought-provoking in the order to capture the attention of any audience.

to create distinction and call attention to their brand, designers are producing memorable promotions that reveal something about their firm and its personality. these are not only highly innovative from a production standpoint but also keenly strategic where the overall messaging is mindful of prospective client's needs.

many are realizing the importance of contact strategies in an age where electronic communication (social media) has become prevalent. to make their promotions more personalized, many firms are no longer producing mass mailings but instead creating smaller, more targeted promotions. they are also thinking in terms of a campaign, uniting all their messaging to ensure clarity and consistency within the marketplace. my course-mate joy shows a great campaign of "will it blend?" in her blog also the other sample of neha's blog of skittles's new website.

in the following weeks, i want to talk about how a designer apply their creative idea (e.g promotion, campaign, brand identity etc) to the target age market in my blog. also i will give some examples of the company or brand too.

hope you will enjoy it :)

Apple Iphone only for 80 pounds!!

i want to share my experience in Ebay 2 days ago.i was browsing around in ebay and i saw this tile: 

APPLE IPOD TOUCH£ £40 IPHONE BLACKBERRY £80

i always don't believe this kind of thing, because how come this is so cheap?

but the interesting thing is many people are bidding this item. (i try to provide the link but this seller is not selling this item anymore.)

The seller describe the item like this:

AMAZING OFFER NOT TO MISSED !

If you are looking for very cheap electrical and other products the come no further

This auction is for a website which sells all Ipods,ipod touch, Blackberries, Mobile Phones (unlocked),LCD TVs and many more goods including clothing and car parts that are all added hourly

Recent Prices Include

Apple Ipod Touch £40

Iphone £80

Blackberry Storm £130

Branded Mobile Phones (Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola) £40+

Great save to be had, no referrals or signing up fee, once auction won and payments recieved you will then receive an e-mail to the website where you have the freedom to buy as much as you like, its very simple and a truly increadible buy.

this is just an auction for a website, the starting price is 0.99p. i try to check the feedback of the seller and what surprise me is all of the feedbacks are POSITIVE! and some winner actually use 140 pounds to bid this website, the others are like 39 pounds, 15 pounds etc.... 

just can't believe it and this really make me feel very curious! i found the seller list a lot of this website for auction and they actually have a buy it now price which is 2.99 pounds. so i decide to buy it and the seller response me very quickly to send me the link of the website. 

   

dhgate.com is a China wholesale website serving global buyers. Also a leader in B2B online trading and PayPal's largest client in the Asia-Pacific region! their buyers are from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia–totalling to over 230 countries worldwide.

actually they sell a lot of things like mobile. painting, clothes, make-up, jewelry, cameras, games etc..... the interesting point for me is their protect buyer policy, because sometimes when you buy things online and your item haven't arrive or the seller refuse to give you the refund for the problem item. what they do is the buyer pay seller ONLY when they are satisfied with the item. this picture show how it works.

i quite like this idea and i think this will give much more confidence for the buyer which is very important in online selling market. 

but the thing which most surprise is not the website, is the product they sell !!!

for example this auction :  80 pounds i phone!!

you can see they look soooo real with the box ! and the "16gb" is "written" on the back of the phone. 

this one is more professional as a "high quality" copy iphone 

it actually operate in Apple OS X system which means it works like a real apple iphone. it has everything same as the real one but only no wifi. 

but who can tell this is a fake iphone? just can't believe it! lol