5 Very Interesting Products and How I Would Market Them Issue #1

Apparently this thing called the “internet” has a bevy of neato-burrito things including amazingly awesome products. After a lengthy look at some, here are some cool products that I thought would be really fun to play with.

#1 The Camera Lens Coffee Mug

This just SCREAMS lifestyle. By lifestyle I mean for photographers. A really good product is one that just fits perfectly in someone’s life. A really good product is one the user will defend. When I see this coffee mug, I picture walking into a chapters with a camera around my neck, looking through the photography albums and finally grabbing some coffee from Starbucks. Really cool, practical and affordable at $20.

Brand Name and Slogan: This my friends can only be known by one name, one that combines a good old cup of Joe with the art of photo taking. This here is the Photo Joe. Photo Joe is not just a coffee mug, it’s your companion for all your artistic adventures! Photo Joe is there to help you wake up and be alert for the whole day. Photo Joe, not just a mug.

Target Market: We all know who would by this product.

These guys. They have Macbooks, listen to Indie bands, maybe they wear glasses from time to time without a prescription. All these stylish men and women hang out at Starbucks ordering Grande Latte low fat frapa-wapa-tetra-hetra machicato’s with extra foam. These guys have their identity down pat and they love to wear their lifestyle on their sleeve, face, head and butt.

Feature/Benefits: Here we have a coffee mug that looks like a camera lens. It’s detailed, affordable, and happens to be good quality and lasts a long time. These are the features that make this product. The benefit here is simply that the consumer get to show off their lifestyle, their passion and their art. If I saw someone drinking from this mug I would have no doubt that they take photo’s and have a passion for it. It’s a conversation starter, it’s a product of pride and its practical.

Additional accessories: It would be amazing if this product could get social in some way. If somehow you could install a GPS tracker in the cup so that whenever you fill it up with hot liquid it could send a message to Facebook, Twitter or whatever else you were on to let people know what you were up to. “TylerMV is having coffee at Starbucks” via @PhotoJoe.

Communications: Of course this is everyone favorite part! If you would like to add how YOU would advertise this product comment below I would love to hear your ideas. But for now, this is MY TIME. So here are some ways I think would be effective in getting the product out there.

Picture this. A commercial thats starts off through the eye of a camera on a beautiful model in slow motion.

 The photographer behind the lense narrorates with something like "Photography is my life. With each click, I turn motionless into design. I let everyone into a part of my life with each photo" Suddenly, slow motion is over and someone yells "BREAK". The photographer looks exhausted and hands over the camera to man in charge. He wears glasses, has a mustache and probably speaks in a french accent. Suddenly we're taken on a fast paced journey through the busy day of the photographer.

       From travelling to shopping, from phone calls to a cluttered apartment, we get a peek into what being a photographer is like. Finally we stop and enter slow motion again with the photographer pouring coffee into the're Photo Joe. "Even though every day is unpredictable, Photo Joe is always... surprisinly helpful" What does that mean you might be asking? Fast forward through the day to the previous shopping scene. The photographer sitting reading a book and sipping on her Photo Joe probably in a Starbucks. Suddenly at the table beside her, the previous man in glasses and with the mustache asks "Hey, are you a photographer?".

Boom, Photo Joe got her that job. Really brings out the benefit of the product no?

QR Codes Can Do It for Business - Interactive Advertising

       Well its a cloudy day in Ottawa after an amazing Victoria day weekend. The Sun was out and about all weekend, I got a little burnt but the BEST part is I found some pretty cool interesting stuff for everyone to read about! Here are some of the things I spotted around the web today.

Your local bar just got that much more social!

       That there my friend is a pint of Guiness. What's that on the glass you might ask? Not just a cool design, its a QR code you can scan! A cool way to let all your friends know that A. You're getting plastered and B. Where you are so they can join you! They're simply thinking outside the gladd. Scanning the code allows you to visit the Guiness facebook page where you can share your current experience on Facebook, Twitter and whatever other social planet you may be living on. QR codes seem to be picking up and here's another interesting take on them.

Point Know Buy - Shop anywhere and anytime, even when you're bored!

       If you can imagine from the image above, sitting at a bus stop and browsing for a new pair of shoes, checking out the new iPhone or shopping for a new backpack? This can bring a whole new meaning to window shopping. Advertising has taken it to another level with not only sporting the neat benefits a product might present but, it will also give you a chance to check reviews of the products, compare the product to similar ones as well as presents the chance for your to actually make a purchase. You POINT to scan and surf, you KNOW by discovering desired information and you BUY instantly creating ease of application for the user and another "touch" for businesses to consumers.

If QR codes are so cool, why aren't more people using them?

       Here's the deal. The first time I used a QR code, it sent me to a video of a really cool movie advertisement. Guns blazing, explosions, action packed, it got the adrenaline going. For a short time after I had been a QR code fiend scanning and viewing everything companies threw at me. During that short time, the most exciting thing I found was the Facebook page for Lulu Lemon. Simply put, companies are not putting useful or entertaining content. There has to be a benefit in whipping out my phone, unlocking it, loading the program, scanning the code and waiting for SOMETHING to pop up other than a Facebook page that I could simply Google if I cared enough. MAKE IT WORTH IT!

     Here is an interesting alternative to QR codes. Google Goggles!

This to me is FAR more interesting than QR codes. BUT, I wouldnt be so quick to discount the codes. Used effectively, they could still be an very interesting way to interact with advertising! After searching up Mashable.com for a little bit, I found on article on some interesting ways a restaurant can use QR codes.

Creativity in the Restaurant using QR Codes

1. Mobile Ordering

To avoid interacting with a human that is possibly juggling many different things around the place, simply scan a QR code on the menu, make your order online and once that is finished, the program will generate a personal QR code that has all the info in it for the server to scan and go.

2. Link to Photos and Social Media

There comes a time in everyones life when they take a look at a menu and think, "wow that sounds good, I wonder what it looks like?" BOOM QR code that leads you to not only a picture of the meal BUT reviews and comments about the dish so help the buying process along.

     

        Well I hope I did my job and got your brains in thinking mode. Do you have any interesting takes on QR codes and what they can do for you? Comment below, I would love to feature your opinion in my next article!

Awesome's First Post

       I would like to start off by saying yes, that is Darth Vader playing guitar with the force. Now that we have that out of the way, this is my first blog post and I'm going to explain, plain and simple, what this blog and I are all about.
       First off, my name is Tyler McAuley-Vallier and I'm taking Business - Marketing at Algonquin College. I've always had a passion for creativity and innovation but, never knew how to channel it until I took a Marketing class. FINALLY, something creative I can actually make money off of. Creativity is what fuels me, inspires me and is the reason I get up every morning. So here is the situation on the blog!

       The generic picture of business people and I will be posting content that simply fuels creativity. I love to laugh, everyday. I love to be inspired by something wether it be a quote, an article or simply an idea that someone else presents or brings to the table. I will be doing reviews on products and services that are simply brilliant, I will be posting my own point of view and/or suggestions on marketing tactics, advertising strategies and so on as well as adding a little somethin somethin on comic books, movies, television and books and many other forms of entertainment as, we should look for creativity wherever it may present itself.

       So, here is hoping this is the start of something creative in itself. I hope you all enjoy my thoughts and ideas and HOPE TO GOD you voice your own opinion. Especially when it comes to BAD advertising cause we all know theyre so funny! Here is an example...

Say what!! Funny to some, innappropriate to others. Not a good move Burger King! But, when there is darkness, light presents itself in only the most awesome way possible.

THE END