5 Must-Knows for Developing Digital Strategies

Alexa, What Do You Know About Internet of Things?

It's not magic. It is real. 

Devices work as you tell them to do.
You don't need to know any complex spell such as "Wingardium Leviosa" from Harry Potter. 

Internet of Things allows us to control all electronic devices connected to one network with your voice. The IoT refers to the connection of devices (other than typical fare such as computers and smartphones) to the Internet. Cars, kitchen appliances, and even heart monitors can all be connected through the IoT. And as the Internet of Things grows in the next few years, more devices will join that list. The representative application of IoT are Smart Home, Wearables, Smart Cities, and Connected Car. 

Make My Wish, Alexa - Amazon Echo

Sounds like IoT is only for tech-savviers? Let me introduce Amazon Echo which will be your best friend, teacher, and counselor. Amazon Echo works through its voice assistant, Alexa, which users can talk to in order to perform a variety of functions. Users can tell Alexa to play music, provide a weather report, get sports scores, order an Uber, and more. So, this is for anyone like us. 

Watch this video to get what you can do with Echo.

Echo has a far-field voice recognition, hearing you voice from any direction while playing music. Since it works based on a cloud system, it is always being updated automatically. Also, the more you use Echo, the more it knows about you - your voice pattern, vocabulary, and preferences. New skills are being added as more and more apps are getting available in the Alexa App, for example, you can request a ride from Uber and order a pizza from Domino's. Lastly, Echo makes your home smart allowing you to control all connected devices without lifting a finger. You can set the thermostat while washing dishes!

Two Sides of A Coin 

Pros and cons of Amazon Echo are very familiar with those of Big Data that I discussed in my recent post. Echo significantly improves your life quality. It answers all of your questions, controls connected devices by your voice order, plays your favorite music, and do much more things through your apps like your smartphone. Echo knows about you more and better than anyone else. It is always there for you to help you.

Behind the convenience, there are always security and privacy concerns - how much private data does Echo have? who's gonna get the data? what if it's hacked? Echo not only knows your preferences but also recognizes your voice and vocabulary. It is also connected to many other devices you have, of course, including your smartphone! You will get more customized and personalized ads through all over your devices, which means you get completely naked in front of advertisers. No wonder security is the biggest obstacle to IoT application, according to the research of eMarketer. 

Heena's Review

Amazon Echo was introduced to the mass, for the first time, through Super Bowl commercial this February, which means Amazon started to promote Echo more aggressively. Taking advantage of Cyber Monday, Amazon has pushed Echo and sibling products, Amazon Tap and Echo Dot. If I were to be asked, I would highly recommend Amazon Echo as a holiday gift. I think Echo will follow the trace of smartphones. Even though we didn't 'need' smartphones, marketing made us to 'want' them. Since we're already addicted to the sweetness of convenience, it's not hard to imagine to have one more family member, Alexa, in all of your homes.

Are You Losing Control of Big Data?

What pops into your head when you think of Big Data?
Does it really matter to you?
How and why?

Recently we hear of Big Data so often that we're getting sick of it. When this term just appeared, it sounded like a rising star which people were going crazing for. After the presidential election was over, suddenly it became an out-of-controlled troublemaker. So confusing, huh? Let' do not be misled by angry voices. Calm down. Take one step back. And think it through. We are rational marketers.

Big Data, Is It Really Good?

Yes, it makes your life much more convenient. As a consumer/user, you will get useful information, also called ads, about a right product/service at right time in a right place. You don't need to repeat saying your name (or ID) and your phone number (or Password). The store even remembers what you were interested in, and what you put in or take out of your cart. As an advertiser/seller, you know who your customers/users are in various perspectives, such as demographic, geographic, behavioral and attitudinal. Every click is tracked and recorded, so data knows about you more and better than anyone else.

But no, it's creepy that someone is watching you all the time. You've lived in Panopticon without even noticing that you're there. Sometimes it bugs me in inappropriate ways. For example, I researched hair re-growth products for my final project last semester. Since then, all kinds of hair re-growth products and services started to tail me (Thanks, Mr. remarketing!) for a while. Hey, Big Data, I thought it's a piece of cake for you to figure out my age. Even if I really buy one for someone else, it's annoying and embarrassing that my web page would be plastered with something irrelevant.

Big Data Is Not A God

Big Data is just a huge amount of data. Data itself is not a solution to a problem. Before you get excited about the advanced technology of collecting all data, think about why and how it will benefit you. Having a thousand books does not guarantee a student doing great at school. Too much data would rather cause indigestion, confusion, or mislead you. According to research, 1 in 3 biz leaders doesn't trust the information they use to make decisions. 27% of respondents in on survey were unsure of how much of their data was inaccurate. Poor data quality costs the US economy around $3.1 trillion a year.

The scariest thing is the inaccuracy of data as we learned from this election and Facebook's fake news. It's not only scary but also dangerous. What if those fake news really had a huge impact on the presidential election, so the result could've been the opposite? What if people think and behave differently based on false data and the difference change others' lives? In the worst case, war could break out. Hacking is an online version of war, I think.

Circle Up, Marketers!

There you go, marketers. It's time to get involved deeply in Big Data world. Since data itself does not replace decision making, we need to know how to play with it. From approaching the data to making a decision, professionals from various fields should be engaged in the process to analyze the data with insights.

Before jumping into analyzing any data, consider questions as below.

How was the data/number calculated?
What is it implying and inferring?
Any errors or exceptions?
Other things to be considered?
How would the data impact in short-term and long-term?

For marketers, Big Data is a great source for making a better world by making better decisions. To get the most out of it, we need to be ahead of the data and take control of it. When we take hands off the steering key, no one knows where and how this ship will end up.

6 Things to Know About Social Media

How many social media accounts do you have?
How many of them do you use daily?

Seriously, I can't live without social media, even though I'm not an influencer who has millions of followers. I love to read news, watch videos, check out cool events, and see what my 'friends' do daily. Sharing inspiring contents is also one of my favorites. Of course, I spend a lot of time in social media.

However, I don't feel guilty at all. I don't think it's a time-wasting habit. It is a universal phenomenon and our life style is changing. The below facts about social media will help you understand how 'normal' we are.

How A Cosmetics Startup Beat Big Brands With Digital Ads

How many makeup brands can you name right now?

How many makeup products do you (for guys - female around you) have? 

As we can tell from countless brands and products, people LOVE makeup. The U.S. beauty industry is a $56.63 billion market and the revenue of the U.S. cosmetic industry is estimated to amount to about $62.46 billion in 2016. On top of that, digital has played a significant role in boosting up the industry by catching consumers attention in various ways.

Pixability’s new study analyzes the YouTube practices of 215 beauty brands and 182,621 independent YouTube beauty creators. 51% of them focused on makeup. In 2015, more than 45.3 billion viewers watched YouTube videos and over 169 million Facebook posts were shared. Once you consume cosmetics-related contents, Mr. remarketing/retargeting start to tail you showing ads here and there when you surf the Internet. 

Birchbox - A box of Cosmetics, Not Chocolates

Thanks to great strategies on digital contents and ads, some smaller brands are killing it. Birchbox is a New York City-based online monthly subscription service that sends its subscribers a box of four to five selected samples of makeup, or other beauty related products. Full-sized products are offered on its e-commerce site. It was born in 2010, and rapidly expanded; now having more than 1 million customers. Here are what Birchbox is doing and how it is doing with digital ads.

1. Influencers

The genius of WOM(Word-Of-Mouth)! Research shows that viewers trust creators more than they trust brands. Therefore, influencer marketing is a cost-efficient way to promote consumer products since it is a combination of online and offline marketing. Please remember marketing is human to human!

Birchbox recently launched its in-house makeup line, LOC (Love of Color), and use beauty vloggers and bloggers to curate new products on a seasonal basis. They started with Tati Westbrook (GlamLife Guru), who has more than a million YouTube subscribers. Tati’s large fan base and universal appeal were a perfect choice for the launch of LOC.

The results were immediate: Love of Color launched on Oct. 16, 2015, and by Oct. 21, 2015, it was 258% ahead of its sales plan for that year. Brittany Tomkiewicz, Senior Manager of Acquisition Marketing at Birchbox, said the brand itself jumped up to one of Birchbox’s top 15 makeup brands of 2015, even with only two and a half months left in the calendar year.

Birchbox teamed up with Emily Schuman, a beauty and lifestyle blogger that runs Cupcakes and Cashmere, who has more than 260,000 Instagram followers. The partnership involved five Instagram photos promoting the products inside one of Birchbox’s monthly kits. The simple partnership resulted in 18,000 likes and reached more than 550,000 consumers.

Influencers can be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars just to take some photos. And those payments have continued to rise each year as brands recognize the effectiveness of influencer marketing. According to SocialPR Chat, marketers that implemented influencer marketing campaigns earned an average of $6.85 in media value for every $1 they spent on paid media. And 81 percent of marketers say influencer marketing is effective.

2. Facebook & Instagram Campaign

May 2016, Birchbox released a six-week campaign with two videos on Facebook and Instagram to increase brand awareness and reach to a new potential consumer demographic, 'multitasking women with only a casual interest in beauty products'. Each video features a representative woman of new target-demographic; “Modern Day Ninja” Lauren, a police officer juggling her career with three kids, and “Modern Day Virtuoso” Christine, a lawyer.

The two videos are shown to non-followers on Facebook and Instagram, and then those prospect consumers find the second series of additional ads educating them on the subscription box retailer. All ads will drive users directly to the Birchbox subscribe page. Unfortunately, it was very hard to find the videos. Below is the capture of the campaign.

Heena's Review

Smart strategies! This small cosmetics brand has been a smart kid in this bloody competitive market. For cosmetics, great reviews are almost a must-have feature of the product. Birchbox optimized influencer marketing on its strongest social media channels and made the most powerful word-of-mouth system. With a well-designed marketing plan, Birchbox successfully pushed a campaign using Facebook and Instagram ads. Needless to say, their banner displays on Facebook and Instagram and search ads are doing great!

The digital ads mentioned above are given to all. However, not everyone takes advantage of them. You need to know yourself first. Know your brand image and unique features, and then analyze your customers. This smart kid, Birchbox, knows well about its target audience and comes up with digital ads that can maximize the ROI.

How A Facebook Post Could Put You Out Of Business

Have you ever deleted or edited your post on social media because it was not appropriate?
Have you ever been disappointed with your friend's or favorite brand's awkward post?

When I was in the late teenage and the early twenties, I often found many of my friends wrote a post on their social media to blame someone unknown (probably that 'unknown' person would know the post is toward him/her while reading), which made me uncomfortable. That behavior disappointed me a lot because I think it was not cool at all to be afraid to talk out so attack someone in that dirty way.

The more social media gets popular, the more likely it becomes a double-edged sword. It is a cost and time efficient, convenient, and fun way to communicate with others for you as an individual or as a brand. It's also a great tool to express yourself. However, at the same time, your own words could fatally harm you. If you realize you make a mistake, take an action as soon as possible. As a famous proverb says, there is no use crying over spilled milk. Clean up as quick as possible and be careful not to spill the milk again.

 A Terrible Ad Parodying 9/11

A local mattress brand, Miracle Mattress, in San Antonio, Texas, did something terribly wrong. It posted a video ad on its Facebook page promoting a “Twin Towers Sale” that parodies the World Trade Center towers collapsing.

In the video, two employees stand in front of two towers of mattresses and an American Flag, while the store’s manager saying 'yes, every mattress is at a twin mattress price'. The employees then fall down over the mattress towers with surprised reaction, and the manager screams and then throw the last line, “We’ll never forget,” with a smile.

This video provoked a crowd furious reaction. Many people blamed the company saying that 'it disrespected the families who lost loved ones and continue to struggle with the pain of this tragedy every day of their lives'. On its facebook page, hundreds of angry comments were left under not only the deleted video but also other past and later posts.

Apology, Apology, And Apology...

I couldn't find the exact date of when the video was posted, but based on the labor day promotion on 9/5 and the posted apology letter on 9/8, I assumed the tragedy happened 9/6 or 9/7. Speaking of the reaction time, Miracle Mattress very quickly responded and apologized. As soon as it recognized that something wrong, it took an action. Then how did they show their sincerity?

On 9/8,  Miracle Mattress apologized using its Facebook page and uploaded a letter.

On the following day, the company announced to close the store indefinitely to avoid any further distraction during the period of 9/11 anniversary.

A week later, the owner posted another letter describing what the company learned from this case and the future plans to help people suffering from terrorism and traumatic loss.

The store manager, the owner's daughter, who was on the video also apologized with tears on news interview.

Heena's Review

Definitely, this video ad crossed the line. A tragedy cannot be parodied for any reason. I was very surprised that this commercial was approved and went online without intervention. Who on earth thought of using a terror attack on a mattress commercial?

Regardless, I appreciate that the company responded quickly and put a lot of effort to recover. In any case of crisis, a real quick response and a sincere apology must be the first things to be done. The owner announced apology several times sincerely and quickly. The store was closed for a while to regret its wrongdoings and to cool off the steam. In addition to that, Miracle Mattress made a donation to Tuesday’s Children in New York to support youth, families, and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss.

This crisis could have been avoided if there was a sturdy marketing plan. Marketing should be responsible for PR, since PR is a part of marketing tactics. Miracle Mattress should have evaluated its commercial before let it go online with the questions such as listed below.
'The content (9/11) of our post is relevant to our goal (sales)?'
'Does it match our marketing concept?'
'How is it like to be in the long-term?'
'Is it ethical?'
'Who would like/dislike this?'

Not only companies and brands but also celebrities and politicians make terrible mistakes on their social media these days. Actually we, as normal individuals, also cause social media crisis. We have to think twice before let our words go out. Once a mistake happens, take a quick action and apologize.

Why You're Getting Black Friday Emails on Halloween

Answer the following questions...
How many emails do you get every day?
How many of them do you really open and read?
What e-newsletter do you subscribe and why?

...do you still think email is dead?


Email Is Not Dead

Due to the flood of social media channels and mobile apps, people tend to underestimate the power of emails. I admit that I also used to think email was an old school stuff. However, US customer-acquisition of email has increased since 2010. In addition to that, email has a higher ROI of 122% than any other marketing format, which is four times more than social media, direct mail or paid search, according to Direct Marketing Association.

In the age of digital, everyone has at least one mobile device. It also plays a significant role in making email marketing effective. Before I got my first smartphone in 2011, I rarely checked my inbox. If someone told me he/she emailed something, then I logged into my account. What about now? The first thing I do as soon as I wake up in the morning is to check my three email accounts. First, I look through if there is anything urgent to react/reply to promptly. And then, I read e-newsletters and promotions throughout the day.

You've Got a Black Friday Email

From a few weeks ago, I started to get promotional emails and news articles regarding Halloween. Holidays and other special days/events are a very good bait to attract customers for marketers. Now go to your inbox and look at them thoroughly... you've got a Black Friday email!

Earlier this week, I found an interesting article about email marketing, Black Friday Emails Coming Early As Christmas Creeps In On Halloween. It explains well why you're getting Black Friday emails and the recent trends in emails. Here are main points of the article and my comments on each of them.


1. Be ahead of the rush

Right. This is exactly why you got Black Friday emails this early. No one wants to directly face heavy traffic (a.k.a. bloody competition). According to data collected during the holiday season last year, marketers concluded that there would be no negative aspect of sending out emails earlier. Rather, it would be less annoying for recipients. Yes, I would definitely open the promotional emails and start to plan holiday shopping. I'm not sure I will make a purchase, but at least I will remember those first emails.


2. The more emails, the less engagement 

Holiday emails have increased over the past two years, but average open rates have decreased. As 'the day' approaches, we get bombarded with countless of marketing emails. The engagement of emails that has a subject line with "Black Friday" drops due to email fatigue. If you want your emails stand out of many others, come up with fresh and creative subject lines, and customization. Don't bother your subscribers by throwing emails over and over. It's time to play smart and be a little tricky. Always think in the perspective of customers.


3. Know your target

Marketers should analyze their email metrics and focus on target audience who engage more. Here customization is recommended again. For some people, just one email would be so annoying, but for some other people who are more loyal to or interested in your brand, one or two more promotion would work. Look at your data and divide your email list into segments based on its response. And target them with customization. You will successfully be positioned in their minds.


4. Be a friend with "unsubscribe" and "email less" 

Don't worry, it's not a suicide. Don't bury your 'unsubscribe' button. I get even furious when it's hard to opt out of your email list. Why don't you provide one last shot, email less, before letting people go? Customer acquisition is so much harder than retention. Let some people stay inside your zone even though they are far away to reach. Make a separate segment with the people of 'email less' option and send more critical emails to encourage their engagement.


Heena's Review

Look like email lost to a rising star, social media, but in reality, email is the most effective and the least difficult marketing tactics. As the holiday season comes, my inbox will be flooded with promotions. This year, I'm going to pay attention to what's happening why it's happening. As a marketing student, I'm a bit excited to check them out to see the trend in email marketing, which would have been a headache if I was not a marketer.

A Makeup Teacher on My Phone

What apps do you have on the first page of your home screen?
Do you re-locate them regularly or fix the locations almost forever?
How often do you browse and download new apps?
How many of them and how long do you keep them on your phone?

As mobile becomes the most time used digital media, hundreds of apps come to live every day. As of June 2016, there are 2 million apps available in the app store, and over 60 thousand apps are added per month - and this rate itself is growing. On the other hand, mobile apps could be easily deleted if they don't have critical value to take up space on your phone. You can go to Google, Youtube or web browser to get whatever you want. Why would you struggle to download and signup, and get worried about your phone's storage?

I swear - I'm the person who manages home screen the most conservatively by regularly picking up useless apps and deleting them. I rarely browse on App Store to find any random fun thing. I'd rather use search if I need something specific. The apps on the first page of my home screen and on the Dock (The bottom bar on an iPhone where you can place your favorite apps for easy access anytime) almost never been changed. There are two pages on my home screen and both are half-full of apps because I don't like to see my beautiful home screen packed with app icons. Now do you see how much I care the neat and clean visual on my device? Of course, it also applies to my laptop. I just checked - I have nine icons on my desktop background.

Do you want your apps to survive on my phone? This is why mobile apps must have great contents, excellent UX design and be fun to play with! Even big companies are struggling with their apps and losing credit for poor quality. They have to think out of the box of pushing and selling, and start a new adventure of engagement. Make Up For Ever, a French cosmetics brand owned by LVMH, has an interesting app that doesn't include e-commerce function, which could've been a great source of revenue. What made Make Up For Ever become so brave? What's their purpose of this app?


TEACH ME MAKEUP
The Makeup App That Links Products & How-to's With One Scan

1. Design & Esthetics

It's classic - black & white, simple and neat. No redundancy. The overall design has strong consistency with Make Up For Ever's brand image, logos, representative colors, and its store interior.

The icon itself is pretty straightforward with the name of Teach Me Makeup. When I first saw the icon, I was not sure if it is Make Up For Ever's or not. I think the company wants to focus on the features and benefits of its app rather than its brand name.

The homepage is fascinating! This is what I like the most of the app. Very simple and straightforward, bold texts and the cool background picture of a half-highlighted women's face with strong red lips. No too much colors neither images. Luxurious and gorgeous... I still think it's gorgeous after seeing this homepage many times.

2. Menu & UX

Intuitive and user-friendly. The hamburger menu icon on the upper right corner takes you to the whole list of menu. No confusion, no forever scrolling. As I said above, this app is not for e-commerce, so menus closely related to the main purpose of the app such as Scan, All Videos, My Favorite Videos are located on the top. Makes sense!

As an effort to drive conversions, there is a Store Locator menu that takes you out of the app and onto Make Up For Ever's web browser. Since its website is mobile friendly and easy to shop products, I think it's a smart idea to direct users to its home ground.








Let's take a look at Newsletter Sign Up. Hmm..nothing wrong with this, but I'm a little wondering why there is a newsletter signup instead of a user registration. The signup process is the simplest one asking my name and email address. That's it! I appreciate their kind explanation about what I could get from the signup even though I'm well aware of that their purpose is to collect my information. However, they missed the introduction of Pro Newsletter having the checkbox unchecked by default. What is the Pro newsletter? How is it different from the regular newsletter? Why is it unchecked? Does it mean that you don't encourage me to sign up?

What is Demo at the bottom the menu list? I had no idea from what it says. After one touch, I found that it was a well-made video guide about this application! This one-minute video that includes what this app provides is a great tool for the first users. It should be on the first page, fixed menu bar, or on the top of the menu list! How come it is hidden further down the menu list with a not-clickable-at-all name?

Here is the video guide of Teach Me Makeup

3. Scan & Watch

Let's get to the point! This app is all about makeup tutorial! You will see the big bold Scan and Watch section as soon as you open the app. I fell in love with this simple but strong design and message!

Once you touch Scan, you are able to scan a product using your phone camera as you scan QR code. Tap the red sexy lips on the bottom and the app can recognize what product you have. Then you can learn how to apply the product by watching the suggested video tutorial. What a cool combination of innovative idea, technology, and fun engagement! Unfortunately, I don't have any Make Up For Ever's product for now so I couldn't see how it works. Funny thing is that this app anyway lists all videos whatever product (even nothing) it scans. Better than 'sorry!' page with empty contents!

The other part of the main page, Watch, allows you to browse total 54 videos of makeup tutorial by category; face (19 videos), eyes (24), lips (3), looks(8), all videos and my favorite videos. Inside Looks, there are various looks of makeup such as holiday, summer, party, Halloween (check this out if you are planning to have fun this Halloween), and so on.

Videos are literally about teaching how to makeup using a featured Make Up For Ever's product. Some videos have a makeup artist giving us detail instructions while he/she is demonstrating, other some have only text directions on the video, and a few of them have only visual demonstrations without any further details.

Each video tutorial, 30 seconds to a-few-minutes long, is an embedded YouTube video that is able to be saved on My Favorite Videos and also sharable via message, email, notes, and all other social media / email / messenger apps you have on your phone.

Here it is! Finally found a shopping section under the makeup video. There are three to four related products used/featured in the video. When you click the product, again you will be taken out of the app and onto Make Up For Ever's home ground, website. As I said, the website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate, so I like this app itself works as a trigger for conversions instead of a pushy e-commerce. One little thing I like is that it's easy to go back to the app. Just click Done button on the upper left corner!

           



4. Heena's Review

Make Up For Ever tried to get out of the box of e-commerce app by providing differentiated value to its app users. It was innovative, entertaining, and fun to play with. Interacting with this app using the product recognition technology is a definite pleasure to engage! There was no pushing message. A slight intent to take me to its website is appropriate and acceptable. Overall design well matches the brand image.

So, am I gonna keep this app on the 'conservative' real estate of my phone? Nope. First of all, I don't have any Make Up For Ever's product. I can't even have fun with scanning. Secondly, if I want to learn about makeup, I'd rather go to YouTube to get a tutorial of amazing quality. Some videos of this app don't even have detail instructions. Hey, this app is all about teaching makeup. How come you have poor quality on your main value? Lastly, I'm not enough patient to wait for more than five seconds to play the video or jump to the next page. Please, speed up guys!

Hey Benefit, what's the benefits of your UX?

What do you do if you want to know more about a person you just met?
The first impression matters for you?
Do you watch what the person does or talk to him/her to engage?

All above are the way we get to know a person. These are also same with the interaction with a brand. In this age of digital, this process often happens online, needless to say, on mobile as well. Brands must develop a well-designed website to catch users' attention, have them feel easy to browse and make them have fun! A website represents you as a brand, so UX is like how people think about you as a person.

How much is UX important for makeup products brand? EXTREMEEEE! This business is B2C, visual oriented, female-dominated and competitive. Benefit Cosmetics, a subsidiary of LVMH, is a San Francisco-based cosmetics manufacturer specialized in professional makeup, selling at over 2,000 counters in more than 30 countries. This brand is also well-known for its girlish and lovely product designs/packages/ads. Now we know that Benefit has a unique and strong brand image. Then what would its website be like? UX would also reflect its concept well?


Desktop/laptop Version

1. Signup Pop-up 

Personally, I don't like pop-ups. As soon as I landed on its homepage, a little pop-up welcomed me encouraging signup. I usually close those first pop-ups not even looking at it to save my clicks and time. But one thing caught my attention, which was free shipping on any order without a minimum. Hmm, that's a very useful piece of information! I would definitely consider that when I check out. Below that Benefit disappointed me again by asking birth date and year. A registration process should be as simple and quick as possible to attract the users who are careful of providing their personal information.

2. Home Page

What a good combination of commerce and contents! In addition to that, no endless scrolling. Best sellers and a category of products with a special theme are displayed on top. Videos on beauty tips and various useful resources on the bottom are engaging. They all are attractive enough to earn my clicks!


3. Structure

Benefit has a well-structured website that allows users to browse easily and intuitively. On the very top of the page, it has a series of main verticals including products shopping, other services provided and offers. On the bottom, typical categories such as contact, help and careers are waiting for someone in need. However, Benefit underestimates a search function which is very important for B2C e-commerce. The search icon missed its original seat, upper right/left corner, and it was too small to be noticed quickly.

4. Design

Benefit shows a consistency of its brand image on the website as well. Cute, simple, pinkish, girlish, lovely and animated designs all over the website make me feel like physically shopping in a store. It reminded me of the first time I met this brand at a department store when I was 18. I was excited and fascinated by this adorable and pretty brand and fell in love with it.


5. Checkout Process

Easy and simple. Benefit absolutely meets the core checkout conditions of B2C e-commerce. There is no confuse, hassle neither click-wasting process. It provides fruitful information about the product with extreme details and rates/reviews. Big-sized high-quality pictures make my shopping more comfortable.



Mobile Version

1. Signup Pop-up & Home Page

It's interesting that the pop-up of mobile version doesn't ask my birth date/year. I'm just happy about free shipping! The home page on mobile is very similar to the desktop/laptop version. Scrolling down the smaller screen allowed me to pay attention to everything on the page. I think it's because I was able to see one content at a time.

                           

2. Structure & Design

I'm glad that the search icon found its original seat, upper left corner, making search easy and quick. The overall structure of mobile is intuitive and easy to browse. All verticals, categories, and menu are inside of a hamburger menu icon. The design itself is exactly same with the desktop/laptop version, but I'd like to add a zoom function to look at the product closely on a small device.


3. Checkout Process

Great job again! Easy and simple. Except for one thing that my cart is not accessible with one click. The shopping cart is inside the hamburger menu icon, which is not user-friendly. We all got used to seeing a shopping cart on the top of the screen or on a floating bar.

            

Final Review

I'd like to give Benefit a high score on the pretty design that reflects its brand image, easy and quick checkout, and great contents such as detail descriptions of products and useful beauty tips. However, I didn't have fun or fascinating experience at all. It would be recommended to develop a customizing or products-applying tools/games to increase users' time spent on the site and encourage engagement. Let's do not forget - H2H, human to human!

The Job That Fascinates Me The Most... Is My Archetype?!

Surprised and excited.

The job that I have admired turned out to be my archetype.
Can you guess?
I'm an Architect!


My Architect VS Their Architect

An architect is like a magician. Architects make something - humongous, complex and sturdy things - out of nothing. To make things happen, architects should be equally 'right-brained' and 'left-brained'. Right brained people are described as creative, and left brained people are known for their math skills. An architect is a creative thinker, designer, mathematician, physicist, and engineer. On top of that, I'm personally interested in architects, so I idolize and admire architects. That's why I was so excited when my archetype turned out to be an Architect!

According to How to Fascinate, an organization founded by Sally Hogshead who helps people to discover how the world sees them using its own test, The Architect, a combination of Prestige (a primary advantage) and Mystique (a secondary one), is defined as a skillful, restrained, polished, for insiders only, and sterling person. I totally agree with everything except the first adjective, skillful. It's half true since I pursue a strong skill in a certain thing, no matter it is related to my job or hobby. However, I've never ever mastered something. Most of all ended up with tasting or being intermediate-level. Scary enough, How the World Sees You (Below is how the world sees me) exactly describes my personality!

What am I consist of and lack of?

My primary advantage is Prestige that helps me to earn respect from others, pay attention to the smallest details, be motivated by a competitive spirit, and expect the highest quality. I agree that I always want to be perfect, which drives me to work very hard but at the same time stresses me out. This is one the reasons when I do assignments at work or school, it takes a long time to finish.

The secondary advantage is Mystique that drives me to communicate selectively and purposefully with a minimalist approach, rarely shows inner emotions, and works independently without disclosing insider process. I admit that I'm more likely to save my words for a very important moment to speak out, especially when I work with others. Also, I tend not to express my inner emotions too much and prefer to work independently.

All pretty boxes were opened so far. Now it's time to open the other box not appealing at all. I found a card saying that my dormant advantage is Trust that I'd like to rename the other side of a coin called 'not-showing-emotions' or 'independence'. I think it is based on my relationship philosophy, 'people come and go, so let things happen'. So I try not to expect too much from people, which might shape me as a 'simple-outside-but-complex-inside' person.

A Good Motivation

I'm very interested in psychology, which is the strongest trigger for me to study marketing! I enjoy reading books in psychology and philosophy to understand more about peoples' emotions and personalities including myself. This archetype test was a good reminder for me who knows and understands a lot about myself since it re-confirmed my strengths and weaknesses that I already know and suggested solutions for improvement. It worked out as a really good motivation to see me more objectively and encouraged me to more release inner feelings.

Fascination = Love at First Sight

"What do you think about the idea of Fascination as a marketer?"

Before I watched Sally's Ted talk, I thought the fascination is falling in love at first sight. You just admire, want and like something so bad as soon as you find it. It doesn't take that long; around ten seconds. Interestingly, Sally also started the Ted talk with an example of online dating, especially the first introduction. 

Yes, so true. In this flood of countless options in every market, we need a strong hook called fascination to catch peoples' attention in nine seconds that were given to us in attracting eyeballs. On top of  beautiful images or interesting video clips, powerful contents that engage target customers the most should be the key factors. You are more likely to have a long relationship with someone whom you can talk to over an hour and hour rather than with a crazy-good-looking person whom you can't continue a conversation with even ten minutes.

Panera Bread - Food As It Should Be

Panera Bread's "Clean Food" Campaign

A lot of junk food has disappeared since more and more people started to care healthiness. If you look around, you can find that even fast food franchises are serving low-calories and less-fat menu. Needless to say, various kinds of fast-healthy-food cafe/restaurants appeared, such as Panera Bread, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Subway, and the list goes on. However, there have been some fatal food scandals, which had people to lost trust in those brands.

Among those cafes/restaurants serving healthy food, Panera Bread has been doing a very good job by providing good quality food using the clean ingredient. Panera wants to differentiate itself from other healthy fast-food franchises. Ron Shaich, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Panera Bread, who also founded Au Bon Pain, started thirty years ago to follow his passion for changing the world by changing the way America eats. He made an innovation in the restaurant industry by offering  handmade and artisanal fast-food.

The start of the clean food movement, ‘Food As It Should Be’ campaign, was introduced in May 2015 with a "No No list" of artificial ingredients Panera will stop using by the end of 2016. It also includes moves such as early adoption of voluntary calorie posting and chicken raised without antibiotics, implementing animal welfare standards and removing artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives from its food. The company is working to have the entire menu to be "clean" while keeping the price consistent.

Panera Bread's Videos Focusing on Freshness

Panera was smart - it took advantage of digital marketing, especially videos, to deliver its "Clean Food" message very well. Since Panera started 'Food As It Should Be' campaign, it has launched a series of videos featuring cleanness, freshness, and healthiness. Watching the videos made me feel so refreshed that I want to run into Panera.

In January 2016, Panera proved again how smart it is by adding customer's reviews on its new video. Panera released a video trailer that Panera's head chef Dan Kish went to in order to remove artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives from the soup without affecting the flavor that has made it the chain's best seller. To remove eight ingredients, Kish went through 60 variations of the soup, according to Panera. To drive awareness and sampling of its newly "clean" soups — particularly its broccoli cheddar flavor — Panera Bread is offering fans the opportunity to have their tweets about the soup incorporated in an "endless trailer" video. It was a perfect combination for food marketing; beautiful visual, good reviews, and consumers engagement.

>>Watch "Endless Trailer"<<

Heena's Review and Feedback

I appreciate Panera's consistent commitment to clean and healthy food. Panera has been trying very hard to keep its promise while some other similar brands have got in trouble with food scandals. Panera has specific plans, strict policies, and its own deadline to achieve goals. Panera also created digital contents that successfully delivered its message and encourage customers to engage in its campaign.

However, Panera has focused too much on its plans and announcements rather than its achievement. It's already the last quarter of 2016 and Panera's accomplishment is supposed to come out little by little. For example, how many artificial ingredients Panera has removed from its "No No List", how Panera has replaced bad ingredients with good ones, etc. On top of that, I'd like to suggest more sampling events in and out of the stores to convince customers that the taste is still good regardless of removal of artificial ingredients.

Welcome!

"Get Your Hands Dirty"

This is the purpose of my blog. No matter how hard I study in my Master program, I will end up reading principles and theories over and over if I don't try blogging by myself. Thanks to my Digital Marketing course, I finally started marketing blog!


Let's Share...

I like to share my experience and thoughts as much as I like to listen to your stories. After joining a book club which I had had a negative stereotype toward because it sounded nerdy, I realized that I love to share thoughts and opinions with others. It was impressive that people feel and think differently based on their personalities and experiences.

This interesting activity motivated me to start my own blog in Korean - I was born, grown up and educated in South Korea - to share some parts of my life with others who have similar interests and experience to mine. Contents of my blog include my graduate school life as an International student, reviews on marketing conferences and workshops I attended, stories of people around me who motivate and inspire me, book reviews, and a little of other personal things, such as feelings, activities, and study plans.


Let's Learn...

There are two goals that I want to accomplish through this blogging. First, getting comfortable creating contents in English. Even though I like reading, writing, and talking I feel intimidated when I have to do all these in English. On top of that, in this age of digital, everything I created using digital media remains forever, so I was scared to post things and spread them out. However, only practice makes perfect. I strongly believe my writing skill will get better through this blogging!

The second thing is the implementation of Google Analytics. In this semester, I take Web Analytics course that requires collecting and analyzing web traffic data of my own blog using Google Analytics. I can test out which promoting method works better, which specific content people engage more, how to improve my blog based on the data, and so on. I'm excited to see!


Welcome aboard Heena's Blog!

About Me

Marketyst

Aspiring integrated marketing professional equipped with in-depth knowledge of marketing analytics, digital marketing, and brand management. Detail oriented and organized, I observe situations and problems carefully, and develop new ideas and solutions. Always asking “why”, I am not afraid to express curiosity and have a passion for learning.


Pioneer

My life is full of trying new things! I love to meet new people from various backgrounds - please tell me your stories. I'll try to learn your language and your culture. I learned Mandarin and studied abroad in Shanghai for a year. Also took French 101, but now I remember 'Hi, my name is Heena'. My future plan includes learning Spanish, so let me know if you're interested in helping me out or learning Korean from me.


Life Lover

People, books, music, and nature are resources of my inspiration. Having a fun conversation with you, finding a book that I want to read over and over, all kinds of music including my singing at a karaoke, and going hiking make me cherish every moment in my life.