Short Essay 1_QIAN Zirui (1155217225)

An IMC analysis on McDonald's International Women's Day campaign

As the last week’s class said, integrated marketing focuses on brand communication, the establishment of brand image and the communication of core concepts. It is not just a one-way output of price and commodity information, but a two-way interaction between the brand and the consumer based on empathy. This reminds me that many brands will carry out  integrated marketing campaigns that focus on important time nodes like Valentine's Day or Chinese New Year. And the one that impresses me the most is McDonald's International Women's Day marketing campaign. I think it is a perfect creative campaign that communicates both the brand idea and the consumers.

McDonald's core design for the International Women's Day campaign was to turn its famed golden arches upside down from ''M'' to ''W''. It was used as the key visual of the campaign and distributed across multiple channels on all platforms. This seemingly simple design can actually convey a rich brand message and closely connect with consumers' emotions. Because the change was made to the brand's own logo, it was easier for consumers to feel the brand's support for topics such as women's empowerment and gender equality, and emphasized McDonald's commitment to creating opportunities for women within the workforce and the communities.

In the application of integrated marketing communication, McDonald's also carried out the following visual promotion tactics:

The first is in store decoration and packaging. McDonald's not only reinstalled the physical logo in a store located in Lynwood, Calif., but also in 100 female-owned stores across the country, customers were able to take home redesigned fry boxes, bags and cups. Crew members at participating female-owned McDonald’s across the US sported hats and shirts displaying the “W”, bringing celebration front and center at every purchase.

And on social media, they flipped every logo across McDonald’s social and digital channels for a global celebration. McDonald’s also released a short video honoring women who have played a part in the brand’s history. The spot focuses on Patricia Williams, owner of the McDonald’s restaurant where the logo has been temporarily flipped upside down. Besides, a landing page was also created to commemorate the day which included brief biographies celebrating a diverse group of women who have chosen the brand to be a part of their story. The move did generate a lot of discussion on social media, with many praising McDonald’s for its clever marketing in partnership with agency We Are Unlimited.

Since the initial marketing of this flipping golden arch design in 2018, it has also been featured several times in Women's Day marketing campaigns in subsequent years. It is evident that McDonald's loves it and the good results it brings. In the domestic marketing campaign, McDonald's China also continued this practice. In addition to the unified release of media content across all platform accounts, they have also increased the influencers marketing on platforms such as RED and TikTok. Together with the store’s product promotions, the message reaches consumers. It makes consumers feel that participating in McDonald's activities on Women's Day is also a way to support and recognize the power of women.

From this McDonald's International Women's Day case, we can see that an emotional connection between the brand and the user can undoubtedly help the marketing campaign to achieve unexpected results, and a successful integrated marketing will also have a long-lasting impact on the brand image in the minds of the consumers.

Short Essay 2_YE Xiaotong(1155219812)

The Integrated Media Marketing Channels of MINISO

In today's volatile market environment, the effectiveness of brand marketing strategies increasingly relies on diversified communication channels.The PESO model (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) provides a comprehensive framework for brands to help marketers systematically integrate different types of media resources.By combining the precise delivery of paid media, the credibility of earned media, the social interaction of shared media, and the content control of owned media, brands can more effectively connect with target audiences and increase awareness and loyalty. MINISO is a good example, and I will analyze its marketing strategy under the PESO model framework in depth.

MINISO is a retail FMCG brand in mainland China. As of 2024, it has 7,000 offline stores worldwide. Its marketing model combines online and offline very well, and has produced many outstanding marketing cases, successfully developing from a small boutique to a household FMCG brand.

In terms of paid media, MINISO advertises its products and promotions on social media, search engines and offline channels. Before the opening of the MINISO LAND store in Shanghai, the brand placed a preview advertisement in a row of giant billboards outside the mall for several months. In addition, MINISO also cooperated with the foundation to hold charity events related to the adoption of stray animals and obtained naming rights.

I think the two key actions for MINISO's successful transformation in recent years are co-branding with a large number of IPs and cooperating with a large number of KOCs. These two points can be reflected in earned media, shared media and owned media. First of all, MINISO has achieved a number and speed in the IP co-branding track that other brands cannot match. From the initial Sanrio, Disney and Loopy, to this year's popular Chiikawa and Harry Potter, MINISO can always quickly reach cooperation with IPs when the IPs first become popular and quickly launch new products. During the preheating period of new products, MINISO will use its official accounts on social media, such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo and Douyin. In addition, through the popularity of the IP itself, fans will spontaneously help the brand spread the information about new products, and actively share their purchase experience on social media platforms after purchasing the products, accumulating word-of-mouth for the brand.

At the same time, MINISO often holds offline pop-up store activities when the IP launches new products, and uses the strategies of limiting the flow of stores and the number of new products to increase consumers' sense of urgency, so that the popularity of offline stores continues to increase. In the early stage of the pop-up store opening, the brand will invite KOLs to participate in store activities, co-create marketing content with them, and use their channels to reach a wider fan base. For example, in May this year, a 520 offline pop-up store was held in Guangzhou, and the famous cosplayser Karina was invited to be the store manager for one day, which attracted many fans to the pop-up store to participate in consumption activities.

In addition, MINISO's koc marketing strategy is also unique in size, and its operating model is beyond everyone's imagination. You may be curious, why can you always see a lot of creative content about new products of MINISO's co-branded IP on social platforms? Do they really have such a great charm that fans can continuously produce interesting media content? In fact, MINISO has subtly integrated the content of koc marketing into a large amount of UGC content to the extent that it is difficult to distinguish. The brand will invite a large number of amateur authors to publish product evaluation content, and provide prizes or bonus incentives to high-quality content creators based on data such as views and interactions, which can encourage them to continue to pay attention to the brand's new product and produce better quality media content. In addition to the brand's official account, the company also encourages employees of offline stores in various regions to establish their own store accounts and publish creative marketing content. Once the innovative content form gains popularity, the brand will quickly synchronize it to koc for reproduction. Surrounded by a large amount of marketing information, other consumers are gradually attracted, understand, purchase, and actively share relevant information with relatives and friends.

From the case of MINISO, we can conclude that when the four media resources of the PESO model are integrated, the marketing effect will be better. This is also the direction that many brands need to think about and develop in their marketing strategies.

Short Essay 1_LIU Zixuan(1155227237)

The business model canvas-- take DuApp as an example

In recent years, DuApp has become a unicorn in the domestic luxury goods and footwear trading platform, it still stands out among shopping platforms with such a large user base as Taobao and Tmall, and has opened up its own fields. The business model behind it is worthy of our in-depth study, so I will analyze DuApp from 9 aspects, which composes the the business model canvas.

 

As for customer segmention, it can be segmented mainly into four types, including the most important target customers, the young people, who have a strong pursuit of fashion, individuality, and brands, but also they have relatively strong consumption power and are willing to pay a relatively high price for trendy and quality products; basketball lovers who have a strong interest in basketball and related products like shoes; white-collar workers who pursue a quality life; and fashion bloggers who are eager to show off their outfits on social platforms and gain recognition.

 

When it comes to Value Propositions, the core value of DuApp is about two aspects, first it provides users with a convenient and safe trading platform for second-hand and new products, and it adds the services of authenticity verification and defect inspection, which solves users' concerns about authenticity when buying products. Besides, it also creates a trendy culture-themed community where users can share outfits, shopping experiences, meeting the social needs of young users and enhances user stickiness and platform activity.

 

DuApp has two Channels, the main sales and operation channel of it is online channel. Users can browse products, place orders, and participate in community interactions through the APP. DuApp also has opened offline physical stores in some cities, which refers to offline channels, providing one-stop services such as consignment, authentication, and post-purchase customer support.

 

Speaking to Customer Relationships, DuApp promotes the formation of communities through user interaction and communication. Users can post, comment, like in the community, sharing their shopping experiences and lifestyles, enhancing the connection between users and the stickiness of the platform. Moreover, it also provides professional post-purchase customer support to help users solve problems and disputes encountered in transactions.

 

The revenue streams of DuApp can be divided into 2 parts, when it comes to transaction revenues from one-time customer payments, DuApp earned when sellers complete transactions on the platform, and generated from direct sales of new or second-hand products. As for recurring revenues from ongoing payments for value delivery, brand merchants place ads for continuous cooperation, which refers to advertising revenue.

 

As for Key Resources, DuApp possesses advanced platform technology and software development capabilities to ensure the stability, security, and good user experience of the platform. For example, DuApp's product authentication technology, trading system, and community management system are all key technical resources of the company. Also, it establishes an efficient logistics and warehousing system to ensure that products can be delivered to users in a timely manner. Through the analysis of sufficient user behavior, consumption habits and other data, DuApp provides strong support for the company's business decisions, product recommendations, and marketing strategies.

 

DuApp also need some key activities to maintain its daily operations, one of them is product authentication and inspection, it conducts strict authentication and inspection of products on the platform to ensure the authenticity and quality of products. In normal days, DuApp has to ensure the normal operation and good order of the platform, including product listing, delisting, price management, transaction management, etc. DuApp also holds various community activities such as trendy culture festivals, new product launches, and outfit competitions to enhance user participation and platform activity.

 

In daily life, DuApp needs to maintain key partnership relationships with different companies or people. Between brands and suppliers, DuApp establishes cooperation relationships with many domestic and foreign famous brands to provide users with a rich selection of products and also ensure product quality and supply stability. To ensure the fast and accurate delivery of products and improve the user's shopping experience, DuApp cooperates with multiple express companies. So as to expand the company's influence and user group, DuApp also cooperates with social media platforms and stars, influencers, etc. which benefits brand promotion and product marketing.

 

Speaking to Cost Structure of DuApp, it leans towards a value-driven business model rather than cost-driven business model. On one hand, it is user-centric, meeting the demand of young consumers for trendy products. It builds trust through the model of "authenticate first, then ship". It has social attributes and brand cooperation, creating value for users and brands. On the other hand, it also pays attention to cost control measures like operational efficiency optimization and supply chain management. However, it focuses more on value creation and realizes business success by providing users with high-quality services and experiences.

 

Short Essay_1 ZHU-Jiaqi (1155225521)

Discussion on Advertisements on Bilibili and YouTube

In week six we mainly discussed the changing role of media planning in brand support & integrated marketing communication, and as a netizen who spend most of my leisure time binge-watching video contents, I couldn’t help but notice the differences between online advertisements on Bilibili, a mainstream video-sharing app in mainland China, and on YouTube, which caters to a global audience. The essay will discuss the different formats of the ads, and explore their effects. 

Bilibili was originally a platform primarily features anime and gaming contents, but with growing users and dominance in video-sharing media, it now has covered almost all kinds of genres. At first glance, this app seems ad-free, considering the fact that users don’t have to wait for ads before they get to the actual videos. However, Bilibili employs algorithms that will recommend videos to users’ for you page based on their in-app search history and viewing habits. These videos usually look like a common sharing video from the thumbnails, but are actually advertisements of a brand or a product. 

Apart from this direct and obvious form of advertising, there is a special and more subtle way of advertising by integrating the promoting messages with user-generated content. Brands usually seek out potential partnership with content creators that have a certain level of fanbase. Most of them will introduce the product that may or may not have something to do with the theme of the video mid-way across, and viewers are free to jump the ad by speeding up or dragging the progress bar. Some of the content creators will adopt more creative and less intrusive ways, entertaining viewers while increase the engagement in forms of likes, favorites, donates, comments and “Danmu”. Executed well, this partnership will most likely bring a “win-win” outcome to the creators and the brands.

YouTube adopts a different strategy in terms of its advertisements. For starters, the basic version of YouTube has skippable and non-skippable ads before, between and in the middle of videos. Most of the time users have to watch at least 5 seconds of the ads before they can skip them. The ads are algorithm-based and delivered to targeted users they deem as potential consumers. In-video advertisements also exist in YouTube, with advertisers paying YouTubers to promote their brand or product, and thus gaining more exposure to viewers. However, users can avoid the former kind of ads by upgrading to YouTube Premium, with a monthly fee of 108 HK dollars. 

Although similarities exist between the two, Bilibili’s mode relies more on the interaction, with users actively participating in discussions. Delivering the product to the most concerned users, advertisements on Bilibili usually strengthen the community of the creators’ fans, increasing the brand’s recognizability as well as the creators income. In contrast, advertisements on YouTube depend more on algorithmic recommendations. 

As a heavy user myself, I find both modes of advertisements tolerable and minimally disruptive to my viewing experience. Advertisements on Bilibili usually come from the creators I like or have interest in, and presented in an entertaining manner, and YouTube ads are mostly skippable without causing too much inconvenience, and thanks to the personalized recommendations, some actually grab my attention. 

I believe that advertisements in video-sharing platforms are easier to reach the audience in today’s content-driven online environment and is a future trend, with people constantly going online to consume contents. In the meantime, brands and companies should consider what type of advertisements is the best fit for their products, and what type of video-sharing platform best conveys the idea of their products, before launching any partnerships and sponsorships.