The Marketing Peg

Interning at a prestigious FMCG really is an eye-opener and made me understand more about the marketing obligations and activities of marketing in Singapore. (I'm actually referring more to those who are working for huge MNCs with the headquarters situated in a country with 4 seasons). "Obligations" is the word used because marketers in Singapore... well... don't really have a lot of say in the marketing mix. For non-marketers, marketing mix means the 4Ps which equate to Product, Price, Promotion and Place. We are mostly told what to do... in a way.. I'll explain. Product I've learned, that when working with a large MNC, there are regulations and guidelines which have to be (strictly?) adhered to. Let's talk about the first P - Product. The headquarters (let's just assume that this is the US for convenience sake) sends you the product that they have come up with - the product is not fully developed yet, of course. Excellent, you get to try it out and g...

I'm sure few have heard the brand Li Ning, especially those in Singapore. But it seems to be a whole different scenario all across the ocean in China. In China, Li Ning is a well known sports brand which is similar to the likes of Nike and Adidas. Ask any Chinese teenager if they know Li Ning, and few would shake their heads. It was initially set up by the famous Chinese gymnast Li Ning, and this sports brand is endorsed by Damon Jones and Shaq O'Neille from NBA. Li Ning, however, is not exactly very globalized yet (judging from the fact that few have heard of it's name here). I was tasked with this project to research on Li Ning a few months ago, and these are some interesting things I discovered. Firstly, the Li Ning logo looks like this the not so famous (yet) Li Ning squirrel tail Now, just compare the above... to this the already very famous Nike swoosh Notice the similarity? Now, on to the slogan... Li Ning's slogan is Anything is Possible and another famous spor...

*spoiler alert* Watched Sex in the City with my boyfriend recently, and I came out totally feeling happy and thinking hard after the show. If you haven't watched it, YOU MUST WATCH IT!! It's one of the best movies EVER. =) 5 stars by me. Happy, because after watching 6 seasons of the drama on DVD I finally get to see Carrie marry Mr Big (this is not exactly a spoiler because it's been over advertised in its various trailers anyway ;p). And there were many happy endings in the movie as well related to the other 3 girls which I also love. Samantha became her cool single self, Miranda made up with Steve and Charlotte had a beautiful baby girl :) However, this movie also got my thinking real hard. I mean like these 4 girls are really tight... and I mean.. R E A L L Y... TIGHT. They can talk about anything in the world, and their friends will accept the fact. I mean, yea, they do fight and get angry with one another, but after some apology, the matter will just blow over and the...

There has always been talks about how fishermen leverage on the huge market for the consumption of sharks' fins and throw the dying shark back to the water after snipping off their fins, aka "live-finning". In JC, I've even watched a documentary endorsed by our very own Stephanie Sun (Sun Yan Zi) about the harm that this is causing on those sharks and other marine life. All these news left me a bit apprehensive and I even swore to lay off shark's fin. However, a few years ago, I remember hearing from my mum, after she had read an article on the Straits Times that we can eat shark's fin without guilt . An excerpt below: However, these sensational pictures obscure the fact that many within the industry are against such practices. The vast majority of fins in the market are taken from sharks after their death. This is the preliminary finding of a review made with the assistance of shark experts, fishermen, captains of big fishi...