Reflection

Firstly, what I would like to say is “if there is no ENG-380 English for International Trade, there will not be this blog”. I am sure that I’ve never just think to create my own blog though I like to travel on the internet world. This course provides me many things including valuable knowledge of international business, fun workshops, useful writing practice, skillful blog creating and opportunity to think and work creatively.

For blog creating, I began at zero but the only thing I have is the intention of doing it. I just thought if other people can do, why I can’t as everyone starts with nothing too. I just tried to design it simply in the first but it didn’t rather satisfy me. On the other hand, my friends’ blogs looked very sexy, skillful and wonderful that encouraged me to pay more attempt on it. Consequently, whenever I go on the internet, blogger is the website that I always click first instead of facebook and I spent more time on it.

Lastly, this course would not be perfect if it does not have Aj.Gob, our lovely teacher. She is a modern teacher who wants to change a classroom to be a playground and especially she always understands her students well. That makes her different from the other teachers. I would like to give a big thank to Aj.Gob from the truth of my mind. Also really thank you for every visit and comment. THANK YOU SO MUCH ^^

Reference

http://www.paulfrank.com 

http://www.brandchannel.com/features_webwatch.asp?ww_id=247

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_13_42/ai_72631302/

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050801/qa.html

http://www.retail-merchandiser.com/retail-reports/archive/307-paul-frank-industries-keep-it-simple.html

http://www.scenepreston.com/cms/Paul_Frank

http://www.skratchmagazine.com/interviews/int-paulfrank.php

Promotion strategy - Examples of advertising campaigns

• Advertising campaigns in magazine

 

THESE advertisements presented kids clothing of PFI. The aim of these advertising is to persuade the consumers to purchase the products and also to raise the brand awareness. It attracts the consumer needs when they see these pages on magazines and increase the brand awareness.

• Advertising campaigns on internet

 

THIS advertisements informs that the customers will get a FREE hand-screened canvas tote bag if they purchase the products $30 or more at any of our Paul Frank retail stores. Especially, 10% of total sales will be donated to Generation Rescue. So it convinces the customers to go to Paul Frank retail stores, shop and support a good cause. The aim is to inform and convince the customers to join the charity with PFI. It appeals to a moral aspect of the customers that pull them to Paul Frank retail stores.

• Advertising campaigns on transportation

 

 

THIS bus all dressed up to presents the brand and paulfrank.com in Las Vegas. You can honk if you see it driving on the road. Its aim is to raise the brand awareness. It enormously catches everyone sight who is on the street. Also, it does more people know Paul Frank brand.

• Advertising on the right people

 

THIS is one of Paul Frank key promotions placed the products on many celebrities and DJs. It is a good way to persuade consumer’s need. When most people see the products placed on the celebrities they crazy about, absolutely they want to get the same products like their idol. This is the bright way of PFI to promote the products without spending a huge budget on any advertisements.

Promotion strategy - Key promotion strategies

• Hold the gift giving concept Paul Frank Industries didn’t think much about any marketing strategy or advertising. Always, we thought all about make a gift and put a smile on our friend’s face. That is the main strategy of the brand.
• Use the products to speak for the promotion When the company was founded by Hueser with some friends in 1995, they had no marketing budget. Consequently, they had to spread the Paul Frank brand to the mass market creatively via the products. “We just marketed intuitively,” said Heuser. “First and foremost, your product is the best form of marketing you have, so if you make your product undeniable, it will speak for itself.”
• Place the products on the right people The company didn’t want to do any advertisements instead we placed the products on the right people at the right time, including celebrities, athletes, and DJs. For instance, Paul Frank products have been placed in 18 movies from Finding Forrester to the upcoming American Pie 2 as well as numerous TV shows and magazines.
• Create value with implied endorsements PFI makes the products to each activity group and takes the leaders use those products like wrapping the lead guitarist’s guitar with Paul Frank artwork. The consumers will buy the products related to their idol. It is simply than making a lot of advertisements. “A lot of the strategy lies in the subtlety, creating value with implied endorsements. Those speak more to kids than a guy appearing in an ad wearing your clothes.”
• Launch the web site paulfrank.com to promote the brand. The site provides five sections including explore & create, news, products, locations and shop. Paul Frank fans visit and shop on the web site. “I know all this sounds naïve, but this is how it happened, and this is part of the reason we’ve got staying power today,” Heuser said.

Product strategy - Key successful factors

• Hold the gift giving concept when we make the products. "If you're going to make a gift for somebody you're not thinking of any age group or any marketing strategy," Frank said. "All you're thinking about is what's going to put a smile on your friend's face and get them to compliment you. I like to give presents, but I also like people to say, "That's a good job, Paul."
• Make a great product with unique designs, bright colors and wide range of inspired products for people all ages. “The element of discovery was key” Heuser said.
• Tap into people’s emotions by not selling but somewhat bringing them to it. “Making a great product and having people seek it out gave them the feeling they were in the know and part of a secret society.”
• Not follow trends but we do push them. That makes our customers fashionable, chic and stylish. "We're not afraid of pushing trends instead of following them," said company president and co-founder Ryan Heuser. "And our corporate culture mirrors our consumer."
• Young at heart employees who have been inspired by art, music, architecture and entertainment. They always create fun products for their friends. They are as the key of the products. If there are no these employees, there will not be fun products for friends.

Product strategy - Positioning

The company has well known for its unique fun designs, wide range of inspired products, and Julius the monkey icon that made the brand known throughout the world and continues to expand and progress. As we believe in bright, happy colors inspired surroundings, humor, pleasant sarcasm, everyday cleverness, a youthful, fresh approach to just about everything and especially the venerable art of gift giving, that make the products different from the other brands. Therefore, it would be hard to find any companies which are similar to Paul Frank Industries.

Product strategy - Branding

• Brand logo

The brand was built around Julius, the loveable monkey icon. There is no doubt why the most people know Paul Frank brand. Absolutely, they know the brand from that monkey appeared in many places across the globe. It extremely attracts their attention. When people see that monkey icon on T-shirts or other items, they certainly want to know what the brand is or where will they get it. That is the way to build the brand awareness of Paul Frank.

• Brand slogan

The brand motto of Paul Frank Industries is “Paul Frank is your friends”. PFI makes people feel that they are not the custumers but they are friends of Paul Frank via its simple slogan. Moreover, we tap into people’s emotions by not selling the products but bringing to them by gift giving we make. So, that built the loyalty and pride to the brand.

• Brand value

• A conspiracy of fun

A conspiracy of fun as the vision, Paul Frank opened the retail stores in many places around the world focused on the way to stay passionate. We considered about the creativity, fixtures and consumer experience saying, ‘I like this’ and ‘I don’t like this’. The stores combined with color palates, layouts, and staff. Each store has its own characteristics harmonized with its specific area. Therefore, every Paul Frank store acts as a Paul Frank embassy to promote the brand.

  

Product strategy - Target market

 

As the motto "Paul Frank is your friend", the company always makes gifts for our friends. That shows the target group of Paul Frank visibly, “friends” refer to people of all ages. "If you're going to make a gift for somebody you're not thinking of any age group or any marketing strategy," Frank said. Consequently, PFI has a wide range of consumers from the teeniest to their 80-year-old grandmas. Moreover, Paul Frank's core consumer is that hard-to-reach demo, the skeptical X and Y generations, which include the indie, punk, rave, club, street, urban and snowboard and skateboard sub-cultures.

Product strategy - Product lines

Paul Frank Industries creates all about fun products inspired by art, music, architecture and entertainment. What we make is divided into twenty product lines. There are accessories, bikes, boys(clothing), edibles, footwear, girls(clothing), helmets, home, infant & toddler(clothing), infant & toddler accessories, lip balm, men(clothing), optometrics, pet products, plush, stationary, tech and audio, technical outerwear, women(clothing) and zipper pulls.

Product strategy - Logo & Motto

Paul Frank built a sassy-looking monkey icon called Julius to be the brand logo. He got the idea for Julius when he started making purses as a present he gave to his girlfriend. The monkey has no organ grinder adorned all Paul Frank products such as wallets, pajamas, clocks, T-shirts, key chains and other items.Certainly, it appeals to people of all ages and especially does everyone know the brand.

The campy motto, "Paul Frank is your friend" refers to Paul Frank is always their costumers friend as the products we made as gifts for friends. The motto speaks to adults and their children to do fun activities with Paul Frank such as cycling, doing art work, listening to music or even cooking. We have been creating smiles around the world for ten years.

Company background

from Gifts became a Company

In 1995 originally Paul Frank sewn wallets and handbags decorated with loveable monkey icon names Julius as gifts for his girlfriend. The adorable character was famous in small group and became a little company overnight. Two years later, Paul Frank Industries (PFI) was formally incorporated in Southern California for need of a fun outlet celebrating creativity and individuality. The company attracted people of all ages with its bright color and unique sensibilities.

As the company developed their plans to create fun products, PFI employees who are young as well as young at heart have always been inspired by art, music, architecture and entertainment. They made guitar straps to indie rock groups and special edition t-shirts to hot DJs.

Paul Frank clothing and other products became popular and visible excellently. The brand appeared in many films like Superbad, Knocked Up, Austin Powers, American Pie and Charlie's Angels. The numerous celebrities came to Paul Frank Store such as pop stars, punk bands, indie rocks groups and actors. So, the media love to keep their eyes on Paul Frank.

The company launched eighteen stores worldwide. There are in Southern California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and New York City, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dubai, Qatar, Bangkok, Athens, Taipei, Japan and Malaysia.

Rationale

Everyone knows Paul Frank from the loveable monkey icon, Julius. The reaction when people see Paul Frank characters is “Oh, my!” whether a high school student or parents in their middle age. Certainly, I as an ordinary girl fell in love with that monkey, Julius at the first time I saw. At first glance, I saw it on T-shirts then looking around Paul Frank Store (at Central Festival, Phuket), I found that monkey decorated on many products including clothing, children's wear, watches, glasses, swimwear, accessories and even bikes.
It extremely attracted my attention and also my need. When I went shopping, I’ve never passed Paul Frank Store without taking a glance at that monkey. I just like to look at that monkey. It always makes me smile like that monkey, Julius. And when I had the opportunity to learn about the global brand, Paul Frank was the first brand I thought of. This brand really interested me; there were many things I want to know about it. So, I decided to choose Paul Frank brand without hesitation.

Journal #6

Time passes so quickly. The mid term examination comes. So we spent the first class on review of the lesson. It was about negotiation. In business, what we think and what we say are rather different. We do not always say what we think directly but we need to express it politely and firmly. That was the activity I did in the class. I though it’s somewhat difficult to make a speech firm and also polite because if it is firm, it isn’t always polite. However, that activity showed me how to make a delicate negotiation. I hope I’ll be able to do it in the mid term exam.

For the special time, we presented “The first day at work” activity. Every group did it excellently. There were different styles of the presentation in each group. Some groups were formal and some were entertaining. The presentations indicated our intention, attempt, creativity, entertainment and development. It very impressed me. Now, I’m rather anxious about the mid term exam coming soon. LOL

Letter of invitatons for professional comments

Dear, my honourable business partners of all brands

I am pleased to invite you, on behalf of the General Manager of Paul Frank Industries in English for international trade Course, to observe on how to advance my company perfectly.

Paul Frank Industries always creates products with inspiration of fun, art, music, architecture and entertainment. The customers all over the ages got it. Nevertheless, I need your evaluation or suggestions for a big change to make more progress in the company.

As one of the business partners of Paul Frank Industries, you please feel free to make me comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and being a part of my advance. I will be in touch with you soon. 

Sincerely,

Miss Pharita Urapananan

General Manager of Paul Frank Industries

Journal #5

First of all, I want to thank Boss G for her kind and helpful comments on the job interview activity last week. That satisfied and cheered me more than I expected. Boss G began the class surprisingly with showing the photos of our activities that was so amusing and impressive. Then she gave us some tips for job interview. It was very useful for me because I have an interview for the internship next week!!

Furthermore, I’m going to be a Blog Police to comment professionally on my business partners’ blogs. It’s like a Fashion Police on TV. The professional comments focus on the design of each blog for instance balance, rhythm, position, color and size. Oh! I’m very excited to make the comments for my business partners and also excited to receive the comments on my blog design from them.

Journal #4

The fourth week passed by with a joyful time. In this week, I learnt about the product strategy; branding and positioning. To exemplify the positioning, Aj. Gob cleverly applied the concept of positioning to the job interviews. I thought in job interviews we have to show our unique selling point and our positioning. Thus, it is similar to the job interviews. In class, we did the job interviews. I think it was a useful workshop because I will graduate and certainly I’ll apply for a job that means I’ll have to interview for a job!! It sounds quite serious right? Exactly, if it is in the real life, it should be serious. But, in that class it was opposite because it was very funny. Therefore, the classroom was full of laugh and smile. ^^

 

Reflection: “What did I learn from the VictoriasSecret.Com?”

 

After I read the case study and entered the VictoriasSecret.com, I have no doubt why they achieved the goals. To support the brand and increase the sales were Victoria’s Secret two goals. First, they launched the web site including TV sports, Internet banner ads and print ads in major newspapers to build their brand stronger. There were many viewers visited the web site and more people recognized their brand. The web site became a leader in online innovation. Thus, they could build the brand prestige, loyalty, value etc. I think this is the product strategy (Branding) of VictoriasSecret.

For the promotion strategy, the web site offered their products and provided many sale  promotions for the customer. The shoppers comfortably ordered from catalogue on the web store. Consequently, they could increase the sales. Exactly, VictoriasSecret achieved the goals via VictoriasSecret.com.