How to make the study of Science exciting!

Topic: Tegenaria duellica, a.k.a. Spiders
Finding: Experiments have shown that common house spiders spin their webs in different ways according to the psychotropic drug they have been given.

So they behave differently... big deal! *Yawn* Boring, right? 
Wrong. 

Turns out, the folks at Environment Canada Wildlife Service may have found the way to communicate to the young and restless. This short documentary will show you what I mean:



If only more educational videos can be as creative and entertaining, we will have youths paying more attention in classes like Sex Ed, Alcoholism, Defensive Driving, Drugs and the Law... etc. 

Always think from the customers' point of view.

Social Experiments

The Washington Post conducted this social experiment:

Violinist Joshua Bell plays incognito in a Washington subway before a traveling rush-hour audience of 1,000-odd people using a $3.5 million handcrafted 1713 violin by Antonio Stradivari.
What do you think would happen?




Excerpt from the Washington Post article: "A onetime child prodigy, at 39 Joshua Bell has arrived as an internationally acclaimed virtuoso. Three days before he appeared at the Metro station, Bell had filled the house at Boston's stately Symphony Hall, where merely pretty good seats went for $100. Two weeks later, at the Music Center at Strathmore, in North Bethesda, he would play to a standing-room-only audience so respectful of his artistry that they stifled their coughs until the silence between movements. But on that Friday in January, Joshua Bell was just another mendicant, competing for the attention of busy people on their way to work."

On the flip-side, will consumers pay the premium for a mediocre product with a hyped up brand? Oh wait... that's what we, marketers, do. Make the ordinary, extraordinary. The unnecessary, a must-have.

On a much lighter note, how does a region's environment affect its people?
Take the people of Osaka, Japan, for example...



The insight lies in these quotes from my friends familiar with the Japanese culture:
"They are from Osaka, which is like the Japanese capitol of comedy" 
"Only in Osaka. You do this on Tokyo ppl, and you'll get completely ignored."

Marketing & Marie Curie's P.O.V

A recent IBM survey of chief marketing officers showed "that many feel unprepared to handle today's social media-infested waters." No doubt, marketers with an "old-school" approach are losing their grip in this world of digital media and data explosion.

The gist of the survey conducted by IBM: 

• 71% said they are under-prepared to manage current "data explosion"
• 68% struggle with changes in social media.  

Phil Kotler, author and marketing professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University said, "Marketing was just easier in the past."

To me, "marketing" never got easier or harder. It was a matter of how much marketers were able to understand the consumers and their motivations. Back then, the expectations put on a marketer were much lower than what they are today. Creating a great buzz around a product or brand is great... but that will no longer suffice today. Marketers and businesses want more than just exposure and engagement. They want to measure the EFFECT - an obvious link between the ad and the resulting purchase. So far, only the world of online advertising and e-commerce has been fairly successful in tracking a specific user's site visit, duration and activities.

Marketers today shouldn't feel overwhelmed by the influx of information. We won't have all the answers for every question and, sometimes, the answer leaves us even more confused and uncertain. But that's okay... we should be comfortable living and making decisions in a VUCA World. If anything, marketers today should get excited of the deep consumer insights they can uncover thanks to the availability of data and technology to analyze what's happening on a larger scale.

In the words of French Physicist, Marie Curie:  

"Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be understood."

See Inggrid Fly!

I stayed in Taiwan 4 days longer than my classmates. It was my first time traveling completely alone in a foreign land. Armed with bits and pieces of Mandarin, (words & phrases I picked up from listening to my mom and dad converse while growing up), and plenty of "I'm-sorry-to-trouble-you-but-I-need-your-help" kind of smile I was able to book and go on a paragliding adventure atop a mountain in Green Bay, Taiwan (not Wisconsin).

But this adventure was not without delays and obstacles... I was planning to go paragliding on Friday since my flight leaves next day, Saturday at 5pm. But the winds were not ideal to fly in on Friday. I remember my paragliding instructor, Michael, who said:
"It's better to be on the ground wishing to fly, rather than flying and wishing to be on the ground."

Michael, paragliding instructor & free-spirit

 Lunch-time on the mountain while waiting for the wind to calm down. 

Shirtless kid is the youngest experienced paraglider at 16 y/o. He is Ye-Ma's son

 Got invited to eat a bowl of Taiwanese flat rice noodle while waiting with fellow paragliders

After waiting for over 3 hours for the wind to change, I left the launch site really disappointed. The next morning, I packed my suitcase and was arranging the cab ride to the airport. But something inside of me kept on nagging and saying, "You can't leave without flying! Not after all that you have gone through." So, I called the paragliding club owner, Ye-Ma (a.k.a. Mustang), who said, "We're flying! Come here now!!"

I looked at the time... 10:30 a.m. I have to be at the airport by 3 p.m. at the very latest. Can I make it?

Call me crazy, but the next thing I know, I was in a cab heading back up the mountain. Cab driver didn't know where this place was. Well, neither do I! I took the bus from the city center to get there on Friday based on the instruction the hotel concierge gave me. The driver pulled-over to call his buddy to see if he'd know where the place was... no luck. Then, I asked him to speak to Ye-Ma himself to get the directions. I was nervous because time was running out... I don't want to miss my flight. But I don't want to miss out flying on my own either!

Finally, I got there... 11:45 a.m. Ye-Ma knew about my flight leaving in 5 hours. He put me in front of 40 other people who were waiting in-line to fly, geared me up and within 10 minutes, I was flying high up in the sky!

By 12:30 p.m., I was on my way back down the mountain. I didn't miss any of my flights :) Thanks to Ye-Ma and Michael!

Getting ready for my first flight!

Ye-Ma, Mustang Paragliding Club owner

Asia Perspectives - an IMC Education

In late August this year, I traveled to 3 Asian countries with a group of 30 Northwestern University grad students of Integrated Marketing Communications (I.M.C). The goal was to learn and understand how marketing is being practiced outside of the U.S. The trip took us to Seoul, Shanghai and Taiwan. There, we met with marketing executives from Coca-Cola, Nike, Samsung, Cheil Communications, Grey Group, Publicis, Yum! Brands, and the intriguing Taiwanese manufacturer Chimei. Learnt a lot about the booming and diverse Asian market...

As a city...

Shanghai is growing at a much faster pace than the majority of its people... almost too fast.

Seoul is trying to find the right balance between tradition and modernity.

Taiwan is a diamond in the rough. It has beautiful and varied landscapes that is largely unknown outside of Formosa. The Night Markets are unique... many other Asian countries have tried, but could never re-create the scene or mood that Taiwan's night markets have.

Enjoying a Taiwanese Oyster Omelette at Shilin Night Market solo... a kind Japanese tourist helped me take this photo after seeing me struggle trying to position myself into frame on my iPhone camera

 Exploring Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden at night 

 IMC 101 lesson: Be creative with what'cha got... sometimes it works to pull customers in

A photo op with a Korean boy band @ Myeong Dong Market

The people:

The original Shanghainese were generally educated and sophisticated individuals with a high appreciation for art and fashion. But over the years, a continuous influx of immigrants coming into Shanghai is changing the face and mentality of this city.
I call the two images you see:

"The Tale of Two Towers"

As for Seoulites, you will never, ever, ever, catch a woman walking in sweat-pants and no make-up on. Fashion is always on in Seoul. They probably live by Coco Chanel's motto: "There are no such thing as ugly women, just lazy ones."

The Taiwanese took me by surprise with their hospitality and how many of them speak some English or French. It doesn't matter where I was: the city or the rural hot spring area... Taiwanese people are always willing to help.

So, how come we don't hear more of "Come to Taiwan... Ilha Formosa?" Honestly, out of the three countries I visited, I think Taiwan is most ready to welcome tourists from all around the world!

My alter ego - Inggrid the Newscaster

I had just finished my fall quarter at Northwestern University's Integrated Marketing Communications program. Although I still have two more quarters left before graduating with my M.S. in IMC, I have learned a lot from this program. One of the three courses that I took this fall was Customer Value Innovation--taught by a very thought-provoking instructor.

Yesterday, he asked me about my TV reporting background. He said, "You must be famous! People must've recognized you (outside of the TV station)!" I replied, "Nope, not really... because I look very different on TV than I do in real life." He didn't believe me and so I showed him this video of my work from the days I reported and anchored for NBC.

Inggrid Yonata's Demo Reel from Inggrid Yonata on Vimeo

His jaws dropped to his amazement and he kept on repeating, "Whoaaa... you look SO different!" at least a dozen times within 5 minutes before the class started.

We all have our own alter ego, whether we realize it or not. Human beings are fascinating like that! Our characters are multidimensional. We just have to know how to make the best out of each of them.