To lure it’s customers to buy high end fashion online, Amazon is making a lot of effort in personalizing the site using the models who will spin and pose to show off the clothing and provide advice about each item to give shoppers the store like experience.

Amazon is launching their clothing store with a strong marketing campaign, including its first advertisement campaign ever. Considering it’s Amazon who has nailed its approach to shipping and rule nearly every other industry it integrates, it’s a matter of time that it significantly increases its customer and vendor database. I sure am looking forward to what it has in store for us consumers….

It’s all about packaging: You can package the product well and make a very good impression about the brand. In the unveiling of Katniss and Peeta to the world, Cinna took a negative and turned it into a positive. Given that they were from District 12 (the poor mining district), Katniss wondered if they were to be dressed as miners or stripped naked and covered in coal dust. Instead, he made Katniss “the girl who was on fire,” right down to the synthetic flame of the headdress. And, when you’re competing against 11 other products on the global stage, it helps to be the one that’s on fire.

Flaunt your talents. Within a company, marketing can get lost in the mix if not communicated properly to everyone (Internally and Externally). That’s why it’s good to remember that if you’ve got the skills and your peers are ignoring you, make them notice. Or shoot right at their heads just like Katniss, who unleashed an arrow straight at the Gamemakers’ table, skewering an apple that sat before them in a pig’s mouth and pinned it to the wall. Your message needs to be communicated loud and clear, just like hers.

Make your own rules. Today, marketers have more opportunity than ever to share their brand with the world. This means taking risks, experimenting and making up new rules as they go. Like Katniss and Peeta, who threatened the Gamemakers with their poison berries, marketers need to consider drastic measures as the media mix continues to evolve daily.

Get the sponsors: It’s one thing to be edgy and a challenger brand, but you still need to be likable enough to have “supporters” (sponsors). Otherwise, you might end up trying to explain and coping with lost revenue. Katniss and Peeta received several gifts from their sponsors, which helped them survive.

Build strong partnerships: Having partnerships with other companies can strengthen your brand. Although you may not want to sync up with your competition, working with a complementary brand could help bring you a new audience. Although only one person was supposed to win the game, both Katniss and Peeta worked in harmony and came out victorious. The novel is full of instances where one could not have survived without the other

Connect with consumers: Today more than ever, it’s very important for a brand to emotionally connect with the right target audience. In her debut interview, Katniss was sold on emotions when she was told to talk about her family and her sister Prim, whom she loved dearly.

The biggest and the foremost benefit of Prius is that it gets an average of 45 or even more miles per gallon. With the ever-increasing gas prices, this could be a huge benefit for anyone. Through the strong marketing campaign i.e. it burns only one gallon in 45 miles, Prius has conveyed a very strong message that has let people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment.

It seems to be a pretty sweet deal for a consumer. You get a great car with great looks, high mileage, tax credits and it makes a statement that you care about the environment! And did u know that in a Prius, you can drive in the carpool lane alone…

As I mentioned earlier, being influenced by the west coast culture I also wanted to get a Prius, but as soon as I came back to New York –I forgot all about it.  So, the thing that surprises me that when there are educated and environment friendly people here in the east coast, why is there so much difference in the consumer behavior? Why don’t we see as many Prius’s on the streets here?

Maybe because, rightly stereotyped East coast stereotypes are status conscious, flashy and uptight, they talk and walk fast, engrossed in their own worlds and show off a lot more as compared to West coasters who are more flakey, casual, peaceful and, “maybe”, healthier. I guess, that’s one of the reasons that they would care less and buy fancier cars like a BMW or a Merc as compared to a Prius. That’s my experience… What yours??

With “Exciting Things Are Happening at Burger King,” which showcases the line up of celebrity customers, BK is clearly indicating a new brand experience in their restaurants. It has added 10 new items to their menu like snack wraps, chicken strips, smoothies and frappe coffee drinks. The chain has slipped to number three in the fast food chain wars and it’s offering healthy snacks to compete with McDonald’s and Wendy’s. The new food items sure looks delicious and they are inviting new customers into a new and fresh brand experience.  It’ll be interesting to see if people line up for this new line up. I personally prefer BK over other fast food chains as it offers veggie burger and I’ll definitely try their new garden salad and smoothies.

Among others, these are the some of the spots that showcase each celebrity at their best. You can watch these commercials on BK website.

• Jay Leno kicks off the campaign and finds his own drive-thru lane to showcase the menu lineup.
• David Beckham heats up the front counter when he orders a cool, healthy Real Fruit Smoothie.
• Salma Hayek plays a diverse cast of BK customers, ordering Garden Fresh Salads, Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps and Crispy Chicken Strips, while showing off her acting chops in English and Spanish language ads.
• Sofia Vergara dons a BK uniform and spices up the kitchen, making a Garden Fresh Salad and Real Fruit Smoothie in Spanish language ads.

These star-studded ads are bound to generate awareness and buzz for the brand and highlight their new food in unique and refreshing ways. My personal favorite is David Beckham ad for obvious reasons. Which one’s yours?

As a part of the campaign, Burger King has also prepared a number of sampling trucks nationwide to promote their new menu. The trucks can be tracked on BK website, beginning April 18^th.

Oahu: Oahu has a mix of a big city feel with a tropical paradise. It is an island full of people, traffic, skyscrapers and commercialism with thousands of tourists visiting everyday. Waikiki beach area is the highlight of Oahu which is full of big high-end shops, big resort style hotels, beautiful beach to swim, snorkel, surf or canoe, nice restaurants filled with people, and the very beautiful Kapiolani Park. You can enjoy the city hustle- bustle at Waikiki or get away from all the people by heading up to the North Shore, which is quiet and full of natural beauty. It is full of lush green forests and beautiful beaches. And, in my opinion Lanikai beach is the best beach in all of Hawaii.

Maui: Maui is a small island which is amazing and versatile and has many different areas with many different things to do like zip lines, helicopter tours, downhill bike rides, sunset boat cruises, whale-watching tours etc.  The beaches are truly awesome and the road to Hana offers many crazy waterfall hikes through sugar cane and tropical rain forests. With that said Maui is very quiet.

Maui vs. Oahu: Which Island is better to vacation: Maui and Oahu are very different islands, but each is awesome in their own way. But for me, the winner is Oahu – Oahu offers so much more to see and do. It has the perfect mix of big city and natural beauty. It has amazing beaches and great country/ small towns if you like to get away from the city. It has the world famous beautiful Waikiki, but it’s not only all about Waikiki. Lanikai beach is really beautiful and perhaps the best in all of Hawaii. The rest of the island is beautiful and lush, with lots of history and Hawaiian culture.  I found Oahu to be more greener. In Maui, Hana Road is very beautiful and has a rainforest, but rest of the island is not as lush. I like Oahu better but if you are looking for a quiet nature-filled experience, Maui may be the place for you.

Also, wherever you are in Hawaii, don’t forget to try the Hawaiian Mai Tai :)

• Post a photo, including taking one and posting it directly from your phone’s camera or gallery
• Tag a friend that you are with and what you are doing
• Check-in to any location
• Share the awesome new song that you are listening to
• Post a comment (i.e. “status”), which friends can also respond to
• Indicate that you have gone to bed or have awoken for the day Invite friends (via Facebook or your address book) to “follow your Path”

Path’s USP? I agree that Path isn’t really very different from other similar apps, but what Path offers is a very well executed private and personalized experience. Your friends are able to easily view, comment or respond to any of your activities, i.e. follow your “path”. So, whether you want to comment on a song that a friend is currently listening to, add an emoticon to their activity to display your approval / disapproval or perhaps recommend your favorite dish at a restaurant or cafe that they just checked into – Path makes it easy and intuitive to do so in a very nice and clean fashion. Plus, it’s just really pretty to look at!

Is Path right for you? With all this said, do we really need yet another location and activity check-in aka social networking app?? If you are like me and kinda have had enough of Facebook crap, the answer might be a ‘yes’.

How it works: Club registration is free, take a short quiz to determine your personalized shoe profile and unlock shoe styles that are specific to you.  You get an email of a selection of “designer-quality” shoes every month and you choose your favorite style and the shoe gets delivered to your house for free. And also, skip any month for as many months as you want, no stings attached! The membership usually ranges from $39.95 – $49.95.

The value:  I would say that the club concept is great. It helps you keep refreshing your shoe closet with latest trends and styles. You get the total value for your money. I quote my friend here – “Shoe styles are really nice, quality not that great but for $40 bucks- seems worth it”. And as the first month promotion, she got 2 pairs for $40, so she seemed pretty happy and satisfied.

Overall:  The “shoe of the month” offers unique styles of trendy shoes every month, picked especially for you by fashion stylists at a relatively low price. So, if you are a shoe-a-holic but don’t have the budget to spend hundreds of dollars on each pair, the shoe club may just be right for you.

P.S. – My birthday is coming up… Hint hint :)