Fika Cafe
257 Beach Road

9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-20 Millenia Walk

11 Tanjong Katong Road
#02-K3 One KM

http://www.fikacafe.com/


Nice Swedish Cafe... But Avoid Sitting Outside

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 9
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $25 per person.


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I was pretty excited when I discovered Fika Cafe, as Swedish food isn't very common in Singapore. On top of that, they're also certified Halal!

Fika Cafe does Swedish comfort food, including classics like the Swedish Meatballs With Lingonberry Jam. The meatballs are a mixture of beef and lamb, and while they aren't dry, they weren't very juicy either. I also thought that the meatballs could have been packed a little tighter, but overall, I liked the dish.

Other Swedish classics include Blueberry Soup (which is like Blueberry Juice), and Rosehip Soup (which has a citrus-y, almost orange like taste).

The desserts at Fika Cafe are really good, especially the Apple Crumble Pie With Ice Cream.

All the times I've visited, I found the service to be excellent. Staff will do their best to attend to your requests, answer questions on ingredients, or how best to consume a dish, and food is served relatively quickly even when crowded.

The Ambience at Fika Cafe is also stand-out. The first floor is your typical cozy cafe layout, but ask to be seated at the second floor. You'll think you just stepped into someone's home... There's a fake fireplace with comfy sofas, a bookshelf with ladder, and various other decorations and knick-knacks strewn about. Great for photo-taking.

If at all possible, do try to avoid sitting outdoors, as you'll be accosted by beggers. Having actually visited Fika Cafe on a daily basis for a week, I noticed that they actually come at fixed timings every day. For example, an elderly single lady will come, without fail, at 11.45am everyday. And around 2pm, a couple carrying a baby will come around. It's almost like they have some kind of schedule they keep among themselves.

If you're feeling generous and don't mind giving, then go ahead, but if you're adverse to this kind of thing, then it's best if you sit indoors instead.


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Swedish Strawberry Cream Tea

Blueberry Soup Warm

Smoked Salmon Crepe

Cloudberry Cheesecake

Coffee

Rosehip Soup

Fika Big Breakfast Set

Raggmunk

Potato Salad With Roast Beef

Cinnamon Latte

Caramel Latte

Swedish Meatballs With Mashed Potato

Apple Crumble Pie With Ice-Cream

Lemon And Ginger Green Tea

Swedish Hash

Grilled Salmon

Chocolate Truffle Mint Tea Dispenser

Chocolate Truffle Mint Tea

Reserve a table now @ Fika Cafe - Beach Road

Reserve a table now @ Fika Cafe - Millenia Walk

Reserve a table now @ Fika Cafe - One KM

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Consumer Insight


Consumer Insight is an understanding of a target audience's attitudes and beliefs, and what connects with them on a deep emotional level. The desired reponse should be "This brand understands me! That is exactly how I feel!". When leveraged properly, it will provoke a clear response, and change consumer behavior. 


Insights can be based on:
1. Real or perceived weakness to be exploited in competitive product performance or value.
2. Attitudinal or perceived barrier in the minds of consumers, regarding your brand.
3. Untapped or compelling belief or practice.

Insights are most effective when they are/do one of the following:
1. Unexpected
2. Create a disequilibrium
3. Change momentum
4. Exploited via a benefit or point of difference that your brand can deliver







Some Examples: 

1. Folgers Coffee
Until the "Best Part Of Wakin' Up" came along, we all thought that the ability to brew a good-tasting cup of coffee for our annoyingly picky friends was an effective measure of our self-worth. But then the people at Folgers uncovered a simple, obvious, but nevertheless earth shattering insight: Coffee is mostly about waking up, and we wake up to the smell of the coffee before we even get to take a sip. This insight drove the business from a 17% to 36% market share.



2. Oreo Cookies
How do you increase sales volume for what is already a national institution? Well, the people at Oreo told Americans to "Eat the middle first and save the chocolate cookie outside for last". Was the campaign the actual insight itself? Not quite - the insight was actually that children love what they instinctively discover for themselves: this is simply the best way to eat an Oreo. The clever part is that tens of millions of individual Oreo eaters still think they came up with the idea first, and they love when the adverting reminds them of their apparent genius. This also led the company to create Oreo Double-Stuff for those who just can't get enough of the creamy middle bit. Brilliant!


3. DeBeers
When you watch those intriguing Diamond commercials, who are they aiming at? Men or women? Actually, it's both. That's the beauty of this particular insight: The woman thinks: "If he really, really cares for me, he'll give me a diamond," while the man thinks: "If I come home with anything other than a diamond, I'm history." The "A diamond is forever" campaign was brilliantly executed!


4. Volkswagen Beetle
Think back to the gas-guzzling giant monsters (many with tailfins!) prowling the highways of 1950s America. Suddenly this small, strange-looking car arrived, getting 50 miles to the gallon (and fuel was US$0.19 per gallon). They told America to "Think Small". But their insight wasn't small at all. It wasn't just the need for a smaller car - there was a sizable group of people who needed to be different and didn't express themselves based on the size of their car. A later variety of this same insight - appealing to individuality against all odds - is Apple's "Think Different" campaign.



5. Life Cereal
If you tell a child that something's good for them, they'll never do it, eat it or listen to you. And so it goes with breakfast cereals. But the child who hates everything that's healthy hungrily devours Life Cereal, which claims "It's s'posed to be good for you". Mothers are told not to tell their kids that Life Cereal is nutritious. It's reverse psychology at it's best: Don't say it's healthy, and they'll defy you and eat it anyway.







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Epic Rap Battles Of History Annotations:
http://rapgenius.com/albums/Nice-peter-epiclloyd/Epic-rap-battles-of-history-season-one
http://rapgenius.com/albums/Nice-peter-epiclloyd/Epic-rap-battles-of-history-season-two

• ·         Vader is a fictional character.
• ·         Vader is performing a dance move known as the ‘Robot’ in the background.

• ·         ‘Stormtroopers’ refer to the infantry grunts of the Empire in Star Wars, and also the infantry soldiers of Nazi Germany.
• ·         The early stormtroopers in Star Wars were called ‘Clone Troopers’, because they were all mass-manufactured clones.

• ·         ‘Dawg’ is a slang term meaning ‘Friend’. Hitler uses it sarcastically.
• ·         Hitler’s ‘shower’ refers to the gassing chambers of World War II, where thousands of people were forced into communal showers, and gassed to death.

• ·         A lightsaber is a weapon in Star Wars, very similar to a sword, and used in hand-to-hand combat by Jedi and Sith. Vader’s lightsaber projects a red blade.
• ·         Among Hitler’s many beliefs, was the belief of White Supremacy, and the restoration of the Aryan race.
• ·         The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is an extremist group that also believes in White Supremacy.

• ·         Vader is a cyborg, his body rebuilt with cybernetic parts after he was horribly disfigured by molten lava.
• ·         Vader performs the ‘Force Choke’ and ‘Force Pull’ moves on Hitler.
• ·         As Hitler is pulled toward Vader, he transits from Black-and-White to full Color.

• ·         Carbonite is a fictional element in Star Wars. Carbonite freezing is very similar to cyro-statis, where an object or person frozen within is kept alive, but inert.
• ·         Hitler is frozen with a horrified look on his face, similar to the expression on Han Solo’s face when he was frozen in carbonite in Star Wars.

• ·         Hitler was known for his hatred against Israel and the Jewish race.
• ·         ‘Homeboy’ is a slang term meaning ‘A close friend’. Here, Vader says that Hitler’s hatred enemies are his close friends.
• ·         A stormtrooper from Star Wars answers Vader’s call in the background.
• ·         Vader won this rap battle in continuity.

10 Sinaran Drive
#03-33 Novena Square 2

20 Lorong Mambong




Having previously dined at Hansang Korean Family Restaurant, she and I had gained a good impression of their BBQ meats... So when we discovered their sister restaurant, Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbecue, we just had to try it. 


Personally, I liked Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbecue better, and the BBQ meats were really up to standard as well... Although you have the option to cook it yourself, or have the chefs prepare it for you. We choose to DIY. 


The meat is sliced quite thinly, so it cooks pretty quickly. Nice. The vegetables were a bit odd though, as they only served a few slices of each (mushroom, onion, chili), and grilling the vegetables was harder than grilling the meat. 


I really like the fresh lettuce they served alongside, for you to wrap the cooked meat in. 


I also thought the Tofu Soup was much better than the Kimchi Soup I had previously... Will remember to order this next time.


Prices at Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbecue are a bit steep... For the amount I paid for this ala-carte meal, I could have gone to a Korean BBQ buffet instead.

BBQ 01

BBQ 02

BBQ 03

Grilling 01

Grilling 02

Grilling 03

Side Dishes 05

Side Dishes 06

Sweet Potato Noodles

Tofu Soup

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10 Sinaran Drive
#03-33 Novena Square 2

20 Lorong Mambong




While shopping with her for heels, we passed Hansang Korean Family Restaurant, and decided to have dinner here. 


The Kimchi Jjigae we ordered was a huge hotpot / stew of vegetables (Kimchi, Cabbage, Carrots, Chili, Onions, Tofu) and carbs (egg noodles, vermicelli, rice cakes), but barely had any meat. For a Pork hotpot, it came with only a few slices of pork spine meat, a few slices of sausages, and 2 dumplings. Tasty and filling, but rather disappointing value for money.


The side dishes were plentiful, but pretty average on their own. 


The Special Fried Rice is basically rice fried in a little of the leftover soup from the hotpot... The idea being that the rice becomes infused with the essence and fragrance from the many ingredients stewing in the hotpot. While the gf thought it was pretty average, I thoroughly disliked the taste and texture. 

What we really liked however, is the excellent service the staff of Hansang Korean Family Restaurant provide, giving tips on ordering, being knowledable on the menu, and helping to prepare our food! 

We also really like the Dak Bulgogi, which is marinated chicken meat. Really tasty and well prepared. 

Mental note... Don't eat the Special Fried Rice at Hansang Korean Family Restaurant.  

Dak Bulgogi

Kimchi Jjigae 01

Kimchi Jjigae 02

Side Dishes 01

Side Dishes 02

Side Dishes 03

Side Dishes 04

Special Fried Rice

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Introduction To Integrated Marketing Communications

• Hard Sell Approach
• Mass Reach, Non-Personal
• Paid – High Costs involved
• Has an Identified Sponsor
• Able to control message
• Able to create a distinct image / brand
• May suffer from credibility issues
• Difficult to measure amount of sales

• Hard Sell Approach
• Has Incentives & Deadlines for customer to purchase / sales team
• Either Consumer-Oriented or Trade-Oriented
• Short-Term
• Easy to measure amount of sales
• May be abused
• Could lead to promotional wars
• Doesn’t build brand image

• Soft Sell Approach
• Creates Situations / Scenarios to Impress customer
• Requires more effort to sustain, slightly more roundabout method
• Has public interest in mind
• A management function
• Difficult to measure amount of sales

• Free
• Greater credibility, message from third-party endorsement
• Mass Reach, Non-Personal
• Double edged sword, depending on how the third-party perceives you
• No control over message

• One-to-One Approach
• Specific Targeting
• Requires a database, then market segmentation, then targeting
• Includes Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM)
• Can be Personalised and Customized for individual customers / segments
• Can gather direct feedback
• Expensive and Complex way to reach Masses
• Difficult to project a uniform message

Marketing Goals: To create / improve / maintain Brand’s share of Market.
Unit of Measurement: Percentage, Volume, Value
 


Promotional Goals: To create / improve / maintain Brand’s share of Mind.
Unit of Measurement: Hierarchy Of Communication Effects
 




Brand Identity: How a customer perceives your brand.  

1. Brand Awareness: Customer knows about your brand.
2. Brand Acceptance: Customer believes your message, and that your brand is good.
3. Brand Preference: Customer identifies your brand as among the top choices in their mental shopping list, and will purchase your brand over other brands, if other ‘better’ brands aren’t available.
4. Brand Loyalty: Customer chooses your brand consistently over other brands, and makes repeat purchases from your brand over a period of time. 

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