From CBC “Uber Faces More Delays in Vancouver”

Ever since the Uber craze started in around 2010, virtually every major city in the world has adopted the app and its novel idea of connecting “freelance drivers” with consumers. Whether you’re in San Francisco, London, or New York, the Uber app allows you to conveniently hitch a ride with the simple tap of a button and the nearest driver will come pick you up. Seems like a great idea right? Well, apparently not according to angry taxi drivers around the globe and . . . the BC government.

Despite serving over 500 cities worldwide in 66 countries, Uber has had unbelievably hard luck when it comes to breaking into the Vancouver market. Time and time again it has had its license approval rejected by the BC government and the Vancouver City Council after relentless lobbying by representatives in the province’s taxi industry. After its latest rejection earlier this month, it appears that Uber’s patience with the province’s stubborn opposition has reached a breaking point. Using unusually strong language, Uber’s chief advisor, David Plouffe, warned that BC will fall behind the rest of the world if it doesn’t allow the ridesharing app soon. 

As mentioned in fellow student Kevin Li’s blog post on the emergence of freelance drivers , the emergence of disruptive technology will inevitably compete and in many cases, replace traditional industries. The taxi industry is only one of many examples in which the emergence of technology such as the smartphone, has changed how the service is offered. Having been in China this past summer, I agree with Kevin on just how shockingly low the taxi rates in China are compared to the rates in Vancouver. Because of the fact that the rates are really high in Vancouver, riding taxis is not really a viable alternative to say taking the bus. I believe this really is a significant problem that should be addressed in Vancouver because the whole concept of taxis is to provide people an affordable alternative to a) driving themselves and b) taking the bus.

Would allowing Uber in Vancouver potentially close the existing vacuum? Possibly because freelance drivers will offer much needed competition to the existing oligopoly in Vancouver’s taxi industry and to gain market share, freelance drivers will need to offer lower rates. From this perspective I can understand why Uber is so eager to enter the Vancouver market, but what I found very interesting was Uber’s warning that BC will fall behind if it does not enter BC. This to me sounds like a melodramatic marketing ploy of Uber positioning itself as a technology company who will offer disruptive tech such as autonomous driving when it is really just a service company.

From Business 2 Community: “7 Digital Marketing Trends To Be Aware of in 2016”

Whether it’s work, entertainment, research or even education nowadays, virtually every facet of our lives now involves the usage of the internet in one way or another. But, as much as the internet has changed how we live day-to-day, it has made an even more profound impact on marketing by radically altering the way it has been done for decades. Gone are the days of fighting for premium newspaper ads and eye-catching flyers. Instead, the centre focus of modern-day marketing strategies has shifted to a completely new battle frontier where consumers now lie – the internet.

However, for many businesses, the question becomes what exactly does social media marketing entail of? Does it simply mean creating one’s own Facebook page and bombarding the internet with ads?

Well, according to this online blog, the key strategy is actually to create as many marketing channels as possible.   The author claims that the biggest mistake business owners can make is to “put all their eggs in basket” and not have a “diverse marketing plan”. The advantage of having diversity is that not only will businesses be able to communicate with a much broader target audience, but also it mitigates their vulnerability to any external environment changes.

While I do agree with the author on the need to implement multiple marketing channels such as  social media networks, blogs, email marketing campaigns and so on depending on the target audience, I believe it is equally important to also point out exactly what kind of content needs to be propagated from such channels. It would certainly be pointless to invest in a diversified marketing plan only to churn out rubbish content that no one cares about.

From themodernconnection.com via Nike Instagram

As we discussed in class about the importance of positioning, the same rules apply to social media marketing.  Nowadays, all businesses have a Facebook or Instagram account and consumers are constantly flooded with ads everywhere over the internet. Therefore, given this information overload, it becomes imperative for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors. But how can this be accomplished?

Azure Zhu’s recent blog post on social media marketing made a great point about how instead of simply posting advertisements, businesses should “interact with customers by joining in on discussions, posting interesting posters and so on”. One such successful example of this strategy would be Nike. Rather than interrupting their follower’s feeds on Facebook and Instagram, it actively engages with its target audience by sharing motivational messages. This way, Nike is able to establish a sense of community with consumers whilst using this opportunity to promote its products in a meaningful way at the same time.

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