After reading my fellow classmate Jessi Hilton’s blog, “We Are Winter” I have developed a few opinions that agree and differ from his point of view. During the Olympics, there were a few commercials using the slogan “We Are Winter”. This slogan emphasized that Canadians were proud to be from a country that has cold weather and that this weather brought power to the Canadian Olympic athletes. 

I agree with Jessi’s statement that Canadians should be happy with any medal received, no matter what the event is. Winning an Olympic medal requires extreme determination and hard work; thus, being able to win any medal is a large accomplishment.

This being said, I disagree with his statement, “if Canadians won several gold medals in other events but did not capture a gold in men’s or women’s ice hockey that the Olympics would be seen as a fail.” Canadians will be happy and proud of their fellow athletes, no matter in which event a gold medal is received.  Every individual has their own preferences of sports, thus, making a conclusion that Canadians love Hockey more than another sport is extremely bias and not true. Furthermore, each gold medal received is equal in significance because each sport is equally challenging and difficult. Thus, it is unfair for people to consider one sport being inferior to another just because of personal preferences.

Link to Jessi’s blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jessihilton/2014/02/23/we-are-winter/

Hershey is a company that produces many different types of products, such as chocolate bars, baking chipits and even ice cream. However, the reason the company is successful today is because they’ve learned to not over expand their line of products, and that consumer tastes differ in varying countries.

It is crucial that companies don’t over expand their line of products because if customers don’t respond to the new products, this could be a potential loss for the company. For example, when Hershey expanded their line of the original ‘Oh Henry’ chocolate bar to ‘Oh Henry Fudge’ customers didn’t like the product as much as the original so Hershey had to eventually discontinue the product. It is important to expand on products that will be popular and that customers will purchase. By conducting more research and providing surveys for customers before introducing a new product, Hershey could discover whether they should expand on a specific product. A large amount of money is spent on launching a new product, such as research and development, marketing, advertising, necessary equipment, and raw materials.

Customizing your products to a specific culture is extremely important because the products that are successful in the US may not be successful in Canada. For example, Almond joy is a Hershey chocolate bar that has been established and successful for many years in the US. This product was brought into Canada because the company thought the success of a product in one country would be equivalent in another. After a few months, the product wasn’t selling and Hershey had to discontinue it. A lot of money was spent on advertising and marketing this product, however the problem wasn’t with the marketing itself but with consumer tastes. Almond Joy wasn’t successful in Canada because it didn’t appeal to the tastes of Canadians.

Sources:

http://www.hersheycanada.com/ohhenry/en/products.html

A few years ago coconut water entered the market, and since then has grown exceptionally. There are many reasons individuals have discovered coconut water, however one that is extremely important is due to social media, such as instagram, facebook and advertisements. Since actresses and models drink coconut water and state how healthy and tasty the beverage is through social media, this has triggered many individuals to start purchasing the product as well. Individuals buy coconut water because of all the positive statements given by models and actresses, but also because of reference groups. If an individual looks up to a certain model and has seen that this model drinks the product, the individual may be tempted to purchase the product so that they feel more comparable and similar.

For example, Vita Coco is a company in the coconut water market and they paid Rihanna to be the face of their brand in 2011. As a result the companies’ sales revenue increased, as Stevenson states, “2009 sales volume of $20 million, 2010 sales of $40 million, and expected 2011 sales of $100 million. Competitors boast similar growth rates.” This statement proves that the coconut water market has grown throughout the years.

Furthermore, even professional athletes have substituted sports drinks, such as Gatorade for coconut water because of all the natural nutrients. Like Gatorade, coconut water contains all five essential electrolytes, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, and calcium. However, the main difference between the two products is that coconut water is natural and there aren’t any added sugars. Therefore, drinking coconut water is a healthy and natural choice for all individuals.

Sources:

https://www.digitalrunning.com/1520/coconut-water-electrolyte-replacement/

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/branded/2011/11/coconut_water_why_is_it_suddenly_so_popular_.html