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As Stephanie Myers says:

 A brand is much more than a logo, tagline and set of customer promises. A brand must also reflect a company’s strategy for coping with a changing society, one where the public expects business to be accountable for a growing list of environmental and social issues.

With this said, it is no longer only the responsibility of marketers to control public perception of a company and its brand, but everyone’s, from the accounting department to human resources. Every interaction between an employee and a customer is essentially an interaction between the company’s brand and the consumer. The employee must convey the the brand’s values as well as his own.

It falls on to everyone in the company to make sure that their day-to-day operations convey and are in sync with the values of the company. Companies must find ways to engage their employees in their values.

With all that said, in today’s marketplace, issues concerning sustainability and ethical business practices are more important than ever. We find consumers will prefer not to buy a perfectly good product because of the way it’s manufactured – a prime example would be when Nike was under fire with child labor allegations.

A company’s brand would work much better with its workforce cooperating completely with the values of it’s brand.

http://www.canadianmarketingblog.com/archives/2011/09/a_green_brands_most_important.html

Considering this generation and everything that has happened recently, consumers are getting more and more detailed with their demands. The financial crisis has forced consumers to budget and restrict their spending; an emphasis on physical appearance with today’s generation has made consumers think more about what they are eating and drinking and have decided to cut back on certain food and drinks; and there are so many more substitutes out there for producers to compete with.

In response to today’s extremely specific demands, Coke has released smaller bottles.

“Coke plans to announce this week the launch of a 12.5-ounce, 89-cent bottle, broadening its menu of smaller alternatives to its traditional 20-ounce single-serve bottle”

The objective is to address all of the specific demands of consumers.

The smaller bottle means its cheaper to make them, driving prices down for consumes who are restricting their consumption. They can still enjoy a Coke while saving money.

It adds on to the trend of dieting that has taken over consumers. Smaller bottles mean less consumption, making Coke more favorable to consumers who want to keep in shape.

The cheaper price and the fact that you now drink less makes Coke a more attractive substitute compared to its competitors.

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/09/19/Coca-Cola-Resizes-091911.aspx

My name is Dominic Sunga. I was born in Manila, Philippines but consider Jakarta, Indonesia to be my home. This is my second year in UBC as well as Vancouver. I am taking this marketing course mainly because I don’t actually know much about marketing. I’m hoping that this course will be a way to introduce myself to the subject and to see whether or not it would be something I’d like to do in the future. My experience with marketing has been mainly on the consumer side. In my last year of high school, I organized a concert where I had to promote it to the school community, but all in all that’s the extent of my marketing experience.

My favorite advertisement is the Heineken commercial where a woman is showing her friends her new house as well as her new walk-in closet. The women start screaming but soon their screams are drowned out by the men downstairs when they walk in a refrigerator dedicated to Heineken. I’m not exactly a huge Heineken fan myself, but the commercial was hilarious and really stuck with me.

Here’s a link: 

I will admit that at first, I thought 299 was going to be completely useless and a gigantic waste of my time. Were to meet once a week and it was only a one credit course. All those months ago, during our first 299 class when it was still public speaking, my thoughts were somewhere along those lines. That day, our TA, Nelson, asked us to give a little speech telling the class a little bit about ourselves. So we all did and that was it. I was a little irritated, because I though this class wasn’t going to challenge me in anyway. Then, the second class came. I completely forgot about what topic we were supposed to be presenting, but I wasn’t worried. I figured I would improvise and still be fine. The class went up to present one by one. I was going to be one of the last few to present. As it got closer and closer to me, there was a strange tingling in my chest. I instantly recognized it as nervousness. It wasn’t the kind of nervous you feel when you do something bad and your teacher or parent is about to call you on it. It was the kind of nervous you feel before walking on the stage to receive your high school diploma. The kind of nervous you feel before swimming a final in the biggest meet of your life. The kind of nervous you feel while talking to a girl. The kind of nervous that you like. Adrenaline surged through my body and I got extremely excited. Although I was just presenting to a small class of people who were probably not even listening to me, I liked it. So from then on I never missed a class. I showed up each week on time and waited for that tingling in my chest which never seemed to ease up. I learned in that one hour, once a week, one credit class that I loved to speak publicly and that I was somewhat good at it.

Then second semester came and before I knew it 299 turned into a small class where everyone could present into a huge lecture hall where whispers were like a light rain. Things changed I didn’t feel that tingling in my chest anymore. Instead, I let my thoughts run wild. We talked about resumes, cover letters and interviews. We talked about how smart people failed all the time because of their interviews, and how average people reached high positions and became successful because of their resumes. I tackled the resume and cover letter assignment with a fury, determined to make myself a document that would lead me to success. Learning about CAR statements and what not to do in interviews got me thinking about my future and what kind of career I should choose. I made that decision that no matter what path I chose, I would make a resume that would help me, and learn the skills needed for a great interview.

When I was younger, I was your typical Asian kid. I loved to watch TV, I loved to swim and I loved video games. Outside of school, those three things were pretty much what I did. I occasionally read a book from time to time, but I can’t say that I was a reader back then. The only thing I really did love to read were books like Harry Potter. So as a little kid that’s what I did, then came middle school and everything stayed the same, except that maybe I read even less than I did as a kid. Then came high school, where things change and you grow up. Up until that point in time, I was only pretty average in English and the books they made us read bored me. But things changed in ninth grade when I met Mr. Hara, one of the freshmen english teachers. He asked me to stay after class one day and asked me why my reading log was so incredibly poor. I gave him my honest answer: “Reading really isn’t my thing.” He looked at me quizzically, like I had just told him I was an alien. “No,” he said, “I think you’re wrong.” So we talked, and talked and talked. He asked me what I liked to do, who I usually hang out with, who I could relate to; he asked me what movies I like, what kind of burning questions I’ve always had. He asked me endless questions and at times, it they didn’t seem to be related at all to english or my reading log. A little over an hour later I walked out of his room with a sticky note that had a list of books that he recommended me. On the top of the list was “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice. He told me that just for that week, I could forget about the reading log and the rest of the English homework and just focus on reading that book. It took me two days to read it because I had a hard time putting it down. My conversation with Mr. Hara taught me a little about myself, not alot, but enough to know what I appreciate in life and in stories. He taught me not to look for things that instantly catch my eye, but for the things that force us to dig deeper, try harder and force us to think. I read countless books afterwards, more than I could fit in that reading log. The books I read varied in genres, from action to fantasy, drama to romance. I found that there was something I could appreciate from any book of any genre and something that I could take away. From then on, I’ve found it very difficult to go through a day without reading a book. It has become more than a ritual, but something like a way of life.

We are lucky to have been born at such a time. In this day and age, change is a constant thing and happens very frequently. Markets are growing all over the world, even in developing countries. Actually, especially in growing countries. As students of business, it is important for us to keep track of this growth and change, for it will surely affect us when we enter the market as businessmen. We need to understand how the world is emerging and how countries are growing. This video was an amazing insight into how places around the world are catching up to the west – and how it will ultimately overtake the west.

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53 percent?!?! Apparently, Canada has the highest tax on commercial real estate. I was genuinely shocked by this. I always viewed the real estate market in Canada as one that was thriving and a real opportunity for students like us to learn. But apparently, there seems to be an extremely high interest rate, forcing investors to rethink about real estate. What is going on?

http://www.thestar.com/article/898644–high-taxes-hamper-real-estate-investment-in-canada-study

I’ve always been under the assumption that the world recession didn’t really affect Canada. Canada’s government, especially in BC, has really protected its people financially. And for the most part, I’m correct. Compared to the rest of the world, Canada was fine. In fact, Canada was barely even affected. But that doesn’t mean Canada is invincible. Debt has risen, especially in the last year. The Bank of Montreal has reported an increase in borrowing for mortgages. BUT, Canadians haven’t been knocked out, because at the same time, it seems that savings are on the rise. So, what exactly does this mean for the financial health of Canadians? Read, and decide for yourself:

http://www.thestar.com/article/899729–family-debt-rising-but-financial-health-improving

Just a week or two ago, we commerce students finished our presentations for OB. We did our research, we wrote our reports and blah blah blah. We discovered that there were huge scandals within HP, and that it spread out externally. Apparently, wherever Mr. Hurd goes, some sort of controversy follows. Following his departure from HP, he went to Oracle, who was in a battle with SAP (who’s previous CEO is now HP’s CEO) for copy right infringement.

Messed up right? read more:

http://venturebeat.com/2010/11/23/oracle-wins-a-whopping-1-3b-verdict-against-sap/

All this stuff we’ve been learning so far about being leaders and becoming entrepreneurs and starting things up..well its all well and good. Here’s a video to get you thinking about leaders today, and how effective they can be in the workplace. This applies to everyone, whether or not you want to be an entrepreneur or not. And it really puts what we learn in OB into perspective, as well as some stuff we learn in econ