Today, digital changes and innovations are disrupting the way customers shop for their groceries. Supermarkets and grocery stores around the world are acknowledging these digital marketing trends and are expanding their platforms to allow customers to order and shop online via websites and mobile apps. Groceries can then either be delivered or scheduled for a curbside pick-up. Online grocery shopping not only reduces the inconvenience with having to travel to a physical store to search for groceries, but also allows customers to shop more quickly and efficiently. As well, many customers are now redeeming discount codes and online flyers by using their phones. McKinsey & Company reported a high possibility that in-store cash registers will be replaced with mobile-based payments through near field communications technology in the future.

Grocery shopping from the convenience of your home

Nielson conducted a survey in 2015 and discovered that one-quarter of global respondents stated they are currently ordering grocery products online. 55% of the respondents stated that they are willing to shop on digital platforms in the future. Currently in Canada, only a few companies such as Walmart, Safeway, Loblaws, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore and Wholesale Club banners offer these platforms, which is used by roughly 20% of their customers. I expect these numbers to increase in the near future since Millennials and Generation Z customers are starting to shop for their own groceries instead of relying on their parents.

A key takeaway is that digital marketing is rapidly evolving and is set to replace traditional marketing processes within the grocery industry in the future. Also, companies that are unable to keep up with these trends can potentially lose their competitive positioning to competitors that are more invested in offering digital marketing platforms.

On November 8, 2016, Facebook officially launched the option to send “sponsored message” advertisements through Facebook Messenger. This option allows companies “to deliver automated customer support, e-commerce guidance, content and interactive experiences through chatbots.” Ads however, are only shown to people who have existing conversations with companies. I believe this is a good thing since it ensures that customers are already aware of the brand, and would thus increase the likelihood of them responding to the ad. An example of how the company, Jasper’s Market is utilizing the option is showcased in the video below.

Despite how personable, efficient and simple these sponsored messages may look, they currently cannot be “automatically modified to simultaneously run on Facebook or Instagram, unlike a typical Facebook or Instagram ad.” As well, sponsored messages can only contain one link and one photo. Now how will Facebook monetize off of this option? Facebook charges companies for their sponsored messages whenever the ad appears on a customer’s Messenger screen, and companies are expected to pay for the ad impression whether the customer opens the message or not.

Will this be an effective digital advertising technique or not? Some critics believe that Messenger ads will dilute the overall experience for users and will be viewed as spam messages. Facebook’s VP of product for Messenger however, claims that the company will monitor the ads and limit the usage rates to protect the general interests of users. Furthermore, Facebook plans to define more rules for sponsored messages in the near future. I encourage you all to be on the lookout for these ads and judge the effectiveness yourself before utilizing this option.

I’m not going to lie, I’m a diehard fan of Jessica Alba. She is not only a beautiful film actress and model, but she also happens to be the co-founder of The Honest Company—a triple bottom line company that sells environmentally friendly, non-toxic and affordable products for babies and families. As a mother of two girls, the safety of children is something she greatly values. The products that are sold include diapers and skin care lotions that are “made from natural, organic, sustainably harvest, pure raw materials. Disposable diapers, for example, use plant-based materials as opposed to petrochemicals.”

I think it’s amazing what Jessica is doing for many new mothers. I stand by her values and her code of conduct for her suppliers (an example of having to comply with human rights, environmental and documentation standards).

The Honest Company passes for helping people and the planet, as well as generating profit while doing so.

Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/triple-bottom-line1.jpg

The article above also states that a portion of sales is donated to non-profit companies that support children and families in need, such as Baby2Baby. Due to the affordable pricing, many families can experience love and care from Jessica.

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/09/boxing-day-like-pandemonium-at-futureshop-and-bestbuy-locations-after-free-game-deal/?__lsa=5938-073c

Last weekend from Saturday, November 9 to Monday, November 11, was an early version of Boxing Day for gamers. Many thousands of Canadians lined up (me included) outside of Best Buy and Future Shop hours before opening to get their hands on a copy of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, or Battlefield 4. The promotion entitled that customers could only get free copies of these newest games if they traded in current generation console games. To me, this deal was a dream come true as I was able to get rid of a few PlayStation 3 games that I bought many centuries ago, and replaced them with new games that would regularly cost $60-$70 dollars for each.

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/09/boxing-day-like-pandemonium-at-futureshop-and-bestbuy-locations-after-free-game-deal/?__lsa=5938-073c

This promotion benefited Best Buy and Future Shop as well since it played a huge role for inventory and marketing. Due to the new releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, demands for the older generation games are severely declining. Instead of losing all of these possible sales, these companies were guaranteed to get a used game they can now re-sell in their trading department for $10-$40. These two companies aren’t regularly known for trading used games, due to the fact that there’s other companies like EB Games, Walmart, and Toys R Us, that have been providing this service for a longer period of time; however, this trading promotion was able to provide advertisement and exposure. Customers that are planning to buy used games will now have Best Buy and Future Shop in the back of their minds, which I believe is a success.

Going back to Tuesday’s Class 20 about Entrepreneurship, a common way to come up with a startup idea is to “look at what’s bugging you”—David Cohen. For Aanikh Kier, a grade nine entrepreneur from St. George’s Secondary in Vancouver, a problem he had was with his classmates’ phones ringing off in class. He solved this problem by creating UndrTheRadr Ringtones, which “is an app that delivers high-pitched smartphone ringtones that only children and teens can hear.” He pitched this app on Dragon’s Den Student Special where he succeeded on getting $25,000 for 20% of the downloads from an investor.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/pitches/undrtheradr-ringtones

Personally, I hate having to set my phone on silent or vibrate. There are times I need updates to wake me up on the bus, and the vibration from my phone is unable to do that sometimes. I also have a fear of disturbing others in public places so I avoid setting my phone on a loud ringtone. UndrTheRadr poses as a key solution to these problems for me.

What also blew me away about UndrTheRadr is that 20 cents is donated to Free the Children for every app downloaded. Aanikh was inspired to support Free the Children after noticing the daily struggles of kids in Cambodia. On Aanikh Kler’s blog, he mentions, “how children work for survival” and how “these children did not have the opportunity for education” like he had in Canada. By creating shared value, he is making a huge difference in our world.

I have to disagree with Cymbie Kwok’s blog post regarding Zara’s effective Supply Chain Management and benefits for its consumers. Today, it is undeniable that fashion is a huge part of our lives. We observe new fashion trends everyday whether it’s around us at UBC, in a GQ magazine, online, or a celebrity wearing it. This influence around us is so powerful to the point that consumers are willing to pay excessive amounts just to fit in with society. Consumers however are being blinded by the fashion industry as clothing is costing people a lot more than just the amount seen on price tags.

Source: http://survincity.com/2013/05/well-known-clothing-brands-accused-of/

The sad reality is that most of the branded clothing we buy contains hazardous toxic chemicals. When we wash our clothing the toxic is sent to waterways, rivers and oceans, thus affecting wildlife and clean drinking water around the world. Thousands of factories in Indonesia and around the world could be blamed, as well as the average ignorant consumer. Purchasing clothing from companies with unethical production and poor supply chains only makes things worse. Detox, a global campaign, raises awareness through their message that ‘beautiful fashion should never cost the world’. Consumers that are a part of this campaign are now putting pressure on companies such as Zara, Levi’s and Victoria’s Secret to produce toxic-free fashion. If sustainable changes fail to be made, consumers can easily resort to boycotting and shifting to an environmental-friendly alternative. Having strong ethics and morals are paramount for a company to survive in any type of industry.

The video below will definitely make you rethink your next clothing purchases:

While TOMS Shoes “continues to strive to create shared value,” as mentioned in Jessica Sanantha’s blog post, many others are following suit, such as the Russian Olympic Committee.

Athletes aren’t the only people being subjected to “strenuous” physical activity.  Nowadays, marketing has taken up many different forms. In preparation and anticipation for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Moscow train stations are offering an alternative solution for public transit users. Instead of paying the usual 30 rubles for a ticket (equivalent to $0.96 CAD), people have the option to receive a free ticket if they complete 30 squats in two minutes.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2013/11/14/moscow-subway-station-lets-passengers-pay-fare-in-squats/

Many recognized Olympic athletes such as Yelena Zamolodchikova and Alexei Nemov are contributing to the hype by participating in the two-minute squatting challenges and posting pictures and videos onto social media platforms. The Russian Olympic Committee’s promotion is a prime example of creating shared value; customers are being encouraged to participate in daily exercises and are provided with free transportation, while Russia is generating world-wide attention for the upcoming games. Creating shared value in my opinion is what the world should be all about. The beauty behind the Olympic Games is how athletes and fans from all over the world are able to come together. This time however, fans will have the opportunity to compete, which will make this event even more special.

Watch the video below if you haven’t already seen it!

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/04/news/companies/elon-musk-model-s-fire/index.html

Last week, videos of a Tesla Model S car catching on fire went viral around the Internet. As a result of this, Tesla Motors Inc’s shares have dropped 6 percent, knocking almost $3 billion of the company’s market value. According to Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, the fire only started because of a large metal shape object on the road. The large metal object punched a 3-inch hole through an armour plate that protects the battery under the passenger compartment, and sparked a flame. In the US, around 190,000 vehicle fires occur each year. Less than 1 percent of the cars sold in the U.S. are electric, which shows the unlikely odds of this happening.

The Model S was not rated only a 5-star safety rating in every subcategory, but was also listed as the most popular pure electric vehicle in the United States. Ever since this video, there have been huge declines in sales, as well as a lot of negative publicity in the media. This incident shows how important brand reputation is in relation to the stock market. The power of choice that consumers have greatly impacts the company’s market value in the market.  It’s good for a brand to uphold a strong reputation that can withstand unexpected occurrences. I’m really curious to see how Tesla Motors will respond to this situation and what they will do to gain back their losses.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/wifi-enabled-vehicles-coming-to-canada/article14536108/

Just when we thought the technological advancement of having WiFi campus-wide at UBC was already amazing, something even more amazing is about to come. Rogers Communication Inc. and Sprint Corp. are teaming up together to introduce a “connected car” wireless service next year. This will allow Canadian drivers to have access to high-speed Internet while they are on the road, as well as “—news, sports scores, weather alerts, driving directions and vehicle diagnostics.” Equipped wireless modems and SIM cards will also be hooked up to each vehicle, making WiFi purchases and “hotspot” zones available. Rogers believes there will be close to 100 million connected cars globally by 2016.

As amazing as this sounds, I have to stop and ask myself if people really need this technology in a car. In my opinion, I believe having WiFi in a vehicle will not only defeat the purpose of a vehicle’s main objective, but will also distract drivers. Driving laws now prohibit the use of cellphones when driving and physically having the cellphone in your hand while you’re behind the wheel is now illegal. It is also proven that distracted driving is the number one cause of deaths. Are companies really putting the lives of the consumers first? Is the government going to step in? I guess we will have to wait and find out!

Today, ninety-five percent of music downloads around the world are illegal. The availability of free music downloads has been a major ongoing problem in the music industry and has cost the music industry $12.5 billion dollars in economic losses. So a question arises: What can artists do at this point? Artists today are producing less music today as they feel that pivoting into the fashion and movie industries could generate more profit. Jay Z on the other hand, chose to deal with these threats differently.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/24/samsung-magna-carta-app/

Jay Z partnered up with Samsung for the release of his newest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. This deal cost Samsung $20 million, and $5 million dollars went into purchasing one million of these albums. Samsung device owners were able to benefit from this as many were able to get the album for free, three days before the actual release date of the albums. Knowing that Samsung spends $4 billion dollars on marketing per year, this marketing campaign was proven to be affordable and effective, leading towards more sales and brand awareness. Jay Z benefited from this deal as well, as he was guaranteed a platinum album and $5 million in sales before his album was even released.

This deal allowed Jay Z to cut out some of the costs of the middlemen (stores, distribution and printing), thus allowing him to profit more. He is successful for creating a new method for modern artists to make money and is looked upon as a powerful businessman.

Inside “Magna Carta Holy Grail” with JAY Z + Samsung

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B–ZARCwSIE