Month: November 2010

While VANOC (Vancouver Olympic Committe) estimated its tier one sponsor to contribute only $20 million, Bell blew that figure out of the park as its bid totaled $200 million – ten times the initial value (credits for info: Conflicting Interests by Paul Cubbon).  The major question is whether Bell got the most out of that investment. During the Olympics, not only was Bell able to expand its market into Western Canada, but it receive recognition around the world! It was finally able to expand its communication infrastructure in Vancouver and Whistler when it initially had very small operations in British Columbia. One could say, “Why did Bell bid so high?” or “Why did Bell put all its egg in one basket?” From my analysis, I gathered that the Olympics was a key marketing aspect for Bell for 8 years. Although the Olympics is happening only in the course of two weeks, Bell had since 2004 to start marketing with the Olympics image. Furthermore, Bell advertised its services through the Olympics in which Bell could garner a high quality reputation because its ability to support the complex event. Last but not least, the financial statements prove the Olympics to be a good investment. They had a jump in 61% jump in quarterly profit right after the Olympics compare to the year-before quarter (read more here). Talk about a successful marketing strategy.

Read more about Bell’s sponsorship at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/bell-beats-out-telus-to-sponsor-bcs-2010-olympics/article953570/

The trend in business, especially for entrepreneurs, is innovation. New technology. Something that the world hasn’t seen before. Apple manages to create a new market with the iPad, but at the same time, disrupt its own market.  In the present, the iPad seems a bit of a hassle. It’s not good enough to double as a laptop, neither is it small enough to fit in your pocket nor is it easy on the eyes to read for long periods. Is it a jack of all trades and master of none? But the point is that the iPad is a disruptive innovation. For example,when personal computers first arrived they were so chunky and slow that people dismissed them as incapable. Usually an innovative product that is starting off is deemed “not good enough” until many readjustments and improvements. The iPad isn’t an obvious replacement for laptops; its first iterations don’t met the exacting standards for current consumers and it isn’t good enough for multitasking, photo manipulation, DJing, etc.. However, the iPad is disruptive to notebook computers in that the future holds great potential. Furthermore, Edmund Conway, a blogger who wrote “How the iPad will take over the world” has a good point:

The interesting thing in this case is that usually the company that does the disrupting is quite independent from the one that gets disrupted. In this case, Apple is disrupting itself, which is quite an achievement for a giant company.

CSR, which stands for Corporate Social Responsibility, is such a huge aspect of business these days. I read an article about Brad Mills, the chief executive officer of a local office-supply firm, who is conscientious of our environment and community. As part of a plan to reduce carbon output, he has purchased a $130 000 emission-free eStar delivery vehicle. Furthermore,  in order to help out the community, he works with a non-profit organization that hires and trains hard-to-employ locals, mainly with the Downtown Eastside. But aside from being a good corporate citizen, Mr. Mills is doing so much more for his business! CSR is a brilliant business tactic for small and medium firms that need to complete with bigger companies. Mr. Mills’s firm was able to land big customers such as the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics!  Not only are customers demanding an outline of company’s social/environmental activities before they go with the firm,  CSR attracts eco conscious employers and businesses that are careful with their supply chain. I especially like the quote from John Stanton, who is the founder of the Running Room, another eco and socially conscious firm:

“If you look after the customer, they’ll look after you. Great companies are those that look at what they’re doing for themselves, their customers and their community – they create a triple win.”

Check out the article here