Category: Comm 101

It has been awhile but I will soon be taking part in an exciting journey overseas and want to be able to share the experience!

I am going on exchange to the University of Glasgow in Scotland come the fall and I am thrilled!

As of tonight I have booked my flight and excepted my residence contract. The time is sure flying by quickly! It feels like it was only yesterday that I first decided I wanted to go on exchange. Even though I have changed my mind almost a million times, I am confident in my choice!

Some of the things I look forward to:

• not being a minority (For once I will not be the only ginger in the room)
• viewing the Highlands landscape and trying to find the Loch Ness monster
• exploring my roots and Scottish blood trails

I can’t wait to go, but I know it will be bittersweet!

Leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, Lululemon was upset to not be granted the position of the olympic clothing sponsor for the games.  Although disappointed, Lulu made a strong statement about the situation by printing clothing with the quote “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition” due to the copyright  laws of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic brand.  This statement is a perfect example of ambush marketing, as voiced with the IOC, which is a marketing technique that involves piggy backing a major event without paying sponsorship fees.  Lululemon wanted to still have involve in the games, being a Canadian-Vancouver born company, and released a Canada theme clothing line, including a toque that looked like a team Canada hockey helmet with black paint for your teeth.  Although no dates, years, or any relations to the games could be printed, Lulu persevered through sponsorship disappointment with a “cheeky” and fun attitude.  However, was this really ambush marketing by Lulu or can it be considered clever positioning during the games?  Unlike Nike during the 1996 games in Atlanta, Lululemon didn’t plaster posters all over Vacnouver, but let there costumers sport Lulu’s own olympic themed gear.  Adding more diversity to the cities national olympic spirit.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ambush-marketing.htm

http://sparksheet.com/brand-olympics-the-best-marketing-campaigns-of-the-2010-vancouver-winter-games/

When companies are looking to market a new product, they aren’t just only looking at the industry but also consumer behaviour as well.  If you think of a consumer market as a pizza you have different sizes of slices and flavours of pizza.  For instance, these pizzas can be represented as age, gender, or a combination of the two groups.  However consumer behaviour is affected by more then just age and gender, it is also impacted by cultural factors, social factors, and personal factors.  Consumer needs are also heavily influenced when formulating a new product because different people have different needs.  Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is a perfect example that ranks peoples’ needs in a pyramid system (physiological, safety, social, esteem, self-actualization).  Producers need to make sure they are meeting the factors and needs of their consumer pizza, otherwise their products could “flop” and won’t succeed in the market.

With the online market place booming, many businesses are turning to online stores where companies can deal with each individual customer directly.  This process avoids the traditional distribution channels, which calls for an intermediate, and therefore cuts out the middleman.  Shipping through parcel companies can eat into many businesses costs and therefore many companies start their own shipping company for their products.  In order for businesses to benefit from this cost-argument, companies need to have great expertise in infrastructure and be able to recoup the costs of such an endeavor.   Companies such as Dell and Levis Strauss have successfully achieved this disintermediation process; as well P&G, a manufacture that sells a wide range of consumer goods, hopes to expand into this form of market.  Not only do the companies themselves receive cost-benefits, so do customers as the costs per item are decreased and therefore the price in the store is reduced as well.  What happens though if too many middlemen are cut? How would the world of business change if all companies became their own distributers?

Two brothers in BC have taken the ski hill experience to a new level.  Starting with the original purpose to enable their mother to hit the slopes and watch her grandchildren ski, Paul and Geogia invented the sno-limo, which resembles a dog sled.  This invention allows non-skiers to enjoy the joys and scenic view of the mountain experience.  The sno-limo unit is extremely safe and able to be loaded easily onto a chairlift due to its built-in hydraulic system.  Whistler was the first resort in the world to allow this new invention onto its slopes, tapping into the benefits of the non-skier and boarder industry.  Almost 15-35% of people who visit ski resorts do not ski or snowboard; therefore the sno-limo allows resorts to tap into this untouched market.  Now the sno-limo is available at Big White and Grouse Mountain and in over 5 seasons has delivered service to some 20,000 riders.  The two brothers are enthusiastic that demand will continue into the future and that resorts around the world will begin to allow the sno-limo onto their slopes.

http://www.sno-limo.com/

Social entrepreneurs are people who recognize a social problem and use entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change.  Jamie Oliver, a TV chef from the UK, is a prime explain of a modern day social entrepreneur who is campaigning to improve children’s diet at school, as well as train disadvantaged young people to become chefs through his, social enterprise, restaurant called Fifteen.  Both of these projects are captured on television, which has helped to spread Oliver’s message of social change.  His new series, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution USA, is about saving America’s health by changing the way people eat.  Oliver explains is as “not just a TV show, it’s a movement for you, your family and your community.”  The Jamie Oliver Foundation has also worked to form a social enterprise that enables 18-24 year olds to experience learning to work in the restaurant business.  The profits earned from this restaurant chain are put back into the chef apprenticeship program.  Oliver is a successful chef with many books and television shows, but he is also passionate about educating others about food and allowing youth to succeed.  He is able to main both a social and profit driven goal while keeping them separate at the same time.  After winning the Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) 2010 award, Oliver is sure to continue to expand in his drive for social change and create new ventures in the future.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/foundation/

A green entrepreneurial company that has revolutionized consumers’ views towards garbage is a company in Trenton, New Jersey called Terracycle.  Founded by Tom Szaky, CEO, in 2001 the company’s goal is to inform the world that there are many opportunities for garbage; the landfill isn’t the only option.  Terracycle accomplishes its goal by turning unrecyclables into cool consumer goods, such as school supplies and gardening tools, saving over 3 billion pieces of garbage from landfills each year.  The eco-friendly products produced by Terracycle generated $250 million in retail sales and expect to continue to grow as the company is doubling its number of employees each year.  Their products are sold at Target, The Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and K-Mart, as well as online.  Terracycle is also revolutionizing business by paying people to collect the garbage for the products that they sell.  Anyone can help Terracycle to full-fill the goal of keeping less in the landfills and making the most eco-friendly way possible.  Terracycle has also made a huge effort to share its profits will the community by donating money to schools and non-profits.  To date Terracycle has donated almost $1.5 million and wants to continue to donate more in the future.  At a time when green business is generating great business it is easy to see that Terracycle will continue to grow into the future, both giving back to the community and taking a load off Mother Nature.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/june/206722-5.html

http://media.terracycle.net/07-01-08_nj_entrepreneur/07-01-08_nj_entrepreneur.htm

On October 13^th, Apple Inc. shares traded above US$300 for the first time in company history.  This rise has brought attention to many analysts who are trying to predict the price target, the projected price level, as Apple continues to expand its market share on the financial market.  This growth has been as a result of the launch of Apple’s iPhone, App Store, iPad, and the relaunch of Apple TV, adding to the company’s total addressable market for hardware, content, and services.  Roughly this expansion is estimated to be around a $1.49 trillion increase from the previous $400 billion.  If Apple continues to provide innovative products and content Apple will soon become the most valuable corporate entity on Earth.  As a stable and growing company is it easy to understand why Apple’s price target is increasing, as people want to buy secure stock after the 2009 meltdown of the economy.  Analyst Daniel Ernst has estimated the price target of Apple to be around $500, while Maynard Um has made a less radical estimate of $350 per share.  Returns should be high if Apple meets these expectations.  Analyst and stockholders will just have to wait and see if Apple will meet or exceed these expectations.

http://www.financialpost.com/m/blog.html?b=business.financialpost.com/2010/10/15/apple-inc-price-target-hits-us500-per-share

After four years of feuding between the real estate industry and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), over the ways in which Canadians buy and sell their homes, the Competition Bureau has helped to establish a consent agreement that allows buyers and sellers to chose what services they want from their real estate agents.  Previously consumers had to take on the entire slate of services offered by a real estate agency, but in February the Competition Bureau stepped in challenging CREA’s practices and concluding that they were anticompetitive by limiting consumer choice in the market and preventing real estate agents from offering lower cost services.  Once ratified, the new proposed agreement between the CREA and real estate agencies will allow the consumer choice and also legally-bind the CREA.  If in the future the CREA decides to act against the agreed terms then the Competition Bureau will once again have to step in as a clearinghouse to make sure all parties are honoring the contract.  With the current house market declining, a consent agreement needs to be formed to allow the buyer to be flexible in choosing their strategy when entering the housing market and allow real estate agents to stay in the business.

http://www.financialpost.com/news/features/Landmark+deal+transform+Canadian+real+estate+market/3605505/story.html

Over the past few years the economy has faced downturn due to corporation collapses and environmental disasters.  Marketers have been faced with the challenge of keeping consumers purchasing goods with rises in economic uncertainty, many of which can be categorized into 10 top trends for 2010.  Apple is a great example of a company who continues to be strong in economic recession by utilizing these 10 trends.  Apple continues to make an ongoing effort of honesty and open their marketing communications to the public with customer feedback into order to generate a positive feedback image.   Catering to education systems, Apple has also helped by creating a campaign where teachers and university students can purchase an Apple computer and get a rebate towards an iPod or iTouch product.  The niche that Apple has defined for itself, as a trendy, user-friendly, and reliable computer and music player company is incredibly important.  Constantly their social media reflects these three advantages, as well as their huge involvement with building and keeping in touch with a loyal band of brand loyalists who help to market through word-of-mouth, brand advocacy and brand guardianship.  It is clear from the presence of Mac users in the Comm 101 classes at Sauder that the value and reliability the brand communicates has influenced many to choose Apple, even with its higher price range.

Top 10 Trends of 2010:

1.) Transparency and trust are paramount

2.) Less interruption, more enhancement and value-add

3.) Speaking of value . . .

4.) Show it, don’t tell it

5.) Social media is not going away, and engagement is critical

6.) Peace-of-mind messages prevail

7.) Relationships rule

8.) Online video and mobile marketing are hot

9.) Focus, focus, focus!

10.) Integrated marketing trumps stand-alone tactics

http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingcommunicationscolumnistsusangunelius/article204804.html