Hannah Martin's Blog

With childhood obesity increasing and the world becoming more technologically dependent, there is no shortage for arcade gyms. Lenny Lowestein, previously a vice president for 24 hour fitness, realised the potential for a new type of gym; one that would attract youth and couch potatoes alike. He gathered a set of interactive games focusing on having fun but involving physical activity. He called this new idea XRKade. He implemented XRKade within traditional fitness centers allowing these clubs to benefit from new clientele. Since implementing his product there have been over 70 sales nationwide contributing to an extensive growth of sales from $350,000 in 2007 to $3.65 million in 2009. This extensive growth is taking the world by storm creating a new gym environment focusing on physical activity through virtual interaction.

Lowestein is the perfect example of an entrepreneur. He used innovative ideas to create a product that greatly appealed to an untapped market. He also created a vast amount of wealth in a small period of time, $3.65 million worth. He took a risk in placing XRKade within already established fitness centres, drawing reclusive gamers into a world in which they would probably more than afraid to go. And overall he has began to change the fitness industry, allowing everyone a chance at exercise they can enjoy from whether it’s running on a treadmill to playing a virtual skateboarding game.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/june/206722-10.html

In coming home from University I arrived in my small home town. Whilst driving through I noticed pretty substantial changes, considering I have only been gone for a month. The town sign has been modernized to include computer graphics, swirls and brand new letters. The town logo too has been revamped. Total cost $40,000. A waste of money? Yes.
Being an active citizen in my community I resent the fact that tax payers’ money is place towards unnecessary cosmetic purposes. I live in a community in which people have lost their homes to infrastructure that has never been built, and food banks that are rampant at Christmas. $40,000 does not justify an “improved” logo, or sign. There are so many major issues to be covered. Also the sign does not represent the old-style Albertan cowboy town. It has swirls and flowers!
And to add icing to the cake, a Wal-Mart is to be established in the middle of this 13,000 person town. How awesome is that? There is not enough money to support a Wal-Mart. The local business will undoubtedly go out of business. And the community spirit will be lost.
Most corporations look out for the needs of their consumers. Towns should do the same. When talking about business strategy it is increasingly important that businesses stick to their projected final outcome. Strength is acquired through consistency, not the random spending of $40,000 dollars.

Cowboy and Horse. N.d. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. <http://homepage.mac.com/plmnice/

     Cochrane.jpg>.

American Apparel, known for its off the wall clothing, anti-sweatshop ethics, and scandalous clothing advertisements is running into torrential financial debt, quoted earlier this year at $120.3 million. However if the company is to recover will consumers still flock to buy minimal clothing pieces from a company whose founder has been charged on multiple sexual harassment charges?
CEO Dov Charney has been charged at least four times for sexual harassment by employees. And in a sense his image is portrayed throughout his brand. With female exploiting advertisements running throughout America promoting his clothing, and his name making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, it is no wonder that American Apparel sales have drastically declined. It is degrading to woman to be scantily clothed in provocative positions advertising simple items such as socks. The image was created to bring in clientele who admired his individual style, individuals like you and I, who saw our friends and less popular celebrities in his advertisements.  Models were friends of Charney’s willing to pose in his items. The brand could have been increasingly successful if originally tamed down, however the influence of Charney propelled the brand into a scandalous lime light. This proves that no matter how provocative your advertisements are, or how popular your brand is, those who run the company have the biggest influence on the brand itself, whether it is in a positive light, or a negative sexually exploiting one.

"American Apparel is dead. Done. Over." Globe and Mail 8 Oct. 2010: n. pag. Globe and Mail. Web. 8

     Oct. 2010. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/

     american-apparel-is-dead-done-over-thank-god/article1748038/>.
American Apparel 2009 Advertisments. Web. 8 Oct. 2010. <http://www.americanapparel.net/
     gallery/>.

							

Advertisements are disappearing from newspapers and reappearing in mass quantities on television and the internet. Surprised?
With the fall in the economy spending towards advertisements shrunk as companies tried to prevent themselves from going under. Now with companies beginning to thrive post-economic downturn advertising has began to work its way back into the media. Television and the internet are popular choices of advertising as the world has become increasingly interconnect. Billboards have even returned as a popular form of advertising. Yet newspapers and regional papers have become decreasingly popular. Let’s face it; the world of paper products is declining. Everything is available online relatively free of cost. It is deemed environmentally friendly and is easy to access from anywhere in the world. Children and adults are glued to a screen (either TV or computer) throughout the day. It is said that American’s spend approximately “158 hours per month” in front of the television¹ and this statistic was only measured within the first quarter of 2010. Talk about relying on technology.

So surprised?
I’m not. In fact I think that advertising heavily through the television and internet is probably the most effective way to get the message to consumers. In writing this blog, I had to go on the internet to find an article. The advertisements I remember whilst searching for said article, Fed-X, Fitch Credit Training, Vale, and SAS. Pretty effective.

Article, quote, and comic link: 

"The Box Rocks." Economist 30 Sept. 2010: n. pag. Economist.com. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.

     <http://www.economist.com/node/17149050>.

 “People pay more attention to what their friends send than what marketers send,” praises Richard Tabaccowala. ¹

Cosmopolitan is releasing a new advertising campaign that uses facebook, allowing viewers to insert their photo and those of their friends into an advertisement. The campaign is target towards women, allowing each woman to be the star of her very own “Cosmo” commercial. On Thursday the new campaign will be going live on a Broadway billboard, where women can get their photo taken and inserted in the campaign there and then. The campaign is happening worldwide, through the use of social networking.

Through this new style of advertising Cosmo can increase sales; because what woman doesn’t want to be in a commercial? In creating a connection between the magazine and consumer Cosmo is creating a point of disparity drawing in readers. In comparison to other online and published magazines, Cosmopolitan’s new ad campaign is unique allowing the consumer to become interested in the magazine. By getting the consumer involved the product becomes more meaningful to the consumer, and popularity will spread through word of mouth. Social networking provides a platform for magazines that has been underused and through launching this new campaign popularity is bound to spread.

Sources: 

¹Levere, Jane L. “Cosmo Campaign Puts Viewes in the Photo Shoot.” The New York Times. N.p., 29 Sept.

     2010. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/business/media/ 30adco.html?ref=technology

Cosmopolitan title. Cosmopolitan: n. pag. The Online's Women Magazine, Cosmopolitan. N.p., n.d. Web.

     30 Sept. 2010. <http://www.cosmopolitan.com/>.

On October 11^th, 2010 Nickelodeon will release a new animated children’s based series, “Zevo-3”. The series includes 3 hero characters all fighting against the evil Stankfoot. A uniquely named villain, I think not. The company behind this new cartoon is Skechers, a renowned footwear store that provides both adult and child footwear.  “Zevo-3” was originally a comic handed out with every child shoes sold, with the heroes promoting the shoes bought. This comic however, will now be a television series running in every Nickelodeon-watching home.

Skechers is indirectly advertising towards your children. Whether or not you purchased the shoes, you will be surrounded by characters supporting and promoting a specific brand. The characters are even named after specific shoes. Children are too young to understand the marketing power behind these animations. To scoop as low as to influence the innocent into buying a product is unethical.  In promoting a “commercial free childhood”, programs such as this should not be allowed to play on TV. Yes, this is a story line unrelated to Skechers, but the brand and previous advertising through these characters still remains. It’s no wonder consumers destroy the economy; all we do is watch commercials.

Article Link: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/coming-childrens-show-draws-complaints/?ref=business

Signing in from Vancouver. First day of Commerce classes, therefore the beginning to becoming a business sensation.