Hostess Inc., the creator of the infamous Twinkies, announced that they will be shutting down operations. However, just like the product itself, the Twinkies brand will not expire just yet. According to Jamie Weinmen’s blog, “Hostess: the Super Villains have Triumphed”, the Twinkies brand will most likely be up for sale to the highest bidder. The main focus of his blog was actually the comic book ads that were used to endorse Hostess products in the past. Hostess took advantage of an ingenious marketing strategy by paying all the top comic book companies to post a small one page ad. I believe that this was a great marketing strategy at the time due to the huge popularity of comic books.

However, considering the decline in the comic book industry and the Marvel and DC Universe superhero era, this marketing strategy would not have been as successful today. If Hostess were to have any chance of surviving in today’s society, they would have had to adapt to the changing environment and technology. I believe that Hostess’s marketing strategy could not adjust to the rapid changes in trends, causing the company to drive itself into bankruptcy. Hostess’s failure to adapt their value proposition to fit a more health conscious society may have been another reason for their demise.

Microsoft has had some tough times in the past few years. The increase in competition and the sudden emergence of the Apple phenomenon has caused Microsoft to focus selling their company image rather than their product through direct selling. Microsoft recently established their first Canadian retail store in Toronto’s Yorkdale mall, and it is evident that customer appeal was a significant factor in the blueprints of the store. Celebrities such as Wayne Gretzky have endorsed the new store, and massive monitors cover the walls from edge to edge. In fact, all the screens in the store, from the massive television screens mounted on the walls to the tablets put on display, are touch sensitive in hopes to keep customers more engaged. Microsoft is also trying to establish stability in the community by lending back store space, comprising of a 103 inch touchscreen monitor, free to community groups. However, this strategy is not without risk. Companies such as Best Buy have experienced many problems with owning expensive retail stores. The investment of a retail store could be a drag on future income statements if the store fails to increase revenue, but companies such as Apple have found great success using this strategy. In the end, I believe that this marketing strategy has potential, but well trained employees to enhance customer experience and satisfaction is essential for the success of this strategy.

After reading Vanessa Lau’s blog, I was immediately intrigued with her article about Best buy, “Best Buy’s One Bold Move”. Earlier in the year, I blogged about Best Buys struggles in the electronic retail industry and their declining market share.  Online retailers such as Amazon.com started to have more appeal to consumers and companies such as Walmart were able to sell products for cheaper. One of the key points I noted in my blog was that it was essential for Best Buy to come up with a points of difference to distinguish themselves from their competition. At the time, there main strategy to counteract their competition was to price match. I was not too sure whether getting into price wars with companies such as Walmart was a smart idea. However, after reading Vanessa’s blog, I see that Best Buy has taken a different approach. They are now focusing on selling relatively unknown brands to consumers who cannot afford to buy the reputable brand products. If Best Buy can market these new brands as a product that is just as capable as the powerhouses in the electronic retail industry, they may be able to distinguish themselves apart from the competition and delve into a separate segment in the market. 

In Gaby Herberts “the PSYchology of Marketing”, she touches on the effects that media can have on company profits. In her example, she uses the international pop star sensation, PSY. What shocked me was the amount of companies that were able to cling on and ride the success of this Korean sensation. DI corp. was an example of a company experiencing a huge increase in profits and stock price due to PSY ongoing success. Companies have lined up for blocks trying to get PSY to endorse there product, and the Korean pop star has been more than happy to do so. He has endorsed dozens of companies and has helped nourish these companies’ stock prices.

However, I believe that this may be an unstable and temporary marketing strategy. Companies have always tried to get celebrities to endorse their products but when one company’s success is highly dependent on one person, there is a chance for that company to crash. Social trends are always changing, and an international legends can go obsolete in a matter of weeks. For example, DI corp.’s shares, the company that experienced huge spike in stock price from PSY success, has already nearly plummeted 40 percent in the past few weeks. I believe that investors should be wary in investing in companies that are mooching off the PSY phenomenon.

Obama winning the election has headlined thousands of newspapers across the world since Tuesday but the market experiencing a huge crash post election may also catch people’s attention. The DOW jones industrial average was down 313 points which was the biggest drop since Nov 9^th of last year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also dropped by 2.59 and 2.43 percent, respectively. There is great uncertainty looming over the market, and many investors are worried about the “fiscal cliff”. It is said that if the US were to go off this cliff, the economy would dive into recession and the unemployment rate would once again spike up. Some analysts such as David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, have predicted that “the longer the negotiations to avert the cliff continue, the greater the consequences will be to the corporate confidence and hiring”. Analysts have recommended investors to reduce the risk in their portfolios and to invest in larger companies rather than smaller companies. Larger companies tend to have a diversified revenue stream and pay dividends. I believe that investors should cut back on risks and focus on buying established companies that pay high dividends until the uncertainty over the market is cleared.

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