Irina Costei

Tea houses are becoming a trend in the Vancouver area but David’s Tea isn’t just another bland tea house serving the same basic teas. David’s Tea offers over 150 different kinds of teas in the most extraordinary flavours. It offers everything from the traditional green or black teas to chocolate tea.

Its unique tea collection differentiates David’s Tea from other competitors but the creative names associated with the teas make the product even more appealing to the consumer.

Santa’s Secret, Banana Dream Pie, and Chocolate Chili Chai are just a few teas it offers. The unique names associated with its tea collection have helped transform ordinary tea into a differentiated product; therefore, the company’s smart approach to differentiation has been the reason for its quick expansion across Canada.

Work Cited:

http://www.davidstea.com/

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McDonald’s asked Twitter users to share their “McDStories”; however, the hashtag was filled with stories of bad incidents such as food poisoning and hair in the food. These accusations would usually raise skepticisom about the fast food chain, and instead of suffering through the negative media McDonals’s launched the “Our food. Your Questions.” campaign answering to all of its customer’s questions.

This campaign is receiving tremendous amounts of attention, greatly benefitting McDonalds’ marketing sector. As there are tighter advertisement budgets on broadcast TV advertisement, online advertising is on the rise. Although McDonald’s had to pay a substancial amount of money to launch this campaign, the talk amongst customers acts as advertisement on its own. Also, there is an increased interest in this campaign from countries around the world bringing not only domestic attention but international.

So were the Twitter accusations destroying the company’s brand or did they actually benefit the company? Could the Twitter accusations be the result of McDonald’s first sales drop in 9 years?

Work Cited:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/from-twitter-to-tv-mcdonalds-offers-answers/article4583492/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/mcdonalds-same-store-sales-fall-first-time-in-9-years/article5085107/#

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As proven by a recent Boston Consulting Group survey, the desire for the “Made in China” label is on the decline. Americans are beginning to purchase more goods manufactured in the U.S because of the perceived better quality and higher environmental awareness.

Not only are Americans doubting the quality of goods produced in China but nearly half of the Chinese consumers surveyed also stated they would prefer American goods over their own for the same reasons. Does this mean that businesses are going to have to increase their costs by moving production back home? 

One would assume this move to be non beneficial; however, the rising wages in China and the longer shipping time for overseas production would diminish the savings of overseas production by 2015. Because of this, more American companies can afford to move production back to the U.S, answering to the increased demand for the “Made in the U.S.A” label.

Work Cited:

MadeInAmerica.png (photo)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/made-in-america-a-valuable-label-even-in-china/article5315663/

“Giving is what fuels us, giving is our future”  is TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie’s motto. Although TOMS is the front runner in selling the latest canvas shoes, it has a mission to save children in developing countries.

It is common that people are dedicated to helping children in developing countries and most of us interpret this by supplying the obvious: food and water. TOMS has differentiated itself from the many similar, eager organizations by not focusing on the obvious needs but by giving shoes to 44 developing countries around the world. For every pair of shoes it sells, it donates a new pair of shoes to a child in a developing country.

Many people overlook the need for shoes because we take it for granted. Growing up barefoot translates in soil transmitted disease for many children in third world countries, seriously affecting their health. Also, without shoes many kids cannot attend school due to school policies which makes it impossible for them to attain long term success. By donating over 2, 000, 000 shoes to date, TOMS isn’t simply providing shoes, but it is creating opportunities for children to get an education and live healthy, self-sustainable lives.

Work Cited:

http://www.toms.ca/our-movement

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Not only has the NHL lockout had major effects on fans but it has also affected the NHL itself and other businesses across North America. The lockout has had a significant impact on the NHL’s image, bringing its brand value down by over a quarter from $1.6 billion to $1.15 billion, but it has also affected its sponsors.

Molson Coors, a sponsor of the NHL, has experienced a fall in beer sales due to the lack of hockey games.  Hockey was “the company’s most important cold-weather driver of sales” and with the labour dispute, those sales have vanished.

The damages are more present in Canada, seeing as how for most Canadians, hockey isn’t simply their national sport but it defines them. Molson’s “Canadian market share declined about one share point while industry volume decreased by 3%”.

The brewer hasn’t been the only one to suffer but local sports bars have also taken a hit from the lack of games. During the season and especially during playoffs sports bars were packed with fans getting together to watch the games; however, the lockout has caused a loss in business and the need to fire employees. The NHL lockout hasn’t simply angered fans but it has seriously wounded businesses across Canada. 

Work Cited:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/labour-dispute-slams-nhls-brand-value-study/article4651332/

http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/marketer-news/molson-coors-suffers-sales-blow-from-nhl-lockout-65364

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/401358–looming-nhl-lockout-hurting-local-businesses-and-bars

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There have been many restaurants in which dining is done in the dark; however, The Dark Table has a point of difference. All its servers are blind or visually impaired. This caught my eye since it is mentioned on their website that the blind or visually impaired are subject to an unemployment rate of 70%. Not only do the customers receive the unforgettable experience of dining in the dark but the restaurant is providing jobs for many people who would be left unemployed.

Through this experience the sighted are able to experience what being blind would be like. The website mentions how all customers must turn off cellphones or any objects that are a source of light, and if a customer needs to use the bathroom, their blind server will lead them through the darkness. Although dining in the darkness is an unforgettable experience, feeling what it would be like to be blind is what I find exceptional about this experience.

Works Cited:

http://www.darktable.ca/about.html

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In our current society we are bombarded with ads everywhere we go, and it can become difficult to make decisions. Cathy Lee describes the fictional “minimalist effect” suggested by Antrepo, and the potential benefits such a marketing strategy would have in today’s market.

When entering a super market we are surrounded by complex packaging, requiring us to focus to find the brand we desire. As Cathy stated, wouldn’t the simplest product be the one to attract our eye? Establishing its brand name is the most important factor for a company, considering the fact that consumers associate the quality and appeal of a product to the prestige of the brand; therefore, eliminating other distractions and solely advertising the brand name seems promising.

However, I agree with Cathy that this strategy is only of advantage to the popular brand names that have already claimed a spot in the consumer’s mind. It would be irrelevant for unknown brands to market their name, unless they have a significant cost advantage over the competitor, in which case marketing their name could build their brand’s prestige by positioning itself as a thrifty alternative in the consumer’s mind. Overall, “the minimalist effect” could bring success to big firms evolution in today’s market.

Works Cited:

http://www.a2591.com/2011/03/more-minimalist-effect-in-maximalist.html (photos)

https://blogs.ubc.ca/cathylee/

http://antrepo4.com

Daniel Zhang has made an interesting point in his recent blog post that RIM could potentially improve their market share if they focus on markets other than Canada and US; however, I am not sure that such a focus would help resuscitate the company. Blackberry’s main point of difference is BBM, and the recent service crashes have compelled even more unhappy Blackberry owners to opt for an iPhone. It will be extremely difficult to re-gain customer loyalty after the numerous glitches and with nothing left to differentiate itself from the heavyweight competitors such as Apple and Samsung, RIM has no hope for survival in the “age of the iPhone”.

Blackberry doesn’t have much of a cost advantage over its competitors making them even less appealing to their target market. Also, Apple has recently expanded its country basin for the App Store, including Africa and Asia, making it more difficult for Blackberry to compete overseas.

I think that rather than focusing on foreign markets, RIM’s best shot is to innovate with the few resources they have left to release a product that is truly unique and is able to compete in the same league as Apple and Samsung.

Works Cited:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/yaochengzhang/

http://www.mediabistro.com/appnewser/apples-expands-app-selling-in-africa-asia-europe_b24037

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/15260186

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The struggle for women to embrace their appearance has been ongoing for years; however, we now see that companies such as Dove are escaping the “skinny is beautiful” mentality through their use of plus sized models in their advertisements. Although women everywhere are relieved to see an ad that uses “real” models, is Dove’s marketing strategy not just as flawed by only using plus-sized women?

Neither company was successful in finding a happy medium between skinny and plus sized. Matthew Levesque of JRW Beauty states that “using only plus-sized women is somewhat of a double standard“. “There are naturally thin women out there and by only advertising bigger women Dove is being somewhat hypocritical”.

As bigger women look at the Victoria’s Secret advertisements they might think “am I not beautiful enough to buy this product because I am bigger?”; however, when thinner women look at the Dove campaign “it has the same result”.

Levesque brought up an interesting point in his article: instead of these companies using women from the extreme ends of the spectrum, why not create a medley of women of all shapes and sizes? Health isn’t determined by a woman’s size, which is a common misconception in today’s society due to the standard of what women “should” look like. The “thin” portrayal by media has oppressed women for so long that they are now rebutting by saying that in fact, bigger is more beautiful, but is that a just statement or is society simply shifting into the other extreme?

Sources:

http://www.shespeaks.com/Victoria-s-Secret-vs-Dove-Ad-Campaign-Photos-Ignite-Body-Image-Debate

http://jrwbeauty.com/2012/08/08/the-debate-women-in-victoria-secret-ads-vs-dove-ads/

Apple, a California based company, avoids paying billions by opening up subsidiaries in tax-free or low-tax states and countries.  The company routes transactions through other countries such as Luxembourg and Ireland, where taxes are much lower than the Unites States. By doing so, Apple increases its profit; however, the billions in tax dollars which aren’t paid to the state of California result in limited funding for public schools and universities in the area.

Shifting operations to Reno, Nevada was also done with the same purpose: to avoid California’s high taxation. How is it fair that a multibillion dollar company is taking away money from the state in which it prospered? Apple still contributes billions to the state of California; however, due to the size of the company the contributions could be much greater.  Even though this tax avoidance is legal and practiced by many American companies it still remains unethical, and Apple, as being one of the most profitable companies in American history can afford to be fair and pay proper taxation, which will in turn profit the citizens of California.

Works Cited:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html?pagewanted=3&_r=moc.semityn.www&ref=business

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