Burger King, the second leader in the fast-food market, after becoming partners with Canada’s McCain Foods, introduced the new healthier French fries as part of their menu. Intelligently, Burger King developed a partnership with McCain Foods; the company making the fries, and limited them the sales of the new product only to Burger King. This innovation became a Point of Difference of the company since it is the only fast-food company offering this product. At the same time, we are aware that McDonalds introduced the salad ever since health and fitness became a vital element in consumers’ life. However, Burger King is now offering one of the favourite products in a healthier way, instead of offering another product that will take away the fun of fast-food.

I personally believe that the strategy used might actually help them close the gap between them and the market leader; McDonalds. It will also create a positive impact on the reputation of the company since they are meeting the customer’s wants. Moreover, this is an aspect that can be added in the value proposition of the company since it is a unique feature they are offering in comparison to their competitors.

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/10/4/Burger-King-tries-to-fatten-margins-with-skinny-fries.aspx

Kraft Company being owner of several products in the snack business (Kool-Aid, Velveeta, etc.) faced an unexpected decrease in the sales of their Jell-O products. Kraft is planning on conducting another advertising campaign with the goal of re-establishing the core purpose of the product. This new campaign I believe has it’s positive and negative factors. The advertising campaign’s goal is also to make customers aware of the product and it points of difference comparing to its competitors, therefore taking the product from the decline stage in the product life cycle, to the development stage. However, launching the new campaign can risk that the time they consumed on planning and research might not succeed as they expected.

Since one of the core aspects when marketing and positioning a product is to focus oncreating a good long-lasting reputation and image, I believe that one of the features the company should focus is on balancing points of difference and points of parity. The external factors such as the customers taste vary throughout time; therefore the brand should be flexible enough to be able to blend in with their customers wants. For example, the article states that the product “…was very successful while the diet trend continued,” however this trend shifted and now there is a different perception of diet trends, therefore it doesn’t fall into placed with their old marketing strategies.

The economist article “Peer-to-peer rental: The rise of sharing economy”, explains the evolution of the ‘sharing economy’. People are encouraged to make profit by renting their underused assets. The increase in technology, such as the creation of websites that encourage renting, has facilitated the connection between the owner and the renter. Should external companies such as hotels and car rentals be concerned about this? In the short-run, businesses will not experience a direct competitive impact; however in the long-run, people will become aware of the benefits this activity provides. For example car makers can be affected since people would prefer to rent a car when needed instead of buying one, at the same time they avoid the responsibility of owning one. Is this a “win-win” situation? Since the owner is making some extra money of their underused assets and the renter is saving money by renting a product instead of purchasing a brand new one, it is a win-win situation.

Fear of sharing owners sharing their possessions with strangers is one of the elements that have prevented the sharing economy to grow rapidly. However once the renters have had one good experience, they are confident enough to try it again.