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The Tsilhgot’in First Nations has recently declared 1,750 square kilometres of land west of Williams Lake as their landmark of a tribal park. However, controversy takes place when Taseko Mines Ltd.’s Fish Lake property lies outside the title area recognized by the courts. As the Tsilhogt’in people have devoted themselves on conserving the well-being of the environment, have been long opposed for the mining industry around the area and wish to reduce the mining and logging threats. This is a perfect example to evaluate PEST analysis on the two factors and observe of how Taseko Mines Ltd faces the external factor as First Nations issues are tightly connected to their land allocation and political rights. In this case, as the Tsilhogot’in people have the profound interest in preserving the wilderness on behalf of their culture and living condition, their effort in contributing the environment could deeply affect the corporation’s potential business model as New Prosperity’s exploitation would severely contaminate the fish lake. On a social level, as the New Prosperity’s strategy in developing the mine on an environmentally scale, it is hard for the Taseko Mines to take further steps as they are currently challenging the First Nation’s cultural limitations and habitants while standing under the spotlight with national attention. However, would a full denial towards the mining industry be the only solution in this issue. The answer is no. While it is important to preserve the environment, it is equally important to evaluate the issue based on an economic lens as the mining industry does open various doors with employment opportunities in the area. Therefore, on a political level to develop a deeper analysis on the issue, government intervention is a must as it is worthwhile to set government regulation and limitation between First Nations and corporations to avoid further controversies and prevent conflicts.

Resources:
“Tsilhqot’in Set to Declare Site of New Prosperity Mine a Tribal Park.”Www.vancouversun.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral%2Bpark%2Bdeclared%2BTsilhqot%2Bincludes%2BProsperity%2Bmine/10192766/story.html>.

“Understanding Pest Analysis with Definitions and Examples.” PESTLE Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://pestleanalysis.com/pest-analysis/>.

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“ ‘This is an evolution,’ Mr. Bawa said. ‘And there’s a lot more to come.’ ”

The frozen food company McCain Foods Ltd is now expanding their target customers from primarily the families with kids to a larger scope of the Canadian population. Instead of limiting themselves from distributing frozen good, the company is now transitioning from their original brand image of fast and convenient into a new image of providing healthy and fresh products. The main reason that drives the company into reshaping their business model is the fact that young consumers, with a higher level of living conditions, now value food that comes from nutritious and safe sources. Therefore, the Vikram Bawa, McCain’s vice-president of marketing has emphasized that they has the intention to reshape their brand with new looks and logos that demonstrate naturalness and warmth. Even though, the company has been aiming to make the transition over a year now, the process remains to be time-consuming and strenuous as consumers already has a basic understanding of the brand in their mind, and it is rather difficult to alter the image and transitioning into something else. Just as Ries and Trout in the article in “positioning” has mentioned, “it’s cheaper and easier to introduce a new brand than to changing the existing brand a new position.” Hence, it is important For McCain to rethink the effectiveness of their current strategy of reshaping the brand and finding even more efficient ways to emphasize their new brand image into the consumers’ mind.

Resources:
“McCain Aims to Bring Warmth Back to the Frozen Food Aisle.” The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/mccain-foods-reinvents-itself-to-adapt-to-new-priorities/article20937714/>.

“Product Positioning.” Product Positioning. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/ries-trout/positioning/>.

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By setting default to all videos uploading on Facebook to start playing muted automatically once viewers scroll though their news feed, videos on Facebook now has the opportunity to grab viewers’ attention in an instant. Thus, rather than streaming commercials on television, small businesses with a tighter budget are now being offered a more sufficient and efficient way of reaching their potential customers by posting their advertisement online. To truly create a platform to introduce products and communicate with customers, many brands now have their own Facebook page to easily seize viewers’ attention. Now, with the “auto-play” feature, Facebook is providing these small businesses to an even higher level by developing video analytics for publishers such as view counts and customer preference recommendation. These information not only are useful for developing marketing strategy for small businesses, it could help companies to keep track on video displaying record and useful in future references. Most importantly, with the video analytic database, each business would also have a deeper understanding on how to develop strategy for their future business models. However, with the effect of globalization and an overload of information throughout each viewer’s newsfeed and mind, small business should really start thinking about how to really make a strong and positive impression upon their potential customers’ mind.

Resources:

“Facebook Video Offers Another Way for Small Businesses to Spread the Word.” The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-marketing/advertising/facebook-video-offers-another-way-for-small-businesses-to-spread-message/article20514969/>.

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As MacDonald’s has recently decided to expand their McCafe into the home-brew coffee market as they are now launching their new coffee pods into Canadian Supermarkets. Even though research has been done and proven by the “Coffee Association of Canada ” that 78 percent of the coffee consumption is done at home and it is surely a product with potentials to invest in, the market for grocery aisle instant brewed coffee remains to be extremely competitive. First, powerful competitors includes the Keurig, Starbucks Tassimo, and Tim Horton’s K-cups; however, within this competitive environment, it is important to acknowledge that the concept of instant brewed coffee pods may still not be widely acceptable throughout the market. For instance, besides the convenience of the invention, the debate of whether to consume freshly brewed coffee or purchase the instant coffee maker remains as customers’ preference and priorities vary. Therefore, it is important for McDonald’s to acknowledge a few points as they enter the market of instant coffee pods. First, the taste of the brewed coffee, throughout the competitive coffee market, it is important to distinguish the taste and emphasize the brand quality apart from other brands. Second, the price, as McDonald’s has the intention to actively expand their brand name into the grocery market, developing their “focus low cost” having a lower price while having decent quality may give them an advantage among other coffee brands. Last, but not least, the variety of the coffee pods. Instead of mainly focusing upon brewed coffee, expanding their target consumers to a younger age might give them a great advantage over others as the concept of instant beverage pods remains to be a concept new to the market. Therefore, taking a lead in developing a variety types of pods, not necessarily restricting to brewed coffee would really give McDonald’s a great position in making their brand stronger among customers’ mind.

Sources:

“McDonald’s McCafe Pushes into Grocery Aisle as Coffee Wars Heat up.”Global News. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://globalnews.ca/news/1566444/mcdonalds-beats-tim-hortons-to-the-punch-as-coffee-wars-heat-up/>