Jasmine's Marketing Blog

The marketing plan assignment has been useful in the sense that I’ve been able to apply knowledge learned in class and from readings onto a real life company.

Some things that I learned

• How to analyze a company’s details and make connections to concepts learned in class
• How to work with teammates and put together an assignment
• Communicating knowledge gained from research and creatively communicating and educating others through video format

I liked how there were four parts to this marketing plan assignment and it was spread all throughout the term. Starting with assignment 1, I was able to get adjusted to my teammates’ working habits and create a team dynamic that would be essential to sustain for the remainder of the semester. From researching the company’s immediate and macroenvironments and creating a SWOT analysis, to identifying target segments and selecting a target market, my team and I were really challenged to look deep into the company that we selected (Groupon) and to think about the real life repercussions of our decisions from our analysis that we made in assignment 1. I liked the pace and progress of this assignment. It went from a general analysis of the company, to identifying possible target segments, then selecting a target market, and recommending changes to the marketing mix using the 4P’s. Much of what we did will be useful in the future when I want to analyze any company.

I think that receiving peer feedback on this assignment is essential. Because I want to be a value added member to my team, I want to make sure that I can get the feedback I need to improve as a teammate and student. Also, feedback gives students incentive to stay engaged in the project and to avoid the free rider problem that often occurs in group assignments and projects.

Introduction to Marketing has been fun!  I have learned alot and look forward to taking more courses related to the subject matter.

Upon browsing through some of my classmates’ blog posts, I stumbled upon Sarah’s Moug Blogpost “The Social Pressure of Social Change” which really resounded with me.

Although I was unable to join Sarah at the 2013 We Day as a Crowd Pumper this year, this blog post triggered some of my past experiences with Free the Children and We Day.

I have been to 3 We Days. My first time in grade 10 as a clueless high school student, and my second and third times in grades 11 and 12 as a volunteer crowd pumper. Attending We Day in grade 10 was a huge turning point in my high school career, it was the jumpstart to my passion to start being involved with the greater community and to start giving back to those less fortunate than me. We Day is  a day of inspiration and motivation for youth to pursue social change. Sarah mentioned that she was not the target market of the event, but my grade 10 self was, and I was totally unaware. I was unaware that Free the Children was capitalizing on the fact that 10,000 clueless individuals in its target market were sitting in the audience waiting to be inspired and thus sold to the brand name of Me to We, and Free the Children. In a group of 10,000 other students, it was tough to not buy into the group think and group mentality of what Free the Children was telling me/ all of us.

That day, I became a believer of Free the Children and Me to We. Watch the following video: it is hard not to buy into their message if you aren’t cognizant of  the marketing scheme the company is trying to achieve.

WE DAY – THE MOVEMENT OF OUR TIME

While this does not discount the fact that I wholly support Free the Children and its efforts to make positive change on the world, I do not agree on marketing to clueless teenagers who are not aware of their vulnerability. During teenage years, we gullibly believe things that are told to us by celebrities and important political and social figure such as the Dalai Lama or Craig and Marc Kielberger (these were the speakers who spoke at We Day 2010) without really thinking about the message.

When I returned to volunteer as a crowd pumper the subsequent years, I was able to see through the marketing schemes of Free the Children and to reasonably decipher which campaigns I supported and which I didn’t. By being aware of such marketing schemes, I was able to make more informed decisions as a consumer.

After a nearly $1 billion write-down of inventory, RIM and Blackberry received a fresh of breath air this past week as Blackberry Messenger (BBM) became the #1 most downloaded application in 80 countries.

Blackberry’s most prized possession and successful differentiation product, BBM, has touched down on iOS and Android devices and made a hit. It has received hype across the globe by reaching Blackberry users, many of whom have adopted iOS and Android devices, but still have an undying love for the messaging giant BBM that highlighted their Blackberry experience. By making BBM available to iOS and Android devices, Blackberry has expanded its customer segment for its product line.

The question is: Can BBM be the catalyst to a turnaround for the apparently dying company, Research in Motion?

BBM currently has approx. 60 million Blackberry BBM users and 15 million iOS/Android users. The iOS/Android number has a high growth potential. How can the company leverage BBM, a free download application that currently offers no paid add-on features or advertising, to create cash flows?

That depends entirely on whether Blackberry can build an effective content distribution/ marketing system on top of BBM. If it can copy the LINE playbook and start offering social games to iOS/Android users, Blackberry could emerge in the game platform market as a strong competitor. BBM currently has strong traction across Latin America, North America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East and SE Asia.

A successful global BBM network is a potential marketing platform that could reach revenue of tens of millions a quarter.

The future of Blackberry now rides on how the company handles its BBM content delivery service. By rolling out a clear effective strategy similar to LINE-like content offerings tailored to each major market, the company could substantially increase its company valuation.

One of the hottest trending news headlines of the summer was whistleblower Edward Snowden.

As a former CIA  and NSA employee, Snowden disclosed classified details about several top secret US and British government Internet mass surveillance programs to the press. The result is a global surge in  discussions about privacy and big data, contributing to increasing awareness of the public on the use of big data by commercial enterprises to target and profile customers.

To quote Snowden, “I don’t want to live in a society that does [surveillance on its citizens]… I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded…”

Big data, like most innovations, is a double-edged sword. 

It brings huge benefits to corporations by allowing them to use information to personalize products and services to their customers’ wants and needs. Businesses are able to fuel new services, business models, and mitigate business risks.

On the other hand, big data runs the risk of harming individuals and institutions in unanticipated ways. Breach of privacy is the biggest concern. Organizations using consumer data run the risk of facing reputation damage due to inadequate understanding of information trust issues.

Advice: Initiate debate within corporations by posing ethical dilemmas

The ethical debate at hand for organizations is determining what is ‘appropriate’ and ‘not appropriate’, and considering the delicate balance between the benefits that big data analytics bring and the ethical and privacy risks they pose. Organizations hold different values, principles, beliefs and convictions and an ethical debate forces an organization to take a stance on what it believes itself to be.

Advice: Develop a code of conduct

Leaders of the company, together with their marketing and legal departments, should develop a code of conduct for big data analytics. This code of conduct should contain a list of principles, a process of ethical checks and balances when conducting big data analytics, and legal implications.

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/105e30a4-2549-11e3-b349-00144feab7de.html#axzz2fsOVasnR

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