Canadian advertisers, in the US, UK and Australia’s footsteps, are now able to advertise on Instagram. I believe this is a more sound strategy than advertising on other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook has in fact both transformed and alienated our social activities. Nowadays, fewer users remain daily active, and when they do they simply post pictures or add people, in order to “enhance social circle” or catch up with friends far away. In this regard, people are unlikely to heed advertisement that comes with friends’ posts (which some rarely browse anyway). Twitter is more anonymous, however, and an account’s followers are more likely to read what is posted, but embedded links appear more frequently than pictures on Twitter, and when pictures appear they can only be posted one at a time.

Instagram, however, has a clear focus not on online socializing or information spread: People who use it simply post and browse pictures. Therefore, advertisements for food, clothes or other fashion items find their potential clients more directly-Many people post pictures of food or clothes on Instagram, and are really interested in them. Pictures rather than words also could become immediate shopping trigger, especially for less known brands, which are unlikely to impress customers with written description. When customers become attracted to an item, they could click on attached link to explore further, but by then they have already developed fondness for a product, rather than dislike for an annoying ad banner.

Reference: Canadian Advertisers to use Instagram as a brand-building vehicle

<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/brand-building-one-instagram-post-at-a-time/article21514759/>

Image Source: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1550954462/instagramIcon_400x400.png

The recent establishment of Dasiqox Tribal Park has announced Tsilhqot’in people’s resolve against New Prosperity copper-gold project. In this contest we could observe two different views of sustainability: While we usually see sustainability as harvesting resources without causing irreversible damage to the environment, First Nations only justify non-industrial scale exploitation, which is deemed respectable to gods and nature. Taseko Mines clearly failed to identify all its key partners in this case, and its efforts in acquiring key resources have thus been stalled.

This is not the only case where First Nations people try to hold back what we call progress. BC Hydro’s recent Site C hydroelectric megaproject is battling against chiefs in a similar fashion. Under PEST analysis, political dissent seems the only constraint that hinders Canada’s industrial development, considering the country’s high GDP, social harmony and technological vantage.

First Nations people clearly have a point beside their traditional beliefs. Nature is both resilient and fragile, and one can hardly predict the negative implications of massive projects. China’s Three Gorges Dam project, for instance, brings economic progress as well as environmental loss. First Nations are a natural checking force for such potential damage.

Firms, however, also needs to persuade First Nations to accept gradual, constructive and sustainable progress, sometimes with visible benefits. I cannot help but wonder whether industrialization is possible in Canada at all, but if it is, the key lies in whether firms and First Nations could achieve mutual understanding.

References:

“Tsilhqot’in set to declare site of New Prosperity mine a tribal park”<http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html>

“First Nation chiefs to stage Site C showdown” <http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html>

Image source:

http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/firstnations/images/fishingcamp.jpg

Recently, I have perused Aurora Qiu’s blog post analyzing Coca-Cola’s recipe for success. As Professor Mahesh Nagarajan mentioned in class, “well-organized supply chain management and operation” are integral elements in Coca-Cola’s triumph over most beverage companies. An expert in management studies, Mr.Nagarajan certainly has a point, but I do believe that more factors contribute towards such success.

An article I stumbled upon explicates Coca-Cola’s sale strategies, which I believe complement the post’s sole focus on internal efficiency boost. Coca-Cola’s product and customer differentiation particularly catch my eyes. I realized that Coca-Cola does not only produce coke: An array of time-tested products from Sprite to Vitamin drink allows Coca-Cola access to customers with diverse tastes and needs, enabling it to expand market share to include people with different lifestyles. For instance, I myself dislike carbonated drinks, but I drink Glacéau Vitaminwater and Minute Maid, which are also brands under Coca-Cola. In addition, observant eyes will be astonished by Coca-Cola’s omni-presence: I have seen its brands even in shabby selling booths of rural Cambodia and canteens in crooked lanes of small Chinese cities. This would be impossible if Coca-Cola could not achieve “superior delivery”. I can never deny that supply-chain management and efficient operation contribute to Coca-Cola’s success, but no matter how many goods are produced at how fast a rate, a company has to sell them as quickly as possible to make the most of profits.

Reference:

“Behind the Success: A Modern Operation System for a Classic Beverage” <https://blogs.ubc.ca/yutianqiu/2014/10/04/behind-the-success-a-modern-operation-system-for-a-classic-beverage/>

“Who dares wins-success through intelligent risk” <http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/coca-cola-great-britain/who-dares-wins-success-through-intelligent-risk/key-aspects-of-coca-colas-business.html#axzz3FJqhNNcB>

Image source:

http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/5/168466/2317061/main_photo_portfolio.jpg

In the backdrop of general protest and unprecedented crackdown, Hong Kong’s tourism industry is taking the toll, with 7% decline comparing to the same “Golden Week” from the previous year. What underlines such brief turbulence is, I believe, an accumulation of complicated social, economic and political issues.

Comparing Singapore and Hong Kong’s economic growth since Hong Kong’s reunion with China, we will begin to understand why people in Hong Kong bear grudges. When economy progress is relatively slow and political progress stagnant, it is easy to blame the government for inaction. Even as mainland Chinese, I find it impossible to deny that the government has not done enough to prevent Hong Kong from a relative decline, but I also believe that Hong Kong’s stagnancy has some internal reasons.

If we run a brief PESTLE analysis for any industry in Hong Kong before protests, we will discover that Hong Kong’s political and social climates, at least comparing to Singapore, are less friendly. I recall my own visit to Hong Kong earlier this year-I was annoyed by the need of an Entry-Exit Permit and customs officials’ bureaucracy (Back then I could enter Singapore with my study permit more easily, but I was stopped at the airport, as my permit was not “individual visit permit” but “group visit permit”). I believe that businessmen in China also have the same problem-if they spend too much time dealing with bureaucracy and miss fleeting business opportunities or major negotiations.

Hong Kong’s linguistic environment also appalled me. I have heard from friends that one needs to learn Cantonese to study in Hong Kong’s universities, but I was never told that many ordinary people have near-to-zero English proficiency. In Singapore, school education has already switched from traditional Chinese to simplified characters and Mandarin, while conversational English proficiency is taken for granted. Time has changed. When people in Guangdong Province know both Mandarin and Cantonese, Hong Kong is falling fast behind.

17 years after the reunion, Hong Kong is at crossroads once again. It is easy to identify factors that hinder economic growth, but it is not easy to make political changes, or transform a society’s habits overnight.

Reference:

“Hong Kong Protests Start to Hit Tourist Arrivals”<http://online.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-protests-start-to-hit-tourist-arrivals-1412310385>

Image source:

https://www.economy.com/dismal/graphs/blog/ach_112111_3a.GIF