Joseph_blog

Although black Friday is American by tradition its legendary sales have been used in the UK to attract customers. Amazon cut prices by “up to 40 per cent on around 1,000 items until Saturday as part of its Black Friday Deals Week.” In coloration with this online sale, “online prices are falling at their highest rate for five-years.” Compared to October last year, there has been a 14% growth of online sales in the UK. This increase in demand has been encouraged by such sales, and online sales are beneficial to many companies. An online order means that firms do not need physical stores and makes it cheaper to sell, thus yielding higher profits.

Black Friday in the UK evidences that sales are an effective tactic for increasing consumer spending. The sale has been imported without its related culture, that of thanks giving. This truly evidences the economic power of such a sale; it both shows the separation and integration of economy and culture. Although I feel that such wide spread sales aid larger corporations, such as Amazon, more than smaller businesses. The advantage of economies of scale means that larger firms are able to produce for less and thus profit more from sales.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9686456/Internet-price-war-launches-in-UK-ahead-of-Black-Friday.html

“Jaguar Land Rover is to make vehicles in China for the first time after Beijing approved a £1bn joint venture.”

China is a growing market for Jaguar Land Rover, with the Chinese sales of JLR models already risen “by 80% so far this year.” To meet the demand from the Chinese market JLR will build an automobile plant near Shanghai. A new factory means they can increase total output to meet that of the new demand, and the location of the factory (China) allows the firm to avoid import taxes into China that they are currently paying. This cost reduction will allow the JLR to increase its profit margin that could lead to lower prices or extra expenditure towards research and other areas.

This billion-dollar deal will also create an increase in jobs for China and hopefully have a positive impact upon both Chinas economy and the worlds. JLR reassured that in China “any cars produced would be in addition to its existing output… and that it [has] no intention of moving its manufacturing base out of Britain.” JLR is seen to be preserving existing jobs in the West whilst also expanding into a new market.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20384431

This is a repose to Rubin Chernenko’s blog on October 9, 2012 titles Plug Problems.

With new products, such as the Iphone 5, Apple is replacing its iconic 30-pin connecter with a new, thinner and more efficient 9-pin connection. This will create a compatibility issue with all previously released IOS devices. Third party producers must now update their product lines to fit the new change. Similarly, consumers that want to use Apples new devices with old accessories will have to buy a $29.00 adapter.

Rubin’s opinion that “…this is one of Apples many ways of raising their revenues,” may be true. It is easy to ‘jump the gun’ and assume that this increase in revenue is their main motive for such a change. However, if we look at the history of Apple we can see various replacements in its technologies; for example, up until 2003 IPod’s used a FireWire port. The replacement 9-pin connection is a natural progression to apple products. It can be characterized as “…a trade-off between some inconvenience now for increased convenience later.” With the smaller 9-pin connection come faster transfer speeds, the ability to have audio/video out but more importantly its reduction in size allows for a future of slimmer, better products.

The replacement of the 30-pin may lead to a small increase in revenue from adaptor sales; however, it will benefit both the consumer and producer in the long run.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/op-ed-why-now-could-be-the-right-time-for-apple-to-ditch-the-dock-connector/

This is a response to Rachel Thexton’s blog The Twitter Era, November 7, 2012.

Social media has become a key marketing tool with website such as Facebook and Twitter allowing you to “talk to consumers.” Twitter has become the biggest stage on which companies can listen to market trends, and bridges the gap between producer and community. The power of Twitter is often misunderstood. This online community can both make and break a brand. Marketing via Twitter has proven to be highly effective, but often it is Twitter itself that can cause various PR nightmares.  The biggest mistake is forgetting that “you’re communicating to a large public and everything is on the record.”

I agree with the authors’ view that companies should draft a “practical and flexible social media policy.” This is a crucial step towards preventing any potential damage; even firms as large as McDonald’s have had PR issues with twitter. A believe that a few simple screens of each online post would go a long way to protecting a firms image. It is much easier to damage a reputation that to have to re-build it.

http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/social-media/twitter-era-nothing-record

Ikea recently released a public statement that it “…deeply regrets the use of political prisoners as forced labour in communist East Germany by some of its suppliers.” It seems that the statement was a PR ploy that’s aim was to maintain the positive image that many consumers associate with the brand. In order to do so Ikea wanted to separate its held image from this past event. Their public statement disconnected ‘modern’ Ikea from ‘old’ Ikea and placed the blame upon its suppliers at that time. Ikea showcased its concern by offers “…those former prisoners … [with] compensation,” and by reassuring consumers that Ikea now has one of “…the most rigorous codes of conduct for suppliers.”

This issue was 25-30 years prior, however it was still a threat to the brand image of Ikea today. It shows how decision made earlier in a firms life can manifest and cause issues later, even if it is 25 years ago. The decision to release this apology and compensation shows how valuable Ikeas image is to them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20356945

This post is a response to Sagher Bajwa’s Blog on October 6 about Unethical Marketing. The image exampled shows a pregnant woman holding a beer.

This advertisement is seen to be projecting the image of drinking whilst pregnant; in reality, the advert is innocently advertising something that is of no harm: none-alcoholic beer. Although non-alcoholic beer is being sold, a large majority of people would argue the taboo nature of this advert. Because the product advertised looks similar a product we commonly associate with harm, (alcohol), it is automatically seen as taboo. At a first glance the subject matter of the poster is obscene, however once it is known that a non-alcoholic product is being sold then it becomes ethically justifiable. The risks associated with this add are the potential false first impressions. At a glance only the image and its negative image is seen, however the product itself is not.

However, I am more interested in what effect this advert had upon the product. This add definitely attracted some attention, both negative and positive; but because of it the product would have had more exposure. A passer by could have been shocked by the image, only to look closer and see that a non-alcoholic beer is being sold. The shock factor may have aided in the effectiveness of this advert. Ethical or not, it is clear that advertising can be effective both ways. Is using sex to sell ethical? Many may hold the notion that it is not, but the reality is that if done right it can be very effective.

I recently read an intriguing article about consumer phycology and how advertising has changed over the last century. Evidencing the historical development of advertising and how it changed in correlation to the understanding of consumer phycology. Ditcher’s believed “that marketplace decisions are driven by emotions and subconscious whims and fears, and often have little to do with the product itself.” His new ways of approaching advertising in the 50’s built his career and “was considered so successful that he was even accused of threatening America’s national well-being.”

However, the idea that I took away from this article was that products should be seen as a projection of the consumer. Meaning that the soul of the product must represent the image that each consumer is, or wants to be. It is a simple concept, but one that can make or break a product. A phone is a perfect example, it is an extension of who the consumer self image. More and more advertising is appealing to emotion, and at the time of this advertising revolution it was seen that “Americans [had] become the most manipulated people outside the Iron Curtain.”

http://www.economist.com/node/21541706

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/142736-rim-falls-on-brand-report

RIM has fallen from 56^th to 93ed on one “of the latest ranking of global brands by an international consultancy.” This puts the firms estimated value at $3.9 billon, a 39% drop in the last year.

BlackBerry has failed to innovate as much as other brands such as Apple an Android. They are at a technological disadvantage and have had a few too many PR issues this last year with “BlackBerry shipments [being] down 41%.” With competition offering the consumers better products, BlackBerry must “clearly demonstrate its relevance and value in today’s crowded smartphone market.” In class we have undertaken various exercises as to why consumers purchase specific products, and what BlackBerry has to offer is more and more overshadowed by competition. Would it be possible to increase their sales via advertisement or a more diverse product line? These are the types of question that need to be explored in order to aid RIM with their decreasing market share.

Competing firms, such as Apple, have invested a lot of time and money in building and maintaining a positive brand image, however, RIM has not had the same success. One of BlackBerries unique selling point, “Black Berry Messaging” has lost its appeal to many consumers with alternate services, such as “Imessage” becoming available. RIM needs a new approach in order to gain back customers and increase profits.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/auto-sales-pick-up-speed-even-as-economy-sputters/article4581844/

This article discusses the recent increase in global sales of motor vehicles since last year. A major increase in sales has been seen in the U.S. market “which hit 14.9 million sales on an… annual basis,” however Canada has also had an increase in sales with the “highest numbers since September, 2000.”

The Canadian economy has been more stable than that of the U.S. over the last year and can be seen as a reason for the increase in automotive sales in Canada. However, the U.S. has also seen a rise in total sales, in particular, fuel-efficient cars. In fact, this month was “Ford’s best small car sales month in a decade.” It seems that what the consumer values is changing. The price of gas has increased and thus consumers are becoming more fuel conscious, and buying more fuel-efficient cars. This shift in the type of cars purchased indicates that the market for more fuel-efficient vehicles is growing and now would be a good time for firms think about capitalising on the increase of such a demand. Firms should always remain aware of changing consumer trends and facilitate the demand in order to maximise profits.

If the world economy stays stable, sales of cars are predicted to continue to increase, however many factors could effect sales and the economy is only one of them. International automotive firms have also seen a larger increase in sales with various German and Japanese based companies outselling major American brands such as Ford.

Obama ignores huge dangers in approving Arctic drilling permit for Shell. 

SOURCE: http://biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2012/arctic-drilling-08-30-2012.html

With the demand for oil increasing, so is the demand for oil drilling in new areas. Shell has applied to drill in the “Arctic Ocean off Alaska, despite the fact that a critical oil-spill containment vessel is still awaiting certification.” The Obama administration has given Shell the approval to begin this drilling venture however controversial it may be. Alaskan director at the Center for Biological Diversity commented on the situation, “Scariest of all, the Obama administration is allowing Shell to go forward without even having the promised oil-spill containment equipment in place.”

The new drilling may not only be devastating to the environment but could have world altering effects if a large spill were to happen. It could be seen that Shell are cutting corners in regards to regulations, and this can put others at risk. Even with the improvements of safety procautions “Arctic drilling can never really be safe.” Over “1 million people have sent President Obama messages asking him to save the Arctic from drilling.”

Should a business take such an environmental risk just to make a profit?