International events can make countries rich. In fact, not being chosen to compete in the World Cup can be the biggest financial opportunity loss a country can face. For example, Portugal would have lost almost $269 million for national industries like airlines, retail, marketing, public relations, and restaurants and bars, if it’s national soccer team lost it’s World Cup qualification. 

 Such events allow countries to attract people from all over the world, which mainly helps the countries’ economies. It is interesting to see how companies like Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Nike are all very interdependent on the success of international events like the World Cup. I feel that the dependence on the well-being of such event is justifiable, regardless of how sport-lovers criticize this idea by pointing out that the event should be hosted for the pure love of global interaction and the art of sports.

In a response to the critics, it is important to point out that in order to make such event happen, many large companies have to be sponsors of the event. This allows the event to happen at all, which then allows the global interaction to happen and the art of sports to be demonstrated. Although it might be extreme to say that such event should be hosted for the sole reason of making money, I feel that it is a justifiable reason.

Picture Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VKnlNvwbGMM/TBSj0keSE0I/AAAAAAAABio/WspSWC2ebTk/s400/WC2.jpg

Article Source: http://qz.com/147523/missing-the-world-cup-can-cost-a-country-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars/

Is Facebook having an anxiety attack? Is it being just way too competitive?

Ever since Snapchat launched, Facebook has made numerous attempts to buy it out. It is understandable that the social media mogul Facebook is somewhat irritated by the sudden competition. However, that might not justify it attempting to control the entire app market.

   As apps are becoming more and more popular, Facebook recently encountered many competitions. Snapchat, supposedly having turned down an all cash offer from Facebook, seems to be the biggest one. Although trying to buy a competitor company may seem like a good idea for a large company like Facebook, being anxious and trying to make unsuccessful deals constantly could reflect poorly on the company.

In addition to the buy-out attempt, Facebook recently created it’s own photo-involving app called Poke, which received many negative views as being too similar to Snapchat. As a social networking company, Facebook may need to chill down on the chasing. Personally, the fact that Facebook seems to be intolerant of any type of competition seem really catty. Even from a business perspective, this could possibly affect potential partnership opportunities with, in this case, Snapchat.

Instead of trying to buy-out a company, I think Facebook would do much better in updating or creating an innovative social networking app.

Picture Source: http://images.socialnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Snapchat-Buyout-From-Facebook-Rejected.jpg

Article Source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-13/snapchats-3-billion-rejection-and-the-great-facebook-unbundling

The main product theme for McDonald’s (MCD) is timeless; it never changes. But it’s menu is tweaked here and there internationally throughout.

 The chain has apparently moved on to making pork McNuggets in China. The source says that in response to some Chinese locals being more accustomed to the taste of pork or local meat, McDonald’s has added a new option to its menu. This customized addition supposedly would serve as a more profitable alternative to the traditional McNuggets. The new addition, Spicy Pork McBites, seems like a potentially successful marketing strategy. However, personally, it seems a bit too unnecessary.

     Although it might seem like the company is very accommodating in that it’s trying to satisfy customers all over the world, I think it is also important to realize that it is a fast-food chain restaurant. When people purchase from McDonald’s, they most likely are not looking for a AAA graded beef patty or fresh olive-oil deep fry batter. McDonald’s is taken for what it is: a place to eat fast food. In regarding every different type of ingredient preferences of different cultures globally, McDonald’s might be losing it’s grip that it might be more profitable to re-design it’s package to be more appealing, than trying to change the meat in it’s products’ 3-second taste bliss.

Perhaps, this strategy might be more suitable for countries like India, where the population is largely religious and simply don’t consume beef. The market demand in India for veggie burgers is huge, whereas the market demand for pork nuggets in China is relatively small.

Picture Source: http://www.thebeijinger.com/sites/default/files/u265699/rsz_mcbites3_1.jpg

Article Source: http://qz.com/147913/mcdonalds-new-china-tactic-is-catering-to-the-nations-voracious-love-of-pork/

Apple (AAPL) seems to have a generally positive sales from the newly launched iPhone 5C. But it can’t be ignored that there is an inventory build-up for the product.

The iPhone 5C, with it’s plastic backing, is thought of as the ‘cheaper’ model of the famous iPhone. With the launch of the counterpart iPhone 5S, the price of the iPhone 5C was expected to be relatively cheaper. However, in countries like India, the price for the phone is still just too high. Despite the marketing strategy to be more affordable to more populations throughout the world, iPhone 5C still seems to be an expensive product to many countries.

For example, the price for a 16GB iPhone 5C in India is RS 41,900, whereas the price for a 16GB iPhone 5S is RS 53,500. This hints that the price difference between the two models is not enough to be an incentive for people to buy the iPhone 5C. Personally, it seems logical that the price of the iPhone 5C is much cheaper than the iPhone 5S. After all, the iPhone 5C is playing the role of a ‘subsitute’ from the same company, in hopes to penetrate a bigger customer context.

In this case, I feel like Apple is doing more harm to itself in terms of sales. As the inventory build-up shows, launching two products with no significant price difference will only harm the overall marketing technique than benefit it.

Picture Source: http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/522f5a116da8114a184b3994/apples-new-iphone-5c-is-plastic-beautifully-unapologetically-plastic.jpg

Article Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-14/hardware/44073068_1_iphone-4s-iphone-5s-gartner