Month: November 2013

Fellow COMM101 student Alexander Qu quoted a fundamental axiom in one of his recent blog posts on BTM in social networking: “one of the axioms of social media has been: ‘If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.'”

Source: http://siliconangle.com/files/2013/10/Facebook-Tracking.jpg

But of course there was a catch. If I ran the business technology management (BTM) over at Facebook I’d do the same. With ‘leading competitor’ Google using Google Ads and Adsense, a lot of big data can be collected from the billions of personal computers surfing the web, making decisions. This overwhelmingly large amount of data can be used by firms for market analysis and to know more about consumer preferences, but the amount of uncertainty may be just as overwhelmingly large. Facebook’s new BTM strategy to track mouse movements should also consider these implications of uncertainty. The benefits from tracking mouse movements could provide insight into online consumer choices, methods of effective advertising, or many more quantifiable variables, but to sort out and control these variables will be difficult considering the equal or greater amount of uncertainty associated with each variable.

Source: http://vimeo.com/43038579

I totally agree with Torchinsky: we may be looking at a new pair of successful entrepreneur millionaires. Unsatisfied consumer needs and problems are waiting for revolutionary products, but there are several implications to consider.

A common issue (at least among the relatively affluent) is the cost of looking fashionable for safety: wearing a bicycle helmet. The Hövding helmet resembles a scarf, cleverly disguised into the wearer’s outfit that deploys an airbag when the device detects a rider’s falling action. There are several implications for consumers and investors to consider with the arrival of this new product.

The Hövding has the advantage of the first-mover effect: the product is new and an attractive solution for a large audience of fashion-conscious bikers. Since production has not yet been scaled, the resulting price is a high 399 GBP. There’s still room for expansion, so why aren’t investors rushing to bring this revolutionary product to the Americas? Asia? The international market?

New things may come with attractive solutions, but like the majority of new technology, the product may require extensive long periods of research and development to discover and fix bugs and potential flaws, especially when the safety of the consumer’s brain is at stake.

Check out Torchinsky’s blog here.

Torchinsky, Jason. “Swedes Develop Invisible Bike Helmet.” Web blog post. Jalopnik. N.p., 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://jalopnik.com/swedes-develop-invisible-bike-helmet-1460189477/>.

Source: http://wpmedia.o.canada.com/2013/11/free.jpg?w=612&h=330&crop=1

Recently I stumbled upon a steal of a deal: Best Buy and Future Shop offered 3 new current-gen console video game titles for free if consumers traded in any current-gen title. This seemed too good to be true, considering anyone could trade in used titles of $5-10 values for new titles valued at $60. To my surprise, the only catch in fine print was the limit of one customer per exchange (and the impending Boxing Day-long lines outside Best Buy/Future Shop).

Source: http://www.ecanadanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/free-games-futureshop.jpg

So why is Best Buy (well, and Future Shop which Best Buy acquired a while ago) offering this deal?

It’s all about inventory. These new titles that Best Buy is trading away are caught in a transition period: they will be available for current-gen and next-gen consoles. With the upcoming release of next-gen consoles (Playstation 4 and Xbox One), consumers upgrading their consoles will want to play these new titles on their new next-gen consoles rather than on current-gen consoles.

As a result of predicted decline in demand for these new titles on current-gen consoles, Best Buy has most likely offered this promotion to reduce inventory in order to better position games for their appropriate console generation. Currently, the incentive for consumers to trade in their used games cannot get better than this.

Check out the article here.

“Future Shop Offering New Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and Battlefield Titles for Free with Single Trade in.” Financial Post. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.<http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/08/future-shop-offering-new-call-of-duty-assassins-creed-and-battlefield-titles-for-free-with-single-trade-in/>.

Coke and Pepsi reminds us of their classic rivalry with some Halloween themed advertising: Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8KU–iR3CLY/UnU3tPZjQlI/AAAAAAAAMNQ/a3B7tiAsh8Y/s1600/Pepsi+vs+Coca-Cola.jpg

Although sources for these images aren’t entirely verified to be from Pepsi or Coke, the promotion of both popular brands is achieved. Pepsi and Coca Cola’s rivalry seems like they are aggressively trying to capture a larger share of the soft-drink market, but their rivalry can be mutually beneficial in marketing marketing both brands. This is perhaps why CEO of Pepsico, Indra Nooyi, invites Coca Cola’s rivalry to India with open arms.

In a recent TV interview, Nooyi suggests that we ask ourselves, “isn’t it great that two US-based multinationals, truly global companies, are showing their confidence in India?” Pepsico and Coca Cola will collectively invest a total of around 10 billion dollars in India. I agree with Nooyi in choosing to invest in India’s large and rapidly growing population. Both companies can contribute to providing employment for the developing country’s labour market while strengthening each of their supply chains. Improvements in infrastructure such as roads and highways to aid distribution are also one of the many advantages Pepsi and Coca Cola could bring to India.

Check out the article here.

Bouckley, Ben. “Indra Nooyi Laughs off ‘irrelevant’ Pepsi v Coke Competition Talk.” Beverage Daily. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.beveragedaily.com/Manufacturers/Indra-Nooyi-laughs-off-irrelevant-Pepsi-v-Coke-competition-talk>

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtyfiPIHsIg

Virgin America approaches the conventional airline safety video with a fresh musical twist. I’d say Virgin’s latest production is a marketing success for a few reasons. One of Virgin America’s guiding principles is its association and appeal towards music. Music is an effective way to overcome language barriers and appeal to different cultures through genres, thus expanding the target audience Virgin reaches out to.

Also, other airlines in the past have tried to reach out to their market audience by making safety procedures entertaining, namely New Zealand Air. Virgin meets its competitors on this point of parity, but establishes a point of difference in the amount of production effort put in.

Finally, Virgin targeted its young adult audience well. I could not watch this just once. The fact that I would and could watch this more than once is because Virgin uploaded this video to Youtube: one of the many video-sharing social networking platforms where a majority of young adults spend their time. I’d doubt that a broadcast on TV would have been as effective as using Youtube, given that young adults are spending more and more time on the internet for entertainment. Bravo, Virgin America.