Maria F. Soto's Blog

Globalization is a movement that has hit this world in many aspects of business, especially because many people are required in their line of work to move to a different city, country, or even a different continent altogether. Most often than not however, expatriates are a significant minority in several countries, and they adapt their consumer behaviour to those of local consumers. But what happens when expatriates form a considerable, if not the majority of a nation’s population? How do marketers react in respect to such an event? To provide…read more

Ethical issues in society are often the result of actions by businesses and choices they make which in turn directly affect the consumer market. In the case of Abercrombie and Fitch, controversy has poured down on this brand that has been highly successful in the last few years. One of the first issues is how the brand makes being “aesthetically pleasing” a common requirement for any employee at the American retailer. This “look policy” caused the company to receive a lot of criticism due to implications of discrimination and basing…read more

In Janina Benz’s blog post in “Code_n Blog”, she describes long term projects that currently in development: the most famous being Masdar City, a project developed by the Mubadala Development Company, in the hopes of extending their reach towards renewable energy. Benz is accurate in saying that not many people would associate the UAE with sustainability. For more information, I looked into Masdar’s website to find that the “Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is one of the 10 largest oil companies in the world”. So indeed, it is most incredible…read more

In a time when airlines with a high position in the market have struggled to cope with economic downfalls resulting in consumers’ behaviour drastically changing, some airlines have indeed found their place in the sun, to the point when expansion has become more than an possibility. Etihad Airways is such an airline. Celebrating their 9th year in the market, their development throughout the years is impressive. So what makes this company tick? What are the strategies behind their success?   Unlike those based in North America and Europe, Middle Eastern airlines…read more

Above all, I agree with Andrea’s statement that social entrepreneurs are such distinct individuals who apply their knowledge for the welfare of the less fortunate, “disregarding the limits in which the society is confined, but keeping in mind the regulations that must be followed”. Andrea’s blog post struck me from the moment I read the title. As a Mexican national, I found this to be an eye opener. It seems social entrepreneurs lack recognition, not only in Mexico, but also worldwide. When she describes the “social mexican pyramid” and Rodriguez’…read more

This week in Business Fundamentals, we had an interesting guest speaker. Wade Larson: Director, Co-founder and Executive Vicepresident, is the one responsible for the initial “vision” that would become UrtheCast, a company created with the sole purpose of “providing the world with high-definition (HD) video of Earth from space”. From his presentation, Larson claims a steady ground for this company to develop, and finally launch the project in 2013. Currently with five different partners, namely the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), this recognition is well suited to give…read more

Dina’s blog post is indeed an amusing concept, that upon better consideration could also be controversial. From personal experience, I have only come across touch screen kiosks, and had previously found them to be useful and sufficiently new in technology. This however, has taken everything to a new level, and it shows how technological innovations can sometimes outrun the consumer. This may bring different reactions to certain groups, and yet I agree that most people might find this intrusive. Perhaps the technology used in this case might not be appropriate…read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWljqAQZR-I&feature=youtu.be   Being one of the oldest fast food companies in the industry, or namely being criticized for offering unhealthy and cheap food, McDonald’s has secured a spot as a popular brand. It is recognized worldwide, and in present days it has gained a bad reputation, “myths” and rumors spreading, concerning the origin and quality of the meat used by the company.   That is why it comes to my complete surprise that McDonald’s has recently launched a campaign to offer “answers” to consumers and non-consumers alike regarding their products….read more

Three spanish speaking countries: Argentina, Mexico and Spain. All joined by the common ground of language, and often found to mispronounce English based labels, such as “Nike”, or in this case: “Pepsi”. A marketing campaign was launched by PepsiCo in Argentina back in 2009 responding to local pronunciation, and renaming the brand to “Pecsi”, an easier name according to Spanish phonetics. These ads became so popular that they were introduced in Spain a year later, this time completely obliterating the “p”.   Along with this, Fernando Torres lead the campaign…read more