Taking The Nissan Cube For Another Test Drive

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In this posting, I will be referring to James Shaw’s original post which can be found at the bottom of this composition.  From the detail to customization, James very much enjoys the Nissan cube and even suggests toward the end of his post that he would

Nissan Cube

even invest in a cube himself.  Although I entirely respect James’ opinion and find the cube to have no more sex appeal than a postal truck, I would like to explore to see if these boxes are selling and if so, who are the buyers?

 

According to autoblog (link bellow), 2009 cube sales were estimated at  21,000 cubes, followed by 23,000 cubes in 2010.  On the other hand, 2011 sales have dipped to a devastating 13,850.  While sales were climbing between 2009 to 2010, 2011 proved to be absolutely horrific for Nissan.  In many articles discussing this decrease in sales, many professionals including the cube designer himself suggested that the cube simply lost its trend.  This would explain why we see many fewer boxes-on-wheels on the road today.

 

Although popularity is dimming, Nissan refuses to throw in the towel.  They claim that the cube has finally found its place in the market and is sure to surprise everyone.  Sales manager Brian Carolin mentioned that cube sales were strong and steady when the gas prices spiked and in that moment, Nissan was even “struggling to get a supply.”

 

Contrary to what Carolin claims, I believe that the cubes are just not selling – and as I mentioned before, this is why they are going obsolete in the street.  Why do I say this?  The cube is a trend.  Cars with unique designs like the cube have a lower resale value simply because trends come to an end.  Stated otherwise, in a few years, the cube’s trend will be even more dead and at that point, the lack of trend means a lack in sales – therefore, the resale value is insignificant.  Comparable vehicles would be many of Sion models, where sales are pitched in a trend interval.  In other words, a “trend vehicle” is usually not expected to be selling a few years after release.  With respect to this concept, investing in a cube cube seems to be a poor investment choice.

 

I do however agree with James that  the cube is targeted toward the millennial generation.  The curves, plastic luxury and overdose of pointless accessories simply cries for the young generation.  The engine intentions are ambiguous as well – although it may appear to fit with the SUV category,  122 horse power with four valves does not meet up to SUV standard.  Moreover, with a funky design, it is absolutely perfect for the younger generation who only does not care much for luxury, power or comfort.

 

To answer my initial question whether or not Nissan cubes are selling, I believe that they are not.  Although Nissan seems to disagree, I would expect them to as most companies are not comfortable admitting a failure.  Furthermore, although the cube may seem appealing to some, it does not hold its value whatsoever.  This is because it is a trend, and trends come to an end.  However with a price under $20,000, the younger generation who does not worry about resale and only cares about looks may just pick one of these up.  It may seem chique, trendy and cheap, and may not be selling but there must be a niche!

 

To further solidify my point of a lack in sales: how many cube owners do you know?

 

Original Blog Post By James Shaw: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jamesshaw/2012/03/12/nissan-cube-doing-it-right/

 

Autoblog: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/22/nissan-says-its-still-committed-to-cube-despite-slow-sales/

 

Car Specifications: http://www.nissan.ca/vehicles/common/specifications/en/specifications.aspx?series=D&group=CUBE&vehicleBase=/vehicles/cars/cube/en/

Will You Understand After One Hundred Times?

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In this blog post I would like to refer to one of my colleagues, Dan Neufeld who posted about the Cheetah Power Surge Energy Drink (the URL to his original post can be found below).  Dan dominated his blog post by highlighting how annoying the repetitive advertising of this energy drink could be.  Dan comments that he not only “can’t stand watching the same ads all the time”, but also “believe[s] that this almost always negatively affects the company advertised.”  With all due respect, I would like to dig deeper and highlight the true motive of Cheetah Power Surge.

AI Laugtenslager illustrates on his Marketing Tactics blog how after advertising once, many companies are not delivered business.  Take for example the following three dialogues that Lautsenslager highlights:

“I did a mailing once and never got any business.”

“I sent a press release once and never got published in the newspaper.”

“I attended a chamber of commerce meeting once and never g
ot any business from it.”

What do these all have in common? Laugenslager first highlights that these are realistic sayings by many high positioned CEOs and entrepreneurs – but moreover, all of these quotations possess the word “once.”  Doing something once is an event, but doing it over and over again is a process.  Marketing is not an event; it’s a process – something where it may be necessary to do over and over again “to achieve results.”

Tying back to Dan’s opinion, if Cheetah Power Surge marketed as an “event” then they would have not but one advertisement.  However, in taking a “process” route, they were able to repeat themselves enough that it got into people’s heads.  To hit the nail on the head, Cheetah furthermore provides the most utterly generic and stupid commercials that anyone will remember whether they want to or not.  In having repetitive and unorthodox commercials, the marketing gets done and delivers the message into the consumers mind.  All in all, the only reason my colleague decided to write about Cheetah is because the marketing broke into his mind.

Although Dan is frustrated with the Cheetah repetitive campaigns, many marketers suggest that this is only a stage for some.  In other words, there will be a paradigm shift where frustration shifts to curiosity for the marketed product or service which could result in a purchase – the whole goal of marketing: pushing the consumer to the good.  Perhaps Dan has not hit this point yet, but many others have for their products.

Take for example Buckleys cold medicine: “it tastes awful and it works.”  This plain and repeated message has penetrated into my brain and the many brains of others resulting in curiosity of this products validity causing us to purchase and consume.

To harmonize everything, if you repeat something enough, it will get into people’s heads.  Whether or not the consumer despises such reiteration, curiosity will soon override and   result in the translation of person to consumer.

 

Dan’s Blog Post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/danneufeld/2012/01/10/commercial-overplay-cheetah-power-surge/

AI Laugtenslager: http://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/marketing/marketing-tactics/the-power-of-repetitive-marketing/

General Further Insight: http://www.anniedeladolce.com/2011/04/hornets.html

Botching & Sharpening Social Media

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Mashable Marketing Post As Referred: http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/business-social-media-progress/

Kill it, or be killed.

 

Some are addicted to drugs, some to alcohol, but for the most part, we’re all addicted to the internet.  As of December 22, 2011 – The Wall Street Journal published that on a global scale, 1 in every 5 minutes spent online is considered social media activity.  Many businesses quickly caught on and adopted a social media presence.

 

As a result, social media has become a vital component for all companies as it has grown into an upscale channel of communication from company to customer and contrariwise (including prospects).   What I am trying to stress is that, because the world interacts through social media channels every day at a growing rate, it’s imperative that companies implement their services into these channels.  Why?  Simply because social media is like a loaded gun just ready to shoot money into the company’s pocket.

 

Take for example Martell Home Builders, an Atlantic Canadian custom homebuilder company who in the past relied “heavily on realtors to keep their business moving forward.”  After embracing social media, the company “creat[ed] a direct-to-consumer model where they were no longer reliant on a middleman to bring them business” – this abolishment of dependence saves millions per annum.  Martel also allows their clients to literally stalk their contractors on the job through a GPS system supported by most social media platforms and furthermore giving clients “access to photos of their homes being built.”  All in all, by providing a real-time, socially connected customer service, Martel kept their clients both content and trusting in the company’s service.  This temporary happiness translates to long term trust in the company and satisfaction which leads to a guarantee for both future business and external recommendations.

 

Although for many companies social media seems to be the golden ticket, others are still battling the war in figuring out how to properly inject the gravy of social activity into their turkey.  Riley Gibson, CEO and co-founder of Napkin Labs, further mentions this war in his blog post “5 Ways Businesses Can Use Social Media as a Tool for Progress.”  The key problem that many companies impose on themselves is failing to ask for new ideas through social media.  All types of customers love the opportunity of influencing the direction of companies.  However, unless customers are prompted first, companies will not receive valuable ideas.  League of Legends is an online video game whose board of marketing has devoted a large pool of both money and time towards social media – in particular, developing engaging questions across social media feeds such as: what do you think of the newly released champions, and always updating the crowd with new information about the game.  Aside from keeping players involved and satisfied, social media also embodies raw advertising resulting in an influx of cash spent on in-game merchandise.  A subset problem is a lack of actual carrying out what customers recommend.  Usually those who monitor social media waterways within a company are not the same people who make bold decisions.  To get to the point, this means that the many golden ideas that appear on the company pan are left to sink in the river.  Communication is essential in order for feedback to actually cause change.

 

Social media is prime real estate for communicating with customers that has never been possible before.  Companies engaging in activity through social channels must be astute with how they interact and follow up with customers.  At the end of the day, money is the only thing that matters and companies choosing against the implementation of social media into their business will suffer lost revenue.

 

Wall Street Journal Reference – 1 in every 5 minutes spent online is a minute spent in social media: http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/12/22/social-networks-account-for-20-of-time-spent-online/

 

Social Media Online Statistics:
http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/12/22/social-networks-account-for-20-of-time-spent-online/

Intel’s Chipset On Steroids

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Computers are convoluted creatures with a million organs.  The core component in every system is arguably the CPU (central processing unit).  For those who don’t pay much attention to computers, the CPU to a computer is the brain to a human.

Intel has been making central processing chips for computer systems since 1971 when they introduced the first microprocessor.  I still remember when the single core was released, then the duo, along to the quad, which were then all replaced by the i3, i5 and i7.  All in all, Intel is becoming smarter in the chips that they release.

Although the core i7 is the most powerful calibre of chipsets, Intel is about to release a new mother chip that will render the i7 a mere runner-up.  Intel calls it the “Knights Ferry.”  While core i7 chip ran four cores that were all double threaded for a total of 8 cores, the Ferry will “scale to more than 50 processing cores.”  Now my question arises, why has Intel not began to build up the hype for this new outrageous chipset?

Intel has provided us with both television and internet commercials and even paper based advertisements for all previous CPUs, but why has the Knights Ferry passed entirely unnoticeable?  Even most computer users who demand the highest processing power have not yet heard about this new mother chipset.  Is there a reason why Intel has not virally spread this news across wide scale public marketing?

From a computer perspective, Intel knows that a machine as small as a laptop or even a desktop computer will not be able to support these new expensive chips.  Even if the average machine could support such power, the user in control would not need it.  As a result, the Knights Ferry will deliver the most impact and be mostly employed “in the hands of scientists, researchers, and engineers.”

Researchers in Geneva are smashing protons together at speeds faster than light in hopes of discovering the components of matter.  Aside from The Large Hadron Collider, the machine used to accelerate the particles, is the machine that captures and withholds the research data.  Such a machine would need to be able to record actions and frames at speeds beyond knowledge and for such, the deliverable processing power from the Knights Ferry is vital.

Wide scale public marketing will most likely not deploy as means of advertising this new breed of chips – simply because Intel will clearly target the realm of science and not the conventional computer user.  To answer my original question, (why is there no hype about this new chipset?) I respond on the contrary – the hype does exist and is shared among researchers, scientists and engineers from all over the globe.  Although we, as daily computer users cannot feel this hype, it is only because we are not the targeted market.

Architecture of Knights Ferry: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/many-integrated-core/intel-many-integrated-core-architecture.html

Geneva’s Large Hadron Collider: http://www.lhc.ac.uk/