Mehrad's Blog

The issues around the sport of mixed martial arts, especially UFC, have existed for the past two decades. The brutality that is depicted in fighting sports has taken a tole on society and has definitely touched a soft spot in peoples’ morale. A sensitive issue non-the-less, yet both sides of the argument are defending their standpoint.

Criticism surrounding the issue are legitimate. The safety and health of professional fighters is at an increasing risk every moment they compete. Protesters have exclaimed their concerns stating that this is an dangerous and unethical blood sport that should be banned, if not vigorously regulated. This exposure has created a controversial image associated with not only the sport but Zuffa, the company controlling UFC. Negative brand awareness will deter consumers from engaging in the broadcast of their programs. Furthermore strong family values are created, which are then passed down to generation, in turn driving down the market not only for viewers but potential future competitors of the sport. One who could have had a future in MMA but unable to pursue do to upbringing costs that company millions in future profit and equity. The sport would have not been the way it is if Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson grew up in an anti-boxing household. Then where would MGM Grand and the industry generate revenue.

Fortunately for UFC its PR team is fully engaged in dealing with the ethical issues surrounding the sport and have count acted against their accusations, thus maintaining their image in a stable zone within the mind’s of  consumers and concerned members of the community.

For years Axe has been focusing on the same demographic (young men, mostly in their teens) as their target market and for that same demographic their methods of reaching that target audience has not changed either. In fact, their methods are becoming even worse.

The main message of their marketing campaign as advertised in their TV commercials is basically if you use our products, you will attract the desired attention of girls and girls will magically like you. Very childish. Not only that but it is ultimately quite offensive to women. It is creating a negative stereotype that is inaccurate. With the release of their new product Anarchy, that is providing a scented spray for women as well, they are becoming doubly offensive and arguable sexist.

With these commercials pertaining a lack of quality, they are being driven out of their market share by their competitors. Their major competitor, Old Spice, has a very effective marketing campaign that Axe has been unable to match in terms of quality and delivery of their value proposition.

I believe Axe needs to desperately rethink their marketing strategy in order to reposition themselves once again as a leading competitor in their industry. Their stream of tasteless commercials have turned people off from their products and serious action must be taken in order to mend the future of their company.

A vast array of compelling points were brought up by Gillian Ong in her blog regarding the effects of SOPA/PIPA on the online community. In her outline she discussed how piracy and the download/usage of free content led to the passing of the SOPA/PIPA bill threatening to terminate online websites providing a gateway to such pirated resources. As a fighting response, many websites offering free informational and entertainment resources went on a one-day strike -including Wikipedia and Reddit- to show the general public how a lack of their services can have a significant impact on the everyday lives of the citizens in a developed society.

A halt of a dependent source of information like Wikipedia even for one day can show how much we as a collective group can take certain availabilities for granted. We sometimes forget how fortunate we are to be blessed with modern technological breakthroughs that have made our lives easier in so many ways. Therefore when an event such as this occurs, it opens the eyes of the world even for a moment to remind us the value in such products and services.

Sarah Barwin’s blog post “The Importance of Good Information” provided a nice summary of the need to perform market research, and gather the right information about consumer wants. We see many companies who have done their research and had successful marketing campaigns. For example, Coca-Cola has forever associated itself with classic coke bottle packaging and polar bears. A successful campaign leaves a lasting impression and lasting association on consumers. Although Coca Cola has generally had a good marketing strategy, they recently missed the mark. In one of their latest attempts, they tried to make the coke bottle stand out by distributing white cans. This strategy did not work because the can ressembled the diet coke can. The white cans are now being pulled from the market because they were unpopular. One problem with an unsuccessful marketing campaign is the stigma that is attached – “do you remember that white coke can?” “Ya, it sucked.” Marketers are always pressured to come out with the latest and greatest, but the presence of these poorly thought-out campaigns exemplify that sometimes taking chances don’t always pay off.

To the Comm 296 class headed by Professor Phaedra Burke, hello, my name is Mehrad. Like most of you I am in my second year at Sauder and like most of you  I am unsure of which designation to specialize.

I enjoy basketball, going shopping for expensive clothes but finally settling for Winners, and trying to teach my dog simple commands that yet have resulted in failure for the past 6 years. I am an Iranian immigrant, I moved to Vancouver when I was 8 and have yet been fully assimilated to western culture.

Marketing is a required second year commerce course, but I do believe in getting the most out of every experience. I hope to learn a solid framework of knowledge and understanding of marketing by term-end. Marketing is an unavoidable and highly powerful tool in today’s society and every business has accomplished some success from effective marketing utilization.

Few months ago I held a telemarketing position for a small software company, cold-calling engineering firms around the world to promote and hopefully sell this company’s line of software. It was a great learning experience for me and upon completion of my duties, I now have new found respect and empathy for anyone doing over the phone surveys, company promotions, etc.

Currently my favourite advertisement is the commercial for the conclusion to the Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. I believe director Christopher Nolan is taking film-making to the next level and we’ve seen that with such movies as The Dark Knight and Inception. The creator of this trailer did a fantastic job compiling the significant scenes of the movie to develop a riveting video that will have audiences anxiously waiting for its summer release date.

I have been kickboxing for 11 years. A year and a half ago I competed in my first amateur ring fight, fighting modified Muay Thai. One minute and fifty two seconds into the second round I achieved a technical knockout which sent my opponent flying headfirst into the ropes and afterwards onto the mat. It is one of the greatest feelings in the world to knock someone out. If you haven’t already, seriously, you’re missing out.

Thanks to Comm 299, I’ve learned explicitly what my strengths are, and am able to fully describe them if I were to be asked. I can now go into an interview and actually do a pretty okay job. My resume and cover letter has become a hundred times better and is now formatted in a professional manner. I can also look for a job that is suited for me with efficiency and much less effort. I have learned networking, and making new contacts in the business world are a vital part to an individual’s success in their career. In learning these, I have learned about myself which one’s I am somewhat proficient in and which one’s need improvement. Also, I realized I want to do something I am passionate about, not just for the money. Although I do value the benefits of money, my values are a higher priority. Comm 299 has taught me a lot about myself and has also taught me new skills and valuable information that will no less aid me in becoming more prepared for the real world.

The greatest lesson I learned from someone else was to be a man of my word. I learned this valuable lesson from non other than my mother. She told me anyone can say anything and not follow up on their promises. That’s easy. A real man sticks to his word and acts accordingly. It does not take much to be an exceptionaly human being in this world and being who you say you are and doing what you say you will are the biggest determinants of a man’s character. This seems like a very common piece of advice but it is something that everyone overlooks and takes for granted. How many times have you told someone that you were going to call them tomorrow and you never did? How many times you made an appointment for 10:30 and showed up at 10:35? These are everyday examples that we have all either been a victim of or have been guilty ourselves of committing. A man of his word is a respected man and an exceptional man. So I pass this lesson on to you from my mother hoping that one day you will embrace it as one of your primary values or even words to live by on a daily basis.

Mega search engine and advertiser Google is purchasing Groupon for an estimated $6 billion. Groupon is a rapidly growing online coupon website that offers special discounts ranging from 50-90% on selected goods and services. These offers are made daily and are constantly changing plus are subject to restrictions such as minimum number of customers and limited membership. The website offers deals in 160 different cities around North America and works in conjunction with local businesses in those cities.

With this extension, Google will be able to once again come out on top on the advertising race as Facebook has recently been the leader for traditional web advertising. An advantage of Groupon is that it operates in lucrative areas such as social and location-based marketing, which would also give Google and added edge against Facebook.

The Canadian equivalent website to Groupon is StealTheDeal, which operates out of the major cities in Canada offering the same types of deals as Groupon.

With this acquisition, Google will be back as the leader of the pack in web-based advertising.

Link to the article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/google-on-verge-of-buying-groupon-for-billions/article1818669/

Link to Groupon’s Vancouver website:

http://www.groupon.com/subscriptions/new?division_p=vancouver

Link to StealTheDeal’s Vancouver website:

http://www.stealthedeal.com/vancouver

The Canadian economy has grown less than what was expected by 0.3% in the third quarter down from 0.6% in the previous quarter. Speculation is widely existent at the moment as to why that is and analysts are trying to pinpoint the main causes as to how and why this has happened. One major possibility is that Canadians are spending much more on goods. Another idea is that the goods-producing industries outpace the service industries, which means more goods are being produced than being consumed. This is bizarre, because the two seem to contradict each other. Perhaps suppliers are continuing to push their resources towards increased production expecting the demand will be existent for their goods.

Over consumption is a bad habit in our nation momentarily, especially with the holiday frenzy fast approaching. But in order to regain economic and social stability and fully recover from the world-wide recession recently experienced, Canadians’ spending habits must become more conservative.

Manufacturers will continue to push consumers to spend more and this will never stop, but Canadians view on spending will need to change if the economy is expected to grow at sufficient rates.

Link to the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/11/30/money-canada-gdp.html

The economy of the world almost collapsed, which would have driven society into a state of complete depression and turmoil. The roots of this problem originated , as they always usually do, with some extreme fault in the United States. But not just one factor, but a few that contributed to this almost occurring catastrophic meltdown. The documentary entitled “IOUSA” highlights these factors and how they all added to America’s-and the entire world’s- near economic and social collapse. 

As the baby boom generation grows older and reach their moments of retirement, they will be expected to receive pension funding from the government. So who pays for their pension plans? The working class taxpayers are the one’s responsible for their pension funding. Therefore, portions of worker’s salary must go towards an aging population of this generation that don’t even work anymore. Without the baby boomers in employment and them receiving pension funds, it becomes a ‘double negative situation’ with no money being fuelled into the economy by the BB and additional income being passed on to the BB-without them no longer contributing anything to the economy.

America and the rest of the world dodged a gigantic bullet that could have seriously impacted the lives of many people. By saving up funds and income, moving away from cost dependency, and building stronger leadership, America-and everywhere else- will be able to maintain economic equilibrium; and, if this trend continued, a prosperous future could be ahead for all of us.

Link to the YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_TjBNjc9Bo