As the  traditional definition of a brick-and-mortar business has ultimately phased out, technology invades both our professional, and more importantly, personal, lives. As Grace Cheng stated in her post on the renowned PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) drink courtesy of Starbucks, she brought up an important point: Starbucks knows how to position their marketing strategies using social media.  One can name the multiple popular apps and websites people use, ranging from Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. In spite of this fact, I believe that Youtube is on the rise as a marketing platform. It is not unusual for a brand to start a channel and provide promotional trailers for next season’s latest trend. However, the average user of Youtube is now used as a means for brands to promote their product. Let’s look at Topshop, a favourable, British based company that never fails to be up to date. As of Summer 2014, Topshop instigated their “Summer Seekers” program, in which they contacted “Youtubers” to create and model a series of looks consisting of their product. These “Youtubers” can be considered human capital, as they get the opportunity to choose from the brand’s product, and create a sponsored video in return. As well, not one, but many Youtube users are given this offer, and this relationship between each “Youtuber” to their viewers is what cements Topshop’s campaign. As a result, one can affirm that fashion giant Topshop has achieved “getting into the mind of the customer”. (Reis and Trout, Quick MBA)

Sources:

http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/ries-trout/positioning/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/gracecheng/

With e-commerce evolving into the world’s biggest markets, business people are quickly capitalizing on the increasing demand of buying online product. One report that caught my attention was that of Sophia Amoruso, the CEO of online fashion site Nastygal. Her success story was captured in her recently publicized book #GIRLBOSS. The Washington Post, in their article described Amoruso as a “30 year old founder of [an] online fashion phenom [who] started the site in 2006 as an eBay project, selling vintage clothing while she worked as a security guard checking IDs at an art school. She had no college degree, [and] no experience in business…”(McGregor, Jena Washington Post).

Newsha of the blog “Not Quite There Yet”  wrote a brief review on the book, and as a reader, I found it interesting that she sees Amoruso as an entrepreneur “who doesn’t quite fit the mould of a stereotypical businesswoman”. This assumption holds true, as Amoruso managed to build a brand that earned $100 million in 2013 with little to no experience in the business world. As a commerce student, Sophie Amoruso’s story makes me wonder if the tactics we study, such as finding the right market position, and partnering with key firms are all intuitive. 

Regardless of a college degree, Amoruso has accomplished many pivotal points found in the Business Canvas, such as securing key partners, including highly popular shoe brand Jeffrey Campbell. She broadened her revenue streams by diversifying product, and now, she is also earning by selling her new book!

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/05/14/from-anti-capitalist-to-ceo-how-nasty-gals-sophia-amoruso-made-it-big/

http://www.notquitethereyet.ca/2014/08/23/girlboss-book-review/

http://girlboss.nastygal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/53.jpg

Integrity in business is often questioned, as money is typically the driving force of why establishments prevail in the market. This fact, was especially intriguing in Bowie Ko’s blog, commenting on the Shanghai Hsui Scandal in which the Shanghai Hsui Food Co. supplied Mcdonald’s with expired meat. This naturally developed into a controversial issue, as Shanghai Food Co. is potentially responsible for peoples’ health, in that their product is quite literally, consumed.

As a reader, I paralleled this idea of deception with that of the CGA Article on Financial Statement Fraud.  It was particularly interesting that the three factors that outline the crime committed are applicable to a variety of instances.

To reiterate the CGA article, the three main factors of financial fraud are, “situational pressure…, a perceived opportunity to commit and conceal the dishonest act…, and some way to rationalize the act as justifiable.” (Colby, Everett pg 2)

For the Shanghai Hsui Food Co., I found that all these elements have relevance, and Mcdonald’s, obviously being the more prominent corporation, was forced to clean up their image and “[reposition] their market stance and [create] an anonymous for reports on unethical practices.” (Ko, Bowie UBC Blogs)

A few questions were not answered in both the blog and article, that I found, were integral to the investigation. Did Mcdonald’s establish a relationship with Shanghai Hsui Food Co. not knowing about their practices? Or, was this act only considered wrong to Mcdonald’s because they were caught?

Sources: 

https://www.cga-pdnet.org/Non_VerifiableProducts/ArticlePublication/FinStatFraud/FinStatFraud_p1.pdf

https://blogs.ubc.ca/bowieko/

http://online.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-sales-woes-continue-in-august-1410265182

http://rediscoverwashington.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/mcdonalds-chicken-mcnuggets-4-piece.png

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