In its new global campaign “Untamable”, Bacardi displays its struggle since its introduction in Cuba in 1862 and the revolutionary government led by Fidel Castro that seized Bacardi’s Cuban assets in 1960. 

One ad reads: “Some men are kicked out of bars, others are kicked out of countries.” Another reads “Earthquakes, fires, exile, prohibition, Sorry fate – you picked the wrong family.”

In a visual advertisement filmed at night, actor Jordi Molla represents a Bacardi scion, walking uphill in the middle of a winding cobbled street filled with men demolishing casks with sledgehammers, red-flags waving and beret-wearing actors depicting Cuban revolutionaries. A voice-over says “The Bacardi family didn’t just survive- we thrived; because true passion can’t be tamed. Bacardi- untamable since 1862.” Bacardi declines to state how much it spent on advertisement, but its known that in 2012 they spent $43.1m on ads in the US.

Typical alcohol brands depict situations where liquor is used in times of cheerful social gatherings, and Bacardi is trying to break the norm by focusing on a history unique to the brand, targeting the 18-29 age groups as they hold the highest consumption of rum among younger drinkers, according to a Mintel survey.

Bacardi leads the rum category with a 35.4% share of the volume sold in the US in 2012. Marketing Professor David Vinjamuri at the New York University says “It’s certainly distinctive and ownable in the sense that Bacardi has a history that other brands cannot point to. There’s a very significant trend underway in marketing and advertising communications about content driven brands, and they’re not selling products, they’re selling content.”

Sources:

Newman, Andrew Adam. “Bacardi Campaign Focuses on Resilience, Rather Than Rum.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

On last Sunday, three Middle Eastern Airlines (Emirates airlines, Etihad airways and Quatar airways) signed to buy 225 of Boeing’s new 777X jets resulting in a total order cost of $95 billion. The latest deals come from the Dubai Airshow where airlines from the Middle East announced more than $150 billion in orders of various planes.

Emirates airlines which order 150 777X’s said it would also buy 50 more A380s which have so far disappointed sales overall. The A380 deal would be reportedly worth $23 billion, however both Boeing and Airbus offer discounts. Etihad Airways also announced that it would buy 25 of the 777X’s and Qatar Airways said it would buy 50 of the new jets.

This huge order illustrates how big money in aviation is moving towards Asia and the Middle East. This indicates how the industry is growing in rapidly modernizing areas of the world. The Middle East is slowly considered as the pathway between Europe and the East. Flights from Europe usually go over the UAE to Asia and Australia.

Work Cited:

Drew, Christopher. “New Boeing Jet Pulls In $95 Billion in Orders.” New York Times. New York Times, 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Google-owned Motorola is still trying to position itself in the smartphone market. Since sales of Motorola’s high-end smartphone the Moto X have been slow, the company decided to switch to the lower-end market and create a less expensive phone, with the limitation that it won’t release the phone in China, the biggest market for low-end phones in the world.

The Moto G will cost $180, and is believed to have a potential customer number of 500 million in places like Brazil and Chile. The phones appeal is based around Google’s embedded services such as Google Play, however in China Google is banned, limiting the smartphone. Dennis Woodside, the chief executive of Motorola said: “Our ability to compete there is a bit constrained. Moto G won’t be offered in China.” Motorola believes that the phone will appeal to people outside of China as it differs greatly from cheap smartphones with a 4.5 inch high-resolution screen and run will run the latest Android software to support the latest apps on the market.

This phone is a gadget with a mission of spreading Google’s services around the world. “Google’s mission is to organize the entire world’s information and make it universally accessible.”

Work Cited:

Chen, Brian X. “Motorola to Offer Moto G Smartphone Aimed at Emerging Markets.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

During the first 24 hours on the market, Sony’s new PlayStation 4 video gaming console sold 1 million copies. The consoles went on sale Friday in the U.S. and Canada and will launch the gaming console in Latin America and Europe on November 29^th.  Sony said that it expects to sell 5 million units by the end of its fiscal year in March. 

The PlayStation 4 is Sony’s first new gaming console to come out since the PlayStation 3, seven years ago. It faces competition for gamers’ time and attention from Microsoft’s Xbox One, which goes on sale this week, as well as smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets.  The entry of new gadgets into the gaming industry might affect how much consoles Sony sells, as in years prior such as 2007 they weren’t as developed.

This entry of new devices in the industry will most likely have an impact on sales; however I believe that due to the strong brand positioning that the Sony PlayStation has created by a reputation for being a device that pushes the boundaries of visual graphics and gaming experience, sales shouldn’t be affected drastically. Customer loyalty will also affect sales.

Works Cited:

“Sony Sells over 1M PlayStation 4s in First Day.” The Miami Herald. N.p., 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

PlayStation 4. Digital image. Playstation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.