Monthly Archives: November 2014

While this news is slightly outdated, it is a subject near and dear to my heart. As an avid video game fan, I love to see and industry that I invest so much into thrive the way the Video Game Industry has. The video game market is thriving today and it keeps getting better and better. A research firm DFC Intelligence estimates that the worldwide video game industry is bound to reach $70.1 billion by 2015. I wanted to make this post to draw attention to the video game market, a field I hope to get involved in soon.

These are some facts drawn from a report made by Stephen Siwek from the the Entertainment Software Association:

–        The U.S. computer and video game software industry’s value added to U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $4.9 billion.

–        The real annual growth rate of the U.S. computer and video game software industry was 10.6% for the period 2005-2009 and 16.7% for the period 2005-2008.

–        During the same periods, real growth for the U.S. economy as a whole was 1.4% for 2005-09 and 2.8% for 2005-08.

It’s crazy to hear that the video game industry’s growth rate is annihilating the US economy’s growth rate. On a world scale the impact of video games is much higher, since many major video game businesses are based in Europe.

I hope this blog post has helped shed some light on the value of the video game industry.

References:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-11-11-game-industry-growing-four-times-faster-than-us-economy-esa

http://www.cnet.com/news/video-game-industry-grew-4-times-faster-than-us-economy-in-2012-study-says/

Candela’s Blog: http://blogs.ubc.ca/candelahackel/

Social Enterprise is a great initiative. I could not agree with Candela more when I say in the words of John Wooden “Little things make big things happen.” Social Enterprise’s ideals are admirable and their work ethic even more so. If it’s something our corporate industry and just the world in general needs, is a little selflessness and that is just what Social Enterprise aims to deliver.

The way we move forward as a civilisation is making sure that whatever we do, even if it is “little”, moves towards a better tomorrow. Candela mentioned The Arc, a relatively small scale project with big ambitions launched by Sauder. This project carries more weight than most would think. Everyone needs help, aid is required for growth and that is just what The Arc Initiative provides in Africa, where we want to inject just a little more hope.

I am completely in favour of Candela’s ideas, and agree with her belief that small-scale enterprises play an equally important role in today’s world as compared to large scale enterprises. I commend her on her great post and look forward to reading more of her blog.

It brings me joy to see constant innovation in the world of marketing. Recently, there has been a new development in this sector, Universal has signed a deal to integrate new product placement ads in existing music videos for clientele.How is this possible you ask? How are new ads being incorporated in old videos that are already in circulation? All this is possible because of the technology of a UK- based company named Mirriad. They insert “retroactive” product placement in music videos that have already been released.

(Product placement of a Nintendo 3Ds)

 The first campaign using this technology will be in collaboration with Grand Marnier. New ads will be placed in songs like Avicii’s “Lay Me Down” and “You Make Me”, Far East Movement’s “Rocketeer” and in two videos by Darius Rucker.

The wonder doesn’t end there though, Mirriad also has the ability to remove said ads when the contract terminates. This will create a whole new revenue-generating asset for music artists.

(Product Placement of Beats in Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”)

 Meanwhile, Mirriad is also in the process of further developing this technology so the ads adjust according to which region the viewer is in. This brings a whole new platform to marketing and is groundbreaking, at least according to me.

Reference to: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/30/universal-deal-adverts-mirriad-existing-music-videos

Tom Bollich, a man who was one of the founding members of Zynga. Surna inc. a company that manufactures equipment for the legal marijuana industry with a focus on disruptive technology, equipment and related support services. You would never think to put those two together, would you? Think again. Bollich believes that the legalised marijuana business is the next “Gold Rush”. He said and I quote “It’s kind of like Internet gaming was when Zynga started, except this isn’t a hits-driven business. People get tired of games, but I haven’t seen many people who get tired of pot.”

The legalised marijuana business has the potential of being a multi-billion dollar business. You can even see the potential of this business here, The British Columbia cannabis industry is worth an estimated $6 billion annually,and produces 40% of all Canadian cannabis, making cannabis among the most valuable cash crops in the province. This business is a gold mine just waiting to be dug up. Tom Bollich clearly has better vision than most, Surna states that its air-chilling systems are not as energy-efficient as their water-chilling products. The company’s products run from $1,200 for a small system to nearly half a million dollars for a very large one. Tom even has further plans and wants to branch into broader agriculture and server farms. I admire Tom’s entrepreneurial mind set and wish him the best of luck in his endeavours. It’s great to see the potential the business world has and all the different paths it leads you to.

References:

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/11/investing/legal-marijuana-zynga-founder/index.html?iid=SF_BN_Lead  

http://fortune.com/2014/04/03/from-zynga-coder-to-marijuana-ceo/

Yahoo’s growth has been slow recently and its ad revenues have been steadily declining, the purchase of the digital advertising service BrightRoll for $640m will do wonders for the company. Video Advertising is one of Yahoo’s biggest growth opportunities and BrightRoll fits perfectly into their larger picture. BrightRoll has done astoundingly well netting above $100m in revenue this year doing online video advertising for some huge brands. This purchase guarantees a boost in Yahoo’s growth.

This acquisition is Yahoo’s first major purchase since it acquired $9.4 billion from its sale of its stakes in Alibaba. This purchase combined with the purchase of Tumblr seems to indicate that Yahoo is taking all the steps in the right direction. Unfortunately,Investors didn’t seem as enthusiastic about this deal, Yahoo’s stock dipped 3 cents to $49.02.

Yahoo seems to be taking the right steps forward but it’s going to be a rough trip, they have been constantly criticised for their purchases not paying off but according to me these deals will eventually pay off.

I hope to see Yahoo do well in the future, since it’s a name that has some nostalgic value to it, for me at least.

References:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30015526

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/yahoo-buys-digital-ad-service-brightroll-640m-26843760