Author Archives: SamarBose

Video Games > The US Economy

While this news is slightly outdated, it is a subject near and dear to my heart.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.

GlobalGamingSegment

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/

In response to Candela’s post “”IF THE UNITED NATIONS WAS FULLY FUNDED WHY WOULD WE NEED THE ARC OR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE”?”

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.

Marketing is Constantly Innovating: Product Placements!

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.

download

(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

Legalised Marijuana and Farmville? A Great Combo!

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 Becomes The Largest Video Advertising Platform In The US

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

Commenting on Ece’s Post On “Conflicts in a Family Business”

Link to Ece’s Blog: http://blogs.ubc.ca/eceikiz/

While I can confidently say that I whole heartedly agree with Ece’s ideas on the topic of family businesses and how they should be run, There are some important points that I feel like she didn’t mention that I would like to cover in my blog.

Having family involved in the workplace can be a very tricky situation. It can cause problems both in and out of the house. Most people have the misconception that entering a family business and working under your father or uncle or whosoever it is, is easy. Trust me, it’s not. I am speaking from experience since I have worked in my dad’s office for short periods of time over my summer breaks.

You can face many challenges, the most pestering one being high expectations. The pressure you feel to live up to your father/uncles etc. name and trying to prove your worth to the rest of the office put you under a lot of stress, some would argue that this should make you work harder but that depends from person to person, most people would crack under the pressure.

Another big challenge you face is what I call “The Easy Way Out”, this was the hardest thing that I had to tackle, the temptation to call yourself the “Boss’ kid” and pass on your work to others is irresistible. After all, who’s going to question the son of the man who owns the place.

These are challenges every “Family-Business” needs to face, but with proper management by the father/uncle etc. and a little bit of dedication from the inheritor, these can easily be overcome, and a business can prosper under the care of a family.

Wow, That’s Coal!

‘Clean Coal’ makes a debut in Canada. A one of its kind revolutionary coal factory has just been opened on the 4th of October in Saskatchewan, Canada.This factory is fitted with technology to capture and store most of the carbon dioxide produced at its boilers. Statistics show that around two-thirds of the approximately 30 gigatons of carbon dioxide released by humans each year comes from the power sector and industrial activities.

So its amazing to hear that Canada is leading the charge to cutting and minimising CO2 emissions in North America even beating out the U.S with regards to technology like this. This was a huge project that is gonna revolutionise the coal industry, even though with power alternatives like solar energy emerging, coal is still a massive industry and this project had a total of around $1 billion federal grant backing it. I look forward to seeing what the emergence of this awareness in the coal industry leads to and what kind of impact it has on the business world.

Reference post:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/clean-coal-carbon-capture-debuts-north-america-not-u-s-n218221

Work Hard, Dream Big!

Everything is achievable, I was always skeptical about that phrase up until I joined The Sauder School of Business. Once I started paying attention to and actually keeping up with the news on the corporate world, I started to realise that there are actually people who have proven that statement to be true. This blog post is going to be about a Global Consultancy and IT Services Company called Infosys.

Infosys is a company worth US$ 8.39 billion with a market capitalisation of around US$ 31 billion which has over 161,000 employees as of today. In a span of 30 years Infosys has put India on the map as a global destination for software services talent. They are responsible for creating The Global Delivery model and is the first Indian IT company to be listed on the NASDAQ stock market. Would you believe me if I said this company was founded by 6 people in a small apartment in India with a starting capital of US $250? Well, it’s true. That’s all it took to make a distant dream a reality. The hard work of 6 men and their ambition turned $250 into a $8.39 billion company. Infosys also has a very successful business model, here is a link to it http://www.infosysbpo.com/insights/Documents/right-business-model.pdf.

Perseverance makes dreams achievable.

That is all I wanted to shed light on.

References:

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/11sld2.htm

http://www.infosys.com/about/Pages/history.aspx

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/infosys-cofounder-asks-youth-to-dream-big-in-life/article2885115.ece

Marketing is Vital

The world of business is complex. Full of uncertainty and perils, it seems as if I’m comparing the corporate world to an action movie, but if that was true, Marketing would be the guns and explosions part of it. Basically, what I’m suggesting is that Marketing is essential to the success of any business.

Marketing has a lot more going for it than people give it credit for, most people link Marketing with advertising and public relations, but Marketing has so much more to offer. Not only does Marketing protect your brand image it is also in charge of building it, every time someone recognises your company, you should be thanking your Marketing team. Marketing even decides the customer segment that your products are targeted towards, and gets involved and works with your accounting department in building your budget. Marketing can make or break a business.

We have seen so many successful Marketing campaigns emerge and be one of the core reasons contributing to the success of some of the biggest businesses in existence at this moment. Take Nike for example, one of the most recognisable brands in the world, their brand logo and slogan “Just Do It” is world renown and is often credited for the brand’s success.

Here are some links to my favourite and some of the most successful advertisements and Marketing campaign plans:

(Redbull’s brilliant “gives You Wings Campaign and its workings)-

http://www.mintinnovation.com/links/docs/Marketing/Red%20Bull%20Success%20story.pdf

(A lesser known but still impressive Nike advertisement)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zek1PqGSll0&list=PLNqKTn4CuEXcz7TKP56J4fv6FLe_ZGqMI&index=1

(A brilliant way of promoting safety by Metro Trains Melbourne)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw#t=16

References-

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/12/17/the-most-unforgettable-ad-campaigns-of-2013/

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32763/The-10-Greatest-Marketing-Campaigns-of-All-Time.aspx

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michellegreenwald/2014/07/10/secrets-of-7-of-the-most-effective-ad-campaigns/

http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/viral-marketing/5-great-viral-marketing-campaigns-worked/

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-marketing-success-business-589.html

http://www.udemy.com/blog/importance-of-marketing/

Apple’s Horrific Ethics

Apple’s appalling actions and their company’s ethics are no longer any secret, yet it is still thriving as an organisation. I don’t think most people see the true horror under all the glamour that is Apple inc. Apple has long been known for their complete disregard for human life, most of their products are produced in labor sweatshops overseas, but what most people don’t realise is that besides that Apple has a lot more to be sorry for, The company is also documented as to have contracted suppliers that routinely disrespect the environment, these suppliers are infamous for creating false documents to cover up their labor practices, their mistreatment of women and their use of unsafe equipment.

Apple is also infamous for its secrecy, covering up the illness of Steve Jobs so that they would not lose market shares and sending the police after a journalist who released a picture of the new iPhone. Open Information may as well be one of the most ethical business practices and in that regard Apple fails miserably. These are the reasons that even though Apple produces huge profits each year, it is never rated as one of the best places to work and also ranks low on Greenpeace and ClimateCounts.

Newer reports keep coming in with more accounts of Apple’s unethical behaviour, it’s recent ties to Jabil Circuit, a company owns factories in western China, has brought Apple under scrutiny again. Apple continues to astonish and disappoint, all while turning a profit.

References:

http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2293259/apple-supplier-accused-of-illegal-and-unethical-staff-treatment

http://www.insidebusiness360.com/index.php/a-look-at-apples-unethical-practices-2012-2659/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fran-hawthorne/apples-appalling-ethics_b_1651264.html