Monthly Archives: November 2014

There’s so much talk nowadays of how “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”. We have yet to see a particularly successful solution to this problem. It’s a global issue. In every country, there are the small wealthy part of the population compared to the many middle class and dirt poor. Even if the “poor” in Canada may not be the same in say, Rwanda, every country has this large differentiation between the rich and the poor.

I don’t have a solution to this problem. Heck, I wouldn’t even know how to approach it, from a local or a global scale. But I’d like to discuss the question, “if the UN was fully funded, why would we need the Arc or the Social Enterprise?”. It’s an interesting topic, but I think it could tie in to what I mentioned before. The difference between the rich and the poor is a global issue of large proportions. It can’t be fixed in one fell swoop(as far as I know). In such a way, even if the UN were fully funded, it would not be able to provide a sustainable solution for all global issues. There are simply too many and are too large. Sure, the UN could throw money at the problem. But let’s be honest, money runs out, and the UN has so many of the world’s problems to deal with. It’s too spread out. The arc initiative and social enterprise are unique in that they target smaller communities in need and can produce sustainable solutions, though at a small scale. But these small effects can add up as more and more people are involved. The arc initiative and the social enterprise could have large, lasting effects, than the UN could possibly do on its own.

I was browsing classmates’ blogs today and came across Jessica Tse’s blog. What caught my eye, particularly was her post titled “Social Media and Business Positioning“. Jessica highlighted how, when the iPhone 6 first came out, Samsung was immediately on the ball, “ridiculing Apple’s new iPhone 6 bending controversy”

She compared it to Pepsi’s old ad campaign, in which they ridiculed Coke. Was Samsung not simply doing that to Apple? Apple already had the competitive advantage, simply because it was “first”. It’s all about positioning, right? While Samsung is getting more and more technically advanced, Apple is still ahead in the many consumers’ minds simply because Apple became innovative “first”. I completely agree with Jessica in the fact that Samsung is trying to reposition the iPhone 6 in the eyes of the media.

Will it be successful? Was it? Personally, I don’t think so. It may have brought about some laughs but in the grand scheme of things, even if Samsung phones are just as good, if not better than iPhones, Apple still has that competitive advantage of being seen as a status symbol. I definitely wouldn’t say it hurt Samsung. Certainly got some attention. But in a way, I’d simply call it “real-time marketing” – Reacting to whatever comes up, as fast as possible.

Such marketing strategy was mentioned on Adweek as it discussed a parody of real-time marketing.

While I wouldn’t completely say that Samsung is catching up to Apple consumer-wise (I’m not one to judge on the actual quality of their phones), I agree with Jessica that their real-time marketing was a very clever way to reposition Apple in the eyes of consumers. On the other hand, it’s real-time marketing. It may be cute and funny at the time, but it will likely not have a lasting impact.

Source: Boxyroom.com

Crowdfunding has become more and more of a phenomenon as more people hear about it. It has made its way both into business magazines and social media. Browsing Adweek, I came across a project that had been funded over 2000% of its goal. Shortly after, I logged on to Facebook and stumbled upon a joke of a product, the Nophone, which was, hilariously, funded 3 times over its original goal. No sooner had I done that, my dad told me that he had just pledged $25 to the fourth Video Games Live album.

Personally, I think crowdfunding is an ingenious way to start a project with an extremely large amount of benefits. There’s certainly the aspect of money for the project, of course, and reduces the need for a few, rare, rich investors, but crowdfunding, in a way, provides some market research for the company or the individual. The amount of funds raised, supporters, and comments can really help the host get a sense of how successful their product may be. On the other hand, it can also be a way of marketing as people who would not have heard of the product otherwise, will pitch in to the product. Certain groups provide bonuses such as exclusive songs or posters for high pledgers, merely another incentive to help fund a project.

I’ve seen the success of crowdfunding and while it may not be the right way to approach every single project, it could certainly help out many.