Monthly Archives: October 2014

A Revolution in Movie-making?

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A decade ago, Marvel Studios did not exist but was simply a comic-book publisher. Now, seven years later, Marvel is one of the leading forces in the movie-making industry and consistently generating revenue greater than that of Fox Studios or Warner Bros. Pictures. One blog from BusinessInsider argues that Marvel’s business strategy is worthy for concern in competitors.

I agree with this opinion piece and am willing to take a step further to acknowledge not only Marvel’s business model’s current success but also its potential as ground-breaking and revolutionary. The average method previously for producing comic-book based action movies was to approach a comic book publisher, usually Marvel Comics or DC comics, and purchase the copyrights and intellectual property of an individual character. This studio would then proceed to produce a standalone movie and reap almost all the benefits with the original comic book publisher receiving little to none. When Marvel decided to create its own studio and retain creative control in the entire process, they developed a new business model for movie-making that had not been explored before and was proving to be both difficult to replicate and exceedingly successful. They now had the ability to create a universe of characters which may feature other familiar faces or co-star with each other while not being direct sequels of one another.

This way of producing movies and creating a “cinematic universe” has quickly differentiated Marvel from its competitors and proved to be an effective sustainable competitive advantage.

References:

The implementation of Transmedia Storytelling by Marvel Comics

http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/192489-kevin-feige-marvels-superhero-at-running-movie-franchises

Airlines’ Justified Cost Reduction

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In Jocelyn Kwong’s blog post, Comforting Profit, she condemns the behavior of airlines to reduce costs at the expense of the customer’s comfort and suggests dissatisfaction at how “the word “luxury” isn’t even associated with flight travel anymore”.

Although I understand the sentiment of luxury being a necessity in flight travel, I disagree with her condemnation and believe that these airlines are being progressive and forward in their thinking of reducing costs and yet pleasing customers. In today’s globalized society, it is nearly impossible to live one’s entire life without ever leaving one’s country. Because of the way flight travel is operated, fixed costs are significantly large and thus, may deter those who cannot afford to travel from international opportunities.

This places some people in a disadvantage from experiencing air travel; by significantly reducing costs to make an airline ticket merely include the bare minimum (which may not even include a seat), airlines are widening their customer segment by lowering the desired income of their target consumers. This will in turn increase profits considerably as more people are presented with the opportunity to travel by air.

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References: 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/westjet-to-charge-travellers-for-first-checked-bag/article20598212/comments/

 

Enbridge vs. First Nations

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Many people have heard about the Enbridge project and more have a strong opinion on the controversial issue ranging from either end of the spectrum: fierce support or harsh condemnation.

This Calgary-based corporation’s negotiations are heating up with First Nations communities; although the federal government (under the Harper government) has already approved the project, it can still ultimately fail without the approval of local First Nations communities. The external factors involved in this project include Enbridge stakeholders, First Nations communities, local governments, and foreign investment in the form of the Asian market. Of these, one of the most important ones is the influence of the First Nations community as they pose a significant political barrier.

Given the recent Supreme Court case ruling that stated development on First Nations land can happen only if one of the two conditions are met: the consent of the First Nations group is granted, or the government recognizes that the development is pressing and substantial, Enbridge simply cannot proceed with the pipeline without Aboriginal support. The importance of the land as a source of food and opportunity for future generations cannot be understated as one Aboriginal leader states, “When people talk about “our land” they talk about it as their home”.

The possibility for the Enbridge project to not exist beyond its drawings is very real for stakeholders and foreign investors which would lead to a financial loss that would exceed billions of dollars.

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References:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/supreme-court-s-tsilhqot-in-first-nation-ruling-a-game-changer-for-all-1.2689140

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/There+will+pipeline/10122968/story.html

Surrounding the News Biases Around Occupy Central

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A multitude of words have been used to describe the student protestors in Hong Kong, ranging from “patriotic and peaceful” to “gullible“, so which side of the story is closer to the truth? As Canadians, we are generally the audience of foreign media outlets, and it can be hard to decipher differences sent to international media compared to what’s being broadcast by local media. A look at the simple yet drastic effect of news bias in China regarding the Occupy Central movement is both surprising and eye-opening.

China has not only banned Instagram and intensely censored its largest social media platform Weibo since the start of the protests, but have tried to manipulate imagery from the event and match them with questionable headlines or quotations from “authoritative figures”. For example, October 1st was the Chinese National Holiday and an image of Hong Kong demonstrators was used with a headline implying that the crowd was gathered to celebrate the public holiday. It has also in recent days emphasized a reduction in the size of the crowd and a “lack of support” from the international and general Hong Kong public.

Media plays a large role in how audiences form opinions on any issue. Evidently, because Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China, there are drastically different incentives for media outlets based in various countries to portray the Occupy Central news. Personally, I’m lucky to be able to make a quick long distance call to my relatives to find first-hand and non-filtered information; but it seems like nowadays, you just can’t keep biases from blurring facts and reality.

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References:

http://time.com/3237227/china-hong-kong-occupy-central-beijing-communist-party/

http://www.vox.com/2014/9/28/6856621/hong-kong-protests-clashes-china-explainer