Tom Ward's Blog

Marketing managers around the world are constantly faced with the dilemma of what techniques to use in order to get their product or service out there. One of the most dominant techniques comes in the way of sponsorship. It has been suggested that sponsorship is the fastest growing form of marketing in the US today. The reason is that attracting the target market provides an opportunity to broaden  competitive advantage by increasing credibility, image and prestige in sponsoring events. Coca Cola have used sponsorship to create a positive influence of their products in the minds of their consumers and as such regularly support events they feel can influence consumer opinions. Visa used their sponsorship of the Olympics to drive sales by offering to make a donation to the US team every time consumers used their Visa card. Examples such as these show how sponsorship can be used to create positive publicity, differentiate from competitors and enhance business. If a company can successfully employ sponsorship then it is likely they will reap the benefits.

Many individuals are born with a desire to achieve big things in life. The result of this commonly results inur is to undertake innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. Whether it is developing your own ideas or following unique paths, being an entrepreneur opens up many opportunities. Some of the world’s most successful people have achieved this through entrepreneurial talents. A good example of such success is the creators of Apple. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak weren’t the first Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to launch a billion-dollar business from a Palo Alto garage – Hewlett and Packard were there before them –  but they were the first to democratize computing by creating a machine whose use was so wonderfully intuitive that even technophobes embraced it. Combine the elegance of Wozniak’s operating system design with Jobs’ marketing savvy and the result was a true phenomenon. Yes, the Apple was eclipsed by the PC, but only after Microsoft (behind the vision of two other notable entrepreneurs, Bill Gates and Paul Allen) developed Windows to ape its rival’s ease of use. Entrepreneurs such as these shape the world we now live in.

One of any products main keys to success comes in the form of marketing. Thinking outside the box is essential in order for companies to grab the attention of consumers. They must offer them something that no other product can. Elements such as pricing, placement, promotion, packaging, positioning and people all make up the art of marketing. Some companies have mastered these techniques and are now reaping the rewards. A good example of an immaculate marketing strategy is that of red bulls. Red bull were on of the first companies to enter the energy drink market. Although at the time the energy drink was a foreign and somewhat unsupported product, red bull have managed to revolutionise this market and defy all their competitors in the meantime. They have done this through marketing. Red bull has developed an extremely catchy slogan that links with its unique product design and packaging. Not only this, but they have linked with almost every professional extreme sport in the world in an attempt to get their product name behind some of the worlds biggest sporting stars. It is methods such as this that have allowed them to stay on top of the game. Red bull epitomizes good marketing and success.

One of the most important building blocks for a highly successful organization and an extraordinary workplace is “organizational culture.” This importance is based on the set of shared beliefs, truths, assumptions, and values that operate in organizations.  Organizational culture has been described as “How people behave when no one is looking.” Why should you think about this in your organization? Because behind the scenes of what happens in the day-to-day life of organizations and employees is culture. Culture is everywhere. It directly impacts what happens or does not happen in organizations. Some of the most successful companies in the world can attribute this success to their good culture. A prime example is Google. Google offers their staff free meals, a swimming spa, and free doctors onsite. As well as this Engineers can spend 20% of their working time on independent projects. As a result Google is receiving over 1300 resumes a day. People at Google want to work there. They enjoy what they are doing and enjoy coming to work. When a company operates with a workforce full of positive attitudes then success is just about inevitable. Google’s multi billion dollar annual profits paint a clear example of this.

Companies are constantly looking for new ways to increase profits. One of the greatest opportunties for doing so can be achieved through refining the supply chain. Cutting out the middleman in the supply chain is something companies all around the world are attempting to do. One of the best examples of a company that has achieved this with great success is ebay. Ebay is an American internet company that manages ebay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses sell goods worldwide. Technology and the internet have allowed the creation of ebay. This creation allows for goods to go straight from the producer to the consumer. Effectively this completely cuts out the middleman. Manufacturers can use internet tools such as ebay to save costs on a large scale. All the costs associated with selling their products through retail stores and storing excess inventory can now be eradicated through means such as ebay. Companies across the world have noticed this opportunity and the result has been incredible success by online companies such as ebay and amazon. The supply chain is dramatically reduced resulting in decreased costs, greater profits, and better customer interaction.

If you were to ask a group of people what they believe the biggest disaster affecting the world today is, it is inevitable that a large majority would respond with global warming. Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, and is something that doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Much debate has occurred over what exactly causes global warming, and the answer lies with factors such as pollution from factories, carbon dioxide from rotting trees, the burning of coal, natural gasses and fossil, and transportation vehicles. Thus one can reasonably assume that humans are playing a huge role in this disaster. Consequently businesses all over the world now have the ethical responsibility to conduct business in an eco friendly manner. This has given prominence to the study of sustainability and we are now seeing businesses using their innovative skills to help the environment. One of the best examples has been Toyota and their creation of the Prius. The Prius is a full hybrid electric mid size car. The EPA have rated it as the cleanest vehicle sold in the USA based on smog and toxin emissions. Toyota have no doubt created the path for the future. It is this sense of environmental awareness that is now being impressed upon all businesses. Thus it is clear that the key to sustaining our environment and reducing levels of carbon emissions lies in the hands of businesses.

Companies are constantly looking for new ways to market their products in ways never done before. The last decade has seen the growth of the online social networking revolution, with arguably the most dominant networking site being facebook. Current statistics suggest that facebook has over 500 million active users, with 50% of these logging on daily. Numbers like this suggest that this revolution is taking over the world and more importantly opening up huge paths and mediums for companies to advertise and market their products. It is this revolution that marketing segments in companies all over the world have been waiting for.  The first thing I notice when I log into my facebook is the continuous stream of advertisements displayed on the right hand side of the page. Whether it be from Rogers, the BMW store, or even Whistler Accommodation, these companies are cashing in on this revolution. Gone are the days where papers, radios and TV’s seemed to be the most dominant form of marketing and advertising. A new revolution has taken over and the scariest part is that it is only just getting started.

Recently the world was thrown into a state of turmoil as we suffered arguably the biggest global financial crisis ever. A situation such as this has reinforced the importance of finance. Finance is the science of funds management and serves as an integral element in the maintenance of a steady economy. If financial calculations about the future of certain markets in society are inaccurate then the whole world can be thrown into disarray. This is what we have recently witnessed all due to a liquidity shortfall in the United States banking system. Previously profitable banks, companies and investors suffered losses so large that bankruptcy and liquidation was inevitable. It was finance that played a part in the creation of this crisis. But more importantly it is finance that would be the solution to the large scale disaster. Finance became even more important in a situation such as this. Establishing methods and alternatives to overcome the pressure of the crisis is the area where finance is crucial. How do you put together the funds to dig a company out of millions of dollars of debt? The answer to such a problem falls directly under the category of finance.

The below clip gives a basic and humorous example of what happens when finance goes bad.

In todays ever growing society, price wars within industries are becoming all too common. A Price war is a term used within industries to indicate a state of intensely competitive rivalry accompanied by a multi-lateral series of price reduction. With inflation rates on the rise price wars provide companies with great challenges. I have only been in Canada for 3 and a half weeks so it is rather difficult for me to use examples of Canadian companies when describing the effects of price wars. Thus instead i will use two of the most dominant supermarket chains in Australia. Coles and Woolworths. These two companies dominate the market in Australia and have been tied up in a price war for some time. The ultimate winner as a result is us as consumers. I’m sure not one consumer is complaining about this war. We get what we want at a lower price and the supermarkets work harder to continue acheiving profits. Through efficient marketing and planning these supermarkets are able to overcome these price wars and continue to reel in revenue. So in the end both consumer and supermarket are winners. A good thing for the economy? I think so.

Ethics play an integral role in the running of businesses across the world. For the most part businesses today are thriving under the confidence and the acceptance of the public and this is achieved through adaption of proper ethics in the business. However there are still successful businesses failing to implement ethical practices within their company. A prime example is Nike and their use of sweatshops. Although the number of sweat shops used by Nike has dramatically decreased over the last decade, they still exist. The ethical dilemma Nike faces concerns the methods in which they generate the lowest possible business costs. The idea of filling large factories with poor and low skilled workers in order to drive down operating costs is one Nike has implemented. It is ethical decisions like this that a business must consider. Nike may have the ability to produce good quality merchandise and turn over large scale profits, but their practices are far from admirable.

The small clip below gives a good idea of Nikes view on ethics.