The $35 Tablet

Rebakah Ho, a Commerce 101 and Section 102 student recently wrote a blog on “The $35 Tablet.” Rebakah analyses how similarly to the Nano, the tablet was created as an inexpensive Indian innovation for students in poverty. She concludes that the tablet, “Might not be efficient. With a 3-hours battery life, it can’t be used all the time, and if a small village has no internet access, it might not be useful at all.” I agree with Rebekah’s breakdown of the cost-benefit analysis of a resource produced with good intents to improve education, but the functions may prove incompatible due to low-production costs. However, with proper strategies and tactics the tablet may increase sales and business efficiency. Marketing strategies should target developing nations whose demography could utilize a low-priced device to improve their lifestyles and educate themselves beyond their community. Long-term objectives should focus on the future generation of students, which could affect the firm’s overall direction by not targeting the working class such as Apple’s iPad. Short-term tactics such as implementing promotions would increase student awareness of the tablet; back-to-school and student discounts will attract the tablet’s target market.

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The new and improved iPhone 4S? Read to find out more...

Joanna Zhu, a Commerce 101 and Section 101 student, captured my attention with her blog about “The iPhone 4s. Deal with it.” She commends Apple’s marketing strategy of introducing the iPhone 4S only 16 months after the release of the iPhone 4. Joanna summarizes that the “the iPhone 4S isn’t meant to be an upgrade for iPhone 4 users – it’s a lure to get new iPhone users in the door, to entice any Blackberry or Android users whose carrier contracts have just ended after their 2-year contract period and are in the market looking for a new phone.” According to Joanna’s analysis I am able to understand the concept of why the iPhone 4s was released in that time period. Thus, I am able to apply Porter’s Five Forces of Industry Attractiveness. In the cellular war industry, barriers to entry include Apple’s loyal consumer basis. Customers who purchase Apple products are likely to upgrade their current device with the newest available product. Also, competitors entering the mobile service network require large capital investments. Threats of substitutes include other Smartphone companies such as Android, Blackberry, and Google. Since Apple maintains global brand recognition, mobile companies compete to carry Apple products, increasing the company’s buyer power. Apple is a large publicly traded company, so the company is able to purchase materials for production at a lower rate; this benefits Apple’s supplier power. 

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The brand positioning perception of Ferrari is a “global brand,” so consumers spending may say, “I am a global citizen – I can buy whatever anyone else in the world can buy” (CNN). Ferrari’s brand is a status symbol consisting of extreme performance, driving, design, and power. Consumers perceive Ferrari as “I’ve made it, but I’ve still got it” (CNN). So, it comes as no surprise that Ferrari is integrating in India – the world’s next economic superpower. Ferrari’s presence towards the burgeoning super-rich increases as, “the move marks the 58^th market for the brand, which has steadily been growing its presence in Asia” (CNN). Entering India causes key parts of the business plan to surface for this initiative; accordingly market examination, operations, and social responsibility are examined. The target market in India consists of an extremely narrow percentage of the population capable of affording a supercar. Penetration of India’s market causes an even greater disparity in wealth in a country where, according to the World Bank, “27.5% of the population lives below the national poverty line and 16% do not have access to sufficient clean water” (CNN). Business operations should be considered in terms of how Ferrari will deliver and produce the products in India; meanwhile, social responsibility should be heightened as labour costs in India are significantly cheaper causing consumers to question the ethics of the company.

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Video: Ferrari India “Magic Discovery Tour”