At the end of term, I found learning marketing is such an interesting thing in my life. Marketing has influenced every aspect of our lives in even the simplest things we buy to satisfy our needs. It helps those who are undecided to choose the right products and services. It has become on of the bases on how a prospective customer evaluate before purchasing.

I learnt a lot in the teamwork. For the teamwork, It doesn’t mean everybody doing the same thing or everybody being able to do each other’s jobs. It’s more a means to a synergistic way of working, where the sum is greater than the parts. Properly managed, teamwork maximizes strengths, bringing out the best in each team member, a key theme on this site. These specific, possibly unique individual strengths are then complimented by the strengths of others, or of the team as a unit.

In our teamwork, we decided to research Best Buy company. All of my group members did great jobs. “two heads are better than one,”  – group meetings are very useful for us. In our group meetings, we allow those who have strengths in a particular area to take more responsibility for that area.

Last but not the least, I thanks all my group members. Good communication, better results.

From the “Recommended Reading” on the course blog, I found a ads from Ford. If you’ve been under a rock, violence against women in India has been all over the news since last December following the horrific gang rape of a young woman who had the audacity to take a bus.

Ford Motor Co. is taking heat for a series of ads it released in India showing caricatures of several celebrities behind the wheel of a Ford car with three women bound and gagged in the cargo bay.

With critics declaring the campaign offensive and misogynistic, Ford and its global ad agency WPP have quickly backtracked, apologizing and admitting the campaign “should never have happened.”

WPP Group said that the posters were “distasteful and contrary to the standard of professionalism and decency within WPP group”.

“These were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the internet,” the company said.

“This was the result of individuals acting without proper oversight and appropriate actions have been taken within the agency where they work to deal with the situation.”

The advert caused embarrassment at a time when Italy is already embroiled in a diplomatic row with India for over two Italian marines who have been accused of shooting dead two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala.

Resources:

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak?page=4

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2013/03/27/Ford-Farley-Apology-032713.aspx

After reading Linda’s blog ” Should We Set Regulation On The Use Of Energy Drink?” I got some deeper thinking about energy drink.

What is energy drink? An energy drink is a type of beverage containing stimulant drugs, chiefly caffeine, which is marketed as providing mental or physical stimulation.

First, how do energy drinks work? Energy drinks are supposed to do just what the name implies — give you an extra burst of energy. As it turns out, most of that “energy” comes from two main ingredients: sugar and caffeine. A typical energy drink can contain up to 80 milligrams of caffeine (about the same amount as a cup of coffee). Caffeine tolerance varies between individuals, but for most people a dose of over 200-300mg may produce some initial symptoms: restlessness, increase heartbeat, insomnia. Mixing energy drinks with alcohol may be even more problematic. Energy drinks can blunt the feeling of intoxication, which may lead to heavier drinking and alcohol-related injuries.

When McDonalds came out with a new line of salads, many people interpreted this as a sign that they would finally be able to eat healthy at McDonalds. Touting the new healthy lifestyle they were promoting on all thier adds, McDonalds began to look like a healthy food choice after all. After all, what could possibly more healthy than a nice, colorful salad? However, according to a recent review of McDonalds salads, the healthiness of these veggie-based meals is now in question. A health review of the six new McDonalds salads gave them all ratings of one star on a one to five star scale.

The issues with Mcdonalds salads lies in the high fat Newman’s ranch dressing that comes with most of them. At 170 calories and 15 grams of fat (38 percent of the recommended daily fat intake), the dressing counteracts many of the health benefits of the salads. Add that to the fatty chicken with almost as much cholesterol as beef, croutons, and cheese and a McDonalds salad can actually end up having more fat and calories than a traditional cheeseburger or sandwich entrée. “We did not expect these new salad entrées to be so loaded with fat and cholesterol,” saied Brie McGrievy, R.D., one of the clinical research coordinators at PCRM.

Whether you chose to eat a McDonalds salad or not after reading this, it’s important to know the true nutritional value of what you are eating so that you don’t sabotage a temporary or long term resolution to make healthy choices. Studies have shown that when people eat just a salad as a meal, no matter the actual calorie content, they often compensate by eating more later on, thinking that they were eating just vegetables. So beware. Since the dressing pouches at McDonalds contain two ounces of dressing and a typical serving is one ounce, you can reign in the fat and sodium of your order by adding only half a pouch of dressing. Even if you don’t feel the need, at least you are now informed of the true health value of McDonalds salads.

Sources:

http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/menu/full_menu/salads.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/think-fast-food-salad-is-healthier-think-again/article4103899/

http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/food/nutrition_calculator.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-299653/McDonalds-salad-fatty-burger.html

                Anyone watching the Super Bowl saw a great game and one of the greatest embarrassments in history: a power outage that halted play for a full half-hour.

                 Meanwhile, Oreo came up with an idea so brilliant- a tweet!

             “Power out? No problem,” the tweet read, along with a hastily put-together image of an advertising showing an Oreo and the terrific tag line, “You can still dunk in the dark.”

                The tweet caught fire, and as of this writing had been retweeted over 15,000 times. Volumes are being written about Oreo’s tweet during the blackout and rightfully so. With a single tweet, Oreo stole the Super Bowl. The tweet is overshadowing the fact that they also had a pretty good commercial themselves. The “Whisper Fight” was entertaining as people quietly “disagreed” on their favorite part of the Oreo – the cookie or the creme. The end featured a curious call to action asking the audience to follow on Instagram. Not the first social media platform you think of, but it worked. Oreo’s Instagram account went from 2,000 followers to 15,000 in a matter of seconds. As of this posting their account is over 48,000.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_advertising

http://www.superbowl-commercials.org/

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130206/BLOGS08/130209861/why-oreos-super-bowl-ad-went-viral

         As we all know, a financial product, refers to an asset that has some monetary value for its owner. All financial products are associated with risks.

          However, in the article, a bank stuff has sent This is Money a document revealing how many points each  member of staff ‘scores’ if they sell certain products as they aim to hit targets – and how this can result in  customers not getting the ‘best advice.’ It makes bonus is the last thing on a bank employee’s mind, with the thousands of redundancies made in this sector just keeping your job is a bonus enough. Pressure is brought to bear by managers onto staff to sell their products or you out. As a bank stuff, you are told not to take no for an answer and if a customer is not eligible for any lending products you are expected to sell them insurance even though they may be in financial difficulty. People being reduced to tears because they have not had enough sales that day is a daily occurrence as they are made to feel they are letting others down. In short you have to choose between having no morals or no job.

Source:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2201063/Revealed-The-bonus-list-encourages-pressure-cooker-sales-culture-Lloyds.html