I had the pleasure of working with a fantastic group of colleagues whom were all ambitious and determined to work their fullest potential. Therefore, my experience of completing this marketing assignment has been excellent. As great as our group was, we still faced many obstacles and challenges during our assignment. For instance, for assignment one, we were still learning on how to work as a team. In effect, it was initially difficult for us to connect our different contributions into one whole idea. For our SWOT analysis, we each assigned different roles for the strengths and weaknesses. However, we didn’t review each of the SWOT until the last minute and we ended up in an argument to decide which points should stay. In other words, although our ideas were well established, they were disorganized. I felt like we had a good grasp of the assignment instructions and I learned what not to do for the next assignment.

Nuk helping setting up the video for the overall summary.

I was excited to ace the second assignment by not making the errors we previously made for the first assignment. We divided the work again but this time, we all peer reviewed each section, and we closed any gaps of potential errors. I was extremely happy to get a 100% on the second assignment as it reflected the effort we put. Reflecting upon this, I realized that team effort prevails individual effort.

Finally, the third video went very smoothly. We all contributed ideas for the script in an organized fashion. The filming was done in a period of three days and the results were spectacular. I really enjoyed the video assignment as it was a challenging assignment that broke away from the traditional class presentation of using Power Point.

With this assignment, I was able to learn how to apply the marketing concepts through analysis of a real business firm.

Michelle getting ready to film the overall summary

We went to Target in Richmond to get a first-hand experience of how shopping is like in Target. Anita is holding Target’s REDcard which is Target’s own banking card that can be used to get special discounts.

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Click on the educational video of Zara’s supply chain management. VIDEO STARTS AT 0:33

I completely agree with Michelle’s blog post. Zara’s profits of 21.4 billion dollars in sales in 2012 has been growing substantially across all corners of the globe. Why is this? Zara’s ability to communicate its channel members through fast delivery and design of rapidly changing fashion trends has made this firm to surpass sales of many other successful firms such as Gap and H&M. Zara, having spent lots of research on supply chain management, gave them staggering amounts of profits that were unforeseen by its competitors.

Zara’s masterful supply chain management is a great example of how perfecting channel distributions can further maximize profit margins. Zara’s years of research and innovation has allowed their distribution channels to get the right product to the right place at the right time. In my opinion, this efficient process facilitates transportation and is a great topic to read about if anybody wants to learn about transportation and logistics. Zara pioneered the concept of fast fashion, which involves moving trendy styles from concept to shelves in a fraction of the time required by retailers. As for channel design, Zara has strategically and geographically located their factories near their headquarters in Spain to reduce shipping costs and time.

Zara’s ability to deliver and provide satisfies the (marketing mix) product, price, place, and promotional demands of its’ customers.

Zara’s research and development has allowed them to create an effective supply chain management coined by the term “fast fashion.”

Michelle’s Original Post:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/michellelee3/2013/11/17/zara-shows-how-important-supply-chain-management-is/#comment-668

Source:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-14/2014-outlook-zaras-fashion-supply-chain-edge

Check out Michelle’s Awesome Blog for more Blog Posts by her!

https://blogs.ubc.ca/michellelee3/

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Akio Toyoda, the man who keenly looks over the Toyota industry, has been noted for his unconventional leadership strategies that, although drifts away from common leadership strategies, helped Toyota grow into one of the most profitable automobile industries in the world. Toyada has essentially revamped the corporate culture and mission “dedicated to making cars you want to own, rather than ought to own.” His own passion for automobiles has brought an influx of design and engineering innovations for Toyota and for the slowly diminishing luxurious Lexus brand.

Toyoda’s noticeable characteristic is that he knows how to be fun. For instance, in press conferences he dresses up in colorful uncanny outfits. His ideology of instating “fun” to the corporate environment has somehow increased profits, productivity, and efficiency in their company. For example, in his interview with Automotive News, he wrote: “I have always said two things: Please make ever-better cars. And if it doesn’t offer fun, then it is not a car.”

His ingenious marketing strategy to present himself and the companies culture as being “fun” has drove Toyota into a successful area of sustainable competitive advantage. How? Their continuous innovations allows the firm to remain as the leading manufacturer for hybrid cars with further plans to introduce 15 more models and for the first time, a fuel cell powered vehicle. In addition, Toyota uses more than 50 different air bag designs to suit different driver seating positions.

Toyota still sees vast space for growth. There is a large untouched market in China and other regions around the world. As for Toyoda, he remains a promising figure for Toyota. His strong leadership and loyalty as given him the name the “world’s most fuel-efficient chief executive.”

 Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/14/autos/toyota-akio-toyoda.fortune/index.html?iid=SF_BN_River

Toyoda is known for his colorful outfits and unconventional leadership strategies.

Source:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/14/autos/toyota-akio-toyoda.fortune/index.html?iid=SF_BN_River

Further reading:
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/technology/2013/11/01/gas-engine-alternatives.fortune/2.html?iid=EL

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2013/06/10/akio-toyodas-toyota-makeover-is-working/?iid=EL

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2013/09/26/toyota-hydrogen-car/?iid=EL

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The growing segment of millions of video game consumers are attracting highly profitable opportunities and investments for big-time firms such as Coca-Cola. Video games have been considered in the past as a form of entertainment to be enjoyed in homes. However, the rise in popularity of online media sharing sites (YouTube) and games such as Riot’s League of Legends, Call of Duty, and DOTA 2, has made the best video game players in the world be recognized in the spotlight by gamers, fans, and video game companies. With such staggering growth, eSports (electronics sports) has been created to cater the highly competitive and demanding need for competitive gaming throughout the world.

By the end of 2013, over $15 million will be rewarded as prize money to pro-gamers for their achievements in tournaments. Business firms began to notice this when fans started to pay money to view pro-gamers play competitively. Coca-Cola saw this opportunity and used the League of Legends World Championship to sponsor the event.

Through this analysis, the product life cycle for eSports is in its growth stage. Many big time firms and brands are now recognizing the vast potential for profit and are continuously investing to capture the untouched target market. For example, Coca-Cola agreed to create a new minor league for League of Legneds to cater the gamers with a greater gaming experience. Secondary data mining research indicates that a healthy 5 million players play League of Legends during peak times and shows a healthy demographic of males from ages 13-35.

I believe this growing trend will continue to expand. Riot’s ingenious marketing strategy which allows players to play the game for free has allowed everyone to access and play this game at anytime. With no pricing involved the benefits of playing this game far exceeds cost (pretty much 0 as no money is involved). With more firms to invest in this industry, the popularity of eSports will rise even more.

Source:

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/06/esports-sponsorships/?iid=SF_T_River

Further Reading:

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/game-on-coke-zero-riot-games-launch-league-of-legends-challenger-series-to-give-amateurs-a-path-to-the-pros

http://www.destructoid.com/league-of-legends-has-a-new-coke-zero-sponsored-series-262951.phtml

League of Legends World Championship

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