Coca-Cola Shuts Down Facilities in India

           

Environmental groups criticized Coca Cola, so they temporarily shut down a plant is Kaladera India. This was a decade long situation that was ignored since the plant was created in 2000, but Coca Cola addressed the issue as it started to get publicity, all thanks to modern day internet and social media. The accusations about Coca Cola using almost all the natural water supply that the farmers needed to grow crops to sustain the food supply for their households and their community; however, coca cola denied there was any scientific data to prove they’re depleting the natural resource in the area, which is water, but it stirred an emotional situation as they were accused, since water is the second most vital necessity for survival after air.

            As these allegations gained publicity, Coca cola pledged to reimburse the planet, but specifically Kaladera India first in this case. They came up with new technology to clean the water supply, build damns to prevent water from running away during flood seasons, and better ways to use less water for rinsing their bottles during processing. Coca Cola also implemented policies to help sustain water in Kaladera, such as automatically shutting down bottling facilities if a community is in drought; they advised large corporations to do the same.

            All of Coca Cola’s responses to the situation are acts of social responsibility; however, they did not disclose much about the "air" technology they claimed is their alternate method of cleaning bottles instead of using water. Air is not a natural sterilizer. As of September 2016, They claimed they reached their 100% water saving goal when they gave back 336 billion liters of water, but it was technically their policies that saved consumption of the mentioned amount, not necessarily giving back the water that was already there.   

http://www.wsj.com/articles/coca-cola-closes-plant-in-india-1455122537

                      

Bridal Magazine Changes Name

  

 

Bridal Magazine Changes Name

America has evolved as a whole during the past few years. But something that has capture the entire nation has been the Supreme Court ruling of gay marriage rights. With this said the modern magazine “Brides” will be renaming its self to “Modern Luxury Weddings” for its upcoming edition, opening up its market target in an effort to be more inclusive of same-sex marriages.

The magazine is focusing in appealing to the newly engaged couples of today’s society. They have come to the conclusion that wedding and those who are getting married are not all brides and it’s more a celebration of love. (their marketing strategy has changed from traditional to what today’s society is) In order for the company to expand to Washington, DC and Scottsdale they had to change their marketing plan.

The magazine itself is a great marketing tool for all those local wedding industry businesses such as venues, boutiques, catering, florist and even retail. This new cutting edge wedding magazine topped first out of all its competitors as it focuses on its target market, they also aim to target newly engaged couples and related businesses. 

Link
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bridal-magazine-changes-name-to-modern-luxury-weddings-to-be-more-inclusive-1474041690

How Arnold Palmer Revolutionized the Business of Sports

            Arnold Palmer is one of the best golfers of all time. He began his professional career back in 1953 and had such a successful career. The famous Arizona Half and Half drink that is half lemonade, half tea was Arnold Palmer’s idea. Many young people may not know very much of Palmer but that drink may be well known to many people. Palmer recently passed away but his legacy was definitely left behind with the world.

            Back in 1961, Palmer was not happy with his equipment manager because of the contract that they had with Wilson. Palmer had signed a deal with Wilson back in 1954 when started his professional golf career. Palmer had grown to be one of the best golfers of the time over that span of 7 years and demanded more from Wilson because of his popularity. Palmer wanted more money from the balls and clubs that sold because of his name associated with the company. The truth is that Palmer just wanted a life insurance policy from the company incase anything happened to him during all of his travels playing golf.

            Wilson chose not to give Palmer what he desired from the company. This was arguably the biggest mistake the company made because Palmer is now considered in the top five golfers of all time. Palmer went on to launch his own company and named it The Arnold Palmer Golf Company. He became the first professional athlete to open up his own company and have such great success. Hardly any athletes at that time made any big time money and he took a risk in opening his own company but it paid off to be one of the best decisions he ever made.

            Palmer's decision started a trend with athletes to go out and market themselves to get their money. Most athletes sign with big companies to make money but they truly do not make all the money that the company makes. Palmer encouraged athletes with his decision to start his own company to get athletes to be entrepreneurs and make the money they truly deserve to make. It is not all about the money but most importantly respect. Athletes now desire so much more when they sign with companies to get what they deserve. Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan signed with Nike but have their own brands within the company.

Cup Noodles Reinventing Itself

Good news for all you instant noodle lovers! Cup Noodles just announce its decision to cut down on the sodium content and removing its artificial flavors from its instant ramen, by replacing them with ingredients such as paprika and lime. But don’t worry! while the ingredients may have changed a bit, Nissan Foods has worked hard in order for us, instant noodle lovers, to benefit from its new refine recipe without having to sacrifice the taste of its delicacy or suffer from its rising prices. 

However, despite its reinvention of the Cup Noodle’s recipe, its instant ramen is still far away from being considered ‘healthy’ as its chicken flavor still contain 45% of the sodium and more than one-third of the saturated fat an adult should eat in a day. So sadly the company haven’t completely gotten to the point of reinventing its instant ramen noodles yet, but it is taking its first step in the right direction since compared to the company’s now 45% sodium its old chicken flavor contained a whooping 60% of the daily recommended sodium intake. As an instant noodle lover myself and on a budget college student, I sometimes rely on Cup Noodles for its quick, convenient, and affordability. So when I heard that the company was going to give its best effort in making its brand more healthy, I was all for it. 

The company's decision to change its marketing concept was made in response to the consumers demand for better quality of food and the society ever growing push towards health and wellness trends. By defining its marketing strategy and target marketing to college students and low income families, the company hopes to give its' product a more positive light by making it healthier.    

To view this article press here.

Dean Chagaris | Dr. Zhang | Marketing 3343 | Sept 30, 2016 

Schools Learn Expensive Lesson on Class Size 

Many states spent billions to shrink student-teacher ratios but now seek cheaper ways to improve performance

http://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-learn-expensive-lesson-on-class-size-1475245698

By 

JO CRAVEN MCGINTY

Sept. 30, 2016 10:28 a.m. ET

This article discusses how schools are realizing that smaller classes sizes aren't always better. An argument can be made on behalf of education that smaller class sizes create a more intimate learning environment that fosters higher education. Who wouldn't want higher education for their children? As members of the human race we all want our children to do better than we did. 

School districts around the U.S have been researching the benefits spending millions, sometimes billions into its educational programs. The main goal is to hire more teachers, expand facilities, and create the learning environment that's optimal for their kids. This is expensive, and after much research has determined:

• By cutting cost and having more children in a class with a higher quality teacher is more beneficial for children 
• The current method of smaller class sizes is ineffective as the quality of teachers willing to work for a lower amount of money is high. 
• The cost deferred (savings) from realigning class sizes could allow for schools to make more hands on decisions regarding the education they provide. 

While states set the education requirements for such things as class sizes, and voters have to approve any changes while states like Florida have pushed the class sizes up between 18-25. As a parent of a child in the Miami-Dade School District I can tell you from personal experience that at the highest level of school in an area, is still sub par to other areas of the country with much needed in the area of teacher recruitment.

Let's look at our system as a whole; as product of the California Education System, having experience with Miami Schools, and Houston area schools I'd say that all need much improvement. We often neglect the situation assume that the current methods are adequate. They are not. Children are falling through the cracks everyday.

It's time for a educational reinvention. Parents, educators, legislators, and anyone else I've failed to mention need to begin thinking "outside of the box." If we're taught to think outside the box then shouldn't the institutions who teach this way of thinking employ it into their own toolbox to create a more conducive leaning environment? 

What Has Snapchat Done Now?

         

                   Elizabeth Gobran

What Has Snapchat Done Now?

          Snapchat CEO Evan Speigel has yet again discovered a new way to further expand his app, making it more convenient for users to record their experiences without having to hold the phone "like a wall in front of your face." The first hardware product, Spectacles, is what appears to be a pair of sunglasses with a camera at the corner. Just one tap allows you to record your experience as if you were on the app. The only difference is your phone is not in the way which leaves your hands free to dance or pet animals without having to make sure you captured the right frame in your recording. After testing a prototype, Speigel describes the beauty of Spectacles as he played back the footage and realized how amazing it felt to have the footage of his trip as well as being able to record without experiencing it behind a phone. Knowing the risks, Speigel intends to take things slow, as he knows that this new addition will not bring in immediate revenue. He takes these risks anyway because he believes that his product is fun and great to use at events.

          As you read on, the article continues to review Speigel's Snapchat success within the past few years. With more users than Twitter, it continues to exponentially grow as a company. Their target market expanded as users realized how casual and easy the app is to use. Celebrities, parents, aunts, and uncles have downloaded the app to share their moments as well. It has become an app where people are free from the pressure of getting a certain number of likes or facing the criticism of comments. This differentiates greatly from Snapchat's competitors: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. In fact, Instagram has come out with a similar feature to Snapchat called Instagram stories. Facebook has also had many attempts at creating similar Snapchat apps, but they failed to be a successful hit. Snapchat has successfully used the infamous Lenses feature to promote their sponsors such as Taco Bell, Gatorade, and many others. This allows users to actually spend the same amount of time playing around with each filter and view the sponsored effects as would to watch a commercial. They have even managed to squeeze in short commercials in between stories as if you were watching television.

          As a Snapchat user myself, I was intrigued while reading this article because it is one of the most well-known apps of today's society. It is amazing to think of how much the app has expanded from where it began. In just a few short years, the app has become a multi-million dollar company from what started as an idea of a 26 year old man.  This article discusses many relevant topics that we learn in class such as the company, customers,  competitors, and target market. Snapchat has become the success it is today by discovering new ways to improve in each of these categories. Now, people all over the world use Snapchat to capture clips of silly or momentous moments of their lives, so that they may share it with their friends. 

           

  LINK:

        http://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-releases-first-hardware-product-spectacles-1474682719?mod=ST1

Amazon Could Soon Compete with UPS and FedEx

Amazon Could Soon Compete With UPS and FedEx



Amazon is well known as possibly the largest online store on the market, more trust worthy than ebay and easier to visit than WalMart. And now Amazon is expanding its horizons to delivery of packages as well. With about seven package delivery centers in the U.S., people think that Amazon could begin delivering packages themselves, which would save them about $3 a package and about $1.1 billion per year as opposed to using UPS and FedEx. This service may also get packages out to customers sooner rather than having to wait so long for the packages to arrive.
This relates back to marketing in the sense that Amazon would be both saving themselves money and competing with UPS and FedEx if they did start their own delivery system. And while the direct competition may not be a good thing, it is unlikely that any of the three carriers would go out of business anytime soon. Personally, I have seen Amazon delivery trucks on my street a few times and it seems like a great idea even though at the present time, the Amazon delivery trucks seem like more of a rare novelty to see than anything.
Click Here for Original WSJ Content

Costco Must Do More to Battle Amazon

Costco and Amazon are known to be head on competitors as they both offer bulk goods through different means. However,  in the past 18 months, Costco's retailers shares have remained unchanged, while Amazon's shares have more than doubled! For the first time ever, Amazon's annual revenue is expected to overpass that of Costco's. With about 81 million card holders, Costco has an advantage over Amazon by limited product selection, loyal customers, and fee income. Their no hassle return policy is also a reason many customers choose to shop here. However, not many have the time and effort to shop and search for an item at the huge department store. Amazon is more convenient, offers 2-day shipping, a much more variety of products and is usually cheaper. Other options such as Walmart, Target, and Kroger are also cheaper than Costco. Amazon appeals to the younger generation, as most don't have time to actually shop at Costco, or see it easier to make an online membership with Amazon. As a college student, I personally find it easier to shop at Amazon as it has everything one could ever need! 

Snapchat Pushes Further Into Digital Ad Targeting

                                PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES


 But first, let me take a selfie. Companies moving into or in the marketing department era are looking for new ways to promote their products. To reach a vast amount of people, these companies need to get involved with the trends like Snapchat for example, which is now going to be called Snap. Only being 5 years young, Snap has grown into a beautiful marketing butterfly. 

     First, Snapchat started to promote short snaps of companies like Comedy Central and Vice. Then, Snap started to add filters to promote movies like the Suicide Squad. Now, they have 3 new targeting options to expand the marketing opportunities on their application. In the following are the 3 new targeting options:

• Snap Audience Match: gives marketers the opportunity to take a list of mobile device's IDs and email addresses and match that data with Snap's consumer data. (Privacy?  - Snap is doing their best to keep personal data safe from ad campaigns)
• Snapchat Lifestyles Categories: "lets brands direct ads to people who consume certain types of videos (like sports or gaming content)."
• Lookalikes: helps advertisers target their ads to customers who's characteristics are similar to the company advertising to them.

     SNAP is an interesting topic due to its features. The filters are fun to use especially the promotional filters. Also, this is a fun way of communication. This application gives people the opportunity to capture wonderful and silly moments of life. 

     Why This? This article is relevant to principles of marketing, because Snap is developing new services to attract their target market. Their target market are companies looking for new promotional methods. 

     Concerning other businesses, Snap will help them grow, due to their popularity. Most people who have smartphones will most likely have this application. Therefore, people all over the world will be looking at the ads and become more inclined to buy the company's service or product. 

CLICK ON "SNAP" TO GO TO THE WEB PAGE :)

By: Mike Shields

Time: Sept. 13, 2016 11:01 a.m. ET 

Blogger: Raul I. Chaidez

Time: Sept. 29

Package Delivering Drones May Take Some Time

 

A new era for package delivery services is underdevelopment! With drones being sold to the public today, we anxiously wait for them to be used by online shopping websites to deliver our packages. However, we may have to wait just a bit longer.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has set up specific rules to which all package-delivering drones must follow. This is so make delivering packages by air as safe as possible. However, companies such as Amazon, Alphabet Inc., and United States Parcel Service Inc. are advocators in the idea that we need drones now! They have been pushing for faster check ups by the FAA, stating that we need to speed up the regulatory process. With the pushing of faster check ups, the FAA stays firm with their decision to take their time.
It is important that the FAA clears up any issues with the drone manufacturers so that the sky is a safe place for drones to fly. We do not want damage to the drones or packages. Most of all, we do not want accidents which could put people down below in harms way of falling debris.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/package-delivery-drones-likely-years-away-from-federal-approval-1475154227

Blackberry Outsourcing Handset Business

Blackberry, once one of the largest mobile handset device companies in the world has failed to keep up with the worlds current smartphone devices. Blackberry began as a major player in the mobile phone and handset device world since its early come up with its first handset device in 1999. Its device revolutionized the world and became extremely popular in the business world. At its peak the Canadian company was valued at 83 billion dollars, and now ten years later that value has fallen to 4.1 billion dollars. The Chief Executive John Chen was forced into a corner where he would be required to change the companies business strategy before it took a complete pitfall. Through his experience and responses from the companies largest investors and shareholders, Mr. Chen has decided to stop producing one of the companies first major successes, its mobile devices, and concentrate the companies efforts into producing software. This decision came to light after it was shown that Blackberry only made up 1% of the total global smartphone population. It was completely thrown in the dark by the more successful and popular smart phone producers such as Apple inc. and Samsung electronics Co. Chief Executive John Chen stated that by completely pushing all the companies efforts into new software development he would be able to turn the company around and bring in more profit.
The article states that the software that will now be the companies major play in the technological world will be marketed to businesses and the government. The software will be presented as a mobile management tool that will allow these organizations to manage devices from various providers that are used by employees on corporate networks. This would be the companies new target market and targeting mix.
The Article puts great importance in how Mr. Chen's decision into changing the companies products and marketing strategy will be able to push the once more successful company into a new beginning and increase the companies revenue. It also states that this would be one of the only chances the company has coming out of its slump due to all the pressure that the company and John Chen are experiencing. The major investors have supported the idea thus far but have stated that if this fails it seems that many of them will be backing out and the company will reach its end.

Chinese Cash Pours Into U.S. Real Estate

Chinese Cash Pours Into U.S. Real Estate

As China continues to its economic ascent, it has turned to investing in other countries such as the United States. Some of these investments have included real estate ventures, which is discussed in “Chinese Cash Pours into United States Real Estate” by the Wall Street Journal.  As discussed by Elliot Brown, the United States has become an attractive destination for Chinese foreign direct investment due to an anti-corruption campaign in China by President Xi Jinping, which has seen a more hardline approach to certain business practices in the country.  Therefore, investors have sought to look abroad.  Likewise, diversification due to a slowing real estate market has pushed Chinese investors to look for more options.

Several cash pouring investment projects are underway in the U.S., Forth giving are a few business deals.  China's $1 Billion investment aimed at the development of biotechnology research and development companies.  Chinese insurance companies invest $6.5 Billion in Strategic hotels and resorts Inc. As well as China's $3 billion investment in the Central Park Tower also known as the tallest apartment tower in the U.S.  China discovered they were able to generate increasing profits by sticking to investing in development projects versus buying into an already made company.

This topic of real estate highly interests me because I myself have considered a career involving real estate development and sales.  Whether real estate development is commercial or residential, it can be an important indicator of economic growth to opposing forces and serve as a profitable revenue source.

This topic is relevant to our marketing class because we have been studying improvement in decision-making processes with marketing information.  Relevance is also based on the need for investment developers to have an accurate picture/presentation to provide to potential customers, prior to the development projects.  Management tasks for investment developing require strong practice of in depth research, strategic planning, and data analysis.

This topics incentive to invest in real estate development not only applies to the principles of business but also exercises product planning for goods and services which can be used as an implication to foreign companies making business deals outside of subjectively real estate development. 

 Link to WSJ website 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-cash-pours-into-u-s-real-estate-1472569340       

Walmart stops selling Egyptian cotton sheets made by Welspun

Welspun, a textile giant, was selling bedding sheets to large retail stores like Walmart and Target under the advertisement that they were made from Egyptian cotton.  However, they had not used 100% "Egyptian" cotton in the production of its bedding sheets an investigation revealed.  Walmart said it was going to give a full refund to customers who purchased the sheets and stop selling bedding sheets made by Welspun.
This article highlights the importance of companies building trust with the final customer.  When it came to Walmarts knowledge that the sheets were not Egyptian cotton they offered customers who bought them a refund.  This is a marketing concept that builds customer relationships.  Companys that use the marketing concept and seek to build long-term relationships with their customers will be likely to retain those customers.  This was Walmarts way of making things right with the final customer.  This was a smart strategy because when a retailer that goes out of their way to correct a problem, the customer might in turn spread the word and recommend them due to the good experience they had.  It also builds trust between the retailer and the customer which is essential to long-term relationships.
This is also a business-to-business issue because Walmart is an intermediary (retailer) for this textile manufacturer. It's unclear what level the relationship was between Walmart and Welspun, but in order for Walmart to retain its trustworthiness it had to discontinue selling Welspun's products to save face with the final customer.  Walmart is justified because Welspun did not meet their needs in their role as an organizational customer.  Walmart was under the assumption that the product the supplier was selling was 100% Egyptian cotton and when that turned out not to be the case, it was in their best interest to sever ties.
Read about the story here.
Posted by J. McConnell