Chronos Brings Smartwatch To Every Watch

Chronos wants to bring a smartwatch to every watch wearer’s wrist—without you having to get rid of the watch you’ve already got. A slim, stainless steel disk that sticks to the underside of any watch is all it takes.The Chronos is a size small enough to fit under about 80% of the watches sold today.When Chronos is placed on a watch, it is connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone. When you receive a call or a message it lightly vibrates or an LED glow will tell you that you need to check your phone. Chronos works for both Androids and iPhones. The disc also performs other smartwatch tasks such as, fitness tracking. 

This comes into marketing well. The idea decreases the need to go out and buy an entirely new watch for a few features. The target market is everyone, it pleases the needs of people that cannot afford to buy the full watch and also allows you to wear things more fashionable. Also the simplicity of it is a good marketing factor, something easy and convenient can quickly become appealing to consumers. Starting at a price of $99, releasing in the Spring of 2016.

 Facebook, Amazon and Other Tech Giants Tighten Grip on Internet Economy

Today we are in a new phase of growth in industries as technology is expanding. Technology industries: Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple have grown into a 'tech giant' controlling the the internet economy.

These online sights earn much value as they have the money to develop improved services to their customers. Since these companies first started their brand they have seen huge market value increase as they have a high volume audience and strengthen their business. These giants seek rivals and join with smaller tech companies to collaborate for future ideas and the business aspect in itself.

Evolving markets will always drive innovation. Each industry is build up with a target market, and study their competitors and customers to create new ideas. Consumers will always ultimately benefit and these giant companies are tightening the technology field for new competitors.

Dubai Theme Park to Highlight ‘Titanic’ and Other Fox Films

The Al Ahli Holding Group is making a theme park that revolves around movies and shows like Titanic, Sons of Anarchy and Planet of the Apes from 21st Century Fox. This is in response to a growing middle class in both Asia and the Middle East. The theme park will be one of a possible three Fox themed parks, and will cost upwards of 850 millions dollars. The investment, however, is a mere shadow of the 5.5 billion dollar investment Disney is making in its Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Inspiration for the creation of the theme park also came from the growing popularity of movies and TV shows from western culture in Asia and the Middle East. I think the popularity is largely due to the growth of social media. Oftentimes, I see a meme or a screenshot from a certain show or movie and it will encourage me to watch it, in order to understand the meme more fully.

This pertains to marketing because the theme park has identified a new target market and is catering to the need and wants of that target market. It is satisfying the need of those customers by bringing western entertainment to life. The Dubai location would also make it easier for people in Europe, Russia, and China to pose like Jack and Rose or submerse themselves in other movies or TV shows. Theme parks are really fun. I remember I was devastated when they shut down Astroworld/Waterworld here in Houston and always hoped they would open something else in its place. That of course, never happened and will probably never happened considering it is now a parking lot for the Rodeo. The Dubai theme park is set to open in 2018. 

WSJ Article 

Date/Time:Nov. 3, 2015 3:24 p.m. ET

Twitter Favors Facebook's 'Likes' Over 'Favorites'

"Twitter Favors Facebook's 'Likes' Over 'Favorites'"

Amanda Esquivel

Published: November 3, 2015

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/11/03/twitter-likes-hearts-more-than-stars/?mod=ST1

     Twitter made an interesting change this week. The famous social media platform now offers an option to "like" a tweet rather than "favorite" it. Since Facebook became popular, the "like" option has also -- maybe even more so than Facebook itself. The new feature also switched out the star symbol associated with "favorite" button for a heart, which is also very commonly used among many other social media sites. A heart is a universal symbol, and Twitter found that its users love it. The new change came about as a way to make Twitter less confusing and more user-friendly. Although this is not the big update many users have been expecting -- extending the 140 character tweet limit -- it has still received much attention. 

     This article relates to our marketing class because in the chapter focusing on product, we discussed that any change to a product makes it new, so Twitter's minor update constitutes it as a new product. I chose this article because I am an avid Twitter user, and the change was a little odd to me because I have become so accustomed to "favoriting" tweets. Although when applied to life, I suppose I can like many things, while everything cannot be my favorite. While Twitter claims that users love "likes" and hearts, many tweets that I came across were not in favor of the update. Maybe everyone will grow to "like" it. 

Droid Turbo 2 Tested: The Shatterproof Smartphone Is Here

Motorola's ShatterShield is the world’s first smartphone display guaranteed not to crack or shatter. There have been several tests done and all of them were successful.

The Droid's display has five layers of protection. The first layer is the exterior protective lens: a layer designed to protect against dents or scratches. The second layer is the interior lens: a clear layer that won't crack or shatter. The third layer is the dual touch layer: if something were to damage the first touch layer, then the second touch layer would take over to keep the screen's performance going. The fourth layer is the AMOLED display: this display absorbs shock and produces wonderful picture quality. The fifth, and last, layer is the aluminum chassis: this layer provides durability. The most important part out of all of this is that the screen does not shatter.

Although the phone may have some pros to it, it also has its cons. Shatterproof does not mean scratch proof. Also, the appearance is not that appealing. If it were me looking for a phone, I wouldn't even look at what the phone has to offer because of its appearance. I think that Droid specifically targets people that would rather have endurance than elegance. This is not a bad thing, but some people just don't prefer it.

The shatterproof phone is definitely a new product, so we'll just have to wait and see what the public thinks!



http://blogs.wsj.com/personal-technology/2015/11/05/droid-turbo-2-tested-the-shatterproof-smartphone-is-here/

GO PRO VS POLAROID

Polaroid filed a lawsuit November 3, 2015, against GoPro, the leading designer of extreme sports cameras, citing copycat design and patent infringement.

This is not quite a David going up against a Goliath but it could look like one.  I, for one, did not even know that Polaroid made sports cameras, The outdated technology company feels they have a case against GoPro, the more cutting edge supergiant in this market. GoPro is known for being the first to develop a camera that extreme athletes can use as they are performing their sport.  From trick skiing, to car racing to free climbing and more, the camera captures the action with amazing clarity and both video and still images.

GoPro has proved that they had already filed multiple patents for their products -- indeed, they showed  they were working on the HERO4, its latest model well before Polaroid developed their own camera, applied for their own patents, and filed their lawsuit.

Still, the combination of a weaker marketing strategy for the HERO4, a poor launch, and preparing to manage this lawsuit has affected its sales for the new camera and its stock price, which has significantly "plummeted by 60%".  I do feel, however, that GoPro in the long run doesn't need to worry...theirs is the industry standard and this is likely to r

http://www.wsj.com/articles/polaroid-maker-sues-gopro-over-tiny-cubical-camera-1446563105


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/878-LYQEcPs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

‘Star Wars’ Cloak of Secrecy Extends to Tie-In Book

Nov. 2, 2015

Disney is so determined to maintain the secrecy of the highly anticipated “Star Wars” movie that it asked its publishing partner to delay the release of the hardcover book tied to the film and sacrifice holiday sales.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the franchise’s first new issue in a decade, will reach theaters Dec. 17, but the print edition of the novel won’t be released until Jan. 5, after the holiday gift-giving season has ended.

The unusual delay is because of Disney’s fears that printed copies of the book, which would have to start rolling off presses long before they hit store shelves, could be stolen by people who want to spill plot details online. The e-book will be released Dec. 18, since it is easier to control digital files before they go on sale.

The movies have been a particularly profitable portion of the book's business. Publishers often issue them two months before the related movie’s release to take advantage of the excitement over movie trailers.

Opportunities like a new “Star Wars” movie are rare. The most recent trailer for “The Force Awakens” was watched 128 million times in just 24 hours and advance ticket sales are breaking records.

A spokeswoman for  the Disney unit that oversees “Star Wars,” confirmed that the company requested that the hardcover edition’s publication be delayed “in an effort to keep as many surprises as possible for audiences seeing the movie on the big screen.”

Publishers and book retailers rely on holiday sales for a large chunk of their business. December accounted for 15% of last year’s total unit sales of physical books, which covers about 85% of the print book market in the U.S.

The publisher said, “We would love to release both formats of the novelization simultaneously and not miss the holidays,” he said, “but we recognize the importance of protecting the story for the fans.”

“You don’t know what the reviews will be, or how the movie will ultimately be received, but if you are out with the trailer when people are beginning to get excited, that’s a terrific opportunity to sell books,” said Jamie Raab, publisher of Grand Central Publishing.

J.J. Abrams, director of “The Force Awakens,” has long been obsessive about withholding plot details of his movies before they launch, and Disney has revealed very little about the plot of “The Force Awakens” so far in trailers and other promotions. 

The delayed release of the hardcover edition struck some as a disappointment. “It would have been nice to have the book for the holidays,” said Linda Tonnesen, the buyer for the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego, which hosts several “Star Wars”-related events each year. “I have no control over what publishers do.”

Yet another Disney-related article by yours truly... I. Love. Disney.

So there seems to be a lot of controversy and disagreement regarding whether the book should be published before the holidays or not, but it seems as if the decision to delay the book has already been made. This particular article made it seem as if the movies are really the main path of profit for "Star Wars". Not sure if I agree with that without some facts to back it up, but I suppose it is possible. Now, if this is true, then postponing the release of the book could very well be a good idea for the promotion of the movie. If spoilers are released, this will definitely impact the overall sales of the movie. Seems pretty unfair for authors, editors and publishers involved who spent all of their time and effort to get the book ready, but it is what it is. If this delay will in fact raise profit for Disney, then I suppose this is the best rout to take. 

The idea of giving as little information as possible in promoting is Disney's tactic to get more people interested in the movie. They want people to purchase tickets because they are completely unaware of what that are about to watch, therefore they are intrigued. 

This promotion is related to social/cultural. Our present culture (overall) is more likely to spend money on the film, rather than take the time to read the book... sad but true.