Is Netflix Changing How Consumers View Different Productions?

Netflix has become a routine for many people around the world. Netflix has marketed their company to be a necessity and has succeeded. The video streaming giant has added 7.41 million subscribers in the first quarter. Their continuous growth has allowed their brand to not only mature but stay growing. Personally, I am a Netflix subscriber. What I love about Netflix is my ability to access a variety of movies and television shows. The constantly changing movies and television shows allows consumers to not only watch their typical steaming, but also discover new shows that are out of their comfort zone. The company is expecting to increase the number of subscribers every quarter. Netflix forecast a net addition of 6.2 million users. I do not have any opinions on how Netflix can grow their brand because they are doing a tremendous job at growing their company. The company’s brand has allowed consumers to recognize their logo and colors across the world. Netflix has also began producing their own series. Many Netflix series have been very successful and cause social media boost within the youth. To add on, I believe that it is important for the youth to feel involved. Something that I have found to be an interesting take on new shows is letting the viewer decide how the show will play out. An interactive show would also bring different people to their subscription based company.

NRA Convention Expected to Draw About 80,000 Attendees

The NRA convention kicks off this Friday in Dallas. It is expected to draw more than 80,000 attendees, and it had garnered so much attention that the NRA has had to waitlist many vendors as there is simply not enough space on the floor to accommodate them all. This article states that the NRA has faced public backlash and scrutiny due to its continued support of gun rights, and very hardcore stance againt gun control. I for one do not think that this is true, as the only ones criticizing the NRA are those that are pro-gun control, and have been from the very beginning. Personally, I am a lifetime member and know many that are as well. Without getting too political, guns should not be controlled at all. After all, if one is willing to break the many laws we have against harming others, why could said person not obtain a gun illegally? Therefore, this control only punishes those law-abiding citizens.

In relation to the class, the NRA has done a tremendous job marketing its convention, as it will end up being a record breaker. This convention will boast the highest turnout even for a convention, and will further advance the fight against gun control. Furthermore, the NRA has been producing record breaking fundraising numbers, and I relate that to their being able to truly connect with their base. This is an essential concept in marketing, and whenever one is able to strongly connect with their base, they will be successful at what they are doing for a long time.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-convention-expected-to-draw-about-80-000-attendees-1525349795?ns=prod/accounts-wsj

Andrew Dibello 

A Parent's Worst Nightmare

A parent's worst nightmare is to see their child pass before they do. An even worse nightmare for a parent is the realization that they were responsible for the death of their child, whether intentional or not. The most precious and greatest responsibility for a parent is the well being of their children.

Imagine thinking you did everything you were suppose to do on a typical day, only to receive a terrifying phone call telling you your child was never checked in to their daycare in the morning. It was your responsibility to drop he or she off. You are an excellent parent so the first thought in your mind is that this has to be a mistake, then an even more stressful thought is someone at the daycare lost sight of her, and then your mind starts to really race to the worst thought imaginable: someone took my child without my permission. The last thing on your mind is you were responsible for your child missing.

This is what happened to Karen Osorio when her husband went to pick up their child from day care. She ran to her car and realized she left her child in the car for 9 1/2 hours with the windows up while she went in to her office at work. Unfortunately, her daughter died from heat stroke. The tragedy  sparked a fire in this mother to help prevent this type of incident from happening to another family.

Vehicular heatstroke is the cause of death for about 40 children a year. Ms. Osorio started a campaign with her employer's company, P&G Pampers, called "Bag in the Back" to help  busy mothers remember to put something they routinely and essentially need for their day in the back seat of their car next to there child. Also, baby supply companies are developing products help prevent this tragedy, such as, Cybex's Sirona M car seat which includes a sensor that alerts drivers to a child strapped in the back seat.

I feel that this type of accident always opens up a parent to extreme criticism and scrutiny, but humans are so prone to making innocent mistakes that are often not careless. The mind of a person can overwork itself and you simply malfunction, much like a computer. Unfortunately, that malfunction sometimes results in the worst type of accidents. I equate this to someone who is extremely tired and drives off the road. They weren't under any influential substance, their brain simply didn't function properly. I can only imagine the amount of stress a mother, a woman who is dedicated fully to their child and has a career, might have on a day to day basis. Where there is a problem, someone steps up to find a solution. The solution is to create new products for parents to help alert them to safely care for their child because sometimes parental intuition and instinct isn't enough and shouldn't be dependent on.

-Roxanne Cepeda

https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-a-mothers-tragedy-a-call-to-action-1525274572

The US Doesn't Want Japanese Sedans Anymore

The US Doesn't Want Japanese Sedans Anymore

Japanese auto makers have been extremely successful in selling their Sedans to the US in the past. They believed that US citizens would continue to drive and enjoy their sedans. However, the top three auto makers in Japan have recently been down on sales. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda sales are continuing to drop fast. The reason for this big drop is the popularity of Sport Utility Vehicles. Research has found that SUV's are getting more popular because of low fuel prices and improvement of fuel efficiency in SUV's. However, the Japanese executives believe that the sedan's popularity will go up when gas prices go up, because sedans still have better fuel efficiency. The only problem they face now are crossovers, because crossovers have the fuel efficiency and the space that all the Americans want. 

I found this article interesting, because I wanted to know what caused SUV's to become so popular. I myself prefer smaller cars due to the fact that they are easier to park in downtown Houston. I do, however, wish that there was more trunk space. I was surprised that the space in the car was more important than fuel efficiency to many Americans. These Japanese auto makers are going to need to offer SUV's that are better than the American SUV's and Trucks if they want to increase their sales apart from the Sedans. 

Written by Shawn Pham

WSJ Article

Retailers other problem: Too Few Clerks in the store

Retailers have been downsizing their workforce! It is not new news that customers have had many struggles while shopping, either looking for assistance or waiting in long check-out lines. With the downfall of many of Americas biggest retailers, department stores have had to make cuts in order to save money. Not only have they downsized their staff but they also have lowered labor costs. Many current employees have to take on multiple tasks that are not meant for one person. Other retailers have added more self check-out lanes or shelf-ready packaging and hired more full time stuff rather than multiple part-timers. But that is about to change! Many retailers such as Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kroger Co, and many more, want to increase their staff to “provide better customer service and speed checkouts.” This is expected to have an affect in an increase in sales. Many customers would leave stores because they could not find help or there was a long waiting line but not anymore! Not only that but workers are getting better wages and benefits.   

I know I am happy to hear about the increase of staff from local retailers. This increases not only faster lines but better customer service. Many of the times customers do not return to a specific store or department because of a horrible experience or because they were just not helped with at all.  This marketing strategy benefits everyone, the company, the customer and the employee! Customers will want to come back and buy more things if the company increases their staff especially if they are friendly and welcoming. I know I would! 

Link to article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/retails-other-problem-too-few-clerks-in-the-store-1525080601

Tesla Continues to Burn Through Cash.

Tesla recently reported their first quarter earnings, and they are not very impressive. Tesla has burned through more cash than expected by analysts, and has struggles to increase its production of the Tesla SUV. The loss was reported to shareholders as a whopping $710 million dollars, its fifth consecutive quarter with a loss. Elon Musk, the company’s CEO is encouraging shareholders to not worry about the loss, as Tesla is on track to finally reach its full production quota of the model 3 within weeks. Therefore, once these cars are finally delivered to their prospective owners, the margin of Tesla will dramatically increase and it may finally be able to report a profit in the second quarter of this year.

In relation to Marketing, Elon Musk has done a fantastic job presenting and captivating the minds of those interested about Tesla. Even though Tesla has posted losses for the last five quarters, people still have confidence in the company, and are in fact buying more and more shares of Tesla at an increasing price. This is due to the fantastic marketing of Tesla, as somehow Musk has created an aura of confidence in the brand, with little regard to the financial condition of the company. Normally, companies who report losses and are not profitable have a negative market presence, and many have continually falling stock prices. However, this is not the case for Tesla and I attribute that to its excellent marketing strategies.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-continues-to-burn-through-cash-1525293204

Andrew Dibello 

WeWork: A Look Into The High Cost of Market Penetration

A recent Wall Street Journal article dubbed WeWork “one of the world’s most valuable startups,” (Brown). The eight-year-old company—valued at $20 billion dollars—aims to bring shared office spaces to companies and individuals across the globe. In late April, WeWork publicly released a bond-offering document that highlights the company’s increased revenues as well as its troubling losses. The $866 million dollar revenues have resulted from rental payments, memberships, and software sales, and the $933 million dollar losses are due to the rapid expansion from property acquisitions, construction, and interior design.

 www.wework.com

The typical life cycle of a new product or concept includes four stages: market introduction, market growth, market maturity, and in the final stage in which sales decline. Examining this company’s increased revenues, spending patterns, and pricing strategy, I’ve determined that WeWork is in the early phases of the market growth stage. During market introduction, WeWork’s PR strategy was to raise consumer awareness and build brand identity. Now, WeWork must expand and further penetrate the market, which comes with high costs.

Essentials of Marketing, Perreault, Cannon, and McCarthy, McGraw-Hill/Irwin,

According to the company, its older, more established locations are indeed profitable, and the high expansion costs are warranted in order to ensure returns to scale. This position held by the company leads me to assume that WeWork’s current priority is to increase its market share, rather than earn economic profits in the short term. While existing profitable locations do offer hope, several financial figures remain troubling. For example, “sales-and-marketing costs more than tripled” from the year 2016 to 2017, and although increased marketing costs are to be expected in the market growth stage of the product lifecycle, I am concerned that the increased spending did not add enough to the bottom line during the fiscal year.

 https://laedc.org/coworking-spaces/

Additionally, WeWork is bringing in more corporate clients, but this benefit may be short-lived as more firms enter the market and begin to compete on price, which is to be expected during the market maturity stage. Finally, the WeWork “product” is largely untested in an economic downturn, and the company’s highly leveraged position and heavy use of debt financing are betting on continued overall economic growth in the U.S. economy.

Fortunately for WeWork, marketing can help play a large role in the future of the company. Through marketing, WeWork can continue to differentiate itself from upcoming competition and avoid competing purely on price. In the same way, marketing can play a vital role in case of an economic downturn by portraying WeWork as a cost-saving and business enhancing service rather than a luxury accommodation. WeWork is certainly a start-up to watch, but it remains to be seen if clever branding and inviting interiors can make shared-office space a profitable venture.

Written by Rachel Ann Eades

WSJ: A Look at WeWork’s Books: Revenue Is Doubling but Losses Are Mounting
Published: April 25, 2018