Mexican City's Residents Reject Constellation Brewery in Referendum

Recently the border city of Mexicali refused to let Constellation Brands access to the local water supply in fears that it may affect local agricultural business because of the large consumption of water. Mexico currently faces an economic contraction and losing support from foreign companies could be detrimental in the long run as a result. Although this is a small victory for the small city, the reality is that this may begin to detract other offshore companies from investing in Mexico and this could create a loss of jobs when most needed. Constellation Brands is the third largest beer producer in the United States, and it contains famous brands such as Corona and Modelo which are staples here in the United States. The decision for the Mexican to create a referendum is quite unusual because Constellation Brands had already put in nearly nine hundred million dollars on the project and planned to create about eight hundred jobs. Although its is admirable that President Manuel Lopez Obrador wants the peoples voices heard, the reality is that the people do not have the best interest of Mexico at hand, voter turnout is extremely low and often times the people make the wrong decisions. President Obrador should strongly reconsider relocating the beer plant to ensure that Mexican beer continues its tradition of being made in Mexico by its own people.

Ring Ring, Dr. Darling Calling - Telemedicine and the Coronavirus

Since its inception, telemedicine has remained a fairly niche industry, owing to a combination of strict governmental regulations, lack of patient interest, and lack of investment by large companies. With the outbreak of Covid-19, however, that has changed quite dramatically - demand for online consultations has soared in the wake of social distancing, and companies, both newcomers to the telemedicine industry and hardened veterans alike, are scrambling to meet it.

Teladoc, the largest pure telemedicine company in the US, has reported a 50% increase in service since the outbreak started and is attempting to aggressively recruit new doctors through social media ads and higher pay rates to match the demand. Kry International AB, another telemedicine company in Europe, has experienced a 200% increase in downloads of its service’s app and brought more than 500 doctors into its network since the outbreak started. The Trump administration, in response to this, has loosened healthcare privacy regulations to help facilitate online consultations, hoping to push the industry’s growth even further.

Undoubtedly, telemedicine is currently a rising industry - that is not to say, however, that this will be smooth sailing for current telemedicine companies. Competition is beginning to roll in, with heavy hitters in the biotech and healthcare industries attempting to stake their claims on the market - who will come out on top when the dust settles remains to be seen.

The lesson of this article is an oft-repeated, but no less valuable one - companies do not operate in a vacuum and must always be ready to respond to an evolving external environment. Certainly, no one expects a global pandemic (and certainly, no one should want such a thing to happen), but reality seems to make a habit of defying our expectations - it is for this reason that adaptability in the face of changing circumstances is key to the continued wellbeing of a company. This can be seen most clearly in crisis situations like the Covid-19 outbreak, but this is hardly any less important when things are business as usual. Change occurs in both great leaps and subtle steps; the environment in which we do business today is all but unrecognizable compared to how it was a decade ago. Companies that recognize this and respond accordingly will remain competitive; companies that don’t will stagnate and be left behind.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/telemedicine-once-a-hard-sell-cant-keep-up-with-demand-11585734425

Demand for N95 Masks are too Great

The COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the entire world has also lead to a shortage of many essential supplies, one of these being the N95 masks. The N95 masks are an essential tool for hospitals, and now the public is being recommended to use them as well in order to combat the spread of this virus. This great demand for N95 masks has led the manufacturers into a tight spot. The demand has greatly outpaced their ability to produce these masks. 3M, the biggest manufacturer of these masks has started to ramp up production, as long as other smaller companies. Even so, they don't expect to cover the demand, not for a couple of months at least. President Trump has already invoked the Production Defense Act in order to speed up the production. Furthermore,  other companies, such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., car making companies, have started the production of ventilators in order to help the community out as much as possible. It is important that American companies start increasing their production since it is impossible to import these kinds of products from other countries facing the same problem.

It is important to read articles like this because it informs us of current events. Furthermore, this article relates to marketing since we can easily see the supply and demand for a product as well as companies adapting to help fill in the gap.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/3m-ceo-on-n95-masks-demand-exceeds-our-production-capacity-11585842928?mod=business_lead_pos6

Loss of Live Sports Changes ESPN'S Marketing Plans

With the coronavirus still around and affecting many countries and businesses, ESPN has lost many viewers from when the epidemic started in the U.S. It cost ESPN to lose live sports since every league in the country and around the world has suspended their sports until the whole epidemic comes to an end. With no live sports to show their viewers, ESPN had to change their marketing plans, since there is no more live sports that usually fill up most of the hours in the day. The marketing department has had to come up with new ideas in being able to cover those hours that the live sports would cover. In response to the situation ESPN has made two commercials, one informing the viewers about the importance of social distancing and the other about how they also miss the entertainment of live sports. They have also been replaying old games and showing documentaries to fill in the hours. We can see how the marketing department is taking action in trying to keep many viewers entertained and wanting to help viewers pass the time while the whole world is at a pause.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/loss-of-live-sports-changes-espns-marketing-plans-11585570694?mod=business_minor_pos9

Anthony Nguyen

"Twitter Issues Profit Warning as Coronavirus Spread Weighs on Ad Spending" Analysis

Photo credit goes to: Google search on "twitter stocks"

Information credit goes to: https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-issues-profit-warning-as-coronavirus-spread-weighs-on-ad-spending-11585003279?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=6

Article Publish on March 23, 2020

     As many companies are trying to manage their businesses and in different ways, advertising has become a huge contention for businesses. Its interesting because making a product seems to actually be the easy part for most businesses, while the hard part is how they can deliver the product and advertise it. Due to the situation we are dealing with, many companies see social media and televisions as their best bet when it comes to advertisements because most people will be staying at home on their phone or watching TV, which ties to the idea of promotions in Chapter 15.

     However, promotion through social media has now apparently become a problem. According to the article, this is causing an expense for Twitter and that over time they seem to be losing money as ad dollars are disappearing, more likely because some people are not profiting off the social media advertising, or because companies are trying to save money and cut off many of its money spending habits. In fact, because of this Twitter is now facing a decline as well. It seems that when one company is hit hard, another is bound to be hit also if the relationship between them benefit each other. In other words, if one profits, so should the other. This, as I stated before, ironically ties to Chapter 15 as promoting your product through advertisement is great, but it definitely does not work for everyone. Sometimes social media isn't the best platform to use. Maybe television is more effective for your product, or maybe word of mouth is. What I personally find interesting is that I myself do not have social media or watch television often, so the only way I can see a product that be considered interesting and innovative is by either searching it up, having articles published about said products, or through YouTube.

New York Bars Now Serving Boozy Drinks ‘To Go’

As seen in the title, New York Bars are now trying their best to survive during this pandemic by offering to go orders for cocktails and other alcoholic beverages. Most restaurant are already doing takeout and delivery but bars make business with their drinks which are usually not delivered or ordered for takeout. But we're not surprised with this movement since these businesses are doing their best to survive economically during this crisis. Some bars that have exotic and complicated drinks have consolidated their menu size to make the orders simpler and to cut back on labor cost. Plus some drinks with multiple ingredients might not travel well. Restaurants and bars are ensuring cups or containers to keep their beverages contained. Some admit that they're using regular cups that are used for coffee while others are trying to put them in bottles with a sealed cap. Some restaurants and bars are already selling frozen cocktails like pina coladas to prevent them from going bad. And they also believe the frozen drinks aren't as bad as the fresh ones.

ICUs Leverage Remote Doctors and Telemedicine to Manage Coronavirus Deluge

As corona virus cases multiply daily across the nation, there is a shortage of supplies and difficulty in providing healthcare to hundreds of sick patients at hospitals. In addition, health care workers are at high risk of becoming in contact with the virus at any moment, but the use of technology could possibly serve as a protection barrier and be the solution to limiting contact while also providing quality service.

Every day that passes by, more and more hospitals are adapting to a new style of medical treatment called Telemedicine. It is more convenient for doctors and nurses to monitor patients through video not only because they are less exposed, but also because they can be monitoring 50 to 100 patients at one time. Through the use of telemedicine technologies, healthcare workers can zoom in to patients’ beds and see their health condition and they are also able to monitor the equipment monitors for patients, such as heart rate. Patients can also talk to them and share their symptoms. This reduces physicians time in visiting patient to patient beds, but also, they use less equipment.

However, this special technology equipment is not only costly, but it also takes time to install, and there are states that in this moment are in a high need of medical staff but cannot share medical staff between less affected states because some states have their own license requirements. For those hospitals that already have high rates of corona virus and are well prepared with this equipment, they will face less challenges with options on how to treat their patients due to shortage of supplies and staff.

This article grabbed my attention because technology is having a huge positive impact during this time of difficulty. It is currently very useful because it is reducing the contact with people infected with COVID-19. Although this opportunity to care for 50 to 100 patients at a time through screens has its pros and cons, it could be a good option for hospitals while they wait to receive more medical staff and supplies.

This relates to marketing because although unfortunately many companies are going out of business, and have been extremely affected by the pandemic, right now is the time for technology companies to promote their business and products so that their companies grow and develop more, because currently everyone is depending on the use of technology either for job or education, or even the medical field.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/icus-leverage-remote-doctors-and-telemedicine-to-manage-coronavirus-deluge-11585368006?mod=tech_lead_pos6