Week Ten EOC: Discussion Questions

Chapter 8

How does technology redefine the role of the end user in the branding process?

 "Indeed, the Internet and other recent innovations have altered our social habits and behaviors and created new levels of social communities and human relations" (Hameide, 264). Consumers have now been given the tools to become more active in the decision-making process of a brand, consumers now get a better chance to dictate, express their opinions and satisfy their needs. They are the inspiration behind the brand and now with technology they are responsible to position the brand in the market-place.


How does the concept of experiential branding relate to the branding process as described in part 1?

Experiential branding is “the discipline of understanding and defining brands in terms of the way they are experienced, in order to differentiate them in the most powerful dimension: relevance (nothing is more relevant than an experience)" (270).  The branding process is the steps that the brands uses to become a well-known brand and is able to be differentiated by its competitors and experiential branding is to give the same experience to consumers even though it can be through different emotional levels, to ultimately satisfy them is the experiential branding goal.

How do microbrands compare to corporate brands and brand extensions?

Microbrand is a brand that is limited and distinct version of the original mother brand, this is why "mass customization is usually done at the product level but not at the identity level, which needs to remain intact as the umbrella or backbone that defines the mother brand and maintains the brand personality and ultimately its core value" (270). Brand extensions are about creating new, innovating, different products under the same brand and in micro-brands each product created under the mother brand is altered with new product features and enhance functionality but it should not alter the meaning and value of the brand.

Final: Infiniti

 

"Infiniti is Nissan's luxury car division. Established in 1989 to compete on the US premium auto market alongside brands like fellow Japanese Acura and Lexus as well as European-based BMW, Audi and BMW, Infiniti managed to create a global network in a fairly little amount of time. Its history can be traced back two decades ago when the company's first vehicles were sold"
Like every important well-established brand that introduced itself to the mass-market, Nissan came out with its luxury brand to compete with other luxury brand company's in the market. Infiniti was made to compete with the well-known luxury brands and I think it has established itself as a good competitor for these other luxury brands. Even though their first productiono came short on sales and did poorly, the advertisments had a lot of blame for their first model the Q45 but later on gained attention for thier ad campaigns and models.
"The brand is presently making its way through European markets. Since its foundation, it has limitlessly grown, currently including 230 dealers in 15 countries. Its global operations have grown exponentially, having stretched form Mexico to Russia and from Ukraine to China and Taiwan. As with the majority of Japanese car makers, Infinti emphasizes the importance of technological improvements."
Inifiniti has made a mark in the auto-market, " According to Ad Week, it delivered 21% of ad sales for the 2011 tournament and 17% in 2010" during March Madness, Infiniti competed with other well-known companies like Coca-Cola, At&t, Buick and Capital One. but fought to stay on top with 86,300 mentions in total from social medias like facebook and twitter. It has done a very good job in building a relationship with its target market, but their has been talks in closing down. Nissan CEO Carlos Goshn and VP executive Andy Palmer had this to say,  "Very frankly, very candidly, we don’t need Infiniti, we just don’t need that brand  Mr. Ghosn challenged me and said, ‘We don’t have to do Infiniti, you can cancel it if you want." It is concluded that most companies who come out with luxurious brands do very good, and are responsible for bringing in a lot more profits than the cheaper brands, Inifinit is staying for now I suppose. Over the years it has been well acclamied in January 2003 "The G35 Sport Sedan and Sport Coupe are named Car and Driver's "Ten Best Cars" and in that same year  "Infiniti CV sales top 100,000 units for the first time in history. With 119,000 sales in 2003, an increase of 35% over 2002, Infiniti is the fastest growing luxury brand in the U.S".In 1987 they came out with the name Inifiniti,  "The fresh spelling, with four “i”s, and the badge with its two central lines leading off into an infinite point on the horizon, symbolized this new luxury performance brand’s desire to be always looking forward – to new horizons, to infinity".

Even though when they first lauched in the market they did poorly in sales, they were number one in customer satifaction, they started with 51 dealers in the US but had only two models on sale. I think this created a very intimate relationship with their customers offering a very small category but really luxurious feel with top quality. Infiniti has a partnership with Red Bull Racing and Cirque du Soleil. I think that Infiniti has done an excellent job in partnering with these two because it sets Infiniti in a different market now only as a vehicle company but a company that is versatile. Infiniti has been my favorite car brand and after researching more about it I believe it not only represents luxury but a brand experience that is worthy.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4894465_what-history-infiniti-car.html

Week Ten BOC: How would you create your own personnel brand?

I would create my own personal brand first of all by thinking of what I want to accomplish with my brand and who I want to reach and why. I would like to reach young women who are ambitious, have high goals and want to succeed in business almost like a life coach, I would love to help style them and make them confident. A personnel stylist and form my own creative team. My logo would be very feminine and powerful, with my initials and a powerful slogan to accompany it. I would like to use a lilac color. Maybe some bold business cards, that have my logo and information with a crown. I would build my website to show my information and story, a profile of what I have accomplished, my favorite things so they could get to know me on a personal level. I would also include powerful quotes, fashion must haves and finds, I would like to travel the world and post photos of all the places. I would also like to have a blog linked to my website of success stories, women that I have helped. My theme-song would be "Girls just want to have fun" by Cyndi Lauper. Not only is it very fun and catchy but I believe that life is all about having fun, and loving what you do being completely happy and blessed. I would update a new playlist each week of my top ten favorite songs that have meaning and power. I would also like to design and sell my own merchandise like accessories and jewelry.

Week Nine BOC: Recording artisit website

Florence + the Machine


Florence and the Machine uses their website to establish their brand by only committing to one passion and that is the art of their music. They have posts on their news, gallery, media, about me, and their personal blog written by Florence Welch, the vocalist. It is a journal that she writes about her concerts, tours and what they are up to now. I think this is very important because it allows her fans to build a relationship with them on a personal level. In their website they also promote one of their newest songs that is in the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby, they show videos on the making of the record. I think that its very important that they stick to their personal image which is very gothic and haunting. I found in their website how they describe their songs,  "The songs are full of Gothic". I think they have created this brand that reflects in their image, clothing and music that is very dark and powerful, with a lot of emotion. That has not been heard yet from another artist. Florence and the Machine has come out with a jewelry line, Flotique. In addition to that in their website they sell merchandise like clothing, accessories, their albums and tickets to shows and concerts are also on sale in their website. Florence and the Machine is very interactive in social media websites like facebook, twitter, pintrest, and youtube.

Week Nine EOC: Discussion Questions

Chapter 7

Given the discussion on mass customization, the model seems to hold new opportunities for young entrepreneurs considered to establish a new business. Highlight the advantages and challenges of the model from an entrepreneurial perspective.

One of the biggest challenges faced in mass customization is the mind-set change. The fashion industry is established on creativity and designers may not easily accept the am environment of branding. Also maintaining the brand image and integrity is a huge challenge. " Adopting mass customization is not an immediate guarantee of 100 percent sales" (Hameide, 235).

Compare the way luxury and mass-market brands adopted the new technologies. What are the opportunities and challenges that each segment may encounter?

It has proven to be a great platform for linking customers and producers, that creates a strong relationship and interaction with the brand and it producer. Luxury brands reach out to their customers and create a very personal experience and exclusive. Mass-market brands use social media to interact with their target markets and become popular. "The greatest impact of wireless technologies and all technologies referred to in this chapter lies in their potential for high interactivity and the fact that they establish a two-way channel of communication that is dramatically different from how one-directional traditional marketing has been"  (243).


Based on the chapter arguments and your personal analysis, how would you interpret the term iBrand?

 "Established are a few important trends that are here to stay, such as the rise of the consumer and user as the true marketer behind the brand" (254). The iBrand is the use of technology for the growth of the brand and reach new levels of marketing.

Week Seven EOC: Discussion Questions

Chapter 6

Compare services to products and examine the difference and/or similarities in their branding process.

The service is the core of the brand, the main difference between the service and product is the intangibility of the service, the human element that is not found in the product. The service is usually the sales personnel. In order for a store's success it needs more a space to display merchandise "that is  unique engaging and fulfilling both emotionally and functionally" (Hameide, 177).  Products are very important as well because they need to be able to satisfy the customer needs, stand out and simplify choices for the consumers. It needs to ensure the customer that the product they have received is top quality and the only one in the market even though it is not. It needs to ensure a high level of emotional satisfaction.

Define retail concept and briefly discuss its role in the positioning strategy of a retail brand.

The retail concept is the business model and retail philosophy adopted by the brand. It is similar to what is known as the retailing mix or the seven P's. This is called the service mix, which defines the business model of retail. It is merchandise, price range, location and service it can sometimes include the seven P's which are: place product, price, promotion, people, process and physical environment. "A retail brand needs to compete by establishing an emotional value for its customers built on a strong identity (or experience) so that although two stores may have a similar business model or concept and carry similar merchandise, they may not necessarily create the same level of experience and value to the same customer" (182). 



What are the advantages and disadvantages of franchising as a global growth strategy.

Advantages of a global growth strategy are presenting new growth opportunities for new markets, the business can benefit from diversification, and can be very successful in other markets that did not sell well locally and economic conditions like escaping an economic downturn or benefit from an economic boom. "However, global expansion for retailers comes with many of the same challenges we discussed in a previous chapter, such as foreign exchange fluctuations, taxes, regulations, and political instabilities, as well as shipping risks such as lead time and cost" ( 208). 

Final: Grey Goose Vodka

 "One of the most astonishing brands in the history of distilled spirits, Grey Goose Vodka, invented from thin air in a summer morning, had as yet no distillery, no bottle and perhaps the most pressing order of business-no vodka". The actual Grey Goose Vodka was created by Francios Thibault in 1997 but by 1996 Sydney Frank liquor expert had an idea of a name for an unknown liqour, accoridng to NY Mag. He had no idea what he wanted from that just that he wanted to name it Grey Goose. Later on it was sold to Bacardi for more than $2 billion, it was part of the Sydney Frank Importing Co. In my research I found that now Mr. Frank is moving on  to tequila even though it already has a well-known brand, Patron.  "In the distilled-spirits game, tequila plays in the second division accounting for just 5.1 percent of the market, Vodka dominates with 26.5 percent, while rum has 13 and gin 7". . Grey Goose just became a trendy new drink that made millions just like any new liquor it quickly catched on and became the hottest new drink especially in college areas and with the younger crowd. "Bill Goldring is chairman of Magnolia Marketing Co., which was SFIC's distributor in Louisiana when Jager first hit.  Brands are a funny thing, he says. "Corona beer started at the University of Texas, where kids were putting a lime in it. Then Jimmy Buffet was drinking it. Then it was the hottest beer in America. With Jager,  we saw we were getting large orders because the LSU kids were drinking it. Then there was the newspaper story in the Baton Rouge Advocate".  It seems that the marketing strategy for these liquors comes from young adults and word of mouth, it later becomes popular and everyone is drinking it. Grey Goose Vodka is distilled in Cognac, France. The creation of Grey Goose is from the combination of Alpine spring water and French winter wheat. Grey Goose can be purchased ranging from $60-$69 in different grocery stores and markets and even online. Now they have different variations of the classic Grey Goose Vodka like Grey Goose L'Orange Vodka, Grey Goose La Poire Vodka and Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka and now Grey Goose Cherry Noir.  Grey Goose also reaches its consumer through their ads seen on television and print. Since Bacardi bought Grey Goose they have incorporated it into their company and reach out newer consumers. In their website they are very aware of the results of alcohol consumption.
As stated in their mission statement:
THE BACARDI COMPANIES ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF THEIR HIGH QUALITY BRANDS, PRODUCTS AND MARKETING. THAT SENSE OF PRIDE GOES HAND IN HAND WITH A DEEP SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND RESPECT FOR THE GLOBAL COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE AND THE INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS THAT ENJOY BACARDI PRODUCTS. AS PART OF THIS COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, BACARDI LIMITED IS AFFIRMING ITS CORE PRINCIPLES FOR MARKETING PRACTICES BY ALL BACARDI COMPANIES AND EMPLOYEES."
Grey Goose Vodka has been the worlds best tasting vodka by consumers for a reason, around the world it is known as thee best Vodka and I believe that the Bacardi company has done a good job so far in keeping it that way. I think that being a liquor brand, Bacardi has to be careful in advertisiment and make sure they communicate a positive message with their products.
"This is a fantastic vodka, smooth and lightly sweet, with a nutty nose and aftertaste that works well in cocktails and adds an interesting complexity when served straight" Christopher Null