Week 7 EOC: Chapter Discussions

1. 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.

It's a really creative way to bring in new customers because it lets businesses cater to consumers in a creative and fit their needs instead of the consumer only getting two choices. The worst part about mass-customization is that it can get a little pricey depending on what the product is and how big it is. Overall it is a smart move. 

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

Luxury uses this technology to gain customer loyalty, while mass-market companies use this by tallying 

surveys to see what customers think of the products. 

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

iBrand is basically you, you are the brand and how you interpret yourself and how you identify yourself as a brand.  

Week 8 EOC: Final

"The Kroger Co. is an American store founded in 1883 in Ohio. It reported 90.4 billion in sales for fiscal year 2012. It is the country's largest grocery shop, its second-largest general retailer by revenue, and fourth-largest retailer in the world. In 2010, Kroger operated, either directly or through its subsidiaries, 3,574 stores."

"Thinking of Eating Better? It’s Simple.

Simple Truth™ and Simple Truth Organic™ products provide an easy, uncomplicated solution to the challenge of simply better living. “Free from 101” artificial ingredients and preservatives, they’re available exclusively at Kroger!"

"As well as stocking a variety of regional brand products, The Kroger Co. also employs one of the largest networks of private label manufacturing in the country. Forty plants in seventeen states create about half of Kroger's nearly 20,000 private label products. Similar to most major supermarket retailers, Kroger uses a three-tiered private label marketing strategy. One private brand emphasizes no-frills products at the lowest possible price, another is intended to be comparable to leading national brands but a better value, and the third is a premium, often organic, brand."

"Like any other brand, retailers need to have a clear vision that drives the branding strategy and all other activities. A retail store plays various roles in the life of any product brand. Retailing is the core of any distribution channel; it is also a communication tool. In addition, it is instrumental in monitoring consumer trends and behavior as well as gathering market data. There are many types of stores, each with a different market focus and strategy, so it is essential for every retail venture to determine the suitable retail concept and business model that fits its philosophy and strategic goals. However, all models share the basic principle of creating the right experience with the right merchandise and service, at the right price, and for the right consumer.”

I chose the sparkling water by Kroger because it is an amazing product to drink. It doesn’t have any calories or anything bad with it. Unless you leave it in the sun, then it will taste pretty gross. The Kroger’s sparkling water is supposed to be a substitute for those who are trying to quit carbonated drinks. I love sparkling water, and Kroger’s is cheap and has a great taste to it if you’re trying to substitute it for the real thing. You can get Kroger at any participating Smith’s. Even though that’s the only place I know that would carry Kroger. It is more of a grocery store brand anyway. Sometimes I think that sparkling water COULD be, meaning that it has some potential to be a luxury item. I sometimes see a lot of celebrities drinking sparkling water like by bucket full. It's more of a status thing if you think about it. It's like soda without the carbonation. 

Week 7 EOC: Final

“UP was designed to fit seamlessly in people's lives. Real life. It's a thoughtful combination of engineering and design, custom-made for how we live.”

“UP is both flexible and strong. Sometimes UP needs to slide smoothly under sleeves or bend to accommodate an active lifestyle. Other times it has to be strong enough to stand up to a snowball fight without a problem (or more likely, a few thousand showers). Day and night, UP is right there with you.”

“UP™ is a system that takes a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle. The wristband tracks your movement and sleep in the background. The app displays your data, lets you add things like meals and mood, and delivers insights that keeps you moving forward.”

I chose one of Apples product; it is called the UP Wrist Band by Jawbone. Jawbone and Apple came together to create a really cool product called UP, and no it’s not the movie, it’s a lifestyle. UP is an innovative wristband that tracks your sleep cycle, caloric intake, how many steps you’ve taken, how many miles you’ve walked in a day, and many more. The only thing with the band is that you can’t see how much many steps you’re walking, or how much calories your burning. The only competitor to really do this technique would be the Nike fuel band. The Nike fuel band is completely different in the fact that it will show how many calories you’ve burned. The downside to the Nike Fuel Band is that it will only count calories if your arms move.  Whereas is you get the Up band, the counting is more accurate, and it actually tells you your idle time on your idle time and how long you’ve been sitting. Eventually it will tell you to get on your butt and tell you, you need to start walking. Another really cool thing about the UP band is it tells you how much you’re still burning even if you’re sitting, or standing. To my knowledge the UP band only works for Apple products, mostly the iPhone. It says you can connect it to your iPad, MacBook pro, and etc. Another cool thing about the app is if you take a picture of certain foods you and it will log it for you, you can also scan a barcode and it will easily log your meals for you as well. Overall I think that the UP wristband is a really good investment if you really want to be or go into a healthy lifestyle, that way you can track what you eat, when your suppose to eat, how you sleep, or how many calories you burn. There are many possibilities you can do with UP, you can also activate it with an alarm which is another cool feature of the gadget. One more thing before I leave, it is one of the best lifestyle products I have ever bought and I don’t regret it because it is a good fashion statement and great lifestyle choice. 

Week 7 BOC: Visit a retailer

          I recently went into a Thomas Sabo store. Their store is mainly all sterling silver accessories. Their motto is “We love fashion, we are fascinated by it, we are inspired by it, every day of our lives. For us, it is a way of playing with our personality as fashion is not static, but changes and develops – just like our personality.” Everyone that works there looks really punk, or alt. it wasn’t scary or anything but they do carry the brand really well, and they also know the product knowledge which is a part of their brand rep. skills.

            The store was made to almost look like the jewelry, it was stark and silver, and all the lights were really dim. The fixtures were of course, either white or silver. The message I got from the retailer is “if you want to look fashionable, outstanding, and different, shop at Thomas Sabo.” Like I said before the atmosphere was really interesting, at first it looks like you’re walking into a cave, then you also have the associates just staring at you, but they’re not staring, they’re really just observing you to see what you like and what you don’t like. Pretty weird huh?

            My overall thoughts of the store were really good, they had exceptional customer service, and their store layout and the whole concept of the store matched the jewelry. What I got from the store is that they are a statement brand. My definition of statement brand is what it says it means. It makes a statement in fashion, only because the jewelry is really gaudy and out there. That means you have to be very fashion forward and gaudy in a sense. Even though I would never buy it, other people would buy it because it’s their particular item they would purchase.

Week 6 EOC: Chapter Questions

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

Service is an act of doing something for the customer in terms of helping them, getting the product they need, and assisting them in whatever else they want. Products are a service in itself. It only depends on the customer knows the product and how to use, will the product sell itself. I believe that a service and a product work hand in hand. Honestly without service, how can you describe a product? And without a product, how do you expect a service to be demonstrated?

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

The service mix is the mix of attributes that define the retail store concept. They are: merchandise, price, location, and service. Merchandise is the product they place on the floor so that the customers can consume them, by buying them and taking it home. Price is a very important factor in a retail operation because price can either turn a customer away or make a customer purchase the product. That goes hand in hand with service, where the workers help explain the product and sell it to the customer. Location is also everything because it depends on how far will you travel? If its close to the consumers home then they’re more willing to go and purchase the product, if it’s far they won’t go anywhere.

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

Advantages of that are you can expand your brand and have it become world wide and known. Disadvantages of that are it can flop and you won’t make any money and your franchise will fail. You have to take into consideration where you’re going to have your store, what product your store is going to hold, and how much everything is really going to cost.

Week 6 BOC: Bruce Weber

“The condition of inebriation is very nearly a universal experience and the words come from all our societal venues-the fraternity house, debutante ball, literary luncheon, longshoreman's bar, the Wild West.”

“He's not 100 percent yet but he'll continue with the water therapy and riding the (stationary) bike and they might even let him do a little shooting. As long as he doesn't go crazy, anything that gets the blood flowing there helps the healing process. It was a positive report.”

“Anytime you win and have to fight to get through it, you learn from it. Experience is your biggest learning tool. We went through it, had some slip-ups on defense early and then late. And there were ill-advised shots that allowed them to stay in it, but at the same time, we held our poise and found a way to win it, which is the most important thing.”

Bruce Weber is an American Fashion Photographer. He is best known for showing his work in Calvin Klein, Abercrombie and Fitch, Gianni Versace, Ralph Lauren, Vogue, and Rolling Stones magazines. Bruce Weber is also known for his graphic nudity shots. His artwork sparks a controversy, but that is why high fashion companies love to use his photography to help   them help others understand their brand in a different perspective. His artwork is very abstract and appealing to the eye. He has collaborated with a couple artists along with celebrities, which makes him stand out from all the rest. Bruce Weber does have a website, and still continues his work, he also has a very extensive client list. Most of them are editorial.