Category Archives: Economy

Dirty Tricks and Copy Cats

Economy, iPad 2, iPhone, , , , ,

Can You Copy Technology?

Well it’s true that if someone copies what you’re doing they clearly think it’s cool. That’s all very well and good but the problem is, when people are creating new technical gadgets, they don’t want their ideas being ripped off. And it seems that that is exactly what is happening. In addition, it just doesn’t look good and most people usually want the original anyway even if the copy is cheaper. For example, when it comes to Apple products, very few people want what is bound to be a second rate imitation of the original; they want the real deal.

So what do you need to avoid when trying to get the best technology? What should you be looking out for? And, perhaps more importantly, is there ever a case when a rip-off is actually a good deal? There were some dirty tricks played by some mobile phone companies following the debut of the flip phone in 2004 by Motorola RAZR which wasn’t really very fair as those particular companies had status within the mobile phone industry that earned them brownie points amongst potential customers.

Apple’s Position?

It’s not news that Apple has had a lot of copies on the market, perhaps the most recent one being the ViewSonic Android Tablet, off of its iPad. But the question that needs to be asked is, is Apple always Little Miss Innocent vis-à-vis original designs? Perhaps not. P88 manufacturer Shenzen Great Loong Brother Company is complaining that iPad is a spin-off of that. If you look at the P88 though it actually appears more like a big iPhone than an iPad. Manufactured in China, the company’s president Xiaolong Wu said quite blatantly, that if the iPad is marketed there, “we won’t have any choice but to report them [since] it will certainly affect our sales.”

The bottom line is it’s often a bit of a chicken and egg situation in the sense that it’s not so easy to tell which came first. People interested in technology and gadgets are often looking for two things: a great gadget and pretty top notch marketing and brand name to sell the product. Copy cat or dirty tricks aren’t so important to the average Joe in the street looking for a new game or higher performing gadget.

Mega-Marketing Millions: SEO Style

Economy, Japan, Tech News, , , ,

The way to go with marketing these days – if you want to be up with top technological techniques – is SEO. Japanese car manufacturer Honda, could learn a thing or two from this marketing method. It is using just one website for different selling points. For example, whether you were looking to buy a used car or were just thinking about maybe becoming a new customer. This made things very confusing since if you would put in a Google search for Honda, you would be sent to their primary site and then you would have to spend time roaming it before reaching your particular area of interest.

Honda Hails SEO Help

So how did the extremely successful and popular Japanese car manufacturer solve this issue? It brought in the SEO experts who developed a “one size fits all solution.” What they did was set up a section that just focused on used cars and then redirected all traffic to that. They then established a map based on the user’s location so that if someone from the Sacramento area was looking for a car, the map would provide them with a list nearby and then put that potential new customer in contact with the current owner.
Higher Hits for Honda!

Well, Honda couldn’t have been happier with the results! In just a few months following their SEO work, their search queries escalated “from tens to thousands.”

SEO, SEM and SES Success

It seems that if you want to be any kind of success in today’s Internet market, the following acronyms need to mean something more than just a few letters. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Strategies (SES) are today’s mandatory media tools.

Indeed, you just need to look at what’s been going on in India to have this theory proved. Figures for 2009-10 show that of the 785 crore* spent on online advertising market in the country, a staggering 368 crore of this was spent in the field of search advertising; this amount is expected to further increase for 460 crore for 2010-11.

So, no matter what business you are, if you want to market your product well and continue to grow, or to at least really start to put yourself out there, you could be well advised to become extremely familiar with SEO, SEM and SES.

*a unit in the Indian numbering system equalling ten million (10000000; 107), or 100 lakh.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Economy, ,

Basketball Tournament OTT-Commercial

They say you can never be too thin or too rich and that may be true, but there for sure is such a thing as too much commercial exposure. At least that has been the case vis-à-vis the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. They have been making fans watch the “same series of commercials every weekend” for the last month. They have to realize at some point that this is plain boring.

So why are they doing it? Well, it’s all about the cash at the end of the day. Apparently it makes good dollars and “sense.” Sponsors and networks are reaping in the dough since millions of (probably somewhat bored) viewers are being exposed to this.

Mad, Mad, Madness

There’s mad and then there’s mad. And it’s total madness for sports fans to be interrupted hundreds upon hundreds of times with the same commercial of “M-class’ forest-breeze air conditioning, silver-dust polished wood trim and hybrid technology, they’re only doing it because they care — about getting fans to plunk down $50,000 on a car.”

Just Do It?

What happened to NIKE during this whole tournament? It seems not but if you just take a look around you’ll see most of March Madness just being a Nike commercial. Indeed, 51 of the 68 schools in the tournament field wear Nike or its subsidiary Jordan brand jerseys. As well, 14 out of the tournament’s 16 are wearing the Nike logo on their shirts. So it makes sense that the company enjoyed income increases for the fiscal 2011 third quarter but its stock plummeted since it “missed estimates amid concerns over increased margin pressures.”

There’s sales and then there are sales. Sometimes it can be overkill and it simply isn’t as effective. That’s clearly what’s been happening with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Perhaps it should take this lesson and learn from it.

UAE Bank Disallows Tele-Marketing for Loans

Economy, , , , ,

In the United Arab Emirates, a recent decision by the region’s Central Bank has resulted in the prohibition of banks marketing their loans and other financial services over the telephone. This is meant to be beneficial to both customers and banks. According to Fund Administrator at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi Asset Management Vikram Shetty, “this step by the central bank will help improve service levels across the banks and increase competition among them to directly attract customers.”

Increased Unemployment?

While this marketing prohibition may be beneficial to many, it runs the risk of impacting others negatively. What this ultimately will mean is that people could be out of a job; in fact, they will be out of a job if they were the ones employed as telemarketers. Further, it could lead to greater efficiency as customers who want to order a credit card or apply for a loan, will now have to “approach the bank directly.”

Advantages and Disadvantages

At the end of the day this move will have both advantages and disadvantages for clients and workers alike. The banks will have to work harder in getting to know their clients better and they will be forced to review their profiles. It will also take pressure off customers who will no longer be harassed by telemarketers. Aggressive tactics will no longer be acceptable.

End to Telemarketing Scams

The other advantage of this decision is that it will put an end to telemarketing scams that have been a problem for way too long. For example in Auckland, a couple of weeks ago the Newmarket Business Association sent out a warning against a telemarketing scam that was “using the association’s name to raise funds.” Using emotional blackmail, someone is pretending to be a representative of the association and asking them to donate $35 to “send sick kids to a holiday camp.” This was brought to Ashley Church (head of the Association)’s attention by the Child Cancer Foundation, one of three causes that is being used in this manner.

Telemarketers have had a bad rep for a while. In this case above, completely justifiably. People in general hate to be bothered by them. They often call at the worst time, around 7pm in the evening when you may be enjoying a nice dinner with a loved one, or trying to put overtired kids to bed. The only shame in this whole situation is those telemarketers who will now be forced to find new jobs, but other than that it is generally a good thing when telemarketers get the boot.

NZ: Marketing and Markets

Consumerism, Economy, Japan, ,

It’s not always the case that the more money spent on marketing, the better your product will well.  That’s what energy-Drink Manufacturer Red Bull New Zealand just found out.  Although the company netted 7.5 percent gain in 2010 sales (its second best since it first launched more than ten years ago), other factors have been at play.  Still, the company can celebrate a tad since a staggering $30.3 million of the caffeine-infused energy drinks were purchased by New Zealanders last year, that is made with taurine (an amino acid that was originally located in bull bile; hence Red Bull).

But it didn’t come cheap.  The company paid for this with larger marketing and administration costs which “wiped out most of its net profit” that plummeted to $888,171 from $10.7 million.  It’s not always in the sales pitch.

New Zealand Market Recovers Following Japan’s Disaster

V – an energy drink produced by Frucor – is in direct competition with Red Bull.  The latter drink has a hold on around 60 percent of the market share, selling approximately $90m of the drink annually.Good news on the horizon for New Zealanders as its dollar just now jumped ahead “recovering the more than US2c lost in the last week in the wake of Japan’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, followed by a nuclear crisis in the world’s third-largest economy.”

According to HiFX Daniel Bell, “Investors have shrugged off concerns in Japan and the Middle East for now to give risk assets a boost with equities, commodities and high yielding growth currencies all benefiting.”

So things are looking up for New Zealanders and manufacturing companies like Red Bull and V are likely to continue making good profits; so long as they’re careful with their expenses and make the right marketing decisions.