Low Income should be coming home for Christmas too

With the holidays approaching, I found an article that discussed the struggle many low income workers are having in their retail positions.

Many retail stores are open during holidays and have extended hours during this time period. Low income retail workers work to barely pay for heating and health care, but can’t afford toys for their children. One mother speaks about how her son wants a Spiderman toy that she cannot afford. She is a shift manager at Burger King. This particular quote in the New York Times article really touched me.  It made me reflect on the little boy, I wondered if he would end up in the same place as his mother. This cycle of low income families and their children continuing to live paycheck to paycheck.

The article discusses possible solutions. The solutions included raising the minimum wage to $10.10 a hour and promoting higher education. Some opinions were that an increase would not result in hiring cutback, but others felt this would lead to people being laid off and employers not wanting to hire. But, we want even low income families to help the economy and even more importantly have a decent lifestyle. How can we accomplish this? Of course, this is an ongoing question in economics.

Earlier this month, White House officials said they would support in Congress calls for raising the federal minimum to $10.10 an hour over two years. The opposition within the Republican-controlled House makes this unlikely to happen anytime soon though. Major fast food companies and retailers are also opposed to increasing the minimum wage, because they would need to raise prices and lay off workers.

Personally, this article really hit home for me. Although, I am not sure of a definite solution, I feel we do need to start implementing new strategies into helping low and middle income families. Maybe it is promoting higher education, but won't we always need entry level/fast food/retail workers?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/29/business/on-registers-other-side-little-money-to-spend.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=business

Starbucks new obsession with tea

Starbucks is usually a place where you would pick up a coffee on your way to work or to start your day. Teavana is said to be more of a ‘stop for lunch’ place, where consumers can relax with a cup of tea and enjoy a small lunch with friends and coworkers. Starbucks CEO exclaims the two beverages shops are “like night and day”.

The pricing is a little bit steeper than Starbucks. At the Teavana tea bar, you can get a salad for 14.95 and a cup of tea for 5.95. But, it’s all about the experience right?

Personally, I think it is an awesome idea. It is new and innovative and the company is creating a competitive advantage compared to its few competitors. While using the social media to advertise for this new addition to the Starbucks brand, I think it needs to be specialized. It will be best to use indirect marketing strategies, because it’s all about the tea. The company can reach out to its already loyal customers by providing a coupon or simply a small post card giving information about the tea bar.

To get new customers in, utilize current media to put out thought leadership about tea and only tea. The benefits of tea, who drinks tea, pictures of your target audience drinking tea...the possibilities are endless.

The popularity of tea is growing. Starbucks recorded that tea use to be less than one percent of what was sold. Now, the tea industry is a 90 billion global market. On that note, I’ll start the kettle.

Bye Bye Blockbuster

90s babys loved Blockbuster. Walking down the iles, looking at all the many videos, old and new. Then giving your parents your favorite candy, so they can purchase it along with your chosen movie. Blockbuster was a wonderland, a movie wonderland.

But, sorry kids. I have bad news.

About a decade ago, Blockbuster had around 9,000 retail stores nation wide. Since the success of Netflix and other video distributors, Blockbusters have started to disappear.  After a good fight, the company will close the few hundred stores it has left. Dish, which acquired Blockbuster after it claimed bankruptcy, claims it still sees value in the brand name and will ultize this in different ways.

Personally, I also still value in the company's name and I hope that Dish is able to use this name to prosper in different ways. But, I think it is important to learn from the situation. It is a true eye opener, in the fact that technology and innovation is a huge factor in the success of firms. It is crucial to constantly be aware of the use of your technology as well as your competitors. 

How could Blockbuster have saved their company? Well, for one, the second they learned that had competition (Netflix) they should have researched and kept a wide eye on the company, since they rarely had any competition before this.

How could they have utilized social media to improve their brand name and save their company? I think a good idea would have been to create a Blockbuster app, where you could rent movies via the internet and deliver DVDs to your home through your phone. Also, upgrading their website to have these features as well.

I think the retail stores could have still been an assets to the brand, even though the digital distribution of movies and shows are on rise. I think it would have been important to implement the experience factor in Blockbusters. Whether, they showcase small movie screening or host film festivals, it would have given them an competitive advantage on brands like Netflix.

Johnson & Johnson has a couple of jokes up their sleeves

Okay, so it wasn't exactly funny that the billion dollar firm "improperly marketed the anti psychotic drug Risperdal and two other drugs", but at least they are paying for their mistakes. Johnson & Johnson promoted Risperdal to doctors claiming it treated anxiety, agitation and depression regardless of the fact it was only approved for schizophrenia.

The firm paid a couple of hefty fines for their inexcusable mishaps. First, Johnson & Johnson agreed to cough up $2.2 billion in criminal and civil fines to settle allegations concerning the wrongful marketing. Second, they pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and will be paying criminal fine of $485 million. Lastly, the company is throwing down $1.72 billion to settle civil cases with the federal government and 45 states.

My main concern is how this will effect their image and what will they do to reinstate their credibility to their consumers. A social media campaign is definitely an option, in attempt to get involved with the community before external outlets start bashing them on this unjust mistake. The problem at hand is that it seems that money was more important to them than the well being of the consumer. Even if this is completely and entirely true, firms do not want this idea attached to their brand.

Johnson & Johnson should dedicate social media time to illustrating how the company is utilizing its funding to assure the correct and most accurate research on their products and further that they are being marketed correctly. Some examples are using twitter to announce information about news and adding in that they approved with a source. Another is posting on Facebook all the credentials needed to convince consumers certain drugs are in fact approved for certain aliments.

It would also be helpful to even express on social media how the brand is helping the community, whether it be through videos or pictures. Associating positive acts with the brand can dissolute the negative effects of this situations.



 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/business/johnson-johnson-to-settle-risperdal-improper-marketing-case.html?ref=business