20501005 - Entry 14

How to Build Brand Friendship
To create a truly powerful brand, you need to establish a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between product and customers

Summary

Human beings are social creatures. We need interaction with one another. It's the way we're made. When we meet someone new, we tend either to be drawn to them or to be disinterested for a whole host of reasons (some of which we may not even realize). Over time, however, we develop a continually evolving stable of relationships, some of which last for a lifetime.
That human dynamic is the root of brand loyalty as well. Our "relationships" with brands aren't nearly as deep or meaningful as human relationships, but they do share some of the same characteristics. The extent to which you can create a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between your brand and customers is the extent to which you have a powerful brand asset.





My Opinion


Throughout this semester, prof.Lee emphasized the importance of Value creation. What is the value creation? This article tell us that we can enhance and create brand value through creating a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between the brand and customer. It seems to me that the value of brand is priceless. Whenever I studied about some successful cases, the cases were always related to the strong brand power. It is critical to make the brand powerful. If somebody asked you "Is Nike a better shoe than Reebok?"You might say "Sure" Can you answer the reason? How do you feel when you hear the word'Nike'?Well, I might think of "Just do it"and also if we see soccer game,we can see many players who wear nike products.This can be a consequence of adding value. Brand managers should reposition the value of brand into customers' heart by using creating those I mentioned above.





Reference: "How to build brand friendship" by Steve McKee , Business Week, May 9, 2008

20820007 Entry - 14

How Nokia Users Drive Innovation

By Jack Ewing

Through online aps such as Sports Tracker and Nokia Beta Lab, the Finnish handset giant gathers customers' ideas from around the world—virtually free

In March 2007, Nokia has introduced a new mobile phone application Sport Tracker on a company web site. Program was designed to take full advantage of the computing power in some Nokia handset models. Customer’s response was great to it more than 1 million people downloaded the program for sports that developers never dreamed of, like hot- air ballooning and motorcycle riding. Therefore users gave criticisms to develop online groups where users can share favorite routes and photos they took along the way. Sport Tracker became opportunity to Nokia experience with user- generated innovation. That’s the premise behind Nokia Beta Labs, a web site where the Finnish handset maker lets users test Smartphone software. The site became a good opportunity to them to survey and focus groups to measure reactions of customers to new product. At Nokia. Com users can share applications they created such as games and screen savers. Besides it, Nokia designers have traveled overseas (Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Accra in Ghanna) to sketch users their own dream mobiles. People were very innovative: one person’s design included a sensor to test water quality and another wanted a handset that flashed the word “Peace” that help defuse conflicts. Since Nokia launched the Beta Labs web site last year with Sport Tracker as the debut application it become a prime destination for lead users – tech savvy buyers of high- end. Nokia is benefiting from free applications such as Sport Tracker because they could capture how users are creative than just make phone calls. They are seeing that the application at amateur athletes was too narrow.

Opinion

I think Nokia is very sensitive and creative about the market where they operate. They benefited from free applications they offer for customers which bring them idea that not only great new product ideas come inside the company but there are many potential ideas inside the company. The most interesting thing is they are getting ideas and innovations free. I think reason is because Nokia is offering free services for its users to use their handsets fully which is making chance to express their feelings about new products and services just after try it. I have never heard about mobile with sensor to test water quality if Nokia can implement this kind of innovative ideas they can be first movers in this industry which will help them to deliver value more effectively by meeting customers changing needs. Therefore for company where most sales come from new products very important listening to the customers in order to prevent future risks they might face.

Reference : How Nokia Users Drive Innovation, by Jack Ewing
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/europe/special_reports/20080428europeaninn.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_innovation+%2Bamp%3B+design

20820014 Entry- 14

The New IPhone Is Ready for Business

Apple’s iPhone was announced ready for business at an Apple technical conference in San Francisco.
The new iPhone will use a “3G,” and wireless network to transmit data about three times faster than the EDGE network it currently uses. Also it will support Microsoft’s Office software, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and it will have built in GPS, which allows estimating salesperson’s direction and exposing destination..
A software upgrade for the iPhone designed to make it more appealing to businesses. The software makes it possible to access Microsoft’s Exchange email over the iPhone and employs technology from Cisco to ensure that data sent between businesses and employees’ iPhones are secure. So, it requires businesses to develop their own software for the iPhone to distribute the software through Apple’s new App Store.
The business-technology leaders talked to were ambivalent about this last feature: A customers, who used Apple products were reluctant to share their internal software with Apple, which is necessary to get it into the App Store. However, Apple announced that businesses will be able to distribute soft through corporate intranets.
Details of the new service are still sketchy, so, some businesses feeling uncomfortable with employees storing corporate data on Apple’s equipment.
But Apple CEO Steve Job said that 35% of Fortune 500 companies are testing the iPhone. That’s a huge number, even if the tech departments at some of these businesses are probably just tinkering with the device
My opinion
Well, IPhone was announced ready for business. Whereas, are business companies ready for IPhone?
Apple has announced for a long time, it is producing new improved phone which makes business more comfortable, friendly and easier through its software program. I noticed this from this article to utilize or connect with IPhone corporate internal net, companies must install new service. Therefore companies are willing to connect this network?

In addition, new products and services keep consumers and launch customer loyalty but I wonder that this article says Apple consumers don’t want to store their data in this network. Probably, this is nice opportunity to Apple to get know its consumers through their network, and I don’t understand why consumers want to hide their information?

According to chapter 11 Developing new products, analyzing Iphone’s compatibility, observability , trialibility, and relative advantage I phone has high potential for sale because:
- It’s famous brand. So observability is much more noticeable than other phones. Many believe that Apple has high quality, so relative advantage is perceived it can be the best alternative, and also its GPS and own software makes it easy to try and enhance trialability

Title: IPhone is ready for business written by Ben Worthen, June13, 2008.
http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/

20501005 - Entry 13

Hyundai Motor targets Russia`s middle class


▲Rolf Altufijevo dealership in Moscow

Summary
MOSCOW - Hyundai Motor Co. is looking to tap the growing middle class to consolidate its position in the Russian car market. Since first exporting to Russia in 1990, the company has grown rapidly to become one of the country`s largest carmakers. The company currently has the second largest market share among foreign carmakers in Russia after General Motors Corp.`s Chevrolet. Among all carmakers, Hyundai Motor holds the third largest market share. Last year the company sold about 148,000 units and recorded a market share of 9.3 percent. For 2008, the company hopes to raise sales by 35 percent to reach 200,000 units. "In the past, cheaper Russian cars like the Lada were popular but with more people joining the middle class, Hyundai cars are gaining more and more attention," said Dmitry Sergeev, the director of the Rolf Altufijevo dealership in Moscow.

My Opinion
When I was in New Zealand, I was very proud that there were many Korean company cars on the streets. Among those I could see many Hyundai cars. Most of my foreign friends said they prefer Hyundai cars to Japanese cars such as Toyota, Mizda. I asked them why. The reason was cheap price but also practicality. As you see Hyundai cars have comparative advantage in price compared to other cars, Benz, Toyota, GM etc. So Hyundai decided to reposition in Russian car market for the middle class. The middle class people might be eager to have a car that has lower price than luxurious cars and practicality. I think Hyundai made a good decision. Getting into international market is very important for Hyundai because of domestic market which is already saturated. A few monthes ago, I heard Hyundai launched selling new model 'Genesis'. When I saw its prototype, I was shocked. It was amazing, and I could not believe Korean company made it. Anyway Genesis has many advantages(strengths) in price, practicality, design, and power. I think Genesis will be a beneficial model for positioning in the middle class. In FTA era, we can only survive by improving and changing ourselves. I hope Hyundai will successfully change into a real global company by knowing foreign customer's value and needs.

20400442-ENTRY 13

One Laptop Meets Big Business

For this week's article, I chose the story of "One Laptop for Per Child" planned and exercised in Peru by the government. The article is cynical about so many problems of bringing about OLPC in third world countries to innovate the social and educational conditions.

They say that the fate of OLPC is uncertain, and it's too early to judge the effectiveness of the computers. Still, it's possible to draw lessons about the difficulties of such grand-scale social innovation. The group's struggles show how hard it is for a nonprofit made up largely of academics to operate like a business and compete with powerful companies. They also show what happens when differing philosophies of education and beliefs in how software should be created go head-to-head. Values the group has promoted have met resistance in the marketplace, government bureaucracies, and classrooms. That Negroponte and his colleagues took on way more tasks than they could handle only complicates the situation further.

Opinion

Reading this article paraphrasing how hard it is to implement one laptop for every child in third world coutries, one thought came to my mind that it could be a chance for Korean portal sites like Naver or Daum to go worldly-known sites. Google, for instance, has not only their original English sites, but also so many sites world-wide in so many different language and properly culturalized services and programs.

Third world coutries, in another words, are countries where potential markets with less competitors exist, especially internest business. In my opinion, carefull and thoughtful marketing can be a first big step toward the world for Korean big portal sites to become so much successful like Yahoo and Google through OLPC!

Reference: One Laptop Meets Big Business by Steve Hamm and Geri Smith , Business Week, June 5, 2008

20501034 - Entry 13

Lee's trouble deepens, undermining mandate

Original Article by Hwang Jang-jin on Jun. 3. 2008

(Korea Herald)

The relationship between political crisis and candle business

Summary.

President Lee is in trouble. Tens of thousands citizen took to streets in recent days demanding scrapping the beef import deal. Following violent police crackdowns Saturday, the slogan changed to “Resign Lee Myung-bak, Down with the Dictatorship.” Not only US beef import deal but also English-only education and Canal bring people into the street to protest against President Lee with candle.

My opinion

It is very natural that sales of products increase along with economic growth. However, sales of certain items such as noodle and Soju increase when economy go down. It is called ‘Giffen goods’.

I found the peculiar products like candle that has tendency to boost its sales along with political crisis. In most developed countries, Candle is obsolete as the infrastructure became stable and there is less and less possibility to happen electrical black-out. However, somebody found another way of using candle and they started to use candle to protest against government policy. Once candle protest culture settled in Korea, the sale of have been soared whenever political crisis happened. It could be compared with the concept of value preposition which Professor Lee taught us in the class with example of baking soda.

For business students, it is so important to think out of the box. From now on, not only somebody who create something new but also someone who can find different use of existing material will be valuable business man.