http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XLTm9aYNYo
This is a video on Bloomberg Money Tracker with an interview with Paul Walsh, Diageo's CEO, in regards to spirits prices going up 3-4%. Diageo has a portfolio of some of the world's leading premium spirits brands such as Johnnie Walker, Ciroc, and Tanqueray 10. Paul Walsh discusses how Diageo is present in 118 countries where he is seeing a specific trend in many of them. This trend is that people are trading up to premium beverages and that is how he can justify charging more for those brands. People are not necessarily drinking more today. He also states that the brewers are seeing more pressure in these economic times than the spirits are. Another very interesting point that he makes is that people are not trading down on the quality of their alcoholic beverage of choice but are changing from being in the on premise to the off premise. What this means is that instead of drinking spirits while going out to dinner, bars, or nightclubs, consumers are opting to go to the liquor store instead and entertain at home. Paul Walsh also talks about an even larger trend which is that consumers are nowing choosing Ultra Premium brands like Johnnie Walker Blue and Ciroc. The sales of brands such as these have gone up 27% in the last year.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
MICROBLOGGING
Twitter for Business: Four Ways Companies Use Microblogging
http://www.cio.com/article/448464/Twitter_for_Business_Four_Ways_Companies_Use_Microblogging?page=1
This was a very interesting article about how companies can best utilize microblogging . The first note was that companies should be careful about product pushing. Customer are subscribing to the company's twitter feed so they are interested in product information but it should be done with some finesse. Jet Blue talks about how they are trying out something new which is auctioning on ebay without telling customers, "Go book a flight." It can be annoying to a customer if they are constantly given sales pitches and prompts to go and buy. The second way is by offering community outreach messages. When there are emergencies, companies can show their concern by posting relevant messages to help their communities. The article discusses how when Hurricane Gustav hit, Whole Foods posted messages about special store hours in specific cities and store closings where the hurricane was nearing. This shows how companies are genuinely concerned about the safety off their customers, and how they want to notify them of important news. The third way was how companies can send messages about general service and how-to's. While most companies have a customer service function on their website, companies who have twitter can help customers at that very moment. If customers have to send an e-mail and wait some time for a response, it may deter customers who need an immediate assistance. The fourth way that companies can use microblogging is to "humanize the head honcho." There are several CEO's that have twitter and they have many followers. One mentioned in the article is Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com's Chief Executive. He sends messages about getting a haircut and even seeing a coyote a couple of blocks from his home. He doesn't really send out messages about Zappos because just the fact that he is sending random notes about himself is enough to drive business.
http://www.cio.com/article/448464/Twitter_for_Business_Four_Ways_Companies_Use_Microblogging?page=1
This was a very interesting article about how companies can best utilize microblogging . The first note was that companies should be careful about product pushing. Customer are subscribing to the company's twitter feed so they are interested in product information but it should be done with some finesse. Jet Blue talks about how they are trying out something new which is auctioning on ebay without telling customers, "Go book a flight." It can be annoying to a customer if they are constantly given sales pitches and prompts to go and buy. The second way is by offering community outreach messages. When there are emergencies, companies can show their concern by posting relevant messages to help their communities. The article discusses how when Hurricane Gustav hit, Whole Foods posted messages about special store hours in specific cities and store closings where the hurricane was nearing. This shows how companies are genuinely concerned about the safety off their customers, and how they want to notify them of important news. The third way was how companies can send messages about general service and how-to's. While most companies have a customer service function on their website, companies who have twitter can help customers at that very moment. If customers have to send an e-mail and wait some time for a response, it may deter customers who need an immediate assistance. The fourth way that companies can use microblogging is to "humanize the head honcho." There are several CEO's that have twitter and they have many followers. One mentioned in the article is Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com's Chief Executive. He sends messages about getting a haircut and even seeing a coyote a couple of blocks from his home. He doesn't really send out messages about Zappos because just the fact that he is sending random notes about himself is enough to drive business.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Virtual Worlds
http://www.moove.com/
It was all Chinese when the teacher mentioned something about second life and avatars the other day in class. I looked to the student next to me with the most confused look on my face. If thought to myself, "I'm really going to have to get to the bottom of these foreign topics!" During my research, I found many virtual worlds and also their reviews through a specific website, www.virtualworldsreview.com. It had a list of the most popular virtual worlds, their annual fee, and a brief summary of what users would find when entering. I stumbled across an interesting one called moove.com. What was so interesting about it was that it was more like a dating website. Avatars, user-designed virtual characters can meet special friends. Users can register with limited access for free or gold membership for $59 a month. I decided to register to see how this whole thing worked. When I registered, I had to download software so that I could design a virtual house and also my virtual persona. On the homepage, there is just tons of hyperlinks which can be so confusing. It took me about ten minutes to find how to pick a character for myself before I gave up. While browsing through the website, I found many stores with different character outfits, hairstyles, and even furniture for your house. All these items cost money but it is in a currency call "community money." Users are automatically given $1100 in community money when joining. I looked through a couple of profiles which appeared to be a mix between a facebook page and a my space page. Some of the information that I found, which was all animated, were pictures of fairies, sorcerers, mystical looking flowers, their friends, and all types of virtual gifts they have received from their friends. It happened to be that two of the profiles that I found were from a husband and wife. What I wondered was if they were married in this virtual world or if it was in real life. A concern that I have is that how can the age of the users be monitored because I could have faked my age very easily when registering. This is not a very cute website for minors. Although they look animated, some of the themes are quite adult.
It was all Chinese when the teacher mentioned something about second life and avatars the other day in class. I looked to the student next to me with the most confused look on my face. If thought to myself, "I'm really going to have to get to the bottom of these foreign topics!" During my research, I found many virtual worlds and also their reviews through a specific website, www.virtualworldsreview.com. It had a list of the most popular virtual worlds, their annual fee, and a brief summary of what users would find when entering. I stumbled across an interesting one called moove.com. What was so interesting about it was that it was more like a dating website. Avatars, user-designed virtual characters can meet special friends. Users can register with limited access for free or gold membership for $59 a month. I decided to register to see how this whole thing worked. When I registered, I had to download software so that I could design a virtual house and also my virtual persona. On the homepage, there is just tons of hyperlinks which can be so confusing. It took me about ten minutes to find how to pick a character for myself before I gave up. While browsing through the website, I found many stores with different character outfits, hairstyles, and even furniture for your house. All these items cost money but it is in a currency call "community money." Users are automatically given $1100 in community money when joining. I looked through a couple of profiles which appeared to be a mix between a facebook page and a my space page. Some of the information that I found, which was all animated, were pictures of fairies, sorcerers, mystical looking flowers, their friends, and all types of virtual gifts they have received from their friends. It happened to be that two of the profiles that I found were from a husband and wife. What I wondered was if they were married in this virtual world or if it was in real life. A concern that I have is that how can the age of the users be monitored because I could have faked my age very easily when registering. This is not a very cute website for minors. Although they look animated, some of the themes are quite adult.
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