Uber's differentiation

The classic busy city street with a person in need of a ride waving down a taxi was the way people have being taken cab rides for generations. Uber has shaken up this old business model and revolu
tioned the way the ride-sharing industry must compete for business. Through the app Uber, a customer can use their smart phones to request a ride to a location they want. As a customer myself, I’ve seen the way Uber has changed the cab industry as local taxi services decrease in popularity in favor of the convenience Uber brings. 

We see lots of benefits that come with uber such as convenience, lower prices compared to traditional taxis and long waiting times. There are even options to enjoy luxury rides or share rides with other, the spectrum of customers Uber targets has widen over the years. Uber takes advantages of the demand for convenient transportation and have developed both a cost leadership and a differentiation strategy. By lowering their service fares, other local businesses cannot find it difficult to maintain their position in the industry. As Uber’s website says, the three needs that are differentiators are: request from anywhere, ride with style and convenience, and hassle-free payment.

Uber and Lyft are the two biggest competitors in the industry but Uber has innovated its service by expanding its spectrum of driving services. For example, the Uber penetrated the food service industry with the release of their UberEats application. The new service line to their company generated them $4.8 billion in 2020, which was a 152% increase in revenue generated from the prior year. (Businessofapps.com) The UberEats service line has also changed over time as its original purpose was to deliver food from restaurants right to the customers door. 

Other businesses and services have jumped at the opportunity to promote and sell their products through UberEats. The company came up with a new slogan, “Now Delivery Eats, And Don’t Eats.” (Ubereats.com) in order to encourage businesses to use their delivering service even if they aren’t a food oriented business. The commercials and advertisements that came with the new slogan also targeted customers who want to purchase groceries, alcohol, convenience, flowers and retail items. The innovation Uber has with its services in 70 different countries allows for them to continue their competitive edge over its rivals. It is estimated that uber earns 2$ more for every ride when compared to it’s closet competitors, Lyft. Overall Uber has developed a sustainable business strategy edge that disrupts the old cab industry business model. Uber will continue to innovate ideas that drive up with annual revenue and implementing them into different countries to continue their global expansion.

Citations

Contributor, PESTLEanalysis. “SWOT Analysis for Uber.” PESTLE Analysis, 21 June 2016, https://pestleanalysis.com/swot-analysis-for-uber/. 

Davis, Levi. “Lyft vs. Uber: What's the Difference?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/010715/key-differences-between-uber-and-lyft.asp. 

Explore the Uber Platform | Uber United States. https://www.uber.com/. 

Gil, Paul. “How Uber Works: A Helpful Primer on the Ride-Hailing Service.” Lifewire, Lifewire, 11 July 2021, https://www.lifewire.com/how-does-uber-work-3862752. 

Jalloh, Mohamed S. “Uber: Advantages and Disadvantages.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/110614/taxi-industry-pros-cons-uber-and-other-ehail-apps.asp. 

Not so boring Board Games?

 I always find myself in the same situations every time I want to play a board games: Having no one else to play with, getting bored after playing for too long or consider playing a mobile. With these problems in the mind of consumers, it’s become a reason to question buying new board games are worth it. Clearly board games companies have caught on to these problems through an analysis of consumer behavior, but how have they changed their products to deal with these issues?

The board game industry is a highly competitive market where new entrants find it hard to break into it as brand recognition has proven to be a barrier to entry. With technology rapidly growing every year, electronic games are becoming more available at an arms length, leaving companies with a new threat of competing for the attention of consumers. Rather than compete against the technology market by continuing to produce physical copies of their games, companies innovated their table top games to be able to played across multiple device platforms, creating a new marketing segmentation 

The new market segmentation focuses on people who like to use mobile technology for entertainment purposes. Hasbro’s Monopoly and Milton Brandy’s Games’ Game of Life are examples of well known board games that have been transferred onto digital gaming platforms and are relatively cheaper to purchase compared to their physical counterpart. A reduction in the price of the digital game doesn’t reflect a negative affect on sales, rather digital versions of board games are able to bring in new customers to purchase the physical copies, as a result the industry is expected to grow by 34.3% globally by 2026. More opportunities created is monetization through in app offers and offering different versions of the game that users can purchase. The table top games are known to partner with other companies and create themed boards that appeal to this generation pop culture. This is no exception to the digital version as they are offered to opportunity to customize their board to their will.

Overall, by offering a new way to experience the way board games are played companies have found a way to deal with the issues previously listed. They are able to provide tutorials for new players, and allow users to play with other users online, and having the option to save games and come back to finish them later. The ability to monetize the games through in app purchases where the user is able to customize their game has opened opportunities for further revenue. Companies have adapted to the technological advancement and have innovated their products in order to adapt and compete to the new market and most of all enjoyable for old and new broad game players.

Citations

“Board Games - Worldwide: Statista Market Forecast.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/app/games/board-games/worldwide#revenue. 

Nick. “How Technology Is Upgrading the Board Game Industry: Global Board Games Market Report.” Technavio, Technavio, 4 Feb. 2020, https://blog.technavio.org/blog/technology-board-game-industry. 

Team, MBA Skool. “Hasbro SWOT Analysis, Competitors & USP.” MBA Skool, MBA Skool, 12 Apr. 2020, https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/media-and-entertainment/6016-hasbro.html. 

Technavio. “Board Games Market Size to Grow by USD 2.56 Billion: Market Research Insights Highlight Rapid Improvements in Content and Gameplay as Key Driver: Technavio.” Board Games Market Size to Grow by USD 2.56 Billion | Market Research Insights Highlight Rapid Improvements in Content and Gameplay as Key Driver | Technavio, 25 Jan. 2022, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/board-games-market-size-to-grow-by-usd-2-56-billion--market-research-insights-highlight-rapid-improvements-in-content-and-gameplay-as-key-driver--technavio-301466663.html. 

FIFA's mission: Unite The World

The FIFA World Cup, arguably the world’s largest sporting event had a combined 3.5 billion viewers in 2018. There are a total of 32 national soccer teams that compete to be crowned the champions of the tournament that is held quadrennially.  The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) is a non-profit organization who “exist to govern football and develop the game around the world.” (Fifa.com) FIFA’s mission revolves around three pillars: the development of football around the globe, tournament development and social and environmental benevolence. 

FIFA wants to reinforce the reasons why soccer is known as ‘The Beautiful Game’ all around the globe. We are going to use the SWOT analysis to determine how FIFA markets the World Cup to achieve profits while maintaining its social mission. The sport is admired all over the globe and can unite communities through fanhood for a certain team and being prideful of your national team. 

 

Strengths

 

The brand image of FIFA is one of their most powerful assets. They are constantly developing ideas to reflect their global mission, to unite people through the game of football and change the lives of these people for the better. FIFA also has its own saying, “For the Game. For the World.” This saying best describes their mission to expand football as well as completing their social mission. Unofficially being world’s most widely viewed sporting event creating an opportunity for FIFA to develop soccer in countries that are willing to host the tournament in their nation.

 

 Weaknesses

 

There have been allegations of corruption at FIFA that includes the World Cup: fraudulent dealings, racketeering and money laundering are a few examples. Some of the higher executive positions have been accused of committing these crimes. FIFA must reassure the public and shareholders what FIFA is truly representing. These cases negatively affect the reputation of FIFA, but by continuing to be focused on their mission they can retain their prestigious brand logo that representing credibility and authenticity.

 

Opportunities

 

Expanding the game will help with not only the mission that
FIFA aims to achieve, but by generating more viewership for when the next world cup takes place. The 2018 World Cup brought in a revenue of $5.36 billion, with expenses of $1.2 billion and having a total profit of $3.6 billion. The amount of people it reaches around the world allows the World Cup to be an incredible marketing partner. A key partner for the most recent world cup was Adidas who promoted its new plastic-recycled products that aim to have a more sustainable company. The company was able to see a percentage jump increase of 12% resulting in the net income of the brand reaching $460 million.  

 

Threats

 

A current threat to FIFA is corruption because of the amount of money the corporation generates. Match fixing raises tensions between fans and ruins the reputation of FIFA. teams, referees and even some FIFA executives have been accused of participating in match fixing to financially gain from in from betting on certain teams to win. FIFA ultimately has the people asking the company ‘preserve the beauty of the beautiful game.’ 

 

Overall, we understand that FIFA has valued its social mission to unite people while using the money it generates to further grow the sport. The reputation of the company has tanked in certain moments over the last century, but the company remains focused on creating a sport that everyone can enjoy and benefit from.

Check out this video to see what the power of football is!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZB4kl2w7RE

Citations:

The FIFA World Cup, Human Rights Goals and the Gulf Between. https://scholarship.law.umassd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1212&context=fac_pubs. 

“More than Half the World Watched Record-Breaking 2018 World Cup.” Klimkova: My New Zealand Will Play to Win, https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/2018russia/media-releases/more-than-half-the-world-watched-record-breaking-2018-world-cup. 

“MSG Management  Study  Guide.” Effects of FIFA World Cup on the Economy, https://www.managementstudyguide.com/effects-of-fifa-world-cup-on-economy.htm. 

“Sentiment Analysis and Sponsors – a Look at the FIFA World Cup.” NetBase Quid, 21 Dec. 2020, https://netbasequid.com/blog/sentiment-analysis-and-sponsors-a-look-at-the-fifa-world-cup/. 

Soccer and World Cup Bring Worlds Together - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_hX3sB3_N8. 

Sweeney, Peter Adams and Erica. “Adidas Sales Surge on Strength of World Cup Sponsorship.” Marketing Dive, 10 Aug. 2018, https://www.marketingdive.com/news/adidas-sales-surge-on-strength-of-world-cup-sponsorship/529807/. 

Post-Covid: The return of cruise ships?

My roommates and I have talked about our plans for the upcoming spring break and what everyone is planning on doing. Most of them talked about going back home and spending time with their loved ones, while others talked about possible vacationing spots. One of my roommates talked about going on a cruise which caught my attention; we were seeing many industries suffer immensely due to the global pandemic, especially the tourism industry. With a socially distanced world, how can cruise line companies reach consumers post-covid and persuade them to embark on cruises?

 

Social media give companies opportunities to communicate with consumers in a more engaging and personal manner: an opportunity to provide discounts, promote new services, allow customers to share their experiences, greater customer service and post travel advice. Social media is not the only way to connect with consumers, many cruise lines have their own application that most phone owners can download. A social media presence allows companies to improve their line of communication to consumers. Consumers' high expectations are followed up with their extensive research, but a strong digital platform informs consumers of what the company has to offer.

 

There is a common misconception that most cruise passengers are older; this is far from the truth. There are numerous different cruise lines that will cater to different demographics. For example, a Disney cruise line will be full of families and children, whereas longer sailing cruises, typically around 2-3 weeks at sea, tend to have passengers who are retired and want to sail the world. With the current disruption that Covid-19 restrictions have brought to the tourism industry, cruise lines are forced to offer higher fares and fewer routes for consumers because of safety measures. Although there are issues that all cruise lines will face, they can create new key factors that will allow consumers to trust going on cruises again: health and safety standards and flexible booking. Companies are quickly developing strategies that include the key factors in the hope that customers will gain trust and demand of bookings will increase and recover to pre-covid times. 

 

Competing in the market has companies prioritizing engagement with consumers through digital content and social media. In summary, by understanding the consumer’s purchase decision process, cruises are attempting to reinvent their marketing strategy in the current environment. Companies are understanding that consumers are trying to travel the ocean. As a result, consumers are looking for cruise lines that guarantee the health and safety of its customers. Social media and applications inform consumers in a more engaging way by promoting different cruise routes and involving them in potential giveaways. Ultimately, the market is constantly changing and adapting to restrictions the global pandemic has caused; companies change marketing strategies to promote their service in a digital world.

Sources: Villar, D. F. (2020, November 17). How can cruise and airlines reinvent themselves post-COVID to win back consumers. WTM Global Hub. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://hub.wtm.com/how-can-cruise-and-airlines-reinvent-themselves-post-covid-to-win-back-consumers/ 

\Cruise passenger demographics: Who will be on my cruise? Cruise Reviews, Cruise Deals and Cruises - Cruise Critic. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=4008 

Google. (n.d.). 3 engagement strategies for cruise marketers to win with consumers - think with google. Google. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/cruise-marketing-engagement-strategy/