TOWS Matrix & Nintendo

In this weeks breakout session the topic was Nintendo and their latest and best gadgets. The group discussed and reflected on the given questions and came to an overall conclusion on each of the three products that where on show and the company as a whole. The organisation Nintendo have been extremely clever in the way in which they have marketed their recent products, as it has enabled them to cover all the market segments. By this we mean that Nintendo have a product for the young to the old, males and females and from the inactive to the active.

The first product we viewed was the Wii you, this is their latest in a range of Wii components that Nintendo have released. We found that it’s mainly aimed at the younger generation and family environment. This is clearly indicated in the way Nintendo have advertised this console. The bright theme and loud dance music will be highly appealing to kids, and throughout the advert it shows how young children will benefit the most from this gadget. However, they have also tried to push for another alternative, lower key couple and family market, by introducing movie capabilities and other mature features. As a group we liked this innovative add on to the older Wii console, but we all agreed that in comparison to other products on the market like the Xbox Kinetic, that it looked dated in terms of the technology used in its creation.

The next Nintendo product was the Wii fit, another extra add on to the Wii console. In this advert it was clear to see that the target market was busy mums, and the fact that no matter how much they had on their plate they still had time to have fun, being active on the Wii fitness board and game. Once again as a group we really liked this product, and many of us owned one ourselves. We thought that changing the target market in the adverts from families and kids to the individual mum was a good tactical move and will benefit the company massively as modern lives are only getting busier.

The final product advert we watched together was the older less demanding Nintendo DS. To complete their market dominance Nintendo have produced another product that appeals to all markets, but in this advert via the use of Terry Wogan they have narrowed this just to the older generation, with the theme of keeping the brain active and in shape from the comfort of your living room.  They achieved this look by incorporating aged and mature surrounding in the advert, for example a wood burning fireplace and the position of the dated armchair in a library. The final issue we considered was the use of the actor, as influential and clever person, Terry Wogan would inspire and encourage the sales of the DS.


At our current stage we a slightly behind the given point of progress, but after this weeks session we have arrange to meet up outside of the class hours to catch up. The main reason for this delay in development is because of the struggle we faced with the TOWS matrix. This was because we all got highly confused in how to complete it correctly with the information we had and more importantly didn’t have. This also had other consequence as not finishing the matrix meant we couldn’t move on to the critical success factors.

When we left the class session we were all assigned tasks to go and research and source information on Adidas as a whole company, which would enable us to complete the matrix when we meet up again in the library. Our findings showed that:

 Threats

• Counterfeit products may hurt brand image
• Intense competition may hurt brand image
• Foreign markets us susceptible to currency fluctuations

Opportunities

• Reorganization the potential to increase efficiency
• Sponsorship at event enhances company profile
• Growing online presence

Weaknesses

• Dependency on third party manufacturing

Strengths

• Research/ continuous development of new products
• Wide geographical market
• Strong brand portfolio

Action Points:

• Completion of critical success factors (CSF)
• The creation of the actual poster design and layout
• Preparation of continuing blogs

Adistats
Jordan Gillett

Read More

Continuing research

During the marketing workshops this week, it became clear that there was some confusion as to what exactly  was meant by the "breakout sessions" for this module. As a result, many of the groups, including our own, have failed to document a reflection on the discussions we have within these "breakout sessions". However, our workshop leader is looking into this and we will update the blog accordingly next week.

Furthermore, due to illness and time constraints we were unable to gather the whole group this week in order to discuss the project in any detail. This has brought some concern to members of the group as it has, in effect, put us a week behind. Therefore, to rectify this issue, we will be meeting tomorrow in the scheduled workshop and setting aside tasks to undertake before arranging a large time frame in which to catch up on last weeks meeting and progress with this weeks assignments and blog. Our main task is to complete the TOWS analysis and therefore, to ensure it is completed thoroughly, I will be assigning each person one piece of research to analyse before our next meeting as Francis had collected and emailed key information such as the marketing reports and executive summary.

Action points:

• Assign people to specific reports to review before the end of the week
• Complete and blog a TOWS analysis
• Try to arrange a time in which we can meet regularly each week to avoid any confusion 
• Ensure everyone is aware of the 11th March deadline and build a plan of what we want to achieve and how we are going to achieve it within the time we have left

Adistats
Jessica

Read More

Identifying the Micro and Macro Factors for Adidas

Adidas Micro and Macro Environmental Factors

Following today’s group session we discussed the history of Adidas in addition to reviewing each of our research findings. This included Adidas’s main brand lines, for example;

Adidas Performance

This sector is Adidas’s ‘Sport performance division’ which focuses on delivering their sport foot ware to its athletes. Their main target audience for these sport products are athletes participating in key sporting activities such as ‘football, running, training and basketball’.

(Fashiongear.fibre2fashion.com)

Adidas Original

Adidas Original focuses mainly on the fashion and style on particular products produced within their foot ware range. Furthermore, Adidas promote the famous ‘three stripes’ on well-known celebrities, for example David Beckham, therefore it markets their brand image as being stylish and fashionable.

However, our key task was to study our research we had collected to progress into our marketing audit for Adidas. As a team we collected our information to find out the Micro and Macro environmental factors for our brand.

Macro Factors for Adidas

The Macro environments are factors which are external to the company. This can be a number of effects, for example by using the PESTLE analysis factors can be;

• Political
• Economical
• Social
• Technological
• Environmental
• And Legal

 (ARMSTRONG, G., & KOTLER, P.2011)

PESTLE Analysis for Adidas

Political factors within the company are issues such as their employees’ health and safety, in addition to Adidas as an organization ensuring that their employees rights are kept.

Economical issues within Adidas’s organization are the fact that they provide employment within a variety of countries worldwide; moreover to decrease outlay Adidas has agreed ‘manufacturing contracts’ to other countries. Likewise, ‘Labor charges’ to manufacture their products are significantly higher in Germany where the foundation of Adidas was established. Therefore, the majority of factories are based within the Asian region. (Hale,2002)

Social elements that need to be considered within Adidas’s organization are, for example, Adidas sell their foot ware products worldwide; however they need to consider where their highest potential customers are. Within the United Kingdom there are many cities which most of them have local football teams. Moreover within London alone they have several; therefore the United Kingdom has a substantial consumer base. Furthermore, Adidas should take opportunity of this within the football seasons by promoting their products to expand their sales revenue.

Technological equipment should be utilized to the best of its ability. For example, using quality information systems and consistently updating their webpages.  By doing this it gives Adidas the opportunity to have efficiency in operations which primarily will improve their overall production. Therefore by doing this it will offer a high standard of customer service, likewise it can keep them in the lead of their market and may even give them an advantage over their competitors.

Environmental issues concerning Adidas are matters such as animal rights. This is because Adidas foot ware is produced from animal skin. Furthermore, as mentioned above Adidas produce their products mainly in China. The main reason for this is because of cheap labor, therefore Adidas need to consider the publicity they will receive.

Legal matters within the company such as adhering to the advertising standards and the sales and supply act. Adidas will need to obey these procedures in order not to be fined.

Micro Factors for Adidas

Whereas the Micro environmental factors are external elements that can affect Adidas, the Micro environmental factors are internal issues that can affect the organization. An effective way of researching all the factors that can influence the company is by using a SWOT analysis. This is a method of strategic planning in which Adidas can calculate their:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

(ARMSTRONG, G., & KOTLER, P.2011)

Strengths within Adidas’s organization are that they are highly associated as a leading brand for popular sports around the world.

Weaknesses concerning Adidas as an organization can be issues such as their advertisement agencies are considered not to be at a higher standard as some competitors.

Opportunities are widely available to Adidas; they can take advantage of new technology, in addition to improving their current online business, which will result in demand for higher sales as their products are more easily accessible. Furthermore, Adidas has joined Reebok therefore it opens up opportunities for new business ventures.

Threats that mainly concern Adidas are their main competitor Nike. Nike is the leading brand in foot ware over Adidas and spends a considerable amount more on advertisement than Adidas. Furthermore, Adidas foot ware is considered as expensive therefore the average person cannot always afford their latest product. This has resulted in counterfeit Adidas products being copied.

Blog entry by Emma Hisket 08/02/2013

References 


Adidas, Sports Perfomance, Adidas Performance, Adidas Product Performance, Adidas Eyewear, Adidas Watches, Fibre2fashion. [online] Available at: http://fashiongear.fibre2fashion.com/brand-story/adidas/performance.asp [Accessed: 8 Feb 2013].

Google Books (n.d.) Business Environment. [online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=09uqSNHNT9EC&oi=fnd&pg=PT19&dq=PESTLE+ANAYLISIS+BUSINESS&ots=tguZ_vew56&sig=5rnhoWMOIgkbTUCa61Dj55PuZPM [Accessed: 8 Feb 2013].

Sciencedirect.com (2004) ScienceDirect.com - European Journal of Operational Research - Strategic development and SWOT analysis at the University of Warwick. [online] Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221703000626 [Accessed: 8 Feb 2013].

Onlinelibrary.wiley.com (2002) What Hope for ‘Ethical’ Trade in the Globalised Garment Industry? - Hale - 2002 - Antipode - Wiley Online Library. [online] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8330.00141/abstract [Accessed: 8 Mar 2013]

Read More

Welcome to Adistats

We are first year students studying Business Studies with Marketing at University of the West of England, Bristol. Following our "Break Out" session in our Understanding the Market Process module, we formed our group consisting of five students and discussed which of the different markets we wanted to further research for our project.

Out of the four possible options, we chose to look at the footware market due to the the variety of the consumer markets that we could explore. Within this we then decided to look at Adidas as our specific brand within that sector, a brand which each of us have bought into over the years.

Our next decision was to divide our market into two different sectors:

• Functional Market
• Fashion Market

Furthermore, within these markets we then looked into the social and psychological influences; taking into account the endorsements and sponsorships that may affect buying behaviours amongst the functional market and fashion market.

Progress/Action Points:
At the end of the session, we allocated time within the week to write and produce this blog together. Following that, each of us have been set the task of basic brand research which will aid our initial study into the brand during our next meeting.

Until next week,

The group
Adistats

Read More