Blog Assignment #2

Costco

The practice of buying in bulk at low prices is something that is common to American's, but is still a relatively new idea for other cultures. The presentation and content of Costco's various websites around the globe demonstrates how they need to adapt their website to the local cultures familiarity with their brand.
Costco's website for the United States is all about selling. As soon as you log onto the home page you are presented with several different items that are on sale that week and there are over twenty different tabs you can choose to select what category of goods you want to view, these are the most prominent tabs on the site. The second most prominent tabs are for the various services you can procure through Costco. If you want to find company information, job opportunities or contact information it is all less obviously displayed and you need to look around a bit for it. The assumption behind this type of layout is that the consumer visiting the site is very familiar with Costco's business and that they are coming to the site to shop. While this approach is fine for the United States, it is not the strategy taken for their foreign sites.

When you visit sites for Costco in other countries you will notice that their website is a very different experience. While it still has a similar layout and feel there is far less on the websites and the immediate message you receive is different. For example if you view Costco's sites for the United Kingdom (www.costco.co.uk/) or Australia (www.costco.com.au/) you will notice that instead of over 20 tabs for viewing goods to purchase there are none; you can't purchase from their website. The information is all about what Costco is, why it is beneficial to you and where you can find their store. The pictures and messages have also been adapted for the local culture. For example, the home page of Costco's Australian site shows people with a cart overflowing with products which are familiar to the local people, such as Vegemite and Omo.

The reason that Costco has to make their websites around the world so different is because they currently have different goals for their websites. In the United States the website is an inexpensive distribution channel and a place where Costco can offer products that would be inconvenient to carry in their stores (furniture, spas, home-remodeling supplies, etc). However, in other parts of the world, Costco's website is a tool that they can use to educate people about what their store sells, how the customer will benefit from membership and draw people into their stores. Their main need is to spread the word about Costco as opposed to selling specific products and a website is an efficient tool for this purpose.

Mc Donald's

McDonald's is a globally known product, so unlike Costco people all over the world will know their business and they don't have to educate people on what they do. Everyone knows that McDonald's is a fast food restaurant. The difference between McDonald's marketing in different countries appears to focus more on attracting customers to their restaurant based upon differences in local values. For example, the McDonald's website for the United States (www.mcdonalds.com) has a large advertisement for their new fruit smoothie and is attempting to convey to the consumer that their meals are healthy. However, when you look at the McDonald's website for India (http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/mc.html) not only are some of their product offerings different due to the culture, so is their main message. In India, where the cow is sacred, you will notice that there is not a single beef item on the menu. They also are stressing the convenience and enjoyment of having a McDonald's meal, as opposed to their message of health in the United States. In Australia (http://mcdonalds.com.au/#/home), their marketing message is that the meal is satisfying and filling. So while all three websites are marketing the same restaurant, they are all selling it as a different experience based upon what they determined the local market desires.

Wrangler

When most American's think of Wrangler they probably think of the classic blue-collar American worker on a farm or in a factory. Wrangler however portrays their product in a wide variety of ways depending upon the audience, while still centering the idea around the rugged American vision. If you visit Wrangler's website for the United States (http://www.wrangler.com/home) you see how they play up the country-western angle and picture several American celebrities that are involved in classic American celebrity circles such as Nascar or country music. They portray their product as very down-to-earth, high-quality and durable. However, if you visit one of their international sites you will get a very different image of the blue-collar American. Wrangler has a common site for all of the Asia-Pacific region (http://www.wrangler-ap.com/main.aspx?countryId=68&cc=SG) that makes their product appear blue-collar, but a more sexy version than on their US site. Who knew that you could give Wranglers sex appeal?! The Asia-Pacific website has a much more artistic styling to it and some interactive features that you don't see on the US site. You will get yet another completely different view of Wrangler if you visit their European website (http://www.wrangler-europe.com/en/bluebell#/slide2). This site portrays the same blue-collar American type of character, but instead of being a sexy image, it is more of a rebellious/dangerous portrayal of the character. The site is a lot more interactive with videos that you click on to initiate actions of the character. While both the Asia-Pacific and European websites will show you the Wrangler collection, only the US site will allow you to purchase their product through the site.

While Wrangler is selling the same pair of jeans to people in all three of these regions, the people are buying them for different reasons, which is why they have to portray their brand differently in each area. When Americans buy Wrangler, they are buying them for the perceived quality and durability of the product as well as the value. However, when customers in foreign markets buy Wrangler, they are buying the product because they want to own a piece of the American lifestyle. Wrangler has to play to the image that various regions of the world have of the classic American lifestyle in order for their product to appeal to international customers.

Microsoft - The King of Planned Obsolescence

In layman's terms planned obsolescence is when a company deliberately makes their product obsolete either by issuing a newer incompatible version or by stopping the service/support of their product prior to the end of its actual useful life. Microsoft does this constantly with their products, the most prevalent being their Microsoft office software suite.

Every few years Microsoft comes out with a new version of Microsoft office and the new version isn't necessarily any different than the last version. For example, if you compare their 2003 and 2007 versions of Excel there is no great leap in functionality. The main difference is the layout, which they claim was for ease of use; however there are still some things that I have not been able to find in the 2007 version. That's okay though, because they have now put out Microsoft Office 2010 so I can start relearning Microsoft Office, again.

In my opinion the new versions are published primarily due to a desire for more profit, not due to any great technological breakthrough or public demand for change. Microsoft knows that eventually, everyone will have to upgrade because of their market dominance. They also know that once they stop supporting a particular version, IT departments in companies all over will follow suit and no longer provide support for that version and anyone left with the old version will be forced to upgrade.

Provided below is a link to an interesting comparison between Excel 2003 and Excel 2007, you will notice that there are some people for whom they recommend not upgrading due to a decrease in certain functionalities between the versions.

http://www.add-ins.com/Excel%202003%20versus%202007.htm

3DTV - An example of demand side market failure

There are many gadgets and toys that a person can buy when they walk into a consumer electronics store, but do we really them if they could potentially harm us? One new item on the market is the 3D LCD television. Not only does this new TV require that you wear special glasses to get the full experience, there are some people that they warn not to watch it due to potential health hazards. Do we really need a television in our home that the manufacturer warns pregnant women not to watch? I wonder what Samsung expects you to do if you get pregnant and already own their TV?

I think it is not only irresponsible, but unethical to produce a television that certain people can't watch without risking their health, especially when it is something as common as a television and they group that must avoid it is as common as pregnant women. Samsung also has the following warnings for the average viewer: "Viewing 3D television may also cause motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain and decreased postural stability,...It is recommended that users take frequent breaks to lessen the potential of these effects. If your eyes show signs of fatigue or dryness or if you have any of the above symptoms, immediately discontinue use of this device and do not resume using it for at least thirty minutes after the symptoms have subsided."

I also find it unethical that these issues are not disclosed in their advertising.

Here is one of their advertisements where there is absolutely no indication that some people should not use their device:

Here is an article on CNN where they discuss the warnings that Samsung has issued about their 3D product:

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/15/samsung-issues-warnings-about-3-d-tv/

First time parents - the perfect group where you can successfully market unnecessary goods

When it comes to buying things for a first child, a lot of parents buy unnecessary items because they've been convinced by marketers that it is something they need. I think that a lot of marketers rely on the fact that first time parents don't know what they need and are quite frankly nervous about the impending major life change. When someone is expecting a child they are probably going to read books, take classes and/or talk to other people that they know who have children to try to determine just what they need to supply themselves with in order to be prepared for raising a child. In actuality, you could probably get by with a short list of necessities, but baby gear and accessories has become a major market in the United States. I feel it is unethical to prey on people that you know don't have a clue about what is in store for them. Below are some examples of items that while they are completely unnecessary, have actually become quite popular:

Bathrobes for babies:














When is your baby going to hang around home in a robe? You wash them, then dress them people!

Baby Swaddler:














While it is true that babies like to be swaddled, there is no efficiency or convenience savings by using a Velcro closure as opposed to swaddling them in a blanket. What they don't tell you is that most newborns don't swaddle for long, my daughter did it for only two weeks.

Wipe Warmers:














Why would anyone need to pay $25 so that their child's wipe could be warm? It's not like they are kept in the refrigerator, then tend to be room temperature anyway.

Payday lending - The epitome of unethical lending

As long as there is money there will be people that need to borrow money. While there isn't anything unethical about lending someone money and charging interest, ethics does come into play when the interest rate charged is exorbitant. Payday lending, in my opinion, takes advantage of people who are already near the bottom of the economic totem pole by charging them unreasonable interest rates because they know their clients don't have many alternatives to borrow cash. It is also unethical because they realize that once someone becomes a client they are likely to need to continue being a client because they will have difficulty getting out of the cycle of borrowing due to having a low income. They basically are selling a financial trap and they know it!

Simply put, payday lending is when people borrow small amounts of cash - typically $100-$1,500 - to hold them over to their next paycheck. As of July 1, 2010 Arizona's law that allowed payday lending to charge beyond the standard 36 percent rate cap for the state has expired and will not be renewed. Lenders in Arizona were legally charging as much as 460 percent annually for these loans. There is no legitimate reason why a bank should have to charge 460 percent annual interest for any loan. If that is what they require in order to operate, then they really shouldn't be operating. Since the temporary law that allowed these outrageous rates is now going to expire payday lenders are packing up and leaving the state, making their product a failure in Arizona.

Here is an article on the recent events in Arizona where I found some of my statistics if you are interested:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/06/27/20100627payday-lenders-quit.html

Here is also a news report about the dangers of payday lending and how they have been addressed in Ohio: