Monthly Archives: December 2016

World’s First Pizza Delivery by Drone

pizza

The journey of a new service from the concept stage to commercialization can be a long road, and one that is usually littered with potholes and obstacles. Such has been the path for commercialization of drones to be used for deliveries. Although there have been a number of drone versions and tests by different companies, none have yet been able to take the final step as countries develop regulations for safe commercial drone flights.

However, Domino’s Pizza in New Zealand can now boast that it has now completed the world’s first pizza delivery by drone! New Zealand Domino’s partnered with Flirtey, an independent drone delivery service company. Flirtey has partnered with companies and agencies in various countries to promote the use of drones for deliveries of items such as food, medicine, first aid, and more.

The companies worked together for several months to develop a process for getting hot pizza delivered to a customer’s door. Using autonomous GPS drones, the target time to get pizzas to the door is 10 minutes, bypassing traffic, road construction and more.

How many pizzas would you like delivered?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss drone commercialization with the class.
  2. Show the Domino’s delivery video:

https://youtu.be/jvlMvErIv4g

  1. View the Domino’s press release with additional information about the project:

https://www.dominos.com.au/inside-dominos/media/november-2016-pizza-by-drone-a-reality-with-world-first-customer-deliveries-in-new-zealand

  1. Also view Flirtey’s Web site to review its business model:

https://youtu.be/jvlMvErIv4g

  1. Discuss the components of an environmental scan: social trends, economics, technology, competition, and laws.
  2. Divide students into teams. Have each team complete an environmental scan for using drones in business.

Source: Brandchannel.com

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Amazon Drone Delivers in England

drones

Look. Up in the sky. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s an Amazon Prime Air drone making a delivery!

It’s been a few years now since Amazon first showed consumers how drones could be used for package delivery, and while it is still not commercially applicable, the company continues to make progress on the initiative.

In mid-December, Amazon made its first commercial drone delivery to a shopper in Cambridgeshire, England. The order, consisting of an Amazon Fire device and popcorn, was dispatched from a nearby Amazon warehouse and it covered the two miles to the customer’s home in 13 minutes. Additional consumers are expected to test the drone delivery in the next few months, greatly expanding the service.

In nearby Cambridge, the company has a large plant at which it has been testing drones. The drones are capable of carrying up to five pounds and use cameras to identify the landing locations where marked pads are placed. The units are flown under 400 feet and use GPS and “sense and avoid” technology that helps to avoid tall objects such as towers, wires, buildings, birds, and other obstructions.

Ready to order?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show the delivery video:

https://youtu.be/vNySOrI2Ny8

  1. Additional videos and information are available on Amazon’s Prime Air Web site:

https://www.amazon.com/b?node=8037720011

  1. Discuss the business implications of using unmanned drones for delivery.
  2. Have students work in teams to list the positives and negatives of businesses using drones.
  3. Have students discuss other applications of using drones in deliveries and business. How does this impact marketing?

Source:  New York Times, Wall Street Journal, other news sources

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December Viral Videos

videos

This week’s viral videos have a lot of variety. There are three videos from Apple, plus another for Beats, along with a variety of videos from Shell, Heathrow Airport, Porsche, PETA, and a nice return to the list of Samsung. The focus is on friends and family, as befitting the beginning of the holiday season.

There are three key factors for viral video success:

  1. Reaching the tastemakers.
  2. Building a community of participation.
  3. Creating unexpectedness in the video.

Regardless of the type of product or service, the country of origin, or the importance of the message, what matters is reaching the audience in a way the both entertains and informs. It might be YouTube, and more often now, it’s on Facebook and other social media. Check out this week’s top videos and discuss what makes them “go viral.”

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Bring up Ad Age’s weekly Viral Video chart: http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/apple-drake-goes-viral/306923/
  2. How effective is each video at getting the company’s brand and message across to viewers?
  3. In teams, have students design a viral video for a product of their choosing.
  4. What are the elements that are needed to go viral?

Source:  Advertising Age, Visible Measures

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