Monthly Archives: February 2018

by | Friday, February 9, 2018 · 6:15 am

Net Neutrality and the Whopper

In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the net neutrality rules that guided businesses providing Internet access. The revised ruling potentially allows Internet Service Providers (ISP) to charge different rates for different Internet speeds and services. In essence, ISPs can charge customers more to get faster Internet speeds. And, customers who pay less would receive slower Internet speeds.

Unfortunately, net neutrality can be complicated to explain and is not always fully understood by many consumers. Enter: Burger King, using a Whopper to help explain how net neutrality works.

Whoppers? Those aren’t very technical. No, but they are a product that consumers expect to receive quickly (no matter what the price is). What would happen if a customer had to pay more to get a Whopper quickly? Or, as Burger King explains, what is the mpbs* for the service, and how much is a customer willing to pay for it (*Making Burgers per Second)?

Burger King set up a hidden camera at a restaurant location and watched how real customers reacted to having to wait longer for their burgers as employees deliberately slowed down their services. Customers could choose from slow mbps ($4.99/Whopper), fast mbps ($12.99), or hyper-fast mbps ($25.99). The results were hysterical, and revealing.

How much are you willing to pay for your Whopper (and Internet access)? The video clearly hit home with customers and went viral, racking up nearly 16 million views in less than a week!

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Start by asking students to define net neutrality.
  2. Ask them about the recent FCC decision on net neutrality?
  3. What are student opinions about it? For or against, and why?
  4. Show the Burger King video:

https://youtu.be/ltzy5vRmN8Q

  1. After viewing the video, did anyone change their opinion?
  2. In teams, have students determine other topics that are difficult to explain and comprehend. (Ex: tariffs, quotas, etc.)
  3. Have each team develop an explanation using metaphors (such as Burger King did) to help consumers understand the implications of these complicated topics.

Source:  Nudd, T. (24 Jan., 2018). Burger King deviously explains net neutrality by making people wait longer for their Whoppers. Ad Week.

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by | Wednesday, February 7, 2018 · 6:10 am

TED Talk: China and the Future of Shopping

We all know that technology has changed the shopping experience. Instead of going into brick-and-mortar stores, or in addition to going into brick-and-mortar stores, shoppers now turn to PCs and mobile devices. Not only that, technology has changed our shopping behavior even when we are IN a store. This is true world-wide, but the future of shopping is here today in China.

In this TED Talks video, Angela Wang, a retail expert with firm BCG, explores the broad range of shopping services available online in China. In China, everything takes place on smart phones; 500 million Chinese consumers regularly use their mobile devices for purchasing goods and services. Think about that number – 500 million people. As Wang states, that is the combined population of the U.S., U.K, and Germany! And, all this has happened in only the last five years.

China’s technology firms are also powerhouses. Alibaba and Tencent own 90% of China’s e-commerce market, 85% of its social media, 85% of its Internet payments, along with diverse digital content, video, movies, literature, gaming and more.

Key trends that Wang sees in China shopping patterns are a growth in spontaneity, co-creation of products, ultra-convenience, and social shopping. Using WeChat, the mobile shopping journey in China far surpasses the U.S.

Marketers can learn a lot of lessons from this informative talk.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss with students that while the buying process may vary slightly for different products and target markets, the basic 5-step process is problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. Is this still the correct model?
  2. Discuss the changes that the students have made in their own shopping behavior. How do they use mobile devices to shop? Map the journey on the board.
  3. Show the TED Talk video. Make sure students pay attention to the end of the talk when the shopping journey is explained (9:00 minute mark): https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_wang_how_china_is_changing_the_future_of_shopping/transcript
  4. How does the Chinese shopping journey compare to the traditional U.S. consumer model?
  5. For a product, have students work on the actions taken in each of the five steps in the traditional model. Then have them work out the steps of the Chinese model.
  6. Debrief the exercise.

Source: TED Talks

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by | Monday, February 5, 2018 · 6:06 am

Mug Keeps Drinks Hot!

It’s a small thing, but a pet peeve of many coffee drinkers is that they absolutely hate it when their mugs of coffee get cold, and have to be microwaved or refilled in order to be hot again. Reheating changes the taste. And then it gets cold again, and has to be reheated yet again, and so on…There should be a solution for the cold desktop mug of coffee.

And, now there is a solution. Enter the Ember Ceramic Mug to solve the dilemma. The mug incorporates technology that helps keep the drink at whatever temperature is needed. Using Ember’s app, the ideal temperature for each beverage can be set automatically. The sleekly styled mug has a change cooling system, micro-processor controlled heating system, and network of sensors – all working to keep the beverage at the ideal temperature!

The innovative design won Ember a coveted TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2017 award. Priced at $79.95, Ember’s mug is not cheap. The white ceramic mug comes with charging coaster, is fully submersible (but wash by hand), and can maintain temperatures for hours on end.

Coffee, anyone?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

    1. Discuss the importance of setting objectives. Explain SMART objectives – specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
    2. Show Ember’s Web site and products: https://ember.com/
    3. Video is available: https://youtu.be/7Vy_y52oZos
    4. Video: https://youtu.be/j9YAvpJTF9w
    5. Divide students into teams. Have each team develop five SMART objectives for this product.
    6. Discuss the objectives. How would the objectives change if a different marketing strategy was used?
    7. Debrief the exercise.

Source: Pierce, D. (12 Dec., 2017). I can’t stop drinking coffee out of this temperature-regulated mug. Wired Magazine.

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