Module Five Blog: Top Dog Versus Underdog

After watching the video several times, the list of companies presented all have very strong brand identity and brand meaning. In my case personally, I do have preferences with the product brand names I purchase which I’ll identify below. So let’s countdown the “Top 10 Business Rivalries” and here we go… At #10, it’s Energizer versus Duracell! • The top dog here is Energizer in part because it has loyal customers and is recognized as the brand leader starting back in the 1800’s. Duracell is a relatively new company starting back in only 1960. • Energizer uses a retention strategy in the use of their promotions and coupons to increase consumer consumption of their products. • Duracell is a solid competitor and is attempting to be disruptive by placing their products on aisle endcaps and at the cashier checkout lines. Coincidentally, there was a Duracell endcap displaying their various products as I entered the register line this morning at Walmart. I believe that they also need to promote with sales and coupons, attempt to differentiate themselves that they last just as long as the bunny and perhaps sell their batteries as part of the product being sold that uses batteries. • I feel that these two companies products; because of the relative low cost of their products; are purchased whenever the consumer finds convenience. Whether at the cashier line or while visiting a local Home Depot or Lowe’s. I purchase whatever brand is on sale that particular week or is based on an available coupon. At #9, it’s Bud versus Miller! • The top dog here is Bud and is recognized world-wide as seen at just about every sports event, stadium and arena. • Here again, Bud uses its brand name and loyalty with their consumers and is saturating the market place with the amount of advertising it spends. Just this past weekend on Super Bowl Sunday, it wouldn’t be a game if Bud didn’t have one of their patented best commercials. • Miller also has brand recognition but not to Budweiser’s height. They need to likely spend millions of dollars to have their name seen on TV, perhaps sponsor a major sport to elevate their recognition as well as being differentiated with their “cold filtered” tag line. • Here I feel that there are loyal customers for both but the overwhelming majority are Bud drinkers. I also tend to purchase Bud as that is what some of my guests enjoy though I typically prefer red or brown ale from Killian’s or Southwick. At # 8, it’s Visa versus MasterCard! • The top dog here is Visa though MasterCard enjoyed years of recognition in the not too distant past. • Visa is also saturating the market place through TV commercials with Jennifer Garner as their spokesperson promoting Capital One Visa cards. Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles and his wife Julie of the U.S. National soccer team also have multiple ads running promoting Visa. • MasterCard is also promoting their offerings with pop star Camila Cabello though I do recall all the “priceless” ads that I enjoyed. I feel that MasterCard is somewhat “dated” and perhaps aligning itself with additional current celebs, sports athletes and music stars that are at the top of their popularity level could possibly bring onboard fans and those consumers affiliated with them. • I feel that Visa is more hip and youthful and perhaps that’s what is pushing them to the competitor forefront. We personally enjoy the Capital One Visa card because of their loyalty program. We recently completed a kitchen and dining room remodel which we charged against the card and paid it off via a home equity loan. The points earned have covered all of our food, beverages and miscellaneous purchases via the redemption of debit cards on all our recent trips and vacations. At #7, it’s Hasbro versus Mattel! • Though I have three grown children and no grandchildren yet, I don’t know have lots of exposure to this market. I would say that Hasbro and their association with Star Wars is an instant gold mine. • Hasbro’s affiliation with major movie endeavors like Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe and Powers Rangers is a strategy that is being exploited to their benefit as sequel after sequel is released and new items for Hasbro to market and sell are eagerly purchased by fans. • Mattel is likely still reeling from its’ Toy R Us bankruptcy that was mentioned in the video. They too have brand names like Barbie, Fisher Price and Hot Wheels that are easily recognizable. However, the youth of today are likely more into gaming on their phone, social media apps and following their favorite celeb twitter accounts that the toy industry as a whole is likely flat growth prospect and possibly declining. • Hasbro is simply the top dog with their association with some of the top entertainment film releases rather than Mattel. I personally enjoy the Stars Wars movies and would steer my purchases in their direction. At #6, it’s Ford versus GM! • I just so happen to be watching Easy Money on TV Friday afternoon where they compared these exact companies. They actually gave GM the edge as a slightly larger company though Ford trucks are sold most often propelling Ford toward the top slot. As noted in the video, this is comparable to the Honda and Toyota rivalry that we also see here in the States. • Ford continues to market their truck products as the #1 truck product sold in the U.S. for an unbelievable 40 consecutive years. I had to look that up and I wouldn’t have guessed that many. That is brand loyalty at its finest though discounting is likely part of the sales pitch. • GM has been bringing a more youthful design to their products that is captured perfectly in their “this is not your parent’s Buick”. This rebranding is likely capturing car purchasers with their remakes of the Camaro offerings as well as the Malibu and all electric Bolt. • Both of these companies are relatively close and appear to be bringing back older models with more current design features. Though I did own a Ford truck in the past for close to twenty years, we’ve become a Honda affiliated family driving an Accord and CRV. At #5, it’s DC versus Marvel! • Though not familiar enough to name a super hero with which company, I believe that Marvel is the top dog simply with their association with Disney. DC also is owned by a large multi-national entertainment firm Time-Warner. • Marvel is the top dog in part to their capitalizing on their popular film and comic books. The recent success of Spider Man, Iron Man, Ant Man and Deadpool movie to name a few has provided a revenue stream and associated products of these super heroes and villains. These characters resonate with the current youth of today. • DC also has a list of super heroes namely Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and they’re more associated with my demographic of being a teen in the 1970’s and 80’s. For DC to gain traction, they need to continue to release films like the Joker that Joaquin Phoenix may win as the Best Actor nominee this Sunday night. Perhaps a gaming app that featured these characters would help capture a market segment and release additional sequels to their successive movies. • Marvel is on top of the mountain and I too enjoy the Iron man series of films, and their current list of characters. These stars are simply a more “modern” version of the past Superman and Batman offerings. At #4, it’s Adidas versus Puma! • Adidas is the top dog here and I wasn’t aware of the sibling rivalry associated with these two companies. Adidas runs a prolific campaign on social media and is tied in with athletic stars like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahones. • Puma appears to be using a campaign of social media stars like Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, The Weeknd and Big Sean. This is definitely a youthful approach using more contemporary and currently relevant focals. • Puma should continue to adopt this line of stars and has recently sponsored Ricky Fowler in golf as their #1 spokesman in that sport. I believe that they should continue to select stars in perhaps U.S. tennis though they are a much larger player overseas in soccer, track and cricket being a German based company. They need to continue to be disruptive and possibly support a summer Olympic team later this year in Japan. • Adidas was first on the market and the gap for Puma to catchup is genuinely huge. Personally I own much more Adidas products rather than Puma. Adidas products are found at most sporting goods, retail stores and outlets in comparison to Puma. Though I’ve purchased a Puma shirt for golf, a sport I recently starting playing in a weekly league. At #3, it’s Microsoft versus Apple! • Apple is the behemoth on top being one of only four companies valued at over a trillion dollars. They employ a marketing strategy that is high tech, a great user experience and an extensive list of applications that run on their iPhone and iPad product lines. They’ve recently are touted for the revenue associated with their service offerings like AppleCare, Apple Pay and Apple Music. • Microsoft is also a formidable company that generates revenue associated with their Office product line and pc/server products. They are still one of the 600 pound gorillas that stokes the pc versus mac debate. Their product lines are populated on multiple platforms seen at Best Buy, Walmart, Office Depot and Amazon to name a few. • Microsoft can continue to load their operating software packages on as many platforms as possible as well as attempt to generate dollars related to their service apps. They might try and promote their pc’s to school systems as their platform of choice. I generally think of Microsoft as a Cloud provider that is not really a competitor to Apple. • Though I use Microsoft’s Office products typically daily, Apple products are more dominant in my life. From my iPhone to using my iPad or Apple laptop in the evenings to review the news and top stories, Apple products are also in my three grown children’s lives. As an Apple shareholder, it might explain our propensity to purchase Apple too. At # 2, it’s McDonalds versus Burger King! • McDonalds is the top dog here and uses multiple promotions of discounting and combo meals to attract customers. They also have recently pushed an upgrade at most of their locations to promote a faster drive thru experience as well as the introduction of kiosks to customize the orders to the customers taste preferences. • Burger King also offers the same promotions but has recently found some success with their no meat sandwiches. They also have been promoting chicken to offset losses to Chick-fil-A and should also modernize their stores that have fallen behind McDonalds. • Burger King should continue to promote the no meat and chicken promotions, modernize their store fronts perhaps try to integrate their products within part stadiums and arenas,something that McDonalds does not do. • McDonalds appears to be a more modern offering as the #1 though Burger King’s recent acquisition of Tim Horton has bridged some of that gap. I’m personally a McDonalds shareholder and tend to visit them exclusively as they’re typically very convenient when traveling and love their $1 coffee’s. Though I have to admit that the flame broiled burger is also delicious at BK. And finally at #1, it’s Coke versus Pepsi! • Coke is the top dog and akin to Bud, their name is seen at all major sports stadiums and arenas. Their strategy is brand recognition, loyalty and a diverse portfolio of products that includes besides sodas, energy drinks, water, juices as well as coffees and teas. • Pepsi is also a well-diversified company that typically mimics what Coke markets. They’ve also launched a campaign promoting the number of drinking options in their portfolio that are under 100 calories to find that market that is more health conscious. • Pepsi should continue to steer their offerings away from sugary and high caloric drinks toward those wanting a healthy option, increase their exposure at stadium and arenas though millions of dollars are needed for that exposure and continue to use high visibility celebs such as Beyonce, Brittany Spears and Kylie Jenner to endorse their products. • Here again, I am a Coke stock holder and typically purchase their products though they’re not always offered at some of the fast food restaurants I happen to visit. Coke is offered at McDonalds which tends to supports growth for each other. I hope that you enjoyed the rundown, and learned some fun facts about the Top 10 Rivalries we have her in the United States! REFERENCES: Top 10 Business Rivalries Jun 24, 2016 Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM99vw1C11s Kardes, Frank Consumer Behavior, 2e Retrieved from: https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305161689/cfi/85!/4/4@0.00:51.0