Tim Horton's

Tim Horton’s is a brand that was created in 1964. It was created by the famous hockey player Tim Horton who wanted to open up a doughnut shop. Tim Horton’s has sold coffee and doughnuts for many years. “Beyond the original menu that featured only coffee and doughnuts, Joyce expanded to include tea and hot chocolate, with an eye on warming up customers in the cold Canadian climate. The baked goods were expanded to include muffins, croissants, cookies, danishes, bagels” (http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/corporate/profile.php). Tim Hortons is the largest quick service restaurant in Canada. It also has many stores in the United States. Most of it’s stores are open 24 hours in order to serve all customers possible and make them happy. Tim Horton’s is always trying to keep its reputation of having the best coffee. “To ensure the coffee is always fresh, Tim Hortons serves its coffee within 20 minutes of being brewed or it's not served at all” ( http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/corporate/profile.php). This lets customers know that the company cares about both the customers and the quality of their product. Recently there was a big announcement made about Tim Horton’s and Burger King. The two companies will be merging together. Burger King will be buying Tim Horton for 11.4 billion dollars. “Burger King says the companies will be run separately. There won't be Whoppers alongside the doughnuts” (http://www.npr.org/2014/08/27/343623227/canadians-fret-merger-with-burger-will-change-tim-hortons). I have looked at other brands that have merged in the past and I don’t think that people will stop buying Burger King if it expands itself to Canada. If people like eating there then they will keep going there. They are not just going to abandon it because it is no longer an American brand. I think that Burger King will not lose business but rather gain some from this merger. 

Ferguson and Marketing

In the event that recently occurred in Ferguson, MO many questions have been brought to attention about the way police treat the people. We all know that police are supposed to serve and protect people in their city/town but in Ferguson this is different. Police scare people more than they protect them. “The images of police in riot gear armed with heavy weaponry and tanks has at times become the alarming backdrop for the Ferguson story, with pictures that television can’t resist” (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/19/heavy-metal-why-ferguson-has-conservatives-challenging-military-style-police/). This is bad because the police department is marketing themselves as being violent and ruthless. They are making it so people view them in a negative way rather than a positive way. Another way that they are marketing themselves wrong is that they don’t fully answer the questions they are asked. In the interview we watch in class, a head of one of the police departments was asked the percentage of whites on his squad. He didn’t say the percentage of whites but says “three African Americans…there are actually six but one left rarely recently..we also have a Hispanic and two Pacific Islanders” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUdHIatS36A&sns=tw). He knows that the majority of the police are Caucasian. Another way that the police department is marketing itself in a poor way is that its police are dressing like they are fighting a war. “Aside from the egregious violation of civil liberties, the most worrying development of the crackdown is how the police have appeared and acted like soldiers..treating the streets of Missouri as if they were the streets of Kabul or Baghdad. Instead of blue uniforms they’re wearing camouflage and SWAT gear…holding batons in their hands, they’re armed to the teeth with assault rifles. Instead of keeping their sidearms in their holsters, they’re pointing sniper rifles directly at civilians” (http://www.salon.com/2014/08/19/they_are_no_longer_police_why_ferguson_reminds_us_that_we_are_not_exceptional/). As a result of this people feel as if they are in a war. Police are making people feel unsafe at all times when it should be the other way around. People should feel like police are protecting them and not threatening them. Overall, Ferguson police have created themselves to be seen negatively due to their actions and their marketing. 

Networking In America

Networking is a big part of making a brand become successful. “Professional growth depends on networking, and should be viewed as an important part of your branding strategy” (http://www.business2community.com/branding/5-ways-networking-can-help-personal-brand-0899167#!bDDBwZ). In the fifth episode of "How To Make It In America", Cam and Ben show a variety of ways to network. First of all, they play basketball with a group of guys that could potentially be customers. Cam and Ben also notice an old friend in the street that is involved in the fashion industry. Cam, being the confident person he is, yells to their friend and there three men start talking. The man says how he is busy but Cam keeps akin if he wants to grab a coffee and give him and Ben tips for their brand. Their friend finally gives in. While the three men are talking, Cam and Ben’s friend says he knows a buyer from Japan who is in town for a little while. He says how he can set Cam and Ben up for a meeting with him. This is good because Cam and Ben have networked and are now creating new relationships with possible business partners. As the episode continues it is time for the meeting with the buyer. Cam shows up all alone at first and this is where he makes his first mistake. Instead of walking into the office and making himself stand out he just sits down like the rest of the people waiting. “The more unique your approach is, the better chance you have of catching the eye of potential customers” (http://www.knockoutwords.com/5-ways-you-can-make-your-brand-stand-out/). Cam should've grabbed their business cards and he should've stayed standing. If he stayed standing this would have made him stand out from everyone else. Another mistake that both Cam and Ben made was that they only had one sample. All the other designers in the office had racks of clothing. They should have provided more for the buyer to see however, when Cam and Ben leave the buyer notices Ben’s shirt. He loves the look of it and how it is has an antique feeling. Ben says how he made it himself in high school. This shows that sometimes the simple things are the best for a business. “A simple idea behind a creative output is much easier to grasp and retain than a collection of complex ideas” (More Than A Name). Cam and Ben are then asked to make 300 shirts and that is where Cam and Ben take the next step for their brand.

McDonald's and Hot Coffee

In the year 1992 McDonald's was sued by an elderly woman named Stella Liebeck for their coffee being to hot (https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts). This story was soon spread all over the nation but did people really know the full story? The answer is no. The story that people knew was that she spilled her coffee on herself while she was driving her car. “Typical reaction: Isn’t coffee supposed to be hot? And McDonald’s didn’t pour the coffee on her, she spilled it on herself! Besides, she was driving the car and wasn’t paying attention” (https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts). Stella was actually a passenger in the car that her grandson was driving and wanted to add cream to her coffee so she asked him to pull over. It was at this point that the coffee spilt into her lap and she received severe burns. “A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas” (http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm). Stella wanted to sue McDonald’s for more money than they were willing to give her so she went to court. Stella argued that the coffee should not have been as hot as it was. McDonald’s accepted that they had done something wrong in order to defend themselves. Stella asked McDonald’s for just enough money to pay her medical bills but McDonald’s refused to give her the money. Liebeck’s attorney kept making offers. McDonald’s did not accept any of the offers so the jury had to decide. “The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages but dropped this sum to $160,000 since it felt Liebeck was 20-percent at fault for her accident…the punitive damages against McDonald’s…pegged at $2.7 million” (http://mentalfloss.com/article/26862/real-details-hot-coffee-lawsuit). It is not really known for sure whether this settlement occurred but it is known that they did reach an undisclosed out-of-court settlement. McDonald’s is also selling their coffee at a lower temperature.