1. link to the article
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_39/b4148053513145.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5
2. summary
The giant online retailer Amazon.com has created one of the world's strongest brands by avoiding conventional tactics of marketing. While other retailers have been battered and pushed into bankruptcy by spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on advertising and marketing to build their brands, Amazon spends the money into technology for its website, distribution capability and shipping deals. Amazon also thrived during the recession period because of the company's reputation for for offering low prices, broad selection, and quality services. From this method, Amazon achieved 16% revenue growth. However Amazon have not established a firm customer base for the luxury items. So Amazon started a contest in which everyone can create their own commercial, and the company picks 5 finalist and asks the customers to pick their favourite, in this way there is no need for Amazon to hire advertisement agency.
3 Identify topics from the syllabus
1.5 External environment , 1.4 Stakeholders, 4.1 role of marketing , 4.2 marketing planning, 4.5 promotion,
4. Applies one business tool/theory/technique to the organization
4.2 marketing planning
Amazon's way of establishing a loyal customer base is not through spending hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing, in the contrary, Amazon started the contest in which everyone can create their own commercial. In this way, Amazon can not only save the unnecessary money spent on marketing and other expensive ways of promotion, the new contest way is also more efficient in terms of getting more understanding of what is an effective marketing from the customer's point of view. This form of primary research is appropriate and beneficial to Amazon, since up to date and objectivity helps the company to differentiate its self from other online retailers. By having a low and competitive price during the recession period, Amazon achieved the equilibrium price in the marketing mix with the correct adjustment of price in different financial period. However, Amazon is not successful at selling luxury items, in other words, they might not have a wide range of product mix. Amazon also spend part of the money on distribution capability and shipping which can grant more customer satisfaction. Although the ethics of marketing must also be considered, since the new method of marketing introduced by Amazon is a contest and public based, the aspect of unethical marketing can also be avoided.
However, since Amazon declined to participate in the report, there's a possiblity that the report is biased by reporting too in favor of Amazon.
