Marketing Strategy

It occured to me recently while withdrawing some books that business theories may not change that much from decade-to-decade. Examples or case studies could be different, but Chris Fill(1995) relies havilly on Maslow's Hierachy of needs for his list of consumer types : Self Explorers Idependent types - largely unaffected by trends Experimentalists New ideas and products appeal to this group. Influenced by packaging and promotion Conspicuous Consumers Concerned with appearences and image Belongers Trust well known brands Survivors Accept well known brands - but do not trust them Social Resistors Conservative in attitude - tend to resist change Aimless Resent authority - and are sustenance driven Fill, C. (1995) Marketing communications, London : Prentice Hall

A rebrand on our doorstep....

For many years Luton business students did a project on attracting new members to the Leisure Centre in Luton formerly known as Vauxhall Recreation Centre (VRC).

Many other students will have memories of sitting examinations here too.

Vauxhall has recently been renamed Venue 360, with a new (vaguely similar)  logo and the following explanation

Venue 360 represents all-round ( 360 degrees ) activities offered

• Business
• Leisure
• Fitness
• Pleasure

Little else seems to have changed in the facilities offered, but it may take a while to get used to the new name. Many Lutonians still call the shopping centre in town the Arndale rather than the Mall, despite a name-change a few years ago.

Depressing reading but.....

.... this new addition to the LRC in Luton looks relevant to most business assignments about the decline of the High Street or the economy of the UK in general.

Plenty of statistics are included, and would probably look impressive in a reference list or bibliography if used correctly to back up your arguments.

Dorling, D & Thomas, B. (2011) Bankrupt Britain : an atlas of social change. Bristol : Policy

Gaming.... a serious business

I was thinking the other day about the AMP topic 'Gaming is a serious business' which often crops up at this time of year.

It seems to me that it is very important to define what you think this question means before attempting to answer it.

Gaming ( Computer gaming ) is  a serious business in terms of the economy or number of participants. You will need to find some statistics to support this.

The world serious however has another meaning involving being the opposite of lighthearted or fun. Many dictionaries on Credo Reference stress this element.

Considering this second aspect you may consider the amount of games which are not played for fun ( maybe military, educational  business simulations ? )


Think too about your search terms, because the word 'gaming' sometimes means gambling or online betting.

More bad news for the High Street...

A recent report from Retail Research warns of more High Street closures in the forthcoming months.

In Luton and Bedford this has meant empty shops where once stood :

• Blockbuster
• Jessops
• HMV

In better news Dixons has recently reported increased profits. Factors for their success appear to include

• Sale of tablets
• Collapse of rivals such as Comet and Jessops

Both these stories widely reported in the press recently. For more information consult databases FAME ( for financial data ) and Newsbank ( for commentary )

Recession on the High Street - Portas Towns

It is now a year since Mary Portas launched the government pilot scheme to revive the UK High Street.

12 towns were given an equal share of £1.2 to create more prosperous and diverse high streets.

Unfortunately in ten towns from this list more shops have closed than opened.

In total research shows that 700 units closed, and fewer than 600 opened in their place

Only two towns of the Portas 12 , Bedminster and Margate, added any shops. Research on this project was carried out by the Local Data Company, and has been widely reported in the UK Press this week. For more information try our Newsbank database.

Freedom Collection

The addition of the Freedom Collection to our resources is proving a big hit, and some of the electronic resources included will be relevant to business students.

If you are doing work on online business or cloud computing Freedom Collection includes  in full-text the journal Computers and Security.

The security and legislative regulation of online business is covered in depth in this journal.

For those studying Tourism and Leisure you will find a key source Tourism and Management

The Freedom Collection can be accessed through  the Library Catalogue or contact be for further information and I will try to help :

alan.bullimore@beds.ac.uk