Celebrity Pay

One of the trickiest AMP topics in our experience has been the one about 'Are celebrities worth their pay ?' There are very few keywords here to search, and the whole question seems to be really about the whole nature of capitalism . Should a pop-star really be paid more than a doctor or nurse for example ?

Some of these issues are covered in Victoria Prowse's article in Economic Review 'Why do people work ?' Economic Review, Sepember 2009.

New LUSH Shop in Luton...

Luton's new Handmade Cosmetics shop....

The latest addition to the Arndale Mall in Luton fascinated me enough to have a look at Mary Portas excellent review of the Lush Chain. Although this is a couple of years old there are some points here that are still relevant I think...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3663833/Shop.html

LUSH is a shop which can often me smelt before it is seen. In Luton it is near to Greggs, so I wondered if their pasties would now of bath bombs.
Mary Portas is very complimentary about the chain's customer service and marketing strategies.

If you are studying the Cosmetics Industry, or maybe British brands in general there is a more recent Key Note Report Cosmetics and Fragrances 2010. Lush is a real success story of recent years, and seems to prove that even in tough economic times people will still treat themselves to a few luxuries...

Marketing the Arts

Recently added to the LRC is the MA by R.L Saklatvala

Designing an arts festival : constructing authenticity

University of Beds 2010

Lots of local examples about organising the Luton B Festival ( including a useful list of local names - photographer Ben Hodson gets a namecheck )

I think it would be beneficial to look at this if your AMP concerned any kind of arts marketing, or comparison between commercial and community schemes ?

( do the same principles apply )

Marketing Financial Services

New book by a member of staff in the Business School. Jillian Farquar has recently published a book on the marketing of financial services. Could be a useful source for those of you whose project concerns finance or accountancy.

Will be added to LRC as soon as possible.

Entrepreneur honoured at University of Beds

Those of you studying the role of the Entrepreneur in society, and which skills they need should look out for Jan Telensky, who is being honoured at our graduations this week.

Czech-born Jan's concept was that there is a massive demand for new online games, and those who have the skills to produce them can be trained online.

The CATS faculty at the University of Bedfordshire runs courses on gaming, and has strong links with Mr Telensky. There is plenty of information on :

http://www.train2game.co.uk

as well as several articles on Jan Telensky on Newsbank

It is possible to find material on the computer gaming industry on several of our databases.

Business Review

Another excellent source of UK case studies is this quarterly journal. Each 40 page issue is packed with them. The April 2010 issue looks at what has worked, and what has failed for Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Head of easyGroup) Although the journal is really aimed at A Level students you can always follow up your research on other databases such as Key Note and Business Source Premier.

In the meantime here are some 'easy' principles , and what they mean when you climb aboard your flight....

Price Elastic ( fall in price leads to high demand )

No frills ( High fixed costs but these reduced by no meals on the plane, quick turnaround on the runway )

Yield Management System Price changes according to demand. Book your plane early before the price goes up too much !

High Asset Utilisation Large % of seats will be taken on your flight.

Outsourcing to the customer ( Let them print out their own boarding card ).

Mike Sturrock ( Head of Operating Systems at easyJet ) has done some guest lectures at the University recently. These might be worth looking out for in the future.

Death of an Entrepreneur

The recent death of entrepreneur Nicolas Hayek, reported widely in the press struck me as relevant to several of the questions set in the Applied Management Project.

Hayek was the man behind the Swatch. His simple idea was that a watch need not be expensive, but could still be desirable, if marketed as a stylish "must have" brand.
A fashion accessory as much as a timepiece.

The idea ( and the Swatch ) are still going strong today. Hayek became one of the world's weathiest men...

A look at Hayek's background, and the nature of his ideas could be relevant in particular to the question about whether entrepreneurs are born or created....

Lies, Damned lies and statistics....

Interesting graphics, and stats from a variety of sources ( ONS, Government Departments, MORI )

Prospect Magazine on changes to Britain 1997-2009

Rise in home internet access from 4% - 73%

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/how-britain-has-changed-since-1997/

The Role of the ASA

Higher complaints to the ASA show that business is not interested in CSR. Discuss

This AMP Project really depends on finding out what the remit of the ASA really is.

The ASA ( Advertisng Standards Authority) is an independent regulator of advertising across all media.

The ASA studies adverts which are misleading, inappropriate or offensive. An advert could however be misleading without being against the principles of CSR. Check the ASA website to check which advertisements have infringed the code.

http://www.asa.org.uk/

Facts and figures might also tell their own story. In 2008 there were 26,433 complaints and 2,475 ads withdrawn. Perhaps the public these days are more 'willing' to be offended.

Certainly some of the advertisements in our old journals would not be considered acceptable today.

(Depicted ad from Country Life 1973)

Entrepreneurs - Born or Made ?

AMP Question about whether Entrepreneurs are born or created at Business School.

This article raises a few points concerning the role of ambition in the creation of an entrepreneur.

And that crucial factor , exploiting an opportunity in the market. The example cited here is James Seddon and his creation 'Eggxactly' for soft-boiling eggs.

Researching a market however, to find the gaps, is also important. Surely some of these skills can be taught and learnt at Business School.

Some of the personal traits of an entreprenuer are given with examples :

Be Passionate ( Gordon Ramsey)

Resilience ( Keep calm, carry on, Learn from mistakes - Richard Branson )

Be outgoing - don't shy away from publicity ( Alan Sugar )

Be confident, not arrogant ( Stelios ?)

Whether you went to business school or not however may also be irrelevant if you have not got the money for start-up costs, or if the economy is against you....

Marcouse, I (2007) So, you want to be Richard Branson ? Business Review (14) 1 p.2-3

Statistics and the Press

Newspapers will frequently take their stories ( in this case their headlines ) from official national statistics.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has been gathering material about the way Britons live since the 1970's.

This week it was announced that the annual spending on sweets in the UK for instance was £372 per child.

If you are doing a business topic which includes any kind of statistical data analysis check which figures maybe available.

Several of the AMP questions concern web-based marketing / advertising. It would be vital to find some recent figures on online access in the UK for this type of research.

In 2009 according to the ONS 70% of households had internet access