Current Topics in the Business World, University of Warsaw

For our Wednesday session (13:15-16:30), please prepare the following (all sheets mentioned are included in folder given to you on Monday): 

- read the sheet "28: brands and branding" and complete the accompanying exercises (28.1, 28.2, and 28.3)

- create your own brand/product positioning map (see section B on the "brands and branding" sheet for assistance). Remember that brand/product positioning maps require two variables, one of them being price. Be ready to present and discuss this map in small groups on Wednesday.

- read the Economist article "Why mission statements matter" and jot down two reasons why the author mentions that "investors can learn a lot from the way that companies describe their goals". In addition to this, look up at least two words/phrases from the article that are new to you. 

- watch the following short video and identify 1) how Burger King rebranded and 2) why this has caught the attention of advertisers: Burger King goes retro with its rebrand, and General Motors misses the mark on its new logo - YouTube

BONUS Activity (not required): 1) Have a look at the Łomża Export advertisement included in the materials distributed to you on Monday. Imagine that Łomża Export wants to create an English-language campaign inspired by this advertisement and has commissioned you to do this. What ideas would you present to them? (You might need to radically change the content/message/layout of the ad to cater to English-speaking audiences.) 2) The US fast-food chain Wendy's plans to expand to Australia but will need to change their name in the Australian market as Wendy's is already trademarked there. (This is nothing new for Australia: Burger King is known as "Hungry Jack's" in Australia as a result of a similar trademark issue.) Come up with a new name for Wendy's for the Australian market. The students with the best responses for BOTH bonus activities will win prizes on Wednesday.

Wednesday is International Women's Day and we will be celebrating by discussing negotiation for a portion of our session. Please bring in any questions regarding negotiation you wish to discuss. 

See you on Wednesday!