...Issues Virgin, a U.K.-based company is one of the top three most recognized brands in Britain. Virgin’s cellular operations in the U.K. had signed up approximately 2.5 million customers in just three years. The company had a history of brand extensions and one of these extensions is the launch of their wireless phone services in the USA called "Virgin Mobile". The key issue for Virgin Mobile is to select a pricing strategy that will both attract and retain subscribers. There are three options for pricing that are under consideration. Dan Schulman, CEO of the Virgin Mobile USA is trying to determine which pricing strategy would be most efficient in attracting and sustaining youth market in the USA. Other factors such as unique features that Virgin Mobile can offer in order to differentiate from the competitors, their marketing strategy and Life Time value (LTV) of the customers and customer retention also need to be part of the decision making criteria. SWOT Analysis Virgin Mobile draws its strengths from the vast experience that the parent company has in the UK market. With a 50-50 joint venture with Sprint, Virgin Mobile has setup MVNO model which has low fixed costs as well as low operation and maintenance requirements. Virgin Xtras is a value added proposition that would appeal to the young customers. The strategic agreement with MTV to deliver entertainment functions as well as the cooperation with Target, Sam Goody music stores and Best Buy, will help Virgin Mobile in marketing...
Words: 1818 - Pages: 8
...PRICING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME History The brand name "Virgin" arose when Branson and a partner were starting their first business, a record shop. They considered themselves virgins in business. The current Virgin logo was originally sketched on a paper napkin and remains largely unchanged since 1979 Background Differentiation is the key They focus on what they can do best Understanding and meeting customer needs Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson Branson is also known for his adventurous spirit and sporting achievements such as crossing oceans in a hotair-balloon Branson made several world record-breaking attempts “My ability to listen to other people and accept it when their suggestions are better than mine has been useful during my 40 years in business” Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson Richard Branson ,as an entrepreneur, is always on the lookout for new opportunities and ideas that will enable him to gain an advantage over his competitors. Dan schulman Dan schulman was appointed CEO in the summer of 2001 Schulman had 18 years of telecommunications experience with AT&T and was the CEO of priceline.com His goal was to achieve a run rate ;1 million subscribers by the end of the first year and 3 million by year four He established his team and Virgin branded service launched in 2002 Virgin Group Limited Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by Sir Richard...
Words: 1485 - Pages: 6
...Problem Statement Virgin Mobile is launching its services in USA in the summer of 2002. It has to decide on its pricing strategy that would attract and retain subscribers. Situation Analysis Customer: The target consumer group is youth aged between 15 and 29 years. Penetration in this segment is significantly lower and the growth rate is projected to be robust in the coming years. Most of them have a history of poor credit quality, no credit cards and no facility to pass credit checks. The revenue generated is lower than the average acquisition and the cost of serving of the industry. Hence this group is largely under served. This consumer segment has their specific needs that are not being met by the mobile service providers. Virgin Mobile is addressing these specific needs. Virgin Mobile is targeting value added services like Text Messaging, downloading information, ringtones, graphics, etc. These are more popular and considered trendier by these young adults. Virgin Mobile also plans to introduce more new value added services via ‘VirginXtras’. Virgin also will have more ‘easy to buy’ mechanism and communicate it to the target segment through more youth focused media channels such as MTV, WB and advertorials in The Complex, Vibe & XXL. Company: Virgin Mobile, a venture of Virgin Group, was the 1st company to introduce a mobile service using Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) model. Virgin Image emphasizes on value for money, quality, innovation, fun & sense of...
Words: 1557 - Pages: 7
...Strategic Management Case plus Case Answer – Apple’s Profitable but Risky Strategy Case study Apple’s profitable but risky strategy When Apple’s Chief Executive – Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy. Note that this case explores in 2008 before Nokia had major problems with smartphones – see Case 9.2 and Case 15.1 for this later situation. Early beginnings To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were par-ticularly easy for customers to use and as a result were priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time. Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their...
Words: 7002 - Pages: 29
...The Virgin Group in 2012 Duarte Lopes Pinto Gonçalo Silva Maria Xavier Miguel Borges Duarte Lopes Pinto Gonçalo Silva Maria Xavier Miguel Borges Contemporary Strategy Analysis- Robert M. Grant Index I. What common resources and capabilities link the separate Virgin companies? II. Which businesses, if any, should Branson consider divesting? III. What criteria should Branson apply in deciding what new diversification to pursue? IV. What changes in the financial structure, organizational structure, and management systems of the Virgin group would you recommend? V. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having an umbrella name for all companies of the Virgin group? I. What common resources and capabilities link the separate Virgin companies? The Virgin group, defined as being “a structure of loosely linked, autonomous units run by self-managed teams that use a common brand name”, includes in its portfolio diverse businesses from airlines, health clubs to music stores. They really believe in entering into “industries they know nothing about”. Their expansion strategy is developed through joints ventures, where they actually contribute with their brand image and awareness, having the partners the role to provide the majority of capital and, moreover, the knowledge to be successful in the industry. The name Virgin became so important worldwide that the number of companies willing to have the...
Words: 2134 - Pages: 9
...AT&T Historical Perspective AT&T Wireless according to their licenses that they have with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the potential to serve 99% of the United States (US) population because of the territories that’s covered by their licenses. Currently AT&T Wireless serves more than 20 million subscribers. Through AT&T’s WorldConnect services all their subscribers can get services in more than 100 countries (Funding Universe, 2011). The origins of AT&T Wireless stems from the merger between AT&T Corp with McCaw Cellular Communications. The development of wireless technology first began with AT&T Corporation, where cellular technology was invented 1947 in the Bell laboratories for law enforcement (Funding Universe, 2011). The main reason these systems were developed for law enforcement was so that patrol cars can stay in contact with each other, because prior to this they communicated through radio frequencies which tend to collapse if too many patrol cars were using it. AT&T engineers solved the solution of the issues with the radio frequency by creating special transmitters capable of sending calls between patrol cars regardless of what area they were located in this was a precursor to the creation of cellular towers in the 20th century (Funding Universe, 2011). The first actual cellular systems were not developed until 1984 by AT&T Corp. in the cities of Chicago and Washington, D.C. Even though AT&T Corps was the first to develop cellular...
Words: 1423 - Pages: 6
...Introduction: With the success of its electronics business, Samsung has been recognized globally as a industry leader in technology and now ranks as a top 10 global brand. It was first invented and made in 1977 at Seoul, Korea. History: At Samsung Electronics, we see every challenge as an opportunity and believe we are perfectly positioned as one of the world's recognized leaders in the digital technology industry. Our commitment to being the world's best has won us the No.1 global market share for 13 of our products, including semiconductors, TFT-LCDs, monitors and CDMA mobile phones. Looking forward, we're making historic advances in research and development of our overall semiconductor line, including flash memory and non-memory, custom semiconductors, DRAM and SRAM, as well as producing best-in-class LCDs, mobile phones, digital appliances and more. 2013 * Launched Galaxy S4 in the global markets * Began mass producing the world's first 20 nanometer 4Gb ultra high-speed mobile DRAM 2012 * Took 9th place among global top 100 brands with a brand value of USD 32.9 billion * The LCD business was sent to Samsung Mobile Display 2011 * Began construction of the 7.5G LCD manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China * Signed a patent sharing license agreement with IBM 2010 * Became the #1 global electronics company in sales * Acquired the medical equipment company, Medison * Began mass producing 20nm-class, 64-gigabit 3-bit NAND flash...
Words: 1624 - Pages: 7
...Branson) CEO (Virgin group) Name : Vipul Srivastava Roll no. : A43 Registration no. : 11101666 Section : SE101 Submitted to : Mr Maninder Singh Annexure-V- Cover Page for Academic Tasks Course Code: Course Title: | Course Instructor: | Academic Task No.: Academic Task Title: | Date of Allotment: Date of submission: | Student’s Roll no: Student’s Reg. no: | Evaluation Parameters: (Parameters on which student is to be evaluated- To be mentioned by students as specified at the time of assigning the task by the instructor) | Learning Outcomes: (Student to write briefly about learnings obtained from the academic tasks) Declaration: I declare that this Assignment is my individual work. I have not copied it from any other student‟s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by any other person. Evaluator’s comments (For Instructor’s use only) General Observations Suggestions for Improvement Best part of assignment Evaluator‟s Signature and Date: Marks Obtained: Max. Marks: ………………………… ABSTRACT: Sir Richard Branson is the Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group – a multi-billion...
Words: 2658 - Pages: 11
...Name: Navdeep Student id: 201412246 Introduction: Virgin group ltd. Is a British company founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell. Its associated with the business of travel, entertainment and life style, finance, transport, health care, food and drink, media and telecommunication and have businesses under more than 400 companies. Virgin Group’s date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by companies House, who class it as a holding company, however Virgin’s businesses and trading activities date to 1979s.The brand name ‘Virgin’ aross when Richard Branson and Nik Powell formed a record shop.They consider themselves virgins in business and the select V in the logo as an expressive tick, representing the virgin seal of approval.It’s head office is located in England. a) Mission statement : The company’s vision is to be the shopper victor by delivering brand values , which are: value for money, superior quality, dazzling customer service,pioneering,competitively testing and fun.; to provide a quality service by motivating employees and assist and examin consumer feedback for nonstop enhancement of the customer’s expiriance through improvement;to creat products and services that make the customer life more enjoyable. b) Vision: Virgin vision can be defined by words of Richard Branson . “We are planning a global presence in travel, mobile communications, entertainment retailing and music. We are in exciting markets which are set to...
Words: 5948 - Pages: 24
...AT Submitted to:- Submitted by:- Mr. Sajid Husain Mohd Zeeshan Cluster Head, 10bbaho40 Reliance Communications Ltd BBA-8semester Allahabad Batch : AUGUST (10-14) . INDEX Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. Objective of the study 3. Company Profile- * About the Company * Company’s Product and its Features * Marketing Strategies * Competitors * Government Policies * Achievements * Mission * Visions * National and International Image 4. Research Methodology- * Research Problem * Sources of data * Type of research * Method of data collection * Analysis of collected data 5. Project * Introduction of the topic 6: DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION * DATA INTERPRETATION & FINDING OF CUSTOMER SURVEY 7: CONCLUSIONS ...
Words: 4926 - Pages: 20
...[pic] INTRODUCTION Leadership is defined as the process of influencing an organized group towards accomplishing its goals.[1] We have learned that the leader is not exclusive in the leadership process. Researchers Fred Fiedler and Hollander recognized this and introduced the importance of the follower and the situation in the leadership process. Richard Branson is considered one of the most unorthodox business men of the 21st century. At the helm at the mega firm Virgin Group Ltd, Branson has defied conventional management and leadership wisdom. Through all his accomplishments, Branson’s amazing leadership skills cannot be mentioned in a vacuum. There is an interactional relationship between a leader, his or her followers and the situations in which they interact. This paper will analyze Branson as a leader. However, because his leadership success is not mutually exclusive, his followers and the important situations that define his career will be addressed. AN OVERVIEW OF BRANSON AND THE VIRGIN GROUP Biography Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is the son of a lawyer named Edward Branson and an airline stewardess named Eve Huntley-Flindt; born on July 18, 1950 in Surrey, England. At an early age he strived for more and this was due to “his parent’s upbringing, which taught him to stand on his own two feet”. His parents took extreme measures to encourage their children’s independence. At four years old Richard’s mother pushed him out of the car and told Richard...
Words: 5000 - Pages: 20
...[pic] |Particular | |Page No | |Introduction To The Report |: |7 | |Royal Crown Cola History |: |8 | |The Partex Beverage Ltd |: |8 | |Mission Of The Partex Beverage Ltd |: |9 | |Vission Of The Partex Beverage Ltd |: |10 | |Objective of The Partex Beverage Ltd |: |10 | |Market share of Partex Beverage Ltd |: |12 | |Environmental Concern |: |12 | |The portfolio Matrix |: |14 | |Major Competitors |: |14 | |Marketing Process |: |16 | |Marketing...
Words: 5860 - Pages: 24
...Additional information, including supplemental material and rights and permission policies, is available at http://ite.pubs.informs.org. Vol. 9, No. 1, September 2008, pp. 1–9 issn 1532-0545 08 0901 0001 informs ® doi 10.1287/ited.1080.0014 © 2008 INFORMS INFORMS Transactions on Education Using Simulation to Model Customer Behavior in the Context of Customer Lifetime Value Estimation Shahid Ansari, Alfred J. Nanni Accounting and Law Division, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02457 {sansari@babson.edu, nanni@babson.edu} Dessislava A. Pachamanova, David P. Kopcso Mathematics and Science Division, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02457 {dpachamanova@babson.edu, kopcso@babson.edu} T his article illustrates how simulation can be used in the classroom for modeling customer behavior in the context of customer lifetime value estimation. Operations research instructors could use this exercise to introduce multiperiod spreadsheet simulation models in a business setting that is of great importance in practice, and the simulation approach to teaching this subject could be of interest also to marketing and accounting instructors. At Babson College, the spreadsheet simulation exercise is part of an integrated one-case teaching day of the marketing, accounting, and operations research disciplines in the full-time MBA program, but the exercise is directly transferable to stand-alone courses as well. In our experience, students have...
Words: 7074 - Pages: 29
...Ambient Insight's Q1-Q3 2015 International Learning Technology Investment Patterns Table Of Contents Tables.................................................................................................. 3 Figures ................................................................................................ 3 The Global Learning Technology Investment Patterns ........................ 4 Scope of this Whitepaper: What We Don't Track and What We Do Track ..... 5 What We Do Not Track .......................................................................................... 5 What We Do Track ................................................................................................ 6 New Interest in Location-based Learning: Mapping Companies Attract Unprecedented Funding........ 7 Cognitive Learning in the Spotlight: Spike in Investments in Behavior Modification Companies ........ 9 Sources of Investment Activity Information .............................................. 11 Investment Patterns in Context: The Longitudinal Perspective ......... 11 Blowing Past the $3 Billion Threshold ....................................................... 12 The China-India-Brazil Juggernaut ............................................................ 12 Opening the Floodgates: Unprecedented Deal Flows in 2015 ............ 13 Funding Amounts Over $50 million in First Three Quarters of 2015 .. 16 Retail Education: Consumer-facing Companies Still Attracting Investments...
Words: 11110 - Pages: 45
...according to the theme and perform the usual in flight services such as serving meals & beverages. Passengers may also opt to take polaroid pictures on board with our well dressed flight attendants with a charge. On top of that, a custom flight safety demonstration will also be performed by our flight attendants according to the theme to encourage our customers of their interests in the safety features of the aircraft. Famous hits of that theme will also be played on-board to generate a fun and party going atmosphere. Passengers are informed of such themes during their booking stage online and are encouraged to dress up as well. By selecting a WonderFlight, each ticket will be charged $10.00 on top of the fare, while $5.00 will be contributed to Virgin Blueʼs RedJet Foundation for charity purposes. For the polaroid picture service, $8.00 is charged for each picture, and 30% of our takings goes to the World...
Words: 5170 - Pages: 21
