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Luxury Goods

Which luxury brand is least likely to be harmed by counterfeits?

Luxury brands can differentiate from counterfeits and prevent the negative impact of counterfeits in a few ways. The first piece would be to emphasize the luxury buying experience. I'm thinking about the premium stores, the customer service, and being seen and associated with these stores. This purchasing experience is another signal on it's own. Whereas, purchasing a counterfeit is often a much less premium experience, potentially even a negative experience. Thus brands with a strong purchasing experience might prevent additional counterfeit purchasing. Second would be having additional distinct product features to differentiate versus counterfeits. As a luxury good manufacturer, just like how some governments apply effects to currency so that it is possible to identify whether something is authentic, one could apply the same thinking. This way, it becomes easier to identify who truly has a real luxury good. Last, from a customer segmentation perspective, the luxury brand with a less of an allocation to the accessible customer segment would be least likely to be harmed by counterfeits. I believe the primary reason for the counterfeit market is for those who are price sensitive. If the brand does not have many customers in the accessible segment who are price sensitive, then their customer base would have very little reason to go toward counterfeits.

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Predicting Diffusion

I believe the PB slices could reach market potential rapidly. In this day and age, some virality and silliness in the product is required to get rapid adoption. If you think of some viral food hacks or cooking hacks that take place on TikTok or Instagram Reels, they spread like wildfire. If marketing is done correctly and potentially uses social media influencers, it could catch as a viral trend. The question is more about how long this virality would last in retaining customers. I think it's possible for the adoption to be quick but unless the product truly delivered value beyond a standard peanut butter jar, then people would likely stop using the product just as quickly.

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Corona Beer Blog

What are Heineken’s vulnerabilities and how could they be protected?

Initially, Heineken did not take Modelo's entrance into the US market seriously - stating it was simply "Mexican soda pop". However, Heineken faced its own difficulties entering the US market with foreign currency exchange issues and a continued decline in sales.

What do the Heineken and Corona brands mean in the minds of consumers, and how do these meanings differ in the minds of consumers?

Corona focused on emphasizing "Fun, sun, and beach" as their theme. Advertisements were often filmed in Mexico, kept simple, and usually portrayed a beach environment. Heineken on the other hand focused on product quality, signaling that their beer was not just any beer but the best.

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