Ruth Stanat

Regional Unrest from Economic Downturn

Perspectives on Economic Crisis in the Region

According to Michelle Walker, executive director of world policy insitute, many of the countries in Eastern Europe are vulnerable to unrest given the halt in high growth in these countries over the past few years.  These have resulted in short-sighted solutions to the problem.  Walker cites the example of Russia implementing high tariffs on imported used cars. Yet, these “temporary solutions” may place European countries in a worse position in the long run.  They have the ability to halt growth, make the crisis worse, diplomatic and trading ties between countries.  Walker also alludes to the possibility of there being many more individual protests in many different countries within the region at once.

7 Countries Affected by Violent Economic Unrest

Iceland

France

Greece – Labor protests

Bulgaria

Violence erupted in Sofia due to dissatisfaction with the government, new policies designed to counteract the recession and the worsening economic situation.

Richard Branson’s Recession Advice

Branson gave advice on youtube from an entrepreneurial perspective

On Large & Small Companies

“I think big companeis are going to retrench and there’s going to be a lot of people laid off from big companies. And therefore, a lot of those people who are laid off can be entrepreneurs in the future, and I think will be the entrepreneurs in the future. There are also going to be a lot of small companies out there that have still got reasonable cash flow and…lines of credit. And I think those kinds of companies and Virgin Included must try to help expand out of this problem, They must look for opportunities, and there will be hundreds of opportunities around. They must get out and employ people. They’re going ot find their cost base is going to be less right now. They’re going to be able to employ people at most liekly slighty at cost ef fective ways than in the past. And I think if thousands of small companies can try to fill in the gaps that some of the bigger companies…”

Civil Unrest in both Bulgaria, Lithuania & Latvia

Unrest in Bulgaria

Violence erupted in Sofia due to dissatisfaction with the government, new policies designed to counteract the recession and the worsening economic situation.

Unrest in Latvia

This video shows recent unrest in Latvia because of anti-government sentiment and the economy.

Unrest in Lithuania

Lithuania has had to implement tax raises for the population and salary cuts on government workers due to the economic recession.

Maximizing your Research Budget in a Recession

How to Maximize your Research Budget in a Recession
Ruth Stanat, President and CEO SIS International Research
January 28, 2009

The Recession

Clearly, this deep global recession has taken it toll on marketing departments and market research and competitive intelligence budgets. Senior executives, strategic planning and marketing departments face the following challenge of how to continue the following initiatives with a reduced research budget:

  • Global expansion plans
  • Customer satisfaction tracking
  • Competitor intelligence monitoring
  • Market opportunity/market sizing projects
  • Customer and brand loyalty projects
  • New product development tests
  • Ad tests

The Challenge and Opportunity of a Reduced Research Budget

The Need for Competitive Intelligence in a Recession

Global competitors never stop their Strategic Planning and Competitive Monitoring In any recession, companies may be tempted to believe that their competitors have “shut down” their Market Research and Competitive Intelligence budgets. While corporate budgets are cut, there are ways that companies can continue their competitive monitoring during the year and the next few years … Read more

Broadway in Beijing

Beijing Shibo Real Estate, a Chinese developer, is bringing Broadway to Beijing, by developing a row of 32 theaters in Haidian district.

The theaters will present well-established Western shows and musicals. Many of the shows will be translated into Mandarin from English.

The move shows the extent to which an upper class and upper middle class is emerging and expecting Western entertainment.

Secondly, this entertainment is a status symbol, part of conspicuous consumption. Companies and wealthy individuals will likely take their families or connections as part of guanxi to these events.

Lastly, Beijing’s new Broadway illustrates the tendency for Chinese to adapt Western influences. Planners are not innovating musicals, but reproducing them in local terms.