Inclass Assignment 11/26/19

1.)   After reading about corporate reputation, there were many things that could be taken away. One of the first takeaways that I got from the article was how important it is for the company to have a good reputation. A company’s reputation is a gateway to what the consumer knows about a particular company. If the company has a bad reputation, they will not have that good of sales, when compared to a company with a great reputation. Another take away that I got from this is how having a good reputation can be very helpful when dealing with a crisis within the company. Consumers are more likely to have faith a trust a company in a crisis if they have a respectable reputation. A third take away was how corporate reputation can be important for brands when it comes to sponsorships. If someone is attending an event with that company sponsoring it, they will most likely look to that company’s reputation to see if the event will be successful. Also, if the company sponsors an important sporting event, that could lead to the boosting of their reputation in positive ways.

2.)   Corporate reputation is achieved through the growth of corporate branding. Corporate branding is anything that a company does that comes to mind when you think about the company as a whole. Corporate reputation touches upon what the company is known for and what is going to make people lean towards that company based on what they have heard. One company that is good at maintaining corporate reputation is General Motors. General Motors had been facing issues in 2014 due to ignition switch failures. They were able to accept responsibility and focus on fixing their vehicles while doing right by their customers. While doing all of this, they were still able to hold themselves accountable for their mistakes.  Another one of the best corporate reputation companies is Under Armour. The brand is considered to be a paramount and the company’s corporate and marketing communications teams focus on that all throughout their communications with other companies. The company’s senior vice president has explained how their brand’s reputation is so important because it is how the consumer connects with the company, so it is essential that the company has a good reputation.

3.)    Hertz

a.)   After doing research on the Tampa Metro area, I was able to find that house incomes have been rising in this particular area. The rich are getting richer which is causing an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor. The apartment market in Tampa is continuing to flourish as well. This will make it a competitive business for those already existing apartment companies as they will have to battle surrounding companies for consumers. It will also help local businesses economically, as more people will do to their shops.

b.)   There are many responsibility initiatives that are related to Hertz’s core business that could also provide an opportunity for employees and the community to get involved. One of these initiatives would be a way to conserve energy throughout the areas that they are located in. A way that they could do this is on one day of every week or one day of each month have each consumer turn off their lights for a said amount of hours. If they do this, they get a discount on their car rental or something along those lines. You would be able to tell if they are succeeding, by looking at the statistics of electricity in that given area. Another initiative could be to have the employees of this company help in hurricane relief. Being that it is in Tampa, they could all come together and help bring relief to those affected by hurricanes that happen. You could promote this initiative by increasing benefits to those that attend and help out. You would be able to know the success level, by how many people turn out and how many people are helped.

4.)   SNAP

a.)   One program that could be used is that users can have access to their old pictures that have been deleted if they pay a certain price. It would bring the company money, but the public may feel that their safety is in jeopardy, because the picture is supposed to go away. Another activity could be to have a snapchat booth at certain events. This booth would be almost like a photobooth, but it has the filters like the app does. You could get employees to work at it and promote the company. The company would make money by having consumers pay a small price to take pictures in the photobooth. Another program that they could do is merge together with a charity and have an event or sell merch. Half the proceeds could go to the charity and half could go to Snapchat. It would get the community involved and if they are interested in the cause, they would definitely spend money on it.

b.)   When engaging the community and promoting it throughout the community, it is important to do things that are going to spark people’s interest. For the snapchat booth, it would be important to have this booth at places where people who use snapchat would be so either at carnivals, high school prom or around college campuses. When it comes to pairing with a charity, it would tug on people’s heart strings and make them want to help a good cause. This could also be done on college campuses, because students are those who want to make a change and they use Snapchat, so just the name alone would entice them.