Marketing wars of the new millennium
Marketing wars become sophisticated and invisible. One of them happened in 2010, when Eyjafjallajokull dealt a devastating blow to the EU. If someone else is not in the know, Eyjafjallajokull is not a random set of letters, but the name of a volcano that paralyzed Europe. It may seem that this is just a natural disaster.
However, in reality this may not be the case. There is a strong possibility that in the face of the volcano, we have witnessed the birth of a new tool for waging a marketing war. Natural disasters, for which no one is legally responsible, because it is almost impossible to prove someone's involvement in their accomplishment, are very attractive in order to wage marketing wars .
There was a version that the harm of ash to aircraft was exaggerated by an imperfect computer program. In particular, the British newspaper Financial Times (FT) published a statement by the Director General of the Transport Department of the European Commission Matthias Ruete, which is sensational. According to the official, the damage from the volcano to the aviation industry was exaggerated by a defective computer program.
New Age Marketing Wars
So it could be not just an ash emission, but someone's well-thought-out action against competitors. The model that European authorities used to calculate the possible damage to air transport from the ash thrown out by a volcano, blocking the sky over Europe, was based on incomplete scientific data and imperfect algorithms.
Now it remains to figure out who could arrange a marketing war of this kind.
It is very weak to believe that this program could fail, or that a low-quality program could be adopted, which means that with a high degree of probability, everything was rigged. Now it remains to figure out who could arrange a marketing war of this kind. Finding these people or these forces is not so difficult, you just need to figure out who benefits from it.
According to information from some fairly reliable sources, the group that controls the US Federal Reserve was not satisfied with the current exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar at that moment and they would like to improve it in favor of the dollar, in other words, lower the euro. There were no objective grounds for doing this, so it was necessary to look for non-standard steps and they were found.
Marketing wars are profitable
The fact that from 14 to 24 April the US dollar rose from 1.36 per euro to 1.32 per unit of European currency speaks for the fact that it could have been a diversion on the part of this particular group. As you can see, its producers are very good at managing the price of the US dollar through panic, and most importantly at the right time for themselves.
… a volcanic eruption is possible, or at least the panic around the eruption was organized by air carriers
On the other hand, a volcanic eruption is possible, or at least the panic around the eruption was organized by air carriers, who thus decided to fight competitors. Air travel is such an industry where you can kill a competitor or persuade him to take some action if at least a few flights of his aircraft are canceled.
“I think stopping flights is pure reinsurance, politics and business. After all, airlines will suffer billions in losses due to the fact that people do not fly. Accordingly, large airlines will survive these 10 days, while small ones will go bankrupt, "says Yuri Izrael, director of the Institute for Global Climate and Ecology of Roshydromet and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Marketing wars are effective
Consequently, large air carriers could raise a panic in order to compensate for the losses from the global financial and economic crisis by ruining small companies. Also, air carriers from countries that were not affected by the volcanic eruption could raise a panic in order to later buy out the losers and enter new markets.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated the losses of airlines during the period of the ban on flights at $1.7 billion.
So, according to IATA, for an industry that, due to the economic crisis, lost $9.4 billion last year and is expected to lose another $2.8 billion in a new one, another blow, and by it we mean the eruption volcano, can be simply destructive, can simply bury her. At the same time, according to Bisignani, European air carriers will suffer the greatest losses.
Of course, the air travel market has been hit hard. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated the losses of airlines during the period of the flight ban at $1.7 billion. turned out to be 1.2 million passengers per day.
Marketing wars are invisible
The scale of the crisis, according to information from the head of IATA Giovanni Bisignani, even eclipsed the consequences of September 11, 2001, due to which US airspace was closed for three days. However, like any other war, marketing wars require certain sacrifices in the name of victory. Having lost several tens of millions of US dollars today, the winners in this war will then receive billions of US dollars.
The exact amount of losses of the tourism industry is not called, but the approximate figures are about 1 billion US dollars.
In addition, investors who had their eyes on tourism assets could also have a hand in organizing the panic around the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, because due to the fact that air traffic was paralyzed, many tourists could not either get to vacation spots or return from them. The exact amount of losses of the tourism industry is not known, but the approximate figures are about 1 billion US dollars.
Losses, of course, will ultimately fall on tour operators, who will be sued by tourists for a failed vacation. As a result, the owners of assets in the tourism industry, who have already suffered so much from the global financial and economic crisis, received another blow, which may be fatal for them and they will have to part with the previously profitable business.
Marketing wars are profitable
Individuals or groups of individuals who work in the sports events market could also be involved in organizing the panic. For example, it could be black bookmakers who accepted bets on the results of UEFA Champions League matches. Barcelona, who had won everything they could a year earlier, were close to repeating their success in 2010.
Many could make big bets that this particular team would win the current UEFA Champions League.
Many could make big bets that this particular team would win the current UEFA Champions League. It is very difficult to prevent her from winning the trophy for the second time in honest ways, because the team is already very strong. Dishonest methods are not always suitable, because if the sports principle is suddenly violated, then the one who did it will, of course, be punished.
However, some dishonest methods seem very legitimate, such as a volcanic eruption, due to which the team was forced to get to the place of the game with Inter by ground transport. It can be difficult even for professionals to endure such a journey, which was proved by the final score of the meeting. Barcelona lost 1-3 to Inter.
Marketing wars are destructive
In addition to the industries already listed, other industries also suffer losses from the volcano, including manufacturers and importers of perishable products. “If the situation does not improve in 3-4 days, St. Petersburg will face a shortage of flowers. Almost all carnations in St. Petersburg are from South America and Africa, and if this goes on, there will be nothing to give to veterans on May 9, “said Dmitry Alexandrov, general director of the wholesale supplier LLC 7 Flowers North-West.
Producers of fish, fresh meat, fruits, dairy products also reported losses.
Producers of fish, fresh meat, fruits, and dairy products also reported losses. For example, according to information from Reuters, Norway's largest seafood company, Marine Harvest Norway, announced a decline in fish catches, as well as the fact that its exports to Asia and the United States were under threat. Icelandic producers have begun freezing fresh fish.
The American Whole Foods Market Inc noted a drop in the supply of fish and seafood for sushi. Peter Grundhofer, one of Frankfurt's biggest traders, said the volcano situation has affected supplies of fresh beans and pepperoni from Egypt, greens from Israel, and exotic fruits such as mangoes, kumquats and physalis. The manager of one of the German restaurants claims that the establishment lacks fresh tuna from the Indian Ocean, basil from Cyprus and Canadian lobsters.
Modern marketing wars
The volcano also hit express carriers. The postal operator DHL has announced delays in shipments from Europe and is looking for workarounds for deliveries. Mobile phones, art objects, expensive furniture from Italy, dishes, jewelry, perfumes are delayed along the way. Due to disruptions in the supply of high-tech components, automakers Nissan and BMW announced the stoppage of conveyors.
The revival of the volcano was also felt by logistics companies
In Europe, including in St. Petersburg, industry conferences and other events were cancelled. Kenyan flower growers, which account for about 35% of flower imports to EU countries, suffered losses of about $3 million per day. Farmers in North and South America, Israel, Turkey and a number of African countries have suffered great losses due to the short shelf life, as a significant part of their products are delivered to Europe by air.
The revival of the volcano was also felt by logistics companies: the Danish TNT switched to the delivery of goods by rail, DHL predicts possible delays in the delivery of goods by 3-5 days. While some of the affected industries have switched to road transport, border queues and a lack of vehicle fleets have still made it difficult for them to clear customs, which has affected the speed of delivery.
The prospect of marketing wars
As you can see, there are plenty of forces interested in a volcanic eruption. Each of these forces could be involved in the eruption, or at least in the panic around it. However, the truth about who really arranged all this, most likely, we will never know, because, as we are talking about very large sums, and hardly anyone will agree to tell it. Just like never before, no one tells the truth about the oil wars.
So, we may never know if this was someone's sophisticated marketing ploy, or if it really was a simple volcanic eruption.
So, we may never know if this was someone's sophisticated marketing ploy, or if it really was a simple volcanic eruption. On the one hand, this is, of course, good, because when you know less, you sleep more. But on the other hand, sleeping well with the idea that such sophisticated marketing wars are possible and that irreparable damage can be done to the business at any time is unlikely to work.
It is much safer for the nerves to play it safe and provide for any marketing or other activities that will prevent possible losses from similar cases in the future. Such cases are not excluded, because there will always be many who want to create problems for competitors and not incur any punishment for this.