PEST Analysis

Political

Brainient has two main bases. Much of the marketing and sales is done here in the UK. However all of the development of the technical aspects on the software itself is done in Romania. This means that the are two governments under who Brainient may need to comply with. Recently the British Government changed from Labour to Conservative. Although massive cuts have greatly affected the public sector, Conservatives policies suggest many benefits that have and will continue to be beneficial to small businesses. Here is a subsection from the conservatives website that highlights the perks of being a small business under their government

"Boosting growth

• We have delivered on our election promise by stopping the most damaging part of Labour’s planned increase in employer’s National Insurance Contributions – a tax on jobs.
• To help small firms get the finance they need, we have got the banks to lend £190 billion of new credit to business this year, up from £179 billion in 2010. £76 billion of this lending will be to small businesses – 10 billion more than in 2010.
• We will cut Corporation Tax from 28 per cent to 24 per cent over four years which is the lowest rate in the G7. We have also cut the small companies’ rate to 20 per cent.
• We are conducting a fundamental review of employment law to ensure we provide the competitive environment small businesses need to thrive.
• We are carrying out a cross-government Growth Review to remove government barriers to growth. Priority will be given to improving the planning system; supporting inward investors and exporters; and reforming the competition regime.
• We will boost growth outside the South East through a Regional Growth Fund and abolishing the tax on jobs for new businesses in the regions."

Economical
Here is a graph showing the interest rates of the UK over a given time. We can notice that interest rates are low. This is usually an indication of a weak economy. In order to encourage growth- interest rates have been kept low so that small businesses can start up. This is a double edged sword since it means its a good opportunity to start growing a business in an economy that is weak! However it is less the question of what the situation is now and more a case of what the situation will be in the near future.

We are currently in a global recession. This will heavily affect the success of Brainients interactive software. Most businesses will suffer in this type of climate for obvious reasons. In fact Brainient was established in 2008 during a very difficult climate. However it is the nature of Interactive video which has allowed it to survive and even flourish over the subsequent two/three years. It is a cost effective means of companies to advertise. It is a way of consolidating the resources that are already available (like websites and video adverts) and simply improves what they already have using a focussed form of advertising.


Sociocultural
Brainient itself is representational of a certain style. As a relatively young company that has done exceptionally well through difficult economic times, Emi Gal stereotypically represents the entrepreneurial role model whose skills and work ethic have resonated through out the company.  Although the UK has a diverse population, a significant number represent young graduates who may be involved in banking or other business firms. Socioculturally a shift has occurred. With the advent of the internet has sprung a whole new work ethic that has shifted previous ideas about secure work for big established firms  and then working ones way up, to working as an entrepreneur for niche up and coming companies for a higher payoff.


Technological
One of the greatest aspects of Brainient is that it only requires the costs of paying developers. There are no other additional costs. With a developers team firmly based in Romania, they only need to maintain and improve software that has already been constructed perhaps finding ways of making them more user friendly or compatible with other platforms. However the greatest part of the software itself is that it is open to third party development. That is to say that if one wanted to add widgets to the software then they can. And for all useful widgets and tools that may be developed- they will all feed back into the software that has been used and improved by developers for the use of future users.

Background research: What is Brainient?

Having carried out some initial research on the internet, I found out that Branient is a part of a revolutionary concept- interactive video. It is a medium that takes an already popular and accepted medium- online video, and adds an extra dimension to it by adding relevant, concise pop up animations and links.

Brainient have created a product that would mainly appeal to big companies and small businesses alike.





Here is an example, (although not interactive itself), of how someone used interactive video to request a free brochure from the same company that he/she is watching the add on. It most likely is the case that the viewer is watching the video on the glasses companies website or another relevant website that they have now shown an interest. It makes sense that the advertisement is a relevant, furthering the viewers potential to be a customer.

Now having a basic understanding of the way in which the idea works- I am in a better position to start considering marketing analysis to start highlighting the position of the company, and the economic environment in which it must thrive.

Introduction to the Brief

This blog documents the progress of my Enterprising and Entrepreneurship unit.

The aim of this course is to work in a diverse group of individuals to understand the basic concepts of marketing to promote a product in an efficient way to a specific target audience. Given the the line that we are in (media), it would be a good way of learning key skills that are necessary in order to open ones own business and to get our ideas across in the most effective way.

In this case, we are focussing on branding through the latest form of virtual communication- i.e the internet. Our task is to successfully create marketing strategies for "Brainient", a company that specializes in creating pop ups/advertising on relevant videos on the internet. We also have to convey our ideas through a presentation in the final weeks on the findings that we have.

The members of my group are

Sanjay Sen (myself)
John Tebb
George Nindi
Lloyd Blake
Jerome John

The first step we must take in order to organize our time and workload in the most efficient way is to pick specific job roles that we wish to do. once this is achieved, then we can proceed to effectively carrying out the tasks that we have been assigned to. With good team work and a precise work plan I am sure that we will be able to form a strong set of marketing plans that may benefit "Brainient". Most importantly we will have the opportunity to learn key skills about marketing that will directly benefit anyone who is intending on setting up a business in the future.