Brand Management as an Important Aspect of Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Literature review Example

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Name of Student: Course Code: Instructors Name: Date of Submission: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Introduction Entrepreneurship is the ability to spot business opportunities and pooling the required resources in order to exploit them. Entrepreneurship is more concerned with the spiritual will power of an individual as opposed to physical or financial capabilities. In the modern times where the business world is characterized by intense competition, entrepreneurs are faced with the challenge of ensuing that they stay afloat in the market. This has led to the need for the embracement of innovation in business. Ideally, innovation cuts across all the phases of establishing and managing a business venture. Firstly, it is important for an entrepreneur to come up with an innovative idea. In so doing, the entrepreneur’s venture is better placed to succeed as opposed to its rivals since it stands out from them. Secondly, it is important for an entrepreneur to integrate innovative ideas in the business processes so as to ensure that his or her investment grows with time. Moreover, this ensures that the business venture is sustainable; hence meaning that the entrepreneur is able to profit from today’s business and be guaranteed of doing so in the future. Ideally, an entrepreneur should have the zeal and patience to forge forward and achieve his or her dreams. According to Arthur Diamond, an entrepreneur is more focused on the true side of an idea by developing and acquiring knowledge from all the available avenues (Diamond 2012, p. 111). Therefore, entrepreneurship is all about optimism; optimism which enables an entrepreneur to counter challenges and take up opportunities through the embracement of innovation in business. The following paper will present a literature review on innovation and entrepreneurship with special reference to Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson who is a renowned entrepreneur around the globe. Sir Richard Branson Just like some of the reputable entrepreneurs in the world like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, Richard Branson has an inspiring story behind him. Sir Richard Branson, as he later came to be known after he was accorded a Knight status by the Queen of England in recognition of his input to entrepreneurship started being engaged in business at a tender age of 16 (Sir Richard Branson 2013, p.1). By then, he was just but high school dropout who had left school to try to work his life in the business world. Contrary to what many may want to believe Sir Branson was not one of the top performers in his class, but rather struggled in class, something which may have led to his dropping out. Sir Branson first business venture was in the media where he started a youth oriented magazine, Student, which attracted a whopping $8,000 in advertising in its initial publication. After this, the rest is written in history books. Sir Richard Branson has over time risen in entrepreneurship to own the famous Virgin group which is constituted of the reputable Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic Airlines and other 200 companies (Sir Richard Branson 2013, p.1). This literature review will focus on brand management as an important aspect of innovation and entrepreneurship. Linking brand management with Sir Richard Branson, it can be acknowledged that he has played an important role in brand Virgin. Ideally, Sir Richard Branson is a celebrity. Therefore, his association with brand Virgin has led to its development in addition to increasing market share for the company. On this point, it is important to note that celebrity hood has an important influence on a brand and ultimately the success of a business venture (Moeran 2003, p.299). Some of the reputable enterprises and products which are linked to their owners include Coke, Toyota and Marlboro. The Virgin group of companies has benefited from the celebrity status of Richard Branson. He has been involved in many occurrences which have made him famous for instance circumnavigating the world in a hot air balloon in addition to other adventures. On this, it is important to note that the personality of Sir Richard Branson has had a lot of influence on brand Virgin (Strategic Direction 2010, p.28). The following section will review some literature on some of Sir Richard Branson’s business ventures. Student Magazine The Student Magazine was the first successful business which Sir Richard Branson invested in. It was the first business opportunity which Branson exploited after dropping out of school. Prior to this, Branson had tried growing and selling Christmas trees, a business which was not as profitable as the magazine business. During the initial publication, Branson was able to sell advertising space worth $8000. As pointed out earlier, this figure was good bearing in mind that the magazine was new in the market. As a business strategy, Branson gave out 50,000 copies of the magazine which were part of the first run. The Student targeted the youth and was run by students. Linking the above with entrepreneurship and innovation, it can be acknowledged that Branson’s idea of a student’s magazine was innovative. He had seen a niche in the publishing industry which he exploiting his strategic entrepreneurial skills. By giving off the first copes of the magazine, Branson was able to introduce his product into the market successfully. In addition to this, he used his entrepreneurial skills to find advertisers who would pay for the publishing costs of the first run. From this, it can be seen that innovation and entrepreneurship are interrelated and each one is dependent on the other. Mail Order After Sir Richard Branson had run the Student for a while, he saw the need to pump in extra funds into the magazine business. In order to do this, he started a mail order record company whose profits enabled him to expand the magazine business in addition to leading to his involvement in the music recording industry. The music loving environment in London where Sir Richard Branson lived led him to music recording. Music recording was a development on the mail order business which had given him more exposure into the music industry. He built his first recording studio in Oxford Shire in 1972. Linking this with entrepreneurship and innovation, it is worth noting that entrepreneurs always look out for ways in which they can reduce their operating costs in order to make profits. In addition to this, strategic entrepreneurs focus on satisfying the needs of their customers since it is the only way in which they can sustain their business. Richard Branson saw the need to cut down on the costs of operating his magazine business by starting up the mail order business which would help him distribute the magazines and also sell records. This was an act of innovation. Virgin Group The Virgin group was started after the establishment of Virgin Records. Virgin Records was a music recording company which gained reputation from producing music from reputable artists. Under the Virgin Group are over 200 companies, each of which focuses on specific lines of operation. It is under this group that Sir Richard Branson has focused on branding. Under the brand ‘Virgin’, Branson has been able to set up several businesses which have done well in the market although some of them failed due to several environmental factors. Branding is a very important process in the running of any business; hence its close relationship with entrepreneurship and innovation. The following section will look at three companies under the virgin group namely Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Virgin Records and Virgin Galactic. Virgin Atlantic Airlines Virgin Atlantic Airlines is one of the major airline companies in the Britain and the world at large. The airline company is currently owned by Sir Richard Branson who controls a 51% stake at the company and Delta Airlines which controls 49% of the company. Initially, Sir Richard Branson owned the entire company before selling out part of it to Delta Airlines in a bid to raise money to expand it. Virgin Atlantic Airlines was established in 1984. Initially, the airline concentrated on the domestic market but has since grown its operations to the international market (Virgin Atlantic Airlines 2013b, p.1). Under the aviation business Sir Richard Branson has also invested n other airlines for instance Virgin Australia. However, it is Virgin Atlantic which has stood out among the airlines under the Virgin group. Over time, Virgin Atlantic Airlines has beaten all the odds in the aviation industry to become one of the leading airlines in the industry. Key to the company’s success is its focus on providing unique and excellent customer service. According to Virgin Atlantic, this has been made possible by the company’s focus on innovation (Virgin Atlantic Airlines 2013, p.1). On this point, it is important to acknowledge the fact that in the modern business world, a business does to just exists in order to make more profits; there is a higher calling for business organizations to provide utility to their customers; hence ensuring that they are relevant to their customers. This calls for a strategic link between entrepreneurship and innovation (Virgin Atlantic Airlines 2013a, p.1). Looking at Virgin Atlantic Airlines, it can be acknowledged that every move to venture into untapped markets has always been matched by innovative products/ services which are meant to meet the specific needs of the target market. The following section will give an insight into some of Virgin Atlantic’s products and also give their relationship with innovation and entrepreneurship. The key aspect behind Virgin Atlantic Airline’s success is its marketing strategy. The company has established several products and service provision processes which have enabled the company to stand out above the rest in the market. As an entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson has established a close relationship between marketing and innovation. On this point, it is important to note that innovation has a very important role to play in marketing. Innovation enables an organization to create better products for their customers and provide them to their customers in the most customer friendly way (Crumpton 2012, p.98).The following section will analyze some of the company’s airline services and products. The Virgin Experience comprises of several customer service products. They include economy, premium, upper class services. The economy class is targeted o low income earners in Virgin Atlantic’s target market. The service is provided by friendly cabin crew and the traveler is given a choice of 3 meals, entertainment, newspaper and an amenity kit. In the premium economy class, the client has the liberty provided by extra space. The client is welcomed with a beverage of his or her choice. The seat provides a good workspace which has a socket for powering any electronic device. The client is also served with meals in stainless steel cutlery. The upper class is associated with a great experience. Firstly, the client s collected by a chauffeur upon arrival. The client also has access to the Virgin Clubhouse. The seat in the upper class section are made of leather and provide a good sleeping space since they can easily be flipped into a bed (Virgin Atlantic Airlines 2013c, p.1). In a bid to provide unique services to the company’s clients, Sir Richard Branson is planning on introducing live concerts for the passengers who travel with the airline. This service is focused on increasing the company’s market share in the domestic market (Parr 2013, p.1). The product is meant to be integrated into the Little Red domestic airline. From the above discussion, it can be appreciated that the innovation has had a key role to play in Virgin Atlantic’s service delivery. Sir Richard Branson has always sought innovative ways of providing unique and customer friendly services to its clients. This can be seen by the unique products which are targeted to specific markets. Virgin Records Virgin Records was the first major company under the Virgin umbrella. Sir Richard Branson grew up in a neighborhood which was surrounded by music. This encouraged Branson to invest in the music recording industry. At this time, he was working on his magazine and the mail order company. Virgin recording studio was born out of the mail order business. The first artist to record a Virgin Records was Mike Oldfield. He recorded a classical hit, ‘tubular bells’, which was warmly received by the audience. The song stayed top on the UK music charts for 247 weeks. This song gave Sir Richard Branson the much needed recognition in the market. Under the fame which came about with the success of ‘tubular bells’, Sir Richard Branson signed new and upcoming artists into his record label. Some of the famous artists which Branson signed in his recording company included Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones, Genesis and Culture Club (Sir Richard Branson 2013, p.1). Over time, Virgin Records grew to be one of the top music recording studios in the world. In the course of his strive to explore more opportunities in the business world, Sir Richard Branson was forced to sell Virgin Records in a bid to save Virgin Airlines (Sir Richard Branson 2013, p.1). However, Branson was not done with the music recording business and later came into it under the name Virgin Megastores. Under the new name, Branson made use of innovative information technology systems to enhance the efficiency of his music recording business. According to Emerald Back Files, Virgin has been a leader in the music recording industry, changing the way in which business is done by integrating computer technologies which have placed it ahead of its rivals (Emerald Back Files 2007, p. 18). Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is a company which was set up by Sir Richard Branson in a bid to exploit space tourism. Branson is renowned for his ambitious ideas and space tourism is one of such. Virgin Galactic provides sub orbital flights on space to tourists who are eager to explore the space. The company was founded in 2005 and has its headquarters in New Mexico n the United States (Virgin Galactic 2013, p.1). The company’s fleet comprises of several space crafts. Some of them include the White Knight 2 and the Space Ship 2. White knight 2 is a special plane which has a model of two planes which are linked by a central wing. Owing to the extensive research which is needed to make space tourism a reality Virgin Galactic has partnered with NASA and signed a memorandum with it in 2007. Some of the main aspects of the Galactic program are training and technical innovation. Currently, the company has started booking passengers for its expected space voyages. Other Innovative Entrepreneurial Ideas by Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson has invested in several innovative products and processes which have continuously enabled the company to stay ahead of its competitors in the market. One of the main innovative projects which Branson has focused on is on the development of alternative fuels to run his fleet of planes and cars (Hawn 2006, p.1). On this point, it can be acknowledged that the world is focused on reducing it’s over dependence on fossil fuels. Coupled with the inherent danger of global warming which is as a result of emission of carbon gases in the atmosphere. Due to this reason, corporate are focused on developing clean fuels which will not only save the world from global warming but also reduce the energy costs for the specific companies. On this point, Branson has invested in ethanol plants and solar energy plants. Branson has also invested in several other business ventures apart from the airline and recording business. He has invested heavily in the manufacturing industry for instance in the phone manufacturing industry where he once strived to compete with I phone, in the soft drink manufacturing industry with his Virgin Cola product, in vehicle transport systems, in bridal houses among other numerous ventures. Sir Richard Branson embarks on product and brand promotion using his celebrity hood status (Hawn 2006, p.1). He portrays himself as the savior of his target customers from exorbitant prices and substandard services. This can be evidenced in his launch of Virgin Australia where he arrived at the venue hanging from a helicopter. With his rigorous promotion processes, Branson has turned to innovation and entrepreneurship to satisfy the needs of his target market (The Times 100, 2013, p.1). In line with unique service delivery is efficient branding and brand management. Successful branding has the following effects on the market. Firstly, it influences the purchasing decision of a customer; it also influences the intuition of the undecided customers. Lastly, it leads to brand loyalty; hence leading to return customers (The Times 100, 2013, p.1). However, branding is only achievable through successful integration of innovative ideas and process; as it s the case with Virgin Atlantic Airlines (Mitchell 2006, p.144) (Johnson 2001, p.135). Conclusion In conclusion, it can be seen from this literature review that innovation and entrepreneurship are intertwined. The review has analyzed Sir Richard Branson and some of his enterprises. The review has identified that Branson is a great innovator and entrepreneur. In fact, his knighthood status was accorded to his due to his contribution to entrepreneurship in the UK and the globe at large. The review started by analyzing the personality of Sir Richard Branson. The review identified that Branson has used his celebrity hood status to promote brand Virgin around the world. In addition to this Branson focused on implementing his business ideas, no matter what the underlying situations may be. The review also identified that Branson started his entrepreneurship venture at a tender age of 16 years after dropping out of high school. The review analyzed the student magazine which was his first successful business entire and the mail order venture which aimed at funding the magazine business. The review also analyzed the Virgin group which is constituted of over 200 companies. Under the group, the review analyzed Virgin Airlines, Virgin Records and Virgin Galactic. Summing up, it can be seen from this paper that innovation is a crucial element which makes entrepreneurship successful. Virgin Group has focused on providing unique products and services to its customers by providing innovative products and services. Branding and brand management has also been effected by the strategic embracement of innovation. Concluding, it can pointed out that innovation and entrepreneurship are intertwined; entrepreneurship cannot be successful without the embracement of innovation. References Crumpton, M., 2012. Leading Results Innovation and Entrepreneurship, The Bottom Line: Managing library Finances, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 98-101 Diamond, A., 2012. Chapter 8 The Epistemology of Entrepreneurship, in Roger Koppl, Steven Horwitz, Laurent Dobuzinskis (ed.) Experts and Epistemic Monopolies (Advances in Austrian Economics, Volume 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.111-142 Emerald Back Files, 2007. Record Merchandising at Virgin Retail, Retail & Distribution Management, pp.18-19 Hawn, C., 2006. Branson’s Next Big Bet, CNN Money, Retrieved on 18th August 2013 from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/08/01/8382250/ Johnson, D., 2001. What is Innovation and Entrepreneurship? Lessons for Larger Organizations, Industrial and Commercial Training: Vol. 33, no.4, pp.135 – 140 Mitchell, D.,2006. Strategic Roles For Model Leaders, Handbook of Business Strategy, pp. 243 -247 Moeran 2003. Celebrities and The Name Economy, Anthropological Perspectives on Economic Development and Integration Research in Economic Anthropology, Vol. 22, no.1, pp. 299–321 Sir Richard Branson, 2013. The Biography Channel website. Retrieved on 18th August 2013 from http://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520 Strategic Direction, 2013. When Branding Gets Personal, Strategic Direction, Vol. 26, no.4, pp. 28-31 The Times 100, 2013. Building an Airline Through Brand Values, The Times 100, Retrieved on 18th August 2013 from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/virgin-atlantic/building-an-airline-through-brand-values/introduction.html Parr, H., 2013. Sir Richard Branson To Hit High Note With Mini Music Gigs On Domestic Flights, The Independent, Retrieved on 18th August 2013 from, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sir-richard-branson-to-hit-high-note-with-mini-music-gigs-on-domestic-flights-8753937.html Virgin Atlantic Airlines, 2013a. Managing Design at Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways. Retrieved on 18th August 2013 from http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/Case-studies/Virgin-Atlantic-Airways/ Virgin Atlantic Airlines, 2013b. About Us, Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Retrieved on 11th August 2013 from http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/footer/media-centre.html Virgin Atlantic Airlines, 2013c. The Virgin Experience, Retrieved on 11th August 2013 from http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/the-virgin-experience/upperclass.html Virgin Galactic, 2013. Virgin Galactic, Retrieved on 11th August 2013 from http://www.virgingalactic.com/overview/ Read More