Andover Business Club

    E xcellent end of term meeting today, ABC! We had a lively discussion about User Experience (UX), eliciting our own opinions about certain companies, how they operate, and what it is that makes us eager to continue consuming. We then set out to explore what makes good user experience, and what a company should do in order to achieve such.      User Experience is about the interaction of a customer with a company's product, and whether their experience was pleasant, manageable, satisfactory and frictionless. Companies that focus on developing such user experience are very "customer-centric", focusing on generating a good experience for the customer. We discussed how a company first needs to develop a worthwhile product that a customer will want and be happy with, and then focus on enhancing their experience. No matter how good a customer's experience is, if the product is not of worth to people, the whole endeavor is futile.      Prior to the g...

 Another great ABC meeting this week! We had a great meeting about advertising and branding, focusing specifically on a few different case studies and topics. We had engaging discussions around the strength & usefulness of branding, relating to Apple, Starbucks, Supreme, Amazon, Facebook, and other social media companies.  We started our discussion talking about phrases that make a company so popular. Phrases such as "Netflix and chill" or Nike's "just do it" are what we centered the conversation around. These phrases are exactly how a company gets free advertising and creates brand exposure. They allow people to learn and remember a company. We then moved on to how brands built continuity and trust through branding and advertising. Jake from State Farm is a great example of the advertising, and Starbucks shutting down worldwide for a day to train baristas is an example that shows a company committed to quality.  Moving on, we discussed verbs for a short per...

Another great meeting this week! Thank you to everyone who came, especially since we tried out Friday meetings instead of our usual Wednesday ones. For those who couldn't come, fear not! We discussed the topic of streaming services, such as Netflix, PrimeVideo, Disney+, and HBOmax. Before streaming services became a major source of entertainment, many people watched shows on cable. Over time, consumers started watching shows on platforms that included a variety of shows where they can pick what to watch instead of following the scheduling of cable services. Now with everyone spending more time indoors because of the pandemic, easy, accessible entertainment options, especially streaming services, are especially lucrative. Thus, we explored the different types and our opinions on them. The first service that we talked about was Netflix. Netflix originally started off selling or renting DVDs out to people. Later, they started compiling the shows up digitally. During a Blockbuster shar...

  Wow, this week has been an eventful one in ABC! The board wishes all of you the best of luck going into midterms! We all hope that your midterms are (at least somewhat) stress-free, and that you get the grades you hoped for! Anyway, for those of you that were unable to make it to the meeting we had this morning, ABC discussed all things Apple. From the luxury image the company has built up over the years, to the simplicity of their products, Apple has more than succeeded in creating a name for themselves in the world of technology. When first delving into our discussion, club members were quick to bring up Apple's "luxury" image. From years of developing their brand name under the production of well-known products such as the iPhone, iPad, and iMac, Apple's image has become one that is of great popularity. Members talked about how even though the company usually tends to charge top dollar for their products (especially with the fairly recent iPhones breaking the $...

We hope you had a meaningful MLK Day programming and long weekend. Thank you to everyone who applied for a position on the Andover Business Club board. This year, we understand that it was difficult to attend meetings due to time zones, different work schedules, etc. We acknowledge and thank you for your tenacity and commitment to ABC, nonetheless. We hope that with these positions you will work collectively to fuel ABC's growth, which has come a long way since it was founded in 2017, and continue making this space inclusive and inviting to all members of the Andover community.  Attached is the ABC Board for the 2021-2022 school year. We will have a  brief meeting tomorrow, 1/20, at 10:15 AM EST . If you are on the board, you will be asked to stay a little after to discuss your roles and prompt a smooth transition. 

ABC reconvened for our first meeting of the year this past Wednesday! Additionally, board apps were due earlier this week, so thank you to all who applied. Board turnovers will follow shortly. This week, Student Advocates for Climate Awareness (SACA) partnered with ABC to  lead a discussion on the impacts of climate change and renewable resources on the private sector.  SACA is a club tackling climate change questions pertaining to various fields, from medicine to business. They've brought their insight to other clubs, asking participants to reflect on how climate change affects fields of their interest.  We focused our discussion on electric vehicles (EVs), honing in on the company Tesla in particular. We hope to see more EVs in the market in the future, with most of Tesla's market based in the Boston to New York corridor.  Upon reflection, this is likely due to a combination of geographical, socioeconomic, practical, and marketing reasons.  ABC and SACA also a...

This two-week interlude between Thanksgiving and Winter Break can be an odd time of year. With the global pandemic, this effect is only exacerbated. Much has happened in the world since we last met. Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine was approved and the first doses have already been administered in England. Moderna is not too far behind. This week, ABC addressed the COVID-19 vaccine, the priority groups, the strained supply chain, and the ethics of distribution. We focused our discussion on the supply chain, in particular, distribution via aircraft. With sluggish business trips and vacations, fewer passenger planes are flying to remote and/or otherwise hard to reach places. Supplies and necessities like vaccines usually reach those remote corners of the world via the bellies of passenger planes. Therefore, with fewer flights across the board, it will be harder to deliver the vaccine around the world, particularly to small islands or countries with underdeveloped infrastructure. On the ...