Using the information in the case as a starting point, but also other sources such as Euromonitor, Mintel and Keynote, conduct a PRESTCOM analysis for an electricity company of your choice (e.g. eon, EDF, Ovo).

Now conduct a SWOT analysis for the same company.

Summarize the three changes in the marketing environment that you think are most significant for your chosen electricity company. Why are these more important than the other trends or issues that you have identified in your SWOT analysis? The answer to this question should be written out fully not in bullet points.

Mini case study: A brighter world? Read the questions, then the case material, and then answer the questions. Questions 1. Using the information in the case as a starting point, but also other sources such as Euromonitor, Mintel and Keynote, conduct a PRESTCOM analysis for an electricity company of your choice (e.g. eon, EDF, Ovo). 2. Now conduct a SWOT analysis for the same company. 3. Summarize the three changes in the marketing environment that you think are most significant for your chosen electricity company. Why are these more important than the other trends or issues that you have identified in your SWOT analysis? The answer to this question should be written out fully - not in bullet points. We take it for granted. Press a switch and the light comes on. Feeling cold? Turn up the heating or switch on the fan heater. Hungry? Microwave something quick while the oven warms up. Electricity is such an important part of twenty-first-century life - it is almost impossible to think what we would do without it. Homes would be colder and darker but, even worse, trains would stop, petrol pumps wouldn't work, factories would grind to a halt, there would be fewer things in the shops which would be open less. We just aren't geared up to live without electricity though our great grandparents would have considered it a marvel and a luxury and coped very well without it. Clean, cheap, plentiful and environmentally friendly power is one of the most sought after prizes of our age. Most of the world's electricity still comes from coal-powered plants. Add in gas- and oil-based generators and these old fashioned generators account for nearly 70% of all the electricity supplied. Coal is polluting and it won't last. Gas comes through international pipelines, which can be used to hold countries to ransom. Most of western Europe is largely dependent on Russia for its gas, which has caused some worrying political posturing. Unfortunately, oil is often found in areas subject to political turmoil and its price has been artificially inflated by price collusion for many years, most notably through OPEC (Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries) which prevents competition between members, effectively fixing prices. Nuclear power is a source of public concern, even more so after the accident at Japan's Fukushima power station in 2011, and it seems impossible to decommission plants safely within our lifetimes. Wind power is weak; solar power involves unsightly panels; hydroelectric power shows promise but requires careful site selection and major investment. Recently, however, technological breakthroughs, and consumer willingness to take on energy producing projects in their own homes, have brought hopes of a solution and may even break the stranglehold that the big energy companies have on both consumers and businesses. A controversial new process, 'fracking', has revived the US oil industry, though many other countries have resisted that temptation amid safety fears. Fracking is said to cause earth tremors and may release carcinogenic chemicals into water supplies. Energy customers had some good news in 2015: there was a dramatic fall in worldwide energy prices - although UK domestic customers complained that this was not reflected in their bills. The price reduction was the result of an increase in oil supply, surprisingly reliable production levels in places such as Iraq and Libya, and the determination of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to maintain volume market share even at the cost of sales revenue. Unfortunately, this price reduction may not be all good news. There are concerns that these cheaper prices will take the pressure off governments to find long-term solutions to the energy problem and take attention away from renewables such as wind, water and solar power. Already the UK government has stopped many of its subsidies for solar panels while across the world governments still spend hundreds of billions of dollars subsidizing fossil fuels. Sources: BBC News (2015); Lucas (2015), Shift Project (n.d.)