Chapter 14: Product and Price - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Increased Competition and Costs Lead to Higher Prices at Hershey

February 8, 2019

Sorry, candy lovers, but today we’ve got more bad news. Not only will millions of Americans soon be forced to spend Valentine’s Day without their SweetHearts, but there’s also something wrong with the nation’s supply of Hershey’s Kisses. While the chocolate treats will still be available for next week’s big day, they’ll be missing one of their most distinctive features: the tips. Since December consumers have been puzzled by the tips’ absence, fearing that Hershey had changed the candy’s Continue reading →

Candy, Food & Drink, Product Development, Branding, Pricing, Marketing, Packaging, Manufacturing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Candy Factory’s Closing Leads to SweetHearts Shortage

February 7, 2019

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With Valentine’s Day just a week away, lovebirds across the nation are running out of time to stock up on romantic gifts like flowers and candy. But while stores should have many of the seasonal items that shoppers are looking for, there’s one iconic Valentine treat that consumers won’t be able to get their hands on. Due to the sudden closing of the Necco candy factory in July, there will be no SweetHearts available this year.

The colorful heart-shaped candies Continue reading →

Branding, Product Distribution, Production, Seasonal, Economics, Valentine’s Day, Operations Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Super Bowl Ratings Drop to Ten-Year Low

February 5, 2019

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This past Sunday, the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in one of the most boring Super Bowl matchups of all time. The winning team only managed to score a single touchdown, and even that exciting moment didn’t arrive until the fourth quarter. As a result, ratings for the big game dropped to their lowest point in a decade. While CBS managed to bring in 111.3 million Super Bowl viewers in 2017, two years later that amount fell Continue reading →

Sports, Promotions, Entertainment, Television, Advertising, Marketing, Super Bowl, Celebrity Endorsements

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

[VIDEO] Brooklyn’s Last Seltzer Men

February 1, 2019

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Many years ago, hundreds of delivery men used to criss-cross New York City transporting big bottles of seltzer water directly to customers. As soda and other pre-packaged drinks became popular, however, most of the city’s “seltzer men” began to disappear once demand for their product plummeted. But the old-school seltzer trade isn’t entirely dead in the Big Apple. The video below shows how Brooklyn Seltzer Boys carries on this legacy by combining traditional methods with a new marketing strategy.

Questions: Continue reading →

Economics, Packaging, Marketing, Operations Management, Product Distribution, Entrepreneurship, Delivery

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos

IT Moves on from the “Next Big Thing”

January 31, 2019

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Over the last few decades, the technological capabilities of American companies have increased significantly with each passing year. In fact, the trade group CompTIA expects global spending on information technology (IT) to increase by more than $200 billion in 2019, which would put total IT spending for the year over the $5 trillion mark. Unlike in the past, though, many of today’s companies are focused on using the tech currently at their disposal rather than searching for the “next big Continue reading →

IT, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Product Development, Innovation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Houseparty Plans to Be an Ad-Free Social Network

January 25, 2019

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Since launching in 2016, the group video chat app Houseparty has attracted a dedicated userbase of young people looking to talk with their friends wherever they please. “Houseparty is basically the third place for Generation Z and young millennials,” said co-founder Sima Sistani. “What they’re doing there is hanging out in the way we used to in the backyard, the basement, or in my case — the Waffle House.” And unlike many other Silicon Valley startups, Houseparty doesn’t plan to Continue reading →

Facebook, Product Distribution, Houseparty, Marketing, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Social Media, Promotions, Silicon Valley, Advertising

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Toymaker Sues Louis Vuitton over the Right to Create Parody Purses

January 24, 2019

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For luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, maintaining an image of elegance and sophistication is essential for success. After all, high-end consumers might not be willing to hand over huge amounts of cash to a company that has fallen out of fashion. In order to remain in control of its image, Louis Vuitton has often been quick to file lawsuits against knockoff businesses that place its signature logo onto poorly made items. Along with targeting bootleggers, however, the company also has Continue reading →

Entrepreneurship, Branding, Fashion, Legal, Luxury, Louis Vuitton, Clothing, Global, Product Development, Ethics, Copyright

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Netflix Raises Prices as Streaming Market Gets Crowded

January 22, 2019

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When Netflix launched its video streaming platform in the late 2000s, all of the titles featured on the service came from other movie studios and production companies. If you boot up your account these days, though, most of the TV shows and films listed on the homepage are owned and produced by Netflix itself. Over the last few years the streaming giant has invested heavily to create its own content. By one estimate, Netflix spends more than $8 billion annually Continue reading →

Global, Pricing, Netflix, Streaming, Television, Product Distribution, Movies, Debt, Debt financing, Product Development, Licensing, Entertainment

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Why “Buy One, Get One Free” Isn’t a Great Deal

January 18, 2019

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For many shoppers, a “buy one, get one free” deal is often too good to pass up. As this video shows, though, “BOGO” promotions aren’t as special as many consumers perceive them to be.

Questions:

How do “buy one, get one free” deals sometimes deceive customers?
Why do retailers like Amazon show customers a product’s original list price along with the discounted price?

Promotions, Retail, Pricing, Amazon, Ethics, Product Distribution

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Videos

2019 Could Be the Breakout Year for “Alternative Meats”

January 17, 2019

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Nearly four years ago, we published a blog post centered on companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat who claimed to be creating the future of food. Both of these startups developed plant-based alternatives to meat that looked and tasted similar to the real thing, an idea which seemed straight out of science fiction at the time. Fast forward to 2019, though, and now consumers can purchase Beyond Meat’s burger patties at any Whole Foods location that manages to keep Continue reading →

Economics, Marketing, Global, Ethics, Product Development, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Sustainability, Product Distribution, Synthetic Meat

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media