Chapter 16: Place and Promotion - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

New Law Protects Consumers’ Right to Leave Negative Feedback

December 13, 2016

In December 2008, John Palmer ordered some items from the online retailer KlearGear and never received them. His wife Jen responded to this poor service by writing a critical review about the company on a website called Ripoff Report. The incident eventually faded from Palmer’s memory until three years later when she received a demand from KlearGear to take the review down. If she didn’t comply, the company said, they would fine her $3,500 for violating a non-disparagement clause that Continue reading →

Regulation, Consumer Feedback, Yelp, Consumer Review Fairness Act, Credit Rating, Ethics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Drop in ESPN Viewership Has Disney Worried

December 9, 2016

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While a major entertainment conglomerate like Disney has many sources of income, the iconic brand earns the bulk of its revenue from TV networks like ESPN and ABC. This year these channels have brought in nearly $24 billion, exceeding the company’s theme park earnings by 40 percent. But this enormous payout doesn’t tell the whole story about Disney’s TV holdings. For the past few years, subscriptions to its premium channels have dropped significantly, leading to a similar dip in the Continue reading →

Television, Disney, Product Distribution, ESPN, Cable, Cord Cutting, Sports, Entertainment

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

Indiegogo Allows Crowdfunders to Purchase Equity Stakes

December 2, 2016

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For years crowdfunding sites have provided cash and marketing boosts to entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to reach out to the public. In exchange, donors receive prizes for their support, ranging from simple displays of gratitude to enormous giveaways for the most generous individuals. One reward they haven’t been able to receive, however, is a stake in the company. For instance, the makers of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset brought in millions from their 2012 Kickstarter campaign. Facebook eventually purchased Continue reading →

Marketing, Indiegogo, Equity, Promotions, Crowdfunding, Kickstarter, Financing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Black Friday Shoppers Spend Big Thanks to Deep Discounts

November 29, 2016

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This past weekend the holiday shopping season kicked off with a bang as millions of Americans sought out Black Friday deals both in stores and online. While brick and mortar sales rose about 8 percent from last year, online outlets saw sales increase by 11 percent. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), this spike in e-commerce can be credited to the more than 108 million consumers who shopped online over the weekend. Meanwhile, approximately 99 million people visited physical Continue reading →

Promotions, Retail, Pricing, Black Friday, E-commerce, Discounts

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

Newman’s Own Revamps Marketing Strategy to Focus on Charity

November 18, 2016

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Older Americans should have no problem remembering Paul Newman, the iconic star of classics movies like Cool Hand Luke and The Sting. And while younger people might not know his Hollywood credits, they’re likely to recognize the actor’s trademark grin from browsing the supermarket. Since 1982 Newman’s Own has placed Paul’s face on everything from salad dressing to snacks, but not in the name of making a buck. The brand donates all of its profits to charity, amounting to Continue reading →

Branding, Philanthropy, Packaging, Marketing, Newman’s Own, Food

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Online Retail Sales Soar After Singles Day in China

November 17, 2016

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While the holiday shopping season in the U.S. doesn’t officially kick off until next week, Chinese retailers are already counting their profits from the phenomenon known as Singles Day. Founded in the 1990s by a group of college students celebrating their bachelorhood, the November 11 holiday has since morphed into a nationwide shopping spree. This year the online retailer Alibaba brought in nearly $18 billion in sales, far more than what the entire American retail industry earns during Black Friday Continue reading →

Promotions, Retail, Marketing, China, Global, Black Friday, Singles Day, Alibaba

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Americans Expected to Spend More than $8 Billion This Halloween

October 28, 2016

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For most people, the Halloween season is about creepy costumes and candy rather than shopping. But even though the retail sales of All Hallow’s Eve can’t compare to the December holidays, Americans still manage to spend a scary sum of money at the end of October. The National Retail Federation estimates that this year consumers will spend as much as $8.4 billion preparing for Halloween, amounting to an average of $82.93 per shopper.

Costumes account for $3.1 billion of this Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Halloween, Christmas, Seasonal, Marketing, Retail

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

Meal-Delivery Startups Aim to Change America’s Eating Habits

October 7, 2016

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For those who have spent years ordering items from online retailers like Amazon, setting foot inside a store can sometimes seem like taking a trip back in time. But while the shift away from brick-and-mortar locations has utterly changed industries like music and clothing, grocery stores have remained largely the same since the dawn of the digital revolution. After all, most people still prefer to examine food in person before they buy it.

But that hasn’t stopped a collection Continue reading →

Supermarkets, Blue Apron, Online Retail, Ethics, Product Development, Food, Retail, Labor Relations, Product Distribution, Agriculture

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Formerly Fashionable Retailers Lose Ground with Teens

October 6, 2016

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In the 2000s, clothing brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle and Aeropostale were kings of the mall. These retailers rose to prominence by making preppy clothes with large logos that broadcast a certain prestige to the world. After all, teenage customers wanted to make sure everyone knew that they shopped at cool stores. Companies made this message easy to receive by placing an enormous emphasis on branding, thus making the logo even more important than the design of their Continue reading →

Retail, Fashion, Abercrombie & Fitch, Marketing, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Logos, Malls, Clothing, Branding

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Hollywood Turns to Documentary Films for Blockbuster Inspiration

September 27, 2016

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In recent years Hollywood has watched its dominance over entertainment decline as new forms of media like streaming video become more and more popular. As a result, today’s movie studios don’t take many risks when they’re planning the next crop of summer blockbusters. That’s why remakes and sequels appear so often now in multiplexes: Hollywood hopes that the public’s previous knowledge will encourage them to buy tickets to familiar franchises.

This plan didn’t exactly work in the summer of 2016, Continue reading →

Documentaries, Marketing, Reboots, Product Development, Entertainment, Movies, Hollywood

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