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

Formerly Fashionable Retailers Lose Ground with Teens

October 6, 2016

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 →

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

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 →

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

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

Streaming Services Provide a Vital Revenue Boost for the Music Industry

September 22, 2016

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As the Internet’s popularity began to rise in the late 1990s, the music industry had just enjoyed some of their best years to date. Annual sales soared over $14 billion at its peak, driven by an enormous demand for CDs that appeared to be insatiable. After 1999, however, consumer interest shifted online where users could download any song they wanted for free. While the Recording Industry Association of America tried in vain to stop illegal file trading, the practice only Continue reading →

Ethics, Spotify, YouTube, Entertainment, Streaming, Music, Product Distribution, Apple

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

Quest for Perfection Causes Farmers to Discard Tons of Produce

September 20, 2016

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The family-owned berry grower Driscoll’s is looking to become more of a household name. With new packaging and a retooled online presence, the company wants to let the U.S. know why their berries are unique. “You have to find a way to say this strawberry is different from that strawberry, which isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do,” said executive vice president Soren Bjorn. “But our strawberries actually are different — no one else grows the strawberries we grow.” Along Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Agriculture, Marketing, Waste, Food, Driscoll’s, Supermarkets

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

The Fall of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos

September 16, 2016

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For Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, establishing a clear narrative around a startup’s foundation and purpose is essential to success. Few people understood this concept better than Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of the formerly acclaimed blood-testing firm Theranos. She founded her company in 2003 at the age of 19 after dropping out of Stanford University’s School of Chemical Engineering. Holmes left college early because she claimed to discover a revolutionary new method for medical testing: rather than drawing a significant amount of blood Continue reading →

Product Development, Marketing, Branding, Ethics, Regulation, Health, Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

FDA Bans Use of “Antibacterial” Soaps

September 6, 2016

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Last week we shared a video about how food companies label some items as “natural” even though they’re no healthier than their non-natural counterparts. While that term may soon come under regulation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently banned another marketing buzzword from use on commercial products. As of last Friday, “antibacterial” soaps are no longer allowed on U.S. store shelves after manufacturers failed to prove they were safer or cleaner than regular products.

“Consumers may think antibacterial washes Continue reading →

FDA, Soap, Product Development, Branding, Regulation, Packaging, 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 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] The ‘Natural’ Label on Your Food Is Baloney

September 2, 2016

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As Americans become more health conscious eaters, food companies have taken advantage of this trend by producing an abundance of items labelled “organic” and “natural.” However, one of these words is not like the other. This video takes a look at what “natural” means when it appears on food packaging and how this potentially misleading word could soon be subject to stricter regulation.

Questions:

What is the difference between the words “organic” and “natural” when it comes to food Continue reading →

Packaging, Sustainability, Ethics, Product Distribution, Food, Labels, Organic

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, Videos

Domino’s Launches Delivery Drones in New Zealand

August 31, 2016

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A few years ago Amazon announced a plan to start their own drone-based delivery service, allowing customers to receive goods just hours after ordering. At the time the idea seemed almost too futuristic to be true. After all, the image of dozens of robots circulating the sky and dropping off packages sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. According to the company, however, the plan for Amazon Prime Air remains on track and may even become a reality Continue reading →

Product Development, Product Distribution, Domino’s, Drones, Global, New Zealand

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

French Lawmakers Consider Banning “Too Cool” Cigarette Brands

August 26, 2016

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France is home to more than 13 million smokers, which includes one-third of teenagers and a quarter of adults. For years the nation’s health ministry has attempted to reduce this enormous number by spearheading initiatives that target the consumer appeal of cigarettes. For instance, the French government has long followed European Union laws requiring tobacco companies to cover 65 percent of their packaging with health warnings. In May, however, lawmakers took this concept a step further by passing “neutral packaging” Continue reading →

Product Development, Branding, Global, Packaging, Ethics, France, Smoking

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, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Shrinking Olympic Audiences Have NBC Worrying

August 24, 2016

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In spite of a few setbacks like a green diving pool and the actions of a blue-haired nincompoop, the 2016 Rio Olympics packed in plenty of action and emotion over its two-week run. For all the unparalleled athleticism on display, however, the TV ratings reward for the games’ American broadcaster NBC was relatively lackluster. The network brought in an average audience of 25.4 million during its primetime coverage, an 18 percent drop from the London 2012 games. While NBC received Continue reading →

Video Streaming, Sports, Television, Olympics, NBC, Broadcasting

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media