Marketing - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] Why Gold Is More Valuable Than Ever

May 29, 2024

Demand for gold has been rising across the globe, defying economists’ expectations and sending prices soaring to new heights. The video below looks at how the gold trade has changed in recent years as everyday consumers enter the market alongside major investors. Costco, for example, sells $200 million worth of gold bars every month to members on the lookout for what they consider to be stable investments.

Questions:

Why have gold prices been rising across the globe recently?
Do you Continue reading →

Marketing, Global, Product Distribution, Commodities, Supply & Demand, Costco, Gold, Retail

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Videos

[VIDEO] How Endless Shrimp Almost Sank Red Lobster

May 10, 2024

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In the late 1990s, the seafood chain Red Lobster was one of the fastest growing restaurants in the nation as it earned billions of dollars in annual revenue from more than 700 locations. As the years went by, though, poorly planned promotions and wider economic factors took their toll on the company. This video looks at how the pandemic and an endless shrimp promotion brought Red Lobster to the brink of bankruptcy.

Questions:

How did Red Lobster’s endless shrimp promotion Continue reading →

Marketing, Product Development, Social Media, Promotions, Pricing, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Supply & Demand, Inflation, Pandemic

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, 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

Discovering New Ideas by Reaching out to Customers

May 8, 2024

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Business is all about giving the customer what they want, but sometimes it can be difficult to figure out exactly what that is. Some brands get to know their fans by giving them a platform that directly asks for their input, providing companies with much-needed ideas while customers feel included in the development process. For example, in 2008 Lego launched its initiative Lego Ideas where builders submit original designs to be evaluated among a wider community of enthusiasts. If an Continue reading →

Product Distribution, E-commerce, Product Development, Marketing, Branding, Entrepreneurship, Entertainment, Lego

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, 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

Zara Attempts to Rebrand as a Luxury Fashion Line

May 3, 2024

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The fashion company Zara became a multi-billion dollar force in the industry thanks to its unique ability to churn out stylish clothing at low prices. Of course, critics of the Spanish firm would not likely call its business model “unique”: Zara has long been accused of ripping off its designs from luxury fashion houses. Those days might be in the past, however, as the company looks to reinvent itself as a high-end brand working with some of the world’s top Continue reading →

Management, Marketing, Global, Ethics, Branding, Entrepreneurship, Fashion, Zara

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

New Law Could Potentially Ban TikTok in the U.S.

May 1, 2024

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A few weeks ago, we examined TikTok’s uncanny ability to provide entrepreneurs with major marketing opportunities at the expense of brand control. The potential downsides of the latter became clear last week when President Biden signed a bill into law that could ban the social network in the U.S. Under the provisions of the bill, which passed both the House and Senate with considerable support, TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has 270 days to sell the app to an American Continue reading →

YouTubers Sign Multi-Million Dollar Deals with Investors

April 24, 2024

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In 2009, five students at Texas A&M University began posting videos to YouTube where they would sink seemingly impossible basketball shots with ease. Their channel Dude Perfect developed a massive fanbase in the years that followed, boasting more than 60 million subscribers and over 17 billion views. This huge audience attracts both marketers and investors alike: along with earning millions annually through ads on YouTube, Dude Perfect recently signed a deal with the financial firm Highmount Capital. Reports indicate that Continue reading →

Product Distribution, YouTube, Product Development, Marketing, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Advertising, Social Media

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, 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

[VIDEO] Major Hotel Chains Provide Big Branding Power

April 10, 2024

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With tens of thousands of locations worldwide, hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt dominate the global hospitality industry. But as the video below shows, these companies often don’t own the properties that bear their names. This report from the Wall Street Journal explains how Marriott and others license their brands to independently operated hotels, who then benefit from widespread recognition as well as customer reward programs.

Questions:

Why did hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton move away from Continue reading →

Branding, Promotions, Travel, Marketing, Product Distribution, Entrepreneurship, Hotels

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

[VIDEO] Meal Kit Companies Struggle to Keep Customers

March 29, 2024

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Although meal kit services like HelloFresh and Blue Apron both enjoyed a boom in business during the pandemic, only one of those companies continues to thrive today. The video below explores the growing dominance of HelloFresh in the meal kit industry even as it struggles to keep customers, who mainly tend to cancel their subscriptions once the sign-on deals end.

Questions:

What are the benefits and drawbacks of HelloFresh’s strategy of using discounts to attract customers?
Why is it Continue reading →

Promotions, Entrepreneurship, Pricing, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Supply & Demand, Marketing, Product Development, Operations Management

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, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Videos

Squishmallows’ Parent Companies Sue Build-A-Bear over “Copycat” Products

March 22, 2024

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The world of plush toys is not typically known as a hotbed of conflict, but that all changed last month when two big names in the industry clashed in court. The legal battle began when the parent companies of Squishmallows sued Build-A-Bear Workshop, alleging that its new “Skoosherz” line looked suspiciously squishy. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, comparing the Squishmallows original products to Build-a-Bear’s copycats speaks volumes,” said Moez Kaba, an attorney representing Squishmallows’ parent companies Kelly Continue reading →

Product Development, Marketing, Copyright, Entrepreneurship, Legal, Toys

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 A: Business Law

[VIDEO] Temu Attracts Millions of Customers with Rock-Bottom Prices

March 19, 2024

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With more than 51 million monthly active users in the United States, the Chinese e-commerce outlet Temu has expanded significantly in recent years thanks to its huge selection of cheap goods. This video looks at the platform’s low-price strategy and how it’s winning customers the world over in spite of reports of poor quality products and possible ethical issues.

Questions:

Why do you think Temu’s business model is appealing to customers?
Which e-commerce strategy do you think is most effective Continue reading →