Marketing - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Multi-Level Marketing: Safe or Scam?

October 5, 2014

Since the onset of the financial crisis of 2008, millions of Americans have looked for ways to earn additional income. For some, multi-level marketing companies like Avon and Herbalife presented a good avenue for making extra cash. In these types of operations, individuals pay the company for a bulk amount of goods that they then sell to other people. According to multi-level marketing firms and their trade groups, the system allows consumers to purchase their favorite products at a Continue reading →

Ethics, Herbalife, Direct Selling, Distribution, Marketing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter C: Managing Risk

America’s Demand for Ice Cream Cools

September 26, 2014

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Although summer is fading, ice cream season remains in full swing for millions of sweet-toothed Americans. Last year consumers in the U.S. bought $13.7 billion worth of the dessert, an enormous number that doesn’t even include restaurant sales. And according to a recent study, 40 percent of Americans will eat ice cream in any given two-week period. Nevertheless, on the whole people consume a lot less of the cold stuff than they did 25 years ago. Back in 1989 Continue reading →

Froyo, Ice Cream, Health, Product Development, Food, Marketing

Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

TJ Maxx Defies the Odds with Sustained Success

September 17, 2014

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Although nothing in business is a sure thing, few industries are more volatile than apparel retail. In this unpredictable world, it can be almost impossible to guarantee success for a brand. For instance, Target and Kmart spent years dueling for dominance until the former won out with its more upscale marketing. However, long-term prosperity grants no safety net. Abercrombie & Fitch ruled the preppy clothing market for more than a decade, but now sales are falling as younger consumers view Continue reading →

Pricing, Retail, Promotions, Marketing, Distribution, TJ Maxx

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

One-Cent Sale Costs Staples Millions

September 14, 2014

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Last year the retail chain Staples signed a contract to become the State of New York’s official office-supplies vendor, which looked like quite a coup at the time. After all, the agreement put Staples in direct contact with city halls, schools, police departments and charities across the state. In fact, the company was so desperate to tap this lucrative market that it pledged to sell a number of products for just a penny apiece. While this bold promise helped Staples Continue reading →

Staples, Pricing, Retail, Promotions, Marketing

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

Starbucks Reinvents to Stay Relevant

August 19, 2014

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When Howard Schultz first joined Starbucks as marketing director in 1982, the small Seattle company made most of its money selling coffee-making equipment. Once Schultz landed the CEO position, however, matters changed drastically. Looking to bring the European café experience to American shores, Schultz transformed the regional chain into an international behemoth within two decades.

Starbucks changed again when Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2000. After a rapid expansion saw the company grow to more than 15,000 stores Continue reading →

Starbucks, Innovation, Product Development, Marketing, Branding

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Keeping the NFL Green in Sustainable Stadiums

August 14, 2014

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With preseason football already under way, it won’t be long now until the NFL season officially kicks into full gear. And although the intensity of the gridiron will undoubtedly remain the same, some fans might notice big changes around their local stadiums. That’s because after years of outcry to green up the game, a number of NFL teams have revamped their arenas with a variety of energy-saving and cost-cutting measures.

In San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium, for instance, an 18,000-square-foot Continue reading →

NFL, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sustainability, Sports, Marketing, Branding

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Serving up a Spectacle at Dinner in the Sky

July 23, 2014

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On the surface, it might seem like bungee jumping and fine dining don’t have much in common. But at a company called Dinner in the Sky, elements of these two seemingly unrelated concepts are combined to create an incomparable dining experience.

The business began in 2007 when a European restaurant association hired marketer David Ghysels to put together a suspended aerial dinner for promotional purposes. Ghysels teamed up with bungee-jumping expert Stefan Kerkhofs to design an advanced high-wire table that Continue reading →

Marketing, Food, Promotions, Gimmicks, Innovation

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Pinball Machines for the 21st Century

May 15, 2014

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This New Jersey pinball wizard is trying to modernize an old arcade favorite.

https://youtu.be/FnKKoaMNxw4

Questions:

What’s important characteristic about their customers must pinball machines manufacturers keep in mind?

Will pinball manufacturers like Jersey Jack be able to expand their market?

From CNN Money

Pinball, Games, Innovation, Entertainment, Product Development, Marketing

Videos

Retailers Keep Tabs on Customers with Beacons

May 13, 2014

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Over the last few years, brick and mortar retailers have come up with some ingenious ways to gather data about the customers who walk into their stores. We’ve taken a look at some of them in past posts on this blog, including one story about “smart” mannequins that observe consumer patterns using cameras in the dummies’ eyes. Although that may skew a bit on the creepy side, it’s important to keep in mind that physical retailers are merely trying to Continue reading →

Marketing, Ethics, Product Development, Retail, Consumer Research, Bluetooth

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 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Inside Pampers’ Diapers Lab

April 26, 2014

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For many parents, the day a child becomes potty-trained is cause for celebration. Not only has their kid progressed to a new stage of their life, but it also means that they’re done dealing with one of parenting’s messiest products: diapers. Each year Americans spend more than $10 billion on Pampers alone, accounting for 12 percent of Procter & Gamble’s sales. Although that makes Pampers the biggest brand in P&G’s portfolio, their North American market share still trails Kimberly-Clark’s Continue reading →

Marketing, Product Development, Innovation, Health, Procter & Gamble, Childcare

Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media