Zipcar’s $1 billion ambitions
August 31, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
CEO Scott Griffith says the car rental company plans to grow its customer base and become a billion-dollar company.
Source: CNNMoney – video report
Date: 8/26/2009
Keys: Marketing, buyer behavior, small business
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2009/08/26/f_tt_zipcar_ceo_griffith.fortune/
Questions for discussion:
- Who is the target customer for Zipcar?
- What are the firm’s competitive advantages over alternative customer choices?
- Besides local governments, who else could be a potential new large-scale target market?
- Would you be a potential customer of Zipcar? Explain why or why not.
- Could someone who owns a car also possibly be a Zipcar customer? Explain your answer.
- How would you go about building the customer base?
UPDATE 2-Time Warner Cable, Verizon to test TV on the Web
August 31, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
Two more U.S. pay-TV providers, Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), plan to test systems to offer shows on the Web to paying customers in a bid to protect their subscription revenue.
Source: Reuters News
Date: 8/27/2009
Keys: Marketing, pricing, new product development, technologies
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSN2732267220090827
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think that this business model of paying for television programming by subscription will work or will consumers avoid the service? Explain your thinking.
- Would you set the price for this service on a flat rate for all subscribers, on a scale related to the amount of viewing, or some other method? Explain your thinking.
- What advantages and disadvantages are there for this sort of model? Explain your thinking.
More questions than answers on Google Books
August 31, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
Google’s Dan Clancy had patiently answered question after question regarding Google’s’ Book Search settlement with publishers and authors until late in the afternoon Friday, when he was finally left speechless. A young man from the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Information asked Clancy what kind of message was sent when Google decided to “copy first and answer questions later.” The question–for which there’s no safe answer, if you’re in Clancy’s shoes–perhaps underscored the core of the opposition to the settlement, reached in October, after Google was sued in 2005for scanning out-of-print works without explicit permission.
Source: CNET News.com
Date: 8/29/2009
Keys: Law, ethics, management, marketing
Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10321371-265.html?tag=mncol
Questions for discussion:
- Do you have any concerns for the way in which Google handled the copyright issue?
- What were the ramifications for Google if it had sought all legal permissions from the start? Do you think this decision has given Google unfair advantage over competitors? Explain your thinking.
- How can Google commercialize this content in the future?
Intel raises outlook on PC sales optimism
August 31, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management
Chipmaker says demand for microchips will be better than expected in the current quarter. Raises sales and gross margin estimates.
Source: CNNMoney.com
Date: 8/28/2009
Keys: Marketing, economy
Link: http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/28/technology/intel_raises_outlook/index.htm?postversion=2009082809
Questions for discussion:
- Why are Intel’s projections an important indication of future economic activity for firms such as computer and other electronics manufacturers?
- Why do you think sales of electronic products are likely to increase in the business and the consumer markets? Explain your answer.
- Are you planning to buy an electronic product in the next three to six months? Explain the reason for your purchase.
The birth of Costco
August 24, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management
Costco CEO Jim Sinegal on how the wholesale retailer went from concept to $1 billion in just three years.
Source: CNNMoney – video report
Date: 8/17/2009
Keys: Management, marketing, small business
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2009/08/17/sbiz.hwgs.costco.sinegal.smb/
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the small business developmental history of Costco into the firm that exists today?
- What were some of the key problems faced by management in the early years?
- What would you say is the key competitive advantage offered to customers that has resulted in Costco’s success?
- In which ways do you think Costco will be different in say, five years from today? For example, will its customer base or product offering change?
Corporate BlackBerrys to get Google Apps syncing
August 24, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
If your office has given you a BlackBerry for work purposes, you may soon be accessing your Google Apps Gmail, calendar, and contacts via the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
Source: CNET News
Date: 8/21/2009
Keys: Marketing, market segmentation, new product development, technologies
Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10315236-2.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Questions for discussion:
- How does this new product development help RIM and Google as well as their corporate clients? Explain your answer.
- Although this article highlights developments to better serve the corporate market, how could it be argued that it also will be attractive to the broader consumer market for smart phones? Explain your answer.
Reader’s Digest to File Chapter 11 to Reduce Debt (Update2)
August 24, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Reader’s Digest Association Inc., the publisher of the pocket-sized magazine, will likely file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy under an agreement with a majority of its secured lenders to reduce debt by 75 percent.
Source: Bloomberg.com
Date: 8/17/2009
Keys: Marketing, management, finance, bankruptcy
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=asX0oQc5YBZc
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think there is a market for this venerable magazine today? Explain your thinking.
- What would you do to revive the magazine? Explain your marketing strategy in terms of target markets, and the four Ps of marketing.
Gap’s denim revamp
August 24, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
The chain’s new line of jeans is designed to compete with $200-a-pair designer models but costs a lot less.
Source: CNNMoney.com
Date: 8/13/2009
Keys: Marketing, pricing, product development, consumer behavior, strategic planning
Link: http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/13/news/companies/gap_denim_jeans.fortune/index.htm
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think that the new jeans will revive sales at The Gap? Explain your thinking.
- How can one product, like jeans, influence the overall buying behaviour of consumers? Explain your answer in terms of a consumer decision-making model to purchase clothing.
GM: Battery innovation is key
August 17, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 4: Marketing Management
GM’s CEO says leading-edge autos like the Chevy Volt are the right investment of U.S. taxpayer money.
Source: CNNMoney – video report
Date: 8/13/2009
Keys: Marketing, international business, economy, government, finance, strategic alliances
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2009/08/13/n_co_gm_henderson_volt.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Do you believe the future of the automobile is “electric”? Explain your answer.
- Would you invest in this emerging technology?
- What risks are there for GM as it moves ahead?
- How does the selling price of vehicles enter into these discussions?
The top 10 highest paid CEOs are…
August 17, 2009 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Ten CEOs take home more than $70 million in 2008, with Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman topping the list with more than $700 million in compensation.
Source: CNNMoney.com
Date: 8/14/2009
Keys: Management, HR, government
Link: http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/14/news/companies/highest_paid_ceos/index.htm?postversion=2009081410
Questions for discussion:
- Compensation for work done is a controversial topic and often receives great public attention when the numbers are extraordinarily large or small. What is your view of the compensation paid to these CEOs?
- Do you believe that there should be ceilings set by government (through taxes) or other regulatory bodies? Explain your thinking.
- Is there anything inherently wrong with anyone receiving high levels of compensation?
- How would you decide proper compensation for work provided? Explain your thinking.
