Wall Street sours on Palm as smartphone sales stall

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Analysts say wireless-device maker has few options; few see buyout as likely.

Source: Marketwatch – video report
 
Date: 02/26/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/palms-survival-at-stake-if-smartphones-dont-sell-2010-02-26?siteid=nwtwk

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think investors have properly valued Palm in the past or presently?
  • On what basis would you set a stock value for the firm?
  • Is there a marketing solution that you can think of for the firm?

Buffett’s $50 million credit card blunder

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  Peddling credit cards isn’t so easy that a caveman can do it. That seems to be the conclusion Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) chief executive Warren Buffett reluctantly reached last year, when he shut down a money-losing credit card business he had dreamed up for Berkshire’s Geico car-insurance unit.

Source: CNNMoney.com
 
Date: 02/27/2010

 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/27/news/companies/berkshire.geico.fortune/index.htm

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the failure of this product?
  • Does this article suggest that Warren Buffett might be a better financial analyst than a marketing expert?

Cellphones Let Shoppers Point, Click and Purchase

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Shoppers will soon be able to stand outside the designer Norma Kamali’s boutique in Manhattan, point a phone at merchandise in the window and buy it — even late at night when the store is closed.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 02/26/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/business/27shop.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think this shopping behavior will become more common?
  • Who is a good target market for this service?
  • What sort of product would more likely be marketed this way in comparison to some others?

Bloom box challenges: Reliability, cost

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: In the wake of Wednesday’s star-studded, feel-good rollout of Bloom Energy’s “Bloom box” server, the start-up now faces the gritty task of delivering products that are reliable and cheap.

Source: CNET.com

Date: 02/24/2010

Link:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10458980-64.html?tag=rtcol;pop

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the implications for the conventional energy suppliers in the marketplace if these products prove to be what they claim?
  • How would you expect consumers and organizations to react in the marketplace?
  • What marketing strategy wouldnyou suggest to the firm that would pave the way to adoption by both industrial and consumer markets?

Making wheels for wheelchairs

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

A 30 year GM veteran is applying his auto industry knowledge to a company that makes vehicles for the disabled. 

Source: CNNMoney – video report
 
Date: 02/19/2010 

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/02/19/n_vpg_hogan.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion: 

  • Why do you think the big automakers have not produced this sort of specialized vehicle?
  • Does this sort of product require a different marketing strategy? Explain your answer.
  • What other niche markets could provide business opportunities in auto and truck transportation?

The New Business Of Tiger Woods

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment.

Description: As golfer Tiger Woods prepares to return to public view marketing experts say his appeal as a pitchmanhas changed.

Source: Marketwatch.com– video report

Date: 02/19/2010

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/the-new-business-of-tiger-woods/08EB3914-AA0E-4D73-9DE2-2411AACE2FCA

Questions for discussion: 

  • Who is the target market that Tiger Woods appeals to?
  • Do you agree with the suggestion that Tiger Woods will never be able to redeem his old image with this market? 
  • How can he improve his image and marketing value?

GM’s chief gets $9 million

Posted by & filed under Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives.

Description:  General Motors chairman and chief executive, Ed Whitacre, Jr. will receive a compensation package worth $9 million, the automaker said Friday.

Source: CNNMoney.com

Date: 02/19/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/19/news/companies/GM_salary/index.htm

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you believe this compensation is appropriate in light of GM’s history and connection to TARP? 
  • Do you believe there can be negative reaction from employees or customers because of the compensation?

Banks Focus on People Who Can Pay More for Credit Cards

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Rewards cardholders take note: the price of perks is about to go up. After years of profiting from debt-ridden credit cardholders, lenders are turning their attention to a potentially lucrative new source of fee income, the moneyed users of rewards programs who spend big and pay their bills on time.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 02/19/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/business/20rewards.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

  • How do you think consumers will react to these changes? Explain your thinking.
  • Is there anything unethical about this strategic thinking?

Pay for Hulu on the iPad? It may be your only choice

Posted by & filed under Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Will Hulu come to the iPad? Probably. One day. But you had better get ready to pay for it. Hulu and its owners, three of the big broadcast TV networks, want to bring some version of the Web video service to Apple’s device.

Source: CNET.com

Date: 02/19/2010

Link:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10456822-93.html?tag=mncol

Questions for discussion:

  • How do you think this strategy will work out?
  • Will the marketplace perceive the device suitable for television viewing as it is for books?
  • How would you price this service?

Vancouver Olympics goes green

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description:  The Olympic committee’s $1.8 billion budget includes medals made from recycled circuit boards and a sustainable skating ring.

Source: CNNMoney – video report
 
Date: 02/12/2010 

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/02/12/n_ef_vancouver_olympics_green.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion: 

  • Do you believe these efforts to promote “green-thinking” at the Vancouver Olympic Games will be successful in creating greater consumer awareness and interest? Explain your thinking.
  • Besides encouraging the greater use of eco-friendly consumer products, what other benefits do these companies gain by publicizing them at the Olympics?