TikTok commands the attention of 150 million American users. That’s its best defense yet against Biden’s threat of a ban.

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information.

Description: TikTok officially has 150 million monthly active users in the US, the company confirmed this week. That means any effort to ban it could face stiff resistance after the app has become part of the routine of 45% of the country.

Source: BusinessInsider.com

Date: Mar 21, 2023

Link: https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-150-million-us-users-facebook-meta-ban-biden-china-2023-3

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the issues surrounding TikTok and the government’s concerns?
  • How powerful is the argument that 150 million users will determine the decision?
  • What are your thoughts on this discussion?

Brand trust erodes as inflation continues, report finds

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: The number of consumers blaming corporate greed as the cause of inflation rose 8% from a year ago, according to Horizon Media’s Catalyst.

Source: MarketingDive.com

Date: Mar 21, 2023

Link: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/brand-trust-corporate-greed-inflation-marketing/645535/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-03-21%20Marketing%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:48940%5D&utm_term=Marketing%20Dive

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the report say about the connection between inflation and consumers’ relationships with brands?
  • Is it a fair understanding by consumers?
  • What can the brands do to mitigate the deterioration of trust?

Beverage Org Will Modify Plastic Recycling Ad Claims Following NARB Challenge

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

Description: A commercial featuring workers wearing shirts bearing the logos of Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo and talking about the recyclability of plastic beverage bottles has been determined to be “aspirational” in part, and will be modified. Titled “Back To One,” the spot in question—which makes environmental-benefit claims related to the American Beverage Association’s (ABA) Every Bottle Back Initiative—has run on national cable television channels and the ABA website.

Source: Mediapost.com

Date: Mar 20, 2023

Link: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/383561/beverage-org-will-modify-plastic-recycling-ad-clai.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=129654&hashid=7T9TCmQZSDGbnu-424RuBQ

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the social and ethical issues here?
  • Do you think the ad is misleading?
  • How would you modify the message in the next ad?

Biden visiting at ‘critical moment’ for auto sector: Canada auto leaders

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management.

Description: Leaders in Canada’s auto sector will be listening closely to what U.S. President Joe Biden has to say about Canada-U.S. collaboration in the electric vehicle-manufacturing boom as he visits Ottawa for the first time during his presidency.

Source: BNNbloomberg.ca – video report

Date: Mar 23, 2023

Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/biden-visiting-at-critical-moment-for-auto-sector-canada-auto-leaders-1.1899408

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the highlights in the report.
  • How would you expect the economic benefits to be distributed by the businesses and governments involved?
  • Do you think consumers’ decisions about which models to buy will play a role?

How Used Hotel Soap Gets Recycled Into Brand New Bars | World Wide Waste | Insider Business

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: How Used Hotel Soap Gets Recycled Into Brand New Bars | World Wide Waste | Insider Business

Source: BusinessInsider.com – video report

Date: Mar 20, 2023

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qJV34pcOaw

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the pros and cons of this effort to recycle hotel soap?
  • What are the financial, marketing and managerial implications for the firms involved?
  • How could the program be improved?
  • What other non-profit efforts could be tried using the same business model thinking?

What Does the Banking Crisis Mean for Startups and Small Business Owners?

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Author, CPA and business owner Gene Marks break down everything entrepreneurs need to know about the impact of the SVB collapse.

Source: Entrepreneur.com – video report

Date: Mar 20, 2023

Link: https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/what-does-the-banking-crisis-mean-for-small-business-owners/447997

Questions for discussion:

  • What does Gene Marks have to say about the banking crisis?
  • How should small businesses be dealing with the situation?
  • What are your thoughts about these risks and how investors and businesses should deal with them?

T-Mobile buys Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile in a $1.35 billion deal

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description:The telecommunications giant T-Mobile announced it’s buying the budget cell service provider Mint Mobile — best known for its ads with actor and part-owner Ryan Reynolds. The cash-and-stock deal, which includes two other brands, is worth $1.35 billion.

Source: NPR.org

Date: Mar 15, 2023

Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163743380/t-mobile-buys-mint-mobile-ryan-reynolds

Questions for discussion:

  • Is this a good deal for both companies and their shareholders?
  • How does the association and marketing input from Ryan Reynolds boost the value of the deal?
  • Is this a “win” for consumers?

Pfizer CEO says it will be able to deliver Seagen’s cancer therapy at a scale not seen before with $43 billion deal

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Monday said the pharmaceutical giant will be able to deliver Seagen’s cancer therapy to the world “at a scale that has not been seen before” with its $43 billion acquisition.

Source: CNBC.com – video reports

Date: Mar 13, 2023

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/13/pfizer-will-bring-seagens-cancer-drugs-to-the-world-at-a-scale-not-seen-before-ceo-says.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the logic of this acquisition for both firms.
  • Is it a good financial deal for both firms?
  • How will this deal likely affect industry-development of the technology involved?

How Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse could compound a marketing slowdown

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 5 Managing Technology and Information, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: Funding prospects for martech and ad-tech startups could dry up, along with media spend that’s already been on a steady downward trajectory.

Source: MarketingDive.com

Date: Mar 14, 2023

Link: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-marketing-slowdown/644925/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-0314%20Marketing%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:48762%5D&utm_term=Marketing%20Dive

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the article say is the consequence of the bank failure?
  • What does this teach entrepreneurs and investors about the interconnectivity of business practices and their sources of finance?
  • Are there alternatives?

Why Canada likely won’t need any more big new oil pipelines after Trans Mountain

Posted by & filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives, Part 4: Marketing Management, Part 6 Managing Financial Resources.

Description: With slowing oil production growth, developers would be hesitant to pitch projects

Source: CBC.ca

Date: Mar 16, 2023

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bakx-tmx-pipeline-oil-wcs-1.6780054

Questions for discussion:

  • Why do you think the government wants to maintain ownership until the project is completed?
  • What does the future of oil pipelines look like, according to the article?
  • Do you think that a future ownership structure that included indigenous peoples would be a good idea?