Description: Research In Motion Ltd. lost much of its remaining support on Wall Street Friday after the company took down its estimates for the May quarter, leaving some to wonder whether the wireless-device maker can win back support from investors who have been burned by the stock this year. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 04/29/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-rim-win-back-investors-after-missteps-2011-04-29… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Promotion and Pricing Strategies (p426)
The Unstoppable Rise of the Celebrity Trainer
Description: The likes of Jake Steinfeld and Gunnar Peterson have created a micro industry of personal trainers as celebrated as the celebrities they train. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 04/28/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_19/b4227065670730.htm Questions for discussion: What is the secret to becoming a celebrity trainer? How does marketing yourself as a celebrity come into this strategy? Can anyone… Read more »
Parties Seeking to Blame Each Other’s Policies for Gas Prices
Description: Congress returns next week to a flaring brawl over oil industry profits and tax breaks, with both parties hoping to capitalize on growing public ire at high gasoline prices. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 04/29/2011 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/business/30gas.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons for concern over rising gasoline prices? How do rising fuel costs affect businesses… Read more »
Point of Sale
Description: When most successful athletes endorse a brand, they usually lend their faces and names to commercials and print ads, and show up to smile and shake hands with fans for public appearances. They choose brands that align well with their image  for example, Wayne Gretzky and Skechers or Serena Williams and Gatorade. They… Read more »
Making planes from nylon
Description: EADS, the parent company of Airbus, is using a new type of nylon that may revolutionize how planes are made. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/22/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/04/22/t_tt_powered_nylon.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Who are the target customers for this firm? How does consumer behavior affect development of new applications of this material? What other… Read more »
E-book sales top print
Description: Forget Bookshelves. For the first time ever, electronic book sales in the U.S. have exceeded print versions. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/22/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/04/22/n_cmr_ebooks.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Why are ebooks growing in popularity among consumers as well as publishers and hardware manufacturers? Do you think the print-market will disappear eventually? How should… Read more »
Why Amazon’s cloud Titanic went down
Description: Amazon Web Services is the Titanic of cloud hosting, designed with backups to the backups’ backups that prevent hosted websites and applications from failing. Source: CNNMoney.com Date: 04/22/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/22/technology/amazon_ec2_cloud_outage/index.htm Questions for discussion: Explain the design of cloud computing? Why would this appeal to both users and service providers? What do you think the… Read more »
At Swatch, an Enviable Problem: An Excess of Eager Customers for Its Products
Description: BASEL, Switzerland  Nick Hayek, the chief executive of the Swatch Group, is facing a problem many of his corporate counterparts might envy: he’s doing too much business. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 04/22/2011 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/business/global/23swatch.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons for the firm’s success? How should it deal with the current imbalance in production?… Read more »
Vinyl makes a comeback
Description: A record processing plant in Brooklyn, N.Y. is seeing business grow as sales of vinyl records outpace digital albums. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/15/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2011/04/15/sbiz_vinyl_comeback.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Explain the reasons presented for the success of this business. Do you think vinyl can return to prominence and pose a threat to… Read more »
IPO Buzz: Zipcar Is In the Driver’s Seat
Description: Zipcar is set to price its shares and debut under the ticker “ZIP,” garnering much of the attention in a busy week for IPOs. How will the auto-rental firm fare in this high gas-price environment? Stacey Delo talks to MarketWatch’s Dan Gallagher. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 04/11/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/ipo-buzz-zipcar-is-in-the-driver-seat/D6AFAB30-A681-4E35-802D-59614665BE2F Questions for discussion:… Read more »
