New hope for online ADS

Enjoy this cool article by Rebecca Buckman and Emily Steel!
They are acknowledging how new companies, worried that the slow economy would may hurt their online ads, are now trying new, should I say "newer" techniques to catch (younger) audience's attention.
Here it is: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120995177266566581.html?mod=2_1567_topbox

Iphone once again...

http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/04/29/att-to-cut-the-price-of-apples-new-iphone/
At&T is lowering the iphone prices..all they want back, is a one or two year contract with them!
It doesn't even sound too bad...but..the new iPhone is on its way........enjoy this interesting article!

Marta

Is FORD going to make it this time?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/21/news/companies/saving_ford.fortune/index.htm

This is a superinteresting article about what Ford is trying and willing to do to regain the "credits" it lost in the past. The article also points out all the marketing strategy Ford is using to offer better and more affordable cars, especially considering gas prices, comfort and safety.

Enjoy
Marta

you gotta love it!

http://www.ups.com/
Everyone knows who they are and what they do.
I think this is just so amazing and the way they're handling their business is just very honorable.
Here it is the ups website. Simple to use and fast!
Enjoy

Marta

Brewing battle..

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1702277,00.html

Very interesting article about the kind of mission McDonald's and Starbucks are trying to accomplish. In this case, it all comes down to coffee.
In this brief article we can find all those things we learned in this class, in fact the author went through a process of segmentation and critical thinking.
Enjoy

Marta

new ideas!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120666813235770629.html?mod=mm_hs_marketing_strategy

This is how Clorox is trying to upgrade the visibility of their product.
Unfortunately I can't have the full article because I am not a Wall Street Journal's subscriber, but you can have a pretty clear idea about what this company is trying to do.

Doritos' new package!

Doritos are now packaged in a new look. It features something called the "Sound Chip". At the top of the bag is something resembling an oscilloscope in fiery red, yellow, and white. It's supposed to represent the loud cracking sound created when you bite into a Doritos tortilla chip.

I thought this was a good example of what our book says about packaging.

Also, take a look at the Website, it is really cool:

here it is http://www.doritos.com/

Marta

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/06/smbusiness/ebay_ink.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008030623

Unlike eBay's existing blogs and forums, which focus on more traditional (and sanitized) corporate communications, eBay Ink aims to give readers a peek inside eBay's internal operations. Brewer-Hay has pledged to write unbiased entries about what he observes as an all-access employee of the $7.7 billion dollar company.
Will this help eBay in its efford to regain popularity and stop the recent seller boycott?

Enjoy
Marta

America's Most Admired Companies

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2008/top20/index.html

On this Website you can find a list of those companies which, like the title says, are America's most admired companies.
It would be interesting also to define the reasons why they are so profitable, to look into their marketing campaigns and what not.
Feel free to leave a comment.

Marta

Buy toilet paper and save the planet!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/25/magazines/fortune/gunther_pang.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008022606
This is a funny and interesting article about Procter and Gamble company. They insist: "Bigger toilet paper rolls mean less packaging and waste" , which could use as evidence to back up the company's "green credo"but, there is a "but" the author of this article brings up..
Enjoy


Marta

NIKE "design the future ... as opposed to retrofit the past."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120303911940170393.html?mod=at_leisure_main_reviews_days_only
This article talks about the new NIKE Jordans XX3, which have something unusual compared to all the other Nikes we know: "near absence of chemical-based glues and an outsole made of recycled material". The article explains better how they could do it and how this is supposed to implement their markets. Also, there are some doubts about these "green" shoes, but the good thing, to me at least, is that after all the criticism they received few years ago, they are now trying to do something to improve the environment and the workers' conditions.
When I read it I thought about this could be a great example of both, marketing ethics and marketing in ecology (green marketing) that our book discuss in Chap. 3

ENJOY
MARTA

In Britain, a Campaign Against Obesity Is Snarled in Controversy

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/business/media/11adco.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=marketing&st=nyt&oref=slogin

This article right here talks about the anti-obesity campaign that Britain is trying to promote.
I say "trying to" because it seems like they are having a few problems with industries which actually make "junk-foods" and those companies which are fighting against them.
The doubts that are expressed in this article make sense to me; How could they let McDonald's, for instance, get involved in such a campaign? The paradox is just to big. Another problem marketers are encountering is the logo of the campaign. Nothing has really come up yet.
So now that they have the money to support a great cause, it looks like advertising executives are running out of ideas..
Do you have any suggestions about it?

Marta

Ben&Jerry's Issues

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/05/news/companies/monsanto_benjerry.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008020514
Ben&Jerry, the popular ice cream brand, is protesting against a restriction which wants to ban synthetic hormone-free ice cream label. The company insists it has the right to put on their label that they do not use any hormone in the production of their ice cream.
In my opinion, if Ben&Jerry promote their products with that label, it does not necessarily mean that they tell people their ice cream is better than their competitors'.
Actually, in this Ben$Jerry's "battle", I see an effort to maintain their reliability and their social responsibility towards their customers.
However, a solution is harder to find that what you may think. In fact, there is still too much controversy about this labeling issues that legislators need to study on it.
Feel free to read the article and drop your comment.
Thank you

Marta

BlackBerry Commercial

http://www.blackberry.com/select/ask/featured/rt.shtml?CPID=BAC-STQ4BNRT&cp=BAC-STQ4BNRT
I want to post this link on my blog too. It is a very persuasive commercial to me; a little different from all those 20 second commercials we are used to watch on TV. This was better, calmer and broke down few important points and reasons why one should own a Blackberry.
Well done!

Marta

BlackBerry Commercial

http://www.blackberry.com/select/ask/featured/rt.shtml?CPID=BAC-STQ4BNRT&cp=BAC-STQ4BNRT
I want to post this link on my blog too. It is a very persuasive commercial to me; a little different from all those 20 second commercials we are used to watch on TV. This was better, calmer and broke down few important points and reasons why one should own a Blackberry.
Well done!

Marta

Can Sears be saved?

http://develearning.massbay.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_8755_1
If you guys already read chap. 3 or part of it, you can definitely find this article very actual.
It is amazing how a big organization like Sears is in trouble, and the craziest thing about it, is the reason why it is in that bad situation.
It seems like Sears didn't take into consideration the few basic aspects we can find in our book, such as the competitive environment and environmental management. New opportunities and threats from competitors, for instance, haven't apparently been addressed.
Take a look and tell me what you think!

Marta

Great!

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/sony-ericsson-strikes-deals-top/story.aspx?guid=%7BBC132F5A%2D2EF5%2D4B24%2DA3B2%2DC7855BFC8D28%7D

Take a look at this link...I believe it explains how Sony-Ericsson is using the second mover strategy while trying to confront huge competitors like Apple Itunes or Nokia's Ovi portals.
Also, we could find alliances Sony-Ericcson is trying to install with other organizations which are already leading in the music industry. Very interesting article. . Enjoy it!

Marta

Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120119406286813757.html?mod=fpa_whatsnews

This is another article that I found today.
I have a question about it: Mr. Murdoch "indicated that lifting the pay wall could broaden the Journal's online audience and boost its Web advertising revenue, offsetting any loss in subscription revenu". Does that mean he would basically use ads as a substitute for subscribers?
I am not sure if this is the point he was trying to make...hopefully you guys can give me you own opinion about that..
thank you
Marta

Seattle Starbucks tests $1 coffee, free refills

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080123/starbucks.html?.v=4&.pf=banking-budgeting
I just found this article on Yahoo.com, you guys probably already checked it out, but I thought it was interesting for what we are studying.
It is interesting how Starbucks seemed to be forced to "accept" other companies as competitor and had to come out with a new, apparently cheap plan.
Take a look and tell me what you think!

Marta