Posted by & filed under Global Marketing, Innovation, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Strategy, Metrics/Analytics, Pricing, Product Brands and Branding, Relationship Marketing, Services Marketing.

Description: Rathi Murthy has always been passionate about technology roles that allow her to drive business transformation and improve customer experience. In her current role as CTO and president of Product & Technology for Expedia Group, she’s able to do both. One of her key goals is to enhance and unify the end-user experience across Expedia’s many brands, among them Hotels.com, Vrbo, and Travelocity. Another transformation goal: helping to modernize the entire travel industry by making Expedia’s AI technology available to B2B partners throughout the travel ecosystem, such as hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and cruise lines.  Expedia Group’s travel platform processes more than 600 billion AI predictions each year and relies on AI and machine learning technology to provide a range of services, including fraud prevention, customer service through virtual agents, flight price comparisons, and quick and seamless travel booking. Rathi joins Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh on this episode of the Me, Myself, and AIpodcast to explain how Expedia Group is using artificial intelligence to continually improve the customer experience for travelers and travel providers alike.

Source: Sloanreview.mit.edu/audio

Date: Apr 11, 2023

Link: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/audio/making-600-billion-decisions-with-ai-expedia-groups-rathi-murthy/

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the report say about the use of AI by the firm?
  • What are some other marketing related areas that you think could benefit the firm and industry?

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Global Marketing, Innovation, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy.

Description: While AI innovations have the potential to turn Big Tech upside down, it’s more likely we’ll see a race between existing champions over which suite of tools will become commonplace for marketers. Here are five charts showing the state of generative AI.

Source: InsiderIntelligence.com/eMarketing.com

Date: Apr 11, 2023

Link: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/5-charts-showing-how-chatgpt-generative-ai-will-change-marketing?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=eDaily%204.11.2023&utm_id=eDaily%204.11.2023&utm_term=eMarketer%20Daily&utm_content=eDaily%204.11.2023

Questions for discussion:

  • How will ChatGPT and generative AI change marketing, according to the article?
  • What does each chart say to marketers?
  • What are your thoughts on this research?

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Global Marketing, Innovation, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Pricing, Product Brands and Branding, Retail Marketing.

Description: Lamborghini’s quick sellout of its new $600,000 hybrid supercar is proof that wealthy car buyers are still spending, according to the CEO. Lamborghini already has a waiting list and two years worth of orders for the Revuelto, its first ever plug-in hybrid that was launched last month, CEO Stephan Winkelmann told CNBC. The orders come despite the global turmoil in financial markets and banking systems in recent months.

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Apr 11, 2023

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/11/lamborghini-ceo-revuelto-orders.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Who is the target market for these vehicles and why is there such high demand?
  • What does this report say to marketers about products in this category?

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Metrics/Analytics, Pricing, Product Brands and Branding, Retail Marketing, Supply Chain.

Description: Breweries are now passing inflationary pressures onto consumers

Source: CBC.ca – video report

Date: Apr 05, 2023

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/beer-prices-taxes-inflation-1.6805166

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize what is happening in the beer industry and how companies are responding to price pressure.
  • What would advise the industry do about pricing?

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Ethics, Global Marketing, Innovation, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Research, Relationship Marketing.

Description: No mere human can keep up with the torrent of intriguing/terrifying daily AI news, but we’ll try anyway — at least until we’re rendered obsolete by the machines.. AI can probably crack your password — and faster than you think

Source: TheHustle.co

Date: Apr 05, 2023

Link: https://thehustle.co/ai-roundup-guessing-passwords-conjuring-images-out-of-peoples-minds-and-writing-fortune-cookies/

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the implications for the power of AI to do harm, according to the examples in this report?
  • How should society deal with this developing technology in your opinion?

Posted by & filed under Innovation, Relationship Marketing, Retail Marketing, Services Marketing, Supply Chain.

Description: BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — At first glance, this warehouse looks like many: Forklifts unload pallets from the back of dozens of tractor-trailers. Canned soup, soda and cleaning supplies whiz by on conveyer belts. Store-bound merchandise gets sorted by department and store aisle before getting stacked high like an elaborate game of Tetris. The difference? Tasks are powered by giant automated claws and rolling robots, instead of people. The driver’s seats on the forklifts are empty.

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Apr 11, 2023

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/11/walmart-warehouse-automation-powers-higher-profits.html

Questions for discussion:

  • What is Walmart doing to modernize operational efficiencies and address rising costs?
  • How should this orientation be understood by employees, customers, and investors?

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Ethics, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Market Segmentation, Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Metrics/Analytics, Pricing, Relationship Marketing, Retail Marketing.

Description: A recent Journal of Marketing Research article by Jorge Jacob, Yan Vietes, Rafael Goldszmidt, and Eduardo B. Andrade explored how anticipation of socioeconomic-status (SES)-based discrimination affects the price sensitivity of poor, but not rich, consumers. Although low-SES consumers tend to be more price-sensitive—and for good reason—results from five studies reveal that low-SES (vs. high-SES) consumers are willing to pay more and even accept low-value rewards to avoid more affluent commercial settings such as upscale retail stores. The authors document that this self-defeating behavior occurs because these consumers anticipate greater discrimination in upscale commercial settings. The authors refer to this as a “psychological ghetto tax,” a version of the well-documented “ghetto tax” phenomenon in which lower-income individuals end up paying more due to mobility costs, lack of information, location, and other factors.

Source: AMA.org

Date: Apr 04, 2023

Link: https://www.ama.org/2023/04/04/psychological-ghetto-tax-the-poor-pay-more-to-avoid-discrimination/

Questions for discussion:

  • What is meant by the term “ghetto tax”?
  • Summarize the research findings presented in the report.
  • How should marketers deal with this research?

Posted by & filed under Global Marketing, Innovation, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Product Brands and Branding, Services Marketing.

Description: In 2022, Google and Meta’s share of digital advertising revenue in the US fell below 50% for the first time in years. This decline was largely due to the rise of Amazon, which captured over 11% of all digital ad purchases.

Source: Whatsnewinpublishing.com

Date: Apr 04, 2023

Link: https://whatsnewinpublishing.com/amazons-advertising-surge-brings-opportunities-for-publishers/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter

Questions for discussion:

  • How is Amazon’s platform unique amongst competitors?
  • What is the strategy for growth they are following?

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Global Marketing, Innovation, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), Marketing Strategy, Product Brands and Branding, Relationship Marketing.

Description: Bombay Sapphire and director Baz Luhrmann have teamed for “Saw This, Made This,” an art installation experience that combines user-generated art and paintings made by an AI-powered robot, according to a press release.

Source: MarketingDive.com

Date: Apr 03, 2023

Link: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/bombay-sapphire-ai-art-robot-baz-luhrmann/646634/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-04-03%20Marketing%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:49290%5D&utm_term=Marketing%20Dive

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the intended associations with the brand that marketers are hoping to create by this project?
  • What are the long-term marketing benefits derived from the actual art productions?
  • Do you think this project will produced the desired results in consumer awareness and associations with the brand?