Starbucks Is Making a Very Big Bet on a Very Strange Idea, and I Can’t Decide if It’s Brilliant or Bizarre

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

Description: The coffee giant thinks adding olive oil to your latte is the next big thing. Source: INC.com Date: Feb 23, 2023 Link: https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/starbucks-is-making-a-very-big-bet-on-oleata-olive-oil-in-your-coffee.html?utm_source=newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inc%20-%20this%20morning%20newsletter.newsletter%20-%20inc%20-%20this%20morning%202-24-23&leadid=261346&mkt_tok=njewluxfrs04nziaaagkimezx0mmtfq8plilxhtngurkiykwljlynjt2lmgsju-cww_bozkupayokclv-fjxfn_dq3msk5tcf3kxubhay9pyzhq7uxqtpdch-ry Questions for discussion: What do you think of the idea? Do you think this opens the door to a variety of “health-related” additions that could boost consumption at Starbucks? Do you… Read more »

Advertisers remain committed to Google as TikTok and AI-powered Bing try to become search competitors

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

Description: Digital ad costs are rising, the online ad marketplace is becoming more saturated and the way people look for information on the internet is changing, popularizing new ways to search beyond Google. It’s left advertisers thinking about diversifying their search spend away from Google, agency executives say. Source: digiday.com Date: Feb 22, 2023 Link: https://digiday.com/marketing/advertisers-remain-committed-to-google-as-tiktok-and-microsoft-try-to-become-search-competitors/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter… Read more »

The Future Is AI-ncredible – Why Every Organization Needs To Embrace AI Technology

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

Description: Here’s my hot take on ChatGPT and other AI-assisted writing and editing tools: I know they work, mostly because no one has been able to notice when I am (or when I am not) using them (like right now?). And, if that isn’t the power of helping to create better work (with what feels… Read more »

Inside Peloton’s rapid rise and bitter fall — and its attempt at a comeback

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

Description: The fitness company is now a year into an aggressive turnaround plan under CEO Barry McCarthy that has altered the company’s identity. Source: CNBC.com Date: Feb 19, 2023 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/19/peloton-rise-fall-attempted-comeback.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the turnaround effort at the firm and the directions management is now pointing towards. Do you think the revised orientation… Read more »

‘Make noise’: How Tubi’s disruptive Super Bowl ad happened

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

Description: Tubi caused many of the 113 million US viewers watching the Super Bowl Sunday night to frantically search for their TV remote. The ad-supported streaming platform’s fake-out ad simulated a connected TV (CTV) platform exiting the big game, scrolling to Tubi, and opening the app. Source: insiderintelligence.com/emarketer Date: Feb 14, 2023 Link: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/make-noise-how-tubi-disruptive-super-bowl-ad-happened?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eDaily%202.15.2023&utm_id=eDaily%202.15.2023&utm_term=eMarketer%20Daily%20CORE/EMEA%20%28Mon-Fri%29 Questions for discussion:… Read more »

Profit slips for Tim Hortons restaurant owners amid high commodity costs, inflation

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

Description: Tim Hortons’ parent company released new details on the financial performance of its Canadian coffee shops on Tuesday that appear to shed light on concerns raised by some franchisees about restaurant-level profitability. Source: BNNBloomberg.com – video report Date: Feb 14, 2023 Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/profit-slips-for-tim-hortons-restaurant-owners-amid-high-commodity-costs-inflation-1.1883602 Questions for discussion: Overall, how is the franchise performing? What are… Read more »

Chick-fil-A will test a cauliflower sandwich in its first plant-based pilot

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

Description: Chick-fil-A will test its first plant-based entree: a cauliflower sandwich.The new sandwich closely resembles its famous chicken sandwich, but uses breaded and pressure-cooked cauliflower in place of meat. Source: CNBC.com Date: Feb 09, 2023 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/09/chick-fil-a-cauliflower-sandwich.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail Questions for discussion: Do you think this decision is a good one for the firm? How might it… Read more »

YouTube Gave Me Everything. Then I Grew Up.

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

Description: My life so far has often been distilled to numbers: 1.7 million subscribers, 1.8 million total followers, 155 million views. At 12 years old, I started posting videos on YouTube. In November, at 24, I quit. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Feb 05, 2023 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/opinion/elle-mills-youtube-quit.html?smid=em-share Questions for discussion: What can marketers learn from this first-person narrative about the… Read more »

The Great Construction Mystery

Posted by & filed under Ethics, Innovation, Pricing, Relationship Marketing.

Description: Here’s something odd: We’re getting worse at construction. Think of the technology we have today that we didn’t in the 1970s. The new generations of power tools and computer modeling and teleconferencing and advanced machinery and prefab materials and global shipping. You’d think we could build much more, much faster, for less money, than… Read more »

Ask for Payment Before or After? The Effects of Timing in Pay-What-You-Want Pricing

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

Description: Pay-what-you-want is a pricing mechanism where consumers can decide how much to pay for a product or service. Variations of this idea have been employed widely over the years. Public museums, such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, have long allowed nominally free entry but with requests for donations at entry and/or exit…. Read more »