Shopify – A Tale Of Two Cities?

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

Description: Starting a business is hard. It’s very hard. I’m not sure what’s harder: Getting the first sale or getting to your first million in sales. As an entrepreneur you can do everything “right” and still not find a market fit. Most businesses fail. Hard. Success in business is the exception. Not the rule.

Source: SixPixels.com

Date: Oct 27, 2022

Link: https://www.sixpixels.com/articles/archives/shopify-a-tale-of-two-cities/

Questions for discussion:

  • What does Mitch Joel say is the proper way to think about ecommerce sites like Shopify?
  • Do you think lower barriers to entry help marketers launch new products or crowd the marketplace with too many choices?
  • How should marketers use ecommerce sites like Shopify?

SPOS #850 – Douglas Rushkoff On The Harmful Effects Of Technology On Our Future

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

Description: Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #850. I’ve said it before… I will say it again: Douglas Rushkoff is – without a doubt – one of the smartest humans beings on this earth that I get to call a friend. Douglas is back with another compelling book about technology and how it could impact us (in a very negative way) if we don’t start making serious moves… right away. The new book is called, Survival of the Richest – Escape fantasies of the tech billionaires, and it goes well below the depth of bunkers that these tech billionaires have built to save themselves should everything sideways. In this book, Doug traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. In a dozen urgent, electrifying chapters, he confronts tech utopianism, the datafication of all human interaction, and the exploitation of that data by corporations. Through fascinating characters — master programmers who want to remake the world from scratch as if redesigning a video game and bankers who return from Burning Man convinced that incentivized capitalism is the solution to environmental disasters — Doug explores why those with the most power to change our current trajectory have no interest in doing so. Named one of the world’s ten most influential intellectuals by MIT, Doug is an award-winning author, broadcaster, and documentarian who studies human autonomy in the digital age. He hosts the popular Team Human podcast, Rushkoff has written twenty books, including the bestsellers Team Human, Present Shock and Program or Be Programmed. He is also the person who made the PBS Frontline documentaries Generation Like and The Merchants of Cool. Douglas coined such concepts as “viral media” and “social currency,” and has been a leading voice for applying digital media toward social and economic justice. He is a research fellow of the Institute for the Future, and founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, where he is a professor of media theory and digital economics. Let’s dig into the present and future of tech. Enjoy the conversation…

Source: SixPixels.com – podcast

Date: Oct 26 2022

Link: https://www.sixpixels.com/podcast/archives/spos-850-douglas-rushkoff-on-the-harmful-effects-of-technology-on-our-future/

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key insights developed in the conversation with Douglas Rushkoff.
  • What do you think about these things and how they relate to business?

Apple Quietly Rolled Out a Change That Could Be the End of Facebook

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

Description: Apple isn’t just coming for Facebook’s money, it’s coming for its business.

Source: INC.com

Date: Oct 27, 2022

Link: https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/apple-quietly-rolled-out-a-change-that-could-be-end-of-facebook.html?utm_source=newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IncThisMorning-Oct%2026,%202022&leadId=261346&mkt_tok=NjEwLUxFRS04NzIAAAGHuDANPsXgpSh7DvX5FXGcVHzm_RyLSUzzo1GMOhx_ihLjxVqDuYCcWy0sJmhfyKYuCbqpclo0hn3hcyLM8sC9io0Oppj98rgzN4lSjw

Questions for discussion:

  • How will Apple revenue grow with this new requirement?
  • Do you think it is the end of Meta?
  • How can Meta and other apps counter this strategic move by Apple?

Netflix Returns to Growth, Saying the Worst of Slowdown Is Over

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

Description: (Bloomberg) — Netflix Inc. is growing again, and Hollywood can breathe a sigh of relief.

Source: Yahoo.Finance.com

Date: Oct 18, 2022

Link: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-returns-growth-saying-worst-200656209.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Why has subscription growth returned, in your opinion?
  • What do you think consumers will think of the hybrid model that includes advertising?
  • Do you think this is a new trend for the firm?
  • What other marketing strategies would you recommend to manangement?
    ​

IBM’s software business contributes to the majority of its profits, says Lisa Ellis of MoffettNathanson

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

Description: MoffettNathanson Partner Lisa Ellis joins ‘Squawk on the Street’ to discuss IBM’s Q3 earnings beat, the company’s investment in the growth of its consultant services business and the need for IBM to grow its software portfolio.

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Oct 20, 2022

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/10/20/ibms-software-business-contributes-to-the-majority-of-its-profits-says-lisa-ellis-of-moffettnathanson.html

Questions for discussion:

  • What does this report say about the marketing issues facing IBM?
  • What would you advise marketers do at the firm, given the analysis presented?

Scott Goodson On Activating Your Brand Purpose – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

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

Description: Based in New York, Scott Goodson is the founder and CEO of StrawberryFrog. For the last twenty-five years, he has worked with some of the world’s most iconic companies including Google, Emirates Airlines, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Jim Beam, Mercedes and countless others. He invented the concept of Movement Thinking, an approach that uses the principles of societal movements to solve marketing and leadership challenges. Scott has lectured on the subject at Harvard Business School, Columbia, Cambridge and many more. He is the author of Activate Brand Purpose – How to harness the power of movements to transform your company (along with co-author Chip Walker). We live in an age of activism – the conscious consumer is more socially aware than ever before, and this is reflected in their buying habits. Yet, activism on behalf of brands is lagging. While many claim to be ‘purpose driven brands’, far too often this purpose is relegated to a plaque above the CEO’s desk, and never goes any further. Or, worse, the ‘purpose’ is transparently used as a marketing ploy, but never acted upon in any real way. It’s time to turn that around. Enjoy the conversation

Source: SixPixels.com – podcast

Date: Oct 16, 2022

Link: https://www.sixpixels.com/articles/archives/scott-goodson-on-activating-your-brand-purpose-this-weeks-six-pixels-of-separation-podcast/

Questions for discussion:

  • What does Scott Goodson say about how marketers should deal with activism and social movements?
  • What do you think about this orientation?

Loblaw facing cricism

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

Description: Some critics have labelled Loblaw’s announcement that it is freezing prices on its No Name brand until January a PR stunt. Its competitor Metro says such a freeze is ‘an industry practice.’

Source: CBC.ca – video report

Date: Oct 18, 2022

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLT1FKLTE00

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the criticism directed at Loblaw.
  • Do you think it is fair criticism or a poor defensive response from a competitor?
  • Had the criticism not been made, do you think the PR value of the strategy was worthy?
  • How do you think this argument is playing out with customers?
  • What would you advise Loblaw marketers now?

Anti-Defamation League urges Adidas to sever ties with Ye’s Yeezy

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

Description: The Anti-Defamation League is urging Adidas to sever ties with Ye, calling out his recent hateful comments in a letter to Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted and Chairman Thomas Rabe. The rapper and designer, formerly known as Kanye West, has in recent weeks made several degrading remarks about Jewish people and targeted his business partners with public threats. In September, he parted ways with retailer Gap, and earlier this month, Adidas said it was reviewing its relationship with Ye.

Source: CNBC.com

Date: Oct 20, 2022

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/20/anti-defamation-league-to-adidas-sever-ties-with-kanye-wests-yeezy.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Would severing ties with Ye likely affect Adidas sales?
  • How might it affect its brand and public image?
  • Do you think Adidas’ brand and public image would be affected if it did nothing after being called to public attention?
  • What would you advise management do?
  • How should investors view the stock, at this time?

Pfizer CEO: 2023 will be a ‘pivotal year’ as COVID-19 drug sales wane

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

Description: Americans are moving on from COVID-19. Most public places, transit, and municipalities have gotten rid of mask mandates. Vaccine booster rates have plateaued, even with the introduction of a new “bivalent” shot targeting multiple variants, including Omicron.

Source: Yahoo.Finance.com – video report

Date: Oct 18, 2022

Link: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/pfizer-ceo-2023-pivotal-year-as-covid-19-drug-sales-wane-195020896.html

Questions for discussion:

  • How is the company attempting to deal with expected decline in Covid vaccine sales?
  • Why would collaborations with other pharmas work well for Pfizer?
  • Would you be an investor is Pfizer today?

EV customers ‘really want solar power,’ SunPower CEO says

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

Description: SunPower CEO Peter Faricy joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the company’s GM partnership, home energy systems, solar energy storage & batteries, powering your home, and the housing slump.

Source: Yahoo.Finance.com – video report

Date: Oct 12, 2022

Link: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/ev-customers-really-want-solar-161019591.html

Questions for discussion:

  • What is the significance of this partnership?
  • What are the marketing implications for the firms and the wider industry?
  • Do you think this will stimulate adoption of the technology?
  • What are the factors you would recommend to marketers to help publicize adoption?