Taxing Airbnb and Netflix may level the playing field, but it won’t likely change consumer habits

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Pricing, Services Marketing, Supply Chain.

Description: Though Canadians are probably going to have to pay more for U.S. streaming services

Source: FinancialPost.com

Date: Dec 02, 2020

Link: https://financialpost.com/technology/taxing-airbnb-and-netflix-may-level-the-playing-field-but-it-wont-likely-change-consumer-habits

Questions for discussion:

  • What is the expected impact of imposing taxes on these services?
  • How do you think consumers and industry players will react?
  • Why do you suppose government has waited until now to install the new taxes?

US telemedicine users will surpass 40 million this year

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

Description: This year, 41.7 million adults in the US will use telemedicine, representing 98.8% growth from a year prior, according to our latest estimates.

Source: eMarketer.com

Date: Nov 30, 2020

Link: https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-telemedicine-users-will-surpass-40-million-this-year?ecid=NL1001

Questions for discussion:

  • What does the report say about the growth of telemedicine usage?
  • How can this approach to medical service be better managed?
  • How can usage be marketed?

Zoom investors are looking to a post-pandemic 2021 even with current growth at over 300%

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Innovation, Marketing Strategy, Supply Chain.

Description: Zoom is poised to show another monster quarter when it reports results on Monday, with sales growth expected to top 300% for a second straight period.

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Nov 29, 2020

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/29/zoom-investors-look-to-post-pandemic-2021-even-with-big-q3-expected.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the relationship of Zoom stock price to news releases about Covid-19 vaccines.
  • What does this mean from a marketing and longer-term strategic planning point of view for management?
  • Do you think Zoom and other online services that have benefited from behavioral changes due to Covid-19 remain good long-term investments?

With Less Money In Its Red Kettles, The Salvation Army Rallies To Save The Holidays

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

Description: The Salvation Army’s bell ringers, a longtime fixture outside malls and stores around the U.S., are a staple holiday tradition. But this year, with the coronavirus pandemic raging and many stores closed, people won’t be hearing as many of those bells ringing.

Source: NPR.org

Date: Nov 24, 2020

Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/11/24/938095233/with-less-money-in-its-red-kettles-the-salvation-army-rallies-to-save-the-holida

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the situation for the organization this year and what management is trying to do to overcome the obstacles.
  • What marketing advice with you suggest to non-profits in general, and to this non-profit in particular?

‘Thumb-Stopping,’ ‘Humaning,’ ‘B4H’: The Strange Language of Modern Marketing.

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Marketing Research.

Description: The ad business is overrun with buzzwords and acronyms, and some people are saying it’s enough already.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: Nov 26, 2020

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/business/media/thumb-stopping-humaning-b4h-the-strange-language-of-modern-marketing.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Why do you suppose these terms have emerged in the marketing environment?
  • Do you think they are useful to marketers or deserve to be ridiculed?

How Kellogg’s is keeping up with accelerated demand

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

Description: The food and beverage category is seeing the biggest gains in retail ecommerce sales growth this year as more consumers have gotten comfortable shopping online amid the pandemic. Over the past few months, Kellogg’s has also experienced this digital growth and implemented ongoing efforts to adapt to the rapidly changing retail environment.

Source: eMarkerter.com

Date: Nov 26, 2020

Link: https://www.emarketer.com/content/how-kellogg-s-keeping-up-with-accelerated-demand

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the strength of sales online?
  • How have marketers leveraged technology?
  • What else would you recommend to the firm?

Cheese giant enters standoff with Canadian supermarkets over fines as pandemic supply challenges mount

Posted by & filed under Ethics, Global Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Product Brands and Branding, Relationship Marketing, Retail Marketing, Supply Chain.

Description: With demand high and production down because of COVID-19, producer balks at grocers’ fines for light shipments

Source: FinancialPost.com

Date: Nov 25, 2020

Link: https://financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/cheese-giant-enters-standoff-with-canadian-supermarkets-over-fines-as-pandemic-supply-challenges-mount

Questions for discussion:

  • What are the reasons for the use of penalties?
  • Do you think they can be justified at this time of Covid-19?
  • How else can marketers deal with supply issues during the pandemic?

Airlines See Loss Reaching $157 Billion Before Virus Clears

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Global Marketing, Marketing Research, Services Marketing.

Description: Record airline losses from the coronavirus outbreak will continue to mount next year as anticipated vaccination programs take time to revive travel demand, according to the industry’s main trade group.

Source: Bloomberg.com – video report

Date: Nov 24, 2020

Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-24/airlines-see-losses-swelling-to-157-billion-before-virus-clears

Questions for discussion:

  • How bad has the airline industry been hit by the pandemic?
  • How can management deal with financial, marketing and employee fallout from the situation?
  • Do you think the industry should consolidate resources as a means to rebuild?

Restaurant tech start-up Toast soars to $8 billion valuation seven months after cutting half its staff

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Ethics, Innovation, Retail Marketing, Services Marketing, Supply Chain.

Description: Toast, a start-up that sells software to help restaurants with online ordering, has had a rollercoaster of a year managing through the pandemic. Of late, business has been booming,

Source: CNBC.com – video report

Date: Nov 24, 2020

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/restaurant-tech-start-up-toast-worth-8-billion-in-employee-share-sale.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain the changing environment facing the firm.
  • Do you think it can sustain this level of growth once the pandemic subsides?
  • How should investors handle this opportunity?
  • Do you think management has handled its employees ethically?

People with disabilities are an underserved community with money to spend

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

Description: People with disabilities make up a large, but diverse and underserved, segment of the US population. According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 67 million adults in the US—or 26% of the population—reported living with at least one type of disability.

Source: eMarketer.com

Date: Nov 20, 2020

Link: https://www.emarketer.com/content/people-with-disabilities-underserved-community-with-money-spend

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize what the article says about opportunities to serve this market.
  • Why do you think this market is underserved by marketers?