Apple TV+ Hits Friday. Its Series (Mostly) Miss

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

Description: Netflix turned Hollywood on its head six years ago, or so the narrative goes. As it shifted from mail-order DVD company to streaming-service behemoth, its series brought movie stars to television at a time when such a transition was far more attention-getting than it is today. Moreover, they did so while at least emulating a level of quality that propelled Netflix into the awards conversation.

Source: Fortune.com

Date: Oct 30, 2019

Link: https://fortune.com/2019/10/30/apple-tv-plus-hits-misses-morning-show-for-all-mankind-dickinson-see/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ceo-daily&utm_content=2019110111am

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the evaluation of the Apple product offering?
  • What should management do to differentiate and succeed in this streaming landscape?

‘Built for success’: Canopy’s big bet on pot drinks looms ahead of launch

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

Description: SMITHS FALLS, ONT. — Innocuously tucked inside Canopy Growth Corp.’s cavernous, custom-built bottling facility is a series of four vats which may be the most important pieces of equipment the pot giant owns.

Source: BNNBloomberg.com – video report

Date: Oct 30, 2019

Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/built-for-success-canopy-s-big-bet-on-pot-drinks-looms-ahead-of-launch-1.1340171

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key strategic decisions being made by marketers at this firm.
  • Who is the firm competing against and for which target customers?
  • Do you think the optimistic outlook is realistic?

Facebook sued for age, gender bias in financial services ads

Posted by & filed under Consumer/Buyer Behavior, Ethics, Global Marketing, Market Segmentation, Marketing Strategy, Metrics/Analytics, Product Brands and Branding, Relationship Marketing.

Description: (Reuters) – Facebook Inc <FB.O> was sued on Thursday in a proposed class action accusing it of discriminating against older and female users by withholding advertising for financial services such as bank accounts, insurance, investments and loans.

Source: Yahoo.Finance.com

Date: Oct 31, 2019

Link: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/facebook-sued-age-gender-bias-183907492.html?guccounter=1

Questions for discussion:

  • What is the basis for the lawsuit?
  • Is this discrimination, in your opinion?
  • How is this complaint a problem for the way FB and other social media firms sell targeted advertising?
  • How might the industry resolve this issue?

American business schools are reinventing the MBA

Posted by & filed under Ethics, Global Marketing.

Description: On a visit to New York in October Marc Benioff, boss of Salesforce, compared Facebook to cigarettes and backed a corporate tax hike to deal with homelessness in San Francisco. If badmouthing a fellow technology giant and cheering the taxman were not heterodox enough for a billionaire entrepreneur, Mr Benioff laid into American management education. It “programmes” students to favour profit over the public good. This, he noted, is out of step with “the new capitalism”.

Source: TheEconomist.com

Date: Nov 02, 2019

Link: https://www.economist.com/business/2019/11/02/american-business-schools-are-reinventing-the-mba

Questions for discussion:

  • How are MBA programs and students changing, according to the article?
  • Do you think these changes are beneficial and contribute to better business performance?

Nordstrom wants its new Manhattan store to be a place where women can discover new brands

Posted by & filed under Innovation, Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, Retail Marketing, Services Marketing.

Description: When Nordstrom’s first full-line department store for women in Manhattan opens to the public on Thursday, at 225 West 57th Street, there will be a pop-up space for Everlane, a trendy women’s and men’s apparel brand that started on the internet and currently only has a handful of stores in the U.S.

Source: CNBC.com

Date: Oct 21, 2019

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/online-brands-have-a-home-at-nordstroms-new-store-in-manhattan.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the new retail strategies at this Nordstrom store.
  • Do you think will succeed? Why?

Is the TikTok Craze Sustainable?

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

Description: eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst Blake Droesch explain whether people (and advertisers) should get excited about the new social media phenomenon TikTok. They also discuss Instagram’s new messaging app Threads, Facebook’s potential rebrand, Snapchat’s new dynamic ads and more.

Source: eMarketer.com – podcast

Date: Oct 24, 2019

Link: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-is-the-tiktok-craze-sustainable

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments about what is happeneing in social media.
  • What do you think marketers should take away from this discussion?

SPOS #693 – Avinash Kaushik On The State of Analytics

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

Description: He’s back! Google‘s Digital Marketing Evangelist, bestselling author (Web Analytics – An Hour A Day and Web Analytics 2.0), powerful writer (Occam’s Razor), friend and business big brain, Avinash Kaushik. His articles may as well be business books, and his insights into what should really count today for business leaders is refreshing. He’s got an attitude, he is full of passion, and he has some ideas about what we all need to be thinking about, in this day and age. Avinash has an incredible newsletter titled, The Marketing-Analytics Intersect (you best sign up for it), and we’re back to discuss the power of analytics, why we have too much data, why brands should stop their social media posts, and whether all of this tech hate is well placed. In a world of measuring what matters, trust me, you will need to hear what Avinash thinks (and wants you to do). Enjoy the conversation…

Source: SixPixels.com – podcast

Date: Oct 20, 2019

Link: https://www.sixpixels.com/podcast/archives/spos-693-avinash-kaushik-on-the-state-of-analytics/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SixPixelsOfSeparation+%28Six+Pixels+of+Separation+-+Mitch+Joel%29

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key points presented by Avinash Kaushik.
  • What is your opinion about these ideas?

Sidewalk Labs closer to deal on Toronto ‘city of the future’ after two years of controversy, sources say

Posted by & filed under Global Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Services Marketing, Supply Chain.

Description: If no deal is struck, Sidewalk will be left empty handed after investing more than $50 million to develop the plan

Source: FinancialPost.com

Date: Oct 24, 2019

Link: https://business.financialpost.com/technology/alphabet-is-closer-to-a-deal-on-contentious-toronto-smart-city

Questions for discussion:

  • How would you go about promoting the concept to all of the publics interested in this development?
  • Do you think there is any real chance of the project failing to get approval?

How a VC Wants to Be Pitched

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

Description: Accel partner Andrew Braccia breaks down the basics of selling your idea to venture capitalists

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Date: Oct 23, 2019

Link: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/341165?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key items of advice presented in this report.
  • What else would you suggest to those presenting to venture capitalists?

Facebook News launches with hand-picked stories from major publishers

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

Description: Facebook announced on Friday the launch of Facebook News, a new section of the social network that will show users a personalized selection of news stories.

Source: CNBC.com

Date: Oct 25, 2019

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/25/facebook-news-new-product-will-pay-publishers-highlight-news-stories.html

Questions for discussion:

  • How will this revenue sharing plan work?
  • Do you think it will boost subscriptions?
  • How should this feature be marketed by Facebook?
  • What is the future of news distribution, in your opinion?
  • How will this arrangement affect the future share values of news media firms?