marketing posts
FeedPosted Jun 25th 2010 6:00PM by Nikolay Tsintsadze (RSS feed)

There is no question that Sonic Corporation (
SONC) has arguably the most distinct business model in the quick-serve restaurant industry. However, is this enough to validate an investment in the franchise?
After lowering its outlook for the fiscal year, from between $0.55 - $0.60 to $0.50 - $0.55 per share, Sonic announced on June 21, 2010 that its earnings for the third quarter were a disappointing $0.18 per share. This figure is lower than what analysts predicted by 1 to 4 cents per share, and even includes a 3 cent tax benefit. Without including special items, this marks a year over year decline of almost 40%.
Continue reading Sonic: A Restaurant with Risks
Posted Dec 20th 2009 5:40PM by Tom Taulli (RSS feed)
Filed under: Marketing and Advertising, Small Business
In an episode of The Office, Michael Scott wasn't impressed with his company's move towards technology. He thought the old-school approaches still worked, such as giving gift baskets away to former customers. Of course, it was a disaster. These customers left because of a lack of technology, as well as high prices.
As with any comedy, there was truth to both sides. Actually, we can get sucked into too much technology. And yes, customer gifts can be a good idea. After all, it costs much more money to acquire customers than than to keep them.
Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: A Good Idea to Give Gifts to Customers?
Posted Oct 12th 2009 4:15PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer Experience

What's one change the federal government should implement quickly to increase revenue and also end a needless subsidy? Increase mail rates for business.
Investors know it's the fall season - a time when students return to school and Americans get back to work. But it's also catalogue season – catalogues that consumers often have a hard time convincing companies to remove them from their lists, despite not having considered a purchase from them in eons.
Continue reading Higher U.S. postal rates would curb 'catalogue mania'
Posted Aug 31st 2009 2:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Economic Data, Recession
Across the country, college classes are starting. In each of these classrooms, students are struggling with calculus, trudging through Candide, and wondering just what the hell they're going to do with their degrees upon graduation. The last of these is characteristic of every college student, especially those of us, with the foresight fortitude recklessness zeal to major in liberal arts fields (in my case, Philosophy).
The anxiety is a bit higher this year, given a high rate of unemployment, the likelihood of a "jobless recovery" and the fact that it could take years for destroyed value to be recovered.
Continue reading 2.9 million college kids unsure of career plans
Posted Aug 19th 2009 6:40PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Deals, Press Releases, Products and Services, Management, Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Marketing and Advertising, Time Warner Cable (TWC)
In a move to bring profitability to its popular video sharing site YouTube, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has inked a deal with Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE: TWX) to show clips of the company's television shows and movies.
When Google announced back in 2006 that it would be paying $1.65 billion for the popular video sharing site, a lot of critics questioned whether or not the company would be able to turn a profit from the site, which at the time had around 46% of the online video market share.
Continue reading Time Warner inks deal with YouTube
Posted Feb 22nd 2009 6:00PM by Tom Taulli (RSS feed)
Filed under: Small Business

Even during good times, marketing is not easy. You need to find the right message and medium. And, especially for traditional marketing channels, it can be tough to measure success.
But, with the treacherous economy, things are even more challenging. For example, what is the right way to message your company – especially when many people are losing their jobs?
Well, let's take a look at some ideas:
Be sensitive to the mood: In the current environment, your marketing message must not be frivolous. "The marketing you do should address your audience in a way that acknowledges they are making difficult choices about how they spend their money," said Adam Toren, who is the cofounder of
YoungEntrepreneur.com.
Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: How to market in grim times
Posted Feb 16th 2009 12:51PM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: PepsiCo (PEP)

In today's sports culture, there is a word that almost always piques the interest of the die-hard fan and the sports pop culture enthusiast as well. That word? Throwbacks. You know, when the New York Jets come out in the navy and gold of the New York Titans; the Cleveland Cavaliers ditch their current unis to wear the orange and blue made popular in the late 80s, the Cincinnati Reds ditch their current uni for the double knits of the Big Red Machine, it happens all over the sporting world. However, one place where I never thought I would hear of throwbacks is in the beverage world. Yes, the beverage world.
Continue reading Pepsi introduces throwback beverages
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