Monthly Newsletter Presentation

1. Monthly Newsletter Presentation Quick Links • Article Abstracts • Commercials • Videos November/December 2009

2. Article Index • Hamburgers + Cars(Chapters 1, 5, 17) • L.L. Bean Uplifts its Brand with More Fashion(Chapters 4, 10, 16) • Pringles, Iams, and Duracell Are Not Part of P&G’s Focus (Chapters 2, 8, 10, 11, 13) • Wine in Convenience Stores (Chapters 5, 8, 11, 13, 16) • Where’s the … Brick Wall? (Chapters 2, 4, 15) • Scaring Stephen King with e-Books (Chapters 4, 13, 14, 15) • Weymouth Needs More Coffee (Chapters 2, 5, 9, 12, 15) • Making Money Off of All Those Tweets (Chapters 3, 5, 17) • Treating Your Loyal Customers Well (Chapters 9, 12, 18) • The Two Sides of Saks Fifth Avenue(Chapters 2, 4, 13, 14,16) • Does Barbie Need Botox? (Chapters 2, 10, 11) • A Blue Box Covered in Diamond Dust (Chapters 3, 4, 6, 7, 15) • Marketing a Sugary Wake-Up Call to Kids (Chapters 3, 5, 7, 10, 18)

3. Video Index • Nantucket Nectars (Chapters 4, 10, 17) • Nobu(Chapter 10) • Kayak.com(Chapters 9, 16) • Social Media (Chapters 7, 10)

4. Commercials Index • Volvo(Chapters 10, 18) • McDonald’s(Chapters 13, 18) • Twix (Chapters 10, 17) • Nikon Coolpix (Chapters 5, 10, 17, 18)

5. Hamburgers + Cars • In-N-Out Burger, the fast food chain, does not do any traditional marketing. It depends on word-of-mouth advertising by its customers. • The Southern California-based chain has not expanded its locations or its menu offerings, in its effort to maintain its familiarity with its customers and stay close to its roots. • Customers like to talk about In-N-Out Burger because it is so unique and thus “hip” in a way that restaurants that appear on the side of virtually every road, like another Wendy’s or McDonald’s, can never be. In-N-Out Burger Web site

6. What Do You Think? • Should In-N-Out expand into new markets? • How can other chains copy In-N-Out’s strategy and success?

7. L.L Bean Uplifts its Brand with More Fashion • L.L. Bean, known for its rustic outdoor apparel and sporting goods, is introducing a fashion line called L.L. Bean Signature • With the Signature line, L.L. Bean hopes to attract younger customers to counteract the effects of its aging core audience. • The strong brand heritage of L.L. Bean is attractive to many consumers, but its clothing styles have become too dowdy over the years. • Many other brands have made way for younger audiences, such as Ralph Lauren’s Rugby. L.L. Bean’s Web site

8. What Do You Think? • Is it a good decision for L.L. Bean to pursue a more fashionable image? • Can L.L. Bean succeed with this new Signature brand?

9. Pringles, Iams, and Duracell Are Not Part of P&G’s Focus • Proctor & Gamble (P&G) owns a wide range of premium beauty and household products. • P&G plans to sell some of the brands that fall outside its core product portfolio, such as Pringles, Iams, and Duracell. • High-end commodity manufacturers are struggling, because customers are buying private-label products at lower prices than those offered on P&G’s products. • For example, it is cheaper to buy private-label dishwashing detergent than P&G’s Dawn dish soap. • P&G also has introduced some new products to compete with private-label products, such as Tide Basic. P&G’s Web site

10. What Do You Think? • What is the main problem P&G faces today? • What can P&G do to increase profits other than filter its portfolio of brands?

11. Wine in Convenience Stores • Recently 7-Eleven has begun selling wine in its stores. • The low-end wine, called Yosemite Road, retails for just $3.99 a bottle, and moderate priced wines are around $10. • As more consumers are dining at home, 7-Eleven has decided it needs to expand its product line to offer an economical alternative to buying wine in a restaurant. • Consumers who make a special trip to the convenience store to buy a bottle of wine may buy some other necessities or food while in the store. • Trader Joe’s sells a bottle of wine for $2.49, widely known as “Two-Buck Chuck,” and has developed loyal customers as a result. 7-Eleven’s Web site

12. What Do You Think? • Why is 7-Eleven introducing a low-priced wine? • What challenges does 7-Eleven face in its repositioning efforts?

13. Where’s the … Brick Wall? • Burger King is remodeling its restaurants to present an upscale atmosphere featuring brick walls, red flame chandeliers, television screens, and industrial metal accents. • Stores that have already been renovated have enjoyed sales increases of up to 30 percent. • Franchisees are paying $300,000-$600,00 for the remodeling, a significant, and for some nearly impossible, investment in the current economy. Burger King’s Web site

14. What Do You Think? • How much are you willing to pay for fast food, and would you be willing to pay more if you could get it in a more upscale atmosphere? • Will the redesign encourage new customers to visit Burger King rather than, say, McDonald’s to see the new flame chandeliers for example?

15. Scaring Stephen King with e-Books • Amazon’s Kindle and other handheld e-readers offer books at much lower prices and thus competing with traditional bookstores for sales. • E-books bought for the Kindle normally cost around $10, much less than the average price of a conventional, hardcover book. • Stephen King is promoting book sales through bookstores by introducing his latest book in print six weeks before it is available as an e-book.

16. What Do You Think? • Will people wait six weeks to get an electronic edition? • Are bookstores outdated?

17. Weymouth Needs More Coffee • The Dunkin’ Donuts in Weymouth, Massachusetts, is a particularly busy store, because it makes all of its doughnuts in-house. • Franchisees normally use centralized bakeries, which enable them to share resources and generate economies of scale. • Because this particular Dunkin’ Donuts bakes its doughnuts in-house, it can customize special varieties according to customers’ preferences. Dunkin’ Donuts Web site

18. What Do You Think? • Is the added expense of keeping a full-time baker worth selling a few extra doughnuts? • Why don’t other Dunkin’ Donuts outlets do the same thing?

19. Making Money Off All Those Tweets • Businesses and consumers use Twitter to broadcast news and information in real time to everyone in the Twitter world. • Microsoft and Google want to tie Twitter posts into their search engines, possibly in an attempt to create a revenue-based model for Twitter, though both entities claim they are not interested in making money off their partnerships. • Although a vast number of people tweet, many of them are not necessarily looking to make a purchase when they log on to Twitter. Many times, they are just looking for information.

20. What Do You Think? • Do you use Twitter, and why? • Would you like your posts to show up in Google searches?

21. Treating your Loyal Customers Well • Harrah’s, the casino chain, has resorts in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Kansas City, and New Orleans. • Harrah’s prioritizes its loyal customers, making them want to come back. • Harrah’s collects information about its customers so that it offers them rewards that are relevant. It knows every time a customer uses a slot machine, plays at a table, goes to a restaurant, goes to a club, or stays at a hotel. • Harrah’s has decreased its marketing expenses by focusing its marketing dollars on its loyal customers, offering them incentives and perks. Harrah’s Web site

22. What Do You Think? • What makes Harrah’s customer relationship marketing program so good? • How is Harrah’s particularly well positioned to execute such a program?

23. The Two Sides of Saks Fifth Avenue • Saks Fifth Avenue, the high-end retailer, sells the most expensive designer brands in fashion. • Saks Fifth Avenue has suffered double-digit sales declines. • Therefore, Saks also offers 36-hour pop-up sales online, featuring a selection of merchandise at 50 percent off. • Other popular private sale sites include Gilt, Hautelook, and RueLaLa, which sell luxury brands at big discounts. Saks Fifth Avenue Web site

24. What Do You Think? • What is an online private sale? • Will this sales channel tarnish Saks’ image? Is it a good move for Saks?

25. Does Barbie Need Botox? • Barbie dolls have been around for 50 years but experienced their worst competition from Bratz dolls, which entered the scene in 2001. • Mattel sued Bratz’s manufacturer MGA, claiming that the designer of the doll worked for Mattel when it was created and that Mattel owned the rights to it. Mattel won and now owns the Bratz line. • However, Barbie continues to face a wealth of competitors, including the Moxie Girls by MGA. • Mattel is introducing Fashionista Barbie, a doll with 12 moveable joints to allow her to pose and a wardrobe of runway-inspired fashions. Barbie’s Web site

26. What Do You Think? • Can a 50-year-old product remain “cool” in a rapidly changing environment? • What environmental threats should Mattel consider, in addition to other doll companies?

27. A Blue Box Covered in Diamond Dust • In the 1990s, Tiffany & Co was worried that there would not be a sufficient supply of diamonds to supply its retail stores. • Formerly, Tiffany bought its polished diamonds from a middleman. • Tiffany & Co. vertically integrated and now sources, cuts, and polishes the diamonds itself. • Tiffany benefits by having a low cost structure for the procurement of diamonds, but it cannot be as selective in choosing the diamonds that it ultimately sells, because Tiffany must sell what it produces. Tiffany’s Web site

28. What Do You Think? • Is it a good idea for retailers to expand backward into their product chain?

29. Marketing a Sugary Wake-Up call to the Kids • Sugary cereals, more than any other product, target children. • Examples include Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, and Trix • Cereal companies even host Internet sites with videogames that attract thousands of children each month. • One-third of U.S. children are overweight; the food industry responded by reducing the sugar and adding vitamins to some cereals. • However, many of these foods are still very unhealthy for children, despite the checkmark system designed to designate only healthy foods.

30. What Do You Think? • Is it ethical to market junk food to children?

31. Video – Nantucket Nectars • Why is Nantucket Nectars successful? • How would you compare the brand image of Nantucket Nectars to Vitamin Water or Ocean Spray juice? Video: Nantucket Nectars

32. Video – Nobu • What is the branding strategy for the Myraid restaurant group? • Why is it important to treat employees well? Video: Nobu Restaurant

33. Video – Kayak.com • What is Kayak.com? • How does Kayak.com personalize its site for customers? Video: Kayak.com

34. Video – Social Media • What are the important things to consider when planning a social media campaign? • What is a successful social media campaign? Defend your definition. Video: Social Media

35. Commercial – Volvo • What is the purpose of this commercial? • Does Volvo increase its brand equity by cobranding with The Twilight Zone? Volvo’s commercial Volvo’s Web site

36. Commercial – McDonald’s • What is the purpose of this commercial? • Is it successful? McDonald’s Commercial McDonald’s Web site

37. Commercial – Twix • What is the purpose of this commercial? • Is this a successful commercial? Twix’ Web Site Twix’s Commercial

38. Commercial – Nikon Coolpix • What is the purpose of this commercial? • Is it risky to develop a brand based on one celebrity? What are the pros and cons? Nikon Coolpix Commercial