Category Archives: Ronn Torossian
Subaru to Owners: Don’t Drive those Cars
It’s a fact of life: mechanical stuff breaks. Recalls happen to pretty much every car company from time to time. But you don’t always have a company come right out and tell their customers not to drive their cars. But that’s the lengths Subaru has gone to in the wake of its recent recall crisis. According to Associated Press reports, Subaru is telling owners of some late model Legacy and Outback vehicles not to get behind the wheel at all…because the steering may fail. The Read More +
NCAA now jumping on the discrimination bandwagon
This may be the one that stings. In response to North Carolina’s bathroom segregation law, the NCAA has vowed to require any city that wishes to host NCAA events to “provide an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.” Home to the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels, college basketball is sacred in North Carolina, more so perhaps, than anywhere else in the country. As the host body of March Madness and the Final Four, tournaments that often feature either Read More +
NBA First to Break Uniform AD Ban
The rumors have been confirmed. The NBA will soon become the first top-tier American sports league to place ads on player jerseys. While the practice is common across the world in soccer (football), rugby and other sports, to date the only major American sports that allowed display ads on the “players” have been Major League Soccer and NASCAR. That’s about to change. Beginning in the 2017-18 season, the NBA will deck their players out in corporate logos. Likely not as garish and omnipresent as auto Read More +
The Foodies of PR
Many entrepreneurs dream of opening up a restaurant and selling delicious meals to customers who can’t help but come back for more. One bite, one sip, and they’re certain they’ll have these customers for good. Sometimes this happens, but most times, it doesn’t. In fact, a study done by Ohio State University showed that 60 percent of restaurants do not survive the first year and that another 20 percent are likely to fail within five years. So what can restaurants do to set themselves apart Read More +
Best Buy is the latest big box feeling the heat
First it was Sears. Then even mighty Walmart felt the sting of losing sales. Now it’s Best Buy’s turn. Some might call it a tired topic, but it’s a very real fear for major retailers. What can they do about drastically falling consumer demand? It seems a lifetime ago that upstart Best Buy stood toe to toe with Circuit City, trading punches until the red brand closed its doors. Soon, Best Buy was opening 50 stores a year, popping up on street corners and in Read More +
Safety still a touchy topic in NASCAR
Fifteen years ago this month the world of NASCAR was rocked to its core by the death of racing legend Dale “The Intimidator” Earnhardt. Since that time, the sport’s governing body has taken some steps to improve driver safety. But some NASCAR pilots are saying the measures to date are not good enough. The suggestions are specific, and they are coming from the top names in the sport. Multiple-time champion Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR’s reigning golden boy, wants to see the grass near the tracks replaced Read More +
What is Kohl’s Thinking?
A few weeks ago Kohl’s announced their Q4 earnings – for retail and online stores alike, this is the quarter that should soar, Kohl’s didn’t. They reported a measly 0.4 percent increase in comparable sales over the holiday quarter. This would not be good news, no matter what, but this also places them nearly $2 billion short of their 2015 year-end goal. They saw only a one percent sales increase for the year. The day they announced their 2015 Q4 results, stock (KSS) prices dropped Read More +
Fiorina shifts to her new career
Her doomed POTUS career has been over about a week, but Carly Fiorina is already launching a new career. Credentialed public speaker for hire. Not on politics, but on economic and business strategy. Could this be a shift for a potential cabinet position or is Fiorina simply biding her time before making another presidential run? Read More +
Will GoPro come crashing down?
GoPro blasted onto the scene in one of the earliest and most successful interaction social media marketing campaigns. It dared users to do amazing things and send in their videos or post them on YouTube. Users did, thousands upon thousands of them. For a time, it appeared that GoPro would rule the prosumer video market forever. The brand made superstars of YouTube personalities and allowed anyone to establish a following for their video-based antics and adventures. But the party could not last forever. These days Read More +
Bloomberg editor quits over his boss’ rumored POTUS run
In a fit of journalistic ethics, Bloomberg Media’s Washington news director at Bloomberg Politics, Kathy Kiely, has tendered her resignation. The storied editor said she simply could not maintain her ethics while covering the Big Boss and his potential run for President. Kiely said if she could not cover a POTUS candidate “aggressively” she could not do her job. Bravo, Kathy. Read More +
