Tag Archives: consumer
GoPro gets wings
There’s no other way to say it, GoPro’s rise from upstart tech company to well-known international brand was nothing short of spectacular. Then, every bit as fast as it rose, the brand began a nosedive that sent executives scrambling for a way to staunch the bleeding. For months, nothing worked. Streamlining the product line, not investing resources in new products, trimming all the fat it could find … nothing seemed to help. Then came one of the most obvious connections between two products in the Read More +
Will Golden Arches go robot to avoid pay increase?
As the populist groundswell for a higher minimum wage grows, many businesses are being pulled into the conversation, for the most part against their will. But, since the beginning of the loud political conversation about a higher minimum wage, two brands have become favorites for those demanding at least $15—Walmart and McDonald’s. The former responded by raising its personal minimum wage somewhat, but the latter has been essentially mum on the subject, following laws where mandated but offering little in the way of acknowledgement of Read More +
Hershey’s is experimenting with dried meat
Nothing wrong with expanding or maximizing your income streams. Brands do it all the time. But what do you do when market trends force you to take a long hard look at the falling popularity of what you’re offering? Well, if you’re Hershey’s, you think about taking the emphasis off chocolate and putting it on meat. According to various media reports, the century-old American chocolatier thinks the “dried meat bar” may become the chocolate bar of the 21st century, the guilty pleasure you don’t have Read More +
Amazon challenged on gender pay gap
When you think of Amazon, likely one of the last things that come to mind is “gender pay gap.” But that’s the issue that could become a national PR crisis if the massive mail order retailer can’t figure out how to answer the gauntlet tossed down by a U.S. securities regulator. Arjuna Capital, a subsidiary of Baldwin Brothers Inc., is demanding that Amazon, along with eight other tech companies including eBay and Intel, allows shareholders to vote on a proposal related to gender pay equality. Read More +
Could BlackBerry be back?
Once written off as a dinosaur, a permanent also-ran in the mobile device wars, BlackBerry has come roaring back. The secret weapon in this resurgence has been the Priv, the company’s first Android smartphone. Read More +
Tesla Reeling as Recall Announced
While the brand may still be the underdog darling of the automotive industry, Tesla is facing some tough times from a consumer PR perspective. Recently, the innovative electric car company was forced to recall 90,000 Model S sedans. Read More +
Cereal boxes illustrate evolving consumer PR
Breakfast is changing, and when it comes to consumer PR in the food and beverage industry, getting the message right requires the proper mix of messaging appealing to the consumer market and messaging driving consumer tastes. Read More +
Amazon Slashes the Price for Prime
On September 25th for 24 hours, Prime was on sale to new members for a mere $67. Why, you ask? Well, Amazon has a hit show they offer on Prime called “Transparent.” And at the 67th annual Emmys earlier in the week, Transparent won big with five Emmy Awards. So the sale price of $67 is all about the 67th annual Emmys. Read More +
Sprint makes outrageous claim – does it matter?
Some are calling it a bold prediction. Others are calling it outright ridiculous. Read this and you decide. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure recently said, by 2017, his network will be better than Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Without irony or a hint of sarcasm, the top man at the number three (with a bullet) mobile provider told CNN, “We will have the best network in the next two years.” Read More +
Netflix Not Fazed by Apple Competition
Apple is coming after streaming TV, and they are coming at lightning speed with a huge budget pushing R&D. If the current market players are concerned, don’t count Netflix CEO Reed Hastings among them. The notoriously cavalier Hastings claims he’s not worried about Apple at all. Hubris? Maybe. We’ll see. The market isn’t feeling the love. Recently, shares of Netflix fell 8 percent after the news that Apple is considering a move into original streaming programming. That programming would almost certainly compete against Netflix, Amazon Read More + Read More +