Tag Archives: consumer
The Great Muppet … War?
The Muppets and Sesame Street face off in new episodes and updated storylines, all airing beginning in the fall. Time Warner took over the rights for Sesame Street and will be airing new episodes on HBO while Disney has the rights to The Muppets and will be airing new 30-minute programs on ABC-TV. All those fuzzy characters teaching and joking, laughing, grouching, and in general having a Muppet good time. This should make for some interesting rating battles as they square off while also building Read More +
Amazon just passed Walmart, but has the web surpassed the brick and mortar store?
Did Amazon Prime Day signal a sea change in retail? Some called it a flop, some questioned if Amazon was crazy and they predicted a bad outcome. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is crazy like a fox, and explains what seemed like farce at the time is turning into the stuff of PR legend. This week the quarterly reports hit the news and Wall Street – Amazon is now worth more than Walmart. Let that sink in. Read More +
T-Mobile Continues Giving It All Away
In the race for Number Three it seems there is little some telecom brands will not do to keep pace with the industry’s big dogs. And, this next gambit just might work. Soon, T-Mobile customers will be able to call Canada and Mexico – and make their call when traveling in those countries – without any additional international fees. The offer, which the company is calling “Mobile Without Borders,” is another facet of the carrier’s attempts to wrestle customers away from closest rival, Sprint. And, Read More + Read More +
Consumers are Spending Again
American consumers are, apparently, once again consuming at record rates. Market watchers report that US consumer spending is at the highest it has been in six years. More importantly, the indicators used in this report depend on markets such as automobiles and other big-ticket purchases, products that suffered tremendously during the Great Recession. Read More +
Carl’s JR & Using Sex To Market Fast Food
Can sex sell a sandwich? Well, might as well ask if a clown or a cow can sell a sandwich, because, it’s not the vehicle that matters but who you are trying to impress with it. Over the years, McDonald’s has been both praised and lampooned for using its friendly clown mascot as a way to bring the kids into the Golden Arches. A few years back, Wendy’s caught some heat for trading in one redhead spokesperson for another. But it’s been Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. taking Read More + Read More +
GoDaddy Rides Strong PR all the way to Wall Street
After years of raising eyebrows during the Super Bowl, Ronn Torossian says web business GoDaddy is catching the eye of Wall Street…and that gaze is lingering. Within hours of hitting the NYSE ticker, “GDDY” stock rocketed up 30%. Read More +
AT&T Penalized for Something we all Do
Here’s what Ronn Torossian had to say about a “mistake” that may cost AT&T tens of millions of dollars, “If you got to this article via social media, you’ve done it. If you have wireless internet or use a smartphone or just about any app for any purpose, you’ve done it too. You know, peripherally, this choice could burn you, but you have become desensitized to it…” Read More +
ABC and Yahoo are Friends with Benefits
These days almost every media company is looking for a way to blend traditional and new media content providers. The problem, says Ronn Torossian, is that some competitive companies don’t have the luxury of both. This has led to some interesting corporate partnerships and strategic cases of strange media bedfellows. The latest pair of media brands to renew their vows? ABC News and Yahoo. Read More +
Kroger slow Steady Success Strategy
There’s a lot of buzz in the grocery industry these days. While most of it is focused on organic options, specialty markets, and boutique shopping, Ronn Torossian says at least one major national chain is reaping the benefits of changing consumer tastes. Read More +
Android Profits Plummet – What next?
Apple might be smarting from its legal battles with Ericsson, but it’s not the only mobile provider suffering setbacks. Google’s Android mobile operating system continues to find it difficult to turn popularity into profits for its hardware marketers. In Q4 2014, Android only claimed 11.3 percent of the smartphone profits. That’s less than half its 29.5 percent share in the same period of the prior year. Worse for Android, Apple was up, from 70.5 percent to 88.7 percent. So, to find the market share it Read More + Read More +
