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Intro to Business News is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest Business news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
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| Title | Brief Summary |
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Guitar sales have slumped in recent years, but one guitar maker has created a profitable niche by manufacturing electric guitars for girls. (Updated April 2007) |
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The old maxim, "Know thy customer," has never been more important than in today's highly competitive retail environment. But while savvy marketers are keeping a watchful eye on the buying tastes and behaviors of their customers, a new breed of shoppers has begun watching back. (Updated December 2006) |
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American Girl sells more than dolls in historic period costumes—the Mattel-owned toymaker markets a wildly imaginative and educational alternative to Britney and the Bratz. And that has moms buying. (Updated April 2006) |
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For some corporations, the $2.4 million cost of running ads during the Super Bowl is simply too much buck for the bang. Longstanding Super-Sunday advertisers like Frito-Lay and MasterCard opted out of this year's big game, and other companies suggested they might watch from the sidelines in the future. (Updated February 2006) |
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A Southern California native and many-time gang-war survivor, Calvin Broadus (a.k.a. "Snoop Dogg") abandoned his troubled past with the deadly Los Angeles Crips to pursue a career as a rapper in the West Coast hip-hop scene. A name-change and many Top 10 albums later, Broadus has transformed himself into an unlikely pitchman, starring in ads for top corporations from XM Satellite Radio to DaimlerChrysler. (Updated December 2005) |
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To savvy marketers seeking new ways to reach customers through technology, the iPod is much more than a trendy form of mobile music entertainment--it's an unprecedented business opportunity. (Updated November 2005) |
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This article tackles the debate about regulating morals on television. After Janet Jackson's publicity stunt, Michael K. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is juggling his beliefs in free markets with his desire to keep the public airways free of "obscene and indecent" programming. (Updated March 2004) |
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Elliot Ettenberg, a consultant and author, maintains that the field of marketing is about to change drastically. He discusses three major changes: The dismantling of marketing as a purely functional department, and greater focus on ROI and increased outsourcing. (Updated March 2004) |
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This short article tackles the social responsibility issue of letting drug companies advertise their drugs directly to the consumers. It mentions both the positive effects it has had on society and the some of the dangers that these ads have brought with them. (Updated March 2004) |
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This article describes the increasing power of the largest retailer in America, Wal-Mart. While it has managed to save consumers between $20 and $100 billion, it also caused many retailers to close down, many workers to lose their jobs, most of its associates to live below the federal poverty line, and many suppliers to move their manufacturing facilities overseas. Wal-Mart has also become a "cultural gatekeeper," deciding what it sells and what it won't. (Updated November 2003) |
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This article illustrates how Pizza Patron, Inc. a 17-year old pizza franchise, is targeting Hispanics in the Dallas area. It exemplifies how product differentiation is not the only way companies can set themselves apart. In this case, distribution is the main differentiator. (Updated November 2003) |
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BusinessWeek and Interbrand Corp. have released their latest ranking of the 100 most valuable global brands. The article examines how American companies have managed to successfully expand their brands into foreign markets, despite large anti-American sentiments. (Updated November 2003) |
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The article discusses the trends in the clothing retail market, with children's clothing deemed as the "big winner". The success of this marketing segment is discussed as a result of the changing demographics of parents, the associated purchasing power related to those changes (e.g. older first time Mother's, dual income parent) and the current U.S. cultural values and influences of both parents and grandparents. (Updated November 2003) |
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The article examines the diverse pricing strategies currently being used to get consumers to get a faster internet connection without resorting to expensive options such as DSL or cable. (Updated November 2003) |
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