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Marketing News is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest marketing news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
| MARKET SEGMENTATION, TARGETING, AND POSITIONING | |
| Title | Brief Summary |
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For over 40 years, analysts have classified all Wal-Mart customers as "value-price shoppers." But after a year of intense research into its customers' motivations, Wal-Mart has reached a different conclusion: its 200 million customers belong in three different groups. (Updated March 2007) |
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In the run up to the 2006 holiday season, Toys "R" Us President Ron Boire announced the five hottest trends that would influence shoppers' toy-buying decisions. Among Star Wars Legos and Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes appeared an assortment of bilingual toys such as electronic language activity center Pink Nitro Notebook. Analysts say the bilingual trend, as exemplified by the Dora the Explorer explosion, is here to stay. (Updated March 2007) |
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The Wizard of Oz entertainment empire shows no signs of decline. Wicked, the hit Broadway musical, is the latest adaptation of the 1896 children's fantasy tale by L. Frank Baum to enchant audiences from coast to coast. (Updated November 2006) |
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Past concerns about children spending too many hours in front of the television have been trumped by a spate of new worries that kids are too wired. The proliferation of computer games and iPods has many parents longing for more creative and engaging options for their kids' entertainment--and at least one company is paying attention. (Updated April 2006) |
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Americans may have packed away their festive decorations, but the holiday season still lives on, as Disney's big-screen version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" continues to work its wintry "deep magic" on moviegoers. (Updated January 2006) |
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Masterfoods USA recently announced a big new addition to the M&M's product family: Mega M&M's. According to a company press release, the new super-sized versions of America's favorite chocolate candies are approximately 55 percent larger than original M&M's and come in six new colors designed to appeal to adults. (Updated September 2005) |
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Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is the latest celebrity to jump on the yoga fitness bandwagon. The urban-trends entrepreneur famous for the creation of Def Jam Records and Phat Fashions recently announced the release of "Russell Simmons Presents Yoga Live," an instructional video-series on the ancient Indian exercise set to 72 tracks of original hip-hop music. (Updated May 2005) |
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Retailers in all consumer markets specialize their product offerings to attract kids, but now the motion picture industry is getting in on the act. Marketers aware of the youth-attracting power of G- and PG-rated movies are looking to redesign movie theater concession stands with an eye towards more effective targeting of the "kid category." (Updated February 2005) |
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McDonald's
Global Marketing Chief Larry Light made advertising headlines recently when
he declared mass marketing dead during a keynote speech at the AdWatch Outlook
2004 Conference. The declaration was weighty coming from a global giant
that made its fortune through mass marketing efforts. Judging from Light's
speech, it appears that McDonald's--with its $1.2 billion global marketing
budget--has thrown out its past rule book and is starting over. (Updated August 2004) |
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While
the country may be dying from obesity, the food industry is alive and well
due to the Atkins craze sweeping the nation. As Americans flock to low-carbohydrate
diets to battle their burgeoning waistlines, food companies are rushing
to fatten their bottom lines with a plethora of new lower-carb products
based on the Atkins nutritional system. (Updated 6/1/04) |
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Legendary
pop-music icon Bob Dylan is the unlikeliest new model at Victoria's Secret.
The aging musician's grizzled face appears in a new series of commercials
for the famed lingerie chain, providing a captivating foil to the sleek
beauty of model Adriana Lima as she cavorts through Venice in a bra, panties
and spike heels. (Updated 5/1/04) |
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Yesterday's
sports-watching, beer-guzzling grunts are giving way to a new breed of men-"metrosexuals."
Madison Avenue has given a name to fellas who like to preen, clean, shop
and sip Chardonnay. These urbane, Jaggeresque effeminates are the latest
targets of hip new marketing campaigns. (Updated 10/01/03) |
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They
listen to music we don't understand, idolize celebrities we've never heard
of and spend endless hours in cyberspace, but America's "tweens" are a group
worth getting to know. (Updated 10/01/03) |
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Americans
are joiners. Nine out of 10 belong to at least one group or association,
such as the American Automobile Association or the AARP, and these associations
provide a potent mechanism for developing, marketing and distributing a
host of products and services. (Updated 10/01/03) |
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