Articles 1 to 10 of 134
TBS, Inc. CEO Phil Kent on Branding, Technology and Evolving in One's Career
According to Phil Kent, Chairman & CEO, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., TBS, Inc. puts "enormous focus" on building brands and then uses the power of its brands to provide advertisers with great value. Speaking to a group of MBA students at Emory University's Goizueta Business School as part of the MBA Career Management Center’s Career Connection Day, Kent discussed how Turner creates branded media environments and advised students to consider their personal brand and give their careers the same attention. He also emphasized the importance of evolving in business and in one’s career. For Kent, this means taking risks and being open to opportunity.
PR Maven Mary Reynolds on Setting Big Goals and Being Fearless
In times when many companies are shedding employees, Atlanta PR practitioner Mary Reynolds is hiring. Her business model for The Reynolds Group, Inc., an award-winning, boutique public relations firm, includes keeping the firm debt-free. That decision made in 1999 when she launched TRG, means she can focus on the business' future trajectory and not how to survive in the now. Recently, Reynolds discussed tough career choices, entrepreneurship, and rewards with Executive MBA students and alumni at a breakfast event hosted by Executive Women of Goizueta, an alumni group of Emory University's Goizueta Business School.
Do Firms Pay a Price for Deceptive Advertising?
On September 2, 2009, the U.S. Justice Department announced that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. Inc. agreed to pay a record $2.3 billion to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of four drugs. In the wake of the sanctions, Knowledge@Emory spoke with Sundar Bharadwaj, a professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, about how negative publicity can affect the stock value of pharmaceutical companies, and why some companies engage in this kind of behavior knowing they face stiff penalties if caught. Bharadwaj is a co-author of a recently released research paper titled “Regulatory Exposure of Deceptive Marketing and Its Impact on Firm Value,” which will be published in the November issue of the Journal of Marketing.
How Product Line Extensions Impact a Consumer’s Price Image of Retailers
Given the slow economy and consumers’ increased price sensitivity, retailers are especially interested in appearing as a value leader. One popular strategy for securing a reputation for low cost is to carry a handful of items at rock bottom prices. In a new research paper, Ryan Hamilton, assistant professor of marketing at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, and a co-author explore how cheaper, as well as more expensive product line extensions, impact a consumer’s price image of a retailer.
The Long-term Downside of Overnight Success
Marketers may dream of coming up with a product that skyrockets in popularity as soon as it is introduced to the public. New Wharton research, however, indicates that products which catch on too quickly may end up being less successful overall. "We often see products, ideas and behaviors ... spread like wildfire," says marketing professor Jonah Berger, co-author of the research paper. "But we know less about why once-popular things become unpopular."
Eyes Wide Open: Embracing Uncertainty through Scenario Planning
As a result of the global financial crisis, more and more companies are being forced to make decisions in complex and uncertain environments. According to experts from Wharton and elsewhere, this is a good time for executives to use so-called scenario planning techniques. These exercises anticipate various future scenarios and develop strategic responses to each of them. As a result, experts say, even if executives can't predict the future, they can at least be better prepared for it.
How to Manage Your Personal Brand in Good Times and Bad
Jerry Wilson, noted author, speaker, and chief customer and commercial officer for The Coca-Cola Company—the number one soft drink company and most recognized brand in the world—is a nationally recognized expert on brands and brand management. During a recent lecture to Executive MBA students at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Wilson discussed his new book, Managing Brand You: 7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self, co-authored with Ira Blumenthal. Addressing the challenges of career advancement in a difficult economy, Wilson reminded his audience that “each one of you, as a brand, has a balance sheet—assets, liabilities, equities—that is transferable to other jobs, other careers, other lives.”
Best Buy vs. Wal-Mart: Is There Room for Both, and Others?
With the demise of electronics retailer Circuit City in March, Best Buy and Wal-Mart Stores are ramping up their struggle to capture added share of the consumer electronics market. Best Buy is positioning itself as the provider of quality service and sales help; Wal-Mart is using its dominance across all retail categories to position itself as the low-price option in consumer electronics. Wharton faculty and industry analysts say that instead of fighting to the death, the two stores can coexist if they follow clearly defined strategies focusing on service and price.
Is Finance by Any Other Name Still as Sweet?
Not so very long ago, American financial firms such as AIG and Merrill Lynch had strong brands that conveyed reliability and trustworthiness. But those days are gone. Once the so-called bad assets are removed from these firms, what should their new brand strategy hold? Marketing and Business Communication faculty at Emory University's Goizueta Business School discuss the advantages and challenges of rebranding, especially in light of the savvy customers they cater to.
Positive Feedback: Why Customer Satisfaction Means More than Just Happy Customers
When most organizations are under spending pressure or have to cut costs, marketing efforts are one of the first things to go. This fact has spawned a growing area of research into marketing’s impact on the financial performance of a firm. In their new paper “Customer Satisfaction and Stock Returns Risk,” Sundar Bharadwaj, associate professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and Goizueta doctoral graduate Kapil R. Tuli examine the impact of customer satisfaction on stock returns risk. Beyond showing that investments in customer satisfaction insulate a firm’s stock returns from market movements and lower the volatility of its stock returns, the study also proves that customer satisfaction is a metric that offers valuable information to financial markets.
