Business is Marketing

Recession does lead to a windfall for marketers who thrive on affordability. But that does not mean companies should go for panic discounting, as it harms brands in the long run. Better options are available to improve your product demand... “Four bucks is dumb Serving Espresso.” Smirks a billboard in Seattle USA. This was McDonald’s way of advertising for its coffee. Early 2008 McDonald’s had started unsnobbycoffee.com to promote the launch of its espresso drinks. McDonald’s was doing all it could to steal business from Starbucks, even though its advertising agency claimed that the fact that “Four bucks” rhymes with “Starbucks” was purely coincidental! It claims it was more to do with the pricing. At Starbucks, a cup of coffee costs $4, while you could buy a cup at McDonald’s at one fourth the price. McDonald’s and Starbucks have been at war for long in a quest to grab the larger market share. So McDonald’s started serving coffee and Starbucks started serving breakfast sandwiches. How...

First Ladies are known to dress with definite purpose. And an endorsement by them can help any fashion label beat recession blues Barack Obama seems to have ushered in an era of hope. Every thing he does, every word he speaks, attracts huge feedback. There seems to be one more thing that generates similar response and that’s his wife Michelle Obama’s presence next to him. As the world hung on to every word that Obama spoke, it was Mrs. Obama’s dress that was driving people everywhere from fashion magazines to Internet chat rooms – in a total frenzy. Her black sheath dress with splashes of red had everyone commenting or her style. Some hated it and some loved it and, some called it “the look of victory”. For according to many, the Obama’s don’t do anything just for the sake of it – there is always a purpose. As the London Times fashion editor said, “You may like or dislike Michelle Obama’s dress but that’s not as interesting as the agenda behind it, because you can be sure there was one...