“Jugaad” frugal innovation for new product development (#M4BW)

by Leave a Comment

This short article, “Corporate America must learn to innovate frugally to get through the coronavirus crisis,” (Fast Company, March 27, 2020) provides some great tips on frugal new product development. While the title of the article implies a coronavirus connection, the advice is universal. The author also gave a great TED Talk, “Creative Problem-Solving in the face of extreme limits” see below. The TED Talk includes some great #M4BW examples.

 

This article and video fits well with a discussion of new product development (Chapter 9).

Marketing Communications in a Pandemic…

by Leave a Comment

What does a brand do in a pandemic? Marketing managers all over the world are trying to figure out how to manage their brand in the pandemic that is Covid-19.

This might be an interesting discussion to have in your marketing class — it is certainly timely. Here are a couple of short articles (4 minute and 7 minute reads) recently published by Fast Company that try to explain how some brands are approaching this moment–and how they are communicating with customers.

In “Why every brand you’ve ever bought something from is sending you coronavirus emails” (March 20, 2020) you can read what some brands are writing to their customers. The article notes three types of emails. Some are helpful, letting you know how its service might be changing because of the virus. The second type is the “brand friend” that maybe tries to reach out with the “we’re all in this together” type of communication. Finally, the last type is more random and makes you wonder why it was sent out. The article goes on to discuss the right way to send emails. I think you can tie this into Chapter 13’s promotion objectives and perhaps link it to a discussion of ethical communication. You might also want to talk about how to use different media (social media, email, advertising) and what might be the advantages and disadvantages of each. With brand managers struggling with this issue, it might be an interesting exercise getting your students critically thinking about it as well.

In the second article,”‘We’re all in this together’? Why brands have so little to say in the pandemic,“(March 30, 2020), the same author as the article above provides a similar categorization of advertising. With links to some of the ads, it might make an interesting topic to discuss — and then to show some of the better (and worse) examples. Nice tie to Chapter 15.

 

McGraw-Hill Makes Connect Free for Spring 2020 (#M4BW)

by Leave a Comment

We’re reaching out to share some additional details around the efforts McGraw-Hill is making to help support our customers as best we can. After you review this list, please let us know if there is a type of support or resource that you need or that you hear fellow colleagues asking for that we haven’t addressed! After we work through this initial stage of just-in-time support, we will continue to think of ways we can support faculty and engage students in online environments. We are considering a Virtual Guest Lecture series; please let us know if you would be interested/willing to participate!

McGraw-Hill’s efforts at the corporate level:

  •  Connect is now available for free to all who need it (i.e. instructors who weren’t already using Connect – print only adopters and competitive users).
  • The following help site went live last Thursday: https://www.mheducation.com/highered/support/connect/how-to-move-your-course-online
    We hosted a DFC-led webinar on Monday on moving your course online, invites for which went out to all higher ed instructors. We had about 875 attendees, and will be following up with all of them with recordings and help as needed.
    Course-build requests are being addressed and prioritized with an all-hands effort across the company to respond to the demand. So far, we have more than 2,000 such requests and are working through them. (Nicole and I are on the “overflow” team of folks helping to build these courses! 😊)
    Social media messaging on MH channels to promote all of the above. Here’s an example from FB:

 

We are also adding a (growing list) of webinars on various topics. Here is a sampling:

  • Basics of Connect

 

Program Bitly URL
Basics of Connect http://bit.ly/basicsofconnect
Blackboard Integration http://bit.ly/2X4swXD
Canvas Integration http://bit.ly/2Yb84Rm
D2L Integration http://bit.ly/2WZslrT
Moodle Integration http://bit.ly/2Ya9pYx
Reports and Course Data http://bit.ly/2Fx7xSB
Using Test Builder http://bit.ly/2LgvoJP
SmartBook 2.0 http://bit.ly/2Ng4vZ6

At the Marketing Portfolio level, we began running DFC-led webinars this week on Engaging Students Online with Connecting Marketing: “I was a seated instructor until yesterday….” Nicole posted two brand-new podcasts on COVID-19 to our Marketing Insights podcast series:(go to bit.ly/Marketing_Insights)

We are compiling other ready-made resources (i.e. tutorials on how to assign the Mini Sims) and will continue to add additional resources and tools to support our customers during this challenging time.

Understandably, we’re seeing an effect in terms of takeaway opportunities with presentations that were scheduled having been cancelled, and messaging from hot opportunities that they now don’t have time to further vet materials or consider a change. We’ll be closely monitoring and checking in with these disrupted near-misses as things settle – and of course, for anyone who still wants to talk about changing, we are happy to have those conversations! In the meantime, we’re focused squarely on supporting our customers however we can.

Sending healthy and happy thoughts your way,

Meredith & Nicole

Marketing for a Worse World: The Case of Juul

by Leave a Comment

As you know, the new 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing and Teach the 4 Ps have been celebrating the theme, marketing for a better world (#M4BW). We are highlighting the many positive actions firms are taking to create a better world, while also making profits. That is not to say we are so naive to believe that every firm behaves in this manner. Juul’s e-cigarettes have been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. The one getting more press is the health problems people are having. The company has also been under fire for targeting kids who are supposedly too young to use its products. This article in The Guardian, “How Juul gets kids addicted to vaping: it’s even worse than you think,” (February 14, 2020).

The example could be used with segmentation and targeting (Chapter 4), advertising (Chapter 15) or even as a counter-point to our #M4BW coverage.

Patagonia supports activist short film, “District 15” [#M4BW]

by Leave a Comment

Patagonia lives by its strong environmentalist values. Now it has produced a new short (23 minutes) film, “that outlines the fight undertaken by the Communities for a Better Environment group as it lobbies city council and Mayor Eric Garcetti to establish a 2,500-foot distance between oil drilling operations and Wilmington’s schools, hospitals, and churches.” (Fast Company, February 27, 2020) The film differs from many of Patagonia’s typical outdoor images — as this one focuses on the challenge to a community in Los Angeles that is home to 479 oil wells. It might be interesting to watch or assign the film to your students and ask them why Patagonia does this? If you know Patagonia, and watched some of its previous promotional efforts, the answer is not immediately obvious. They really do it because they support the environment and they believe this is the right thing to do. It does burnish their brand and it is authentic, too.