In response to Colton 4-17-11

There are certain situations where prices are acceptable no matter what the cost comparison could be. On a recent blog response about quick shopping at smaller store chains like gas stations and other 24 hr stores where prices are usually more money we can argue that it is more convenient. A situation where popcorn can be sold in a package of 6 or more in a grocery store at a low price but at a movie theater the prices are jacked up. This is a situation of whether or not to accept the price increase for the food or neglect it as a waste of cash.

Are situations like this something you think is acceptable or just a waste of money? Will this change the outcome of the event, make it better or worse, for your experience?


Response: In this situation I think it is just a waste of money. I can buy 6 bags at the grocery store for $3, but at the movies have to pay $6 for 1 bag of popcorn.  I could be getting 12 bags from the grocery store for the price of one bag from the movies.  The prices do actually make the experience of going to the movies a lot less enjoyable because I want the popcorn but am strapped for cash because I am a college student that has to pay for EVERYTHING!

Location of Business

One big factor in deciding where a business should be located in a community is their target market.  A hunting store probably would not decide on building a store in the Hampton's  on Long Island, NY because there are no places nearby to go hunting and the population there are generally very wealthy have never gone hunting or even had it cross their mind.  They would probably get much more business if they opened up in Keene, NH rather than in Long Island because there are much more hunters in this area and a lot more places to go hunting.

Are there are businesses you can think of that you believe should really not be in that location because there is not much of a target market for them where they are?

In Response to Dan Sweeney's blog 4/7/11

Fast-Food Promoting Health...

After the movie Super Size Me was released, the fast-food industry has been trying to promote the movement of healthier selections. Burger King, McDonalds, and Wendy's all provide healthier options for children such as providing apples or carrots instead of fries or substituting soda with an apple or orange juice. They also tried to make their regular menus healthier too. McDonalds released a salad line to show they care about the health of their customers, which sounds like a healthy option. However, compared to the the Big Mac with 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. One salad featured on the McDonalds, the Premium Southwest salad with Crispy Chicken contains 430 calories and 20 grams of fat, that does not sound like a healthy salad to me. Recently, Wendy's released a new style of french fries, natural cut sea salt fries. The newer style french fry was suppose to be a healthier option. Although, the original french fries contained less fat and sodium to the newer natural cut sea salted french fries. These restaurants are trying to promote they too are health conscious, but they are providing these "healthier options" that contain the same amount of calories. Should the fast-food industry be able to get away with this?

Response:

I do not believe that the fast-food industry should be able to get away with this.  They are preaching "healthier options" and technically they are, but not by much.  The reason they are able to get away with this is because they have to have the nutritional facts posted in their restaurant and have to give a copy of it to a customer upon request.  I think that it is morally wrong for these fast-food companies to do this, but in the end, they are not responsible for our health.  We are responsible for our own choices in what we choose to eat, they only provide us with options.

Advertising In Sports #2

On a previous blog post, I wrote about how the Reese's sticker on the basketball court made a player slip, turnover the ball, almost hurt himself, and almost lose the game.  The other night I was watching a Red Sox and Blue Jays baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston.  The first baseman on the Blue Jays Adam Linn hit a shot down the right field line and it was heading towards "Pesky Pole," the right field foul pole, and it was ruled a home run, three-run homerun.  After later review, the call was reversed.  There are three yellow foul lines in different positions because of a Scotts lawn care advertisement on the padded wall.

Are companies and/or sport organizations going too far in letting companies advertise in a stadium or coliseum that change the aspects of how the game is played?


Here is a link to an article written on this dilemma.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110415&content_id=17815384&vkey=news_bos&c_id=bos

Pricing Strategies

There are many different pricing strategies that marketers and companies use to aide selling their products or services.  Gas stations use the strategy of price lining, where they have the prices of the different types of gas right next to each other.  They also use odd-even with putting the extra $0.009 at the end of the price per gallon.

Is it fair that gas stations do this? Also, should it change so that the price per gallon is on an even amount of cents, not with the $0.009 added onto each gallon purchased to round up?


What pricing strategy do you believe works the best on you and if different, what works best on the U.S. population as a whole?

In response to Chris Kurylo 4/7/11

Microsoft teams with Toyota to power smart cars

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/06/technology/microsoft_toyota/index.htm

On Wednesday Microsoft and Toyota teamed up to create an advanced digital information and communication system. The system will cost up toward 12 Million but unlike competitors (OnStar) Toyota's new system will be unique; The system is for electric and plug-in hybrid cars.The cars will also charge in an eco friendly manner which will be most cost efficient for the user and reduces the need for fossil fuel. Do you feel that more car companies need to focus their attention on hybrid cars?

Also how do you feel Toyota or Microsoft will be effected due to this partnership?

Response:

I do feel that more companies need to focus their attention on hybrid cars so they don't fall behind the rest of the car companies because many of the big car companies are putting tons of money into researching and developing hybrid cars.  Companies also need to focus more attention to building electric vehicles because this is  already on the horizon, Nissan released the first 100% electric car, the "Leaf."

I think that Toyota and Microsoft will benefit immensely from their partnership.  Their stockholders will be happy because it should help raise the price of their stocks.  Also, companies that are "eco-friendly" have been shown to have a lot of success because consumers these days are very environmentally conscious because of the talk of global warming.

In Response to Chris Kurylo 3/28/11

Field of Dreams: Ballpark upgrades

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/03/31/ballparks.unveil.tech.updates.wired/index.html

The article gives quick descriptions of ballpark upgrades but what I would like to focus on is the ten year $285,000,000,000 renovation of 99 year old Fenway Park.

Notice how many new advertisements there are and how much larger they are from 2001 to 2011.

Do you feel this is going to continue going into the future?

Response:

I feel that this is going to continue in the future.  I do not like it at all but I do believe that there are going to be more and more advertisements all over the ballpark in the future.  In the recession we are currently in, organizations are going to get as much money as they can possibly get their hands on.  I wouldn't doubt it in the near future that they will even start using the players' jerseys to advertise on as well as all aspects of the field.  The Red Sox organization needs to cover the amount of money used for the renovations as well as the massive contracts that they are giving all of the players.