Monthly Archives: November 2016

by | Wednesday, November 23, 2016 · 7:03 am

Consumer Report’s Annual Car Reliability Rankings

cars

Other than homes (and education), probably the most expensive purchase the average household makes is for a car. Since it is so large a part of our lives, automotive reliability is a key issue for Americans. Cars that are not reliable cost consumers’ time and money, and most notably, affects overall satisfaction and willingness to buy the brand again.

Research company Consumer Reports publishes an annual reliability survey based on data gathered from its subscribers. The report is based on those who have owned or leased more than a half a million vehicles, from years 2000 to 2016, covering more than 300 models of automobiles. This year’s survey includes the ranking of 29 brands, with eight brands listed as “more reliable,” 10 brands ranked as “reliable,” and 11 brands ranked as “less reliable.”

In the top eight more reliable brands were Lexus, Toyota, Buick, Audi, Kia, Mazda, Hyundai, and Infiniti. The next 10 reliable brands included BMW, Honda, Subaru, Acura, Nissan, Mini, Chevrolet, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford. Among the less reliable brands were Volvo, Lincoln, Cadillac, Volkswagen, Jeep, GMC, Tesla, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, and Ram

Did your vehicle make the reliable list?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show Consumer Reports’ report on car reliability: http://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability/car-brands-reliability-how-they-stack-up/
  2. Show the video of car rankings: http://youtu.be/g_RkhbF2CVg
  3. An FAQ on the research methodology can be found at: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2011/10/consumer-reports-car-reliability-faq/index.htm
  4. Discuss how companies can use the report in their marketing.
  5. What should companies that didn’t make the top list do to promote their vehicles?
  6. Review key aspects of developing a product positioning map, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  7. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a positioning map for a category of automobiles.

Source:  Consumer Reports

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by | Monday, November 21, 2016 · 6:58 am

Pizza Vending Machine

pizza

Quick, name the different foods and drinks we can get from vending machines… The list probably includes snacks and soft drinks, and maybe some sandwiches. But what about pizza – do you have pizza on the vending machine list? Probably not, but that will soon change.

Let’s Pizza, a vending machine company created by Italians and distributed in Europe from a company in The Netherlands, will soon be coming to the U.S. The machine creates custom pizzas from scratch in under three minutes! The machine includes a specially developed bag of flour and a bag of mineral water. Whenever a pizza is ordered, the machine makes the dough, shapes the crust, tops it with organic tomato sauce, and adds requested toppings.

Worried about out-of-stock situations? Don’t be. Each pizza machine is connected to the Internet to help control stock and will automatically reorder. Each machine contains enough ingredients for 200 pizzas! The price for a 10-1/2 inch pizza is $5.95.

Machines can be placed almost anywhere where there is high foot traffic and hungry patrons. Are you hungry yet?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss where students eat when they want fast food. Also, what types of vending machines do they use to purchase foods? What factors do they use to make a decision?
  2. Walk through the steps in a consumer decision process: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, selection criteria, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior.
  3. Compare how consumers go through this process for ordering traditional pizza, versus using Let’s Pizza vending for getting food.
  4. Show Let’s Pizza video: https://youtu.be/B4_C1BmT-R8
  5. View Let’s Pizza Web site and video: http://www.uniquepizza.co.uk/
  6. Divide students into teams. Have each team develop a profile for the target market. Once that is done, have the teams develop a distribution strategy (locations) for the machines.

Source: Pizza Marketplace

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by | Saturday, November 19, 2016 · 1:57 pm

Animal and Vegan ‘Meats’- Now That’s Diversification!

meat

Consumers’ focus on health and wellness has been challenging traditional food companies to enter new areas of the market. While many food industry segments have been struggling to hold steady, one area of growth appears to be in the “alternative foods” markets – namely organic, vegetarian, and vegan foods and meals. According to Lux Research, the alternative foods segment could grow to $108 billion by 2050.

Traditional meat companies are taking note of the changing food trends and are reacting through investments in new products and acquisitions. It’s not only the changing taste buds of consumers impacting food companies. There are also concerns about draining of natural resources in water and land that are a result of raising animals solely for meat consumption. Some large food companies are also examining using alternative proteins in their existing products.

As an example, consumer food giant General Mills bought Annie’s Organics a year ago to appeal to a new market segment. And recently this year, Tyson Foods invested in a five percent stake in Beyond Meats, a company that sells plant-based protein food that “…looks, feels, tastes, and acts like chicken…”Beyond Meats is currently sold in more than 7,500 stores in the U.S.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the four primary marketing strategies: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification.
  2. Show Web sites and discuss the companies’ products and markets:

Tyson: http://www.tyson.com/

Beyond Meat: http://beyondmeat.com/

  1. Which strategy is Tyson using for acquiring Beyond Meats? Why?
  2. Which strategy did General Mills used when acquiring Annie’s Organics? Why?
  3. Divide students into teams. Have each team select one of the four different strategies and explain why that strategy could be used to market a product of their choice. (Ex: Sports drinks, soft drinks, music, etc.)
  4. Have each team determine the marketing mix (4Ps) to support their strategy choice.
  5. Debrief the exercise.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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