Monthly Archives: February 2022

by | Monday, February 28, 2022 · 7:19 am

Puppy Love

Aww….. They are so cute!

We do love our pups and pets. And there are more pet-parents than ever before thanks to the pandemic. According to the American Society for Prevention to Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), more than 23 million U.S. families have adopted a pet during the pandemic. And while there is lots of love to go around, there is also a lot of money being spent on pampering and caring for our little animal buddies.

How much money? Well, according to Statista.com the U.S. pet industry accounts for $103.6 billion, including $44.1 billion for pet food. Doggy daycare centers and veterinarians are booked solid these days. Plus dog walkers such as Wag are certainly in high demand. Pets even get treated like one of the family – massages and acupuncture, along with dental care, are not uncommon.

The pet business is booming. Target Corp. has started its own line of pet-food, branded Kindfull. General Mills re-entered the pet food market in 2018 when it purchased Blue Buffalo Pet Products for $8 billion. The company also spent $1.2 billion for a line of pet treats from Tyson Foods last year. Nestle Purina holds the largest share in dry pet food sales at nearly $3.5 billion. In retail, PetSmart and PETCO account for 40% of the market. That’s a lot of puppy chow!

Ready for some puppy love?  

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has a pet? How much did they spend last year on the pet?
  2. Bring up pet care sites such as Rover (https://www.rover.com/) and Wag (https://wagwalking.com/).
  3. Also show retail sites including Target (https://www.target.com/b/kindfull/-/N-q643le71aup?lnk=snav_rd_kindfull), PetSmart (https://www.petsmart.com/), and PETCO (https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore), and Chewy (https://www.chewy.com/).
  4. Have students do a search for pet health care and insurance rates.
  5. Compare rates at: https://quote.petinsurer.com/quote/ref=usnews?insurer=petsbest&subId1=other-products-in-table&subId2=https://www.usnews.com/insurance/pet-insurance&subId3=desktop&subID4=large
  6. Have students use their laptops to research different types of products and care for pets.
  7. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a profile of a target market for various types of pet owners.
  8. How should pet products be promoted to the target market?

Source:  Bogage, J. (Feb. 12, 2022). The high cost of puppy love. Washington Post.; Sitaramiah, G. (Feb. 10, 2022). Twin Cities businesses benefit as pet owners spend like parents. Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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by | Thursday, February 24, 2022 · 7:15 am

What Trends are in Store for us in 2022?

Marketers need to be able to monitor trends with an eye towards predicting what consumers will want next. While it is hard to predict the future, we can examine the current environment with respect to what might happen next.

In its yearly predictions report, international research firm Euromonitor forecasts what consumers will want and need. Companies then can use these predictions to consider the strategies that they might pursue.

Lifestyles in 2021 made radical shifts as populations continued to be impacted by the pandemic. To no one’s surprise, COVID-19 and the Omicron variant continue to be very important to the immediate future.  Marketers and businesses must evolve quickly to keep up with new demands.

Ten  predictions for consumers in 2022 include:

  1. Rethinking the supply chain.
  2. Climate change – a low-carbon world.
  3. Senior citizens and their digital adoptions and usage.
  4. Controlling personal finances.
  5. Prioritizing personal values and individual goals.
  6. The metaverse moves to reality.
  7. Increasing adoption of second-hand and peer-to-peer marketplaces.
  8. City dwellers want advantages of living outside of cities.
  9. The importance of self-care and happiness.
  10. The hybridization of being social.

These trends provide guidance for companies and marketers. Using these, we can gain insight into consumer values and behavior. If 2021 was a year that required us to be adaptable and resilience, then what does 2022 indicate?

What trends will impact you?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. The full Euromonitor report can be accessed at: https://go.euromonitor.com/white-paper-EC-2022-Top-10-Global-Consumer-Trends.html?utm_source=WSJ&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=CT_22_01_18_WP_Top%2010%20GCT%202022%20EN
  2. Discuss the importance of environmental scanning and conducing SWOT analysis.
  3. Show the Euromonitor report to students.
  4. Divide students into teams.
  5. Have each team select one of the top 10 trends and prepare a discussion for the class.
  6. What industries and companies will be most impacted by that trend?
  7. What should marketers do to address the trend?

Source: Alcantara, A-M., (January 17, 2022). Ten trends that will shape the way we shop, eat and live this year, Wall Street Journal; Euromonitor International (January 18, 2022), Top 10 global consumer trends 2022.

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by | Tuesday, February 22, 2022 · 7:08 am

Game Companies are a Hot Acquisition Target

Are you ready for the metaverse? It might not be quite a reality yet, but it has certainly caught the attention of technology companies that are positioning themselves for growth in the industry. While the metaverse might be difficult to define, there is no doubt that technology companies view video games as an important strategy for growth and customer acquisition for the metaverse.

So far this year three companies have been on a buying binge:

  • Microsoft will pay $69 billion for Activision Blizzard.
  • Sony will buy Bungie for $3.6 billion.
  • Take Two Interactive is paying $11 billion for Zynga.

Whew – that’s a lot of activity and investment at more than $84 billion!

Activision makes some of the most popular game titles such as Candy Crush and Call of Duty. However, Activision has been accused by employees of discrimination and sexual harassment, making the purchase by Microsoft rife with potential employee issues.

Microsoft was also the previous owner of Bungie, buying the company in 2000 for $20 million for the top multiplayer shooter games – Destiny and Halo. In 2007, Bungie split from Microsoft and became a privately-held company. Bungie’s most popular game currently is Destiny 2 (which is available on multiple platforms including Xbox and Playstation.

All of these acquisitions are predicated on the assumption that people will be spending more time in the digital metaverse, including augmented and virtual reality.

We have already seen an increase in gaming during the pandemic as people look for new entertainment options. According to MarketWatch, video games are a bigger industry than movies and sports combined. According to IDC Group, global video game revenue was roughly $180 billion in 2020, with mobile platforms showing the most growth.

What will you do in the metaverse?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the four primary marketing strategies: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification.
  2. Which strategy are Microsoft and Sony using?
  3. Discuss with class: Why did Microsoft and Sony buy game makers?
  4. Show websites: Activision: https://www.activision.com/
  5. Bungie: https://www.bungie.net/
  6. Zynga: https://www.zynga.com/
  7. Check out Nielsen’s list of top video games: https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/top-ten/
  8. What are the risks and rewards that will be faced by the acquiring companies?
  9. Which competitors will be most pressed by these acquisitions? Why?

Source: Tilley, A., Lombardo, C., Gring, K. (January 18, 2022). Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard, Wall Street Journal; Metz, C. (January 31, 2022). Sony to buy game maker Bungie in $.6 billion deal, New York Times; other news sources.

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