July 29th 2008
What is yet to be determined is how well the holding companies will grapple with the challenge of integration of their services. Over the years, they have bought up a wide variety of companies in different aspects of the marketing business, but there has not been a great deal of coordination among the various disciplines. Continue Reading »
July 29th 2008
The Road Ahead Is Curvy and Treacherous, and Good Road Maps Are in Short Supply
Because of the extensive consolidation that has taken place in the last decade, further consolidation will take place at a slower rate in the immediate future. Part of this is a reaction to the government’s closer scrutiny of the mergers because of the Enron debacle. A pause in consolidation at this point is also good because it will give the acquirers an opportunity to digest the new properties and position them efficiently within the corporate umbrella. Continue Reading »
June 7th 2008
A corporation is owned by its stockholders. There may be one stockholder holding all the shares, or there may be millions of shareholders holding various amounts of shares. Without going into details that are far beyond the scope of a business this size, I should point out that it is also possible for corporations to sell various classes of shares with various rights and preferences. For the very small business, we can limit our discussion to two types of simple corporations: the regular, or “C” corporation, which is taxed directly by the IRS; and the “Sub S” corporation, where the earnings are passed through to the stockholders, who must pay the tax personally.
Both of these forms limit the financial exposure of the owners to their actual investment and any value in the corporation beyond that investment. This is the single greatest advantage of a corporation. However, the shareholders can lose this protection if they don’t completely separate the affairs of the corporation from their own personal affairs. They must also be certain that the amount of the original investment is clearly adequate to protect the public and the vendors from the likely activities of the corporation. Continue Reading »
March 30th 2008
A network documentary once showed in poignant detail how forced separation from the companies to which they had devoted their most productive years had affected several managers. For some, the effect was disastrous—a loss of confidence, of identity, even of belief in the system that could permit this to happen. Each had worked hard and well for his or her company. “How could they do this to me?” was the question that each, in his or her own way, asked.
One response to this question was given by Lord Edward Thurlow, an English jurist and statesman of the 18th century who asked, “Did you ever expect a corporation to have a conscience, when it has no soul to be damned, and no body to be kicked?”
While it is true that corporations work best when they appreciate the human potential of their employees, it is also true that people are, on the corporate books, a cost variable of paramount importance. Without the ability to control such costs, no corporation could survive. And though the managers of some corporations do it more gracefully or logically than others, in the end, the necessity to maintain itself in the marketplace by controlling the size and cost of its work force is an essential function of all corporations. Continue Reading »
February 20th 2008
2. Investors. Investors are most interested in factors that can help predict growth, because growth is essential for them to get an attractive return on their investment. These factors include the market’s likely future, the management team’s experience, evidence of fast-growing sales, and so forth. They want to see their investment go into marketing rather than R&D expenses. The existence of tangible assets is less important to investors because they aren’t as concerned with being “repaid” in the same way. But investors do want to see a concise plan—preferably 40 pages or less. Continue Reading »
January 14th 2008
Knox (2000) summarizes the potential rewards associated with successful branding.
Pickton and Broderick (2001) argue that commodity-type products such as metal tubing or screws, which in the past have been perceived as ‘non-branded‘, should be considered as branded through their packaging, labelling or logos.
Companies are creating brands through the consistent use of names, logos, a form of packaging, colours, shapes, typography, short descriptions or slogans. Branding can be provided through a variety of mechanisms, such as brand names, brand logos, trade names or trade marks.
A brand name is the part of a brand that can be spoken and which includes letters, numbers or symbols, such as Coca-Cola, VW, or Yahoo. This might be different from the legal name of the company; think, for example, of the use of initials such as AA or RAC, or numbers such as 7-Up or 3M, which have created enduring brands. Brand names can be reinforced through the use of a distinctive colour or typography. The classic example is the Coca-Cola brand name, which has a strong visual appeal and is recognized anywhere in the world through the design rather than the words. Coca-Cola is easily identifiable whether the name is written in English, Arabic, Russian or Chinese because the look is always the same. Continue Reading »
