COURSE OF THE MONTH: Digital Media Marketing

Digital Media Marketing

Blog Date: 2/13/12

Author: Michael Behan, Business Management Major

Want to dive into the digital media aspect of marketing?

Want to create a relationship with real businesses?

Want to become an expert on Social Media websites?

In Digital Media Marketing students gain the knowledge and skills to build and maintain successful, integrated digital media marketing programs. With clients and businesses progressively more shifting their attention from traditional marketing media like television, radio and print ads, to the Internet, iPads, Smart Phones and other digital media, you will learn how to make online media campaigns a fundamental part of marketing plans. This is a fun, interactive course where you will gain internship-like experience working with a real business and get a real feel for how things are being done in the real world.

Redbox throws a haymaker to Netflix

Redbox throws a haymaker to Netflix

Blog Date: 2/9/11

Author: Edwin Ayala,Business Management Major

            Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. is partnering with Redbox to throw blows at Netflix, with Verizon starting a video streaming service with Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks placed all throughout the United States. Verizon and Redbox’s parent company, Coinstar Inc., announced that the service will be national and available to non Verizon customers. The new service will combine Internet delivery of their movies, similar to Netflix’s system. Specific details and pricing of the new service have not been announced yet.

            According to a person briefed on the plan spoke out about the deal, both companies were looking toward a $6 per month offering that would give subscribers one DVD rental from Redbox per month, as well as an unlimited streaming on a certain selection of movies. It is not certain whether that plan has been altered, but sources say that it will most likely be less than the $16 a month minimum Netflix users have to pay for the same DVD and streaming service.

Do you think Verizon and Redbox can knockout Netflix? Leave your thoughts and opinions below. 

Government Makes a Streaming Dam

Government Makes a Streaming Dam

Blog Date: 2/8/11

Author: Edwin Ayala, Business Management Major

Edited by: Louis Lamonte, Accounting/Management Major

     Just days before Superbowl XLVI, U.S. prosecutors have stated that they have seized 16 illegal streaming websites. These websites have streamed live sports and pay-per-view events over the Internet. The man they have charged owns nine of those websites. According to the government, the 16 websites provided links to give viewers easy access to other sites that hosted pirated telecasts from the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc ("WWE") and TNA Impact Wrestling. The latter is also broadcast on Viacom Inc's Spike TV.

     These websites are costing advertisers, leagues and broadcasters millions of dollars a year, and some of this cost is passed on to the fans and subscribers. The websites are firstrow.tv, firstrowsports.com, firstrowsports.net, firstrowsports.tv, hq-streams.tv, robplay.tv, soccertvlive.net, sports95.com, sports95.net, sports95.org, sportswwe.net, sportswwe.tv, sportswwe.com, xonesports.tv, youwwe.com and youwwe.net.

Feel free to post and share your thoughts below

Facebook $5 Billion Dollar IPO

Facebook $5 Billion Dollar IPO

Blog Date: 2/8/12

Author: Edwin Ayala , Business Management Major

Edited by: Louis Lamonte, Accounting/Management Major

     Facebook recently filed papers with the SEC for a $5 billion IPO. This would be the biggest tech IPO since Google and analysts are projecting Facebook’s value to be between $80 and $100 billion. The IPO filing was triggered by Facebook’s hitting 500 shareholders, a number at which a company must start releasing financials or go public. Facebook has chosen the latter and shares are expected to begin trading in approximately a month. Analysts expect the money will be used for website advancements. 

     This would be the largest internet IPO in history, surpassing Google’s $1.9 billion launch in 2004. This launch would give Facebook financial dominance in the internet world as it tries to make its service even more widespread, a service that has already hit over 845 million users. This would also deal a big blow to Google, who is also trying to insert itself in the social media world by creating a rival social network called Plus.

     Facebook is looking to list its stock under the ticker symbol “FB” on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market. According to the filing, Zuckerburg will have final say on how 57% of his stocks votes. He has also set up two classes of stock that will ensure that he keeps control as Wall Street exerts pressure on his new company. Many of his employees will soon become millionaires as well as they have bought shares at lower prices than are liked to be valued. Facebook employed over 3000 people in 2011. 

Feel free to post any comments below and share your thoughts. 

New CEO Reinvents JC Penney

New CEO Reinvents JC Penney

Blog Date: 2/1/12

Blog Author: Saniya Khan, Accounting and Finance

The retail store JC Penney is planning a huge revamping of stores starting February 1^st.  Some of the upcoming changes include a new logo that evokes an image of the American flag as well as a simpler way of pricing merchandise, eliminating complicated coupons and sale promotions.  All merchandise will be divided into a three tier system:  everyday prices, monthly specials, and clearance; and stores will be offering new boutique style areas that highlight a specific brand the company is working with, for example H&M and Sephora.

This new marketing campaign is headed by the company’s new chief executive, Ron Johnson, who previously was in charge of Apple’s retail strategy, and its new president, Michael Francis, who was the former chief marketing officer for Target.  The company plans on holding twelve simple sales events a year rather than the close to 600 promotions they held this past year in an effort to simply their pricing strategy for consumers and to cut back on promotional costs from over $1 billion required to advertising all the sales they held now down to spending $80 million per planned promotion.

In other cases, when a company wants to completely change their image and marketing strategy, it can take up to a year to figure out the kinks and predict potential problem areas before making the change public across stores, however, Johnson is moving fast.  With initial changes rolling out the first day of February and plans to have a new layout of the retail stores by having around 100 or so boutique-style stores-within-stores and a central service center called the “town square” by the next four years, he is wasting no time.  The goal is to increase traffic flow and profits by providing the best prices year-round for customers while saving the company money, but will this new strategy really work?  Do consumers prefer simple once-a-month sales over the excitement of a “one-day only” sale or coupons they can use anytime to save even more?  Johnson has only been with the company since the fall, but his plans are moving quickly.  Now it is up to consumers to react to these changes.