1. Our Wall Street Journal article for next week is “Gillette Sharpens Its Pitch for Expensive Razor: As Shoppers Pull Back on Spending, Company Tries New Tactic To Persuade Skeptical Consumers to Spend More for Fusion?” by Ellen Byron, Oct 06, 2008, p. B9.  If you have an online subscription to the Wall Street Journal, you can access this article directly at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122325275682206367.html?mod=djem_jiewr_MK .  If you do not have an online subscription to the WSJ, please see instructions at the end of this e-mail on how to access the article for free through the Crocker Library’s ABI/Inform database.  The article will NOT be distributed in class.  This article will be covered on the final exam for the course and not on Midterm II.  In preparation for our class discussion next week, you should be prepared to:
2. Discuss Gillette’s traditional business model.  Do you see parallels in the business models of other products—possibly in very different markets—being sold to consumers today?
3. Identify and discuss the message that Gillette attempting to suggest value even at the current price.
4. Discuss how rates of consumer adoption of the newest razor seem to compare to past rates of adoption of new razors.
5. Discuss the state of world razor market during the last one year.
6. In preparation for class discussion, you are encouraged to consider other issues, including any important questions that the article may have failed to address.
7. As previously announced, no makeup assignment is required for missing either lecture and/or discussion during the past week.  During discussion this past week, those who attended had the option to earn up to two extra credit points either by turning in some notes or making a presentation on the in-class assignment.  Individuals who did not attend have the option to attempt these extra credit points by independently writing and turning in some notes on the assignment, which can be found at http://www.buad307.com/PDF/06-F08--ICA--Attitude_Change.pdf .  Notes should be mailed to attitudes@buad307.com and not to my regular e-mail address.  There will be no credit for notes mailed to my regular e-mail address.
8. As a reminder, Midterm II is scheduled for October 21.  If you have a compelling need for a makeup exam at some other time, please fill out the petition at http://www.buad307.com/exam_makeup.html .
9. A sample midterm with a key and sample short answers is available, along with the actual second midterms from the past two semesters, at http://www.buad307.com/exams.html .
10. Below is a list of selected scores.  Scores not listed are not yet available.  Please bring any errors to my attention.
11. If you missed this past week’s sessions, please be sure to pick up the three handouts from last week’s lecture at the stage during the coming Tuesday’s lecture.

To access this week’s article through the Marshall Library:

1. Login to MyMarshall at https://mymarshall.usc.edu .
2. Click on “Academics,” then “Marshall Library,” and then “Electronic Resources.”
3. Select the "ABI/Inform through Proquest Direct" link.
4. Click on the “Publications” tab.
5. Click on the “W” link under “Show all publications.”
6. Click on the Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition link.
7. Click on October 6, 2008.
8. In the list of articles, find the article entitled “Gillette Sharpens Its Pitch for Expensive Razor; As Shoppers Pull Back on Spending, Company Tries New Tactic to Persuade Skeptical Consumers to Spend More for Fusion."  If the index structure remains static, this will probably be article #56.  To reach this, you would click on the number 6 on the bottom right corner of the screen and then select article number 56.

As you are undoubtedly aware by now, there is currently an outbreak on campus of a “self limiting” but “highly contagious gastrointestinal virus.”  Although the university has made a decision that classes, for the time being, will continue to meet, I realize that a large auditorium with two hundred people may involve an elevated risk of exposure and contagion.  Therefore, I am announcing at this time that there will NOT be an in-class assignment during this week’s lecture session.  A podcast of the material presented will be made available for those who are not comfortable attending.  It is recommended that persons falling into to the following categories strongly consider NOT attending this week’s lecture session:

1.    Individuals who have experienced symptoms of the virus, live with individuals who have experienced such symptoms, or otherwise have good reason to suspect that they may have been exposed.

2.    Individuals vulnerable because of reduced  immune function or conditions that would comprise their ability to safely recover from this virus.

3.    Individuals whose households include children, elderly individuals, and/or individuals with medical conditions that make them vulnerable.

4.    Individuals who come into contact with a large number of individuals—especially children and the elderly—outside the USC community.

Discussion sections will meet this week, but individuals who elect to miss discussion this week will NOT need to do makeup assignments.  Originally, we were scheduled to perform consumer behavior experiments during this week’s discussion sections.   However, in view of the current virus, there may be concerns about the handling of taste test beverage samples even though clean disposable cups for each individual have always been provided in the past and will continue to be provided during future semesters.  We will therefore have a different in-class activity this week.  Later in the semester when we cover product issues, we will have some more limited in-class demonstrations of consumers’ ability or inability to distinguish among name brand soft drinks and between name and store brands.

1. Next week in the discussion sections, we will begin a weekly discussion of a selected article in the Wall Street Journal.  Our first article will be “Europe Eats on the Cheap: Store Brands, 'Hard' Discounters Target Shoppers Squeezed by Economy,” by Christina Passariello, Aaron O. Patrick, and Max Colchester, September 30, 2008, p. B1.  If you have an online subscription to the Wall Street Journal, you can find the article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122272404728187613.html?mod=djem_jiewr_MK .  If you do not have an online subscription to the WSJ, please see the instructions at the end of this e-mail on how to access the article for free through the Crocker/Marshall library.  For this first week, I will provide a “hard” copy during lecture, but you should try to access the article online now so that you know you will be able to find future articles online.  As preparation for our discussion and possible questions on Midterm II, you should be able to answer the following questions:
   1. What are the mentioned characteristics of “hard” discounters?
   2. How does the penetration of “store” brands and “hard” discounters differ between Europe, the U.S., and developing countries?
   3. What is the impact of store assortment—i.e., the number and types of goods carried—on the costs of operating the store?
   4. With respect to the market share of store brands, what is expected to happen when the European economy recovers?
   5. To what extent are store brands advertised?
2. In the discussion sessions next week, we will briefly discuss the strategies behind current political campaigns and advertisements.  Please bring any interesting advertisements that you have found.  You can bring “hard” copies of send any hyperlinks to hyperlinks@buad307.com.  Please note that we will focus on the marketing strategies of the different campaigns rather than discussing the actual merits of the different candidates.
3. A Study Guide for Material Covered in Class for Midterm II has been posted to the course web site at http://www.buad307.com/PDF/StudyChecklist--Midterm_II--F08.pdf .  A “hard” copy of this study guide will be distributed in lecture on Tuesday.  A sample Midterm II and Midterm II from the last two semesters will be posted by the end of next week.
4. A number of individuals have inquired about whether discussion sections will be held during the week of Thanksgiving.  As I mentioned on the first day of class, ince I do not have the authority to cancel the discussion sections, these will officially meet—meaning that I will show up.  However, I do not expect any of you to do so.  The Tuesday lecture session will meet, and you will be responsible for material covered during that session for the Final, but it is guaranteed that there will not be any in-class assignment that week.
5. In case you missed Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times, you may find the insightful commentary on the “marketing” of the bank “bailout” measure at http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-bailpr1-2008oct01,0,2316550.story .
6. I hope you will all have the good taste to boycott the showing this evening at 7:00 p.m. of the very  sleazy film about physical intimacy in an urban environment, a movie that is based on a television series that carries the same name.  ;)

WEEK IN REVIEW:  This week, we began our coverage of consumer behavior, discussing consumer problem recognition, information search, and decision making.  In addition, we compared two different ways—exposure to a car dealership “sale” banner and television advertising—of reaching and influencing potential customers.  Next week, we will continue with consumer behavior, emphasizing consumer attitudes and attitude change strategies.  In the discussion sections, we will perform in-class experiments on consumer perception, discuss strategies behind current political advertisements and campaigns, and discuss the Wall Street Journal article.

 

Lars

 

Lars Perner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Marketing
Department of Marketing, Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0443
Phone: (213) 740-7127     Cell:  (760) 412-0154
perner@marshall.usc.edu  
http://www.LarsPerner.com
http://www.ConsumerPsychologist.com
Blog:  http://delightfulreflections.blogspot.com/
"Normal people rarely ever make history."

To access this week’s article through the Marshall Library:

 Login to MyMarshall at https://mymarshall.usc.edu

1. Click on “Academics,” then “Marshall Library,” and then “Electronic Resources.”
2. Select the "ABI/Inform through Proquest Direct" link.
3. Click on the “Publications” tab.
4. Click on the “W” link under “Show all publications.”
5. Click on the Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition link.
6. Click on September 30, 2008.
7. In the list of articles, find the article entitled " Europe Eats on the Cheap; Store Brands, 'Hard' Discounters Target Shoppers Squeezed by Economy."  If the index structure remains static, this will probably be article #55.  To reach this, you would click on the number 6 on the bottom right corner of the screen and then select article number 55.

  

 

 

 

1. The PowerPoint slides and summary notes for Consumer Behavior—our topic for the coming two weeks—have been posted to the course web site at http://www.buad307.com/PPT_notes.html .
2. Midterm I will be returned in lecture on Tuesday.  The exams will be returned on the front stage of the auditorium in manila envelopes.  Please take and keep the exam from your envelope but return the empty envelope so that it can be re-used.
3. I will be traveling from Saturday through Monday evening, so I will not be on campus again until Tuesday morning.  During the trip, I expect to have cell phone and Internet access, but it may take me longer to get back to you since I will be in meetings most of the time.
4. The wireless microphones now appear to be working properly in the auditorium after I made some adjustments.  For those of you in the Wednesday, 2:00 p.m. discussion section, Information Technology Services has now taken care of the network connectivity problems in WPH 207.  Thank you for your patience while these problems were being resolved!
5. As a reminder, the Library Database Resource List is officially due on Tuesday, but it is fine if you need a few extra days.  Instructions are available in the syllabus and at http://www.buad307.com/PDF/Sources--Instructions.pdf .  If you run into problems finding suitable articles, please feel free to come in during office hours to discuss your situation.  Please note that finding appropriate sources is likely to be a subject too complex to be discussed through e-mail.
6. I am continuing to send out preliminary notifications on project proposals to indicate whether, based on a quick review, any major disqualifying problems were found in the proposal.  Once this process is completed, I will send out more elaborate comments on the proposals.  This process will take several weeks to complete.  You will NOT receive these comments before the Library Database Resource List is due. You should proceed with the Library Database Resource List at this time assuming that your idea is acceptable.

WEEK IN REVIEW:  This week, we continued our discussion of international marketing issues, focusing mostly on international economics and cross-cultural promotion.  Next week, we have a few additional issues to cover in international marketing, after which we will proceed to Consumer Behavior.

The pre-class announcement slides for this week have been posted to http://www.buad307.com/PPT/Announcements/Announcements--Week4--F08.ppt .

1. The PowerPoint slides and summary materials for this week and the next week’s material have been posted to the course web site at http://www.buad307.com/PPT_notes.html .
2. A sample midterm and the actual midterms for the last two semesters—along with multiple choice keys and sample short answers—have been posted to the course web site at http://www.buad307.com/exams.html .
3. If you need to arrange for a make-up exam for the exam scheduled for September 23, please fill out the petition form at http://www.buad307.com/exam_makeup.html .

Lars

 

Lars Perner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Marketing
Department of Marketing, Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0443
Phone: (213) 740-7127     Cell:  (760) 412-0154
perner@marshall.usc.edu  
http://www.LarsPerner.com
http://www.ConsumerPsychologist.com
Blog:  http://delightfulreflections.blogspot.com/
"Normal people rarely ever make history."

 

This week's pre-class PowerPoint announcement slides have been posted at http://www.buad307.com/PPT/Announcements/Announcements--Week3--F08.ppt .

1. The PowerPoint slides and summary notes for this week have now been posted on the course web site at http://www.buad307.com/PPT_notes.html.
2. A copy of the textbook has been put on reserve in the Crocker Library on the second floor of Hoffman Hall. 
3. A study checklist for Midterm I, coming up on September 23, will be distributed in lecture tomorrow.
4. Dr. Debbie Macinnis, another marketing professor, is seeking participants for a paid experiment.  This does NOT count toward the research participation requirement for this course.  Information has been appended to the end of this e-mail.>
5. The Trojan Consulting Group has asked me to forward the below information about their organization.
6. The Association for Integrated Marketing (AIM) is holding its “Kickoff” on Wednesday, September 10th, at 6:45 pm in ZHS 252.  (No humans or animals will be hurt).  For more information, please see http://www-scf.usc.edu/~aoim/ .

Lars

   

USC Research Study on Food Consumption Professor Debbie MacInnis in the Marketing Department seeks respondents to participate in a study on thoughts regarding food consumption. USC students and staff members are welcome to participate. Respondents will be paid $10.00 for participation in this 30 minute lab study.  Participation is, of course, voluntary. Compensation will be awarded at the conclusion of the lab study. Eligible respondents must be between the ages of 18 and 65 and must not be under a doctor’s or other health professional’s care for any dietary-health related issues (e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes, food allergies). SESSIONS WILL BE HELD at the Experiential Learning Center, room B3 (basement) of Bridge Hall (BRI) Monday, September 8th and Wednesday September 17th. Sessions run in ½ hour increments. The first session starts at 7:00 pm. The last session starts at 9:30 pm. SIGN UP for a session at http://www.marketingprofs.com/research/dm/ All responses are confidential and names will not be attached to any individual’s responses.  If you need more information, contact Helen Chun at haechun@usc.edu or (310) 721-7302.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TROJAN CONSULTING GROUP

The Trojan Consulting Group is a Marshall organization that aims to provide its members with meaningful experiences in the field of management consulting by solving challenging, real-world business problems for local non-profit institutions and governments.  As a non-profit organization, our goal is to make a positive impact on our surrounding community by leveraging the dedication and intellectual capital of our members.  Regardless of your career aspirations, TCG enables its members to develop analytical skills that are applicable across industries.

Current and past projects include: 

• Working with the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office to analyze the commercial and demographic composition of low-income markets and assess the feasibility of future economic development
• Assessing best practices for truancy prevention to develop a strategy to minimize revenue loss for the Los Angeles Unified School District
• Developing procedures to rejuvenate the image of the Los Angeles Rotary Club through innovative retention and recruitment procedures
• Working with the California Community Foundation to reorganize and standardize their $120,000 annual Endowment Partner program
• Advising the United Way on how to restructure their donation program and improve its strategy and marketing efforts in order to garner additional donations

Applicants with a GPA of at least 3.6 are typically more competitive because our membership is very selective and consists of top students in the Marshall School of Business in regard to academics, leadership, and involvement.  TCG strongly values diversity and intellectual vitality, and thus our members and alumni have pursued various aspirations: 

• Investment Banking (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse,  Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley)
• Management Consulting (Bain and Company; The Boston Consulting Group, The Bridgespan Group)
• Private Equity (Summit Partners, Lehman Brothers Venture Partners)
• Accounting (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, KPMG)
• Corporate Communications (Reuters, The Walt Disney Company)
• Graduate School (Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, Duke Law, NYU Law)

If you are interested in joining our team, please submit the following materials to Bridge 104 by 4:30 pm on Friday, September 12, 2008:

1. A professional resume highlighting work and leadership experience

2. An essay of no more than 250 words (1 page, double-spaced) explaining your future aspirations

We strongly advise you to attend our Information Session on Wednesday, September 10 at 6:00PM in ACC 205.

We will contact selected candidates for interviews during the week of September 14^th.  If you have any questions, please send us an email at trojan.consulting.group@gmail.com or visit our website at www.trojanconsulting.org.

Cordially, 

The Trojan Consulting Group

This week's pre-class announcements are availabel in PDF format at http://www.buad307.com/PDF/Announcements/Announcements--Week1--F08.pdf .  The PowerPoint file is very large but can be accessed at http://www.buad307.com/PDF/Announcements/Announcements--Week1--F08.ppt if desired.

It has been brought to my attention that my previous welcome message incorrectly referred to a Monday class meeting. Our lecture session, this semester, actually meets on Tuesday with discussion sections on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. You will probably notice over time that I tend to fulfill the stereotype of the absentminded professor. As you are probably aware, absentmindedness and eccentricity are signs of genius. ;)

Some of you have inquired about the extent to which the new edition of the textbook differs from the previous one. The differences between the two editions are relatively minor. You should be able to get the essential information from the old edition, although the page numbers will differ in some cases.

Lars Perner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Marketing
Department of Marketing, Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0443, U.S.A.
Phone: (213) 740-7127 Cell: (760) 412-0154
perner@marshall.usc.edu http://www.LarsPerner.com
http://www.buad307.com
http://www.ConsumerPsychologist.com
Blog: http://delightfulreflections.blogspot.com/
"It takes every kinda people to make this world go 'round!" Robert