Toronto Eaton Centre asks shoppers to use its "true name"
What is Eaton Centre’s real name? Landmark shopping mall polls shoppers, then corrects them, in new renaming campaign
Professor Detlev Zwick, who teaches at York’s Schulich School of Business, called the renaming effort “awkward” and said the press release appears to just be a step into the public eye.
“There is no real benefit in getting the exact name . . . especially not something as awkward as Toronto Eaton Centre,” Zwick said.
“If you were really serious about imprinting this name onto all stakeholders and consumers, it would mean a massive (financial) effort.”
Detlev Zwick of the Schulich School of Business University says Target has a good chance of succeeding in the country, as it has positioned itself between the value retailing landscape and high-end premium retailers. To see the video click here.
Nike cuts ties with Lance Armstrong
Ashante Infantry
Facing the loss of his cycling titles in a doping scandal, Lance Armstrong, his athletic reputation and personal brand forever sullied, has been dumped by Nike after stepping down from his charity.
“Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him,” said the sportswear manufacturer Wednesday in an unsigned statement that cut the disgraced cyclist loose.
The terse missive is unlike “what you would usually get when companies face any kind of trouble with an athlete they sponsor,” said Schulich School of Business marketing professor Detlev Zwick. Read on here.
iPhone 5 fever takes hold in Canada
Apple fans across Canada lined up to get their hands on the new iPhone 5 Friday.
The phone went on sale across Canada at 8 a.m., but many diehard fans camped out in lines that started forming outside stores as early as Wednesday afternoon.
Crowds of waiting customers cheered as Apple stores opened in 26 cities across Canada.
"Lululemon ad pokes fun at customers – and goes viral"
by Susan Krashinsky
Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012
Lululemon capitalized on the attention that the “Girls” videos have received – they’ve spawned countless imitators. (The video is itself a take on the popular Twitter account that eventually led to the mediocre William Shatner sitcom, Bleep My Dad Says.)
This kind of marketing is akin to a “franchise strategy,” said Detlev Zwick, a professor of marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business. (see full article click here)
"End of lockout spells relief at arenas around NBA"
by Liam Casey
Friday, January 20, 2012
That sound you heard over the weekend? It wasn’t the cheers
from billionaire basketball owners or millionaire players after the NBA
season was salvaged — it was a sigh of relief from event coordinators at
arenas across North America.
They faced the prospect of trying to recoup 41 dates, an impossible task for venues the size of the Air Canada Centre. Now the NBA will begin on Christmas Day and play a shortened 66-game season, which means the Raptors will play 33 home games. (see full article click here)
"The sweat smell of success"
By Jeff Beer | July 14, 2011
On a blustery December evening, a strip mall parking lot in Cambridge, Ont., is windswept and largely empty. Precisely what one expects when a daylong snowstorm is followed by a bone-chilling deep freeze. But at one end of the lot, a huddle of cars crowds a single entrance. A 30-foot-tall, lime-green dancing man made of balloons and the words “GRAND OPENING!” plastered across a...(see full article click here)
"The downside of winning a championship"
June 11, 2011 19:06:00
Kevin McGran
Either the Vancouver Canucks or the Boston Bruins are going to drop the words “long suffering” from their vocabulary. In Boston’s case, the Bruins have to go back to 1972 to find their last Stanley Cup championship. The Canucks have never won the Cup, but have made it to the finals three times since their inception in 1971. For one of these teams, the drought is going to end. For the franchise, it means glory. For the fans, it means euphoria. For the front office, it’s validation that every move, every decision that led to this moment was the correct one. For the business of the team... (for more click here)
Join Smart Shift‘s
live forum (click
here) on the New Consumer this Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at noon ET.
The Financial Post’s Diane Francis will lead the discussion on how to understand and reach the new consumer, through a host of new routes from social media to business intelligence.
The expert panel includes:
Sarah Thompson, director of social media and PR at Women’s Executive Network.
Detlev Zwick, associate professor of marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business and offers consulting for small and medium-sized businesses on independent online marketing and media strategy.
Financial Post Executive Video
New Business Models in the Age of Social Networks, Crowdsourcing, and Co-Creation
Posted: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
FP Executive’s John Turley-Ewart talks about new business models with Prof Detlev Zwick from the Schulich School of Business. To see the video click here (11 min.).
"Social media driving new business thinking"
Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco, Financial Post
September 29, 2009
Many believed the recession would force businesses to survive on starvation-like revenues for a prolonged gloomy period. But as the more humble recession than anticipated begins shuffling out the door, the real story, the long-term one, remains the major social and technological changes that are likely to transform most business models in the years come: internationalization, technology -- with Web 2.0 in the forefront --environmental issues and the global trend toward urbanization. As has been the case throughout history...See the full article here.
'Nirvana' is the exception - Viral campaign
Jan 21, 2009
By
Back in 1957, a hockey fan might have called the notion of having an NHL team in southern California preposterous. Ten years later, the Los Angeles Kings were born. So 10 years from now, where will the NHL be? To some, the answer is perfectly clear: Europe. Perhaps a European division – Berlin, London, Prague, Stockholm, Helsinki, Zurich. It's not a far-fetched idea. See full article here...
Gadgets,
gizmos and gimmicks - The strange appeal of
'As Seen on TV' gifts
Dec. 19,
2008
By Ciara Byrne
TORONTO - Hawking perfect pet pedicures or flashlights that never die, shams that incite "wows" and pastas made "pronto," ads for the popular "As Seen on TV" products are flooding the airwaves this season. Some experts say that despite their utterly practical and often ridiculous uses, people are still wrapping them up. "Because it's advertised on television, there's still the view that it gives the product some credibility when you give it to somebody. You're not giving them something cheap and shoddy, but 'boy, it has been on television,"' says Alan Middleton, a marketing professor at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.
And the appeal of these products is constant, says Detlev Zwick, a professor at York University and an expert on consumer behaviour. He says this kind of advertising model fits the shopping habit of buying and chucking goods. "Consumers understand the things we buy aren't expected to last long," says Zwick. "It creates a desire and a general disposition of 'let's give it a shot. I've seen it now four times. Let's try it out."' The commercials also catch customers at a specific time of day, when they're often relaxed, lounging and watching television.
Green is the new gold
By Hailey Eisen
Cover Story, May 5, 2008
Employees and consumers want greener
products, greener services and reduced energy consumption. But as marketers
and vendors respond, are we looking at just another big greenwash?
Read the whole article
here.
Custom jersey designer wants to turn pro
By Leah Cameron
THE COMPANY: SULTAN APPAREL INC. The challenge: Expand operations, without
sacrificing the quality of your product: highly customized sports apparel
The plan: Hire a sales force that can push your threads with key decision
makers: coaches that head up men's and women's travelling teams across the
U.S. The payoff: Doing what you love - full-time. Read
full article
here.
Apr 07, 2008
STREAMING CASH BY STREAMING VIDEO - Brave new digital world to better market NHL
By Kevin McGran
Some might say John Collins has the toughest job in pro sports. The former NFL marketing guru must find ways to sell hockey ... to Americans. It's a tough sell. The lockout decimated fan interest. TV ratings are abysmal. Yet somehow, the NHL's salary cap – which is tied directly to revenue – continues to increase. It's expected to hit $55 million (U.S.) next season, up from $50.3 million this year. The lofty Canadian dollar...Read the full article here
May 1, 2006
Gaming arcades battle for market share - Competition in entertainment industry 'brutal'
By Jack Kohane
Cal Haverstock is accustomed to customers calling his enterprise awesome. Running Toronto's biggest high-tech playground can be amusing, with its 200-plus virtual reality simulators, interactive video games and an adjacent 11-acre outdoor midway that includes mini-putt golf, go-cart tracks and a baseball dome with nine variable-speed batting cages. But, Haverstock will tell you, this is also serious business. "The competition in the entertainment industry is brutal," says the president and CEO of Playdium Corp. Read full article here.