Nissan recently introduced an innovative new technology called “Self Healing Paint.” Nissan’s intent is to scratch proof a car. For now, this feature is only available on certain Nissan models that are targeted at affluent, technology seekers.
To show off the “Self Healing Paint,” Nissan ran a special iPad ad in The Economist.
Take a look at a video clip.
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Yahoo has had some tough times in recent years. But things have slowly begun turning around since Marissa Mayer (formerly a senior executive at Google) became CEO.
So, the announcement that Yahoo would purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion is not surprising; however, it is interesting. Once again, a major company has decided to acquire a growing social media firm for a lot of money, even though the social media firm itself does not generate much sales volume or profit.
Consider these observations from CBS News:
“Acquisitions are a way of life in Silicon Valley, a place where two plus two frequently adds up to billions. That is to say, deals are often conducted for reasons other than numbers in a ledger, whether for a promising piece of software or a viable business model. In this case, Tumblr has something that went missing at Yahoo years ago: growth potential. And that is key to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer ultimately keeping her job. Yahoo is funding the deal mostly with cash. As with many acquisitions, the question is what the purchase ultimately delivers to the acquirer.”
“How much could Tumblr add to Yahoo’s traffic? According to comScore, Tumblr in March had 29.3 million unique U.S. visitors. Yahoo’s combined sites got 191.4 million visitors, more than another other company except Google, which had 1 million more. There is no way to tell from the outside how much use overlap Yahoo and Tumblr have. If there were none, which seems unlikely, Tumblr would add just over 15 percent. But what would that practically mean for Yahoo? Not significantly more on the bottom line. Profits have been kept up through cost-cutting, including the steady drop in spending on research and development. That is dangerous at a tech company like Yahoo, whose CEO has stressed the importance of innovation.”
“Yahoo’s trouble hasn’t been traffic. Its sites collectively are a major destination on the Internet. But unlike Google, Yahoo has struggled to turn that volume of users into money. Revenue has been flat. Display ad revenue, the type that you might expect to be important at a site like Tumblr, continues to drop. But a 15 percent increase in users won’t fix that picture for Yahoo.”
Click the Yahoo icon to read more and to view a video clip.
Understanding and managing a company’s online reputation are not easy tasks. A lot of what is said online is beyond the control of the firm.
So, what can be done? According to Jacob Warren, an online reputation management consultant at Logik:
“The nature of the Internet is that any random user can make their opinion known at any time on a number of established sites. Because many of these sites have high Page Rank values, negative reviews can often appear in the search engine results above a company’s own Web site. Very often reviews are negative in nature. Even though a firm may deliver high quality customer service, clients must be invited to share positive stories. Otherwise, negative reviews will show an unbalanced view and will not reflect the level of service provided.”
“Positive reviews will boost sales: Shoppers who refine Web searches by customer rating average a 22% increase in sales per visit, increasing to 41% over several years (BazaarVoice Research). Reviews will raise customer loyalty and sales alike (Deloitte & Touche). Customer reviews will have a positive impact on average order amounts, with 27% of shoppers increasing spend by 5-10% (Hayes and Jarvis). To get positive customer reviews, you’ll have to ask for them. The good news is many people will respond to your request and provide a positive review.”
Click the Logik icon to read a lot more from Warren.
What is “native advertising” and why are some people upset about it?
Consider this commentary from eMarketer:
“Social networks, news sites, digital content aggregators, and streaming media services are rife with ads that are integrated into the content experience. According to a new eMarketer report, Native Advertising: An Emerging Consensus for a New Kind of Ad, these so-called ‘native ads’ are providing new ways for marketers to reach target audiences and new avenues of monetization for content sites that are under intense revenue pressure.”
“Although business prospects for native advertising are positive, the medium has its detractors. Some media executives and marketers are wary of the blurring of lines between content and advertising that occurs with native ads, particularly in the context of news sites. Others question the return on investment of these ads, arguing that native ads cannot scale for multiple placements.”
Take a look at the chart below and click on it for more from eMarketer.
The answer to the question raised in the title above is probably no — especially with the most severe critics of the company and its soft drinks.
Here’s what Coke is planning to do, as reported by Mike Esterl and Paul Ziobro for the Wall Street Journal: “Coca-Cola Co. is broadening distribution of its low-calorie drinks and said it will put calorie counts on the front of its packaging around the world as it ramps up global efforts to counter criticism its sugary drinks are fueling obesity. The beverage giant also promised to sponsor physical activity programs and reiterated its commitment to not market its drinks to children under 12 years old in each of the more than 200 countries and territories that it operates. The moves come as Coke and other soda makers such as PepsiCo Inc. find their products under rising scrutiny in a growing number of countries amid climbing obesity rates. Coke, the world’s biggest drink company, is the main target despite diversifying beyond its namesake cola into dozens of other categories including fruit juices, bottled water, and sports drinks.”
Click the image of Coca-Cola’s CEO Muhtar Kent to read more.
Photo by the Associated Press
