AOL’s Tim Armstrong Aims to Build Digital-Ad Empire at Verizon

Verizon has recently purchased AOL. Tim Armstrong pitched to ad buyers in a Las Vegas elevator. Imagine if a hotel chain supplied Verizon with a database of its frequent guests. The three data platforms could be used to target guests with ads for promotional offers. Armstrong aims to build the top mobile media company in the world by 2020 by reaching 2 billion users (currently at 700 million users). He also wishes to generate $10-$20 billion in revenue (currently generates $2.7 billion in revenue per year). This would put AOL in a position to compete with Facebook and Google. Armstrong's empire would gain a boost if Verizon bought Yahoo, but Yahoo's mobile advertising is down this year. AOL was on a downward spiral until Verizon purchased AOL and bought AOL out of the AOL-Time Warner Merger. Armstrong was named CEO of AOL in 2009 and has since then bought the Huffington post, a strategy built around advertising technology. Once AOL was purchased by Verizon, Verizon gave Armstrong control of Verizon Digital Media Services, the company's collection of video and advertising businesses, including a mobile-video app called go90. Armstrong staying with the company was critical to the deal made between the companies. He will be awarded $59 million if he stays at Verizon for four years. Some consider him the successor to Mr. McAdam, current CEO. 

This is an interesting topic because AOL is seen as an underdog. It has been taken under Verizon's wing and the CEO has very big ambitions for the company. 

This article is related to our class because it shows how competitive the market is and how advertising and video streaming technology is vital to any social media prosperity. 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/aols-tim-armstrong-aims-to-build-digital-ad-empire-at-verizon-1459330200

March 30,2016

Oculus Rift: The Vision of the Future?

With virtual reality always being something that people have wanted to have but have not quite polished it to a usable degree, in comes the Oculus Rift trying to appeal to those who enjoy the idea of using virtual reality while gaming. The author of this article, George A. Fowler, tried out the device and said that despite the hype behind it and how great it looked when peering through it the Oculus Rift still had issues with its sensors and bugs out every so often. He even goes as far as to describe it as a device you want your neighbors to buy so that you can just try it out from them. This shows how while the Oculus Rift seems like a great advancement into the future for entertainment, it currently is nothing more than a gimmick to be tried out once for the first time then put on your shelf to never be used again. With the long power cables you have to keep track of when walking around and how large and clunky it is, it is a device that seems to have a lot of issues just maintaining it, let alone using the item.

One of the main issues of the Oculus Rift is that it tries to appeal to too wide a range of audiences. While it is initially a gaming device, it also sponsors how it can be used to enhance one’s television shows and movies which makes it seem like a great tool for anyone to have. It also tries to make itself seem like with it you can pretend to climb mountains without having to be there, being a great entertainment tool for anyone. However, with many of its reviews showing how buggy it can be and how movement-based activities with it are quite limited it has a long way to go before it can become a universal entertainment tool. This broad range appeal will make it seem mediocre to everyone and cause it to have sales similar to that. Even if it tries to focus on just being a enhancer for a single audience like videogames or virtual reality travelers, the giant price tag of 1,200 dollars makes it almost impossible for anyone to simply impulse buy it due to the huge investment into something so minimal to someone’s life. It requires other devices to be truly worth it and because of its dependence on other electronical devices the Oculus Rift’s future looks to be very slow in sales at best or crashing downwards into a pit of debt for the makes at worst.

Other similar devices like Samsung’s Gear VR is only 100 dollars, making it a huge saving in money compared to the overbearing price tag on the Oculus Rift. Other devices like the Wii have greater freedom to use when it comes to combining movement with gaming as while both require the person to move out a large amount of open room for use, the Wii allows multiple people to use the same device and doesn’t make your surroundings a hassle to walk around unlike the VR device since it blindfolds you to everything else in the world. While a few people may enjoy this, it seems far too overbearing for the average customer to even purchase or use in a practical or useful way. As it stands now, the Oculus Rift to me has a lot that needs to be fixed and fine-tuned before it can become the next big thing.

Article URL: 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/oculus-rift-review-vrs-rising-star-isnt-ready-for-the-mainstream-1459173888

Baseball’s Latest Recruit Is an iPad

MLB and Apple have signed an agreement in which every major league will be equipped with iPad pro tablets. MLB is following in the footsteps of the NFL, who uses Microsoft Surface tablets during games. The use of iPads during games would allow teams to do things such as view a players performance stats from current and past seasons, weigh potential pitcher-hitter match-ups, and even look at a player's spray chart which shows where he'll likely hit the ball. This addition of the iPad to professional baseball will allow the game to run at an even quicker and smoother pace. Also, with the iPad having recent struggles of being sold, it could see a promotional boost from this deal because of the athletes' use of the device. MLB's decision to utilize the iPad could even prompt other professional sports organizations to begin the use of tablets to improve their respective sports.


http://www.wsj.com/articles/baseballs-latest-recruit-is-an-ipad-1459310403

Bumble Bee Recalls Tuna for Possible Contamination

Bumble Bee Foods LLC just announced that it is recalling some of their canned tuna. The reason they are recalling some of their products is because of contamination. The canned tuna might be polluted by spoilage organisms or pathogens. Although this could cause life-threatening illnesses, no illnesses have been reported yet. 

The recall includes 31,579 cases of canned tuna produced last month. These cases were distributed nationally.

Bumble Bee Foods LLC said that they have to be very careful because of the possible under-processing of the canned tuna. They are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to quickly remove these products from stores. They are also advising consumers to throw away the tuna.

I chose this article because I’m interested in the food industry and at the same time it is a very serious problem. It is related to marketing because people are going to stop buying these products. This could result in a huge financial loss for Bumble Bee Foods LLC.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/bumble-bee-recalls-tuna-for-possible-contamination-1458221513

March 17, 2016 6:36 p.m. ET

Equal Pay for Equal Work

The Seattle-based online retailer, Amazon.com Inc., known for their prime shipping and great rates for students is under review for their equal pay among genders. Among the equal pay employees is the staff for the corporate offices as well as the warehouse workers, minorities included. Total women’s compensation was 99.9% of men’s in equivalent jobs, while minorities were getting 100.1% compensation.

Many companies have fluctuating compensation among genders and social classes, but Amazon is committed to keeping their compensation fair and equitable. With the upcoming election, this will be hot topic on everyone’s mind. Do the candidates believe it should be equal or slightly different among the genders? The U.S. Census estimates the median pay for women is 21% less than a man’s showing the change that needs to be fixed.

Among other companies like Apple Inc. and Intel Corp., the difference between the gender pay is less than 1%. Alphabet Inc., Facebook Inc., and Microsoft Corp. are all being pushed by their shareholders to release their equal pay percentages in order to boost their companies name and revenue. If you owned a company, would you pay the men more than the women or would you support equal pay among genders?  

Title: Amazon Survey Shows Equal Gender Pay Among Its Workforce

Author: Greg Bensinger

Date: March 23, 2016

URL: http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-survey-shows-equal-gender-pay-among-its-workforce-1458761615

Image: http://www.gop.gov/app/uploads/2015/04/Equal-Pay-Day.png

Car Makers Pledge to Make Automatic Brakes Standard by 2022, Sources Say 

Renata Garcia
March 23, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/articles/car-makers-pledge-to-make-automatic-brakes-standard-by-2022-sources-say-1458145777

If you are like me, you love the feeling of your chest getting pushed back by the G-force the car carats whenever the speed increases and sound of the "pop" of the car.  Since I was young, cars have been an interest to me, probably due to the fact that i grew up with three boys. 

Recently, auto makers worldwide have decided to add a new feature to all standard vehicles within the following years. Do you think this will be a benefit to us? Many accidents nowadays are caused by not being able to break fast enough or by our many distractions while driving. I can say that I sometimes do text and drive and there have been times where I have had to break fast because of my texting I was not looking at the road. Now the addition of this new feature to all cars can possibly decrease the number of accidents caused by distractions, but does that mean that it would make it easier to do other things while on the road?

How will the brake works? Sensors on the vehicle such as cameras, radars, lasers will serve to detect imminent crashes.  These sensors will then provide a warning and if the driver does not respond quick enough the automatic breaks will be engaged. 

Some cars on the market already come equipped with technology of this nature. Lane-Depamrue warnings, collision warnings and systems, and sensors to detect objects near by. 

Regulators state that by the end of the year they will modify the star-rated safety system. This will prevent auto makers who do not have the automatic-breaking system installed from getting top scores. 

How does this relate to marketing? Because of the modification of the star-rated safety system of requiring all cars to be equipped with this new technology, most cars will not meet the criteria. 

The adaption of the new feature will time consuming and expensive for the consumer. Commenters state that last year an entry-level Honda cost was about $18,000 but now the cost is $20,000. For some this might not be a big price change, but for people who are not looking to spend too much on a car this  price increase is huge. 

It is without a doubt some auto makers will lose their coveted ratings they previously had and this his an an impact on the consumer weigh when shopping for a new car. Auto makers will have to market how the price increase of their cars is actually an aid to the drivers safety.

What do you think about this new feature? 

Sizzling Steaks May Soon Be Lab-Grown 

Renata Garcia


Picture going to a five-star restaurant and ordering their most expensive steak on the menu. The steak comes out and you curiously ask your server what grade the meat is. He proceeds to tell you that the meat is actually made from animals cells that are cultured in steel tanks. How would you react?

Recently, technology has crossed new frontiers in computers, cars, and home life. Now, startups are striving to cross the next frontier, food. For several years, my family has been operating restaurants around Houston and suburbs of Houston. Our food prodcuts are always purchased weekly and we make it a goal for our ingrideients to be the best they can be. Now, imaging our steaks or chicken being grown by animal cells is simply absurd. So many components make up the delicious taste of steak. 

Several startups and researches have been teaming up to develop a new process to cultuallry grow meat and poultry products. The project to grow a burger in a lab was funded by Google Inc. for $330,000. Growing meat would similaar to the process of fermentors used to brew beer. The growing of cell derived meat will create far less waste and avoids the need for antibiotics and additives commonly used in meat production. One day, the food will become scarce, and the meat industry knows this. 

Recently, conumers have shifted the way the purchase food and aim towards more "organic" and "natural" products.
So now with food being made out of cells, costumers are skeptical of the meat industries goals. Generally, the process begins with isolating cow's cells with oxygen and nutrients such as sugars and minerals. Cells then develop insider bioreactor tanks into skeletal musicel that can be harvested between nine and 21 days. The cells and be drawn without the slaughtering of the animals which overtime will have an effect on the population of cows, etc.

The goal of the companies is to have new cell meat introduced in the restaurant scene in four to five years. 

Relating this to marketing, due to the unheard of method of grown meat from animal cells the companies are developing new market strategies to target uneasy consumers. Particularly, I think the companies should target supporters who are pro the movement of cell grown meat by providing tastings and showing the process in depth of how it works. They should also target consumers who are against the process because people tend to be weary of the unknown, so once they see how and what goes into growing these cells then their stance will change.