response to Nick's post on eco friendly products

Is it right environmentally friendly pens are more expensive than regular pens?

It does not seem like the most ethical way to go about it. Charging more because they know people will want to buy them more than regular pens seems to me like the wrong way to go about it. If that is their marketing plan then the best way for them to get away with it, would be to not make it known. If a company is making it known that they are charging more just because they can, then I do not see that giving them a good image. I would not buy from a company that would take advantage of consumers like that, even if the product is good for the environment.

When it comes to how you view a company, what is the more important factor; the benefits of their product, or the image and ethics of the company?

Response to Cody's blog on Bundling products for sale

Why do so many consumers fall into the trap of bundling?

When consumers go shopping a common habit is want to get more for their dollar. People enter the grocery store with lists at times with only the need to pick up what is on it, but their are times where they come across deals that they were not expecting. This is where the bundling happens. People see something that they feel they could use and also see that is on sale. They end up not being able pass up the opportunity. Its not the worst thing either though, as long as the food they buy is being used.

Would identifying sales before going to the grocery be a good option in avoiding bundling?

HTC marketing blitz to squeeze 2013 margins

This article that i found discusses how Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC will struggle its margins this year as it increases its marketing spending in order to catch up to rivals Samsung and Apple.

They are attempting to improve their marketing execution. They want to integrate the product, brand, and marketing all together for the first time. The digital media marketing budget will be expanding 250 percent year-on-year for the first half of this year, while the traditional media budget will double. Investors, however, have been cautious about the HTC One's longer term prospects as both Apple and Samsung have more money to spend and more established brands. 

What brand do you prefer out of the three? (HTC, Apple, or Samsung) Have you had any bad experiences with HTC that has caused to to lose interest in their products?

G.M. and Mountain Dew Pull Ads after Criticism for Racial Insensitivity

I found this article on the New York Times website, and it shows that you have to be careful when putting together ad that may be insensitive to certain audiences. G.M. just pulled back an ad for the Chevrolet Trax, a small utility vehicle that is sold in countries including Canada, that takes place in the 1930s and features a modern remix from a song of that era that included references to Chinese people using phrases like "ching ching, chop-suey."Advertising standards  Canada advised GM to remove the lyrics from the song and just keep the melody. GM decided that the best decision would be to remove it from the canada TV completely and from the online websites in Europe where it was also airing.

Mountain Dew's ad featured a battered waitress, bandaged and on crutches, trying to identify the suspect who had hurt her when she ran out of Mountain Dew to serve. The lineup included African-American men, with names like LBoy, Tiny and Beyonte,  and a goat. The waitress, who happens to be white, struggles with the decision while a menacing voice over for the goat claims that he did it. The goat threatens her and she backs out of the identification process too scared to make a choice. 

Its easy to see how these two ads can be perceived as insensitive or hurtful to people. Race is not something that can be taken lightly at this present time. 

Why would a company even take a risk at developing an ad that could be insensitive to race? How could they view that as a good risk to take?