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PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Business & Technology
1. Advertising: Super Bowl Ads Not as Effective as They Could Be 2. Advertising: Super Bowl Advertising/Marketing 3. Business: Counterfeit Items: They're Not Just at the Super Bowl Anymore 4. Business: National Clean Out Your Inbox Week 5. Business: Rally Around Your Mission Statement 6. Business: Recession Woes: Service is the Silver Lining 7. Business: Workplace Cultural Assessments in Mergers and Acquisitions 8. Finance: Traders Play Active Role in Price Discovery 9. Personal Finance: Refinancing Your Adjustable Rate Mortgage 10. Retail: Driving Sales with Customer Service 11. Workplace: Office Romance
**1. ADVERTISING: SUPER BOWL ADS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY COULD BE. STEPHEN BLESSING, assistant professor of psychology at THE UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA: "How effective are those 30-second Super Bowl spots in influencing viewers to purchase a given product? They're not always as effective as they could be. I have found that viewers seldom made a definitive connection between the commercials and the product being sold. Advertisers need to link their product into the viewer's existing memory structures, as well as promote new links, if viewers are going to be influenced toward purchasing the marketed product." News Contact:
**2. ADVERTISING: SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING/MARKETING. HARVEY HOFFENBERG, president of PROPULSION of New Canaan, Conn., an advertising/marketing/branding firm: "Given today's media muddle with dozens of ways to try to achieve product awareness, the Super Bowl remains one of the last true venues for mass national reach. While extremely costly, one smart commercial can bring immediate national attention, and increased sales, for a company or product. That's why companies — well-known, and those wanting awareness — are willing to spend up to
**3. BUSINESS: COUNTERFEIT ITEMS: THEY'RE NOT JUST AT THE SUPER BOWL ANYMORE. MATT YARBROUGH of the YARBROUGH LAW GROUP in Dallas: "Every company can learn about counterfeit protection by watching the merchandise sales at the Super Bowl. The National Football League and vendors selling authentic hats, T- shirts and other collectibles will be on the lookout for knockoffs. Some counterfeiting cases call for strong action. If someone is selling counterfeit merchandise, the clock literally is ticking. You want to shut down these people immediately, even if that means going to court, getting a warrant — even kicking in a door to seize counterfeit products." Yarbrough has represented several major corporations in protecting their brands against counterfeiters. News Contact: Mark Annick, mark@androvett.com Phone: +1-800- 559-4534 (1/29/08)
**4. BUSINESS: NATIONAL CLEAN OUT YOUR INBOX WEEK. MARSHA EGAN, workplace productivity expert and CEO of EGAN EMAIL SOLUTIONS: "Businesses have been grappling with the loss of worker productivity caused by the overwhelming influx of e-mail communication. It has caused some workers to declare e-mail bankruptcy and businesses to experiment with e-mail-free office days. However, those trends and quick fixes do little to improve and promote efficient e-mail habits that will save companies thousands of dollars in lost time." Egan can provide tips for businesses on maintaining their e-mail communications, such as challenging companies to empty their inboxes in a week, and requiring that e-mail not be used as an urgent communication tool and that employees limit the amount of times they check their e-mail. She has declared the week of
**5. BUSINESS: RALLY AROUND YOUR MISSION STATEMENT. KEITH AYERS, an international leadership and personnel development expert, points out that realignment starts with refocusing on a company's mission statement: "A number of large companies are appointing new leaders to realign their companies. The changes in leadership at a number of leading banks and lending institutions have occurred because the former chiefs moved away from their company's core purpose and values. A company's mission statement is meant to provide the values and course for long-term success. It addresses how every employee fits in to the mission of the company and what steps the company will take to ensure every employee can grow and learn through their tenure. If new leaders want to rally their companies, they will exemplify their businesses mission and highlight its intrinsic values to their employees. News Contact: T.K. Hall, tk@ictusinitiative.com Phone: +1-617-717-8294 (1/29/08)
**6. BUSINESS: RECESSION WOES: SERVICE IS THE SILVER LINING. MIKE LANDRY, CTO and founder, SERVIGISTICS: "During a recession or pre-recession, companies and consumers will delay purchases of new durable goods and maintain/repair their existing durable goods, which creates a hidden opportunity for durable goods manufacturers to up-sell SLAs while improving margins and customer loyalty. However, service operations need to be prepared. A dramatic increase in repair and maintenance calls can stress most service organizations, especially if their parts and technicians are not optimized." Landry can speak about the value of service as not only a profit lever for sagging new product sales, but also as a competitive differentiator. He can also discuss how poor customer service can kill a brand, while outstanding service delivery can boost profits and lead to additional sales. News Contact: Shannon Rentner, srentner@servigistics.com Phone: +1-770-565-2340, ext. 250 (1/29/08)
**7. BUSINESS: WORKPLACE CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS. BOB KUSTKA, a former Gillette HR executive and current HR consultant, can discuss why HR professionals need to pay attention to workforce cultures in mergers and acquisitions: "Companies are tightening their belts in lieu of an economic downturn and causing a number of businesses to either merge divisions or accept buyouts. A large proportion of mergers and acquisitions fail. A key contributing factor is that acquiring companies fail to take into account the merger of the cultures. Subsequently, they are not able to retain key talent and lose critical institutional knowledge necessary to drive their core business strategy." News Contact: T.K. Hall, tk@ictusinitiative.com Phone: +1- 617-717-8294 (1/29/08)
**8. FINANCE: TRADERS PLAY ACTIVE ROLE IN PRICE DISCOVERY. AMBER ANAND, associate professor in the Whitman School at
**9. PERSONAL FINANCE: REFINANCING YOUR ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE. ALAN KLAYMAN, founder of MYINCOMESTRATEGY.COM and personal finance expert, can address ways to save money so you'll have enough in retirement: "It's been a busy week. With a record-setting cut in the Fed Funds Rate, seriously consider refinancing your adjustable rate mortgage. Rates could go lower, but if you can lock in a fixed rate at or below historical averages, you will be well ahead of the game when interest rates head back up in the future. This is a perfect way to make your expenses more predictable and help you match your income and expenses for 2008 and beyond. Also, pay down any high-interest debt with the recently announced 'rebate checks.' If you don't have any high- interest debt, then add the rebate to your savings and continue to build your nest egg." News Contact:
**10. RETAIL: DRIVING SALES WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE. MICHAEL D. BROWN, a customer service consultant to Fortune 100 companies and author of "Fresh Customer Service," can discuss how layoffs in the retail industry are a mistake and that the only way to rebound successfully is by working with employees to provide the best customer service possible: "Rushed personnel cuts only provide temporary financial relief, especially for smaller companies. Minimizing staff puts the company at risk for much more painful, long-term problems when business finally picks up again. When shoppers are spending less and less money, companies should differentiate themselves by delivering the most remarkable shopping experience possible to the current customer base. Employees are a company's best tools to get out of a financial rut." News Contact: T.K. Hall, tk@ictusinitiative.com Phone: +1-617-717-8294 (1/29/08)
**11. WORKPLACE: OFFICE ROMANCE. MARJORIE BRODY, workplace/career expert and author, CEO of BRODY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, can discuss workplace romance in light of Valentine's Day: "I suggest the following six office romance dos and don'ts: 1) No public displays of affection — this includes sending e- mails that may be read by others; 2) Use your day to work, not flirt — the evening belongs to you; 3) Flowers and cards are appropriate in many instances, as long as they don't embarrass or put people on the spot; 4) It seems like a 'no brainer,' but many high-profile executives recently have forgotten — always avoid office relationships if one or both parties are married to others; 5)
SOURCE ProfNet
