Susan Delacourt’s Shopping For Votes is an enjoyable read. Lots of nice detail helps illustrate some interesting events in Canadian politics. The Political Marketing Literature I, of course, have a couple of quibbles. 1) Firstly I feel that her main thesis wasn’t well developed or supported. She has clearly become familiar with the political marketing…
Category: Decision Making
US Individualism And A US Collective Identity
When I first moved to the US I couldn’t get over the flags. (It was summer of 2002 and flags were at their apex.) There were all sorts of flags, small flags, big flags, really big flags and blocks out the sun size. This very visible adherence to the country, the collective group, was startling….
Razorblades In Apples: Halloween Sadism Isn’t Real
One of my favorite academic articles is “The Razor Blade In The Apple” by Joel Best and Gerald T. Horiuchi. This fascinating piece investigates the idea of Halloween Sadism. Did the authors find extensive evidence of random strangers sadistically harming children? At the risk of spoiling the story; no of course they didn’t. Searching For…
Voters And Consumers
I recently read an interesting article in the Globe and Mail (a major Canadian paper). This talked about the political marketing techniques used by Canadian parties. The journalist asserted that “Canadian politics have moved into an era where voters no longer think of themselves as citizens, with duties and obligations and longer-term perspectives….” (Simpson 2013)….
Confusopoly
In the UK the agency responsible for promoting competition and generally getting consumers a good deal was the Office of Fair Trading, the OFT. (Written a few years ago this UK regulators have since changed). Interestingly this government agency used a concept from Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) to illustrate a major problem in competition….
Bold And Full Of Hope
Business academics sometimes aren’t very bold. Too often we concentrate on achieving something doable rather than trying something that is a stretch. I always think that if no one thinks you’ll fail there isn’t much point in what you are doing. So I appreciate it when plans are bold and full of hope. Even if…
Accounting For Profits And Decisions
Marketers, and business people more broadly, often use accounting profit to measure success. This isn’t too surprising. Often firms claim to be profit maximizing. Report something as profit and this sounds like something that should be maximized. That said, profits using in accounting and managerial decision-making are not really the same thing. Decisions taken to…
Defining Concepts
When examining any phenomenon you must properly define what you are examining. A good example of the problems that arise when not defining concepts is “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg. Great Stories Firstly, let me say that I enjoyed the book. The author packed it with fascinating stories. The book is well written….
Managers and Academics
I think one the great rifts between managers and academics in marketing has been caused by NPS. To be fair there is blame on all sides. Asking Questions As researchers and teachers we have a responsibility to advance the practice of marketing. This isn’t just about teaching technical skills. Knowing how to discount a cash…
Academics And Managers
The application of research is a big topic in marketing and academics and managers would be well served by acting together more. Is Useful Important? We debate whether we are useful or relevant. And then we debate whether we should care about whether we are useful or relevant. I think of myself as an academic…
