1

March 2011: Vol. 6, Issue 3

Marketing Monthly

Blue Bell Field Trip

On February 11, Steve McDaniel took the MS-Marketing students on a field trip to Brenham for an afternoon at Blue Bell. They were hosted by CEO Paul Kruse and his executive team, who divided the students into groups of 4-5 and took them on a VIP tour of the factory floor. Following the tours, which concluded with generous and repeated servings of ice cream, Mr. Kruse and his managers invited the students into the Blue Bell Board Room for a presentation and Q&A session.

The students really appreciated Mr. Kruse’s candor in describing Blue Bell’s constant battle with supermarkets, many of which have their own private brands of ice cream and are resistant to giving Blue Bell adequate storage space. In spite of these distribution battles, Blue Bell has a 53% dollar market share in Texas, is #1 nationally in sales per point-of-distribution, and is steadily growing. Mr. Kruse informed the students that Blue Bell was just announcing that day their next new market -- Denver, Colorado -- complete with a new flavor designed exclusively for that market –Rocky Mountain Road.

Brenham, Where The Cows Think It’s Heaven

Spring Robinson with Paul Kruse, CEO, Blue Bell

Advisory Board Meeting

The MS-Marketing Advisory Board held its annual Spring meeting on February 16. Attending the meeting were Board members:

Charlie Adams (PwC)John Balkema (Caterpillar)Kevin Ball (Hastings)Jeff Borgan (Curtiss Wright)Sandi Means (Freshworks/7-Eleven)Steve Moore (TAMU)David Paradis (Tyco)Tasha Proske (Alvarez & Marsal Business

Consulting)Andie Wright (Convectus Solutions

Consulting)

Steve McDaniel, Director of the MS-Marketing Program, conducted the meeting. Stacey Cole, Assistant Director of Graduate Business Career Services, and Paige Melvin participated in the afternoon session. Paige, one of our first-year MS-Marketing students, gave a presentation on strategic development initiatives and answered questions.

The Advisory Board members also had a Q&A session with all the MS-Marketing students. The most lively discussion resulted from a question by MS-Marketing student, Michael Hodges, who asked whether students should seek an internship that is out of their comfort zone or something that is safer and they’ll more likely enjoy. No consensus was reached – some Board members felt students should break new ground and try new things. Others felt that an internship is a 10-week job interview, and that students should take on something at which they will excel and hopefully get a job offer from the experience.

2

Master of Science in Marketing News

Former Student Panel

Four former MS-Marketing students joined Steve McDaniel’s MKTG 670 Marketing Leadership class on February 22:

Cathy (Elmer) Harper ’01 (MisterArt.com)Yvonne (Yanta) Bourquin ’02 (AMD)Justin Cade ’04 (BP)Diana Dao ’08 (PwC)

The first thing the graduates did, was share the “biggest surprises” they experienced in their first jobs. Diana Dao said her biggest surprise was that “there is no 40-hour work week” and how important it is to have a boss you get along with. The other three former students all cited their surprise at how everything in marketing is tied into “financials” and that marketing is so “metrics-oriented.” They said they wish they would have gotten a stronger base in finance, accounting, and the use of Excel.

Yvonne Bourquin and Cathy Harper

Diana Dao and Justin Cade

3

Congratulations, Rajan!

Sheth Foundation Best Paper Award

Each year, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science selects a paper published in the preceding year to receive the Sheth Foundation Best Paper Award.

This year, the journal’s Editorial Review Board has voted to present Rajan Varadarajan’s paper, “Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises,” with this best paper award for Volume 38 of JAMS.

The Sheth Award will be presented at the Awards Ceremony at the annual Academy of Marketing Science Conference in Miami in May 2011. Rajan will receive a plaque acknowledging his achievement, and there will also be an award announcement in the summer issue of JAMS.

Naresh K. Malhotra Best Paper Award for Long Term Contribution

Emerald is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2011 Review of Marketing Research Naresh K. Malhotra Best Paper Award for Long Term Contribution is "Toward an integrated model of business performance" by Sundar Bharadwaj and Rajan Varadarajan. The chapter was published in the inaugural issue of Review of Marketing Research (Volume 1, 2005, pp.207-244).

The award, which looks to recognize the impact that an article can have in the years following publication, is given for the article that makes the greatest long-term contribution amongst those published in the Review of Marketing Research.

Please join us in offering Sundar and Rajan sincere congratulations for their outstanding contribution to the field. The award was presented to them at the MR SIG meeting during the AMA Winter Educators’ Conference.

The 2011 Mays Marketing Research Camp will be held Friday, April 1, 2011, and will feature the following presenters.

Gary Frazier--Richard and Jarda Hurd Chair in Distribution Management and Marketing and Editor-in-Chief-Elect, Journal of Marketing, University of Southern CaliforniaSanjog Misra--Associate Prof. of Marketing and Applied Statistics, University of RochesterCait Poyner Lamberton--Fryrear Faculty Fellow and Assitant Prof. of Business Administration, University of PittsburghRishika Ramkumar--Assistant Prof. of Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University

This will be the sixth successive year of the Mays Marketing Research Camp. Previous camps have featured scholars from the following universities.

Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Duke University, New York University, Dartmouth College, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California, University of Florida-Gainesville, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Georgia State University

4

AMA Winter ConferenceOur department was very active at the Winter AMA conference held in Austin, February 18-20.

Rajan Varadarajan chaired two very successful sessions: Strategic Marketing and Marketing Strategy 3.0: Foundational Issues and Research Priorities - Sessions I and II

Len Berry chaired the session: Transformative Service: Tackling Health and Wellness at Work and in School. Ann Mirabito participated in the panel.

Rajan Varadarajan, Gautham Gopal and Venky Shankar participated in the Special Session on Innovation Strategy panel.

Charles Futrell participated in the panel, A Half-Century of Sales Research. How We Got Here and Where We are Heading.

Venky Shankar participated in the panels: MSI 50th Anniversary: MULTI-CHANNEL CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR and the Special Session: The ISMS-MSI Practice Prize: History and Impact of the ISMS-MSI Practice Prize

Alina Sorescu participated in a panel on the marketing finance interface. Alina was also an invited participant at the DocSig Mentor’s Breakfast, an informal breakfast meeting of doctoral students and faculty.

Papers co-authored by our faculty and doctoral students presented at the conference:

How Task-Facilitative Interactive Tools Foster Buyers' Trust in Online Retailers: A Process View of Trust Development in the Electronic Marketplace, by Pranjal Gupta, Manjit S. Yadav, and Rajan Varadarajan

Online Traffic and Firm Value, by Alina Sorescu, Texas A&M University; Manjit Yadav, Texas A&M University; Ying Zhu, Texas A&M University

Seeing the World through GREEN-tinted Glasses: Motivated Reasoning and Consumer Response to Environmentally Friendly Products, by Kelly Haws, Texas A&M University; Karen Winterich, Penn State University; Rebecca Walker Naylor, The Ohio State University

Congratulations!

5

Authors: Kelly L. Haws and Karen Page Winterich. (Authors contributed equally.)

Journal: Journal of Consumer ResearchTitle: Helpful Hopefulness: The Effect of Future Positive Emotion on Consumption

Author’s Note: Three of the studies presented in this manuscript were conducted in the Jeffrey S. Conant Behavioral Research Laboratory, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. The authors gratefully acknowledge data collection assistance from Wendy Castro and Tyler Sorensen and financial assistance from Mays Business School.

Abstract: Though positive affect may enhance self-control, some research suggests this is not always the case. To clarify this relationship, we investigate the role of temporal focus on the effect of specific positive emotions on self-control dilemmas in snack consumption. In four studies, we demonstrate that participants experiencing a future-focused positive emotion (i.e., hopefulness) consume less unhealthy food and have lower preferences for unhealthy snacks than those in a past or present-focused emotion state (i.e., pride , happiness). We demonstrate the role of temporal focus through its natural occurrence in emotion induction essays (study 1), chronic temporal focus (study 2), and manipulation of anticipated versus retrospective emotional states (study 3). A fourth study demonstrates that self-control benefits do not arise from future-focused negative emotions (i.e., fear) as they do from future-focused positive emotions. These results suggest that consumers may benefit from adapting the temporal focus of positive emotions to the future.

Authors: Alina Sorescu, Prokriti Mukherji, Rajesh Chandy and Jaideep Prabhu

Journal: Journal of MarketingTitle: Behemoths at the Gate: How Incumbents Take On Acquisitive Entrants (And Why Some Do Better Than Others)

Abstract: Corporate acquisitions are a ubiquitous feature of today’s business landscape, and a widely used means by which large firms enter new markets. As large acquirers swoop in to acquire firms in new markets, they are almost inevitably met with a chorus of concerns about the potential effects of their actions on the markets they enter. What is the actual impact of acquisitive entry by large firms on the strategies and performance of incumbents? How do incumbents reconfigure the way in which they compete after a behemoth enters their market? The authors focus on an important facet of firms’ competitive positions --their product mix -- and propose a theoretical framework that seeks to explain incumbent firms’ responses to acquisitive entry by large firms. They test the hypotheses that result from this framework by examining the impact of acquisitive entry across a large number of firms and consumer markets over time: the data covers 839 acquisitions in 583 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the US banking industry. Results indicate that incumbents are more likely to align their product mix strategy with that of the acquirer if (a) the incumbent is large; (2) the acquirer’s past performance has been strong; and (3) the market served by the incumbent is small. The authors also find that these reactions have significant performance consequences for incumbents, and that large incumbents that deviate from acquirers’ product mix strategy perform better than other incumbents.

Dept. Head Rajan Varadarajan recently announced that two of our faculty received journal acceptances on the same day. He reports he is “looking forward to more such days, weeks and months.”

Retailing Summit 2011Theme: “Key Issues & Future Vision”

October 6-7, 2011The Ritz-Carlton in Dallas

Sponsors to date include:

BDO, Gardere Wynne & Sewell, and SAS.

Confirmed speakers include:

Alex Smith, CEO, Pier 1 ImportsGary Kusin, senior advisor, TPG Capital; former CEO FedEx Kinko’sTom Lamb, SVP of Marketing, Lowe’sGroupon –Either CEO Andrew Mason, President Rob Solomon, or PR VP Julie MosslerRaj Sisodia, author, professor, Conscious CapitalismBob Huth, CEO, David’s Bridal

Please visit retailingsummit.org to learn more.

InvitationGallery Furniture Dedication ceremony

On Tuesday, March 29, the Center for Retailing Studies will formally dedicate the Gallery Furniture Retail Lobby. Faculty are invited to the 12:30 luncheon in the Cocanougher Center. A ribbon cutting ceremony and desserts will follow in the CRS offices. Please RSVP to the luncheon at lslaydon@mays.tamu.edu

Congratulations!Congratulations to Lindsay Slaydon, who recently

earned the professional designation “Certified Meeting Professional” or “CMP.”

Based on her experience in program coordination at CRS and in previous positions, she was admitted to take the national level examination. Following months of study, she sat for her exam January 8. Of course, she passed.

The Convention Industry Council (CIC) certifies individuals through the internationally recognized certification program that evaluates the competency of meeting professionals in strategic event planning, financial and contract management, facilities, logistics, and programs.

The CMP program is the foremost certification of the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. The designation of CMP recognizes individuals who have achieved the industry’s highest standard of professionalism.

We appreciate her dedication to building these skills, and congratulate her on a job well done!

6

Center for Retailing Studies News & Updates

7

Center for Retailing Studies

During the past month, the Center for Retailing Studies welcomed seven executive professors from Sewell Automotive, H-E-B, Pareto Marketing and Walmart. Below are a few notable real life business lessons shared with students:

Mike NewkhamUnit DirectorH-E-B – Hiring the Best

Over 8,000 people applied for the 320 positions at the Tower Point H-E-B store. In a nearly ten step hiring process, Mike Newkham determinedly hired the best for his store. For the first time in the company’s history, all candidates completed an online assessment gauging their compatibility with the company’s high values of service, excellence and

ethics. Just under 1,000 were invited to the store for group interviews. In groups

of 25, applicants were asked to create a weekly meal deal for the store showing their creativity and interest in food. Next, they had to sell the meal deals to interviewers who were judging their communication skills. Personalities came out when each applicant drew a self-portrait of what position they wanted in the store. Mike joked, “There were a lot of stick-figures that said ‘my job.’”

The 90,000 square foot store is the ninth Mike has opened for the company. He began his career 24 years ago. He told students, retailing is never the same. It is filled with challenges and reward. Mike has moved over 20 times for the company during his career. When asked what were his three most

difficult days in retailing, he replied, “two involved hurricanes.”

John GoodmanPresident, Pareto Marketing,

“How many decisions do you make that really change your life? Not that many,” says John Goodman. This is the rationale behind the Pareto Principle. To drive profits and manage limited resources, focus on the “80/20 rule”. Direct marketing efforts toward the small percent of customers who drive the largest part of total profits. Such effective targeting eliminates waste, saving time and money.

Goodman showed students how marketers utilize data to create customer segmentation models that separate enthusiastic customers from casual shoppers. For example, when a big box chain opened shop next to PetZoo, a regional retailer, Pareto advised the boutique not to compete in ad dollars. They couldn’t. Instead, create events that connect your customer to the store and build long time loyalty. From Halloween costume parades, to holiday stocking stuffer give-aways, to in-store bird house building events, PetZoo survived and thrived with a highly targeted contact strategy.

Reveille sits for Leslie Kutzenberger (HEB Store Leader) and Mike Newkham

Executive professorsSee complete spring calendar of executive professors.

Laurie Marshall has once again succumbed to the charms of a pretty canine face… One Sunday morning in late February, Laurie took her two dogs to the dog park and returned home with a fraction more. While there, she met a student who had just been accepted to a PhD program in Manhattan, and after chatting with her for over two hours, the student offered one of her tiny dogs to Laurie. (Look at that face, could you resist?)

This tiny four pound seven-month-old Mexican is a HUGE change for Laurie who is used to hundred pound German working dogs. Gabi may be physically small, but her attitude is not! In many ways, she’s just like a regular dog (though she is actually replacing Laurie’s cat).

8

On a Personal Note…

We want to include your news items in the next issue. Please submit them to Laurie Marshall at lmarshall@mays.tamu.edu,

Advisors’ Corner

Leslie recently spoke to the Regents’ Scholars at Mays Business School about the marketing major and possible career paths in marketing. She also participated in Aggieland Saturday on February 19th, representing the Marketing Department and talking about our curriculum and programs to prospective students and their parents (and distributing select pages from the MM).

Texas A&M Collegiate Sales ContestMarch 5, 2011

Once again, TAMU is holding a Collegiate Sales Contest (CSC). The previous CSC was held in 2009. Organized jointly by the Marketing, Agricultural Economics, and Industrial Distribution Departments, this competition puts students into a mock business-to-business interview selling situation. Students are judged by professionals on their performance and graded accordingly.

This is a great learning experience for students with aspirations in a sales related career. Interaction with the numerous selling professionals involved in the contest provides participants with many opportunities to network and gain great business contacts. All majors are eligible to participate.

All participants will receive a certificate of participation and a TAMU Sales Contest

commemorative lapel pen. The first place winner will receive $1000, second place-$700, third place-$500 and fourth place-$300. All participants reaching the semi-final round will receive $100.

The contest will be held in Wehner. Actual contest interviews will be held in the Wehnervideo labs with the awards banquet taking place in the Cocanougher Center.