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With the emergence of the likes of Starbucks, Nestle's Nescafe sales have endured a slump. Can new stores on the high street and a youth campaign reverse the trend? By [...]

Well of course this war, Gulf War II, is very much like Gulf War I in its effects on the global leisure and tourism industries, right? They're both in the […]

Sir: The decision by Coca-Cola to remove BVO from its fruit and sports drinks is the latest example of how businesses are increasingly subject to the power of the consumer's [...]

CHARLOTTE BEERS, the first CMO of the United States, was appointed to her post in 2001--and was out of office less than 18 months later. Her demise resulted from disastrously [...]

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has reacted to complaints by companies whose advertisements have been deemed offensive, or misleading. As examples, the following companies are mentioned: Health Laboratories of North America, Eidos, and Hargreaves Lansdown. The ASA has also reacted to billboard advertisements.

The article discusses how a sense of identity is extremely important for fast food marketing worldwide.

GE Appliances is planning to invest heavily in the European market to sell its refrigerators. European refrigerators are traditionally much smaller than American ones, but market research suggests Europeans will be receptive to larger models.

Problems with Ikea customer service are discussed and resolved.

International professional service firms doing business in Europe should follow certain guidelines to ensure their success. They should determine their competitors in the market, which are likely to be different from those in the US. They should also make sure that their marketing initiative is not limited to public relations activities only. Moreover, service organizations should avoid setting billings targets for their CEOs or managing partners. Instead, they should be allowed to act as marketers and ambassadors of the firms to European contacts. Service companies should also ascertain what they want from their European clients, assess profit on a per-job or per-project basis, make clients aware of return on investment, market for the whole fiscal year, and recruit local marketing experts from outside the professional services industry.

The article describes the three groups of future consumers in Europe. The first group is called the Generation Y. Consumers in this group have few shared family activities and see virtual classrooms as an increasing part of their education. The second group is the Golden Grey consumers. They are relatively affluent and interested in more out-of-home activities. They are also individualistic and concerned with social acceptability. The last group is called European Globerations or transnational corporations.

The article focuses on the Internet banking services offered by financial institutions in Europe. According to a recent study by Paris-based BlueSky International Marketing, a market research firm tracking Internet trends and studying their clients' Web businesses, between November 1998 and June 1999, the number of Internet-bank sites in key European countries has more than doubled to 1,845 sites from 863. Even more surprising is the number of transactional "cyberbank" sites, where customers can transfer money, pay their bills and buy or sell their stocks and shares. In terms of absolute numbers of online-banking sites, BlueSky has discovered that Germany leads the way, with France the fastest-growing market and the number of British sites staying roughly static. Most growth in Internet banking seems to be coming from the small savings and loans, while other institutions are leveraging their Internet investments in multiple markets.