On the invitation of the Marketing Department, Professor Vineet Kumar from Yale School of Management gave a research seminar about “The marketing impacts of operations and technology: the case of movies by mail” on Friday, November 7^th. This research examines the rental-by-mail (RBM) business model, often called the “Netflix” business model. By developing a dynamic structural framework that is applicable for a variety of RBM services that include movies, games and books, he investigates consumers’ consumption and purchase decisions. His analysis suggests that consumers are forward-looking and strategically plan their consumption to maximize inter-temporal utility under the constraints of instantaneous quota and mailing time. Based on these insights on consumer behavior, he uncovers the optimal pricing and plan menu for the firm.

Vineet Kumar is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Yale School of Management. He received a Ph.D. in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University and taught at Harvard Business School as Assistant Professor of Business Administration from 2010 to 2014. His research interests focus on digital and social strategy. He has published in Marketing Science, Marketing Letters, and Harvard Business Review.

 

As a marketing major entering my senior year at UConn, I discussed the idea of doing an independent study with my advisor about how artists leverage social media marketing in the music industry. Starting off, I needed to pick a specific artist and track their use of social media to investigate its effect on music sales. Needless to say, I picked Taylor Swift, who I’ve been an active fan of for years.

Throughout September, I researched Swift’s social media evolution from creating a MySpace account up through her joining Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. I simultaneously reviewed her music sales and chart positions to see if I could connect the link between social media and sales. I noticed that Swift develops personal relationships with her fans by using social media as a channel to communicate not only her music, but also herself, as a person.

On a Thursday afternoon in early October I received a call from Swift’s team asking me to be a part of an exclusive Taylor Swift-related opportunity in two days. The invitation sounded almost too good to be true. So Saturday afternoon I traveled to Rhode Island, and I was subsequently shuttled over to Swift’s home. The entire experience was surreal.

I spent Saturday night at her home with several other fans and essentially hung out with Taylor Swift. We listened to the new album “1989” and got to hear the personal stories behind the songs. The listening session ended with a dance party to the lead single off the album “Shake It Off” where she singled me out amongst the crowd to dance with until the end of the song. Needless to say, I felt as if I was living in a daydream. That night we learned Swift and her team selected us because they had been looking for everyday, loyal fans on social media for months. Ironically, I became a part of my own social media project!

Upon getting home, I posted a Polaroid picture of Taylor and myself from the night on my social media accounts, and even my close friends were quick to dismiss it as photoshopped. The next morning, I woke up to find Taylor, herself, had Tweeted and Instagrammed our photo, validating the entire experience and essentially bringing my social media project full-circle.

A few weeks later, she posted a YouTube video that shows a behind-the-scenes look at the Secret Sessions she held at each of her four homes across the country. Fortunately, my one-on-one dancing session made the cut, which allows me to relive the entire experience.

So here I am back in the present, and all I can ask myself is this: what could the future possibly hold for me now? To be honest, I don’t have an answer, but I think Swift sums it up best with this lyric,

“It’s like I’ve got this music in my mind saying it’s gonna be alright.”

And it will be.

-Marc Castonguay

Every semester, our exciting Professional Selling Role-Play and Networking Event facilitates conversation between our students and sales professionals. This fall, over 35 students in the Professional Selling course acted out sales calls with professional representatives from 9 PSL partner companies. During the initial round of sales calls, our students met with company representatives and engaged in 20 minute rounds of calls.  Students with the highest scores proceeded to the final round of the competition. During the final round, they engaged in a sales call in front of a panel of representatives. We are pleased to announce this year’s winners are Hannah Kirsch and Amar Singh.

UConn’s Marketing Department offers students the experience and training to excel in professional sales. The Program for Sales Leadership (PSL), provides interactive classes, sales competitions, student-run organizations, and accredited professional sales internships to give students experiential learning and insights on career development. PSL also emphasizes the critical thinking, communication, and data-driven analytical approaches that today’s leading businesses value.

This year, the PSL Role Play and Networking Event brought together our partner companies with over 80 passionate professional sales students to discuss sales careers and opportunities. If your company is interested in building an enduring relationship with PSL, please contact the PSL Program at psl@business.uconn.edu.

Professor Junhong Chu from the National University of Singapore gave a research seminar on Friday, October 10 about “quantifying cross-network effects in online C2C platforms.” This research examines the phenomenal growth of Taobao.com, a key reason behind the largest-ever IPO by Alibaba Group in September. Taobao.com is an eBay-like consumer-to-consumer platform. Professor Chu’s analysis suggests a significant cross-network effect on both sides of the market: buyers and sellers. The installed base of either side of the platform has propelled the growth of the other side. However, the installed base of sellers has a much larger effect on the growth of buyers than vice versa. In light of the results in this study, Taobao.com has changed some of its policies to become more “seller friendly.”

Junhong Chu is an associate professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore Business School. She earned a Ph.D. in marketing and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Her research interests include structural modeling of consumer and firm behavior, two-sided markets, distribution channels, e-commerce, and retailing. Her research has appeared in Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and International Journal of Research in Marketing. She was a 2011 MSI Young Scholar.

by Rachel Miller ’14

NETWORKING. As a senior marketing major, this is a word I have become very familiar with over the past four years. Like other business majors, we are told that networking is one of the most valuable skills for business success. However, many times it is difficult to practice and become a “skilled networker” as a student. On February 10^th, at the Alumni and Student Networking Reception, the Marketing Department provided students the opportunity to improve their networking skills.

Despite relentless winter weather, the event was a success, and the Wilbur Cross library was filled with marketing students and faculty members. Keynote speaker John Fodor, a UConn alum and the Executive Vice President of Sales & Distribution for the Capital Group/American Fund, related how he used his business skills to quickly come up with a new family vacation after his family’s Caribbean flights were cancelled by an erupting volcano. Many of us are familiar with the stress of planning family vacations, and he used this relatable topic as a platform to highlight the importance of being prepared with a “plan B,” whether it is for a family vacation or a business deal.

At a large university like UConn, it can sometimes be difficult and intimidating for students to talk to alumni and faculty one-to-one. However, these networking events are one of the best ways to transfer what we learn in the classroom to the “real world.” These networking events transform “networking” from a familiar term to a practiced skill.

Click here to see more photos from the event.