Customize Me: McDonald’s Testing Biggest Burger Change in Decades

Customers can use iPads to build their own burger.

McDonald’s of supersize fame is now exploring the “made-to-order” model, in an effort to compete with growing competition around the country.

Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/11/20/customize-me-mcdonalds-testing-biggest-burger-change-in-decades/#ixzz2lgACkA3N

1. If implemented, what will be the cons and pros of McDonald's entry in the made-to-order model?
2. In what sense may customization represent an effective opportunity for the company?

Edison Start Competition

For its 130th anniversary, Edison launched a competition to distribute 300 thousand euro to finance innovative ideas on Energy, Social Development and Smart Communities. Registration for the contest will open January 13, 2014.

Read more at: http://www.ticonsiglio.com/concorso-edison-start-300mila-euro-per-idee-innovative/?utm_source=emailcampaign368&utm_medium=phpList&utm_content=HTMLemail&utm_campaign=Nuovi+concorsi+e+assunzioni+con+Nestle%2C+Fao%2C+Edison%2C+Inps%2C+Max+Mara%2C+Granarolo

A 'Bounty' Of Confusion At Procter & Gamble

Walk into any grocery store and you will be amazed at the dozens of ways Bounty paper towels are packaged. In sizes ranging from regular, big, large, giant, super, jumbo and varying numbers of rolls per package, it is anything but simple when it comes to purchasing paper towels. To complicate matters, Bounty is sold in different configurations in competing stores and has a luxury (yes, really) offering called DuraTowel. Priced at about twice the cost of Bounty’s basic paper towel, DuraTowels come in different color packaging and are often located apart from Bounty’s other products.

Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/agoodman/2013/11/12/a-bounty-of-confusion-at-procter-gamble/

According to the article, P&G's line extension strategy has slowed its sales compared to competitors such as Unilever. The suggested formula to boost sales would then be to become innovative again. What would you consider an innovation for products like paper towels and dish detergents? In your first 90 days as the new Chief Innovation Officer, what are the issues you would like your team to work on?

Your late fees are waived: Blockbuster closes

"Be kind, please rewind," the signs used to say in video stores, urging customers to return their rented VHS tapes spooled back to the beginning.

If only Blockbuster could rewind back to the 1990s.

That was the time when the video chain was the colossus of the movie-rental business, with stores in seemingly every city shopping district and suburban strip mall in America. Visiting the store was a weekly rite for many people, who would show up on Friday evenings to check out the latest releases, navigating a crush of couples and families who had exactly the same idea -- only to find out that the last copy of "Air Force One" or "The Lion King" had already been snagged.

 

Read more at: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/06/tech/gaming-gadgets/blockbuster-video-stores-impact/?c=&page=3

 

1 - In what measure has Blockbuster failed to understand that customers' needs were changing?

2 - What is the panorama that the digital era is shaping for the movie entertainment industry?

Ryanair unveils new strategy - 'be nice to customers'

Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline, has promised to transform its "abrupt culture" in a bid to win customers from costlier rivals, admitting for the first time that a reputation for treating its passengers badly might have become a problem. 
The Irish firm, this week voted the worst of the 100 biggest brands serving the British market by readers of consumer magazine Which?, said on Friday it would become more lenient on fining customers over bag sizes and overhaul the way it communicates.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/20/ryanair-idUSL5N0HG1F020130920

If customers are not willing to pay less for an unfriendly customer relationship anymore, how Ryanair is supposed to change its BM's building blocks to implement a "be nice to the customers" strategy?