Archive for March 30th, 2011

NY Times & O’Reilly come together … rant over GE’s tax loopholes.

March 30, 2011

Disclaimer: I own GE stock and want the share price to go up … a lot.

The NY Time excoriated GE last week because the company paid federal income taxes in 2010.

According to the Times:

“As the company expanded abroad, the portion of its profits booked in low-tax countries such as Ireland and Singapore grew far faster … Since 2002, the company has eliminated a fifth of its work force in the United States while increasing overseas employment.

In that time, G.E.’s accumulated offshore profits have risen to $92 billion from $15 billion.”

Let’s frame the issue: GE paid no federal income taxes for 2 main reasons:

1) The company lost a boatload of money on GE Credit during the financial meltdown, and have carried over the losses.  The ultimate tax dodge: lose money.

2) GE makes a ton of money outside the U.S., pays taxes to local countries and doesn’t “repatriate” the profits back to the US.  That way, the company funds its international developments and keeps the $$$ away from the IRS.

Put succinctly by Seeking Alpha:

Why should GE, or any other company, have to pay U.S. tax on money earned outside the U.S.?

It makes perfect sense, from the perspective of the company and its shareholders, to keep the money outside America until the American politicians wake up and lower American tax rates to the point at which they are competitive with those in Singapore or Ireland.

GE choosing not to pay tax now by choosing to keep the money offshore isn’t really that different from a homeowner deciding not to sell his house now because he doesn’t want to pay the capital gains tax this year.

Up to a point, the decision on when to realize income is up to the taxpayer, not up to the New York Times reporter.

And whatever you might think about how influential GE or its tax department is, it’s not GE that sets the tax rate in Singapore or Ireland.

Seeking Alpha, Why G.E.’s Tax Reducing Strategies Are Legit,  March 27, 2011 

Note: O’Reilly hates GE … mostly because of his feud with Olberman and because he thinks that MSNBC operates as a White House press office.

See Bill and Lou Dobbs rant on GE …

Posted in GE, Taxes | 2 Comments »

Pepsi hypes social media … as share slides

March 30, 2011

There’s a nagging question: how to quantify the ROI of social marketing, and the impact on the bottom line.

Pepsi diverted its Super Bowl ad budget to its “Refresh crowdsourcing initiative” — an ongoing corporate citizenship effort that was cited by Ad Age as a factor in why Pepsi has slipped to third place behind Coke and Diet Coke in the US.

Pepsi’s argument: you’re either on the digital train or you’ll get left behind.

According to PepsiCo’s Director of Digital and Social Media:

  • Technology affecting our lives is nothing new. Once clocks were invented, we began living our lives by the clock.
  • There have been more apps downloaded since apps began than all the music downloaded from iTunes.
  • Kids are “addicted” to the iPad and think all screens are touch screens
  • Grandparents now have relationships with their grandchildren on Skype and Facebook.

Excerpted from: BrandChannel, PepsiCo Pumps Up Digital Fitness, March 24, 2011

Posted in Beverages - Soft Drinks, Internet - Soc Networking | Leave a Comment »

Ken gets a makeover … now, a“babe-magnet”

March 30, 2011

 Not me, silly …. Barbie’s “arm candy” in toyland.

I missed that Barbie dumped toy Ken in 2004, ending a 43 year relationship.  For the past 10 years, the jilted Ken toiled in obscurity.

Well, he’s back.

Mattel brokered a reconciliation between Ken and Barbie as part of its brand-marketing, sales-recovery strategy.

Ken’s remake has boosted the brand’s sales to $1.25 billion in 2010

* * * * *

Excerpted from: BW Magazine, “Why Ken Is the New Babe-Magnet in Toyland”  February 10, 2011 BW Magazine

The world’s most famous plastic couple – Ken & Barbie — is getting back together.

Ken’shandlers revamped his image, giving him a Justin Bieberesque makeover complete with floppy locks, skinny jeans, and graphic T-shirt.

That landed Ken a scene-stealing part in Toy Story 3, restoring him to his previous status of pop culture icon.  The filmmakers cast Ken as a vain, leopard-print-wearing metrosexual. In one scene, Ken cries: “I’m not a girl’s toy.”

Ken now has his own Facebook page and Twitter feed (sample tweet: “Weekend Ken-fession: I may have knocked somebody over while walking and playing Madden on my iPhone this morning. My bad.”).

Beaming with confidence after his big-screen debut, Ken won his ex back with professions of love on big-city billboards and ads in Us Weekly. One message: “We may be plastic, but our love is real.”

Despite Ken’s breakout movie role and his growing ranks of Twitter followers, his future depends, as always, on the woman he loves.

He’ll stay in the spotlight “unless he does something to really upset Barbie.”

Posted in Mktg - Brand Management, Mktg - Brandmarks & Logos, Mktg - Brands, Relationships - Loyalty | Leave a Comment »