Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 28, 2011, 2:57 pm
Apple (AAPL) is fine. The competition that we see arising around the tablet category they created was to be expected, and if any, will only strengthen Apple. How come? Read my article in Seeking Alpha named "Apple: The Leader That Others Continue to Follow"
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 11, 2011, 8:34 pm
Today, two interesting announcements surfaced that will surely change the landscape in the heated smartphone arena, creating new opportunities for investors. One involves the creation of "Winkia": the strategic allegiance between Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT). The second one is about Apple (AAPL)...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 11, 2011, 9:27 am
I believe Sprint (S) has several competitive strengths that define a far more robust competitive position than many might want to give it credit for. Those strengths are a) compelling plans that are well communicated to consumers; b) superior customer service; c) the increasing popularity of Google'...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 1, 2011, 2:07 pm
Optimism about Ford (F) is no news: there is a positive sentiment in the Street about this company. For investors, though, the lingering question is whether this optimism is justified. Indeed, Ford was better able to weather the economic storm that brought its American peers to their knees, but does...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jan 26, 2011, 7:59 am
The Conference Board just reported January’s Consumer Confidence Index. According to their release, the Index increased in January to 60.6 (1985=100), up from 53.3 in December. While Consumer Confidence is a tide that lifts all boats, I believe there are a select number of stocks that will benefit...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jan 24, 2011, 12:56 pm
With both the pervasive role that smart phones are increasingly playing in our lives, and the advent of the iPad and the slew of me-too tablets in the making, the future of the PC -- be it desktops or laptops -- has been in question. However, I believe there is a role for the PC in this brave new wo...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jan 19, 2011, 8:17 am
On August 28th, 2010, I wrote the following ‘tweet’ in my Investbyads’ Twitter account: "At Lululemon's store yesterday. Great consumer experience. More to come on LULU." I never got to write the article I intended to on Lululemon Athletica (LULU). At that time, the share price for LULU was $...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jan 18, 2011, 9:12 am
The technology sector is one that I think can benefit immensely from taking a real consumer approach to their marketing and thus reap the rewards of leveraging the need for ‘more’. I am going to use the Home Wireless Networking sector as an illustration of this point, but the situation is replic...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jan 9, 2011, 11:07 am
No different than in other aspects of life, as consumers we are anything but rational. As a general rule, rationality kicks in just after we are emotionally committed to a decision. That applies to almost anything: from the impulsive decision of buying a pack of chewing gum at the convenience store�...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jan 5, 2011, 2:40 pm
The last part of 2010 and these first days of 2011 have been exciting indeed. It almost doesn’t matter what is in your portfolio: the best bet is it performed handsomely during the last few weeks. The big question now is: where to from here? I am very optimistic about 2011 prospects. There are sol...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 19, 2010, 11:38 pm
In a world regimented by the relationships we had to establish and upkeep in order to have a life, the role of branding was very clear. A brand was to project to others your personality and your character. The ensuing advertising was very straight-forward. A brand would show the type of character yo...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 19, 2010, 12:37 am
I strive to uncover interesting investment opportunities by looking for companies that, in my view, have been able to not only garner the right consumer insights, but have the skills and talent to translate them into great products with tremendous business potential; products that respond to the key...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 14, 2010, 10:01 pm
In one of the first postings in this blog, “Consumer Values to Look For”, I indicated that two of the key values driving consumer behavior nowadays are “Authenticity” and “Experiential Enablers”. Briefly, “Authenticity” has to do with the transparency and credibility a brand can comm...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 3, 2010, 7:24 am
In continuing with my investigation about Skechers (SKX) and its line of Shape-Ups shoes, I found this video clip from CNBC. I find it really exciting. Skechers is fully exploiting the potential of their radial technology. I see the current price drop as a significant opportunity to accumulate shar...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Aug 24, 2010, 7:30 pm
Procter & Gamble (PG) has done a fantastic job in revitalizing an old brand, Old Spice. The "Manly Man" campaign with its tongue-in-cheek attitude and bigger than life character has put Old Spice back in the minds of consumers. What is most commendable is the brilliant activation of the campaign via...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jul 30, 2010, 4:30 pm
Success in marketing requires of the right convergence of several factors: a) the existence of a real, unfulfilled consumer need; b) a product proposition that effectively addresses such need; c) the ability to not only get the consumers to know of such product proposition, but to believe it; and la...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Jun 6, 2010, 11:31 pm
My case is simple. I submit that Sprint (S) doesn’t deserve the poor reputation it has among most consumers anymore. And I expect that sooner rather than later consumers will realize that Sprint is a very smart choice. My case is based on Sprint's sound marketing and on my own experience. It’s b...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - May 30, 2010, 9:03 pm
The ‘digital ink’ was not yet dry in my previous post “Apple vs. Microsoft: embracing the Zeitgeist - Part 1” , when Apple (AAPL) surpassed Microsoft (MSFT) in market capitalization. And consistent with the case I’m making in these articles, I'd expect that difference to widen in the futur...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - May 10, 2010, 7:59 pm
In my last post, "The Spirit of the Times", I discussed how, in order to be successful today, a brand needs to embrace the zeitgeist or the spirit of the times. Today I will start illustrating this idea with a series of very investable examples. The most influential brand of our time is, by far, App...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Apr 26, 2010, 9:00 pm
In a world regimented by the relationships we had to establish and upkeep in order to have a life, the role of branding was very clear. A brand was to project to others your personality and your character. The ensuing advertising was very straight-forward. A brand would show the type of character yo...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Apr 20, 2010, 7:21 pm
Two years ago, I wrote a couple of posts in this blog where I discussed the new principles of Marketing that the readers should look for in order to spot products and companies with potential to become lucrative investments. These articles where "Cracking the consumer code" and "Consumer values to l...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Apr 4, 2010, 9:56 am
Best Buy (BBY), in general, puzzles me. I haven't had a decent shopping experience at Best Buy in several years now. I guess it's just because they have a decent array of items that people default to this chain. Stores often look in disarray: empty shelves, displays half-done, and a most frustrating...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Mar 5, 2010, 6:07 pm
Several months ago, I stopped by the Home Depot (HD) to buy a few supplies for one of those DIY projects I embark upon once in a while. I have to say that, up to that point, I had a preference for Lowe's (LOW), which I found to be somewhat more pleasant to shop at. That day, something had changed at...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Mar 5, 2010, 6:07 pm
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 25, 2010, 2:45 pm
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 25, 2010, 2:45 pm
This is one of the best summations I've seen of the characteristics of a successful brand in the new society. Look for these attributes to find promising investment ideas!What Is An Experience Brand Jack MortonView more presentations from Jack.
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 23, 2010, 6:30 pm
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 23, 2010, 6:30 pm
It's been more than a year now since my last post. Surely, this is not the way to keep a blog alive and interesting! During this year, I've opened this blog more times than can be counted, wanting to start writing again and sharing my views on what was going on with the market and the companies I sa...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Feb 1, 2009, 9:46 am
Know thy customer… and don’t mess up with him. Even less in the Web 2.0 era, in which news spread like wildfire and disgruntled customers can very quickly come together and turn into a virtual lynching mob against you. In this era, serious, organized, massive boycotts can happen, and can be trig...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Nov 13, 2008, 9:08 pm
It’s been several weeks since my last post. At that time, I was reeling from the beating we took during that dramatic first week of October. Little I knew of what was ahead. Paraphrasing myself: Gosh, what a month! Encouraging performance today. The market was just following the free fall trend th...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Oct 11, 2008, 1:03 pm
Gosh, what a week! Just last Sunday I wrote in a comment that I just hoped we hit Dow 10,000 this last week to get over with it. Right… be careful what you wish for! I have no quantitative basis to say that the market couldn’t go any lower. But at Dow 8,500, a level not seen in six years –and ...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 28, 2008, 8:20 pm
“From Your Desk Drawer to Delicious - in 90 Seconds. People on the go expect more from their meals. You want it fast, you want it tasty and you want the convenience of packaging that lets you eat without disrupting your busy schedule” Hormel Foods (HRL) got that right! I discovered Hormel’s l...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 21, 2008, 5:46 pm
Amidst jittery financial markets and government bailouts, the average Joe is still facing tough economic times and looking for ways to save money. In continuing with the discussion initiated in my post “May you live in interesting times”, we are looking for the companies that are building on the...
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Rafael G. posted an article on Investing by Advertising - Sep 17, 2008, 6:39 pm
This has been a scary week indeed! It is in situations like this one that investors like you and me freeze and really don’t know what to do. Most of your investments are in deep red and you wonder whether to sell and cut your losses or just weather the storm and hope for better times. Anyway, how ...
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