Marketing

How much does that fancy $100-a-bottle department store perfume you wear really cost to make? The answer is one of the retail industry's dirty little secrets -- and with good reason.

For weeks, movie industry watchers have been commenting about the inadequacy of Disney's marketing campaign for John Carter, and ticket sales lived down to expectations. But the movie's not the Ishtar-level awfulness it's being made out to be.

With Jeremy Lin's standout performances bringing a sudden shine to the otherwise lackluster New York Knicks, a number of companies have hitched their wagons to his star to buff up their brands. And with the value of such an association easy to see, why wouldn't they?

Earlier this month, Apple's marketing department pitched iPad 2 as a great gift for Valentine's Day. But with the iPad 3 a mere three weeks from release, we have to call foul. A dozen roses may not last that long, but no one's buying a $499 flower arrangement.

LEGO's newest toys are drawing a some loud complaints from parents, who complain that the girl-centric marketing of the Friends line is sexist. In less than a month, a petition against it has generated more than 42,000 signatures and plenty of commentary.

Coca-Cola is finally giving consumers a glimpse of its secret formula -- but just a glimpse. Earlier this month, the formula was moved to its World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta as part of the company's 125th anniversary celebrations.

The nation's big retailers are betting on exclusive lines to ring up back-to-school sales, and also targeting kids and teens where they wile away the hours -- online -- with digital campaigns designed to both entertain and stoke a social-shopping experience tailor-made for the tech-savvy generation.

Call it opportunism, playing to weakness, or just marketing to pissed-off people: Targeting your competitor's customers after an unpopular move, one like that made by Netflix earlier this month, is kind of a no-brainer. NPR's Marketplace Tuesday called it "anger marketing." And Blockbuster knows...

Trefis currently has a $30 price estimate for LinkedIn stock -- about a third of the market price. Why the disparity? Take a look at the prospects for the three businesses that bring in the vast majority of LinkedIn's revenue, and the answer becomes clear.

McDonald's got a letter from 550 health experts Wednesday accusing the fast food giant of ignoring the impact its products -- and its marketing -- have on America's children. It's not the first such criticism of McDonald's, but so far, the attacks don't appear to have hurt its sales.