Marketing professors write op-ed in national newspaper
Areas of Study , Faculty , Marketing Stories | Mar 28, 2012 | Nicole Gesualdo
Marketing professors Dawn Lerman and Luke Kachersky are the authors of a perspective piece published in yesterday’s Christian Science Monitor, a small but nationally distributed newspaper known as a platform for topics of national and international importance.
The professors’ op-ed plumbs the tension between the Occupy movement and some major U.S. brands that the movement has picked on. Are the Occupy protesters concerns valid, and do their anti-corporate campaigns serve the public’s interest? Lerman and Kachersky conducted research to find out, using data collected by Fordham’s Center for Positive Marketing, in which they both hold leading roles.
The center produces a unique analysis each quarter that assigns businesses a V-Positive score, which evaluates their positive effect on the well-being of the U.S. population. Which company topped that list most recently? Walmart — one of the main focuses of the Occupy movement’s ire. Amazon, another Occupy target, came in seventh nationwide, and Target itself came in 15th.
By railing against these companies, and potentially damaging them, Lerman and Kachersky argue, Occupy could be causing the American population more harm than good.
“Most of the companies targeted by Occupy provide a valuable service: helping to satisfy myriad needs,” the Fordham professors write. “And research shows that many of these companies provide a psychological value, as well – making consumers feel safe, satisfied, even happy.”
It’s a very interesting point — which is unsurprising coming from the Center for Positive Marketing, which has taken a place on the forefront of new and different thinking about marketing. Congratulations from all of us at Gabelli to Professors Lerman and Kachersky, whose full article you can read here:
