CONTENT    PAST ISSUES    ABOUT STATE OF BUSINESS                                     Fall 2011 Vol. XXIII No. 2
	Dean's Letter DEPARTMENTS   The Pulse   Top Stories    In the News    The Coach    F1rst Person    Faces Rajeev Reports The Last Word PRINT EDITION   Download PDF     Robinson College @			Frank Blake took over as chairman and CEO of The Home Depot in 2007. With the mantra, "take care of associates and customers and the other things will take care of themselves," Blake has returned the company to its past prominence as one of the nation's top retailers. Read Rhonda Mullen's exclusive State of Business interview with this corporate leader who is as comfortable working in his stores as he is in the executive suite. Read the article Features Moving Targets The famous quote from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky applies to another legend, Robinson's own V. Kumar (VK). Said Gretzky, I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been." The same could be said of Kumar, whose forward-looking metric "Customer Lifetime Value" looks at a customer's future value and not previous buying performance. Gary McKillips writes about VK's extraordinary career and how CLV helps companies manage for profit. Read the article Look for extra content.   Social Media & the Three-Legged Elephant Guest writer Jake Ault, who formerly co-owned a branding firm and now teaches social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) at the Robinson College, explains the "long tail concept" of social marketing through the saga of the "three-legged elephant." Read the article Coming to the Table Ken Bernhardt - Taylor E. Little, Jr. Professor of Marketing - had a short-term problem and went looking for a short-term solution. He needed to fund moving expenses as part of a recruitment package for several potential marketing faculty at the Robinson College. But the state didn’t fund moving expenses, and without them, he couldn’t get the faculty he wanted. Read the article Beyond the Outfield Wall Marketing products and services through sports teams or individuals is a huge industry with very modest beginnings. Derek Schiller, executive vice president for marketing and sales with the Atlanta Braves, tells Gary McKillips how it started and how companies now regularly use fans' emotional connection to sports to promote their products and services. Read the article
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