Candy Land market on the Halloween Rise

Summary: The annual post-Halloween tradition in the market has become buybacks and donations of large quantities of leftover candy. This trend started in the dental industry, when a movement began to buy excess candy from kids as outreach, preventing obesity and potential cavities. Charities made for the benefit of veterans and current soldiers then drew from this effort, offering to accept donations from children as substitutes for packing peanuts in packages sent to soldiers. Operation Gratitude and Soldier's Angels are examples of organizations participating, and they put forth the effort to give to soldiers a gift providing joy in difficult times. Schools across the country will begin November 1st to collect donations for the candy-drive, sometimes with a necessary restriction on limit, 1 gallon average. Founder of Operation Gratitude Carolyn Blashek comments that she had no idea the donations would take off. The nonprofit never considered these results, which have included involvement of schools, churches, homeowners associations, restaurant chains and individual families, bringing in semi-truckloads full of candy. This year, Americans alone expended $2.7 billion on Halloween treats, and every year, mountains, valleys of candy are wasted. In this want to provide the needy with material, there is a consumer effort to put candy waste to good use! However, this need is specialized. It is wrong and sad in ignorance to dentists and others, that lots of candy ends up donated to food banks, soup kitchens and on the plates of poor children. There is not a need for these sweets in shelters for the hungry; they need real meals! There are also sites that make contributing easier, started by dentists and run by them, like HalloweenCandyBuyback.com. These sites help people to find locations where they can donate candy if they do not have the connection already. Bright Side Dental had received donations totaling 5,000 pounds of candy, doubling compared to the previous year. Quote from article: "At first, we wondered if kids would give up their candy,” said Pam Lenning, a spokeswoman for Bright Side Dental. “It’s been the complete opposite. They love it, and they’re very willing to donate. It’s turned into this fun thing in the community.”As the Holiday grows, the need to recycle and contribute to society grows; it is heartening to see this effect in the market.
Analysis: Consumers accepted the alternative, of giving away candy instead of hoarding it, both because of abstaining's health benefits and expectations; there is a drive toward both a healthier body and a healthier lifestyle in the media currently, removing clutter or junk. Incentives to donate for children and families participating are also the feeling of having contributed to society in a positive way, spreading the happiness sweets provide to people fighting for their counties, and the thought in mind of a loved one who is fighting or else in memory of one who has passed away. The involvement of growth in the market for candy may be unhealthy in terms of human welfare, but the twist of its involvement in charity funds, and for the benefit of sick or poor children; that is an amazing turn around in the community.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/business/where-mountains-of-halloween-candy-go-the-morning-after.html?ref=business&_r=1

Hasbro? Hasgirl!

Summary of Article: The article titled "You go, girl! Hasbro soars thanks to Disney Princesses" was published on Cable News Network(or CNN)'s online site October 17, 2016. The author of the article, Paul La Monica, wrote the piece accompanied by an interview given on the cable network's TV channel with Brian Goldner, Hasbro's current CEO since May 2008.
Video summary: Goldner does not comment on rumors of a Hasbro-Mattel merger, instead choosing to speak on the newest lines of Hasbro toys across the world, including Play-Doh and Nerf. Their consumer products include toy and game brands, such as partner brands Star Wars (which earned Hasbro 500MN last year) and Marvel. The company has also created Transformers Live, a theme-park in China. The company has stage shows in Latin America with brands like My Little Pony, and their largest brand in China is animation. Hasbro focuses on traditional toys as well as the newer digital age, specifically with Play Doh, which has grown as an industry over the last three years following newer innovations. Customization options in Nerf guns, the brand most successful in the company in the last year, have also increased sales.
Article summary: Reported first Monday morning, Hasbro's stock has surged, largely thanks to the toy company's sales of Disney Princess dolls, particularly from the Frozen franchise. Sales in toys for boys went up just 2% from 2015, while girl's toys have increased by 57%. Hasbro's top rival Mattel, also mentioned above in the video, once had this partnership with Disney, which has since been taken by Hasbro. Now Hasbro is reaping the financial benefits of their new business alliance with Disney, but interestingly, CEO Brian Goldner refrained from mentioning the new Star Wars toys that came out at the end of last month, linked to Disney because they now own the Star Wars brand, writes La Monica. This could be because revenue has been less than that of the first movie, The Force Awakens, which is to be expected. Hasbro's stock is up more than 20% this year thanks to other sales from the Trolls movie, and the new Mickey Mouse Play Doh products. Not that Mattel is far behind; they are enjoying the revenue gained from Fisher Price, Barbie, and the new Jurassic Park toy rights won from Hasbro.
Further Information and Analysis (of article and video combined): 
The author of this article, and the interviewer in CNN's video clip, both have the motive of keeping up a positive relationship with Hasbro in interview questions and portrayal, given that they want the views interest in Hasbro provides CNN. The interviewer and La Monica have also interviewed Brian Goldner before, once September 26, 2016, and again a year back for La Monica, April 16, 2015. Interesting, also, is La Monica's interest in the September issue regarding the release of the Rogue One Star Wars toys, and disappointment in the more recent article I am discussing. This is probably due to the fact that no increased revenue has been reported concerning these particular toys, something that La Monica hoped to predict. CNN also appears to pit Mattel and Hasbro further in their discussions of both businesses' partnerships, considering in particular the lost alliance between Mattel and Disney's Star Wars, which now belongs to Hasbro. This relationship is a clear demonstration between two big toy brands, their competition for a place in the market, and what is gained and lost through that economic relationship. The targeted audience appears in places to be businesses refusing to take young girls into account as consumers. Because girl's toys have increased in sales by 57% since last year, toy markets are realizing that they have to take that audience more seriously, whereas before, it was as though there was a push, particularly in the cartoon industry, toward more boyish themes. Companies like Cartoon Network have made the excuse before that the reason their shows are not more girl-friendly is because girls don't pay money for their toys. But through a company like Hasbro's demographics, it is clear that that is not the case! I already knew that Hasbro made toys like play-doh and star wars toys from what I witnessed my younger siblings buy, but I hadn't before connected them to so many brands! It is amazing what kind of expanse a big toy company like this can cover in terms of how many brands they are in partnership with. I had never really heard of Mattel, though I am familiar with both Barbie and Fisher Price. Is this perhaps because their name is less out there on the branding? I remember seeing Hasbro on different packaging, but never Mattel! Maybe I just had less of this brand of toy growing up. The reason this article was written was for those interested in how Hasbro is doing in the market, and to advertise Hasbro's new toys to adults. The kind of innovation and involvement in communities across the globe Goldner speaks of is intriguing to parents, and a kind of persuasion tactic on Golder's part, to push people into trusting Hasbro's ethical outreach, and innovative method! The article is trying to convey, also, that girl's toys matter, and that paying attention to these details in a company can help decide what to spend money on, determining what amount of quantity demand will make the most profit. This article is relevant to our lives today because not every big company is trustworthy; it is important to evaluate every aspect of their connections, interaction within the world, et cetera. Even if the product appears to be something as innocent as a child's toy.
Link to Source: http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/17/investing/hasbro-disney-princess-frozen-girls-toys/index.html?iid=SF_LN

Who you gonna call? (When there is a devastating hurricane)

Summary of Article: This article was published online at National Geographic, written by Kristin Romey, with photography taken by Andrew McConnell, and published October 6, 2016. The article, Pictures Reveal Hurricane Matthew's Destruction in Haiti, speaks about the impact of the category 4 hurricane, with 145 mile winds and rain blinding. Photojournalist Andrew McConnell speaks of the difficulty Haiti is under. The people took the brunt of hurricane Matthew, after the country had suffered the devastating earthquake in 2010 and the resulting cholera outbreak, and officials are reporting nearly nine hundred people dead so far, though information is still slowly emerging. Roads are blocked off, homes decimated, and people are scattered; seeking shelter that will be temporary, carrying each other out on motorbikes and each other's backs, and unable to enter hospitals already full. As hurricane Matthew heads into the southeastern part of the U.S, fear rises that Haitian struggles will be overshadowed by the people in need of help elsewhere.
Further Information and Analysis: Andrew McConnell, the photojournalist relied on in this article for information, made a statement regarding the outreach he hopes his contribution is making in regards to the awareness of Haiti's current needs and struggles, stating  "They are likely to need a lot of assistance in the coming days," He says also, "I hope my photos help show that." He is a journalist and an artist, focused on the intent to bring awareness to and help the communities in Haiti, through his photos revealing to the public who seek it the brutal conditions Haitians are currently forced to live under. He has worked in Syria, Lebanon and Somalia among other places, and his focus appears to be primarily one of bringing awareness to needs of those in poverty, those refugees and citizens fighting to survive despite circumstance. National Geographic also has this in mind as a goal through their focuses and publications, and the news they bring to the consumer. This in particular is an economic issue because Haitians are in need of support, in the form that is easiest to parts of the word that can provide it: through the spending of money. The possible ignorance the American people could treat Haiti with in this time, considering our own citizens have also been hurt by this hurricane, is especially troublesome in the face of this struggle, because we have made such big contributions to the wellbeing of Haitian lives in the past. To bring the attention of the viewer to this need in Haiti seems to be Kristin Romey's goal in writing this article, so it seems out of place that McConnell should make that remark about his attempt in his work to show that Haiti needs assistance, when it is already clear. My reaction is to assume that he is trying to bring attention to himself, but disregarding that notion it is easier to believe he is only attempting to do as he says he is (he is already accredited by the article, and quoted throughout by Romey after all! Also, I realize my focus is on the visual artist and not on the article as much. Oops) I already knew that Haiti had been struggling greatly since the earthquake in 2010, and vaguely about the cholera outbreak, but did not actually know with the coverage on the news having been centered on our own status in the U.S, that Haiti had been hit by Hurricane Matthew! My understanding of the article isn't necessarily complete, because I cannot even imagine the kind of impact it has had, even with pictures and words. To have already been struggling with everything thinkable, supplies and shelter and economy, and then to be hit by an earthquake so devastating over nine hundred people die, wreckage still littering the streets, people being pulled out days later; how would that be? It is one thing to describe and another to experience, and without that kind of experience, how can any of us be fully capable of helping, and truly understanding? At least there is a drive to action, to help countries experiencing things like this, to support each other as human beings. The main point of the article is that Haiti needs help, and anyone who would have the thought of 'again' should be taken there to see for themselves (should, but won't be) the struggle that parts of humanity face. But those people I am speaking of are not the ones in a similar vein of poverty (if that makes sense?); that is understandable. It's a valid question to ask how much a nation should help others if it is in need itself, though it is a frustrating one to the consumer whose first thought is to help and not to consider. But the kind of consumer most frustrating to me reading this article is the kind selfish enough to keep much and give little to people who cannot keep at all, not the one rational enough to take a step back and consider our own country. As Hurricane Matthew impacts the world, and other hurricanes will continue to make this same mark, we have to ask ourselves as people if we are going to sit around and contemplate who is more worth helping, or accept that that notion is a ridiculous distraction from the answer that is everyone. Everyone is worth helping. It's just a matter of managing that assistance to effectively help as many people possible with what is available, even with loss of human life.
Link to Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/hurricane-matthew-haiti-photographs-bridge/

Chipotle Versus Fear: Who will win?

Summary of Article:
Chipotle, a Denver-based Mexican Grill company, has struggled to get their influx of customers back up since last year's E. coli outbreak in their stores. They have taken a number of steps to rectify past mistakes, including new cooking techniques that will ensure meat is cooked and disease-free, and a change of lettuce-washing ingredients. Mark Crumpacker, head of Chipotle's marketing, has stressed to interviewers that the consumers are still scared of their product, despite efforts, thanks to the large amount of media criticism Chipotle received and continues to receive. Many customers just aren't sure of whether or not the food is safe, and this has been frustrating for Chipotle. The company has begun running advertisements focusing on the quality and care going into preparing the food, and the current ads in newspapers and online hone in on the safety precautions Chipotle has taken since the outbreak. Concern in the area of competition is mounting as well, as Chipotle's numbers are staying the same. It seems to be more of a widespread issue in the general industry, however; establishments like Starbucks and McDonalds have seen the same trend, and have blamed it so far on political instability and cheaper grocery costs.  
Further information and Analysis:
Candice Choi wrote this article on Chipotle's efforts to draw disappointed customers back into their stores, in the aftermath of an E. coli out break in their restaurants. This is the second time she has written on the aftereffects the illness has had on the business revenue Chipotle has received since the breakout. The author's point of view is mostly analytical, though there are moments of skepticism, with lines like "This isn't the first time Chipotle has said it's sorry and stressed its commitment to food safety," and the pointing out Choi does in reference to the unfortunate wording of Chipotle's head marketing employee Mark Crumpacker, pitting two food businesses together ("More challenging will be winning back people who know the food is safe, but have started going to “places like McDonald’s” or what Crumpacker called 'knockoff' Chipotles.") I found this article online, on TIME Magazine's site. It was published September 21st, 2016, and Chipotle's E. coli outbreak was last year in the Fall. This effects the meaning of the article because a lot of time has passed since the incident, and the company is still dealing with the setbacks the worry of the public and media coverage had on their company's income. The title of this article is "Chipotle Has a New Plan to Convince Customers Its Food Is Safe". I had known that this happened with Chipotle last year, and had actually not eaten their much since then, in fear that there was still some trouble with the food (even though I am vegan, and don't order anything that has much risk of E. coli infestation). I did not go because the dread was present in my mind to this day, thinking of all the negative media coverage Chipotle got. My friends have since gone and eaten there, and that's interesting because the article mentions the worry of Chipotle's business heads, that one friend will stop a group of friends from going. Since I do not want to eat there often I can convince my friends to eat somewhere else! After reading this article, I have come to my senses a bit and may purchase more at Chipotle again. It is interesting how much media and other people can effect the economic choices of the consumer, and prevent them from buying through feedback of their own. Chipotle's supply cannot meet a demand that has gone! So their current efforts are targeted at those customers like me, who had taken their business to competitor companies (like McDonalds) and caused a huge loss in profit for their company. This article is directed at those customers, as a sort of reminder that they have since made efforts to ensure their product is clean and healthy, and care about the customer. This is tempting to those in a market economy because we have a desire for companies that will listen to our thoughts and meet our demands with the proper consideration. This article, therefore, was written for possible customers of Chipotle (their marketing head's reason for giving the interview), and for TIME magazine to cover current events and get more clicks on their news articles, and through this more revenue into their site. This document is relevant to the consumer's life because it opens up a closed door, to a business that was marked for demolition but has since improved itself; but also serves as a testament to the consumer voice, and the ongoing issue of a fear that corporations harm us by the genetically modified organisms going into our food. The article is trying to convey this idea in the most appealing way possible to the customer, but also in an analytical way coming from Choi's point of view, to confirm or deny whether a genuine effort is being put forward by Chipotle, or to potentially profile the company as greedy and hurt by their losses, frantically searching for any means possible to draw the customer back in.

Link to Article: http://time.com/4502592/chipotle-safe-food-ads/