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Show V 1 HE SIGNPOST Wednesday, September 26, 2007 BUSINESS & SCIENCE Latino marketing important CEO reminds not to forget Hispanic market to By Brianna Davis to tap into that market, correspondent \The Signpost "When we look at how the PHOTOS BY BRIANNA DAVIS I THE SIGNPOST Weber State University business students discuss Latino Marketing at the Ralph Nye lecture series Gladys Gonzalez, president of HMC/ La Agency spoke on Thursday Sept. 20 in the Smith Lecture Hall as part of the ongoing Ralph Nye Lecture series. HMC stands for Hispanic Marketing Consulting and her firm is the largest Hispanic/Latino advertising company in Utah. She was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in Utah in 2004 and is active in the community. A native of Columbia, Gonzalez discussed the unique characteristics of the Hispanic/ Latino community. Her advertising firm is designed to assist companies who are interested in reaching out to the Hispanic/Latino population and who want, students about important role the gender, ^~ Spanish-speaking demographics, community is growing age and education in this country and the level play in marketing amount of business that decisions. is growing," Gonzalez Gender is a very said, "we come to the important consideration conclusion that it is very in product marketing, important to be bilingual and to learn everythingwe given the role women play in household purchasing decisions within the Hispanic/ Latino community. "Women have 50 percent of the buying power," Gonzalez said. Items such as clothing, food and holidays are highly valued in the Hispanic/Latino culture. "We have parties for everything," Gonzales said. "I promise you if we Gladys Gonzales had time after this I would say 'can we put on some can about how to market music and enjoy a party to the Hispanic/Latino with the students?'" community," Gonzalez said. See Hispanic page 5 Gonzales spoke iPhone price drop not ringing well for some are inevitable with all kinds of By Jennifer Morgan technology. correspondent I The Signpost WSU vocal performance major Gabe Conner, iPhone owner, loves Weber State University BIS all things Apple. When he heard major Jeff Roberts was just one that the iPhone was coming out, of many people counting down he said he too had to get one. "I love the the days before the new Apple way it iPhone was released on June 2. The $599 phone was rumored to be the latest and greatest cell phone device on the market. Roberts reasearched reports on the phone and decided, like so many others across the country, that he had to have one. The iPhone is a combination of music player, internet, cell phone, camera and photo album. "They are totally worth the money because of all of the things that you can do with it," Roberts said. He also said that the combination of all of them is fantastic because he can just pick up his phone and still have everything he needs without having to haul around his other technical gadgets. Roberts has been satisfied with the purchase. However, on Sept. 5, Roberts was shocked to learn that the price of the phone had dropped looks and the stuff that it can do," Conner said. $200 since its release. He said he didn't like that he just Apple released a statement bought it and a week later it was saying that the drop was due to $200 less. He, along with others the upcoming holiday season. who purchased it before the drop, is However, according to marketing receiving a $100 rebatefromApple. Web site seekingalpha.com, "The hundred dollars doesn't Apple is running 25 percent make up for the hassle though," below their internal sales goals. Roberts said. "Apple initially sold their He said he still paid $100 more iPhone units at $499 and $599 than someone who buys the phone to take advantage of the 'must- today. He loves the product but is have' buzz surrounding the tasting a few sour grapes that came release," said Apple employee along with the purchase. Roberts is not the only one Andrew Baltezar bitter against the drop. Several He also said that price cuts iPhone owners are participating in forums and Web sites sharing their stories of complaint against the price drop and new technology. While one side is complaining, the other is saying to "buck up" and realize that this is what comes with the latest and greatest of anything. The positive side of the price drop is that it is now more affordable for the rest of public. Macworld, com released a statementthatsaid the drop helped increase sales substantially for college students in the United States. The Web site also gives survey details of a flash poll of 1,000 students on the evening of the drop just hours after Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the 8-GB iPhone would drop in price by $200. The importance of the price of the iPhone increased from 80 percent in June, July and August to 90 percent in Sept. when students were questioned in the flash poll, according to macworld.com. The results show that the popularity of the iPhone will increase as it becomes more affordable to the public. "You still have to pay big bucks for the latest technology," Roberts said, "but it's worth it." Apple reports that the company is available to help with questions and concerns regarding the new product. Wolves, like the ones seen here, are being re-introduced into Yellowstone National Park. Wolves introduced back to Yellowstone By Jackie Jensen correspondent I The Signpost The Ritchey Natural Science Lecture Series hosted Ecosystem: Effects of Wolves in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) presented by guest speaker, Dr. Douglas W. Smith. Smith is the project leader for the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Restoration Project in Yellowstone National Park. Smith spoke about his time spent working as a biologist for the project from 19941997, and his experience with the program since its inception. He has also studied wolves for 27 years, and prior to Yellowstone, he worked on Isle Royale from 1979-1992. In addition he worked with wolves in Minnesota in 1983. Smith has produced numerous publications on the subject of the wolf and the beaver, as well Comment on this story at as contributing many hours of wsusignpost.com. lecture time on both topics. "There is no substitute for direct experience withyour study subjects," Smith said."There's no substitute for getting out in the field and getting intimate with your animals. If you're going to study them, you have to know them." Smith presented a general foundational biology lecture on Yellowstone wolves involved in his project, which includes forty-one wolves from Canada that were reintroduced to Yellowstone, in 1995 and 1996 after nearly a 70year absence. The idea of bringing wolves back to Yellowstone deliberately without natural immigration was not received well by many people. There has been a very polarized debate that has been a constant story of wolves. "The folklore, the misinformation about wolves is ramped - what people want to believe about them, what their value system is," Smith said. He said contrary to what many people may think, wolves are very selective killers, who strategize and evaluate their kill and are not willing to just kill anything. "The most interesting aspect for me was the different conclusions each side of the wolf reintroduction issue can come to, using the same data for elk population dynamics," said WSU zoology senior Katie Ricks. "It is so important to look at other possible contributing factors with issues like these." Smith said wolves are viewed with controversy. "They lived everywhere north of the equator originally, and they have been pretty much eradicated from most of that area because of conflicts with humans," Smith said. "They also have been in competition with human hunters and have been viewed as dangerous." See Wolf page 5 Browning Center Weber State University October 11th, 7:30pm October 12th, 7:30pm October 13th, 2:00pm & 7:30pm Student available! •ruaenr DiScounts uiscoums avauam Buy yodr tickets early! All shows were Tickets: 801-626-8500 or buy online at www.weberstatetickets.com (See the Concert/Special Events link) |