Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2004 [first author]; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2004 [second author]. / "In conjunction with the Sloan Fellows Program." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-106). / The extreme competition in the automotive industry results in razor-thin profit margins as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) compete for market share and profits which increase shareholder value. Product differentiation thus becomes a key strategy used by OEMs to attract consumers to their products. The typical product and/or service value proposition for an automotive manufacturer is composed of the following attributes: Quality (segment leading or equivalent); Reliability and Durability (segment leading or equivalent); Price (competitive within segment); Styling (meets or exceeds expectations of targeted segment); Performance (meets or exceeds expectations of targeted segment); and Features and Functions (competitive within targeted segment). To support an OEM's products in the marketplace, effective marketing and advertising strategies should build brand awareness and familiarity which induces consumers, both "loyal" and "avoiders," to traverse the purchasing funnel and eventually purchase. To this end, the concept of "Two-sided Messaging" is used by OEMs as one advertising strategy. The use of"Two-sided Advertising" has been widely studied and debated as to its effectiveness when compared to "One-sided Adverting" strategies. This thesis compares and contrasts the concepts of"Two-sided" and "One-sided" advertising. We discuss advertising strategies used in the automotive industry today, review past OEM (i.e., non-General Motors) Two-sided advertising situations, and review and discuss the current GM "Quality Advertising Campaign," also known as the "Road to Redemption" (R2R) advertising campaign. / by Jeffrey O. Luke [and] Charles M. Vessels. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2006. / "In conjunction with the Sloan Fellows Program on Innovation and Global Leadership." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-140). / At the time of this writing, the NYSE had just completed its historic merger with Archipelago, LLC, while changing its ownership structure to a public company. The conditions leading up to this transformation are descriptive of the overall changes in "exchange structures" and the infrastructure of equity trading in the United States and around the world. The document is written to be useful to an audience of both industry and non-industry executives. To accomplish this, we examine the historical underpinnings of exchanges, how they developed, identifying conditions that transcend structures themselves. We go on to describe the mechanics, governance, technology, and regulatory environment of exchanges today. From this we can examine the forces inducing and enabling changes in the market structures. The "investment supply chain" is introduced as a framework to understand the flow of capital in the economy and the changing position of the exchanges and industry players. We consider the anatomy of trading, evolving technologies and the experience of non-US exchanges in the process of demutualization, technology infrastructure change and business model evolution. The thesis also draws on inferences from similar economic shifts in other industries. / (cont.) The parallel industry discussion should serve as an intuition builder in understanding the forces at work, the time it may take to see an equilibrium state and the behavior of the participants. The thesis has relied heavily on interviews and perspectives of people close to these events: NYSE staff, ECNs, the buy and sell side, regulators and academics. As such, it attempts to provide an informed and balanced view of the current state of play and the momentum of events. / by James F. Walker. / S.M.