Introduction

Abstract

NESTLED SOMEWHERE IN AN INNOCUOUS office building in a neighborhood wedged between the Upper East Side and Yorkville, just off Manhattan’s Central Park, is the financial news and opinion website called 24/7 Wall Street. The reporters for 24/7 Wall Street spend their days publishing opinion pieces on the health of companies, stocks and investment opportunities. These articles get republished all over the web on sites such as MarketWatch, MSNBC, MSN Money, Yahoo! Finance and The Huffington Post. In June 2012, one such article began to ruffle the feathers of those whose job it is to help consumer brands stay relevant to their audience. The article provided a prediction of ten American brands that would fail in 2013. The list included some landmark consumer brands such as American Airlines, Research In Motion (better known for its product, BlackBerry), Avon, Talbots and at least one sports franchise, The Oakland Raiders. The article cites operational issues, changing competitive landscapes and management deficiency as the primary drivers of impending failure. Prior predictions by 24/7 have proved surprisingly accurate.