ONLINE FORUMS PROVIDE  VALUABLE MARKETING DATA, BUT ONLY WITH THE RIGHT FILTERS By Wendy W. Moe

Roland is well-read – as in, everyone has read Roland’s research.  Roland Rust’s publications could fill an entire bookcase in McKeldin Library. His hundreds of peer- reviewed articles, the research citing his work, and his books, including Driving Customer Equity: How Customer Lifetime Value is Reshaping Corporate Strategy, have changed the world of marketing.

Thursday, October 2, 2014, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, October 5, 2014, 7:30 a.m. Should you buy or rent? Consumers have long debated this decision when it comes to homes and cars, but a recent explosion in the rental market has provided more rental options than ever before. Everything from movies to designer handbags and dresses to jewelry and beyond can be rented. And according to new research, consumers have no problem opening their wallets to rent. 

A recent CBC Music report holds up music bands as models of good Tweeting skills, citing Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame as one example with 1.3 million followers. “@wakaFlockabsm has something for everyone,” the report says. “Fun interactions with fans, inspirational quotes and weird hashtags.” Social media has become increasingly important for musicians to engage fans, promote output and subsequently lift record and concert sales — a dynamic analyzed in a recent study from the Smith School.

Companies that adjust their products or services based on social media feedback might as well be driving blind. Award-winning research from marketing professor Wendy W. Moe shows the correlation between unadjusted social media data and well-developed offline market research is almost zero (0.008 to be exact). 

Students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business take dozens of courses in business, but there is usually ‘that one class’ that stands out as a game changer, making a profound and lasting impact. We asked our students and alumni via Facebook to tell us about their favorite courses at Smith. Here are their top 10 courses: 1. Forensic Accounting/Fraud Aditya Yerramilli ’09 says Forensic Accounting/Fraud from Sandra Rose: “Set me up for my entire professional career.”

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is proud to welcome 22 new PhD students this fall. There are 89 total students in Smith's doctoral program, which is ranked No. 11 in the world by Financial Times (2014). Here are some fun facts about this year’s incoming PhD students:

Thursday, July 17, 2014, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, July 20, 2014, 7:30 a.m. Fifteen current and former NFL players, including Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith UMD ’10, recently gathered in Baltimore for offseason training -- but not for the gridiron. They worked on their business skills under the tutelage of experts from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. 

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is happy to welcome 12 new full-time faculty members to start the fall semester of 2014. New faculty joined the following areas: Accounting and Information Assurance Sebahattin Demirkan, Visiting Assistant Professor Samuel Handwerger, Lecturer (formerly adjunct faculty) Decisions, Operations and Information Technology

Right after spring final exams, 10 undergraduate students at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business traveled to Sydney, Australia, with Mary Harms, a clinical associate professor of marketing. The program began with an intensive two-week global marketing course taught by Harms and culminated with eight-week internships at companies such as PwC, Chubb, Otis, Nielsen, 3M, and the Greater Western Sydney Giants.