Archive of Focus

Match Play

Detroit’s three casinos are tapping new technology and facility upgrades to offset competition, but the advent of online gaming will change the playing field.

By Dan Calabrese

Motown and Showtown

For more than a century, a reciprocating relationship in the automotive and entertainment industries has benefited Detroit and Los Angeles.

By Ronald Ahrens

Coney Islands Go Hollywood

The Coney Dog, which opened in 2011, can be found on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

Likes and Dislikes

Brand experts from the Big Three weigh in on the first Michigan Social Media Brand Index, compiled by Market Strategies International, a market research firm in Livonia.

By Tom Murray

The Social Play

Plenty of companies use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Four Square, but what's the return? For the first time, DBusiness presents the Michigan Social Media Brand Index, which identifies 50 of the state's most popular social media brands.

By Tom Murray and R.J. King

2012 Michigan Social Media Brand Index

Faster than a tweet, more companies are using social media to increase their market presence and engage customers. How are they doing? In a first-of-its-kind study, Market Strategies International in Livonia ranked 50 Michigan companies (among the 200 largest public/private companies) on how well they succeeded in social media.* The Index measures social media interactions, sponsored content, and net sentiment, which represents the ratio of positive to negative feelings expressed about a brand based on the content of posts, comments, and mentions. The survey also measured social media engagement as it relates to user activity on a company's Facebook page, corporate Twitter account, and YouTube viewers (Sponsored Presence).

Jingle All the Way

Alan Sussman, a street-smart college dropout from Detroit may be the most successful ad man that ever lived.

By Marylynn G. Hewitt

Lending at Lite Speed

Think it’s tough to get a business loan? Imagine what a bank must go through to meet Dodd-Frank — onerous background checks on loan officers and applicants (including fingerprinting), stifling regulations, caps on fees, and exhaustive documentation.

By David Littmann

Merchant of Somerset

How Sidney Forbes, a native son of Detroit, used on-the-job training to develop one of the nation’s finest collections of luxury shopping malls.

By R.J. King

Raising the Stakes

Detroit’s gaming market — the fifth largest in the United States — is facing increased competition as eight more casinos are proposed in Michigan, with another four under development in Ohio.

By David Littman and R.J. King