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USA Today, November 29, 2006 — At a recent management-training session for Choice Hotels, trainer John Thompson had participants guess how many drops of water would fit on a nickel
Advertising Age, November 29, 2006 — NBC is not trying to be a portal. That was the word the company's digital chief, Beth Comstock, gave advertisers yesterday afternoon at Advertising Age's Media Mavens award
Advertising Age, November 29, 2006 — Procter & Gamble, Microsoft Corp. and other major marketers have set aside a piece of their ad budgets — albeit a small piece — for mobile marketing, representing a "significant shift" for the emerging medium.
Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2006 — According to new research examining brain reaction to commercial brands, strong product identities can create more excitement than weaker ones even in areas generally perceived as dull, such as insurance.
BusinessWeek, November 27, 2006 — Johan Hjertonsson was lounging around his house outside Stockholm late one Saturday afternoon in 2003 when his boss, Electrolux CEO Hans Straberg called. "Hans said: 'We have a problem,"' recalls the 38-year-old Hjertonsson. "Things aren't moving fast enough." Sales were falling, products were taking too long to get to market, and consumers weren't sure why they should buy from Electrolux instead of the competition. Straberg told Hjertonsson: "I want you to fix this."
BusinessWeek, November 27, 2006 — When Eastman Kodak (EK ) vowed in 2000 to become a leader in digital cameras, the idea seemed ludicrous. The old-line Rochester (N.Y.) company had film and print all through its DNA. Yet by 2005, Kodak ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in digital camera sales. Its digital sales surged 40%, to $5.7 billion, even as its film-based businesses fell 18%. The key: product innovation, something Kodak knew how to do oh-so-well. The company designed one award-winning breakthrough after another to make digital photography nearly as simple as pointing and clicking.
Advertising Age, November 27, 2006 — People once drank because they were thirsty. Now they drink to hydrate, boost energy, relax, refresh or beautify. Beverages "used to be an accessory" to food, said Larry Light, chairman-CEO of brand consultant Arcature, but no more. "Now beverages are on the leading edge of a changing world. It's a huge social mind-set change."
BusinessWeek, November 22, 2006 — Deere & Co. was founded on innovation. The maker of agriculture, construction, and grounds-keeping equipment opened in 1837 when John Deere, a Vermont blacksmith who had resettled in Illinois, came up with a breakthrough product: a steel plow that, unlike earlier iron models, could slice through the rich soil of America's prairies.
New York Times, November 21, 2006 — Major Internet sites are showing a strong and growing interest in the advertising business, and traditional ad firms are starting to get worried
Advertising Age, November 21, 2006 — American Express Publishing, known for its high-end expertise on travel and luxury matters that are beyond most people's direct experience, is about to start up new wiki-based sites that let the public contribute
Inside 1to1, November 20, 2006 — One theme that emerged at the Conference Board's annual Marketing Conference earlier this month was the importance of a consistent brand experience, not only for customers, but for employees as well.
Advertising Age, November 20, 2006 — "You can't manage it unless you measure it." "Metrics are the heart of a well-run business." "CFOs are demanding proof." "Marketing must be accountable."
Brand Strategy, November 16, 2006 — Mintel has predicted 10 trends that will shape the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry in the New Year.
New York Times, November 15, 2006 — A rendering shows what a toilet paper will do to get noticed over the holiday season in New York. Twenty stalls will be available
Advertising Age, November 15, 2006 — Here's a twist on the people-aren't-watching-commercials debate: More TV viewers remember product placement if it's followed by an ad.
Advertising Age, November 14, 2006 — That's Toyota in Detroit's rear-view mirror, and it's closing fast with a lineup of vehicle designs, advertising campaigns and promotional strategies that have made it a hit with American consumers as well as Advertising Age's 2006 Marketer of the Year
Advertising Age, November 14, 2006 — GENERAL MOTORS CORP. is the top marketer by ad spending in the U.S. but who ranks
first on a global basis?
Economist, November 13, 2006 — New Zealand is promoting itself as a destination for food tourists
Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2006 — Will Kraft's latest ads pass the smell test?
BusinessWeek, November 13, 2006 — Howard Draft blew into Manhattan from the Windy City three months ago, but Madison Avenue is just beginning to feel the blast. Following the merger of his direct-marketing shop, Draft Worldwide, with Foote Cone & Belding, one of the oldest names in the ad business, Draft christened the company with a new first name: his own.
Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2006 — Scion, Toyota Motor Corp.'s youth-focused small-car brand, has decided it is too hot for its own good.
Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2006 — At a coffee shop in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, Bridget Barnes snuggled into a navy chair beneath a row of vintage windows. The dark wood, living-room-style rug and fireplace mantel made her feel like she was in "an old Beverly home," the 25-year-old preschool teacher said.
New York Times, November 10, 2006 — Marketers have found a new way to try to keep viewers from tuning out: offer them TV shows, movies and online programming created by the marketers themselves, often with help from their advertising agencies.
Advertising Age, November 9, 2006 — Don't be surprised if sometime between now and Christmas a stranger gives you lift tickets in Denver, skating passes in Toronto or even free parking at a Michigan hospital.
BusinessWeek, November 8, 2006 — After three consecutive years of double-digit growth, Whole Foods Markets now is projecting that its same-store sales growth will slow to just 6% to 8% in fiscal 2007. So the natural-foods retailer is eagerly looking forward to the opening of its first store in Britain next spring.
Advertising Age, November 7, 2006 — In hot pursuit of the next megabrand, Special K is slapping its scarlet letter on everything from water to watches
Advertising Age, November 6, 2006 — Marketing changed forever on May 13, 1931, when Neil McElroy wrote the classic memo at Procter & Gamble leading to the creation of the discipline of brand management. Through brand management, the features and benefits of every brand would be distinguished from those of every other
BusinessWeek, November 6, 2006 — For years, doomsayers have been predicting that a demographic time bomb would blow up Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG ). The median age of a Harley buyer has leapt from 35 in 1987 to nearly 47 today. Whatever youthful countercultural mystique Harley may have once enjoyed, it is now a middle-aged nostalgia brand.
Advertising Age, November 6, 2006 — Some people read magazines on the subway. Some clip articles. Some people pile them in hopes of reading them another day. But Chip Conley uses them as inspiration to build boutique hotels.
Advertising Age, November 6, 2006 — The Brand-Design process has four steps: imagination, innovation, operationalization and renovation. Through these four steps, we interpret the soul of the brand, bringing it to life for customers to experience.
BusinessWeek, November 6, 2006 — The domestic guru is once again the face of her brand, but she's no longer calling all the shots
BusinessWeek, November 3, 2006 — Inside the new Adidas sports performance store on Paris' Champs-Elysées, soccer superstar Zinedane Zidane jogs on a computerized catwalk. Sensors embedded in the track can record the exact pressure of his footfall and gauge his running posture. This data, combined with Zidane's exact shoe size—measured with painstaking accuracy—is used to ensure a perfect fit.
Advertising Age, November 2, 2006 — Relying on a "Dilbert" cartoon to soften the blow of an at times harsh condemnations of ad industry practices, David Jones, CEO of global agency network Euro RSCG Worldwide, said that rather than talking about how to redefine creativity in a fast-changing world, "we should just get on and do it."
Associated Press, November 1, 2006 — This slide presentation (PPT format) from a leading advertising industry trade group contains summary data on a survey completed by 168 media professionals, academics, ad agency execs and other media types. The information covers such topics as: expected shift in ad spending to the Internet, targeted audience for online advertising, and perception of top advertising campaigns.
New York Times, November 1, 2006 — It’s hard to window shop without the windows
Advertising Age, November 1, 2006 — Procter & Gamble Co.'s Eukanuba is using its new agency, Wieden & Kennedy, to give the brand the first major overhaul in its 35-year history: a strategy to provide breed-specific food for dogs
Harvard Business Review, November 1, 2006 — Every few years, innovation resurfaces as a prime focus of growth strategies. And when it does, companies repeat the mistakes they made the last time. Here’s how to avoid those errors.