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MediaPost Publications, October 31, 2007 — TESCO IS GETTING CLOSER TO introducing Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets. The first U.S. stores from the British retailing giant are scheduled to open on Nov. 8 in California, followed by Las Vegas stores on Nov. 14. And Tesco just announced that some San Diego locations will open on Nov. 16.
eMarketer, October 30, 2007 — Spending on direct marketing commercial e-mail in the United States will hit $600 million in 2008, according to the Direct Marketing Association. That number represents an increase of nearly one-quarter over 2007. The numbers are dwarfed by spending on non-e-mail Internet direct marketing—such as search and display—which is expected to hit $23 billion.
McKinsey Quarterly, October 30, 2007 — Executives say innovation is very important, but their companies' approach to it is often informal, and leaders lack confidence in their innovation decisions. Top managers and other professionals agree that the biggest challenge is talent but disagree on why. Nonetheless, executives agree on some steps to improve innovation
Marketing Profs, October 30, 2007 — Is microblogging the latest fad or the next big thing? Microblogging is just like regular blogging, except it's limited to 140 characters. The leader in the space is Twitter. According to a recent blog post by Peter Kim, Twitter is now used by 6% of American online adults. That sounds about right to me, although Twitter power user Robert Scoble thinks the figure is "way too high." But if you want to reach an affluent, well-educated, early adopter audience, there might not be a better communication channel out there.
Time, October 30, 2007 — Stop. I mean, don't stop reading this, but stop thinking what you're about to think. Or, O.K., I'll think it for you: The thing is hard to type on. It's too slow. It's too big. It doesn't have instant messaging. It's too expensive. (Or, no, wait, it's too cheap!) It doesn't support my work e-mail. It's locked to AT&T. Steve Jobs secretly hates puppies. And—all together now—we're sick of hearing about it!
Women's Wear Daily, October 30, 2007 — For some mature brands, reinvention is the only source of survival. For others, it's an impossibility that no amount of financial resources and design talent can accomplish. Companies such as Burberry, Coach, Gucci, Lacoste, Dior, Diane von Furstenberg, Guess and J. Crew are textbook cases of brands that have reinvented themselves and enjoyed tremendous success in a second life.
Mediaweek, October 29, 2007 — As news organizations slash budgets and scale back bureaus, CNN is expanding—except not in real life. In the week of Nov. 5, the news giant is set to open a news-gathering outpost in Second Life. And unlike news service Reuters, which embedded a real reporter in the online virtual world last year, CNN will rely on Second Life “residents” to do all the legwork.
Advertising Age, October 29, 2007 — DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Megan Stooke is a realist.
"Our brand has always been polarizing, and we've always said we are not for everybody," said the marketing director of General Motors Corp.'s Hummer macho SUV line, which has been swept up in almost a perfect storm of volatile gas prices, the war in Iraq and the rise in environmental consciousness.
'HUMMER HEROES': The campaign will show how rescue workers, among others, rely on the vehicle to help them help those in need.
BusinessWeek, October 29, 2007 — It's one of the enduring oddities of American retailing: car dealers haggling over price with their customers. There's history here, of course. People bargained over horses. And since the proud beasts gave way to the horseless carriage, hardball negotiating between buyer and seller has continued on the car lot. The practice allowed salesmen (and most of them were men) to bamboozle naive buyers with a blizzard of negotiating tactics and generate outsize commissions. But dealers paid a price: The car salesman became one of the least trusted people in town.
Now, some dealers are beginning to dump haggling
New York Times, October 29, 2007 — Hulu is the new-media creation of two old-media rivals, NBC, which is owned by General Electric, and Fox, owned by the News Corporation. Since March, when the broadcasters announced their joint effort to bring free, ad-supported television shows to the Web, critics have pounced, predicting the venture would be doomed by diverging agendas, technical challenges and an all-powerful enemy: YouTube.
FORTUNE, October 29, 2007 — (Fortune Magazine) — Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this formal presentation outlining a most interesting case that came to our attention recently.
Physicians attending the patient in question included myself and Drs. Forbisher and Schlemazl. We believe, after a review of the literature, that this may be the first case of Acute Systemic Brand Amnesia.
BusinessWeek, October 29, 2007 — Where most see turmoil, some see opportunity. And few are more opportunistic than Sir Richard Branson, the swashbuckling founder of everything from airlines to health clubs and—soon—an outfit offering space travel, all under the Virgin Group brand. So when a liquidity crisis sent British mortgage lender Northern Rock's share price plummeting, Branson was ready to come to the rescue—and add the bank to his growing roster of Virgin companies.
BusinessWeek, October 29, 2007 — Torsten Valeur, one of Bang & Olufsen's top designers, sits in a windowless room in Gumi, South Korea, staring dumbfounded at a group of Samsung Electronics engineers and thinks, "Oh, s---." Valeur is designing a new high-end cell phone for B&O, the Danish company known for its cutting-edge consumer electronics, and Samsung, a partner providing mobile-phone technology.
New York Times, October 28, 2007 — AS torrents of money streamed into his wallet from multiplatinum albums in the 1980s and 1990s, Duff McKagan, then the bass player for the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, had little interest in tracking his cash. Instead, he relied on intimidation and his group’s reputation as the “most dangerous band in the world” to prevent managers from ripping him off.
Like other rockers easing into middle age or seniorhood, Mr. McKagan is also experimenting with new partnerships in response to a music business in flux. Amid plunging record sales and Internet file sharing, rockers are eagerly plastering their names everywhere.
Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2007 — When it comes to brand extension, the conventional wisdom is simple: Don't overextend. The idea is that companies should stay within established product lines to avoid dilution of the brand identity. After all, it makes intuitive sense not to diversify into categories that are remote to core products.
To rejuvenate established product families, brand managers thus typically combine features of one product with those of others in the same family. Think of a cellphone-cum-organizer-cum-computer-etc
The problem with the don't-overextend mind-set is that managers can easily fall into the trap of inbreeding: They overwhelm customers with additional features taken from related product lines.
Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2007 — When it comes to brand extension, the conventional wisdom is simple: Don't overextend. The idea is that companies should stay within established product lines to avoid dilution of the brand identity. After all, it makes intuitive sense not to diversify into categories that are remote to core products.
Advertising Age, October 25, 2007 — Meet Diddy, brand marketer.
The multimedia mogul and CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment added another position to his resume today with his announcement to take on all brand-management decisions for Diageo's Ciroc vodka, including marketing, advertising, public relations, product placement and events. The role is "too big for one title," he told Ad Age, but, he added, "I'll be taking the lead on all the things traditionally a CMO or a brand manager would do, just doing them my way. Marketing in a way that is truly unique."
New York Times, October 25, 2007 — Google, which dominates the market for advertising on the Internet, seems to be hoping to do the same thing on television.
The company is set to announce a partnership today with the Nielsen Company, the voice of authority in measuring television audiences, that will give advertisers a more vivid and accurate snapshot than ever before of how many people are viewing commercials on a second-by-second basis, and who those people are.
Wall Street Journal, October 25, 2007 — Microsoft Corp.'s $240 million investment in Facebook Inc. — a three-year-old company with more promise than profit — represents a huge bet that the online advertising boom will continue and the popular social networking site will be among the biggest beneficiaries.
The software giant said yesterday that it will buy a 1.6% stake in Facebook, beating out Google Inc. after intense lobbying. The deal places a $15 billion valuation on the closely held Palo Alto, Calif., start-up. Facebook, which runs a site where people set up personal Web pages, expects to break even this year, on a cash-flow basis, with revenue of $150 million, according to people familiar with the company.
eMarketer, October 25, 2007 — Average mobile marketing campaign prices have increased tenfold since 2005, according to mobile ad software vendor Third Screen Media, as cited in an Advertising Age article. Third Screen also said that the average age of mobile Web users was over 30. The audience for mobile Web-based campaigns is growing, and more marketers are experimenting with the medium. But many brand managers are hesitant to commit big budgets.
MediaPost Publications, October 24, 2007 — A NEW STUDY DRIVES HOME the importance of understanding the diversity of the gay and lesbian communities and creating marketing strategies that reflect a company's or brand's likelihood of connecting with specific consumer segments.
Advertising Age, October 24, 2007 — Research released today by ComScore defies long-cherished beliefs that people don't care enough about package-goods products to do online search about them or go to their websites.
The study found a majority of U.S. consumers visited at least one package-goods website during the three months ended in April, with search driving a substantial proportion of those visits.
Advertising Age, October 24, 2007 — The invitation, sent to advertisers and agencies in New York, arrived carved onto a Lucite brick.
You are invited to a discussion with Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook executive team as we unveil a new way of advertising online."
Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2007 — Nike's iconic co-founder Philip H. Knight built the company by sealing endorsement deals with sports heroes such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. But under current Chief Executive Mark Parker, Nike is also depending on lesser-known figures — like a Los Angeles tattoo artist known as Mister Cartoon.
Advertising Age, October 23, 2007 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The first-round results of Nielsen's "C3" ratings for all broadcast and cable networks is in, and there are a few surprises lurking in all that data when one looks at how well networks performed in keeping viewers through the commercial breaks.
KenRadio, October 23, 2007 — 85% of Adults own a mobile phone, compared with 71% who have a landline or home phone - and 63% of mobile phone owners agreed that their phone is very personal to them, according to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive. 30% of mobile phone owners recall seeing or hearing an advertisement on their mobile phone in the past year, suggesting that a dominant advertising model to reach the growing demographic of mobile phone users has yet to emerge.
BusinessWeek, October 22, 2007 — In a Sept. 7 speech before a World Economic Forum meeting, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced his country was "pursuing an innovation-based model of development." Why should America care if China puts innovation at the center of its next five-year plan? In fact, why worry about Brazil, Britain, Canada, Denmark, India, Israel, Korea, or other countries whose government policies push innovation? After all, Google (GOOG ), Facebook, the iPod (AAPL ), and the Boeing (BA ) 787 Dreamliner all have "Made in America" stamped on them. Right? And we have Silicon Valley. They don't.
Well, actually they do. In fact, as John Kao, an innovation consultant, points out in his new book, Innovation Nation: How America Is Losing Its Innovation Edge, Why It Matters, and... continue reading
San Francisco Chronicle, October 22, 2007 — Heather Chan, 24, was at a barbecue recently when the mother of a friend brought out a slab of green Jell-O filled with chunks of vegetables. It was a moment that begged to be broadcast. "I thought, 'Gross - I have to share this with everyone else,' " said Chan, a bank manager and San Francisco State University student from San Mateo.
Advertising Age, October 22, 2007 — This is one viral sensation you don't want to be part of. It's called Flip. The premise is simple: A young girl films herself flipping your brand into the dustbin because its advertising is offensive, insulting or just plain stupid. There are 190 such videos on a dedicated YouTube channel as of this writing. And 3iYing, the all-girl creative consultancy behind the effort, says it's received 400 entries and counting since opening up the concept to the public more than a month ago.
eMarketer, October 22, 2007 — Ad spending is likely to increase substantially as more kids and teens spend time in virtual worlds and as more marketers create campaigns for those environments. Parks Associates estimated in June 2007 that $15 million was spent advertising in virtual worlds in the United States in 2006 and projected that it would rise tenfold to $150 million in 2012. The figures did not include marketer-branded virtual worlds. They also did not include other revenue sources, such as micro-transactions or subscription fees.
Advertising Age, October 19, 2007 — They say the first stage of starting a revolution is to begin with the language. OK, here's an attempt: What if marketers started to change the marketing lexicon? For example, instead of referring to the marketing budget, what if they were to call it a loan? One that needs to be paid back, with interest? And that ROI should be recast as a profit or loss? And advertising and marketing channels should be viewed as alternative investment funds designed to maximize marketing profits?
Boston Globe, October 18, 2007 — Nokia Corp., the world's dominant cellphone maker, is positioning itself to compete against the likes of MySpace, iTunes, and Google, and is anchoring a key part of its new business in the Back Bay.
By Jesse Purewal, October 18, 2007 — A question for marketers: Is it acceptable to poke fun at one customer segment in order to appeal to a second, different segment?
RBK’s answer: Yes, when you’ve failed to win in the market you originally coveted.
But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
You may have seen the “Run Easy” outdoor campaign from RBK (nee Reebok). It combines mean-spirited one-liners with images of pained endurance runners – a bid to show that its brand is on the side of the common folk. The attempt... continue reading
Advertising Age, October 17, 2007 — They say the first stage of starting a revolution is to begin with the language. OK, here's an attempt: What if marketers started to change the marketing lexicon? For example, instead of referring to the marketing budget, what if they were to call it a loan? One that needs to be paid back, with interest? And that ROI should be recast as a profit or loss? And advertising and marketing channels should be viewed as alternative investment funds designed to maximize marketing profits?
Advertising Age, October 17, 2007 — Gatorade is partnering with Tiger Woods on a new sports drink, the PepsiCo brand's first athlete-licensed offering.
Gatorade Tiger will make its debut in stores next March and will be supported by a major marketing campaign. It's Mr. Woods' first foray into selling sports beverages.
MarketingVox, October 17, 2007 — Instead of buying ad space on big portals, is Toyota targeting local newspapers, TV station sites and even video games. The roadblock campaign for Toyota's 2008 Highlander was run on Monday, hitting the homepages of 130 local newspapers and TV stations.
MediaPost Publications, October 16, 2007 — IT'S NO SURPRISE TO MARKETERS that the retail environment is far more important than it used to be. But a new study from the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), conducted by Deloitte Consulting, finds that both marketers and retailers are committed to sharpening their "shopper marketing" knives.
While the concept of shopper marketing has been in vogue for several years, the study points to an increase in awareness and sophistication, as well as spending. As overall marketing budgets grow at a rate of just 2% per year, marketers expect to see an increase of 21% in shopper marketing plans through 2010, and retailers expect to see an increase of 26% in the same period.
Marketing Charts, October 16, 2007 — The vast majority of marketers who already use social media are bullish on social-media spending, with nearly 9 in 10 saying they plan to “increase” or “increase significantly” their spending, according to a recent survey by social-media application provider Prospero Technologies. Prospero’s “2007 Social Media Survey” found that 30% of online marketers who use social media plan to spend significantly more on social-media applications in 2008, while an additional 58% also plan to increase spending, though not “significantly.”
New York Times, October 15, 2007 — Consumer behavior as a route to effective marketing was a central focus of the largest gathering ever of an influential trade organization.
The 1,200 people who attended the 97th annual conference of the Association of National Advertisers, held here from Thursday through yesterday, heard speaker after speaker address the growing popularity of what is known as behavioral targeting, as opposed to basing pitches on consumer attitudes, opinions or perceptions.
MediaPost Publications, October 15, 2007 — FORD'S LINCOLN DIVISION, WHICH HAS posted 12 months of sales gains, is launching the next iteration of its year-old "American Dreams" campaign with two new TV spots--one of which broke on Sunday evening on NFL broadcasts on NBC--and a raft of product-centered advertising later this fall.
One of the ads features singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr. and the other features triathlete Sarah Reinertsen. In the former, which debuted Sunday night, Connick drives a Lincoln MKX through his old neighborhood in New Orleans, on his way to a party of musicians celebrating Habitat for Humanity's Music Village housing project, in which he is involved.
Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2007 — Two years ago, Avon chief Andrea Jung faced some tough decisions. Growth was slowing in the company's most important global markets, its stock plunging. Famed for its door-to-door sales, Avon found itself with the venerable business model faltering in the U.S. even as it prospered in developing markets. And the company was saddled with a crowded stable of products and far too many managers.
In November 2005, Ms. Jung told investors she was willing to make bold changes. She announced plans to spend $500 million over several years restructuring. Since then, Avon has cut employee ranks by 10% and management by nearly 30%. She cut back on the number of products Avon catalogs offer, devoting more space to the most successful products and eliminating the rest.... continue reading
Advertising Age, October 15, 2007 — Question: Can a new product not only radically revive a company but also reinvigorate an entire industry?
In much the way Apple made music aficionados out of mere music buyers, Nintendo via its Wii system has created a passionate group of devotees out of people who previously couldn't have cared less about video games. Wii broke open a market long confined predominantly to young men and welcomed in the rest of the family.
New York Times, October 15, 2007 — Can young Ashley find success and happiness in the big city? Will the dashing Eric win her heart? Can she make consumers buy more Tide detergent?
Stay tuned. Or logged on.
The company that brought soap operas to radio, then television, Procter & Gamble, is trying the same strategy online with “Crescent Heights,” a new show intended to reach young viewers where they watch the most — their PCs and cellphones.
FORTUNE, October 15, 2007 — When a company has been around as long as John Deere - 170 years, to be exact - it enjoys a rich history and, in the case of the Moline, Ill., firm, loyal customers who "bleed green." But a company that old can also get set in its ways - and bad habits can seep in.
When CEO Bob Lane took the wheel of the farm equipment giant in August 2000, he quickly identified Deere's biggest problem: spending too much money to make money. Factories tended to overproduce, churning out a steady level of product no matter what the season or the demand. Its results were inconsistent:
Advertising Age, October 15, 2007 — Kris Hart, VP-brand management for Harrah's Entertainment, recently oversaw the merger of two major players in the gaming world — Harrah's and Caesars, which it bought for $5 billion — creating the world's largest casino company. Ms. Hart's topic at this year's Association of National Advertisers' conference is brand and organization integration, and the quantitative customer research conducted before the historic merger. Here, she relates to Advertising Age reporter Megan McIlroy how it takes a lot more than luck to meld such industry giants.
New York Times, October 14, 2007 — STEVE SAENZ used to run a 10K race in 36 minutes. But last spring — 20 years, 2 children and 50 pounds later — he found himself seriously out of shape. A new Web site from Nike, he says, has brought him back on track.
MediaPost Publications, October 12, 2007 — THEY SEE IT ALL AROUND them. More than 90% of the 250-plus marketers surveyed for a cross-industry study set for release at the ANA Annual Meeting say they plan to increase their digital spending. But plenty of obstacles stand in the way of fully embracing the new world disorder of fragmentation and personalization of media--culture being the biggest one.
Detroit Free Press, October 12, 2007 — When Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally decided to bring back the Taurus name on a redesigned version of the Five Hundred, experts say, it was a grand opportunity for Ford marketers to revive a well-known brand name that had been a best-seller in its heyday.
But nearly four months later, the Taurus launch clearly missed its mark, industry experts and several dealers told the Free Press. They all blamed a misdirected advertising campaign by the company's marketing department, which is being revived with new leadership.
Economist, October 11, 2007 — “WHAT matters gets measured.” That is one of the basic tenets of corporate strategy taught at business schools. As driving growth through innovation is today at the top of corporate agendas you would expect to find managers treating it like a science. After all, manufacturing philosophies such as “total-quality management” (a process of continuous improvement) and “Six Sigma” (which uses statistical methods to eliminate variations and defects) were quantified and widely deployed a long time ago, often with good results.
Advertising Age, October 11, 2007 — TV ads really do reduce sensitivity to price differences, particularly when consumers are frequent buyers in a category, according to new research from the Apollo pilot project, which is tracking consumers' media and shopping habits.
The study by Apollo, which combines media-exposure data collected from consumers using Arbitron's Portable People Meters with purchase data culled from Nielsen Co.'s ACNielsen Homescan consumer panel, found exposure to TV ads decreases consumers' tendency to react to price changes.
BusinessWeek, October 10, 2007 — For Pok Rui Bin, 29, drinking Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 after 12-hour workdays in Beijing means mixing it with green tea. The advertising copywriter's cocktail of choice is just one of many regional recipes that Global Managing Director Mike Keyes is getting used to now that his brand is available in 135 countries. What appeals to Pok about the Tennessee whiskey, he says, is the smooth smoky flavor, "and how it's hand-crafted and all comes from this one special place…I love that American West stuff."
Los Angeles Times, October 9, 2007 — -- This Avon rep wears a hard hat and carries a pile of company catalogs to his day job on a construction site, encouraging the men to buy their ladies a little something.
Perfume and lingerie are his top sellers. Oh, and he won't go a day without the women's wrinkle cream.
Meet Bobby McKinney. Your local Avon man.
Advertising Age, October 9, 2007 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Seventeen magazine may still be pretty obsessed with appearance — recent issues delivered dozens of tips on manicures, shopping and flawless skin — but under Editor in Chief Ann Shoket, the November issue is introducing a "Seventeen Body Peace Project" to help girls appreciate their shapes and stop stressing over the beauty industry's preferred standards. And she's getting some help from Unilever's Dove, a brand whose most recent viral video chronicles the damaging effect of unrealistic media images on young girls.
BusinessWeek, October 8, 2007 — In January, 2006, the Westin Chicago River North hotel was picked to pilot a project, dubbed Unwind, for the upscale hotel chain. The purpose: to think up a set of nightly activities that would draw guests out of their rooms and into the lobby where they could mingle, develop a greater loyalty to the hotel group, and maybe spend a little more money. Westin spied an opportunity after a study found that 34% of frequent travelers feel lonely away from home. The Unwind project led the Westin to develop dozens of activities, including massages, at the Chicago hotel.
Advertising Age, October 8, 2007 — With rapid cultural transformation happening all around us, one headline has been largely missed:
People Are Getting Harder to Understand (and You Thought it Was Just Your Spouse!).
While much has been written about shifts in the way people consume cultural content (from a "push" to a "pull" model, from monologue to conversation, from mass to niche channels), much less has been made of corresponding shifts in the way we express ourselves, and what that means for research.
New York Times, October 8, 2007 — AMONG other new features, the new Toyota Yaris has a giant tentacle that reaches out of its roof to shoot enemies as it races through a futuristic tunnel, sometimes within inches of soaring fireballs. The tentacle is not standard on the new models: this Yaris car was devised by a video game company rather than automobile engineers.
BusinessWeek, October 4, 2007 — The Second Annual BusinessWeek survey of the best design schools highlights the growing role they play in supplying creative managers to corporate and nonprofit organizations. Our list includes joint programs among business, engineering, and design schools as well as revamped curricula within traditional design programs. The driving forces of innovation and globalization are pushing companies to revamp their managerial ranks and hire people with new skills. Surprised by the rise of consumer power, companies are seeking people who can connect with customer cultures online and overseas. And in an era of constant change, they want people who are comfortable with complexity and uncertainty. Schools that teach design thinking, with its emphasis on maximizing... continue reading
Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2007 — Using a new tool developed by Kimberly-Clark Corp., a woman stood surrounded by three screens showing a store aisle, a retina-tracking device recording her every glance.
Asked by a Kimberly-Clark researcher to find a "big box" of Huggies Natural Fit diapers in size three, she pushed forward on a handle like that of a shopping cart, and the video simulated her progress down the aisle. Spotting Huggies' red packages, she turned the handle to the right to face a dizzying array of diapers. After pushing a button to get a kneeling view of the shelves, she reached forward and tapped the screen to put the box she wanted in her virtual cart.
Kimberly-Clark hopes these virtual shopping aisles will help it better understand consumer behavior and make the testing... continue reading
Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2007 — The Wal-Mart Era, the retailer's time of overwhelming business and social influence in America, is drawing to a close.
Using a combination of low prices and relentless expansion, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. emerged from rural Arkansas in the 1970s to reshape the world's largest economy. Its co-founder, Sam Walton, taught Americans to demand ever-lower prices and instructed businesses on running a lean company. His company helped boost America's overall productivity, lowered the inflation rate, and strengthened the buying power for millions of people. Over time, it also accelerated the drive to manufacture products in Asia, drove countless small shops out of business, and sped the decline of Main Street. Those changes are permanent.
Today, though, Wal-Mart's... continue reading
Advertising Age, October 2, 2007 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — When the new issue of TV Guide reaches newsstands Oct. 4, readers will find a 16-page booklet devoted to Fox's "Prison Break" series inside, including a pair of ad spreads capitalizing on a plot point to sell the Toyota Yaris.
The ads are the latest examples of advertising designed to break out by leveraging one brand to promote another — and the creative contributions from magazine publishers that once came exclusively from ad agencies.
Advertising Age, October 2, 2007 — After 21 years, any brand could use a makeover. That was the approach Jeff Charney took when he was charged with creating the first-ever national advertising and marketing campaign for QVC, the home-shopping network. A cable TV staple since its launch in 1986, QVC has steadily grown in household carriage and sales to become the second-most-profitable network (CBS is first), according to a Broadcasting & Cable annual survey.
Yet harnessing a young-and-hip brand identity for a network based on phoned-in transactions by Midwestern housewives wasn't exactly easy. "It was a very different challenge from any I've ever had," said Mr. Charney, the network's senior VP-CMO.
FORTUNE, October 1, 2007 — Marry me, Sue!" We've just pulled into the parking lot of Albuquerque's Jefferson Commons call center, home to 800 T-Mobile USA customer-service representatives, and outside there's mayhem. Hundreds of screaming, chanting people are standing in front of the building, bedecked in a wild array of hot-pink clothing (T-Mobile's signature color) ranging from T-shirts to cowboy hats to feather boas. They're waving signs, holding up camera phones, and generally acting like starstruck teenagers. One guy's wearing a fuchsia bathrobe; another, in a fluorescent-pink wig, is screaming, "We love you!" over and over.
All this booty shaking and flag waving might seem a bit extreme, given that technically today's event features a middle-aged woman on a routine visit... continue reading
BusinessWeek, October 1, 2007 — By all conventional standards, Room & Board should be bigger than it is. The Minneapolis-based furniture retailer, which runs just nine stores, has a devoted base of customers who rave about its hip design and customer service on message boards and blogs. Its sleek styles, priced between the highbrow midcentury classics at retailer Design Within Reach and the flat-pack furniture from Ikea, are often featured in magazines alongside brands several times its size.
Fast Company, October 1, 2007 — On Goose Island, an industrial district in downtown Chicago, clipboard-carrying chemists are filling vials, testing formulas, and calibrating state-of-the-art spectrometers in the laboratories of an ultramodern research facility.
Fast Company, October 1, 2007 — Why am I meeting with you guys?" It was the spring of 2005, just three weeks into Mark Hurd's tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), and product design was not at the top of his list of priorities. Hurd was consumed with the monumental task of restructuring a company with more than 150,000 employees in 170 countries and making operational efficiency a cornerstone of the tech giant's competitive strategy.
The ponytailed Sam Lucente, who'd become HP's first-ever vice president of design two years earlier, was in the hot seat. He flashed a slide that showed dozens of HP logos, each created by a different team within the company. The next slide was of a single logo, crafted by his corporate design crew, that could be used everywhere. Lucente predicted... continue reading
BusinessWeek, October 1, 2007 — Like many twentysomethings, the workers at Starcom MediaVest Group spend a portion of their workday on a social network. So in April, executives of the ad-buying firm figured, why fight it? They launched a network of their own, for employees only, called SMG Connected. Today, a little more than a third of the company's workers, or 2,060 people, have signed up for their own pages where they can create profiles that outline their jobs, list the brands they admire and describe their values by choosing from words such as "creativity" and "humor."
Prophet, October 1, 2007 — In this article, Andrew Pierce argues that the question for most companies is not if they will take action to make their brands environmentally friendly, but when and the extent to which they will do so. He then discusses what it takes to successfully make green work as a business and brand builder.
Advertising Age, October 1, 2007 — The media are always looking for new "darlings," and every now and then a sensational new product emerges, whipping them into a frenetic state. Swiffer, the iPod, TiVo, Crest Whitestrips, Red Bull — all are products that had the industry gushing about their features and benefits. Part of what drives these stories is the fact that there are so few wildly successful new products — especially in comparison with the number of products launched.