Billboards That Look Back

New York Times, May 31, 2008 — In advertising these days, the brass ring goes to those who can measure everything — how many people see a particular advertisement, when they see it, who they are. All of that is easy on the Internet, and getting easier in television and print. Billboards are a different story. For the most part, they are still a relic of old-world media, and the best guesses about viewership numbers come from foot traffic counts or highway reports, neither of which guarantees that the people passing by were really looking at the billboard, or that they were the ones sought out.

ANA Survey Finds Most Struggle With 'Parochial Structures'

MediaPost Publications, May 30, 2008 — A survey of members of the Association of National Advertisers fielded by CoActive Marketing Group shows that 74% of marketers employ integrated marketing campaigns for most, if not all, of their brands. But only one quarter of marketers give their firm's integrated-marketing efforts a "very good" or "excellent" rating.

Campbell's Chief Looks for Splash of Innovation†

Conant Plans New Line of Light Soups and a Move Into Markets in Russia and China

Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2008 — When Douglas Conant became CEO of Campbell Soup Co. seven years ago, naysayers bet against him being able to revive soup with today's busy and health-conscious consumers. Mr. Conant proved them wrong after remaking the company's condensed soups, introducing soup in microwavable containers, revamping marketing and redesigning shelving systems in supermarket soup aisles.

Campbell CEO Douglas Conant is launching new soup lines next year.

Now, Mr. Conant, 56 years old, has more proving to do. Campbell, which also makes Pepperidge Farm foods and V8 beverages, is struggling with high ingredient and energy costs as well as a competitor that beat it to market with a successful new product.

Fisher-Price Game Plan: Pursue Toy Sales in Developing Markets†

Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2008 — In developing a line of talking toys aimed at children in China, engineers at Fisher-Price had to struggle to perfect the Mandarin "Sh" sound, which involves a soft hiss that was difficult to encode on sound-data chips embedded in the toys.

Developers finally solved the problem of recording the phrase "It's learning time!" in Mandarin, but new challenges are ahead. (Listen to the phrase.) The company will soon be examining the LCD screens on learning toys to determine whether Chinese characters can be displayed clearly.

Getting such details right is increasingly important as Fisher-Price and its parent company, Mattel Inc., try to attract more customers overseas.

Heinz Is Expected to Increase Profit and Sales Forecasts†

EmergingMarkets,New Products Help; Real Pricing Power

Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2008 — H.J. Heinz Co is expected Thursday to raise its profit- and sales-growth forecasts as the company unveils its first two-year plan since a proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz in 2006.

The Pittsburgh-based ketchup giant will report results for the fiscal year ended April 30 at an investor meeting in New York City, where it is also expected to increase its sales-growth outlook for the next two years to 6% or more from 4%, and its earnings-per-share growth forecast for the same period to between 8% and 11% from the previous projection of 7% to 9%.

People close to the company say the growth is expected to come from new products, higher prices for existing products and an accelerating push into emerging markets.

Hydrox Redux: Cookie Duels Oreo, Again†

Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2008 — Hydrox, the defunct chocolate-sandwich wafer, is returning for one more rematch with its nemesis, the Oreo.

Bowing to more than 1,300 phone inquiries, an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures and Internet chat sites lamenting the demise of the snack, Kellogg Co. has decided to temporarily relaunch Hydrox, the left-for-dead cookie

Study Shows Blogging Now 'Mainstream' Among Women†

Many Web Users Actively Contributing, Not Just Surfing

Advertising Age, May 28, 2008 — Blogosphere" may not be a pretty name for it, but it is a pretty attractive destination — for women at least, and maybe for marketers courting them, too.

According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners, more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study.

Cat kicks in to sponsor English rugby team

Crain's Chicago Business, May 27, 2008 — Construction giant Caterpillar Inc. will sponsor the English rugby union club Leicester Tigers in a five-year deal worth about $11.8 million.

The deal is the biggest club rugby sponsorship in the world, the club said Tuesday.

Hershey's Promotes Bliss via Experiential Party

Promo Magazine, May 27, 2008 — The Hershey Co. has turned to parties to generate word-of-mouth and buzz around some of its new products. The company recently used themed house parties via House Party, a marketing services firm, to support its new Hershey’s Bliss chocolate line. Hershey’s staged 10,200 “House of Bliss” parties over the April 25 weekend to sample its latest item and spread interest as the product rolled out in stores.

Make Your Marketing Useful, Like Samsung and Charmin†

Take a Small Chunck Out of Those Billion-Dollar Budgets and Help Provide a Free, Helpful Service

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — After about half an hour of staring at the space where a plane should've been, we're granted the announcement we knew was coming: The 3:30 p.m. out of LAX is now the 4:50 p.m., which we all know means it's really the 6-something p.m. There's a brief period of eye-rolling before everyone goes back to their business, which in my case means huddling with a dozen other worshippers around the Samsung totem pole to which our BlackBerries and laptops are attached.

If you have the misfortune to run the gauntlet of America's airports with any regularity, you're all too familiar with this scene and may even know the totem I'm referring to. It's an eight-foot, electrical charging station with a little shelf about halfway up its length where devices rest and... continue reading

Top Advertisers Add Meaning to Marketing†

P&G, Others Aim to Aid, Not Invade, by Crafting Purposeful Campaigns

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — Self-loathing has become all too commonplace in marketing, as Bridge Worldwide CEO Jay Woffington sees it, and not entirely without reason.

Young marketers or agency executives don't take long to learn they've dedicated their lives to creating stuff people seek to avoid, and with increasing success. But Bridge, a digital unit of WPP Group's Wunderman in, of all places, Cincinnati, ancestral homeland of Procter & Gamble Co. and interruptive advertising as we know it, thinks it has a disarmingly simple answer: "Marketing with Meaning."

TV Ads 'a Waste of Money' for the Back-in-Black Gap†

40% Jump in Profits Indicates Merchandising Initiatives Are Paying Off

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — By shunning TV, Gap looks to turn itself around. The brand once known for its peppy, elaborate commercials has struggled in recent years to attract consumers in an increasingly competitive retail environment. But now that it's shelved TV advertising — the brand has been off the airwaves for several quarters — and is focusing on merchandising initiatives, Gap seems to be on the right financial track.

Usual Folks Need Not Apply†

Emergent Consumers Are Better at Predicting New-Product Acceptance

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — We have identified a particular type of consumer whose judgments, unlike those of typical consumers, can influence and predict new-product acceptance. These emergent consumers, as we call them, can actually help create more-appealing and more-useful products and increase the chances of their success.

Advertisers in touch with teens' cellphones

Youths are signing up to have pitches, photos and links to websites sent to their multifunction mobile devices.

Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2008 — As she readied for last night's prom, Jamie McGraw asked her friends for advice about hairstyles, shoes and a dress. She also turned to her cellphone for a little help. McGraw receives daily text messages from Seventeen magazine about fashion, including tips about what to wear to the prom. She planned to take the magazine's suggestion to wear a brightly colored outfit and be prepared for "dress malfunctions."

Google's 'Analytics Evangelist' Explains Why Websites 'Suck'†

Kaushik: Despite Mounds of Data, Marketers Don't Understand Consumers

Advertising Age, May 21, 2008 — Avinash Kaushik thinks one of the reasons why so many websites "suck" today is because of the hippo — as in the "highest paid person's opinion." And, yes, you're likely a hippo — a successful advertising executive, CMO or brand manager, pulling in a six-figure income, often found pontificating about what does and doesn't work online. You use tried-and-true metrics such as unique visitors and click-through rates to decide on the best design for your landing page or what content is best suited on your product site.

Macy's National Approach: Go Local†

Marketing Shifts to Web, Radio and Newspapers, Away From Television

Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2008 — When Macy's decided a couple of years ago to build a national brand, it boosted its spending on television advertising. But as part of a recent move to appeal to local tastes, the retailer will emphasize media such as newspapers, radio and Internet advertising.

Overseeing the new marketing strategy is Peter Sachse, who doubles as Macy's chief marketing officer and chairman of Macy's online division. A 25-year veteran of Federated Department Stores, which last year changed its name to Macy's, he is serving his second stint as CMO. He filled the job from 2003 to 2006 before moving on to run Macys.com, resuming the role about a year ago after his successor left abruptly.

Fans Resist End of Virtual Disneyland†

Created to Celebrate 50th Anniversary, Free Game to Shut

Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2008 — For Walt Disney Co., the task of opening a virtual version of Disneyland on the Web was relatively easy. Closing it, though, is proving to be quite a bit more difficult, thanks to the wrath of obsessive fans of Disney's theme parks.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005, Walt Disney launched a free online game called Virtual Magic Kingdom whose look and layout mimics Disneyland's. Users created avatars and explored the online park's various regions, such as Tomorrowland and Main Street; chatted with other users; and participated in online promotions that crossed over into real-life activities at the company's resorts in California and Florida.

Disney's notoriously obsessive fans got deeply into this.

Online TV Ads No Longer Afterthought†

'Upfront' Purchase Deals To Include Serious Talks About Web Campaigns

Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2008 — Conscious that millions of people are now watching TV shows online, marketers are likely for the first time this year to make digital-ad buys a key part of their "upfront" ad-purchase negotiations with TV networks, media buyers say.

"The digital ads aren't a throw-in after the main conversation is over. It's now part of the main conversation," says Alan Schanzer, managing partner at MEC Interaction North America, part of WPP Group's media-buying and planning unit Mediaedge:cia.

Survey: Marketing efforts likely to survive downturn-driven budget cuts

Marketing Daily, May 20, 2008 — Marketing budgets this year will not be slashed because of the economic downturn, according to a new survey by the CMO Club.

Seventy-one percent of chief marketing officers in the study do not plan on cutting their company's marketing budget, while only 14 percent said they would.

At Sci Fi Channel, the Universe Is Expanding and the Future Is Now

New York Times, May 19, 2008 — The letters still keep coming to the Rockefeller Center offices of the Sci Fi Channel. Please, they all say, pick up “Jericho,” the science fiction show with a small but passionate following that was canceled in March by CBS, for a third season.

But those letters are falling on deaf ears. The Sci Fi Channel, still viewed by many as a niche network, is no longer a repository for failed fantasy shows cast aside by the broadcast networks. Instead, through a mix of original shows, movies and syndicated reruns (including old “Jericho” episodes but no new ones), the network has expanded its audience, especially among women, chiefly by stretching the definition of science fiction.

CMOs, Stop Obsessing Over the Tenure Stat†

Instead, Here's What They Should Be Asking Themselves

Advertising Age, May 19, 2008 — Without question the marketing community has taken hold of the CMO-tenure statistic and run with it. Whether it's morbid fascination or the need to continually justify the role of the chief marketing officer, we simply need to move on.

Instead of framing their roles in terms of self-preservation, CMOs should be asking themselves: What is the proper role of marketing at my organization, and how can it be used to create as much value as possible?

Online Search Ads Faring Better Than Expensive Displays

While search advertising remains strong, there are signs that the growth in online advertising — particularly in more elaborate display ads — is slowing.

New York Times, May 19, 2008 — In the past few years, Web publishers have made a big bet on booming online advertising revenues. But the economic slowdown may be throwing a wrench into those plans.

While search advertising remains strong, there are signs that the growth in online advertising — particularly in more elaborate display ads — is slowing down.

Schultz's Second Act Jolts Starbucks†

Already Intense, He Faces New Pressure: Peltz Owns a Stake

Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2008 — For two decades, Howard Schultz enjoyed uninterrupted success building Starbucks Corp. into a hip chain of coffee shops that richly rewarded shareholders.

But with profits off and the stock sinking, Mr. Schultz is cast in an unfamiliar new role: the person who must re-energize a company that has lost its edge. That has unleashed an intensity in him that is rattling the feel-good Starbucks culture.

Shoppers Primed for a New World of Shopping Experiences

MarketingVox, May 19, 2008 — Biometric fingerprint payments, intelligent shopping carts, holographic sales assistance, and interactive dressing rooms are among the top shopping experience innovations foreseen by shoppers, finds a TNS Retail Forward study, MarketingCharts reports.

What It Takes to Really Win Globally†

A Global Brand CEO Looks Beyond Typical Focus on Insights, Innovation and Communication

Advertising Age, May 19, 2008 — If they aren't already losing sleep over this question, global brand marketers have more than enough right to: How must we leverage our global brands?

Studying more than 50 global brands over the last five years, among them global superstars Starbucks and Unilever's Dove, it's clear that the winning leadership mind-set is one that looks beyond typical focus on insights, innovation and communication. Those are a start, but focusing on them won't get you far enough in today's highly competitive global economy. Rather, the leaders I call true global brand CEOs forcefully build long-term global marketing capability by driving a single global strategy, forcing organizational alignment, improving speed-to-market and building brand expertise across geographies.

Can a Dead Brand Live Again?

Do you remember Brim?

New York Times, May 18, 2008 — The coffee brand? Perhaps you recall its advertising slogan: “Fill it to the rim — with Brim!” Those ads haven’t been shown in years, and Brim itself has been off retail shelves since the 1990s. Yet depending on how old you are, there’s a fair chance that there’s some echo of the Brim brand in your brain. That’s no surprise, given that from 1961 to around 1995, General Foods spent tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars to get it there. But General Foods disappeared into the conglomerate now known as Altria, which also acquired Kraft, maker of Maxwell House. With much smaller sales than that megabrand, Brim soon disappeared — except, perhaps, for a vague idea of Brim that lingered, and lingers even now, in the minds of millions of... continue reading

Can a Dead Brand Live Again?

Do you remember Brim?

New York Times, May 18, 2008 — The coffee brand? Perhaps you recall its advertising slogan: “Fill it to the rim — with Brim!” Those ads haven’t been shown in years, and Brim itself has been off retail shelves since the 1990s. Yet depending on how old you are, there’s a fair chance that there’s some echo of the Brim brand in your brain. That’s no surprise, given that from 1961 to around 1995, General Foods spent tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars to get it there. But General Foods disappeared into the conglomerate now known as Altria, which also acquired Kraft, maker of Maxwell House. With much smaller sales than that megabrand, Brim soon disappeared — except, perhaps, for a vague idea of Brim that lingered, and lingers even now, in the minds of millions of... continue reading

Change boosts P&G's Febreze; nearing $1B sales milestone

Chicago Tribune, May 18, 2008 — It took some new uses to turn Procter & Gamble Co.'s Febreze into a brand now within whiffing distance of the billion-dollar annual sales milestone. After its first few years on the market, people weren't using the original fabric odor spray all that often, and sales were flattening. But researchers then realized people were already trying out the spray in other ways in their homes.

Nau Is Then

The hip green clothing label with an unconventional approach to style, materials, and retailing calls it quits. What went wrong?

BusinessWeek, May 16, 2008 — When the founders of Portland (Ore.)-based Nau first came together in 2005 to lay the groundwork for a sustainable fashion company, their strict eco-principles and innovative e-tailing strategy appeared to be ideas whose time had come. Its stylishly minimal clothes in muted colors, made of sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester, went on sale in 2007 and appealed to outdoorsy types and city dwellers, tapping into the growing green fashion trend. Nau's few bricks-and-mortar stores were eco-friendly showcases for products, but customers were encouraged to buy online with a 10% discount. And as part of the company's social enterprise initiative, 5% of all sales—from a $38 tank top to a pair of $138 "lean jeans"—were handed over... continue reading

Why GE Is Getting Out of the Kitchen

Stoves, refrigerators, and other appliances used to be the core of General Electric's business. But now the hot growth is elsewhere

BusinessWeek, May 16, 2008 — By jettisoning one of its most iconic units, General Electric (GE) would join a small but high-profile club of companies that famously parted ways with businesses once synonymous with their brand names. Companies such as IBM (IBM) and Eastman Kodak (EK) have also—either because of financial straits or tactical maneuvering—transformed themselves by letting go of ventures that once defined them.

Why Twitter Matters

Can the fledgling microblogging service become a social media powerhouse to rival giants like Facebook—or will it be gobbled up?

BusinessWeek, May 15, 2008 — t's easy to laugh at nonsense on Twitter, the microblogging rage. "My nose is leaking," writes someone called Zapples, "so imma go to sleep now.…" But I've heard lots of similar drivel (and even produced some myself) on the phone—an important technology if there ever was one. The key question today isn't what's dumb on Twitter, but instead how a service with bite-size messages topping out at 140 characters can be smart, useful, maybe even necessary. Here's why I'm looking. In the last few months, the traffic on Twitter has exploded, growing far beyond its circles of bleeding-edge tech enthusiasts and hard-core social networkers.

What Accountants Can Teach You About Using Social Media†

H&R Block Cast a Wide Net With a Campaign That Included Profiles, Videos, Twitter and Widgets

Advertising Age, May 14, 2008 — Tax software isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think of marketing in social networks or on YouTube, spaces dominated by movie trailers and goofy viral videos. But H&R Block proved that it, too, can be successful in the space, but it's about matching content to the social community and then making that content valuable to consumers, said Amy Worley, director of digital marketing for H&R Block.

C Suite Favors E Media, Study Finds 'Business Elite' Embracing Online

MediaPost Publications, May 13, 2008 — America's business elite, the so-called "C suite" that run our country's medium and large size businesses, are changing their personal media habits and spending much more of their time online. That may come as little surprise given the corresponding shifts that have taken place in the consumer population but the new findings, released this morning by global market research giant Ipsos, provides tangible proof of the impact digital media is having on one of the most difficult to reach, but most important media targets of all.

Finding cracks in Facebook

The social-networking supersite is taking flak from users, developers, and advertisers. Right about now a young CEO like Mark Zuckerberg usually steps aside quietly. Not this time.

FORTUNE, May 13, 2008 — Late last year Mark Zuckerberg, the 24-year-old CEO of social-networking phenomenon Facebook, got onstage before a Madison Avenue crowd and declared that he was leading a once-in-a-century media revolution. Long story short: The revolution hasn't panned out. Six months later, advertisers could be forgiven for mistaking Facebook for a smaller MySpace or a much larger Friendster (remember them?). And far from changing media as we know it, the virtual home of Superpokes, Funwalls, and other such time wasters is showing cracks in its foundation.

Forever Chasing Its Action Demo, Mountain Dew Rolls Out Street-Skating Film†

Brand Is Largely Unseen in Documentary About New York Scene

Advertising Age, May 13, 2008 — Mountain Dew makes its return to film production with its new skateboard documentary, "Deathbowl to Downtown," which follows the rise of street-skating in New York's shifting urban landscapes from the '70s to the present. The documentary, which took three years to make, is as much a sports action video as it is a look back at the Big Apple.

The Open Secret of Success

New Yorker, May 13, 2008 — In the current atmosphere of economic tumult, the announcement that Toyota sold a hundred and sixty thousand more cars than General Motors in the first three months of this year might seem like a minor news item. But it may very well signal the end of one of the most remarkable runs in business history. For seventy-seven years, in good times and bad, G.M. has sold more cars annually than any other company in the world.

Why People Won't Pay for Online News the Way They Pay for HBO†

Cable Offered Consumers a Better Product; What Are Newspapers Offering?

Advertising Age, May 13, 2008 — In The New York Times last Sunday, Frank Rich became the latest to argue that cable- and satellite-TV subscriptions should give hope to the newspaper industry, which has decided during this steep ad downturn that it wants to charge for some content it puts online.

Ogilvy, Dove Miss Chance to Turn Bad Press Into 'Debate'†

If They Wanted to Be Word-of-Mouth Marketers They Should Have Been Listening

Advertising Age, May 12, 2008 — The latest Dove controversy epitomizes the ad industry's struggle to reinvent itself as a participant in an ongoing conversation rather than an old guy with a megaphone barking orders to people who no longer follow them.

Ogilvy's work for Unilever's Dove brand has been a poster child for this conversion. Here was a campaign that used traditional one-way stuff such as TV spots, banners, billboards and magazine ads but did it in a way that encouraged and facilitated debate everywhere from Oprah's studio to the smallest blog.

Sampling: The New Mass Medium†

Tactic Has Won Over Likes of Starbucks, McD's and Morphs Into Big 'Event'

Advertising Age, May 12, 2008 — One of marketing's oldest and least glamorous practices — doling out free product — has come a long way from the gray-haired ladies in the supermarket aisle. No longer the province of marketers who can't afford to buy mass media, deep-pocketed giants from McDonald's to Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Dunkin' Donuts are adopting sampling on a grand scale, turning it into a media event — and, in some cases, the media buy.

Shape of Things to Come†

How Apple's trademark for its iPod protects its brand -- and offers lessons for other companies on how to leverage their intellectual property

Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2008 — On Jan. 8, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple Inc. a trademark for the three-dimensional shape of its iPod media player.

This was more than a recognition of an innovative product design. It also was Apple's capping piece in a multiyear marketing and legal campaign that pushed intellectual-property rights to new competitive advantage for the company.

Dove: 'Real Women' Ads Were not 'Digitally Altered'†

Marketer and Celeb Photographer Deny Reports of Retouched Images for Campaign

Advertising Age, May 9, 2008 — Dove's "real beauties" were not airbrushed, but their photos were treated to eliminate dust from the film and provide "color correction," according to Unilever and celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Dove's 'Real Beauty' Pics Could Be Big Phonies†

Photo Retoucher Says He Improved Images in Controversial Campaign

Advertising Age, May 7, 2008 — Dove's "real beauties" may not be so real after all, at least by the account of a renowned airbrush artist.

In a May 12 profile in The New Yorker posted online, Pascal Dangin of New York's Box Studios is quoted as saying he extensively retouched photos used in the Campaign for Real Beauty, which, if true, could seriously undermine an effort that already has subjected Unilever to considerable consumer and activist backlash in recent months.

Red Robot Helps Crocs Take a New Path†

Branded Online Travel Guide Provides a Platform for Footwear Maker

Advertising Age, May 7, 2008 — To pierce through the ad clutter and really engage your consumers, offer a service, not an ad.

That, in a nutshell, is the logic behind Cities by Foot, a new travel-guide website unveiled today that provides high-definition video presentations of local shops and restaurants in different cities, devised by entertainment and marketing agency Red Robot for its client, footwear maker Crocs.

Economy, Rivals No Match for BK's Marketing†

Fast Feeder Notches Sales Gain of 5.4%, Trouncing Even Ascendant McD's

Advertising Age, May 5, 2008 — Burger King is giving rivals a solid thrashing — and marketing is getting the credit.

While other fast feeders fault the recession and housing crisis for tepid sales, Burger King posted a healthy same-store-sales gain of 5.4% in its fiscal third quarter, well ahead of even McDonald's, which reported a comparatively anemic 2.9%.

No. 3 burger chain Wendy's, now in the throes of an ownership change, saw same-store sales fall 1.6% at company-run stores in the same period.

Analysts are crediting Burger King's marketing with some of the gains.

For Unilever, P&G, No Good Deed Is Going Unpunished†

Damned if You Do: Cause Efforts Become Ammo for the Critics

Advertising Age, May 5, 2008 — Greg Allgood, who directs Procter & Gamble Co.'s Children's Safe Drinking Water program, recently has spent a lot of time demonstrating Pur's purification packets for developing countries that turn disgusting, brown water crystal clear. On one TV appearance last week, he accidentally took a swig from the dirty "before" water instead of the treated water in a clip that made the rounds to "Countdown" on MSNBC.

It's symbolic of the downside companies in the forefront of ethical marketing have faced in recent weeks: No good deed goes entirely unpunished; high-profile stances on social causes can have unintended consequences; and the water is getting pretty murky as "ethical marketing" encourages consumers and activists to delve into corporate policies in... continue reading

Is Your Consumer Using Social Media?†

Nine Profiles of Who Your Targets Are and Where They Might Be Online

Advertising Age, May 5, 2008 — Raise your hand if you believe social media is an important way to build a brand. Now raise your other hand if you're still not sure how to do that properly.

Most people probably have two hands in the air right now. Put them down; your cubemates think you're crazy.

While marketers may not be spending huge marketing dollars on social media yet, they know they should be using it to reach consumers.

New Breed of Business Gurus Rises†

Psychologists, CEOs Climb in Influence, Draw Hits, Big Fees

Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2008 — Psychologists, journalists and celebrity chief executives crowd the top of a ranking of influential business thinkers compiled for The Wall Street Journal. The results, based on Google hits, media mentions and academic citations, ranked author and consultant Gary Hamel No. 1

But Dr. Hamel is the only traditional business guru in the top five, which includes two journalists, Thomas Friedman and Malcolm Gladwell, and a former CEO, Bill Gates. Mr. Gladwell is among three thinkers in the top eight who focus on psychology.

Tub of Cool Whip too Challenging? Try the Can†

Kraft Wants to Prove It Can Innovate by Unveiling Slew of Even-Easier-to-Use Products

Advertising Age, May 5, 2008 — Kraft Foods, which has made a business out of making meals easy, has heard from consumers that its products still weren't easy enough. And so Kraft is preparing to unveil to grocers some 80 new products at the Food Marketing Institute show in Las Vegas next week designed to appeal to even the laziest Americans.

The launches come as the company negotiates a complicated turnaround. It is beset with an unwieldy portfolio, old-but-storied brands and sky-high commodity costs. In order to hold prices and still drive demand, Kraft has boosted marketing spending, reformulated products such as Maxwell House and Oscar Mayer franks, and attempted to make its products more convenient and portable.

McD's CMO Dillon Activates 'The Year of Innovation'†

Brandweek, May 4, 2008 — McDonald's is a juggernaut. The No. 1 U.S. fast food chain grew 6.1% to $28.75 billion last year, per Technomic, Chicago. For a little perspective about how big McDonald's is: Its sales are three times that of No. 2 burger chain Burger King.

At Kodak, Some Old Things Are New Again

Eastman Kodak, which once considered itself the Bell Labs of chemistry, has embraced the digital world and the researchers who understand it

New York Times, May 2, 2008 — Steven J. Sasson, an electrical engineer who invented the first digital camera at Eastman Kodak in the 1970s, remembers well management’s dismay at his featMy prototype was big as a toaster, but the technical people loved it,” Mr. Sasson said. “But it was filmless photography, so management’s reaction was, ‘that’s cute — but don’t tell anyone about it.’ ”

Since then, of course, Kodak, which once considered itself the Bell Labs of chemistry, has embraced the digital world and the researchers who understand it.