Study: Value Trumps Price Among Shoppers†

Brandweek, February 28, 2009 — Consumers are not buying based on price alone. Instead, they are relying more on their perception of value when deciding which brands to stay loyal to during the recession.

In fact, consumer expectations regarding brand value went up 20 percent, according to the 2009 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Those brands that aren’t perceived as being worth it will fall to the wayside, said Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff.

Brand Keys polled 26,000 consumers of 441 brands in 63 categories earlier this year. Among the brands that received the highest marks for meeting or exceeding consumer expectations, “there is a price-value formula consumers use to calculate brand differences and to decide which brands to buy,” said Passikoff.... continue reading

Mr. Whipple Left It Out: Soft Is Rough on Forests

The soft toilet paper that Americans love uses millions of trees, because recycled paper does not have the same feel.

New York Times, February 26, 2009 — Americans like their toilet tissue soft: exotic confections that are silken, thick and hot-air-fluffed.

The national obsession with soft paper has driven the growth of brands like Cottonelle Ultra, Quilted Northern Ultra and Charmin Ultra — which in 2008 alone increased its sales by 40 percent in some markets, according to Information Resources, Inc., a marketing research firm.

But fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada.

What GM Can Learn from IBM

The automaker's future may depend as much on selling a service as a product, a lesson that helped save IBM from extinction two decades ago

BusinessWeek, February 26, 2009 — Disappointingly for anyone with hopes for the future of General Motors (GM), the restructuring plan submitted by the automaker to the U.S. Treasury on Feb. 17 offers little in the way of a long-term comeback strategy. It's all about cost-cutting, federal financing, and making gas engines more efficient.

What more should we expect? The typical fate of corporate behemoths that flounder is either death or permanent eclipse, and perhaps GM's fate will be no different. Still, the recent past offers one rare exception that GM would do well to emulate.

Gerstner's IBM Reinvention

AmEx Encourages Cardholders to Leave†

Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2009 — It used to be that credit-card companies lured customers with cash rewards. Now American Express Co. is paying to get rid of them. The card issuer is offering selected customers a $300 AmEx prepaid gift card if they pay off their balances and close their accounts.

Frito-Lay Tries to Enter the Minds (and Lunch Bags) of Women

New York Times, February 25, 2009 — SORRY, men: Baked Lay’s are no longer meant for you.

Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, is overhauling all of its calorie-conscious snacks to make them appeal to women, including the baked versions of Lay’s, Fritos, Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos; Smartfood; Flat Earth; and its 100-calorie packages of snacks.

Kellogg Rep Takes Rap After Phelps Flap†

Little-Known Brand Tracker Vanno Finds Marketer Took a Hit for Dropping Olympian

Advertising Age, February 25, 2009 — What can more damage your reputation — recalling peanut butter products due to possible salmonella contamination or firing a bong-smoking Michael Phelps? According to a little-known online "social evaluation" community, Kellogg took a much bigger hit for the latter.

Q&A: Hilton Steps Up Customer Loyalty Efforts†

Brandweek, February 24, 2009 — The hotel industry is going through a rough patch. But even in tough times, consumers are looking for an occasional getaway, according to Adam Burke, svp-customer loyalty at Hilton Hotels, which earlier this year kicked off its Hilton HHonors Double Points loyalty program. In a recent interview with Brandweek, Burke discussed the new program and how the Hilton family of hotels is faring in a down economy.

Tropicana to Abandon Much-Maligned Juice Carton†

Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2009 — PepsiCo Inc.'s Tropicana Products juice division said it is dropping a new carton just six weeks after rolling out the design to great fanfare, after customers complained that they couldn't differentiate between the company's pulp-free, traditional and other types of juice.

Where innovation creates value

It doesn’t matter where scientific discoveries and breakthrough technologies originate—for national prosperity, the important thing is who commercializes them. The United States is not behind in that

McKinsey Quarterly, February 24, 2009 — Now, perhaps, more than ever, the fear of globalization haunts the United States. Many manufacturing companies that once flourished there fell to overseas competition or relocated much of their work abroad. Then services embarked on the same journey. Just as the manufacturing exodus started with low-wage, unskilled labor, the offshoring of services at first involved data entry, routine software programming and testing, and the operation of phone banks.

Yahoo to Offer Tools To Match Users, Ads†

Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2009 — Yahoo Inc. is unveiling several tools Tuesday to help marketers better target their online ads, as the Internet company tries to win back business during the recession.

The services include targeting graphical ads to users who have searched for particular terms in Yahoo's search engine and customizing the offers in ads based on what Web sites a consumer has visited and what they have done on those sites. Another service that is expected to go live next month will allow marketers to buy text ads next to search results that are targeted to users during a certain time of day or based on factors such as their age and gender.

Guess Which Medium Is as Effective as Ever: TV†

Despite All That Ails the Toob, Marketers Can Still Reach the Audience They Are Looking for -- Even Web-Obsessed Youth

Advertising Age, February 23, 2009 — The drumbeat of doom for TV advertising has sounded for more than a decade — DVRs, channel surfing, fragmentation, clutter, the flight to digital media ... Jay Leno moving to prime time. Now the recession has even TV's most reliable moneybags of yore, such as Procter & Gamble and General Motors, yanking big wads of cash off the table.

Yet a funny thing is emerging from the smoldering ruins of what may be the ugliest quarter TV has ever encountered financially: a growing body of evidence which suggests not only that TV advertising still works, but that it may be working better than ever.

Marketers Make Deeper Cuts

The ad outlook has worsened.

eMarketer, February 23, 2009 — Marketers are undertaking more drastic cost-cutting measures now than they projected even six months ago.

According to an Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey, 93% of responding marketers said they were now making budget cuts—versus 87% in July and August 2008.

Private Label Winning Battle of Brands†

Marketers Face Moment of Truth As Retailers' Lines Soar to Historic Sales High

Advertising Age, February 23, 2009 — BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) Package-goods brands face their greatest crisis and strongest threat from private label since at least the early 1990s. And that's the good news. The bad news is that this time could be a lot worse — more like the U.K. or Canada in the 1970s than the U.S. in the 1990s, according to some industry watchers. They predict a structural slowdown in consumer spending that could last four to 10 years, which, combined with increasingly marketing-savvy and aggressive retailers, could conspire to push private-label shares to a dizzying high — as much as six times the roughly one-point gain already seen since the recession began in December 2007.

TaylorMade's Innovation Test

TaylorMade's R9 driver is the result of CEO Mark King broadening his "relentless innovation" strategy to include middle managers

BusinessWeek, February 23, 2009 — When TaylorMade Golf's R9 hits retailers in March, it will be the 45th new metal driver the company has produced since 2003. Thanks to that torrent of product introductions, the Adidas subsidiary has more than doubled its annual revenue, to $1.3 billion, catching up with once-larger rivals Callaway Golf (ELY) and Acushnet and rising to the top in sales of drivers, the game's priciest clubs.

Chief Executive Officer Mark King calls the company's lickety-split rollout schedule "relentless innovation."

Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging

IT took 24 years, but PepsiCo now has its own version of New Coke.

New York Times, February 22, 2009 — The PepsiCo Americas Beverages division of PepsiCo is bowing to public demand and scrapping the changes made to a flagship product, Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice. Redesigned packaging that was introduced in early January is being discontinued, executives plan to announce on Monday, and the previous version will be brought back in the next month.

P&G, Others Are Confident Higher Prices Will Stick†

Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2009 — Chief executives from several big household-products makers voiced confidence they could make higher prices stick, even as the recession ratchets up pressure on retailers and consumers to cut costs.

"Our products don't deliver value [just] because the prices on the shelves are lower," A.G. Lafley, chief executive of Procter & Gamble Co., told analysts and investors at a conference here.

Like several other industry executives who spoke at the event, Mr. Lafley said his company doesn't plan to roll back the significant price increases it has made over the past several months.

A Cup of Coffee, Enriched by Lifestyle

New York Times, February 19, 2009 — The current recession may be most serious since the 1930s, but these are boom times at Nespresso — the seemingly omnipresent brand of coffee and coffee makers owned by the Swiss food giant Nestlé.

Though it represents about 5 percent of overall Nestlé sales of 110 billion francs, Nespresso is now the fastest growing among the most important brands at a company that owns household names like Perrier water, Maggi sauce, Felix cat food and, of course, Nestlé chocolate.

Don't Turn a Deaf Ear to Music Branding†

New Technology Allows Marketers to Target Consumers Aurally on a Variety of Platforms

Advertising Age, February 19, 2009 — Music. Records to some, jingles to others, a theme, a tune, a few bars or a beat — it's music, yes, but it's more: It's branding, music branding, and the sound is music to corporate ears.

Geico’s Lizard Offers a New Message of Reassurance

New York Times, February 19, 2009 — FOR years, prosaic consumer products sought to puff up their appeal by boasting they contained “secret” ingredients that improved their performance. Colgate toothpaste had Gardol, for instance, while Dial soap had AT-7 and Certs breath mints had Retsyn.

Now, confronting consumer anxiety over the economy, the giant insurer Geico is for the first time rolling out a secret ingredient of its own: Warren E. Buffett. The financier controls Berkshire Hathaway, the company that has owned Geico for more than a decade.

Re-launching brand USA

By Alistair Robinson and Benjamin Lickfett

Prophet, February 19, 2009 — Countries are like brands, they make a promise about what they will deliver to the world and most importantly what they will deliver to their customers, their citizens. (inthenews.co.uk)

Social Media Marketing Is A Multicultural World

MediaPost Publications, February 19, 2009 — Social media is now ubiquitous. Usage of blogs, social networks, and video sharing sites is increasing rapidly, and millions of people now look to social media sites as their primary source of news, opinion, and entertainment. As we witness this dramatic shift from traditional to social media, we believe it's important to examine its cultural dimensions - that is, who is driving this shift, what are the cultural factors behind it, and what are the implications for marketers seeking to reach specific ethnic/cultural groups via social media?

A Painful Departure for G.M. Brands

General Motors’ expansive lineup was once its primary weapon, but it plans to cut four brands, including Saturn and the long-lived Pontiac division

New York Times, February 18, 2009 — The brand that was once hailed as an important part of the future of General Motors now will be part of its past.

G.M. said Tuesday that it would phase out its Saturn brand by 2012. It does not plan to develop any more new vehicles for Saturn, which began 19 years ago as an effort to attract owners of small Japanese cars.

G.M. also said it was considering its options for the Pontiac division. The Pontiac name, part of the car business since 1932, could remain on some models, but may no longer be a separate division. G.M. said Pontiac would be a “focused brand” with fewer models.

Brand-Name Food Makers Woo Retailers With Displays†

Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2009 — Seeking to combat stiffer competition from cheaper store brands, big-name food manufacturers, including Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc., are joining forces with retailers to promote their brands alongside private-label goods

Kraft Unveils New Brand Identity†

Adweek, February 18, 2009 — Kraft Foods today unveiled a new corporate logo and brand identity, a move analysts say could better position the food company against private label goods.

Starbucks Coffee, Now in Instant

The company’s move to sell instant coffee is taking place as Starbucks is battling for growth as consumers rein in spending.

New York Times, February 18, 2009 — In Howard Schultz’s 1997 book about developing Starbucks, he wrote, “Nothing pains me more than hearing critics compare Starbucks to a chain of discount stores or fast-food operations.On Tuesday, the man who set out to improve Americans’ taste in coffee, unveiled instant coffee bearing the Starbucks brand. Packages of Via Ready Brew will appear in Starbucks shops in Seattle and Chicago on March 3, the same day that Starbucks will begin offering breakfast value meals in stores nationwide.

A Fashionable Lift for the Everywoman

New York Times, February 17, 2009 — AT Liz Claiborne, the apparel company that is struggling to endure a shutdown in consumer spending, executives have their own stimulus plan.

Call it Isaac Mizrahi.

Mr. Mizrahi — whose fashions for Target were so popular he helped the discount chain become synonymous with chic design — was poached by Liz Claiborne last year to overhaul its aging brand.

Facebook's friendship comes with fine print

Despite a perceived social contract, the reality is the social-networking site has a broad reach when it comes to using your content

Chicago Tribune, February 17, 2009 — Facebook knows your age, alma mater and favorite band. It's seen your spring break photos and read the messages you sent to your friend. So, can it do anything it wants with that content?

Legally, almost. But in practice, the rules that govern Facebook's relationship with its users are abstract and subject to constant negotiation.

General Mills Thrives on Increased Marketing Spending†

Boosting TV Ads Hiked Cereal Sales, But Digital ROI Even Higher

Advertising Age, February 17, 2009 — General Mills, one of the package-food industry's top performers, laid out a number of recent marketing successes at the Consumer Analysts Group of New York conference this morning, and offered a preview of the rest of its fiscal year.

The company has staunchly supported consumer-marketing spending increases — 19% in the first half of fiscal 2009, which began in June — while competitors, including Kellogg and Kraft, have begun to scale back on the heady marketing outlays of 2008, instead preaching bundling and greater return on investment. General Mills estimates that its consumer-marketing spending will be up by "double digits" for the full fiscal year.

Kraft Crafts New Brand Identity†

Brandweek, February 17, 2009 — Kraft Foods today unveiled a new corporate logo and brand identity, a move analysts say could better position the food company against private-label goods.

Kraft, which owns brands like Velveeta and Oreo, is making the announcement at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference, currently taking place in Boca Raton, Fla. Bearing the slogan, "make today delicious," the new Kraft logo consists of an upward, red smile exploding into an array of seven "flavor bursts," each of which represents a different division of Kraft's business. (The triangular shape, for instance, is meant to evoke Kraft's DiGiorno pizza brand.) The logo will begin appearing on the back and side panels of Kraft-branded foods worldwide. Kraft worked with design agency Nitro on... continue reading

Kraft Latest Marketer to Cheer Up Its Logo†

Food Giant Unveils New Look for Corporate Communications, Website

Advertising Age, February 17, 2009 — Kraft Foods became the latest in a string of marketers to unveil a smiley-face corporate logo, at the Consumer Analysts Group of New York this morning.

The logo is a result of what the company calls a "co-creation process" with consumers, employees, ad agency Nitro, London and another shop, Promise, whose location couldn't immediately be identified. The accompanying tagline on the logo will be "Make today delicious."

Noted Rater of Restaurants Brings Its Touch to Medicine

New York Times, February 17, 2009 — Nina Zagat, the queen of eat-and-tell restaurant guides, is invading a new and even trickier reviewing niche: doctors.

The ubiquitous Zagat guides are known for an assortment of mostly leisure-related topics including hotels, spas, golf courses, movies and nightlife. Now the editors are asking people covered by one of the country’s largest commercial insurers to post reviews of their doctors and rate them in categories like trust and communication.

P&G Looks for Beauty Tips in Genome Lab†

New Tools Help Cosmetics Makers Learn How Skin Behaves at Molecular Level, Use Findings to Improve Products

Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2009 — As scientists worked toward sequencing the human genome, many researchers embraced an exciting new tool that might offer insight into diseases. At Procter & Gamble Co., researchers saw an additional benefit: new ways to develop dandruff shampoo, skin cream and toothpaste.

Ten years ago, P&G began using genomic tools in a laboratory near its Cincinnati headquarters to learn how skin reacts at the molecular level to factors such as product ingredients or environmental changes, and to use that knowledge to improve its consumer staples and health-care products.

Goya is Big, But Not Great (Yet)

By Jorge Aguilar and Larry Lucas

Prophet, February 16, 2009 — When you think about prepared Hispanic foods, Goya is the brand that most likely comes to mind. Many brands are at a similar impasse, investing significant resources in the quest to become authentic Hispanic brands. But they end up stuck in the middle, unable to connect with this demographic group and undifferentiated against competition. Why? (Brandchannel)

NHL: Brand Resurrected

By Andrew Pierce and John Conti

Prophet, February 16, 2009 — The National Hockey League is a remarkable turnaround story serving as a lesson for brand reinvention. (Marketing Daily)

Reward Program Members Are Brand's Best Friends

MediaPost Publications, February 16, 2009 — Reward program members are a brand's best word-of-mouth (WOM) advocates, according to new research from Colloquy, the Cincinnati-based loyalty marketing consultancy.

Reward program members are 70% more likely than others to actively recommend products, services and brands, the study found. Proclaiming these active recommenders "word-of-mouth champions," Colloquy said they make up 55% of reward program members, but only 32% of consumers who don't belong.

Monster Goes Small While Amp Goes Big†

Brandweek, February 14, 2009 — Monster Goes Small While Amp Goes Big

Feb 14, 2009

Trident Finds it Hard to Go Viral†

Campaign Based on Fake TV Show Fails to Catch On With the Web-Savvy

Wall Street Journal, February 12, 2009 — Some brands, like Dove soap and Levi's jeans, have created a lot of buzz with online videos so compelling that millions of people shared them with friends or posted them to their favorite Web sites. But so-called viral marketing is a tricky business, as is clear from the campaign for a new Trident gum touted for its ability to strengthen and rebuild teeth.

'Breathtaking' Is One Word for Purported Arnell Pepsi Doc†

Mad Ave Buzzing About the Deep Thinking That Supposedly Went Into Brand Logo Redesign

Advertising Age, February 11, 2009 — Over the past 24 hours, adland has been abuzz about "Breathtaking," a 27-page document purported to be the thinking behind Arnell Group's recent revamping of Pepsi-Cola's logo. Littered as it is with marketing jargon, images of yin-yangs, mobius strips and Da Vinci's Vitruvian man, you'll maybe wonder whether Michael Phelps wasn't the only one hitting that bong.

Most Marketers Cutting Budgets, Renegotiating With Agencies

ANA Survey: 77% Plan to Cut Media Spending

CMO Strategy by AdAge, February 10, 2009 — In case you weren't sure, it really is worse than we thought. In a new survey conducted by the Association of National Advertisers and released today, 77% of marketers indicated that they plan to reduce their advertising campaign media budgets. That staggeringly high number is an ominous sign of things to come.

"There's no good news in this report all," said ANA President-CEO Bob Liodice. "This is not good for advertisers, this is not good for agencies, and it's certainly not good for media."

Why Facebook's Future Is Mobile

Facebook's mobile application brings together location-based data with social networking—and provides advertisers with pinpointed targets

BusinessWeek, February 10, 2009 — With nearly 2,000 "friends" on Facebook, I should be a regular visitor to the site. I am not. Instead, I prefer to use Facebook's mobile application on my iPhone to send messages, update my status, upload photos taken on the go, and sometimes even scroll through the news feed to see what my friends are up to. The ad- and clutter-free interface has fewer distractions than the Web site and makes using Facebook a breeze.

Are Celebrity Endorsers Really Worth the Trouble?†

Brandweek, February 9, 2009 — Late last week, Kellogg announced it was dropping Olympian Michael Phelps. His team suspended him and law enforcement officials were considering pressing charges. This all transpired after a photo of the swimmer, indulging in a bong hit, surfaced in the U.K.'s News of the World.

Phelps, once one of the most highly sought after spokespeople in the world, was believed to have an earning potential of up to $100 million. Now all of that, much like Cheech and Chong, is up in smoke.

Some of the companies that have already inked contracts with Phelps, like Omega watches and Speedo swimwear, rallied around the record-setting gold medalist. However, following the statement that "Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg," it... continue reading

Public Flogging for Bailed-Out Marketers Like Citi, BofA†

Pols, Media Dismiss Ads From Automakers, Citi, BofA as Waste of Money

Advertising Age, February 9, 2009 — In the marketing and media industries, it's widely believed that advertising, done right, is an investment in future business results. But the question today is whether the rest of the country can be persuaded to see it that way. In the past week, advertising, in all its forms, has become a whipping boy for recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. The more than $300 billion in bailout bucks poured into automakers and financial institutions to keep them afloat has subjected their marketing efforts to unprecedented public scrutiny and criticism.

Why Package-Goods Companies Should Market to Men†

If Wii, Spike Can Appeal to Consumers Once Thought Unattainable, CPG Can Too

Advertising Age, February 9, 2009 — A great societal shift is under way, and no one is taking advantage of it. Numerous trend reports, even the 2008 census, show conclusively that men are more and more involved in taking care of their children and homes. So you'd think package-goods marketers would jump at the chance to include them in their marketing mixes. But you'd be wrong.

Newsweek Plans Makeover to Fit a Smaller Audience

Newsweek is planning a redesign and some shifts in content to fashion an opinionated take on events, aimed at a much smaller, and wealthier, readership.

New York Times, February 8, 2009 — When US Airways Flight 1549 glided safely onto the Hudson River last month, Newsweek did what news organizations have done for more than a century — it sent reporters and photographers to the scene. Considerable effort yielded a modest article on Newsweek’s Web site, and nothing in the printed magazine.

Newsweek is about to begin a major change in its identity, with a new design, a much smaller and, it hopes, more affluent readership, and some shifts in content. The venerable newsweekly’s ingrained role of obligatory coverage of the week’s big events will be abandoned once and for all, executives say.

NBC Universal Replaces CBS on American Airlines†

In-Air Programming to Come From Company's Broadcast, Cable Networks

Advertising Age, February 6, 2009 — NBC may still be no match for CBS in prime-time ratings, but the Peacock network just scored a major coup against its competitor by replacing the Eye network as the exclusive broadcast partner for American Airlines, the country's second-largest airline.

New Vodka Aims for High End†

Patrón's Ultimat, at $40 a Bottle, Arrives as Premium Liquor Sales Slow

Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2009 — A recession may not seem the optimum time to launch a high-end vodka. But Patrón Spirits Co. is introducing its new Ultimat brand despite a downturn in the premium-liquor market.

Why Sony Missed the iPod - The Curse of Silos

By David Aaker

Prophet, February 6, 2009 — Sony's three silos thwarted their efforts to create a new category and preempt Apple's iPod. It is likely that a product that combined the energies, resources, and customer insights of the three silos and was improved over time would have been successful and that the iPod opening would not have materialized. (Marketing Daily)

Mr. Clean Takes Car-Wash Gig†

Procter & Gamble Expands Into Franchising in Its Pursuit of New Areas for Growth

Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2009 — The giant manufacturer of household staples including Pampers diapers, Crest toothpaste and Gillette razors is forging a new business model: franchising car washes.

To jump-start plans for a nationwide chain of Mr. Clean Car Wash franchises, P&G in December acquired the franchise assets of Atlanta-based Carnett's Car Wash, which has 14 locations.

"We need to look for new opportunities to allow us to grow," says Bruce Brown, P&G's chief technology officer. "That isn't limited to things within our current business model."

Premium brands face value plight†

Financial Times, February 5, 2009 — For the biggest makers of consumer goods, the past decade has been dominated by “must-have” brands . Owners of recognisable products such as Dove shampoo (Unilever) and Gillette razors (Procter & Gamble) can charge premium prices. Shoppers in the boom years have been happy to spend more on toothpaste that helps whiten teeth or dishwashing tablets that add sparkle to wine glasses.

Automakers Report Worst January Sales in Almost 50 Years†

Monthly Totals in U.S. Fall Below Those in China for First Time

Advertising Age, February 4, 2009 — DETROIT (AdAge.com) — The last time the auto industry sold roughly 669,000 vehicles in the U.S. in January, as it did this year, was in 1963, when Chubby Checker ruled the music charts and Michael Jordan was born. Adding to that bad news, China surpassed the U.S. for the first time in monthly sales, said Mike DiGiovanni, executive director-global market analysis at General Motors Corp. He said about 790,000 units were sold in China last month.

Earnings Drop Won't Keep Kraft From Spending†

CEO Irene Rosenfeld Plans to Continue to Invest in Brands

Advertising Age, February 4, 2009 — Kraft Foods is sticking to its guns when it comes to increased marketing spending, despite missing analyst expectations in its earnings report today.

How to Cut Out Unnecessary Innovation

During a recession, companies must prioritize investments on new products and services. Here are a few how-to tips, including what to avoid

BusinessWeek, February 4, 2009 — When times get tough, one of the first things we do is think about what we can do without, like cutting latte consumption from five a week to two. Similarly, companies say no to some things to conserve resources and ensure remaining resources are focused on the right things.

Companies looking to shut down some innovation efforts have to evaluate their portfolio of what's in the process. Prudently pruning this portfolio will help to ensure that resources flow to the right ones. Here's a look at two typical approaches executives often take—and a third that might work better.

Chrysler to Market Brands Under One Umbrella†

Will Sell Them Together at Dealerships, Create More Ads Showing All Three

Advertising Age, February 3, 2009 — DETROIT (AdAge.com) — At a reporters' roundtable in Detroit today, Chrysler Vice Chairman-President Jim Press said the auto industry has too many brands — before saying Chrysler, rated by auto experts as the weakest of Detroit's carmakers, won't trim any of its three. Instead, he said, the automaker's solution to the problem of too many car brands is to bring Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler under one umbrella for sale at its dealerships.

In Campaign Wars, Apple Still Has Microsoft’s Number

New York Times, February 3, 2009 — TWENTY-FIVE years ago, Apple hurled a legendary marketing sledgehammer at I.B.M. personal computers that ran Microsoft software. During the 1984 Super Bowl, Apple ran a television ad that depicted those machines as instruments of Big Brotherish conformity. The ad was shown just once, but people still talk about it. Today, Apple is still producing ads that hammer away at computers that run Microsoft’s software. But this time, Apple’s pounding is constant, even as Microsoft has been weakened by product stumbles and a series of ads that fell flat with the public.

Is the Smell of Moroccan Bazaar Too Edgy for American Homes?†

New Products Aimed at 'Scent Seekers' Are Fast Changing the Fragrance of Clean

Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2009 — For decades, lingering whiffs of ammonia and bleach in bathrooms and kitchens signaled a freshly scrubbed home. In the 1970s and 1980s, the scent of pine forests and lemon groves gained acceptance.

Now the smell of clean has become a wildly varied bouquet: mandarin-lime detergent, disinfectant evoking "lavender vanilla and comfort," toilet-bowl cleaner in eucalyptus mint. Bleach can smell like a "fresh meadow." A new deodorizer, which hit store shelves last month, promises a "Moroccan bazaar."

The consumer-products industry has built a complex olfactory infrastructure, stretching from the laboratory to the marketer's imagination. These days, companies from Procter & Gamble Co. to Clorox Co. are tickling the human nose as never before. Researchers... continue reading

Out of Office: Job Loss in the Age of Blogs and Twitter†

Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2009 — It's been decades since Americans had this much time on their hands and — thanks to the Web — never have there been so many opportunities to burn it.

In November, Julia Otto was headed to her first day on a new job, car keys in hand, as an administrative assistant with a New Orleans construction company when her phone rang. Her position was eliminated before she even started.

Now, when she's not sending out resumes or doing household chores, the 43-year-old spends several hours a day playing games. Her favorite is an adventure-puzzle game called "Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst," where she hunts for clues inside a spooky mansion to unlock a mystery. She spends about $7 a month playing games on the Big Fish Games site.

"They're an... continue reading

Phelps Image as Hero Hurt by Photos†

Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2009 — During the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps's sports agent said the gold medalist could earn $100 million in endorsement deals over his lifetime. Now, with Mr. Phelps photographed smoking marijuana, that figure may have to be adjusted, though for the time being most brands say they are standing by the swimming champion. Mr. Phelps was caught up in a torrent of bad publicity Sunday when photos of him appeared in a British tabloid. Although he apologized immediately for the incident, sports-marketing experts expect some fallout.

Shell's Green Ads Take New Tack†

Campaign Stresses Potential Role of Innovation in Fighting Climate Change

Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2009 — -- Royal Dutch Shell, censured twice by Britain's ad police for exaggerating its commitment to green issues, is hoping to avoid controversy in its latest ad campaign. It isn't clear if it has succeeded.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant drew fire from activist groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth for past attempts to extol its environmental responsibility. It tended to boast of its investments in alternative energy with ads that spoke of the "power to create a cleaner, safer world."

Now, in a campaign designed by ad agency JWT, part of London-based WPP, Shell is stressing technology and innovation and its potential contributions to fighting global warming.

Pepsi, Coke Bowl Buys Pay Off in Online Buzz†

Heaviest Spender Generated Most Chatter, but Big Bucks Don't Mean Positive Feedback

Advertising Age, February 2, 2009 — Who says you can't buy buzz? In the end, the marketer that bought the most ad time ended up reaping the most chatter among the Twitterers, bloggers and online talkers.

Springsteen Says Walmart Deal Was A 'Mistake'†

But Will Put-down Hurt Retailer's Successful Music Program?

Advertising Age, February 2, 2009 — In the end, Walmart may not have entirely gotten its money's worth for a Bruce Springsteen exclusive. The Boss dissed the giant retailer in a New York Times interview just days before his Super Bowl performance.

Cultivating innovation: An interview with the CEO of a leading Italian design firm

Alberto Alessi, head of his family’s iconic design factory, talks about how to sustain innovation over decades—and why companies should take more risk.

McKinsey Quarterly, February 1, 2009 — Alberto Alessi is the third generation to lead his family’s iconic design firm. Founded and still based in Crusinallo, about an hour north of Milan, Italy, the firm remains privately owned. In Alessi’s view, both the ownership structure and the location of his company have imbued it with a strong tradition of artisanship—and given its designers the freedom to create as they see fit.

Lux Brands Face Tough Balancing Act

By Kevin O'Donnell

Prophet, February 1, 2009 — Luxury brands face no small dilemma these days as they try to deliver growth without compromising cachet—all against the backdrop of a severe global recession that’s sure to challenge their fabled resistance to downturns. (Marketing News)