An Unwelcome Delivery

BusinessWeek, April 30, 2009 — Domino's Pizza has become the latest company to learn how quickly a brand can be tainted in a Web 2.0 world--and how important it is to monitor social media. On Apr. 13 a prank video made by two Domino's employees in North Carolina hit YouTube. In it, one of the pair sticks cheese up his nose and "sneezes" into a sandwich he's making--using that cheese. After Domino's learned (from a blogger) about the video, it issued a statement and created a Twitter account to answer questions. And in a YouTube message, Domino's USA President Patrick Doyle conveyed his outrage, announcing the impending arrest of the workers (who said they never delivered the befouled food), a scrubdown of the outlet, and extra vigilance in hiring.

Name Hurts Main Unit of A.I.G.

New York Times, April 30, 2009 — Less than two months after changing its name, the biggest and best-known unit of American International Group is preparing to change its name again, in the latest sign of damage to one of the world’s most famous brands.

Google Tries Viral Campaign to Goose Interest in Chrome†

Pushes Its New Web Browser With 11 YouTube Videos After Low-Key Rollout

Advertising Age, April 29, 2009 — Why would Google take on Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla in the web-browser war and not try to win it? That question has been asked since Google ambled into the Safari-Explorer-Firefox derby last fall with its own entry called Chrome, but took a remarkably low-key approach to marketing it.

How Harley-Davidson Drives Mobile Marketing, Facebook†

Brandweek, April 29, 2009 — For decades, Harley-Davidson has been singled out as one of the strongest brand names—in an exclusive circle of cult brands including Apple and Mini. But how does the marketing arm of the Milwaukee, Wis.-based manufacturer drive sales leads into its 650 independent U.S. dealerships? And how has the brand parlayed its audience’s rare offline devotion into an interactive marketing success story?

Same Cow, No Matter How You Slice It?

New York Times, April 29, 2009 — ON a stainless steel table in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association test kitchen, a meat scientist named Bridget Wasser began dissecting a piece of beef shoulder as big as a couch cushion.

Her knife danced between long, thick muscles, then she flipped the whole thing open like book. After a tug and one final slice, she set before her visitor the Denver steak.

The three-quarter-inch-thick cut is an inexpensive, distant cousin of the New York strip. And it didn’t exist until the nation’s 800,000 cattle ranchers began a radical search for cuts of meat that consumers would buy besides steaks and ground beef.

Anheuser's New Game: Ping Pong†

Brewer, Reappraising Deals, Signs on to Sponsor Ping-Pong Tourney; Taking the Sport Out of the Basement

Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2009 — A group of sports and entertainment marketers is betting ping pong will be the next game to sweep the nation, and Anheuser-Busch InBev's U.S. unit is getting into the action.

Anheuser-Busch, one of the biggest advertisers in the U.S., has signed on as the lead sponsor of the Bud Light Hard Bat Ping Pong Tournament, which started last month.

Best Buy Expands Private Label Brands†

Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2009 — Best Buy Co. is rapidly expanding its private-label electronics business in a gamble to gain a key competitive advantage over rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Best Buy believes it can prosper in private-label electronics — an area that has historically flummoxed U.S. retailers — by using the mountains of customer feedback it collects from its stores to make simple innovations to established electronic gadgetry. The move comes as Best Buy's position in the consumer electronics market has strengthened in the past year following the liquidation of former rival Circuit City Stores Inc.

Best Buy Expands Private-Label Brands†

Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2009 — Best Buy Co. is rapidly expanding its private-label electronics business in a gamble to gain a key competitive advantage over rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Best Buy believes it can prosper in private-label electronics — an area that has historically flummoxed U.S. retailers — by using the mountains of customer feedback it collects from its stores to make simple innovations to established electronic gadgetry.

Economy Spells Opportunity to Evaluate Brand Portfolio

By Jorge Aguilar and Larry Lucas

Prophet, April 27, 2009 — Companies that are successful over the long term are those that use this economic turbulence to rethink and optimize their businesses and portfolios in preparation for the recovery that’s sure to come.

Kodak Develops as Modern Brand With Digital Shift†

CMO Hayzlett Takes on Active Social-Media Approach to Marketing

Advertising Age, April 27, 2009 — Kodak CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett has more than 2,500 friends on Facebook and more than 3,200 followers on Twitter. He recently presided over the first-annual Streamy Awards for web TV, sponsored by Kodak, and both blogs and tweets about Kodak's coming involvement in the May 10 episode of "Celebrity Apprentice."

A new style of CMO has arrived.

Online Security Is Marketers' Responsibility, Too†

How to Prevent Your Brand From Becoming a Victim of Cyber Fraud

Advertising Age, April 27, 2009 — Heads up, marketers. You might want to find a time to pay a visit to the IT guys around the corner. A new study by the nonprofit Online Trust Alliance suggests that marketers are doing too little to protect the reputation of their brands online, with only 37% of Fortune 500 companies taking robust security measures to safeguard against cyber-fraud. And phishing — fake e-mails often sent under the guise of well-known, trusted brands, usually to obtain credit-card numbers — is on the rise.

Ben & Jerry's Tries New Recipe for Store Design†

Brandweek, April 25, 2009 — Whether a person’s palate leans more toward Cherry Garcia or Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream, Ben & Jerry’s gets the majority of its sales from prepacked pints sold at stores. Not that its parlors are a drip in the bucket. With 500 stores—250 in the U.S.—the Unilever brand with the Yasgur’s-farm-raised, do-good hippie vibe needed to revisit its roots so its cones wouldn’t get short shrift.

Nielsen: Facebook use outstrips e-mail

The Deal, April 22, 2009 — In the last year, people somehow found a way to spend 73% more time on Facebook Inc. and other social networking sites, if that were possible.

The stat comes from Nielsen Co.'s The Global Online Media Landscape, released Wednesday. In February, Nielsen found, people used social network sites more than they used Web-based e-mail for the first time ever.

Don't Blame Private-Label Gains on the Recession†

No-Names Brands Have Been Picking up Momentum for Past Decade Across Demographics

Advertising Age, April 21, 2009 — Private label growth didn't start gaining momentum in the downturn.

Not only have private label brands been gaining share for the past decade, experts say these gains are the single-biggest problem facing branded packaged goods players. House brands, once a staple of lower-income households, now enjoy roughly equal penetration among demographic segments. Improvements in quality and packaging have helped removed the stigma attached to buying a no-name product.

Food Firms Cook Up Ways to Combat Rare Sales Slump†

Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2009 — The packaged-food industry has long touted itself as recession-proof. Strapped consumers are shattering that assumption, setting off a frenzy in the nation's supermarket aisles and cooking labs.

In the last quarter of 2008, consumer spending on food fell by an inflation-adjusted 3.7% from the previous quarter — its steepest drop in 62 years, the Commerce Department said. So, food giants are racing to adapt to what they believe is a lasting shift in eating and shopping habits.

French Luxury Foods Firms Bet on Innovation While Preserving Tradition

Knowledge@Wharton, April 20, 2009 — Each year Fauchon, one of France's most celebrated luxury grocers, dresses up its best-selling éclairs to be launched in their haute couture collection of the season. The autumn 2008 collection features 34 individualized éclairs in an extravagant display of premium foods photographed in the style of the best high fashion catalogues. Meanwhile, Parisians, expats and tourists alike line up at the celebrity Paris bakery, Poilâne, to buy the famous miche, a loaf of bread that is still made by hand and whose recipe has not changed since the bakery was founded in 1932.

Green-Marketing Revolution Defies Economic Downturn†

Sustainable-Product Sales Rise as Eco-Friendliness Goes Mainstream and Value Players Join the Trend

Advertising Age, April 20, 2009 — Green marketing is turning out to be surprisingly recession-proof. Datamonitor shows 458 launches so far in 2009 of package-goods products that claim to be sustainable, environmentally friendly or "eco-friendly." If that pace holds all year, it will triple the number of green launches last year, which in turn was more than double the number in 2007. Seventh Generation CEO Jeffrey Hollender said his company's sales were up 50% last year and 20% in March year over year despite Clorox, Church & Dwight and now SC Johnson entering the space. "The good news is that in general these products are faring better than most categories," he said. "A lot of people would be desperate to have 5% growth."

How to Sell a Nanny, a Mermaid and a Lion

New York Times, April 20, 2009 — With revenues down — in some weeks sharply — compared with 2008, Disney Theatrical Productions has been heavily discounting tickets to its three Broadway shows and preparing a new marketing plan to attract families and others during this economic climate, in which the three Disney musicals risk vying with one another.

The Older Audience Is Looking Better Than Ever

New York Times, April 20, 2009 — When Brian Gordon and his partners started ebeanstalk.com, which sells children’s learning toys online, they expected most of business to come from younger consumers starting families. But a recent customer survey found that up to 40 percent were actually older, mainly grandparents.

What Domino's Did Right -- and Wrong -- in Squelching Hubbub over YouTube Video†

Pizza Purveyor Faulted for Waiting to Respond but Did Well in the End

Advertising Age, April 20, 2009 — Just how much damage two hooligans can do with a video camera is still unknown. But when the dust finally settles on Domino's Boogergate, it seems likely the pizza chain will be given credit for an effective, if somewhat sluggish, response. And the resulting public-relations crisis can be a valuable learning experience for marketers of every stripe.

"This is obviously a horrible story and every marketer's nightmare," said Rob Weisberg, VP-multimedia marketing at Domino's. "It's amazing to me that somebody in this day and age would think, 'Hey, I can do that and get away with it.'"

Chinese Learn English the Disney Way†

Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2009 — Mickey Mouse has a new job in China: teaching kids how to speak English at new schools owned by Walt Disney Co. popping up in this bustling city.

The company says the initiative is primarily about teaching language skills to children, not extending its brand in the world's most populous nation. But from the oversize Mickey Mouse sculpture in the foyer to diction lessons starring Lilo and Stitch, the company's flagship school here is filled with Disney references

Blowing Up Pepsi

PepsiCo Americas CEO Massimo d'Amore has been rebranding Pepsi's core products top to bottom. Creative destruction—or just destruction?

BusinessWeek, April 16, 2009 — In 14 years at PepsiCo (PEP), Massimo F. d'Amore has muscled through his share of tough jobs. In New York in 2000 he marshaled PepsiCo's successful takeover battle for Gatorade's parent company, Quaker Oats. In 2002 he boosted PepsiCo's sales and profits in Latin America even as the Argentine economy disintegrated. In the following years the Latin America operations grew faster than Coca-Cola's (KO).

Now, d'Amore (pronounced da-more-ay) is tackling his biggest challenge yet: shoring up PepsiCo's North American beverage business.

How Financial Brands Should Market In a Recession†

Harvard Business Review, April 15, 2009 — Recent news coverage of the cosmetic name change from AIG to AIU at the failed company's New York headquarters reminds us that a brand is a precious asset. The value of any brand asset depends upon whether it has delivered on its past promises and is believed likely to do so in the future. It takes years of effort to build brand trust but only a few months--or minutes--to squander it. A brand that has lost consumer trust is no longer a brand; it is merely a name.

The Future of Social Media Monitoring

ReadWriteWeb, April 15, 2009 — Ten years ago the ClueTrain manifesto said that "markets are conversations" but today a more pertinent statement could be that conversations are becoming markets - or that there's a market for monitoring conversations. A whole class of technologies are emerging to help companies keep track of the conversations exploding online.

Disney Expert Uses Science to Draw Boy Viewers

The Walt Disney Company is relying on the insights of Kelly Peña, or “the kid whisperer,” to help reassert itself as a cultural force among boys.

New York Times, April 14, 2009 — Kelly Peña, or “the kid whisperer,” as some Hollywood producers call her, was digging through a 12-year-old boy’s dresser drawer here on a recent afternoon. Her undercover mission: to unearth what makes him tick and use the findings to help the Walt Disney Company reassert itself as a cultural force among boys.

Putting Twitter’s World to Use

Collectively, Twitter’s messages are a surprisingly useful tool for solving problems and revealing public opinion.

New York Times, April 14, 2009 — The first reaction many people have to Twitter is befuddlement. Why would they want to read short messages about what someone ate for breakfast?

It’s a reasonable question. Twitter unleashes the diarist in its 14 million users, who visited its site 99 million times last month to read posts tapped out with cellphones and computers.

Individually, many of those 140-character “tweets” seem inane.

But taken collectively, the stream of messages can turn Twitter into a surprisingly useful tool for solving problems and providing insights into the digital mood.

Quantcast Shifts Focus Of Audience Measurement From Users To Brands

MediaPost Publications, April 14, 2009 — At a time when the online advertising world seems to be shifting from an era of measuring content to one that tracks the audiences that consume it, Quantcast is making a play to shift the focus again — this time with a decidedly brand-centric approach. Instead of aggregating audience impression data based on content, media outlets, or the profiles of individual or groups of consumers, the online audience measurement firm has introduced a product that pools it based on a brand's or a marketer's unique profile.

Achieving Accountable Marketing: Six Critical Value Levers Must Be Pulled

By Michael Dunn

Prophet, April 13, 2009 — Accountable marketing performance is an achievable goal. By focusing on, and unlocking the power of the six critical value levers, the marketing organization will prove out its value to the business as a whole as the creative yet rational source of future growth. (via Brandchannel)

Amazon's Silent Mistake in the Face of a Social-Media Firestorm†

Incident Demonstrates -- Again -- the Need to Monitor Your Brand 24/7

Advertising Age, April 13, 2009 — "Amazon: the Internet company that doesn't understand the Internet" is my favorite of thousands of tweets on the subject of Amazon's sudden censorship of gay- or lesbian-themed books. The episode proved that even a well-liked, household-name company can pay a high price for not monitoring its brand in social media.

Over the weekend, thousands of people on Twitter, in blogs, on Facebook and in forums angrily noted that gay- and/or lesbian-themed books by James Baldwin, Gore Vidal, Jeanette Winterson and scores of others had been suddenly removed from Amazon listings and search results.

Brand Names Live After Stores Close

New York Times, April 13, 2009 — In the last year or so, a string of retailers have gone into bankruptcy — Sharper Image, Linens ’n Things, Circuit City and Fortunoff among them. But while the stores have disappeared, their names live on. And the companies that have breathed new life into these brand names are, paradoxically, some of the same ones that had led the stores through their dying days — the liquidators.

Study: ROI May Be Measurable in Facebook, MySpace After All†

Package-Goods Brand Earns $1.28 Million in Sales From $1 Million Social-Media Campaign

Advertising Age, April 13, 2009 — Package-goods brands are still cautious about social media, figuring that the return on investment can't be accurately measured. After all, marketing on Facebook or MySpace might generate a conversation but not necessarily a sale. Now, however, a method is emerging to relate one to the other, potentially eliminating a major impediment.

The Death of Consumer Segmentation?†

Rethinking a Traditional Marketing Tool

Advertising Age, April 13, 2009 — One of the most important paradigms governing today's marketing world is the constant drive to better segment a brand's customer and prospect base. Conventional wisdom says that the better we segment consumers, the better we can market to them. Consumer segmentation is viewed as a "best-in-class" practice across the marketing world.

But are we on the right track?

With Shoppers Pinching Pennies, Some Big Retailers Get the Message

New York Times, April 13, 2009 — IN real estate, the saying goes, the golden rule is location, location, location. For retailers in a recession as severe as this one, it is value, value, value.

As shoppers remain reluctant to open their wallets, stores are still scrambling to adjust advertising and marketing strategies to play up the value aspects of what they sell. Even as retail sales data for March suggested improving results at some chains, consumers are hesitating to buy much beyond groceries, gasoline, vitamins and candy.

Bravo Shows Move Further Into Licensing Products

If you have ever dreamed of dressing like a reality-show contestant, your moment has arrived

New York Times, April 12, 2009 — Bravo is developing products based on its popular programs, including the “Real Housewives” franchise and “Top Chef,” that will be promoted on the air and sold on Bravo’s Web site. The network will earn licensing fees or take a cut of sales

CEOs' Picks: Most Innovative Companies

CEOs of McDonald's, Infosys, Intel, and 3M name the companies they admire and say why

BusinessWeek, April 9, 2009 — Name the three global companies outside your own industry that you consider to have been the most innovative over the past year and why.

Compared with last year, what will happen to your company's investments in innovation this year?

How Microsoft Is Fighting Back (Finally)

It's counterpunching Apple and Linux with a new, audacious pricing strategy and a canny ad campaign

BusinessWeek, April 9, 2009 — For 25 years, Microsoft (MSFT) held unquestioned dominance in the personal computer business. But last year the maker of the Windows operating system started to look like a weary, vulnerable champ. Fueled by iPhone-mania and the iconic "I'm a Mac" TV ads, Apple (AAPL) was nearing a double-digit share of the PC market. At the same time, a new generation of sub-$500 "netbooks" that ran on the free Linux operating system was taking off.

The 50 Most Innovative Companies

BusinessWeek, April 9, 2009 — With the sudden reversal of the global economy, businesses are struggling not only with shrinking income and budgets, but also with seismic shifts that are upending entire industries, from autos and retail to banking and entertainment. These same forces are apparent in our latest ranking of the Most Innovative Companies. While the 2009 list includes some stalwarts in their usual top positions—namely Apple and Google—15 newcomers have joined the lineup, the biggest change since BusinessWeek and Boston Consulting Group first partnered on this proprietary survey in 2005.

The Next Wave of Open Innovation

How InnoCentive aims to exploit sophisticated technology and networking capabilities to connect problems with their potential solvers

BusinessWeek, April 8, 2009 — Open innovation has become an important management trend over the past decade. Yet, despite great initial success, some of the most prominent examples of open innovation have had serious limitations. We are now on the brink of a major evolution of open innovation.

They Pay for Cable, Music and Extra Bags. How About News?

New York Times, April 8, 2009 — Just a year ago, most media companies believed the formula for Internet success was to offer free content, build an audience and rake in advertising dollars. Now, with the recession battering advertising online, in print and on television, media executives are contemplating a tougher trick: making the consumer pay.

What Orangutans Taught Simon Clift About Social Media†

CMO Says Unilever Is Still Trying to Shake Mind-set of One-Way Communications

Advertising Age, April 8, 2009 — Unilever is only starting to understand social media, but it's already learned plenty about its capability to make and break brands — sometimes the hard way, said Chief Marketing Officer Simon Clift at the Advertising Age Digital Conference today.

Diageo Serves Up New Campaign Aimed at Shoppers†

As People Drink More at Home, Liquor Giant Focuses on In-Store Displays for Chilled Beer and Teaching Novices to Mix Cocktails

Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2009 — With people going out less often amid the recession and drinking more at home, Diageo is adding a twist to its marketing.

The company, whose brands include Johnnie Walker scotch and Guinness beer, is developing in-store displays to encourage shoppers to buy more of its products in supermarkets and liquor stores. Central to its approach is a plan to roll out big refrigeration units so stores can sell their beer chilled.

Forrester: Social Media Reaches 'Empowered Women'

MediaPost Publications, April 7, 2009 — In order to effectively engage "empowered women" online, consumer packaged goods brands must design campaigns that enhance communication and aid in consumers' decision-making and influence. And that, according to a new report by Forrester Media, means social media.

In particular, 42% of this prized demographic reported visiting social networks like Facebook and MySpace, compared to just 33% of all U.S. adults online engaging in such activity.

WaMu's Branches Lose the Smiles†

Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2009 — Before it collapsed last September, Washington Mutual Inc. spent roughly $1 billion on a branch-building binge that replaced bank-teller windows with free-standing counters and cash-dispensing machines.

New owner J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is now dismantling it all, right down to the signs that promise "free checking, free smiles," and basically dragging the former WaMu branches back to the past.

Warm and Fuzzy Makes a Comeback

New York Times, April 7, 2009 — IF music hath charm to soothe the savage breast, what can calm worried consumers during an economic crisis? Madison Avenue believes one answer is nostalgia.

With the Car Industry in Trouble, Nissan Rolls Out the Mobile Device

New York Times, April 7, 2009 — FORGET about thinking outside the box — or inside it, for that matter. Nissan Motor is betting an estimated $20 million during the worst automotive sales slump in a generation that a spirited campaign can get drivers to forgo the box for the cube.

Actually, it is the Cube, as in the Nissan Cube, a cute, smallish car scheduled to go on sale on May 5. And scratch the word “car,” for the campaign to introduce the Cube in the United States, which begins on Monday, takes a big step, er, outside the box by calling it a “mobile device.”

Five Brands Doing it Right, Doing it Wrong†

From Bounty to Wendy's, We Looked at 10 Case Studies to Offer Marketers These Dos and Don'ts

Advertising Age, April 6, 2009 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — So what lessons are out there for marketers in this recession? We looked at 10 brands from a variety of categories — packaged goods, video gaming, luxury, automotive — to see who's making it work and who's in need of do-over. What are some basic dos? Offer consumers some assurance (see: Hyundai) in these dark days, make sure those ads are aggressive (offering value? Then say so) and be innovative with your product. What you don't want to do: Be without a unique message and ignore brand-oriented ads (that's you, GM).

Newspaper Publishers Really Need Some Kind of Innovation†

At NAA: Wish They Could Party Like It's 1999, but It's 2009

Advertising Age, April 6, 2009 — Top newspaper publishers gathered here yesterday for the industry's big annual convention, a potentially grim affair set near the water in San Diego. If the setting seemed a bit sunny for the times, attendees pointed out at cocktails, remember that the convention booked the serviceable Manchester Grand Hyatt this year; the last time the Newspaper Association of America met in San Diego, it used the Hotel Del Coronado, a fancier nearby resort.

R&D Spending Holds Steady in Slump†

Big Companies Invest to Grab Sales in Recovery; the iPod Lesson

Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2009 — Major U.S. companies are cutting jobs and wages. But many are still spending on innovation.

Wary of emerging from the recession with obsolete products, big U.S. companies spent nearly as much on research and development in the dismal last quarter of 2008 as they did a year earlier, even as their revenue fell 7.7%, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The sampling looked at 28 of the largest U.S. R&D spenders, excluding deeply troubled auto makers and the drug industry, where R&D spending is dictated by government requirements.

Study: Cutting Spending Hurts Brands Long Term†

Following Boom/Bust Cycle Flirts With Danger

Advertising Age, April 6, 2009 — Household and personal care might once have seemed recession-resistant, but last year U.S.-based personal-care marketers actually cut ad spending faster than the general market. That could be potentially damaging for their brands, according to one study that shows that marketers that cut spending during a downturn lost share to private labels — share they didn't regain.

Sequins? What Sequins? Canada's New Spin on Triple Loops†

Figure Skaters Have a Tough Time Pitching The Sport's Muscle; 'Show the Masculinity'

Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2009 — Vaughn Chipeur says he has "to pound it out" every day to keep up with the competition. He endures two grueling practice sessions a day, six days a week. He's suffered a groin injury and his feet are sometimes wrecked after a tough workout.

One thing Mr. Chipeur doesn't typically discuss: his shiny costumes.

Mr. Chipeur is a champion figure skater on Canada's national team. Off the ice, he's been talking up the sport's bruising side at the request of Skate Canada, the country's governing body for the sport.

As Eco-Seals Proliferate, So Do Doubts†

Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2009 — It's too easy to be green.

Recently, Kevin Owsley went searching for a reputable organization that could validate the eco-friendly traits of his company's carpet-cleaning fluid. But after canvassing a dozen competing groups hawking so-called "green certification" services — including one online outfit that awarded him an instant green diploma, no questions asked — he grew disillusioned about how meaningful any endorsement would be to his customers.

Belly Up to the Bar And Buy Some Jeans†

Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2009 — On a recent afternoon, customers at Lost Boys in Washington, D.C., sipped cold beers and watched "Casino Royale" on a giant flat-screen TV.

Lost Boys isn't a bar. It's a men's clothing boutique catering to young professionals. The store's staff offers shoppers free beer in hopes they'll enjoy hanging out in the store and shopping a little longer, increasing the odds they'll buy more.

From buy, buy to bye-bye

The recession will have a lasting impact on the way people shop

The Economist, April 2, 2009 — “WANT IT!” screamed the words plastered on the walls, counters and shopping bags in the flagship emporium of Saks, a big American retailer, on Fifth Avenue in New York. The same exhortation was emblazoned in huge letters on a giant red and white ball that revolved slowly in the middle of the main sales floor. Saks’s spring marketing campaign, which came to an end on April 1st, made its brazen appeal to greed in a bid to drum up sales in a dire market. But the exclamation mark in its “Want It!” tagline should perhaps have been a question mark instead.

How P&G Plans to Clean Up

The consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble is investing in game-changing innovations even amid the recession, says CEO A.G. Lafley

BusinessWeek, April 2, 2009 — Since becoming chief executive of Procter & Gamble (PG) in 2000, A.G. Lafley has never had it tougher. Shares of the world's biggest consumer-products company have lost a third of their value since last fall. U.S. shoppers are trading down to private-label products from premium-priced brands such as P&G's Tide, Gillette, and Pampers. And the economic downturn is spilling into developing nations where P&G has notched its best growth. Lafley, nonetheless, seems undaunted. The 61-year-old sat down in his Cincinnati office with BusinessWeek's Roger O. Crockett to talk about managing through the recession. Here are edited excerpts:

Tropicana Line's Sales Plunge 20% Post-Rebranding†

OJ Rivals Posted Double-Digit Increases as Pure Premium Plummeted

Advertising Age, April 2, 2009 — Tropicana's rebranding debacle did more than create a customer-relations fiasco. It hit the brand in the wallet. After its package redesign, sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20% between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars. On Feb. 23, the company announced it would bow to consumer demand and scrap the new packaging, designed by Peter Arnell. It had been on the market less than two months.

The Prophet Customer Experience Report: Retail Banks

By Prophet

Prophet, April 1, 2009 — Our first report in an upcoming series examines the customer experience in the UK’s retail banking sector. Under the microscope for months, and the subject of intense criticism over its role in the current economic crisis, the banking sector perhaps has most to fear in terms of customer backlash.