A Jar of Vegemite, a Window on Kraft†

Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2009 — The recipe for Vegemite, a salty brown yeast spread famous in Australia, remained unchanged for more than 80 years. Then Irene Rosenfeld became chief executive of Kraft Foods Inc.

This summer, a milder version of Vegemite appeared on store shelves across Australia. Ms. Rosenfeld had almost nothing to do with the reformulated taste, its new packaging or its rollout — which says a lot about how she has tried to transform Kraft since taking over as the food giant's CEO in 2006.

After Talks to Sell Fall Through, GM Says Goodbye to Saturn†

Penske Automotive Terminates Deal Due to Concerns About Securing New-Product Source

Advertising Age, September 30, 2009 — It's the end of the road for Saturn, as General Motors Co. pulls the plug on the iconic car brand following an11th-hour breakdown in talks with would-be buyer Roger Penske.

Domino's Uses Astrology To Predict Favorites

MediaPost Publications, September 30, 2009 — In conjunction with the launch of its four new sandwiches, Domino's Pizza consulted an astrologer to see if consumers' zodiac signs influence their food and sandwich preferences.

H-P Plans to Fuse Printer, PC Units†

Move Would Mark Reversal of Fortune as Once-Laggard PC Division Now Is the Company's Rising Star

Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2009 — Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Mark Hurd, in what would be one of his biggest moves yet to overhaul H-P's inner workings, is finalizing a plan to combine H-P's printer and personal-computer businesses into one unit under current PC chief Todd Bradley, said people familiar with the situation.

Internet overtakes television to become biggest advertising sector in the UK

Record £1.75bn online spend makes UK first major economy to spend more on web ads than TV, says IAB

The Guardian, September 30, 2009 — The UK has become the first major economy where advertisers spend more on internet advertising than on television advertising, with a record £1.75bn online spend in the first six months of the year.

The milestone marks a watershed for the embattled TV industry, the leading ad medium in the UK for almost half a century. It has taken the internet little more than a decade to become the biggest advertising sector in the UK.

Optimistic Best Buy Preps Holiday Marketing Push†

Focus on Facebook, Twitter; Also Scooping Up Cheaper TV Inventory

Advertising Age, September 30, 2009 — A year ago, Best Buy was dialing back its holiday spend in anticipation of a devastating season. This year, the retailer is hoping a slew of Facebook applications with potential to go viral, and a series of commercials that reference the "Twelpforce" will boost its presence during the all-important period.

SyFy, Hershey Strike Integration Deals†

Candy Marketer to Sponsor '31 Days of Halloween'; 'Warehouse 13' Character to Chew Twizzlers

Advertising Age, September 30, 2009 — This year's protracted, budget-challenged upfront may have made it harder for idea-driven branded entertainment deals to get done, but one deal that made it to the top of the heap is hitting the airwaves this week. The Hershey Company will be featured as a month-long sponsor of Syfy's "31 Days of Halloween" programming stunt in October.

Hopes and Fears of Social Media Marketing

Seeking increased customer engagement

eMarketer, September 29, 2009 — It’s not news to online retailers that social media adoption is on the rise. Three-quarters of US Web retailers surveyed by the e-tailing group and PowerReviews in August–September 2009 for their “Community and Social Media Study” said they thought brands were accelerating their use of, and commitment to, social media.

Nielsen To Develop Online Planning Tool For UK

MediaPost Publications, September 29, 2009 — The Nielsen Company has been selected by UKOM, the UK Online Measurement body, as its official partner in creating the country's first online campaign planning tool.

Set to launch in January 2010, the UKOM Audience Planning System (APS) powered by Nielsen is intended to provide advertisers and agencies with the online reach and frequency metrics needed for media planning and buying.

Two-Thirds of Americans Object to Online Tracking

New York Times, September 29, 2009 — ABOUT two-thirds of Americans object to online tracking by advertisers — and that number rises once they learn the different ways marketers are following their online movements, according to a new survey from professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley.

Amazon Basics: Branding Advice for Jeff Bezos from 11 Marketing Experts

Fast Company, September 28, 2009 — This past weekend, Fast Company convened a virtual roundtable of marketing strategists and brand consultants solely for the purpose of advising Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The reason? Amazon Basics, Bezos' first foray into a private label product line. Shoppers can now buy blank DVDs and HDMI cables branded with the Amazon seal, with more products to be added to the line in the months ahead.

Product branding can do wonders for a company ("Intel Inside") or cheapen its brand (generic...anything). We convened a group of 11 experts to advise Amazon on how to do the former and avoid the latter.

Do Public Brands Need Brands In Public?

Brandchannel.com, September 28, 2009 — Seth Godin thinks he has an offer you can't refuse: pay him $400 a month and save your brand's reputation. This week, the author, entrepreneur and self-described agent of change announced Squidoo's launch of Brands in Public, a site with unofficial pages aggregating brand mentions on Twitter, YouTube and blogs. Brands that fork over cash are allowed to "curate" the page, and one expects, replace negative content with positive feedback

How Do Innovators Think?†

Harvard Business Review, September 28, 2009 — What makes visionary entrepreneurs such as Apple's Steve Jobs, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Ebay's Pierre Omidyar and Meg Whitman, and P&G's A.G. Lafley tick? In a question-and-answer session with HBR contributing editor Bronwyn Fryer, Professors Jeff Dyer of Brigham Young University and Hal Gregersen of Insead explain how the "Innovators' DNA" works

Seeking ROI? Kick-start Efforts With Pilot Projects†

When Budgets Are Tight, Test on Small Scale and Roll Out Wide to Maximize Returns

Advertising Age, September 28, 2009 — With the World Bank forecasting that this year will bring the first decline in global GDP since the Second World War, the pressure on marketers to do more with less is enormous. As a result, long-desired ideals such as accountability, marketing-mix optimization and returns maximization have become priorities and are top-of-mind in boardrooms and C-suites everywhere.

Change By Design

In his new book, the CEO of design shop IDEO shows how even hospitals can transform the way they work by tapping frontline staff to engineer change

BusinessWeek, September 24, 2009 — As the center of economic activity in the developed world shifts inexorably from industrial manufacturing to knowledge creation and service delivery, innovation has become nothing less than a survival strategy. It is, moreover, no longer limited to new physical products but includes new sorts of processes, services, interactions, entertainment forms, and ways of communicating and collaborating.

How Brands Can Build a Successful App Strategy†

12 Lessons From Benjamin Moore, Bank of America, Kraft and Others

Advertising Age, September 23, 2009 — More than a year into the age of the iPhone app, brands are starting to get on board — and best practices are emerging. At Wednesday's Apps for Brands event in New York, marketers taught other marketers what's worked for them. Here are 12 lessons culled from the day, during which MLB.com CEO Bob Bowman and marketers from Kraft, Bank of America, Benjamin Moore and AKQA convened to talk about what they've learned from their early, successful forays into the space.

Facebook Sets Deal to Provide Ad Data to Nielsen†

Wall Street Journal, September 22, 2009 — Facebook Inc. plans to announce a deal with online measurement company Nielsen Co., in a step to address advertisers' frustration with measuring how ads perform on the social network.Under the partnership, Facebook will begin polling its users about some of the display ads it runs on its site, such as a banner promoting a movie release.

Facebook will provide that data, including responses from those who didn't see an ad, to Nielsen, which will package it for advertisers, say the companies.

Luxury Marketers Move Online but Most Lack Digital Cunning†

NYU Stern Study Shows Recession Pushing Brands to Belatedly Innovate Web Efforts 'Out of Necessity'

Advertising Age, September 22, 2009 — During the flush years, luxury brands seemingly cemented their exclusive status by shunning one of the ultimate mass mediums, the internet. According to a new study, only 33% of luxury brands were selling online a year ago, but the recession has had a profound effect, as 66% of luxury brands are now peddling their wares on the web.

A Marketer Is a Terrible Thing To Waste

Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer and senior VP at GE, explains how marketers can help rebuild the economy

BusinessWeek, September 21, 2009 — At many companies, marketing has long been the fair-weather friend— highly visible when times are good, starved of attention and resources when things are tough.

As a result of the economic downturn, marketing budgets are being slashed and the stewards of many of the world's largest and most prestigious brands have been forced into hibernation mode—waiting for the economy to turn around and the dollars to return to their function area.

But at GE (GE), where I work, we're trying to increase the volume on marketing, even in the face of these tough times.

Boost Your Brand by Understanding the Path to Purchase†

To Win Customers, Create a Shopper-Insight Team and Turn That Research Into Strategy

Advertising Age, September 21, 2009 — It doesn't matter much which marketing publication you pick up or which industry trend piece comes across your desk, it is simply impossible to miss the constant attention being paid to shopper marketing these days.

No one should be surprised. With 72% of shoppers deciding what to buy in-store, the marketing world is acutely aware of the importance of the "last mile" and the ultimate moment of truth.

Does Klein's Temporary Leave Herald the End for the King?†

BK Insists All Is Well With Ad Efforts, but Franchisees Are Hungry for Change

Advertising Age, September 21, 2009 — An unusual Burger King memo stating that chief marketing officer Russ Klein is taking a leave of absence sent tremors through the organization last week and prompted speculation from franchisees about the future of the company's advertising.

No Recession at OXO

OXO's housewares have been selling well during the downturn. Now, the company is moving into office supplies and products for babies and toddlers

BusinessWeek, September 21, 2009 — OXO's kitchen and household products are winners with consumers, from its rubber-gripped potato peelers to its no-leak travel cups. The eye-catching designs have been featured in museum exhibitions and, despite premium prices, have continued selling well during the recession. OXO's parent company, Helen of Troy (HELE), reported an 11% bump in revenue from housewares in its spring quarter.

Having exhausted much of its original market, OXO is now branching out to office supplies, medical devices, and baby products.

Omniture, comScore Unveil Partnership On Heels Of Adobe Acquisition

MediaPost Publications, September 21, 2009 — Omniture and comScore plan to unveil a partnership Monday that creates a service giving the online advertising industry a more comprehensive view of data to measure performance and digital audiences. The agreement combines Web site analytics data with audience measurement data, respectively, to provide advertisers and publishers with a unified measurement tool.

Can Amazon Be Wal-Mart of the Web?

Amazon is expected to soon sell more general merchandise than media products like books and DVDs.

New York Times, September 20, 2009 — THE hum of 102 rooftop air conditioners and a chorus of beeping electric carts provide the acoustic backdrop in Amazon.com’s 605,000-square-foot distribution facility on this city’s west side. But the center’s employees can almost always hear Terry Jones.

On a recent summer afternoon, Mr. Jones, an “inbound support associate” making $12 an hour, steered a hand-pushed cart through the packed aisles and shouted his location to everyone in earshot: “Cart coming through. Yup! Watch yourself, please!” Mr. Jones explained that he was just making his time at Amazon “joyful and fun” while complying with the company’s rigorous safety rules.

But his cries might double as a warning to the retail world: Amazon, the Web’s largest retailer,... continue reading

Market Research 3.0 Is Here: Attitudes Meet Algorithms in Sentiment Analysis

Feed Company, September 18, 2009 — This is the marketer's and researcher's dream.

Reconciling the natural tensions that challenge and befuddle brand planning:

* Feelings & Facts

* Sentiments & Statistics

* Qualitative & Quantitative

* Focus Groups & Surveys

* Subjective & Objective

* Why & What

* Art & Science

Consumers lost trust in brands amid downturn, but Coca-Cola, IBM remain world's most valuable

Chicago Tribune, September 17, 2009 — Consumers lost trust in brands this year as the recession deepened, according to an industry report released Thursday, although longtime staples Coca-Cola and IBM retained their spots as the world's two most valuable brands.

This is the first time the combined value of the world's top 100 brands as ranked by Interbrand, a branding agency, has fallen in the 10 years Interbrand has assessed them.

Social Responsibility Is Dead†

Long Live Corporate Social Responsibility

Advertising Age, September 17, 2009 — Tim Sanders, author of the book "Saving the World at Work," argues that social responsibility should be viewed as a corporate opportunity. Here's why.

Corporate social responsibility is a hybrid PR/branding program that attempts to convert compliance into goodwill. Often CSR lives outside the marketing function, somewhere deep in the bowels of legal or operations. Once a year, the company's varied social achievements are collected by the investor relations department for the now-compulsory CSR addendum to the annual report.

The Great Trust Offensive

Companies as diverse as McDonald's, Ford, and American Express are revamping their marketing to win back that most valuable of corporate assets

BusinessWeek, September 17, 2009 — "The spark began where it always begins, at a restaurant downtown, in a shop on Main Street," intones a narrator as the camera lingers in a restaurant, bakery, and bike factory. "Entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. As we look to the future, they'll be there ahead of us." The music swells, and the narrator concludes: "While we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain. We want to help."

The commercial, which began airing across the U.S. this summer, was developed by Ogilvy & Mather for American Express (AXP). Its mission: to cast AmEx not as a financial titan but as a humble service provider assisting mom and pops—establishments consumers typically like to support.

How Starbucks lost its 'fidelity'

Exclusive book excerpt: In the trade-off between quality and convenience, the coffee juggernaut fell into the trap of becoming too familiar.

FORTUNE, September 16, 2009 — In this adaptation from his new book, Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't (Broadway Books), author Kevin Maney explains the tension between two key qualities and how a great brand got caught in a no-man's-land between them.

We constantly, in our everyday lives, make trade-offs between fidelity and convenience.

Those trade-offs, and how they affect business, help explain why Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) hit a wall in 2007 — and why CEO Howard Schultz is still struggling to get his company's mojo back.

Media Dollars Shift to Digital in Downturn

Spending recovery will lag economic recovery

eMarketer, September 16, 2009 — The economic downturn is causing most marketers to decrease media spending budgets, and the remaining expenditures are shifting further toward digital, according to a Q2 2009 survey by Round2.

Neuromarketing Hope and Hype: 5 Brands Conducting Brain Research

Fast Company, September 15, 2009 — Even before the age of Mad Men marketers have been trying to tap into the human subconsciousness to influence consumers to buy their products.

But over the last decade or so, as the fields of neuroscience and marketing science (as some like to call it) have evolved, the area of Neuromarketing has emerged. Today more companies are investing in the technology and studies. Neuromarketing blogs (Roger Dooley) and books (Buyology ) are being accorded more attention and legitimacy.

Don't Look Now, but the Crowd Might Just Steal Your Ad Account†

Unilever Takes Practice Further Than Most, Sacks Lowe on Peperami Biz

Advertising Age, September 14, 2009 — For some time, marketers have been using ad contests as one-off PR ploys for their brands. Now, Unilever is testing whether crowdsourcing can be a long-term strategy for one of its British brands — and the result could have far-reaching consequences for any number of agencies on the consumer-goods giant's roster.

Facebook Is Going for Some Twitter Sensibility

Facebook groups friends and relatives, while Twitter pools the collective. Facebook is trying to offer a bit more of that larger group, in real time.

New York Times, September 14, 2009 — Like a balding hipster who imitates a young trendsetter’s style, Facebook is updating itself to look a lot more like Twitter.

Unlike Facebook, where friends mutually agree to let one another into their online lives, Twitter lets people share updates and links with anyone who cares to read them.

Miley Cyrus Is on the Line Just for You

SayNow connects stars and their fans through voice mail and is gaining traction, particularly among teenage audiences.

New York Times, September 14, 2009 — That hoariest of social networking devices — the telephone — is making a comeback among Hollywood marketers.

Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are now considered essential parts of the entertainment factory’s marketing arsenal. Add another service to the list: SayNow, a tiny Silicon Valley company whose low-key approach — connecting stars and their fans through voice mail — is gaining traction, particularly among teenage audiences.

Nielsen on Notice: Industry Demands a Meatier Metric†

P&G, Unilever, Disney Form Coalition to Drive a Cross-Media Measure

Advertising Age, September 14, 2009 — The media and marketing business desperately needs a cross-platform measurement tool, and a gang of major players got together last week and let it be known that they're going to get one — with or without Nielsen, the longtime leader in tracking TV.

Peer Pressure and Other Pitches†

Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2009 — More businesses are using behavioral economics to appeal to customers, seeking to capitalize on the notion that people don't always act in their economic self-interest.

Behavioral economics is popular among academics, particularly since two of its early theorists won the 2002 Nobel Prize in economics. Now businesses are applying the concepts in new ways.

Seeing Store Shelves Through Senior Eyes†

Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2009 — Before walking into a Walgreens drugstore here, Todd Vang donned glasses that blurred his vision, slipped un-popped popcorn into his shoes and adjusted tape that bound his thumbs to his palms.

The get-up was part of an exercise designed to help retailers better understand the physical challenges facing elderly shoppers. Mr. Vang, a 42-year-old Walgreen Co. vice president, struggled to pick up a can of soup. "I can't imagine how this would feel if the store were crowded," he said.

Starbucks Looks to Seattle's Best to Help Turn Things Around†

Michelle Gass to Lead Separate Unit for Brand

Advertising Age, September 14, 2009 — Starbucks is looking beyond its own brand to help transform the company.

CEO Howard Schultz has described Seattle's Best Coffee, which Starbucks acquired in 2003, as a big opportunity for the company as a whole. Now Seattle's Best will have Michelle Gass, one of Mr. Schultz's most-trusted advisers, at the helm. Ms. Gass is a 13-year company veteran and architect of Starbucks' multibillion-dollar Frappuccino franchise.

US Twitter Usage Surpasses Earlier Estimates

Numbers worth tweeting about

eMarketer, September 14, 2009 — In 2009, there will be 18 million US adults who access Twitter on any platform at least monthly. That represents a 200% increase over 2008 levels. Usage will reach 26 million US adults in 2010, a further 44.4% climb.

Zipcar - The best new idea in business

Zipcar has already persuaded young urbanites to share wheels. Now the movement is going mainstream - and players like Hertz and Ford want in.

FORTUNE, September 14, 2009 — Scott Griffith enters the parking lot outside his office in Cambridge, Mass., pulls out his iPhone, and taps a button on the screen. Suddenly a yellow Mini Cooper starts honking like a crazed goose.

Griffith approaches the vehicle and taps the screen again. The doors magically unlock, and under the steering wheel the key dangles from a cord. He starts up the car — nicknamed "Meneus" — and drives away at a rate of $11.25 an hour.

Griffith is the 50-year-old CEO of the car-sharing service Zipcar, but he's also just one of the 325,000 members who rely on the company's handy, gassed-up cars to get around

Fast Company's Most Innovative Marketing Expert Blogs, Part II

Feed Company, September 13, 2009 — Marketing has changed. We're in the age of one-to-one marketing, where the customer actually has a role in shaping the messaging for your brand. Social Media--blogs, Twitter, Facebook, wikis, user-generated tools--have given her all she needs to effect whether your products and services do well in the marketplace. Long gone are the 4Ps of marketing, these are the days of the 4Cs, a customer centric approach that includes the customer's wants and needs; the cost to satisfy the customer; the convenience; and communication.

Motorola Phone Focuses on Social Networks

The company hopes the new phone, called the Cliq, will reverse its plummeting cellphone sales

New York Times, September 11, 2009 — Motorola introduced the first of a new generation of smartphones Thursday that it hopes will reverse its plummeting cellphone sales. The phone, called the Cliq, is meant for young people obsessed with social networks. Instead of the traditional menu of features, the Cliq’s home screen is an ever-changing mosaic of e-mail, Twitter tweets and status updates, superimposed over photos of the people sending those messages.

Simply Different: A Brand Advantage

How Nintendo beat the giants using innovation

Brand Strategy Insider, September 11, 2009 — Marketing is a battle of categories. The brand is only a marker for the category itself. If you want an energy drink, you reach for a Red Bull. If you want soy milk, you buy Silk. Rental DVDs by mail? Netflix.

Creating a new category and then branding that category in such a way that your brand is perceived as the innovator and category leader (in both senses of the word) is the essence of marketing today. To create a new category, however, you have to think different, not better.

CMOs: Don't Neglect Innovation at the Expense of Your Bottom Line†

Former Best Buy, eBay CMO Linton Offers Brands 5 Tips to Help Change Consumer Behavior

Advertising Age, September 10, 2009 — Given that innovation is the only sustainable advantage these days, advertisers need to allocate at least 10% of their marketing budget to foster it, even in these economically challenged times, said former eBay and Best Buy CMO Mike Linton, who spoke to an audience at the Aberdeen Group's Chief Marketing Officer Summit here yesterday.

Executives and Social Media

Channel is valued but also cause for concern

eMarketer, September 10, 2009 — US executives have come to value social media very highly to enhance relationships with customers and build their company’s brand, according to the “Social Media: Embracing the Opportunities, Averting the Risks” white paper from Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law.

Study: Companies Focused On Marketing Accountability

MediaPost Publications, September 10, 2009 — Companies have stepped up their emphasis and focus on marketing accountability practices, according to a new survey by the Association of National Advertisers and Synovate's Marketing Management Analytics.

How Do Great Companies Make Sure People Are Living the Values?

Huffington Post, September 9, 2009 — Each September the RBL Institute (full disclosure: as an RBL partner, I am a director of the Institute) hosts the chief HR officers of member companies in a two-day retreat hosted by RBL Group founder and University of Michigan Professor Dave Ulrich. This year, we were joined by 20 senior HR executives from well-known and respected global companies such as Intel, The Gap, Accenture and PNB Paribas. Whenever you bring insightful, worldly, HR executives together, the conversation is bound to be enlightening. And, one of the more interesting exchanges was values: how organizations ensure that employees at every level, in every function, and around the world know and live the values

How Walgreens Is Positioning Itself as a One-Stop Shop†

Brandweek, September 8, 2009 — Walgreens is introducing a campaign with a new slogan, "There’s a way,” today (Tuesday). The effort—by agencies Downtown Partners, Chicago; Digitas and Arc Worldwide—seeks to position the drugstore chain as a one-stop shopping destination and healthcare provider for consumers. Walgreens CMO Kim Feil (pictured left) said the campaign stemmed from consumer research, which found that many shoppers see the drugstore as a community resource, but yet, the company wasn’t communicating as such. In the past, Walgreens was much more focused on marketing all of its businesses separately, Feil told Brandweek in a recent interview. The drugstore chain is moving toward its new messaging with a TV spot, breaking today, which centers on the importance of flu... continue reading

IKEA's Burbank store and the guerrillas in housewares

Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2009 — For reasons known only to the pop-culture gods, IKEA — the Swedish retailer of cheap, lingonberry-flavored furniture and other shinola — has suddenly become a ubiquitous presence in the ether. Example: in August, when the 2010 IKEA catalog came out, people went utterly bonkers because the designers had changed the print font from the familiar Futura to Verdana — an esoteric difference, to be sure.

Marketers Seek To Score In Tough Times By Playing At The U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is the perfect venue for watching the branding game.

Forbes, September 8, 2009 — For those of us in marketing there's a competition at the U.S. Open that's equal to the exciting Melanie Oudin when it comes to the potential for big bucks. It's the competition among corporate sponsors of the tournament for consumer attention. While the tennis balls are certainly interesting to tennis buffs like me, as a branding professional it's the match for eyeballs that really peaks my interest.

Turning to Tie-Ins, Lego Thinks Beyond the Brick

Lego has rebuilt itself, but its new Hollywood-themed products are a far cry from the purely imagination-oriented play that drove the company for years

New York Times, September 6, 2009 — FROM the outside, there is nothing playful about the drab, two-story Lego Idea House here, where designers gather in whitewashed rooms to dream up new toys. But upstairs, behind a series of locked doors accessible only to employees with special passes, is a chamber that might as well be toy heaven for kids — and more than a few adults.

Multicolored Lego creations in every imaginable size and shape spill from the shelves, from Indiana Jones’s biplane to Darth Vader’s fighter. Boxes stamped “confidential” hold potential future blockbusters, like Buzz Lightyear, the hero of the “Toy Story” animated films, as well as a police station bustling with miniature cops and robbers.

Starbucks Names PepsiCo Vet CMO†

Adweek, September 4, 2009 — Starbucks has appointed Annie Young-Scrivner global chief marketing officer. She starts the job later this month.

Young-Scrivner formerly served as CMO and vp of sales for Quaker Foods and Snacks, a unit of PepsiCo. Prior to that, she was chairman and region president of PepsiCo for Greater China, and oversaw various global brands, including Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade.

Top Consumer Trends: Trust, Control, ... Playfulness?

MediaPost Publications, September 4, 2009 — Oh, it's so nice to be right. When market researcher Mintel released its list of leading consumer prognostication late last year, it knew that financial worries would drag consumers' emotions down for much of the year, and put the spotlight on trading down and switching brands.

Pfizer Pays $2.3 Billion to Settle Marketing Case

The settlement is the largest fine ever levied for fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs

New York Times, September 3, 2009 — The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its now-withdrawn painkiller, Bextra.

It was the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine of any kind ever.

Can Corporate Goodness Save the World?†

Goodness500 Ranks Companies on CSR

Advertising Age, September 2, 2009 — Is it possible for corporations to use their resources to work on the world's problems? Michael Mossoba of agency GeniusRocket thinks it is, and he's keeping track.

When I was growing up, I heard Bill Clinton say, "There is nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what is right with America." Today this pithy aphorism largely sums up how I feel about business. If companies are powerful enough to slurp up the world's fossil fuels, create the iPhone and put 50 different types of toothpaste on the shelf, perhaps they can save the world, too.

Social Media Not Yet Core Feedback Tools

Marketing Daily, September 2, 2009 — While the focus on harnessing social media continues, at this stage, customer feedback from other channels still has considerably more influence on actual business decisions, according to new research with "voice of the customer" (VOC) practitioners.

Tesco, British Grocer, Uses Weather to Predict Sales

New York Times, September 2, 2009 — Britain often conjures images of unpredictable weather, with downpours sometimes followed by sunshine within the same hour — several times a day.

Such randomness has prompted Tesco, the country’s largest grocery chain, to create its own weather team in hopes of better forecasting temperatures and how consumer demand changes with them. After three years of research, the six-person team has created its own software that calculates how shopping patterns change “for every degree of temperature and every hour of sunshine,” Tesco said last month.

Tesco expects the team’s forecasts to help it reduce costs and avoid wasting food.

The Marketer's Bookshelf

MediaPost Publications, September 2, 2009 — MediaPost reviews several new marketing-oriented books

The Race to Be an Early Adopter of Technologies Goes Mainstream, a Survey Finds

A new study shows that wide swaths of America play video games, use broadband Internet and have cellphones and PCs.

New York Times, September 2, 2009 — For decades, the adoption and use of the latest technologies was limited to a subculture: Whether called “tech enthusiasts” or “gadget geeks,” the implication was that most of the world got along fine with older, established products and services, while a smaller group pursued the most leading-edge technology.

But according to a study released Wednesday by Forrester Research, a marketing firm based in Cambridge, Mass., a shift has taken place. What used to be the pursuit of a few has become decidedly mainstream. We’re all gadget geeks now.

True Marketing Doesn't Just Sell the Story†

To Achieve Top-Line Growth, CMOs Must Design New Businesses

Advertising Age, September 2, 2009 — As the global economy emerges from recession, regardless of when or how quickly, the focus in the executive suite is already shifting from cost cutting to recovering top-line growth. What role can the CMO play? If CMOs are truly to be growth champions for their corporations, they can't simply rely on traditional marketing and brand-building techniques.

In nearly a decade of research, my colleagues and I have found that established companies increasingly are successfully building new businesses on a repeated basis, a process we call corporate entrepreneurship. Marketing — true marketing, not just selling the story but helping create it — must play a central role. True marketing is about understanding current and potential customers better than anyone... continue reading

Cheesecake Factory Embarks on Drive Out Hunger Tour†

Restaurant Works With Feeding America in Cross-Country Food Drive

Advertising Age, September 1, 2009 — In conjunction with Hunger Action Month, the Cheesecake Factory is launching the Drive Out Hunger Tour to collect 100,000 cans of soup for local food banks.

Tale of the Tape: Retailers Take Receipts to Great Lengths†

Coupons and Reward Points Extend Tallies; A Wallet-Busting 'Waste of Paper'.

Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2009 — Debra Shigley recently went to a CVS pharmacy in Atlanta and paid $25.39 for two prescriptions, a beverage and a roll of toilet paper. The cashier then handed her a receipt that was almost two feet long.

"As long as my arm," said Ms. Shigley, a 30-year-old author who consults with women on careers and fashion.

Many shoppers have noticed with chagrin store receipts getting longer and longer as retailers tack coupons, return policies, loyalty points and other bits of information and advertising onto narrow pieces of paper that are supposed to be a record of what you bought and how much you paid.