Bob Dylan Sings To Marketers

MediaPost Publications, November 19, 2009 — Listening to a Bob Dylan album that I downloaded to my iPhone, I was prompted to rummage through a box of yellowing newspaper articles on entertainers and found a 2002 New York Times article, "Bob Dylan's Unswerving Road Back To Newport," which traces his merger of folk and rock.

Advertising and marketing professionals would do well to heed Dylan's example, which reminds us that life does not progress in a straight line. Personal and artistic integrity are underscored by fusion and change, which, in turn, is driven by the tension of a collage of opposites. The point: What is true for Bob Dylan is true for all people.

From Recession To Recovery, Re-Invention

MediaPost Publications, November 19, 2009 — By all standard economic indicators, it appears that the U.S. is finally emerging from the worst recession in several decades. Even consumers have begun, albeit timidly, to venture out, shopping for non-essential items. So, it was fitting that the theme of this year's Idea Conference, presented by Creativity and <I>Advertising Age</i>, last Thursday focused on reinvention across a number of industries, e.g., automotive, technology, financial services, art, design, food, music.

LinkedIn Launches Custom Groups For Marketers

MediaPost Publications, November 18, 2009 — Expanding its monetization efforts, LinkedIn is launching a new program allowing marketers to create sponsored groups with built-out Web pages that are promoted across the professional's social network.

LinkedIn unveiled the new Custom Groups along with other advertising initiatives the company is rolling out at a breakfast event Wednesday in New York. The moves reflect the company's wider strategy to capitalize on the company's affluent audience of more than 50 million members.

Friendless: CMOs Spend Little On Social Media

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — Twitter may be booming, Facebook stratospheric, but leading chief marketing officers are apparently yet to send the dollars wildly chasing the traffic.

A new study shows nearly 85% of CMOs spend less than 10% of their budgets on social media, and what's described as "non-traditional communications channels."

Pyrex Leverages Its Usefulness In The Kitchen

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — Chicago-based World Kitchen brand Pyrex has launched its largest campaign in a decade to highlight the brand's new line of kitchenware. The new campaign, via the Milwaukee office of Cramer-Krasselt, carries the brand's first tag-line, "Cooking Solved." The effort includes TV, print, Internet, a new Web site and PR elements timed for the holiday cooking season.

Reintroduce The Consumer Into The Mix

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — We have more data on consumers today than ever, but do we really know more about how to market to them than we did 25 years ago? It's not our fault; it just used to be simpler back when the average consumer was easily defined, shopped in fewer places, and print, TV, radio and in-store were the only real options available for communicating with them.

Economic Recovery Inspires Innovation and Frustration

As innovation revives, companies struggle to make it boost profitable growth. GE, Tata Motors, Marvel, and Virgin Galactic offer diverse models

BusinessWeek, November 16, 2009 — While they continue to slog through the longest economic downturn in decades, companies are no longer making cost-cutting their primary focus. Innovation is now front and center on the corporate agenda, according to a global survey we recently conducted with 65 senior executives from diverse industries. Executives are adding more breakthrough innovations and business model changes to their portfolio to fuel the growth engine for the recovery.

Yet our survey reveals that companies by and large are having trouble making innovation efforts work

First Network, Then Cable, Now There's 'Social TV'†

Networks Try to Hold, Build Audiences With Facebook and Twitter

Advertising Age, November 16, 2009 — TV has for decades aimed to deliver water-cooler moments, from "Who Shot J.R.?" right on through to the return of Dr. Izzie Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy" last week. What TV hasn't been able to do is keep hold of its audience once people move from watching these shows to talking about them — until now. Using new social-media tools, producers are trying to build up their old-media offerings and beef up their audiences for advertisers.

Nearly 40% of marketers plan to boost budgets

Marketing Priorities and Plans 2010

BtoB Magazine, November 16, 2009 — As the economy slowly shows signs of recovery, almost 40% of b-to-b marketers say they plan to boost their marketing budgets next year, according to BtoB's “2010 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans” survey.

The online survey of 376 b-to-b marketers was conducted during the last week of October and the first week of November. It found that 39.2% plan to increase their marketing budgets next year; 47.5% plan to keep them flat; and 13.3% plan to decrease them.

P&G, Walmart, Unilever, General Mills Are Major Marketers on a Mission†

From 'We Save You Money' to 'We Nourish Lives,' Giants Make Some Big Statements

Advertising Age, November 16, 2009 — If you haven't touched and improved more lives more completely lately, you probably wouldn't last long as a Procter & Gamble Co. marketer.

The touching-and-improving mantra flows off lips at P&G these days with the eerie ease that "consumer is boss" did nearly a decade ago. The catchphrase rotation has been the most obvious manifestation of the transition to CEO Bob McDonald. He and Global Brand-Building Officer Marc Pritchard frequently answer questions about everything from growth strategy to the role of a brand manager by citing that touching/improving theme.

Marketing Evolution: Once More With Meaning

CMO Magazine, November 13, 2009 — There is no question that the chief marketing officer (CMO) role has been a crucible of corporate pressure since the job was first spawned in the mid-1990s. Marketing is the most visible expression of company strategy, customer satisfaction and corporate spending. With the accelerating changes in consumers’ media and buying habits, each of these areas is in flux. As a result, many CMOs are hired in or promoted up into the role and immediately assigned as “change agents.” The question is—Change what?

The Illusion of Brand Control†

Harvard Business Review, November 13, 2009 — You've probably heard by now that "your brand is no longer yours." The assertion's based on simple math. In the era of blogs, discussion boards, Facebook, Twitter, and other Web 2.0 tools, virtually everyone can get online and talk about your company and its offerings. As a result, the amount of information your marketing and PR departments can generate is only a small percentage of the total volume of content on the Internet about your firm.

IAB, Bain Unveil 'Roadmap' For Building Brands Online: Report Addresses Industry's Dysfunctions

MediaPost Publications, November 12, 2009 — Last year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Bain & Co. released the findings of a shocking study showing the commoditizing effects the burgeoning marketplace of online display advertising, and new secondary sales channels such as ad networks and exchanges were having on the value of online advertising inventory. Today, they will begin to fight back. In a meeting with nearly 100 top industry executives, including many of the largest brand marketers, the IAB and Bain will release the findings of a new report they believe will provide a "roadmap" to rebuilding the industry's perceptions about the brand-building value of online advertising.

Why Digital Agencies Are Indeed Ready to Lead†

They Understand the Technology, the Speed of Iteration and Analytics

Advertising Age, November 12, 2009 — Over the past 18 months, a great debate has consumed our industry: Are digital agencies poised to sit at the head of the advertising table? Depending on whom you ask and what you read, the answer seems to flip flop — with a majority of people still having reservations and making claims that digital agencies aren't ready to lead.

So why does the debate continue? Does offline or online really matter to an oblivious consumer who's only interested in "no-line" communications? Are we spending too much time focusing on who should lead and not enough asking: What's next?

Define Your Brand's Purpose, Not Just Its Promise

Wal-Mart, Charles Schwab returned to their roots to strike a recession-appropriate message.

Forbes, November 11, 2009 — Every brand makes a promise. But in a marketplace in which consumer confidence is low and budgetary vigilance is high, it's not just making a promise that separates one brand from another, but having a defining purpose.

The Last Campaign: How Experiences Are Becoming the New Advertising†

Red Bull, Virgin America, Uniqlo and Guinness Lead the Way

Advertising Age, November 11, 2009 — Is advertising dying? It's certainly fashionable to say so. Conventional wisdom holds that traditional media's grip on consumers continues to slip as they increasingly turn to the internet and their peers for entertainment and purchasing recommendations.

Burberry Looks Online for Ways to Gain Customers

New York Times, November 9, 2009 — Angela Ahrendts still remembers when she bought her first Burberry trench coat. She was 21 years old, had just finished her studies in Indiana and was looking for a smart but warm coat to wear for her first job at a small men’s wear firm in New York.

Those raincoats, a 95-year-old fashion icon, remain Burberry’s best-selling item, and Ms. Ahrendts — who now runs the company — is hoping to move the quintessentially British brand into the age of the Internet to attract a new generation of shoppers.

Comcast Play for NBC Universal Is a Bet on Future of Advertising†

Union Would Allow Experiments in DVR, Addressable Campaigns

Advertising Age, November 9, 2009 — Comcast Corp. is looking to take a 51% stake in NBC Universal, surely a sign of the durability of cable networks, since NBCU owns a bunch of top-tier ones. But there's more going on here: It's also a calculated move to seize the reins in shaping future TV-viewer behavior and a bid to assume the lead in figuring out how to advertise to the new-media consumer.

Flip's Quest in First Major Ad Push: Become a Lifestyle Brand†

Camcorder Maker Tries to 'Verb' Itself -- and Stave Off Smartphone Competition

Advertising Age, November 9, 2009 — Flip, the Cisco-owned maker of pocket-sized camcorders, wants to go mass, and it's hoping its first, multimillion-dollar ad campaign, launched today, will establish it as a lifestyle brand.

Marketer of the Year: Hyundai†

The Carmaker Won Handily in Our Reader Poll, Besting Walmart, McDonald's, Lego and Amazon

Advertising Age, November 9, 2009 — Consider the state of affairs when viewers tuned into the Super Bowl in February: Banks had failed, a stimulus package still hadn't been announced, and unemployment was surging toward 8%, up from 4.8% the year before. Escapism was the order of the day, and most advertisers played right along, with brands like Coke and Pepsi offering saccharine happy-happy joy-joy visions that jarred with the bleak reality.

The TGIF 'Revolution' Is Nothing Without a Marketing Strategy†

Social Media Isn't Enough to Save a Weak Brand

Advertising Age, November 9, 2009 — If you were a first-time visitor from Mars and you happened to drop into a marketing meeting somewhere in the United States, you might assume that marketing people do nothing but talk about "TGIF."

That's Twitter, Google, the internet and Facebook.

There's no question these four revolutionary developments have forever changed the marketing function. Word-of-mouth has now become word of finger.

Transparency and Chemistry Key to CMO Longevity†

Speros, Chow, Judge, Addicks Talk Shop at ANA Roundtable

Advertising Age, November 9, 2009 — Get a bunch of longtime chief marketing officers in a room and you'll hear one thing for certain: lots and lots of questions about staying power. The Association of National Advertisers CMO Roundtable this past weekend was no exception. The group, comprised of Best Buy's Barry Judge, General Mills' Mark Addicks, Con Agra's Joan Chow and Fidelity Investment's Jim Speros, underscored the importance of transparency, relationship building and making sure you're right for the job in the first place.

For Moms, Offline Friends Still Wield Heavy Brand Influence†

Study: Social Media Is Kept, Well, Social, While Marketers' Website Become Important Tool for Product Info

Advertising Age, November 6, 2009 — Technology's influence is widely assumed to have morphed the over-the-fence backyard chat into mommy blogs and Twitter networks. But when moms are seeking product advice, it's not all social-media all the time. A study due out next week from the Parenting Group found that while moms are avid web and social-media users, they still turn to family and friends first, whether by phone, e-mail or in-person, when making decisions about product purchases

Brands Need Face-To-Face Connection

MediaPost Publications, November 5, 2009 — We live in the most hyper-connected time in the country's history; and yet we exist in a constant state of disconnection. While Apple, BlackBerry, Twitter, Facebook, LimeWire, Match.com, Fresh Direct, and Amazon are well-designed, convenient, and address specific needs — and for the most part work well — they are also responsible for the undeniable erosion in the kind of personal interactions we used to take for granted during the course of a regular day

CMOs, Regain Control of Your Destiny†

Visionary Leaders Must Take Back and Advance the Dialog Surrounding Marketing

Adweek, November 4, 2009 — Senior marketers, ask yourselves: Is marketing's inability to get the type of traction it seeks within your organization real or self-imposed? In other words, do you actually have control over the perception, power, influence and abilities that marketing can truly bring to the table?

Facing Disaster, Trustmark Launched a Renaissance

Setting tradition aside, the 95-year-old insurance company looked to Apple and American Girl as a guide to its future

BusinessWeek, November 4, 2009 — On a sunny day in June 2006, David McDonough, chief executive of Trustmark Insurance, was roaming Chicago's Navy Pier, talking to strangers. "We needed to understand what made people tick," says McDonough of the exercise, which was part of a two-day workshop designed to get his executive team to look beyond actuarial tables and stimulate thinking about the company's future.

Best Buy Prepares for the Post-DVD Era

New York Times, November 3, 2009 — Best Buy sells a lot of DVDs, but it is taking another step to get ready for the day when that business shifts online.

The giant electronics retailer on Tuesday is announcing a partnership with Sonic Solutions‘ Roxio CinemaNow service to deliver first-run DVDs streamed online directly to consumers.

Four Case Studies: How These (Very Different) B2B Organizations Are Succeeding With Social Media

Marketing Profs, November 3, 2009 — The Web is awash with articles exalting the benefits of social media, so it's more than a little ironic that B2B marketers still find themselves searching online for social-media information that speaks to their unique needs and challenges.

Even though B2C companies get the lion's share of coverage, B2B organizations of vastly different sizes and in various industries are making striking gains in employing newer Web technologies to increase their market share and solve revenue challenges.

Developed especially for B2B marketers, this article provides social-media case studies for companies ranging from industry veterans SAP and BusinessWeek to newer and smaller firms Equation Research and Radian6.

As a bonus, the marketers behind each winning effort... continue reading

GMA Study: Shopper Marketing Still Siloed

MediaPost Publications, November 3, 2009 — Shopper marketing continues to grow in importance for CPGs and retailers, but its effectiveness is being limited by insufficient integration with out-of-store marketing and media channels, according to a new study from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Booz & Company and SheSpeaks.

Kodak Shoots For YouTube Consumer Connection

MediaPost Publications, November 3, 2009 — Many consumers may still think of Kodak as mainly an enabler of still images. But the company is becoming deeply involved in the Web's most popular site for moving pictures: YouTube.

Kodak has launched a branded YouTube channel, ForMom, featuring user-generated testimonials from real moms on topics ranging from parenting and cooking to health, beauty and exercise.

Behind Closed Doors: What's On The Mind Of Chief Marketing Officers?

At Forbes CMO Summit, lots of buzz about social media.

Forbes, November 2, 2009 — We attended the Forbes CMO Summit in sunny Palm Beach last week to learn what's on the minds of executive marketing leaders. The conversation from this group regarding social was more sophisticated, which my colleague Charlene Li and I don't think is reflective of most chief marketing groups. What's unique about these Forbes CMOs? Perhaps they are more progressive, well read and tuned into the rapid changes coming.

Starbucks Rewards Change Signals Strategy Shift

MediaPost Publications, November 2, 2009 — Starbucks' decision to merge its year-old, $25-per-year Gold rewards card and its lower-level card into a single, frequency-driven rewards program signals a shift to a more customer-centric corporate strategy.

Turner Entertainment Sees the Broadcast Networks as Its Fattest Target

New York Times, November 2, 2009 — If there is a fault line between the big but shrinking broadcast networks and the small but growing cable networks, it would run right through Steve Koonin’s office in Atlanta.

Mr. Koonin, the president of Turner Entertainment Networks, has been orchestrating the TNT cable channel’s growth for almost a decade, from a unit best-known for “Law and Order” reruns to a financial powerhouse for the parent company, Time Warner.