Kellogg's axes Coco Pops cereal brand extensions

Marketing, February 2, 2010 — Kellogg's is scaling back its Coco Pops product range as part of an overhaul of its breakfast- cereals offering. The cereal manufacturer is discontinuing its Coco Pops Straws and Coco Pops Creations variants. The decision to pare back the range marks a retreat for Kellogg's, which had looked to build on the popularity of the Coco Pops brand with the launch of Straws in 2005.

Toyota's drive for quantity dented its quality

Times Online, February 2, 2010 — None of this should have happened. Fourteen principles of quality, the kaizen “constant improvement” credo, a stirring company song and the most meticulous manufacturing culture on the planet were all supposed to make this impossible. And yet suddenly the Toyota Way — the management doctrine that once wowed the world — looks uncomfortably slapdash

As Sales Drop, Burger King Draws Critics for Courting 'Super Fans'†

Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2010 — For five years, Burger King Holdings Inc. was on a roll, successfully courting its "super fans"—18- to 34-year-olds who account for half of all visits to Burger King restaurants.

Thanks to high unemployment and healthier eating habits, those super fans haven't been so super lately. Burger King has felt the impact more acutely than its main rival, McDonald's Corp., whose sales are growing.

As Burger King prepares to report earnings this week after two straight quarters of same-store sales declines, the question is whether the chain has relied too heavily on customers that may be permanently changing habits.

Billion-Dollar Battle Ahead for Toyota to Rebound From Recall†

Experts Say It Will Take Huge Marketing Effort to Regain Reputation

Advertising Age, February 1, 2010 — Toyota Motor Corp. is facing a multi-billion-dollar hit to its brand image and reputation for high quality in the wake of its disastrous recall and sales halt of an unprecedented 2.3 million vehicles over eight models

Can PepsiCo Make Soda & Chips Healthier?

Food and beverage brands are striving to make their products healthier for consumers. This trend, of course, is not new.

Brandchannel.com, February 1, 2010 — Enter Derek Yach, nutritionist and former executive director of the World Health Organization. Since joining PepsiCo three years ago, Yach has vowed to address the overwhelming health concerns surrounding the brand’s sugary soda and salty chips – products that provide the company with both its income and identity.

Under Yach’s watch, PepsiCo hired a variety of worldly physicians, including many from the Mayo Clinic, in an attempt to diminish the negative impact its products have on customers, while also creating new, healthy alternatives. Furthermore, the brand plans to begin marketing its products in emerging markets such as India, where it proposes to offer healthy food products to populations that struggle to maintain proper nourishment

John Lewis to sponsor London 2012 Olympics

Brand Republic, February 1, 2010 — British retailer John Lewis has been unveiled as the latest sponsor of London 2012, with official in-store Olympic concessions planned for its Oxford Street and new Stratford outlets.

McDonald's Bets James Won't Make False Step†

Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2010 — The multiyear partnership deal McDonald's signed last week with basketball star LeBron James is an early sign that the Tiger Woods debacle hasn't put marketers off celebrity endorsements altogether. But it does indicate that the landscape is subtly changing.

Pepsi Invites the Public to Do Good

New York Times, February 1, 2010 — DECADES ago, consumers were invited to “be sociable, have a Pepsi.” Now the brand wants to invite consumers to help Pepsi support social causes — and will use social media like Facebook and Twitter to help spread a message.

PepsiCo chief sets $30bn revenue target for healthy brands

Marketing, February 1, 2010 — PepsiCo is to launch several new products under its Tropicana and Quaker Oats brands, as part of a strategy to treble its $10bn global healthy food and drink revenues over a decade.