Marketing Factoids

  • Of those people that recently made consumer electronics purchases in a store, 80 percent visited the store's website first. - Nielsen Online survey source ›
  • V users watch more TV than before (127 hrs, 15 min per month) and also spend 9 percent more time using the internet (26 hrs, 26 min per month) than they did last year source ›
  • Unaided ad awareness for podcasts was an impressive 68% on average (compared with industry benchmarks of 21% for streaming video and 10% for television) source ›
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OCT 2007

Reviving John Deere

How the CEO of the green tractor maker whipped the 170-year-old company into shape and doubled net income.

FORTUNE, October 15, 2007 — When a company has been around as long as John Deere - 170 years, to be exact - it enjoys a rich history and, in the case of the Moline, Ill., firm, loyal customers who "bleed green." But a company that old can also get set in its ways - and bad habits can seep in.

When CEO Bob Lane took the wheel of the farm equipment giant in August 2000, he quickly identified Deere's biggest problem: spending too much money to make money. Factories tended to overproduce, churning out a steady level of product no matter what the season or the demand. Its results were inconsistent:

Category: Brand Strategy
Tags: John Deere, Revitalization

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