Why 'Idol' Works for Coke -- but Not for Ford†

Neuromarketing Study Suggests Carmaker Made a $26M Mistake by Failing to Establish a Purpose for Its Presence

Advertising Age, November 17, 2008 — Season after season, three brands — Coca-Cola, Ford and AT&T (formerly Cingular) — have been the proud sponsors of "American Idol," the biggest TV success in history. The reported $26 million-a-pop sponsorships are arguably some of the most valuable in North America, which explains why the sponsors have been just as loyal as the audience. But when Simon Cowell sips out of his Coca-Cola cup, Randy Jackson comments on the latest Ford and Paula Abdul encourages everyone to cast a vote using AT&T, does it work? Quantitative and qualitative statistics say it does, but does a couch shaped like a Coke bottle really make people consume more cola? We were able to find the answer in only one way: by understanding what really goes on in our subconscious.

Coke, Mercedes Avoid Gritty Film Cameos†

'Slumdog Millionaire' Director Danny Boyle Says Brands Opt Out of Mumbai Slum Scenes

Advertising Age, November 6, 2008 — LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — Filmmakers often try to incorporate brands into their projects to lend plotlines a sense of authenticity. But in the case of director Danny Boyle's upcoming release, "Slumdog Millionaire," the footage might be too real: In an interview with Advertising Age, Mr. Boyle said Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz demanded that they be excised from key scenes.

Failure to Communicate

New York Times, November 5, 2008 — Traditionally, brands have spoken in a "monologue" form to consumers. Print ads. TV commercials. Billboards. They talk at, or to, consumers. They say, "Here I am. This is what I am/do." This began to evolve when brands started asking people what they thought of products. While consumers suddenly had a voice, they used it the only way they could--to deliver monologues right back at the brand. Now, those simple monologues are evolving into a genuine dialogue.

Three Marketing Initiatives Key to Breakout B2C Brand Growth

Marketing Charts, November 4, 2008 — Placing disciplined focus on three key business-to-consumer marketing initiatives and executing them properly helps top brands achieve “category killing” performance and can make a difference in market-share growth of up to 30%, according to research from the Marketing Leadership Council, a division of the Corporate Executive Board.

“Breakout Growth: Practical Lessons from Brands that Consistently Outperform Competitors,” sheds new light on how certain brands -despite fluctuations in economic and environmental conditions - are able to to exhibit breakout performance, growing at two to three times their category average.

Study: Coke Is Most Talked About Brand in America†

Brandweek, October 23, 2008 — According to a new study released by the Keller Fay Group, Coca-Cola is currently the most talked about brand in America. The ranking was drawn from 25,142 consumer conversations conducted between January and August 2008.

Its chief cola rival, Pepsi, came in fourth place, right behind AT&T (2) and Verizon (3). The findings come from Keller Fay Group's TalkTrack analysis, which examines word-of-mouth conversations held both on and offline. This is the first time the data has been broken down as such.

While technology, telecommunications and automotive dominated the top 20, packaged goods and retail companies accounted for 32% of all word-of-mouth conversations.

Resolved to Keep on Marketing, Even in Tight-Fisted Times

New York Times, October 20, 2008 — Attendees of a big annual conference for marketers, held here last week, could have been forgiven for believing they had stumbled into a symposium for scholars of American history in the 1930s.

These are some of the words and phrases heard during the conference, the 98th annual meeting of the Association of National Advertisers: “financial crisis,” “scary,” “foreclosure,” “economic crisis,” “difficult times,” “the chaotic financial markets,” “devastating,” “under siege” and “unprecedented.”

Whether the members of the association — 400 companies that together spend an estimated $100 billion a year on advertising and other forms of marketing — are willing to stick to the spending plans they made “before the globe... continue reading

Is a Coke Promotion Betraying Its Loyalists?

New York Times, August 31, 2008 — Could Coca-Cola’s long-running Internet loyalty program actually be eroding customer loyalty?

Some members of the My Coke Rewards program complain that they have amassed hundreds of bottle-cap codes in exchange for points, only to have some of the expensive items that they have been saving for become suddenly unavailable.

Coke's New Design Direction

Five years ago, Coca-Cola's design chief was told: "We need to do more with design. Go figure it out." Now his labors are bearing fruit

BusinessWeek, August 25, 2008 — When David Butler joined Coca-Cola (KO) almost five years ago, he was given, as he tells it, "the Post-it Note mandate: We need to do more with design. Go figure it out." Butler, who had come from a gig as director of brand strategy at the interactive marketing and consulting firm Sapient, had soon written up a 30-page manifesto laying out a design strategy for the company. But if Butler, who's now vice-president for design, has made an impact at the beverage giant, it's not because of some heady proclamation. Instead it's because he has learned the most effective way to implement design strategy at a company as large and complex as Coca-Cola: avoid the word "design" as much as possible.

Make a Case for Your Brand†

Study Shows Brand Strength Does Have an Impact on Profitability and Risk

Advertising Age, November 26, 2007 — Have you ever needed to make a case for the brand to the CFO?

If you are like most marketing managers, you base your argument on research demonstrating that loyalty and evangelism can accrue from investments to build brand equity. Perhaps you provide your own consumer-based evidence of the power of branding, using psychological concepts such as perceived value, brand preference or brand awareness and recall.

Unfortunately, these are not ideas that persuade a CFO.