Marketers such as Starbucks discover that simple sells

USA Today, October 28, 2009 — Simple is better.

This could be 2010's most powerful marketing mantra.

If 2009's hottest sales pitch was all about buying stuff on the cheap, 2010 marketing will increasingly stress less as more, as in fewer parts, additives or ingredients. While the trend is taking hold in many product categories, including health and beauty items, nowhere is it more apparent than with things we eat and drink.

Crowdsourced branding, a disaster for Kraft?

idsgn, October 15, 2009 — When Kraft launched a spin-off of their uniquely Australian Vegemite spread, they turned to consumers for a name… and it was dropped four days later. Last week another name was announced, can Kraft make it right this time?

Kraft Explains Its Decision to Charge for Its IPhone App†

Five Questions With Director-Innovation Ed Kaczmarek

Advertising Age, October 1, 2009 — To charge or not to charge. That's the question many marketers and media companies building mobile apps are asking themselves. Kraft, which has arguably been one of the more successful marketers in the iPhone App Store, charges 99 cents for its iFood Assistant.

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.

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.

Restaurants Take Trip to Store†

Chains Tout Branded Products in Supermarket Aisles

Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2009 — Restaurant chains are reaching out to consumers in an unexpected place: supermarket aisles.

As the economy has soured, many consumers have ditched going out to eat for a trip to the grocery store, and restaurant chains are following.

Starbucks Corp., which has seen traffic to its stores decline, in April launched a line of coffee-flavored ice cream in supermarkets. Last month, the company began handing out coupon books to its coffee-shop patrons containing such grocery-store deals as $1 off ice cream and $1 off 10-ounce packages of Starbucks brand coffee.

Store Brands Squeeze Big Food Firms†

After Profiting From Higher Prices, ConAgra and Other Makers Are Rethinking Strategy as Volume Falls

Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2009 — The slumping economy has begun to squeeze big food makers, forcing them to rethink their pricing strategies.

After a year in which they boosted prices to help offset higher costs for transportation and commodities such as corn, food companies are finding that consumers are increasingly trading down to cheaper "private label," or store-branded, food.

That's making it harder to continue raising prices.

Brand-Name Food Makers Woo Retailers With Displays†

Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2009 — Seeking to combat stiffer competition from cheaper store brands, big-name food manufacturers, including Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc., are joining forces with retailers to promote their brands alongside private-label goods

Kraft Unveils New Brand Identity†

Adweek, February 18, 2009 — Kraft Foods today unveiled a new corporate logo and brand identity, a move analysts say could better position the food company against private label goods.

Earnings Drop Won't Keep Kraft From Spending†

CEO Irene Rosenfeld Plans to Continue to Invest in Brands

Advertising Age, February 4, 2009 — Kraft Foods is sticking to its guns when it comes to increased marketing spending, despite missing analyst expectations in its earnings report today.