How Kroger reinvented itself

Cincinnati Enquirer, October 8, 2009 — The Kroger Co. realized nearly a decade ago that to survive it had to put the customer first, and permanently.

That meant larger stores with more products at cheaper prices. It meant cleaner aisles and shorter lines. It meant $4 generic prescriptions, organic food selections, Murray's Cheese counters and a 3-cent reward for using a reusable shopping bag.

It meant donating food to local food pantries, launching breast cancer awareness campaigns using local women, giving away its Deluxe ice cream to loyal Twitter followers.

Tale of the Tape: Retailers Take Receipts to Great Lengths†

Coupons and Reward Points Extend Tallies; A Wallet-Busting 'Waste of Paper'.

Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2009 — Debra Shigley recently went to a CVS pharmacy in Atlanta and paid $25.39 for two prescriptions, a beverage and a roll of toilet paper. The cashier then handed her a receipt that was almost two feet long.

"As long as my arm," said Ms. Shigley, a 30-year-old author who consults with women on careers and fashion.

Many shoppers have noticed with chagrin store receipts getting longer and longer as retailers tack coupons, return policies, loyalty points and other bits of information and advertising onto narrow pieces of paper that are supposed to be a record of what you bought and how much you paid.

Survey: Wal-Mart Among Best 'Value' Brands†

YouGovPolimetrix places AIG at bottom of insurance heap

Adweek, November 4, 2008 — A recent survey by YouGovPolimetrix revealed that the slumping economy is having a significant impact on how consumers perceive brand value. Budget brands like Wal-Mart and Old Navy were ranked highest by consumers, while more upscale brands and financial services firms ranked lowest, reflecting a loss of consumer confidence.

Top Advertisers Add Meaning to Marketing†

P&G, Others Aim to Aid, Not Invade, by Crafting Purposeful Campaigns

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — Self-loathing has become all too commonplace in marketing, as Bridge Worldwide CEO Jay Woffington sees it, and not entirely without reason.

Young marketers or agency executives don't take long to learn they've dedicated their lives to creating stuff people seek to avoid, and with increasing success. But Bridge, a digital unit of WPP Group's Wunderman in, of all places, Cincinnati, ancestral homeland of Procter & Gamble Co. and interruptive advertising as we know it, thinks it has a disarmingly simple answer: "Marketing with Meaning."