CEO Says Victoria's Secret Brand Has Gone Too Far

Mediaweek, February 29, 2008 — IT'S NO SECRET THAT VICTORIA'S Secret is struggling. The division of Limited Brands, like so many other retailers, has been wrestling with declining foot traffic at malls, and an economy that isn't exactly sending women screaming for new dainties. This week, it announced that same-store sales in the fourth quarter fell an extremely unflattering 8%.

But for once, a retailer isn't blaming all its problems on high gas prices and a scary economy: During a conference call with investors, CEO Sharen Turney conceded that the brand has strayed too far from its roots, getting too young and too sexy, with a product assortment that just isn't tempting shoppers the way it used to.

Teaching an Old Greyhound New Tricks

New York Times, December 3, 2007 — A venerable bus line that once asked travelers to “leave the driving to us” is leaving nothing to chance in a campaign to promote an ambitious makeover.

The campaign, for Greyhound Lines, part of a British company named FirstGroup, takes an upbeat tone with an assertive theme, “We’re on our way.”

GM's New Spin: Buy a Hummer, Save Humanity†

New Campaign Aims to Rescue SUV's Image by Highlighting Its Exploits

Advertising Age, October 29, 2007 — DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Megan Stooke is a realist.

"Our brand has always been polarizing, and we've always said we are not for everybody," said the marketing director of General Motors Corp.'s Hummer macho SUV line, which has been swept up in almost a perfect storm of volatile gas prices, the war in Iraq and the rise in environmental consciousness.

'HUMMER HEROES': The campaign will show how rescue workers, among others, rely on the vehicle to help them help those in need.

Jack Daniel's International Appeal

By sticking to its homespun, down-home story, the Tennessee sour mash whiskey has increased sales at home and abroad

BusinessWeek, October 10, 2007 — For Pok Rui Bin, 29, drinking Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 after 12-hour workdays in Beijing means mixing it with green tea. The advertising copywriter's cocktail of choice is just one of many regional recipes that Global Managing Director Mike Keyes is getting used to now that his brand is available in 135 countries. What appeals to Pok about the Tennessee whiskey, he says, is the smooth smoky flavor, "and how it's hand-crafted and all comes from this one special place…I love that American West stuff."

Mending a Bruised Image

New York Times, August 30, 2007 — In one spot, a father sits on the sofa with his young children, reading to them from a large book while a daughter nestles her head on his neck.

In another, a man talks on the telephone to his mother — telling her “I love you” — then tells the camera that she encouraged him to play football as a child to keep him out of trouble.

In a third, a man describes his goal of going to law school and talks about how hard he worked as a student at Notre Dame.

The latest Hallmark campaign? No, the National Football League.

Concerned by growing uneasiness among fans and marketers about athletes gone wild, the league is embarking on an effort to burnish its brand image by accentuating the positive aspects of the on- and off-field lives of its... continue reading

Coke's Got Many Digital Pushes, but One Goal: Brand Experience†

Soda Maker's Interactive Chief on How to Deliver Compelling Ideas to Wide Range of Global Markets

Advertising Age, August 27, 2007 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Coca-Cola Co.'s new chief marketing officer, Joe Tripodi, will have a new global interactive chief to turn to when he starts. While her title is new, Carol Kruse knows her way around the beverage giant, having managed Coke's online advertising, customer-relationship marketing, and online and gaming marketing over the past six years.

A reason to skip Starbucks

CEO Patrick O'Dea tells Fortune's Matt Boyle how tiny Peet's can challenge the giant of the specialty coffee industry

FORTUNE, June 12, 2007 — Despite the ubiquity of Starbucks, only about one out of six Americans drink specialty coffee on a daily basis, according to the National Coffee Association. To Patrick O'Dea, that smells like opportunity.

Growing? Teach Your Brand Vision, First†

Brandweek, March 5, 2007 — By now most of us have heard about the missive from Starbucks' founder and chairman Howard Schultz delineating his take on the coffee chain's current woes