The Great Trust Offensive

Companies as diverse as McDonald's, Ford, and American Express are revamping their marketing to win back that most valuable of corporate assets

BusinessWeek, September 17, 2009 — "The spark began where it always begins, at a restaurant downtown, in a shop on Main Street," intones a narrator as the camera lingers in a restaurant, bakery, and bike factory. "Entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. As we look to the future, they'll be there ahead of us." The music swells, and the narrator concludes: "While we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain. We want to help."

The commercial, which began airing across the U.S. this summer, was developed by Ogilvy & Mather for American Express (AXP). Its mission: to cast AmEx not as a financial titan but as a humble service provider assisting mom and pops—establishments consumers typically like to support.

Pfizer Pays $2.3 Billion to Settle Marketing Case

The settlement is the largest fine ever levied for fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs

New York Times, September 3, 2009 — The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its now-withdrawn painkiller, Bextra.

It was the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine of any kind ever.

At A.I.G., the Brand Is Tarnished

New York Times, March 23, 2009 — The government’s fourth round of assistance to the American International Group this month was a play for time — for languishing markets to rebound, for pockets to fill up again and for buyers to emerge for the sturdy insurance companies under A.I.G.’s tattered corporate umbrella.

Only when those insurance companies are sold will there be money to repay American taxpayers.

But after the latest uproar, time does not look like A.I.G.’s friend. The problem now is not a toxic spiral of derivatives like the one that crippled the company last fall, but the damage done to A.I.G.’s brand, first by the financial troubles and then by the recent wave of hearings, subpoenas, late-night television jokes and even a bus tour past executives’ homes.

... continue reading

Employer Branding†

Companies have long divided consumers into segments. They should do the same with potential -- and current -- workers.

Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2009 — Ask most people about "branding," and they'll usually start talking about products and services.

But in recent years, companies have begun branding themselves as employers, too, betting that if they can convey to the world why their workplace is appealing and unique, they will have an easier time attracting good workers.

In fact, for many companies, employer branding has become a critical management tool, as the emergence of China, India and Brazil as economic powers and aging work forces in the U.S., European Union and Japan have increased the competition for skilled workers.

Coke Still No. 1, Starbucks Slips in Brand Index†

CoreBrand's Survey Also Finds Pepsi, Microsoft Sliding Down Standings While Apple Gains

Advertising Age, March 19, 2009 — Watch out, Starbucks, Pepsi and Microsoft: Your brand power is waning.

So concludes CoreBrand's Brand Power Index, which ranks 100 corporate brands in terms of market reputation and awareness. The annual ranking is conducted by surveying 400 corporate executives across 1,200 companies and 49 industries, with financial performance, perception of management and investment potential taken into account.

A powerful asset

In a season of global economic turmoil, admiration is in short supply. That's why a stellar reputation is more valuable than ever.

FORTUNE, March 2, 2009 — The world's most admired companies? In this environment isn't that sort of like the World's Most Trusted Con Men? World's Nicest Pit Bulls? Most Beautiful Slag Heaps? Isn't it just one giant contradiction?

Actually, it isn't. The most admired companies in the world are truly admired still. It shouldn't be surprising: Any company that can perform well and maintain its good name during the worst recession in 75 years is arguably more admirable than the best performer during boom times.

Mr. Whipple Left It Out: Soft Is Rough on Forests

The soft toilet paper that Americans love uses millions of trees, because recycled paper does not have the same feel.

New York Times, February 26, 2009 — Americans like their toilet tissue soft: exotic confections that are silken, thick and hot-air-fluffed.

The national obsession with soft paper has driven the growth of brands like Cottonelle Ultra, Quilted Northern Ultra and Charmin Ultra — which in 2008 alone increased its sales by 40 percent in some markets, according to Information Resources, Inc., a marketing research firm.

But fluffiness comes at a price: millions of trees harvested in North America and in Latin American countries, including some percentage of trees from rare old-growth forests in Canada.

Green-Light Specials, Now at Wal-Mart

New York Times, January 25, 2009 — IT was billed the Choice Meeting: a secret two-day conference in Arkansas in 2005 pairing Wal-Mart Stores, a symbol of scorched-earth global capitalism, with some of the nation’s most influential environmentalists. And it began with a zinger.

“Tell me why I should care about an endangered mouse in Arizona?” asked H. Lee Scott Jr., the retail giant’s chief executive, only partly in jest.

At the time, Wal-Mart was the target of a well-orchestrated assault focusing on its labor practices and environmental record. It was also straining to keep its legendary growth on track. Mr. Scott, hungry for ways to protect and transform his company, began to see environmental sustainability as a way to achieve two goals: improve Wal-Mart’s bottom line and... continue reading

Google, Campbell Soup, J&J Tops in CSR

Marketing Charts, November 10, 2008 — Google, Campbell Soup, and Johnson & Johnson top the list of American companies that the US public sees as most socially responsible, according to the 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSRI), from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and Reputation Institute.