Skittles Cozies Up to Social Media†

Candy's Site Is Built on Consumer-Created Content From Twitter, Facebook

Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2009 — For years, Skittles has encouraged consumers to "Taste the Rainbow." Now, the candy brand wants people to "Chat the Rainbow."

Mars Snackfood, maker of the chewy, multicolored candies, launched a new homepage at Skittles.com on Thursday that may represent the closest embrace of social media yet by a mainstream marketer. Instead of a typical product site that highlights information about or videos and games related to a product, Skittles.com features content created by consumers — most of it gleaned from other Web sites.

How Apple, Others Have Cultivated Religious Followings†

Nine Components That Powerfully Engaging Brands Share With Religion

Advertising Age, December 8, 2008 — Having spent years talking with brand fans — from obsessed Harley-Davidson riders to devoted Guinness drinkers to young Hello Kitty admirers (one of whom owns more than 12,000 pieces of Hello Kitty merchandise) — I've been struck by the power brands have over their followers. But can the apparent parallels between brands and religion possibly hold up? Have some brands actually managed to create their own religions by, coincidentally or deliberately, adopting triggers and tactics from the world of religion?

Hotel Puts an iMac in Every Room

Springwise Newsletter, November 18, 2008 — Located in the Saint Blaise neighbourhood of Paris's 20th arrondissement, Mama Shelter has equipped each of its 172 rooms with a 24-inch Apple iMac multimedia center. Created by the Trigano family—founders of Club Med—along with Parisian philosopher Cyril Aouizerate and designer Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter combines modern, technology-enabled accommodation with a friendly, communal vibe. By replacing the ubiquitous in-room TV with the multimedia iMac, Mama Shelter not only mimics the same type of shift going on in many homes, it also ups the ante for hotels in urban centers around the world.

Why Westin Changed Its Name Tags

If I worked for the hotel chain, my tag might read: "Carmine Gallo: My passion is golf."

BusinessWeek, October 28, 2008 — Inspiration that keeps employees energized on a daily basis often has more to do with communication than compensation. The question is, how do you do communicate with your staff in a genuine way and encourage them to impress your customers? Westin Hotels & Resorts seems to have a found an effective strategy that you might be able to use in your own business.

How to Build Brands in Digital Age†

Book Excerpt: As Marketers Deal With Fragmentation, the Idea Should Drive the Media, Not the Other Way Around

Advertising Age, October 20, 2008 — We are absolutely awash in news and information.... This wash of messages is due, in good part, to the increase in channels of communication, mostly in digital communication. The internet and all manner of things digital have made it almost impossible to escape what's going on in the world, for better or for worse. This has created a host of challenges and opportunities for CMOs and everyone else responsible for the care and feeding of brands. How do you cut through the clutter? How do you take advantage of digital tools and tactics to learn more about consumers and deliver better, more-relevant brand experiences?

This article, an excerpt from a book called "BrandDigital," is about the way marketers built brands in the pre-digital world compared with the... continue reading

Thriftiness on Special in Aisle 5

New York Times, October 14, 2008 — While it might seem counterintuitive for stores to teach shoppers to cut their spending, several chains have concluded that providing such knowledge can spur loyalty and keep customers from trading down to cheaper competitors.

So the Stop & Shop grocery chain is offering “affordable food summits” where consumers are taught how to lower their grocery bills. Home Depot offers classes on how to cut energy bills. And Wal-Mart Stores hired a “family financial expert” who has used online chats to teach several thousand shoppers how to save money for college, whittle away debt and sell a house.

The retailers say their advice is neutral, not specific to any store — but they are always careful to point out money-saving items that their stores carry. The... continue reading

MTV Plants Its Flag in the Digital World

Fast Company, October 13, 2008 — MTV famously missed its chance to buy MySpace. Now the network's president, Van Toffler, is investing in dozens of digital media projects — and one might soon be a billion-dollar business.

General Mills, Kraft Launch Word of Mouth Networks†

Brandweek, October 5, 2008 — Recognizing that a consumer's two cents are well worth their dollars, General Mills and Kraft have both launched new word-of-mouth networks.

For General Mills, it is "Pssst . . . ," an online network that gives members the scoop on the latest product news and offerings. The site, pssst.generalmills.com, currently has 100,000 members after a quiet launch last month.

Pssst uses an initial survey to help gauge product preferences. Once registered, users can voice their opinions via blog posts, share online coupon offers and recipes, and test new sample kits via the mail.

Kraft, meanwhile, kicked off Kraftfirsttaste.com last week, which lets consumers share the newest coupon and sampling offers, but also includes features such as a member spotlight, product... continue reading