McDonald's Recruits Mom to Be Ultimate Influencer†

Gatekeepers to Go on 'Field Trips' and Hopefully Return as Brand Evangelists

Advertising Age, June 11, 2007 — Battered by attacks blaming the fast-food industry for making children fat, McDonald's Corp. is recruiting the gatekeeper for its side. The Golden Arches has been quietly amassing an army of moms — often its toughest critics — as "quality correspondents" to act as citizen consumer reporters

Oh, Mother!†

Marketers Struggle to Categorize an Increasingly Complex Demo

Advertising Age, May 21, 2007 — Marketers in search of a few good women to spread the word about their products are finding themselves smack dab in the middle of the Mommy Wars. Sprint Nextel, Nintendo and General Motors Corp. all have been clamoring to reach the high-income, highly influential potential product advocator touted as the Alpha Mom. But now a backlash has begun in the form of the Beta Mom, the self-proclaimed antithesis of the superachieving Alpha.

Baby Boomers More Loyal To Service Providers Than To Products

MediaPost Publications, May 17, 2007 — BABY BOOMERS WERE REVOLUTIONARY--BUT THEY are less brand-loyal than preceding generations. According to a study released this week by market-research firm Focalyst, a joint venture between AARP and the Kantar Group, boomers defy expectation. The Focalyst data provides specific measures of boomer "brand loyalty" for products and services, drawing on a panel of about 35,000 consumers over the age of 42.

Skype joins Wal-Mart's Internet marketplace

USA Today, May 13, 2007 — Wal-Mart shoppers can now add one more item to their carts: Skype's Internet phones. Handsets, webcams and other gear from Skype, a pioneer in PC-to-PC calling, will be sold in more than 1,800 Wal-Mart stores starting Monday. The Wal-Mart partnership is the latest sign that Skype has arrived on Main Street, says Don Albert, vice president of Skype's North American operations.

Cellphones Tailored for Any Organization

New York Times, May 7, 2007 — FOR decades, consumers have been able to choose a credit card based on its affiliation with a particular group — a college alumni association, for example, a sports team or a retailer that offers reward points. Now a start-up company called Sonopia is trying to apply the same concept to the cellphone market. The idea is that instead of having to share space on the screen with a brand name like Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile, an organization that works with Sonopia can put its own logo on the phones.

Luxury Goods Without the Luxury Service†

Are Upscale Retailers Losing Sight of What Draws Their Loyal Customers?

Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2007 — Think of the best experience you've had as a consumer lately. Was it with a luxury company? Chances are, it wasn't. Vivian Deuschl, a 63-year-old Annandale, Va., hotel executive, wears Chanel ballet flats and carries a Prada bag, buys Burberry slippers for her daughter, and gives all manner of luxury items to her 16-month-old grandson. Her mailbox is chock-full of these companies' catalogs, yet she doesn't feel that they really care about her.

Marketing To Women, Part I: Mix Alpha Moms, Cans, Stir In Parties

MediaPost Publications, April 27, 2007 — MANY MARKETERS ARE LOOKING TO new media such as blogs and viral videos to generate buzz about their brands. But the Canned Food Alliance (CFA) is trying an old-fashioned tactic that involves pairing influential women with home-based parties and cans of peas and corn. The CFA is calling on "alpha moms" in the Chicago area to host "CANdelight Dinner Parties," with the bottom line of promoting the nutritional benefits of canned foods and nudging consumers to buy them.

Toyota's Scion Brand Bests E-Tailers With Recognition Among Young Consumers

MediaPost Publications, April 24, 2007 — SCION, TOYOTA MOTOR SALES U.S.A.'S brand founded in 2003 to appeal to Generation Y consumers, has 80% name recognition among young buyers, according to Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG)'s second annual e-commerce survey, putting it ahead of other, well-established branded online retailers Sears, Target, Macys, Best Buy and Amazon.com.

Maybe a Lavender Web Site Wasn’t How to Attract Women

New York Times, April 17, 2007 — JULIE PFEFFER, who has traveled on business to more than 55 countries, was among many female business travelers not impressed with the announcement by American Airlines last week that it had started a Web site just for its female travelers, www.AA.com/women. “There are so many things that are infuriating about this lip-service nonsense that I can’t begin to list them all,” said Ms. Pfeffer, an executive with the emerging markets division of Artisan Partners, an investment management company.

Survey: Boomers Have Money, Aren't Afraid To Spend It†

Brandweek, April 11, 2007 — Far from being cowed by the growth in technology, the aging baby boom generation has embraced the Internet and everything related to it, and enjoys spending time online and surfing interesting Web sites. That’s the crux of a new study by BoomerEyes, a leading boomer research and demographic intelligence company that studies baby boomers and their influence on American society and the economy.