Sprint Puts Positive Spin on Losses

New York Times, August 7, 2008 — Sprint Nextel, the troubled No. 3 wireless carrier, lost nearly a million customers in the second quarter. But the company says it lost some of them on purpose.

Meanwhile its chief rivals, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, respectively gained 1.3 million and 1.5 million new wireless customers. As customers tighten their spending during rough economic times and when nearly nine out of every 10 Americans already own a cellphone, winning customers from a competitor is the only way to grow quickly. And at that task, analysts say, Sprint is struggling.

Keeping Up Nintendo's Momentum†

As Wii Products Leave Pipeline, Iwata Looks to Services, New Gamers for Growth

Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2008 — After overseeing several years of rapid growth at Nintendo Co., President Satoru Iwata faces new challenges: how to keep players of the company's videogames interested, and how to cultivate a new wave of customers.

Under the 48-year-old Mr. Iwata, Nintendo has already redefined videogames and widened their appeal beyond the typical young male player who favors fast, action-packed games. Its DS portable game device, launched in November 2004, has attracted young women and an older audience with a touch-sensitive screen players can write on and simpler games, such as the brain-training quiz game Brain Age and the virtual-pet game Nintendogs. The Wii videogame console, released two years later, allows users to wield a controller as they would a tennis... continue reading

What Marketers Can Learn From Twitter's Stumbles†

The Service Is a Victim of Its Popularity -- and Its Unresponsiveness Is Costing It Fans

Advertising Age, July 29, 2008 — What are the limits of consumer loyalty when a particular product or service consistently stumbles, or just doesn't work? What if those stumbles are actually due to the immense popularity of the product?

Any fast-growing brand that has seen its infrastructure quiver under the weight of widespread customer demand should look for a lesson on how not to do things in Web 2.0 darling Twitter.

Pernod Puts Its Buying Spree on Ice†

Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2008 — Ahead of the release of its fiscal-year sales Thursday, drinks maker Pernod Ricard SA signaled a change in its growth strategy.

The French company, which has been on an acquisition binge, said it plans to sit tight for the next few years and nurture the labels it already owns.

"Organic growth is a must," Pernod Managing Director Pierre Pringuet said in an interview.

In Search of Growth Leaders†

Most companies have managers who can turbocharge results. The trick is finding -- and nurturing -- them.

Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2008 — Organic growth. It's the Holy Grail these days of chief executives battered by global competition and eager to find new streams of revenue without always resorting to acquisitions. A cottage industry has sprung up to advise companies on how to achieve organic growth. But many companies already possess the means to turbocharge their sales, break out of industry molds and capture new markets with innovative products and services.

All Systems Go

How General Electric's jet-engine division in Ohio is boosting the company's business in China. A case study in advanced global strategy

Fast Company, April 11, 2008 — More than a billion people were watching late last year when the first commercial airliner ever built by a Chinese firm rolled off the assembly line in Shanghai. China's state network, CCTV, broadcast it live, a proud symbol of the country's rising technical prowess. Yet if you looked closely, there was another peacock preening. Of the 19 suppliers that collaborated on the 90-passenger regional jet, only one had its logo on the plane: General Electric, which built the engine. No surprise, perhaps, that GE subsidiary CNBC was the only foreign network permitted to cover the event.

There is no company on the globe that's better at leveraging the multiple parts of its business to feed growth than GE.

Ning's Infinite Ambition

Fast Company, April 11, 2008 — Here's something you probably don't know about the Internet: Simply by designing your product the right way, you can build a billion-dollar business from scratch. No advertising or marketing budget, no need for a sales force, and venture capitalists will kill for the chance to throw money at you.

The secret is what's called a "viral expansion loop," a concept little known outside of Silicon Valley (go ahead, Google it — you won't find much). It's a type of engineering alchemy that, done right, almost guarantees a self-replicating, borglike growth: One user becomes two, then four, eight, to a million and beyond. It's not unlike taking a penny and doubling it daily for 30 days. By the end of a week, you'd have 64 cents; within two weeks, $81.92; by day... continue reading

Overhaul, Make It a Venti

New York Times, January 30, 2008 — KANSAS CITY, Mo.—When a Starbucks moved in next door, the coffee fanatics who run the Broadway Cafe trembled. Sure, they roasted their own beans and served up handmade espresso drinks to a loyal clientele. But would it be enough to fight off a corporate behemoth? That was nearly 10 years ago, and now the results are in: the Starbucks is about to shut down.

Disney Reaches to the Crib to Extend Princess Magic†

Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2007 — At the recently opened Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Cinderella's castle in Walt Disney World, hordes of young girls in ball gowns jostle every day to get their hair coiffed, their nails painted and their faces plastered with make-up to imitate their favorite princess. It's an image that's become classic of the Walt Disney Co. Princess revolution. What started out in 2001 as a few princess outfits became an overnight sensation as Disney enchanted 3- to 6-year-old girls throughout America with everything from princess comforters and princess backpacks to princess-emblazoned sneakers. Smartly-packaged releases of classic princess movies have helped bring girls back for more each year.

Selling P&G

How do you sell $76 billion of consumer goods? One brand at a time. Fortune's Geoff Colvin talks with Jim Stengel.

FORTUNE, September 5, 2007 — In the vast world of marketing and advertising, James Stengel just may be the king. He is Procter & Gamble's global marketing officer, and thus commands the world's largest ad budget - about $6.7 billion. It's an enviable position, but uneasy lies the head that wears an ad king's crown. The Digital Age is revolutionizing the way consumers use media, though no one yet knows what the new model will be or if it will last longer than an eye-blink. Product innovation happens faster than ever.