As Water Sales Dry Up, Nestlé Pans Soda†

Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2008 — Concerns that bottled water is a bad choice for the environment have cooled sales of the hot-selling product. But Nestlé, the world's biggest bottled-water producer, is trying to persuade consumers they should worry more about another drink: soda.

Stay-at-Home Trend Feathers Samsung Nest†

Fewer Families Going Out Means More Sales of HDTV, Sound Systems

Advertising Age, November 3, 2008 — Steven Cook came to Samsung Electronics America a little over a year ago, after 13 years at Coca-Cola and another 13 years before that at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Cook said Samsung now sits at No. l or No. 2 in most of its product categories, similar to successful classic consumer-package-goods makers. With the commoditization of electronics — much like package goods — his job is to continue to differentiate Samsung as a premium brand.

Study: Coke Is Most Talked About Brand in America†

Brandweek, October 23, 2008 — According to a new study released by the Keller Fay Group, Coca-Cola is currently the most talked about brand in America. The ranking was drawn from 25,142 consumer conversations conducted between January and August 2008.

Its chief cola rival, Pepsi, came in fourth place, right behind AT&T (2) and Verizon (3). The findings come from Keller Fay Group's TalkTrack analysis, which examines word-of-mouth conversations held both on and offline. This is the first time the data has been broken down as such.

While technology, telecommunications and automotive dominated the top 20, packaged goods and retail companies accounted for 32% of all word-of-mouth conversations.

"Cart Before the Horse" Marketing? Neigh!

Prophet, September 1, 2008 — For all the great marketers and marketing in the world, we still see too many instances of those who put the cart (or tactics) before the horse (or the need to meet critical customer needs) — and, as a result, strategies and initiatives that fail to make the finish line.