The TGIF 'Revolution' Is Nothing Without a Marketing Strategy†

Social Media Isn't Enough to Save a Weak Brand

Advertising Age, November 9, 2009 — If you were a first-time visitor from Mars and you happened to drop into a marketing meeting somewhere in the United States, you might assume that marketing people do nothing but talk about "TGIF."

That's Twitter, Google, the internet and Facebook.

There's no question these four revolutionary developments have forever changed the marketing function. Word-of-mouth has now become word of finger.

Case Study: Viral Marketing Gets Philosophical†

Brandweek, July 21, 2008 — Every Mother's Day is filled with marketing possibilities, considering the $12 billion or so consumers are said to spend on the holiday each year. With that in mind, Philosophy, a skin care and cosmetics brand, wanted to broaden its considerable appeal with women via a more emotional Mother's Day campaign.

In China, Add a Caterpillar to the Dog and Pony Show†

Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2007 — Selling giant industrial machines in China sometimes feels to Mike Cai like living life in a traveling circus.

A marketer for Caterpillar Inc., Mr. Cai is working to crack the China market for earthmovers called wheel tractor-scrapers. Already a decades-old product in America, these dirt-scoopers, which weigh in at 38 tons, haven't made much headway in China, which still relies on the smaller "hex" — industry jargon for hydraulic excavator — and trucks on most construction sites.

To change that, Mr. Cai and his colleagues have eschewed traditional advertising techniques. Instead they've taken their show on the road, adopting a tactic popular in China's burgeoning market.

McD's Newest Ad Platform: Report Cards†

Not Surprisingly, Watchdogs Give Fast-Feeder's Play Failing Marks

Advertising Age, December 6, 2007 — McDonald's has found a nifty way to reach kids even as TV ad options toward the demographic shrink: Advertise on report cards.

The Golden Arches picked up the $1,600 cost of printing report-card jackets for the 2007-2008 school year in Seminole County, Fla., in exchange for a Happy Meal coupon on the card's cover. With 27,000 elementary school kids taking their report-card jackets home to be signed three or four times a year, that's less than 2 cents per impression.

Nintendo Is Ad Age's Marketer of the Year†

...While Marketers Picked Apple as Their Choice

Advertising Age, October 15, 2007 — Question: Can a new product not only radically revive a company but also reinvigorate an entire industry?

In much the way Apple made music aficionados out of mere music buyers, Nintendo via its Wii system has created a passionate group of devotees out of people who previously couldn't have cared less about video games. Wii broke open a market long confined predominantly to young men and welcomed in the rest of the family.

Selling Television Sets by Turning Up the Glamour

Brands are trying to break away from their reliance on 30-second television spots, which some marketers fear have lost their effectiveness.

New York Times, August 14, 2007 — WHILE audiences might have to wait until autumn to see “My Blueberry Nights,” the first English-language feature from the Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, they can catch a shorter film from Mr. Wong while shopping for fashionable clothing or jewelry in Paris.

The five-minute film is actually an advertisement for a new television from Philips Electronics, a high-end flat-screen model called Aurea.

Pepsi Wakes Up NYC Commuters†

Provides Diet Max Shots -- and Whack-A-Yawn -- at Grand Central

Advertising Age, August 7, 2007 — Feeling sleepy this Monday, or maybe by midweek you just get rundown in your stuffy cubicle? Pepsi hopes to cure your yawns, as you've probably seen in its latest ads for Diet Pepsi Max.

But an ad is one thing, so Pepsi set up shop at Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall with its newest soft drink to see if it could rouse sleepy-eyed New Yorkers and out-of-towners last week.

ANA's Integrated Marketing Conference Video

Video recap of the conference

ANA Marketing Maestros, July 27, 2007 — In 2007 integrated marketing was the number one issue on marketers' minds. With so many Web 2.0 technologies available see what the experts have to say about finding the right media mix for your brand

Splash

A toilet a work of art? Herbert Kohler has some novel ways to sell plumbing fixtures

Forbes, July 23, 2007 — A recent contemporary art show drew thousands of art buyers and gallery owners to the Merchandise Mart, a hulking building on the bank of the Chicago River. Some visitors, on their way to the ticket line, wandered into a store run by Kohler Co. , maker of plumbing fixtures.

Wrigley teams up with NBA in new marketing pact

Crain's Chicago Business, July 12, 2007 — W. Wrigley Jr. Co. has a new marketing teammate — the National Basketball Association.

The Chicago-based gum and candy company announced Wednesday a partnership that makes five of its brands the Official Chewing Gums of the NBA.