Turner Entertainment Sees the Broadcast Networks as Its Fattest Target

New York Times, November 2, 2009 — If there is a fault line between the big but shrinking broadcast networks and the small but growing cable networks, it would run right through Steve Koonin’s office in Atlanta.

Mr. Koonin, the president of Turner Entertainment Networks, has been orchestrating the TNT cable channel’s growth for almost a decade, from a unit best-known for “Law and Order” reruns to a financial powerhouse for the parent company, Time Warner.

Twitter Generates $48 Million of Media Coverage in a Month†

But Can It Maintain Its Sizzle?

Advertising Age, July 20, 2009 — Twitter's been the toast of TV news programs, daytime talk shows, magazine editors and newspaper reporters. But what's all that chatter worth?

According to news-monitoring service VMS, a cool $48 million over the past 30 days. (That's half of what Microsoft plans to spend marketing its biggest product launch of the year, Bing.)

Q&A: Hilton Steps Up Customer Loyalty Efforts†

Brandweek, February 24, 2009 — The hotel industry is going through a rough patch. But even in tough times, consumers are looking for an occasional getaway, according to Adam Burke, svp-customer loyalty at Hilton Hotels, which earlier this year kicked off its Hilton HHonors Double Points loyalty program. In a recent interview with Brandweek, Burke discussed the new program and how the Hilton family of hotels is faring in a down economy.

Apple Got Aced Out in Q4†

Brandweek, January 26, 2009 — In this corner we have Apple, which spent about $300 million on measured media for the first 10 months of 2008 and is every marketer’s favorite—often held up as the epitome of branding. In that corner, Acer, which spent about $12 million on media for the same period, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, and is no one’s idea of the hallmark of brand creation.

In ‘Trust Me,’ a Fake Agency Really Promotes

A Fake Ad Agency and Real Products

New York Times, January 21, 2009 — Beginning on Monday, the TNT cable channel hopes to add Rothman Greene & Mohr to those ranks as it introduces a weekly series, “Trust Me,” about a Chicago agency that competes against nonfictional firms like Leo Burnett and DDB. In another realistic wrinkle, actual products are being written into the scripts of episodes — including some, like the Dove line of hair care products sold by Unilever, that are also sponsors of the series.

Gatorade Quietly Aims to Revive Brand†

Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2009 — Gatorade is looking to jump-start sales by keeping its mouth shut.

For about a week, the PepsiCo sports drink has been running teaser television, print and online ads that ask: "What's G?"

The ads are part of a big rebranding effort for the Gatorade brand that includes a redesigned package and, according to a person familiar with the matter, a Super Bowl commercial. PepsiCo is trying to reach consumers beyond sports nuts to help reverse the brand's weak sales performance.

Navigating Recession With CRM, Direct, Online†

Q&A: American Airlines' Roger Frizzell on Staying Steady in a Tough Economy

Advertising Age, December 1, 2008 — Roger Frizzell knows why you fly. He also knows you're frustrated by it. Not long after joining American Airlines as VP-corporate communications and advertising in late 2003 — a period of time he describes as the beginning of American's "turnaround plan" from its near bankruptcy earlier that year — he and his team came up with the "We know why you fly" campaign. In an interview with Advertising Age, Mr. Frizzell describes his outlook for the airline with a phrase every marketing executive seems to be using with great frequency: cautiously optimistic.

The Big Picture

Many of the biggest battles of the 2008 campaign played out on YouTube. A look at how the channel became the most important political venue of the year.

Newsweek, November 10, 2008 — In the hours before President George W. Bush was set to give his final State of the Union message last January, Sen. Barack Obama was already preparing his response. His campaign wasn't planning a press conference or appearances on network news. Instead, they shot and uploaded video of the democratic presidential candidate's comments onto the only site that could rival primetime power—Youtube.

CMOs Annoyed by Agencies, Ad Networks†

HP, Charles Schwab Mull Going Direct to Media Companies; Verizon Takes Online Partners to Task

Advertising Age, October 20, 2008 — Agencies and ad networks came in for some rough treatment at a CMO roundtable during the Association of National Advertisers' annual conference on Saturday as executives vented their dissatisfaction with agency models and ad-network performance.

The chief marketing officers of Hewlett-Packard and Charles Schwab openly mulled the attractiveness of bypassing agencies to work directly with media companies and other experiments as they look to fix an agency model they see as broken.

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