Bruised AmEx Returns to Roots†

Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2009 — American Express Co., after outclassing its rivals for the past 50 years, is looking uncomfortably like just another credit-card company.

AmEx is reeling from late payments and defaults by customers it aggressively wooed before the U.S. economy tumbled into recession. Its sterling reputation for customer service is under attack from longtime clients. Even cardholders with plenty of money are putting away their plastic, pushing shares of the New York company to a 12-year low.

Gender-Bending Brands an Easy Way to Increase Product Reach†

From Condoms to Clippers, Marketers Can Appeal to Untapped Consumer Base By Making a Few Changes

Advertising Age, March 2, 2009 — If you want to broaden the appeal of your product, the first thing you should do is figure out if it's a boy or a girl. "The idea is to look at a category and examine what its [gender] orientation is," based on its inherent appeal and the marketing that's traditionally been put behind it, said Matthew Paprocki, president of Los Angeles-based creative boutique Boombang. "All their existing know-how is focused with a different orientation. If you flip that, you appeal to the opposite sex and increase the potential market for your products."

Yahoo to Offer Tools To Match Users, Ads†

Wall Street Journal, February 24, 2009 — Yahoo Inc. is unveiling several tools Tuesday to help marketers better target their online ads, as the Internet company tries to win back business during the recession.

The services include targeting graphical ads to users who have searched for particular terms in Yahoo's search engine and customizing the offers in ads based on what Web sites a consumer has visited and what they have done on those sites. Another service that is expected to go live next month will allow marketers to buy text ads next to search results that are targeted to users during a certain time of day or based on factors such as their age and gender.

OfficeMax Overhauls to Target Women†

Research Prompts Retailer to Make Over Its Marketing Materials

Advertising Age, January 15, 2009 — Women rule the office. At least that's what OfficeMax has come to believe, leading the retailer to revamp everything from circulars to catalogs to its website.

Addressable Ads Could Reinvigorate TV†

Better Targeting Would Improve Efficiency, but Scale Remains a Major Hurdle

Advertising Age, November 17, 2008 — Satellite-TV firm Dish Network and ad-tech firm Invidi struck an agreement last week that involves "advanced receivers," "targeted advertising delivery" and "dynamic commercial insertion." Behind the tech talk is something media executives such as Group M's Rino Scanzoni believe is nothing short of "the renaissance of the TV business."

The Dish-Invidi pact calls for developing of the ability to sell ads that can be sent to specific households based on geographic and demographic information.

Mindshare Wants A Lotame, And A Lot Of You: Cuts Deal Based On How We Spend Time Online

MediaPost Publications, November 11, 2008 — n a Madison Avenue first, WPP's Mindshare unit has cut a deal to begin serving ads to social media users based on the time they actually spend engaged on social media sites, and the advertising content surrounding them. The deal, details of which will be announced today with Lotame, the developer of an advanced audience behavior targeting system, is another step by a major agency away from the classic advertising model of placing ads based on the context of media content and instead moving to one based on the context of the audiences consuming it.

Lotame, which is a truncation of "local, target and message," is a scrappy start-up, has won favor with publishers of mid-tier social networks

Personalized Store Ads Take Off†

Big Marketers Start to Embrace Pitches Tailored to Reflect Shoppers' Buying Habits

Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2008 — For years, supermarket cashiers have handed shoppers coupons as they left the checkout aisle. These days, shoppers often get narrow paper strips printed with something else: ads related to the shopper's own buying habits.

Recently, Stouffer's has used such ads to encourage buyers of its single-serve frozen entrées to join its Dinner Club. Joining the club allows consumers to earn points for buying the Nestlé unit's products. The points can be used to bid for rewards like TV sets and magazine subscriptions.

General Mills CMO Talks Growth, Sustainability†

Brandweek, October 17, 2008 — In today's tough economy, when food companies are battling escalating ingredient costs, heavily scrutinized marketing practices and fluctuating stocks, General Mills is driving growth with a business model that includes marketing at its core.

Mark Addicks, CMO and svp of General Mills, revealed what those strategies were during a speech this morning at the Association of National Advertisers' conference in Orlando, Fla. Addicks credited "leadership, scale and leverage" as the three factors fueling General Mill's brand portfolio in an unstable food business.

Marketing to Millennials

Not all execs use methods they deem best

eMarketer, October 14, 2008 — Executives surveyed worldwide thought the best way to target millennials was with viral marketing, peer-to-peer recommendations and sponsorship of millennials' favorite programs, according to a survey conducted in May and June 2008 by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Genesys.

But more than one-half of respondents said they had yet to come up with a strategy for targeting, attracting or retaining millennials; just under one-third said they had done so.

Survey Records Shift in Blue Chip

New Epsilon CMO Survey Highlights Shift to Digital Marketing

Epsilon, September 8, 2008 — Chief Marketing Officers at many of the biggest brands in the nation are seeing a major shift in the marketing landscape. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the 175 marketing executives surveyed see an increase in their spending on interactive/digital marketing while 59% report a decrease in traditional marketing spend.

According to Mike Iaccarino, CEO of Epsilon, a leading marketing services firm, "Epsilon's first survey of the nation's Chief Marketing Officers presents a unique look at the changing dynamics of the marketing landscape. In this economic climate, marketing executives are seeking accountability and measurable results. Data driven marketing is an increasingly important component of corporate marketing campaigns as senior marketers employ... continue reading