Brand Strategy articles from April 2005

Brand Strategy archives from April 2005

LEADER: Brain storming.(Editorial)
April 5, 2005... The brain has 100 billion neurons and 100,000 connectors between each one. This means it would take 32 million years to count every single connection. These connections are important because they lead to memories, and better connections make...

Hit Entertainment bought by Apax.(Apax Partners Ltd.)
April 5, 2005... Hit Entertainment, the company behind childrens' brands Bob The Builder, Thomas The Tank Engine and Barney The Dinosaur, has been bought for #489.4m by private equity company Apax. Hit also announced that its first-half profits had fallen by...

Ask Jeeves bought by IAC.(InterActiveCorp.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... The Ask Jeeves search engine has been bought by American company IAC/InterActiveCorp in a deal worth more than $1.85bn (#964m). IAC/InterActive already owns online businesses Expedia, Ticketmaster and search engine CitySearch. Ask Jeeves...

Diageo acquisition.(Ursus Vodka Holding N.V)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Diageo has bought Dutch spirits company Ursus Vodka Holding N.V, which owns the Ursus Vodka and Ursus Roter brands for around Ge1/4145m (#100m). The acquisition will boost Diageo's European business, especially in Greece, where the Ursus...

General Motors profits warning.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... General Motors has issued a profits warning for the first three months of 2005 after net profits sunk 37% to $630m (#328m) in the last quarter of 2004, from $1bn (#520m) a year earlier. The slump is due largely to a fall in North American...

Manchester United profits fall.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Football brand Manchester United has also seen its half-year profits fall 54% to #12.4m. The club blames the results on diminished television rights income. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

New brand for BA.(British Airways PLC)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... British Airways is believed to be developing a short-haul airline brand with consultancy Interbrand. The company has previously stated that it is investing in its short-haul services this year. The new brand is likely to be a dedicated...

New soft drink.(Coca-Cola's new Zero)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Coca-Cola is launching a new soft drink called Zero. The drink, aimed at young men, will initially be available in the US and is the fourth diet brand that the company has announced in the last year. Britvic is also set to launch a...

Visa campaign.(rebranding)
April 5, 2005... Visa is rebranding globally this autumn with a new logo, supported by its first European ad campaign for 10 years. The ads will highlight the corporate colours of blue, gold and white and focus on how credit cards can be used for everyday...

Easygroup DVD rental service.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Easygroup is launching an online DVD rental service. The venture will operate initially in the UK and aims to compete against established online brands such as Amazon and Blockbuster. The service will be operated by Video Island and targets...

FIFA retail outlets.(International Federation of Association Football starts retail oulets)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) is launching a range of global retail outlets created by Global Brands Group. The stores, which are expected to open in 2007, will sell licensed sports products and feature...

Burger King and Wrigley accused of breaking guidelines.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Burger King and Wrigley have been accused of breaking guidelines set by the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU). The US industry watchdog told Burger King that it should aggressively promote its lower-calorie options and criticised a...

Reebok global ad campaign.(Reebok International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Reebok has launched a new global ad campaign starring rapper 50 Cent, actress Lucy Liu and tennis star Andy Roddick among others. The #12m European arm of the campaign has caused controversy after anti-gun campaigners accused 50 Cent's...

Volvo Ocean Race.(Walt Disney contracts)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Walt Disney is entering a boat branded as Pirates of the Caribbean into the Volvo Ocean Race, as part of the American entertainment brand's marketing deal with the car company. The previous Volvo ocean competition achieved a cumulative...

Modern media use.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... American women aren't paying attention to advertising, claims research from agency Ketchum on modern media use. They are too distracted and only 51% frequently watch a whole television programme while 59% never or rarely read a whole...

Search engine marketing.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... European marketers will spend nearly E3bn (#2bn) on search engine marketing by 2010 according to Forrester Research. This year's spending will jump 65% to E1.4bn (#971m). France will continue to be the top country in search marketing...

Walt Disney - Appointment.(Robert Iger)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Robert Iger has been announced as Walt Disney Company's chief executive. He replaces longstanding CEO Michael Eisner, who is due to step down in September. Iger was previously president and COO of the Walt Disney Company. Copyright:...

Daimler-Chrysler - Appointment.(Klaus Maier)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Daimler-Chrysler has promoted Klaus Maier to head of sales and marketing at the Mercedes Group. Maier, who was previously Daimler- Chrysler's European head of commercial vehicles, replaces outgoing executive Joachim Schmidt after Mercedes'...

Molson Coors Brewing -Appointment.(Frits van Paasschen )(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Frits van Paasschen has been appointed American beer brand Coors' new president and CEO. He joins the newly merged Molson Coors Brewing Company from Nike, where he was corporate vice president and general manager of Europe, Middle East and...

BBC - Appointment.(Tim Davie appointed)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Tim Davie has been appointed as the BBC's director for marketing, communication and audiences. He was formerly vice president of marketing and franchise for PepsiCo Europe and also held marketing roles in the African and US regions. ...

TRENDSPOTTER: The human face of branding.
April 5, 2005... Anne Bahr Thompson says brands that bring communities together will resonate deeper with consumers Consumers are seeking emotional connections in the aftermath of the Asian tsumani. The challenge for brands and brand experiences is to...

BRAND STUNT OF THE MONTH: Audio auto alignment.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Ruth Mortimer discovers a new mix in the advertising world: Toyota's Scion and a record label Toyota is keen to drive youth success for its Scion vehicle. The car, which was first released two years ago in the US, recently got its very...

BRAND MOT: SONY.(Sony Electronics Inc.)
April 5, 2005... Sony, the global electronics, entertainment and technology giant, dropped in profit from Yen185,440m (#927.7m) in 2003 to Yen98,902 (#495.8m) in 2004, with the electronics division faring worst. The figures follow several tough years. Although...

FOCUS - ITALY: A fashionable move to the hotel industry.
April 5, 2005... Ruth Mortimer examines the current trend for fashion brands to diversify into the hotel sector. Most prominent in Italy, is this setting of luxury and leisure likely to go global? You've bought the shoes, carry the handbags and wear the...

OPINION: Brand sponsored content.
April 5, 2005... Mitch Kanner describes how advertisers can maintain the lines of communication with consumers You've probably heard the saying that: 'Attention is the scarcest commodity of the 21st century?' It's true. Consumers have always wanted...

OPINION: Execution, execution, execution.
April 5, 2005... Allan Leighton explains why your customers and your staff are the only things that matter when leading a business My philosophy is simple - if you run a company there are only two things that count. The people who work with you and the...

PROFILE - MALCOLM GLADWELL: the accidental guru.
April 5, 2005... Elen Lewis meets Malcolm Gladwell, journalist, author and the adopted guru of the marketing industry to discuss the art of science, business and his desire to build buildings Everyone told me I'd recognise Malcolm Gladwell, and I did. He...

MALCOM GLADWELL - Q&A: Trusting your gut instinct.(Interview)
April 5, 2005... Malcolm Gladwell talks to Elen Lewis about his distrust of focus groups and how he believes the industry can improve its rate of success in new product development EL: Do you think the marketing community is overly reliant on market...

AVON: Opportunity knocks.
April 5, 2005... The Avon brand goes from door to door and strength to strength. Joanna Doonar muses on the company's global expansion programme and product offering to discern the secret of its success 'Ding Dong Avon calling' is one of the best-known...

M&As: The corporate culture club.
April 5, 2005... Cash booster or growing pains? For small, socially-aware brands, a merger with a large corporation can bring a vital lift to sales but can create a discord of cultures. Ruth Mortimer investigates "A business that makes nothing but money is...

M&A CASE STUDY - BEN & JERRY'S: A big dollop of investment.
April 5, 2005... Ruth Mortimer analyses Unilever's acquisition of the quirky ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's and discovers that there is space for the hippy child in the corporate family. Ben & Jerry's has always been the hippy child of the ice cream...

BRAND PAPERS: Made in China.
April 5, 2005... With only two brands in the FTSE 500, China needs to move from becoming a producer to a brand owner. Dr Ying Fan details its progress so far It is difficult to find a shop in the West that does not sell products with a 'Made in China'...

BRAND PAPERS: Court of public opinion.
April 5, 2005... Geoff Lye explores how new forms of liability can affect brand value and warns that brands must take strategic approaches to risk management Around the world, boardrooms are grappling with new and expanded concepts of corporate...

BRAND PAPERS: Tour of the Vikings.(Editorial)
April 5, 2005... Elen Lewis describes how Ikea's early difficulties in persuading the Americans to love flat-pack furniture led the brand to tweak its global concept It doesn't matter where you are in the world, the Ikea saga reads the same. Each of the...

BOOKS: Predictable marketing?(Book Review)
April 5, 2005... Professor Merlin Stone, business research leader, IBM Business Consulting Services is disappointed with The ultimate marketing machine and wonders whether he missed the point The ultimate marketing machine, by Paul Postma, published by...

FROM THE BOOKSHELF OF: Martin Cole, senior planner, Grey London.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 5, 2005... Disconnected - Why our kids are turning their backs on everything we thought we knew by Nick Barham For anyone interested in how the vital and energetic fringes of British society operate, this book is essential reading. Each chapter...

RESEARCH: Sports sponsorship in first place.
April 5, 2005... Sport continues to attract the lion's share of worldwide sponsorship accounting for 78% of the total reported worldwide last year. Sport has always dominated sponsorship; it accounted for 80% in 2002 and 77% in 2003. The share taken by...

RESEARCH: Eurovision: Brands and national identities.
April 5, 2005... Europe is changing. Each country is struggling to marry the European Union's economic advantages with cultural representations of individual nationhood. But as the borders break down, national and local identities may become increasingly...

BRAND STATS: Market focus - Pet food.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2005... Across Europe, dogs like to eat Pedigree and cats prefer Whiskas. However, country-specific petfood brands exist in all markets resulting in varying brand preferences. Key attitudinal differences also exist between the target audiences....

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: Consumer life begins at 50.(Panel Discussion)
April 5, 2005... A panel of marketing to 50+ experts debate the risks marketers are taking by failing to understand the mindset of the over-50 consumer, or worse, ignoring this multifarious group entirely Elen Lewis: Does age neutral marketing work with the...

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: The golden oldie good life.
April 5, 2005... The ageing baby boom demographic has a healthy bank balance, Lara Colenso suggests brands should take advantage of their bulging wallets and extra free time The world has been talking about a demographic time bomb for a decade, but few...

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: BOOMERS BREAKDOWN.
April 5, 2005... Late boomers: born 1956-1965, aged 40-49 years old. They feel squeezed between the conflicting needs of careers, children and partners. Widespread divorce compounds time, financial and emotional pressures. They are learning how to lead...

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: Functional food for thought.(Flora/Becel )(Interview)
April 5, 2005... Elen Lewis talks to Matt Hill, the Flora/Becel global brand director, about the rise and rise of functional food Pro.activ and how its marketing appeals to an older audience EL: Flora/Becel Pro.activ is a functional food. Can you explain...

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: Sea change for silver surfers.
April 5, 2005... For many over-50s, the web is a key communication tool to a more inclusive lifestyle. Dick Stroud explains why brands must think of older consumers when designing websites It is rare for designers to understand how to create websites that...

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: Dispelling myths and mothballs.
April 5, 2005... Jo Rigby shatters the stereotypes and old-fashioned beliefs surrounding the grey market. This demographic does like trying new brands and enjoys good advertising After years of being ignored, patronised and avoided by the media and...

MARKETING TO THE OVER-50s: Advertising to 50s and over.
April 5, 2005... Above all else, be positive and portray them as they see themselves. Jean-Paul Treguer outlines six golden rules to help brands create effective advertising for the over-50s, 1. Be positive Any message addressed to the over-50s...