Brand Strategy articles from December 2003

Brand Strategy archives from December 2003

Compact Times or tabloid?(Leader)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... This week sees the launch of The Times so-called 'compact' edition. Let's give it its proper name, it's a tabloid. Until now, the broadsheet format has helped to disguise the fact that it has significantly dumbed down in recent years. The move...

Benchmarking emails.(Leader)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... It is impossible to build an ROI model for a targeted email campaign. If the cost of an email campaign is less than 1% of a postal one (Gartner), how can you justify additional cost? Why invest in targeting if you know that consumers already...

Mistakes we made.(Leader)
December 1, 2003... Often the most valuable learning comes from the mistakes you make, rather than the successes you celebrate. Not surprisingly, only the more confident marketers are prepared to raise their heads above the parapet. This year's Marketing Society...

Nestle Rowntree is investing 2m [pounds sterling] in promoting the first ever extension of its After Eight mint chocolate range which launched in October.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Nestle Rowntree is investing 2m [pounds sterling] in promoting the first ever extension of its After Eight mint chocolate range which launched in October. The 1.5m [pounds sterling] TV ad for After Eight Orange was developed by J Walter...

Sharwoods is launching a national TV ad campaign as part of a 5m [pounds sterling] marketing drive.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Sharwoods is launching a national TV ad campaign as part of a 5m [pounds sterling] marketing drive. "It Tastes Loud" targets 24-44 year-old men and women and supports the brand's oriental portfolio as well as its new Bundh oven cook Indian...

Electronic Arts is investing a reported 3m [pounds sterling] in promoting its Lord of the Rings game over the Christmas period, including advertising campaigns on TV and in cinema, to coincide with the release of the third and final part of the film trilogy, Return of the King.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Electronic Arts is investing a reported 3m [pounds sterling] in promoting its Lord of the Rings game over the Christmas period, including advertising campaigns on TV and in cinema, to coincide with the release of the third and final part of the...

Record company, BMG, is to release a Christmas single by Channel 5 cartoon character Noddy.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Record company, BMG, is to release a Christmas single by Channel 5 cartoon character Noddy. The song "Make way for Noddy" is the theme tune to the 10m [pounds sterling] cartoon relaunched in 2002. This is one of the most popular TV programmes...

London 2012, the consortium behind London's Olympic bid, has revealed the winning logo design after a contentious bid process.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... London 2012, the consortium behind London's Olympic bid, has revealed the winning logo design after a contentious bid process. The image of a multicoloured ribbon in the shape of London's Thames river was created by Kino Design, but has...

GlaxoSmithKline is to launch menthol and chilli-flavoured limited edition variants of its Ribena range as part of a drive to create more of a taste experience for consumers.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... GlaxoSmithKline is to launch menthol and chilli-flavoured limited edition variants of its Ribena range as part of a drive to create more of a taste experience for consumers. Called Ribena Oooh and Ribena Aaargh, the drinks will be on sale for...

Barr Soft Drinks' Tizer product has undergone a 1.5m [pounds sterling] rebrand to reposition the drink to a broader age range.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Barr Soft Drinks' Tizer product has undergone a 1.5m [pounds sterling] rebrand to reposition the drink to a broader age range. Supported by ads from BDH/TBWA around the theme: "It's a Red Thing", to reflect the brand's irreverent, fun and...

The toothpaste category looks set for a shift from health to beauty as both GlaxoSmithKlines's Macleans and P&G's Crest brands have undergone a redesign.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The toothpaste category looks set for a shift from health to beauty as both GlaxoSmithKline's Macleans and P&G's Crest brands have undergone a redesign. For Macleans, design agency Coley Porter Bell has broken with the tradition for white...

Diary.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... Building and Managing Strong Brands Warwick Business School, Coventry 13-14 January 2004 This workshop will answer the eternal questions of how to tell if brands are successful, what is the organisation's role in managing successful...

Telewest.(Appointments)(Gavin Peterson is to join BT consumer and ventures division)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Telewest managing director (consumer) Gavin Peterson is to join BT consumer and ventures division as group MD, replacing Angus Porter who joined Abbey as customer director in July.

MSN.(Appointments)(promoted Judy Gibbons to the new post of head of global sales and marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... MSN, Microsoft's online portal, has promoted Judy Gibbons, head of the international division, to the new post of head of global sales and marketing. She will be responsible for worldwide marketing promotions including communications and...

New Conservative Party leader, Michael Howard, has appointed agency founder, Lord Saatchi.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... New Conservative Party leader, Michael Howard, has appointed agency founder, Lord Saatchi, O2's vice president of marketing Will Harris (pictured) and the director of the Press Complaint's Commission, Guy Black, to assist with the party's...

Fitch & Co.(Appointments)(Rodney Fitch has returned as chairman)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Rodney Fitch has returned as chairman to the design company he created 40 years ago. He left WPP-owned Fitch & Co nine years ago to set up a specialist retail design practice and rejoins with three key objectives: strategic positioning; client...

Unilever-owned ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry's is launching a UK social responsibility campaign through a non-profit franchise scheme called Partnershop.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Unilever-owned ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry's is launching a UK social responsibility campaign through a non-profit franchise scheme called Partnershop. Established in partnership with community organisation FRC Group, the scheme's first...

Mobile service provider, 02, has launched a digital music download service to rival Apple's iPod.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Mobile service provider, 02, has launched a digital music download service to rival Apple's iPod. Customers will be able to select, download and store chart music via mobile handsets to specially designed 02 Digital Music Players. On sale only...

Loyalty scheme AirMiles is to relaunch as a full service travel company in a total restructure of the business.(Launches and rebrands)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Loyalty scheme AirMiles is to relaunch as a full service travel company in a total restructure of the business. The new agency, The AirMiles Travel Company, will include airlines and hotels and will no longer rely on distressed inventory,...

Orange is raising customer awareness of its service offering in its first pan-European ad campaign created by Mother.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Orange is raising customer awareness of its service offering in its first pan-European ad campaign created by Mother. Focusing on emails, photo and video messaging; the TV and print campaign follows on from the mobile phone company's UK-based...

Sainsbury's is looking to its online store to boost sales, following results which showed only 1.8% sales growth to 8.2bn [pounds sterling] for the six months to October 11 2003.(Financial)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Sainsbury's is looking to its online store to boost sales, following results which showed only 1.8% sales growth to 8.2bn [pounds sterling] for the six months to October 11 2003. Online sales had grown by 35% in the same period. The supermarket...

Interpublic Group, the holding company for ad agency McCann-Erickson, has reported losses of $327.1m (195.7m [pounds sterling]) for the third quarter, compared to a loss of just $89.6m (52.9m [pounds sterling]) in the same quarter the previous year.(Financial)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Interpublic Group, the holding company for ad agency McCann-Erickson, has reported losses of $327.1m (195.7m [pounds sterling]) for the third quarter, compared to a loss of just $89.6m (52.9m [pounds sterling]) in the same quarter the previous...

Marks & Spencer.(Financial)(reported a 7.4% rise in interim pre-tax profits )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Marks & Spencer reported a 7.4% rise in interim pre-tax profits from 290.1m [pounds sterling] to 311.5m [pounds sterling], with UK retail sales up 4.3% to 3.3bn [pounds sterling]. Chairman Luc Vandevelde claimed the trading environment had been...

The CEO of media group Hollinger, Lord Conrad Black, has been forced to resign after an investigation revealed unauthorised payments of 18.7m [pounds sterling] were made to executives.(Financial)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The CEO of media group Hollinger, Lord Conrad Black, has been forced to resign after an investigation revealed unauthorised payments of 18.7m [pounds sterling] were made to executives. The company is also reportedly seeking a buyer for the...

Childhood regression is big business for kids brands: kidults are reaching more and more into kids products for satisfaction and security.(Trendspotter)
December 1, 2003... Adults are looking back to childhood, or perhaps childishness, trying to deny the inevitable signs of ageing. These grown-up 'kidults' are happy to be seen reading the latest Harry Potter or eating Haribo Gummi Bears (see picture). They're the...

If I could get my hands on a black cab ... I'd hail the drivers and give them a sense of direction, says Jez Frampton, newly appointed CEO of Interbrand.(In An Ideal World)
December 1, 2003... The drivers of black cabs--second only to the red Routemaster bus as iconic symbols of London--must have brainpower I can't begin to imagine. Doing the Knowledge (a detailed exam of London streets and landmarks) is like covering a degree and a...

Last orders for Hooch: Morag Cuddeford Jones investigates why the UK's first lemon-flavoured alcopop caused a sensation then lost its sparkle.(That Was The Brand That Was)
December 1, 2003... There was a time when kids spat out their first taste of alcohol--be it beer or wine--because they didn't like the taste. Then the alcopop arrived. Hooch, a lemon-flavoured, vodka-based drink was launched in June 1995 by Carling, now owned...

Shell creates storm on London's South Bank.(Brand Stunt Of The Month)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... An electric storm of colour, light, mist and sound is enveloping Central London's South Bank this winter. Created by Shell in a bid to encourage debate on renewable energy, the Shell Electric Storm is a man-made version of the Northern Lights....

Brand mot.
December 1, 2003... Just weeks after Barclay's chief executive Matt Barrett said that borrowing on credit cards was "too expensive", Britain's biggest credit card company has been forced by the Office of Fair Trading to pull its '0% forever' marketing campaign...

Raise your mugs to the Co-op; Morag Cuddeford Jones discovers why the Co-operative Group's Fairtrade coffee gives a bigger buzz.(News Analysis)(The Co-operative Group)
December 1, 2003... The Co-operative Group plans to convert its own brand instant and ground coffee to the Fairtrade brand. This follows a similar decision regarding its own brand chocolate range in 2002. The move further cements the Co-op's stance as the UK's...

Disability: the image that advertising often forgets: the Government is urging marketers to include more disabled people in advertising. Joanna Doonar examines why the ad industry is holding back and discovers that the fear of 'tokenism' is one reason.(News Analysis)
December 1, 2003... The Government highlighted the value of the disabled pound to advertisers last month at the launch of its first Images of Disability Annual Report. Citing the need to include more disabled people in advertising, Maria Eagle, minister for...

Advertising self-regulation: Christopher Graham warns advertisers that effective self regulation is essential to maintain the right to advertise freely.(Opinion)
December 1, 2003... These are worrying times for advertisers. The appetite for further regulation is unassuaged. There is the proposal for a Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices with its prescriptive approach to advertising. There is the challenge to the...

Democratic case of marketing: Alastair Campbell argues that like government, companies must develop a consistent communications strategy.(Opinion)
December 1, 2003... I have been reflecting on relations between politics and political media. The central chapters of my own life have been around a decade in each. During that time I've seen my respect for the media fall and my respect for the political process...

Simon Waugh brands Centrica at your service: Morag Cuddeford Jones meets Simon Waugh, global marketing director of utilities-based group, Centrica, who likes to take the customer's viewpoint and reveals that his only ambition is service with a smile.(Simon Waugh)
December 1, 2003... Centrica's Simon Waugh doesn't like promotion. That is to say, recent news of his promotion from deputy manager British Gas and group marketing director of parent utilities group Centrica, to global marketing director including responsibility...

B&Q doing it for themselves: Elen Lewis interviews David Roth, marketing director of B&Q and discovers the DIY retailer wants to 'do it all' more stylishly by broadening its product range to appeal to the public's burgeoning taste for home design.(B&Q)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... B&Q has ambitions. It may be better known for selling the adhesive and taps but it has also collaborated on a paint range with the Tate art gallery and designed a beautiful electrical screw-driver called Gofer. The out-of-town DIY retailer has...

The communications union: brands claim to be working as hard for their employees as they do for their consumers yet industrial action is rising. Has employee engagement failed the acid test?(Industrial Action)
December 1, 2003... The 1990s were a boom time for brands, and not just in terms of increased sales. Industrial relations were at an all time high, following what some regarded in the 80s as the 'breaking' of the unions. Employees were encouraged to share their...

Driving workers underground: Morag Cuddeford Jones examines if new initiatives aiming to improve employee engagement have what it takes to help London Underground's disaffected staff provide a better transport service for the public.(Case Study)
December 1, 2003... For most sectors the threat of strike action is a severe though rare occurrence. For London Underground (LU) however, it is a regular reality. Though actual walkouts are rarer than might be expected--only five days lost through industrial...

It's not such a Lonely Planet; Joanna Doonar explores the intrepid spirit of the Lonely Planet brand and considers the future for the competitive travel guide market which is still reeling from the effects of terrorism, SARS and the war in Iraq.(Special report: travel)
December 1, 2003... Since Tony and Maureen Wheeler sat at their kitchen table 30 years ago, writing and stapling together a DIY travel guide to Asia, the Lonely Planet brand has had a considerable journey. The world's most successful independent travel information...

A state of independence: greater accessibility, cheaper flights and online purchasing have changed the way people go on holiday. Joanna Doonar looks at the future of the travel market and assesses how travel brands can create appeal.(Special report: travel)
December 1, 2003... The travel and tourism market may have been on a rollercoaster ride for the last few years but one thing is clear; consumers are in control. Package holidays are starting to give way to DIY breaks as travellers put holidays together themselves...

Brands thinking positively; Steve Hilton says marketers should take on the anti-corporation crusaders and be more explicit about how their brands are delivering powerful social benefits through creativity and innovation.(Brand Papers)
December 1, 2003... Why is marketing, a discipline which claims to have its ear pressed firmly to the ground of consumer tastes and attitudes, seen by those same consumers as the most tawdry and loathsome of the crosses that the modern world forces its citizens to...

Challenging Maslow: Mark Rodgers takes issue with Maslow's hierarchy of needs and suggests it's time for planners to view consumers as multidimensional in this 'risk and retreat' society.(Brand Papers)
December 1, 2003... I read an article recently that said only one in seven Americans was alive during the great depression. The result, unsurprisingly, means that the vast majority of the 100 million or so middle-class Americans have never experienced 'hard...

Defining innovation: Devin Liddell explains how American companies approach innovation very differently to the rest of the world whethher it's an internal, esoteric advancement or clearly focused on the customer.(Brand Papers)
December 1, 2003... American companies approach innovation very differently. The American industry puts a premium on big ideas, new products, better ways of doing things, more efficient design and solutions to everything that ails us. All of these activities fall...

Difficult year for design: Esther Bannister delves into the financial fortunes of the branding services sector and warns that brand and design agencies must ensure they're as efficient as possible.(Brand Papers)
December 1, 2003... It has been a difficult year for the design sector. Income levels for the top 30 design agencies have fallen, and failure to make sufficient staff cost reductions heavily enough and early enough has led to large reductions in profits. Overall...

Something to chew on: Wrigley is banned from registering Doublemint as a trademarked brand. Anna Dufus explains the linguistic peculiarities that have allowed this judgement to be overturned not once, but twice.(Brand Papers)
December 1, 2003... Wrigley has been banned by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from using its Doublemint name as a trademark in Europe, despite an earlier appeal which allowed the company to use the term. This is third in a series of trademark judgements over...

Brand conduct unbecoming: Stewart Lewis and Alex Bollen reveal that increased interest by the general public in the company behind the brand makes the brand landscape a tougher place to navigate.(Brand Papers)
December 1, 2003... The general public has become increasingly interested in the company behind the brand. Consumers, employees and legislators want to know what it stands for and how it translates its values into behaviour. A comment from a stakeholder in a...

Foul play affects football sponsors.(Research)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The reputation of brands that sponsor football clubs can be damaged by the bad behaviour of a team player on or off the pitch, warns a survey by consumer market research company Quickwise. One quarter of the respondents believed that a...

Measure for measure.(Research)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Measuring marketing effectiveness is the strongest business challenge faced by senior marketing executives in the UK. Over 70% of marketers questioned for the IBM Marketing Transformation report regarded this capability as one of their most...

Marketers need to become web savvy.(Research)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Marketing departments need to pay more attention to their websites as their brands are being damaged by IT glitches, reveals a study by Catchfire Systems, a web traffic company. Nearly a quarter of marketing departments have been let down...

Licences within the European toy industry.(Research)
December 1, 2003... Licences play an essential role in the toy industry where they can represent up to a quarter of all revenue. In the UK, for example, 25% of all toys sold had a license in 2002. The UK leads the European field in licensing. It has a strong...

Youth and attitudes to technology.(Research)
December 1, 2003... For the youth of today, technology has all but disappeared. Findings from Starcom Motive's contextual Youth and Technology study show that the 10-25 year-old generation has become so inured to technology that it has faded into the fabric of...

Concentrated brands: rather than exceed consumer expectations, some brands strip away the frills to offer them no more than they want.
December 1, 2003... You've got to delight your customer--exceed his expectations--and then you'll win all the rewards of brand loyalty, word-of-mouth recommendation and differentiation. At first sight, this call to exceed expectations seems sensible. Marketers...