Brand Strategy articles from December 2005

Brand Strategy archives from December 2005

LEADER: A new philosophy.
December 5, 2005... Joe Harker is an average guy. The 32-year-old, bespectacled web designer runs his own home-made blog reporting eerie sightings of a strange man in black. Joe has become a little superstitious after some spooky experiences, but otherwise he is...

Cadbury to sell European soft drinks business.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Cadbury Schweppes is selling its European soft drinks business for E1.85bn (#1.27bn) to private equity firms Blackstone and Lion Capital. The business includes the Schweppes, Orangina and Oasis brands; its sales are concentrated in France,...

BA changes.(British Airways )(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... British Airways (BA) is investing #100m in overhauling its long-haul business class, with changes being introduced from the middle of next year. Revamps will be seen on the ground and in the air, with the entertainment system upgraded in all...

Spar to open hypermarkets in China.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Spar International will open 115 hypermarkets in China over the next three years, having signed license agreements with Henan Star Chain Commercial and Hubei Yasi Chain Commercial. This will bring the Spar brand to three provinces, reaching...

Coca-Cola launch.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Coca-Cola is launching Black Cherry Vanilla Coke (in both regular and diet varieties) in the US in January, while British consumers will see the launch of a diet cherry coke next year. The original Coca-Cola vanilla lines will be axed in the...

Coca-Cola signs with FIFA.
December 5, 2005... Coca-Cola has also signed a deal with FIFA, football's world governing body. It will continue sponsoring football until 2022, under an 'elite partnership' agreement that includes a global tour: 'FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola',...

White chocolate lines.
December 5, 2005... Nestle Rowntree is launching two white chocolate lines for Christmas, including Rolo Caramel and Cream and KitKat Chunky White. It is also launching limited edition festive lines for its Yorkie brand, such as Yorkie Hot Stuff, a...

Free broadband TV.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... AOL and Warner Bros will launch a free broadband TV network called In2TV from early 2006. The collaboration will give AOL users access to more than 100 series of old TV shows at times suitable for them. The programmes will be aired across six...

Levitra sponsors World Series of Poker.
December 5, 2005... Levitra, the erectile dysfunction drug owned by GSK and Bayer, is sponsoring ESPN's World Series of Poker in the US. The brand logo will appear on the card-players tabletop throughout the TV series, which will run for 32 episodes, each...

HSBC campaign.
December 5, 2005... HSBC has launched a global multi-media advertising campaign, focusing on its new concept: 'the brand that values different points of view'. Rumoured to have cost $300m (#174m), it replaces the three year-old 'Cultural Collisions' campaign....

Cadillac launch.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Cadillac and Corvette Europe will run its biggest-ever European marketing campaign to promote the launch of its new Cadillac BLS, which will be sold across Europe from Spring 2006. The premium car is the company's first model to be made in...

The face of Pleasures.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Gwyneth Paltrow is the face of Estee Lauder's new advertising campaign for its Pleasures fragrance brand. TV and print campaigns to celebrate Pleasures' 10th anniversary are running worldwide; photographer Mario Testino has shot the print...

KFC to reassure consumers.
December 5, 2005... KFC may run TV commercials to reassure consumers about the safety of its chicken products in the event of a bird flu outbreak. The ads have been created in the US by KFC's parent, Yum! Brands. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Nutritional information for consumers.
December 5, 2005... McDonald's product packaging will display nutritional information for consumers worldwide in a bid to increase transparency and help diners make informed choices. The new packaging will be rolled out in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin...

Adidas creates new design.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Adidas has respected the International Olympic Committee's decision to ban its three-stripe logo during the 2006 Turin Winter Games, and has created a new design for the event, based on the number three. The 40- year-old iconic three-stripe...

Christmas shopping on the internet.
December 5, 2005... More than half of European consumers will shop online this Christmas (56%), doing an average 20% more of their Christmas shopping on the internet this year compared to 2004, according to TradeDoubler, an online marketing and sales provider....

Appointments: Levi Strauss Europe (LSE).
December 5, 2005... Mariano Dima has been promoted to VP, Levi's marketing, having joined Levi Strauss Europe (LSE) as European field marketing director four months ago. Kenny Wilson will move from president of the Levi's brand to senior VP, LSE commercial...

Appointments: Unilever.(Russell Taylor appointed)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Russell Taylor has been appointed global brand director for Unilever's Axe/Lynx, moving from the position of vice president, marketing for the North Latin America area. Prior to this, Taylor was marketing director, Peru. He began his career...

Appointments: Pepsi-Cola North America.
December 5, 2005... Pepsi-Cola North America has promoted Cie Nicholson to senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Nicholson moves from vice president, non-carbonated beverages. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Appointments: Easy Mobile.(Mike Lewis appointed)(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... Easy Mobile has appointed Mike Lewis as its UK sales and marketing director. He joins from Virgin Mobile, where he was head of proposition marketing. The firm has also launched in Germany, with Christian Winther as MD, and in the Netherlands,...

TRENDSPOTTER: Luxury upgrade.
December 5, 2005... Reinier Evers discovers where the world's seriously wealthy are spending their money Luxury is everywhere. Companies have introduced premium items at standard prices to pamper consumers, regardless of income. So what do the world's...

BRAND STUNT OF THE MONTH: Lush: ice dance baby.
December 5, 2005... The cosmetics company continues its quirky promotions, reports Ruth Mortimer International cosmetics and toiletries retailer Lush is hoping to put the icing on its Christmas cake this year with a humorous promotion in some European...

BRAND MOT: VODAFONE.(Vodafone Group PLC)
December 5, 2005... Global mobile brand Vodafone recently released good half-year results, but its chief executive has announced that the company faces tough times. Despite adding six million customers in three months, and revenues rising nine per cent to...

FOCUS - TRYVERTISING: Everything we do is test driven by you.
December 5, 2005... 'Tryvertising' is moving into unexpected areas, including white goods, personal care and even cookery. Morag Cuddeford Jones samples what brands have to offer Credit cards? Check. Keys? Check. Towel? Check. Swimsuit? Check. Getting...

OPINION: Brand loyalty is all about the experience.
December 5, 2005... Hope Berschler, brand promotion and marketing director at AOL US, considers how companies should target 45-60 year-old women Categorising baby boomers by age isn't the best way to reach them. Marketers often classify people within a...

OPINION: Digital future? You ain't seen nothing yet.
December 5, 2005... Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft, outlines his vision for digital advertising and product development The digital lifestyle is going to change marketing. Over the next decade, the very notion of talking about...

PROFILE - Oades: Coca-Cola's bashful boss.(Charlotte Oades)
December 5, 2005... She's quiet, understated and in charge of one of Coca-Cola's biggest markets. Elen Lewis talks to Charlotte Oades, Coca-Cola GB's committed president It's difficult to say whether it's intentional or not, but Charlotte Oades, president...

Q&A: The total beverage company.(Interview)
December 5, 2005... Charlotte Oades talks to Elen Lewis about key market trends, Coca- Cola's efforts to nurture its core brands while bringing new products to the consumer and the company's future ambitions EL: What are the key trends you're observing in the...

GOLD: Raising the gold standard.
December 5, 2005... Gold's status as a signifier of wealth has been beset by changing attitudes to luxury and greater competition. Elen Lewis reports on how the gold industry has begun to fight back In India last year, a man suggested to his wife that they...

GOLD JEWELLERY ACROSS THE WORLD.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2005... * India: the world's largest gold jewellery market by volume, accounting for 520 tonnes in 2004. Gold is considered a safe way to store wealth. Gold jewellery is given at weddings and festivals such as Diwali. * US: the second-largest gold...

WORD-OF-MOUTH: Brands of the unexpected.
December 5, 2005... Joanna Doonar looks at the latest viral, experimental and unbranded marketing techniques that brands are using to create word-of-mouth among leading-edge consumers "Consumers know what brands are going to do, so they're bored of you...

CASE STUDY - XBOX: Cyberspace invaders.(Xbox)
December 5, 2005... Chris Di Cesare, Xbox's director of global marketing, explains why the brand used a War of the Worlds-style alternate reality game to promote its Halo 2 title The biggest day in entertainment history wasn't the opening day of a Star...

BRAND PAPERS: The human touch.
December 5, 2005... Charlie Dawson continues his guide to 10 ways to make customers unhappy, and says businesses need to reconnect to the consumer world When I introduced this series about why businesses are so adept at upsetting their customers in last...

BRAND PAPERS: Luxury leaders.(New Premium Consumer)
December 5, 2005... Lida Hujic investigates a new breed of consumers who reject mainstream luxury brands in favour of individuality The 'Yuppies' defined lifestyle marketing in the 1980s. Emotional marketing came to the fore in the 1990s, typified by consumer...

BRAND PAPERS: Innovation in Asia.
December 5, 2005... Innovation is taking off in a big way across Asia, as domestic companies and multinational make good use of the skills on offer. Tim Jones reports Innovation is on an increasing number of lips across Asia. Home-grown companies are pushing...

BRAND PAPERS: Three thinking.
December 5, 2005... Ole Pedersen explains the importance of the triple bottom line and what companies can learn from the Nordic region Companies in the Nordic region have always used the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). They have incorporated it as a core part of...

BRAND PAPERS: Drive for branding.
December 5, 2005... Leslie Butterfield reveals the story behind the turnaround of one of the world's best-known brands, Mercedes-Benz According to a 1995 Olympic Committee survey on global logos, the Mercedes-Benz iconic three-pointed star is more widely...

BOOKS: Out of fashion.
December 5, 2005... Roger Tredre, editor-in-chief of WGSN, the fashion and style trends service (www.wgsn.com), enjoys the breakneck speed of Fashion Brands, but finds that Tungate's breezy style disguises some important points. Fashion Brands by Mark...

From the bookshelf of Warwick Cairns, planning director, Brandhouse WTS.(The Selfish Gene)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 5, 2005... The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins A lot more people feel qualified to comment on this book than have actually read it. Part of the problem is the snappy title; one look and you think you've pretty much got the gist of it. This is a shame...

BOOKS: 30 Seconds and counting.
December 5, 2005... Simon Thompson, director of marketing at Honda UK, is surprised by the good sense in Joseph Jaffe's Life After The 30-Second Spot, but claims that good, old-fashioned TV ads still have life in them yet Life After the 30 Second Spot by...

RESEARCH: Mobile entertainment.
December 5, 2005... Are you still using your mobile phone to call people? If so, you're out of touch. Mobile entertainment is set to become a $42.8bn (#24bn) business reaching 2.7 billion people by 2010, according to the Mobile Entertainment: Applications and...

RESEARCH: Advocacy drives growth.
December 5, 2005... What is the financial value of word-of-mouth to a brand? What are the hard economics of brand buzz? We know that word-of-mouth is a key driver in buyer behaviour. Whether it's a chief executive choosing a consulting company or investment...

RESEARCH: The global household care market.(Industry Overview)
December 5, 2005... The global household care market reached $90.5bn (#51.2bn) in 2004, representing a 7.5% increase on 2003. Household care products offer more today, and with rising disposable incomes, consumers experiment with novelty and pay for sophisticated...

BRAND STATS: Market focus - Fast food.
December 5, 2005... More than 120 million adults across Britain, Germany, Spain and France eat fast food - 60% of the total population. But consumption varies, with almost 82% of adults eating it in Britain, 58% in Germany and France, with the Spanish least...