Brand Strategy articles from February 2006

Brand Strategy archives from February 2006

It's all in the game.
February 3, 2006... Sports are all about reaction. You have to be quick on your feet and out-manoeuver your opponents. Which isn't so different from marketing. Ever since London won the right to host the 2012 Olympics, brands have had to think about how to...

News Round up: Disney to buy Pixar.(Walt Disney Co., Pixar Animation Studios)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... The Walt Disney Company is to buy computer animation studio Pixar for $7.4bn (#4.1bn), creators of The Incredibles and A Bug's Life. The acquisition gives Disney access to Pixar's award-winning content across its television, digital, theme...

News Round up: Ford to cut jobs.
February 3, 2006... Ford Motor Company is planning to cut up to 30,000 jobs over the next six years and close 14 manufacturing facilities after announcing further losses in North America. Fourth-quarter pre-tax losses in its largest market narrowed to $143m...

News Round up: McDonald's leap in profit.
February 3, 2006... McDonald's has posted a 53% leap in fourth-quarter profit after continuing strong sales at its US outlets and an improvement in Europe. Net income was $608m (#340m). The fast-food chain says longer operating hours, cashless payments and new...

News Round up: InBev in China.(Fujian Sedrin sold)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... InBev has agreed to buy Chinese brewer Fujian Sedrin for E614m (#422m). The company aims to increase its presence in the world's biggest beer market as consumption in the US and Europe slows down. InBev claims that its market share in China...

News Round up: Samsung profit gain.
February 3, 2006... Samsung has announced a 40% jump in fourth-quarter net profit from a year earlier. The consumer electronics brand earned 2.56trn Korean Won (#1.5bn) in the three months ending December. It put the gain down to strong performance in the TV...

News Round up: Sony rise in profit.
February 3, 2006... Sony has revealed a surprise 47% rise in group operating profit to Yen202.8bn (#986m) in the third quarter. Sales surged 10.2% to Yen2.37trn (#1.2bn). Sales of its PlayStation Portable console and flat- screen TVs offset a loss in Sony's...

News Round up: General Electric earnings.
February 3, 2006... General Electric's fourth-quarter earnings rose less than 1%, the smallest increase since 2004. Profit from continuing operations rose to $5.77bn (#3.23bn) from $5.72bn (#3.20bn) a year earlier. The world's second-biggest company lost $2.7bn...

News Round up: O2 adds customers.
February 3, 2006... British mobile phone operator O2 added a record 1.75 million customers in the last three months of 2005, taking its total to 27.4 million. This is 18% higher than last year, although average revenue per user fell as the company offered...

News Round up: Drinks initiative to tackle obesity.(Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Global drinks brands have launched an initiative aimed at tackling obesity in children. The Union of European Beverages Associations, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes, has voluntarily undertaken as a group not to use brand or...

News Round up: Coca-Cola marketing push.
February 3, 2006... Coca-Cola is also launching a marketing push, which includes a new global slogan: 'Welcome to the Coke side of life'. The brand claims it will cut down on its TV ads and use digital and experiential marketing to attract new consumers. It is...

News Round up: Konica Minolta to close photo businesses.(Konica Minolta Business Solutions Japan Co.)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Konica Minolta, the world's third-largest maker of photographic film, is closing down its camera and photo businesses in March. The move is blamed on low consumer demand for traditional film after mass take-up of digital cameras. It will...

News Round up: Martini returns to Formula One.(Martini e Rossi S.p.A.,)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Martini is making a return to Formula One after a 25-year break in a multi-year deal worth an estimated #50m. The global drinks brand will use its 'ball and bar' icon on the nose of the car from the start of the season in March. Martini will...

News Round up: Opportunities for sponsors.
February 3, 2006... The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOGOC) has announced opportunities for four tier-one sponsors from the automotive, banking, telecoms and utilities sectors. On offer are packages totalling #2bn. LOGOC expects to formalise one sponsor...

News Round up: Pressure groups to file lawsuit.(Centre for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood on Viacom Inc. and Kellogg USA Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Two US pressure groups, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, announced their intention to file a lawsuit against Viacom and Kellogg's for marketing unhealthy foods to kids. They want...

News Round up: Hitachi TV ad.
February 3, 2006... Hitachi has launched its first pan-European TV ad campaign for more than 10 years as part of a three-year communications strategy. It hopes to build its brand awareness in three core areas: consumer electronics, data storage and rail. ...

News Round up: Google launches.(video download service)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Google has launched a video download service in the US. The Google Video store lets consumers buy and rent new content, such as TV shows CSI and Survivor and music videos from artists such as Destiny's Child and Shakira. There will also be an...

News Round up: Intel logo.
February 3, 2006... Intel has rebranded with a new logo and advertising slogan. It is dropping its traditional 'Intel inside' strapline for 'Leap ahead'. The chip manufacturer is attempting to position itself as a consumer brand with wider business interests...

News Round up: Pirated brands.
February 3, 2006... The most pirated brand in 2005 was cigarette brand Microsoft, which accounted for 4.92% of global intellectual property thefts, according to the 2005 DOPIP Global Counterfeit & Piracy Report. The study looked at 3,703 incidents from 133...

Appointments: Nike.(Mark Parker promoted)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Nike has promoted Nike has promoted Mark Parker to be its new president and chief executive following William Perez's resignation. Perez stepped down last month after disagreeing with Nike's founder and former CEO Phil Knight over the...

Appointments: Bentley Motors.(Stuart McCullough hired)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Bentley Motors has hired Stuart McCullough as its global sales and marketing director. McCullough has been director of Lexus Europe for the last three years, and has also held UK marketing positions at Porsche, Audi and VW. He takes over from...

Appointments: Wal-Mart.
February 3, 2006... Wal-Mart has named Julie Roehm as senior vice president, marketing communications. Roehm has worked for nearly 11 years in the auto industry, most recently as director of marketing communications for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands. ...

Appointments: Research in Motion.(Kristof Fahy joined)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion has named Kristof Fahy as its European brand director. Fahy was previously head of advertising for Orange UK, and will now oversee all Blackberry brand marketing activity across Europe, the Middle...

TRENDSPOTTER: Take back control.(consumer behavior)
February 3, 2006... It no longer pays to ask nicely, say Sarah Carter and Georgia Challis A lot has been said about the empowered consumer. But now it's time for brands to ask themselves: do customers yearn for someone else to take control? The...

BRAND STUNT OF THE MONTH: Leap of faith.(BenQ Corp. and Siemens AG's BenQ-Siemens' mobile phones)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Claudine Baker reports on BenQ-Siemens' sky-high launch International mobile handset producer BenQ Mobile got off to a flying start last month when it used a base jumper to unveil its new consumer brand, BenQ-Siemens. The brand was...

OPINION: Power to the people.
February 3, 2006... Justin Basini, global head of marketing, global banking, Deutsche Bank, suggests creating employee brands to complement the corporate brand People are your most powerful asset in a service business, especially when it comes to selling....

OPINION: Hi-tech TV comes to the Magic Kingdom.
February 3, 2006... Rich Ross, president of the Disney Channel Worldwide, predicts the future of television technology and branding for the next generation I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked how kids will be watching TV in five, 10 or 20...

TOYS R US: Playing for time.(rebranding)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... Toys R Us could be seen as the McDonald's, Nike or Apple of kids' retailing. So it came as a shock for many consumers to discover that it was closing 73 of its 674 US stores and converting a further 12 to its nascent Babies R Us business. The...

Global trends watch - Religion: Divine inspiration.
February 3, 2006... Religion plays a huge role in many people's lives across the world. Martin Croft asks if the increasingly spiritual world climate is having an impact on business and marketing Many consumers today are religious in their lifestyles....

PROFILE - NIKESH ARORA: International man of mystery.(Google Inc.)
February 3, 2006... From India, via the US to Europe, Nikesh Arora is a well-travelled man - which comes in handy in his role overseeing search engine giant Google's diverse European operations. By Ruth Mortimer Nikesh Arora, vice president of European...

Q&A - NIKESH ARORA: The search goes on.(Google Inc.)(Interview)
February 3, 2006... In its quest to 'organize the world's information', Google's biggest challenge is keeping up with new consumer demands, as Nikesh Arora explains to Ruth Mortimer RM: How would you describe the Google brand? NA: Google is very simple....

CASE STUDY - TRIUMPH: A baptism of fire.(Company Profile)
February 3, 2006... The Triumph motorcycle brand lives up to its name. Time and again it has battled adversity to regain its place among the world's most coveted motorcycles. Morag Cuddeford Jones reports It should have been a time for celebration as Triumph...

NON-PROFIT BRANDING: Cause and brand effect.
February 3, 2006... The notion of brand value is as relevant to the non-profit sector as it is to the corporate world. Clare Goff looks at how charities are learning to use branding to create an image in line with their cause When the World Wildlife Fund's...

NON-PROFIT BRANDING: CASE STUDY: ANMESTY INTERNATIONAL.
February 3, 2006... Human rights issues confront us almost every day of the week. The impact of global terrorism over the past few years means that governments are regularly accused of torture or grappling with the limits of national security. But while the...

NON-PROFIT BRANDING: Amnesty International in figures.
February 3, 2006... 1961 Amnesty International founded by British lawyer Peter Benenson 6 The number of Amnesty groups established in its first year of operation. They were in the UK, West Germany, France, Holland, Italy and Switzerland. 6,040 The...

BRAND PAPERS - LICENSING: How to licence brands.
February 3, 2006... Your brands are your company's most precious assets, so make sure your licensing agreement takes good care of them, says Diane McGrath Developing a licensing programme can be a strong strategic move. It can bring great financial benefits...

BRAND PAPERS - INNOVATION: From concept to product.
February 3, 2006... How do you turn a great idea into a commercially viable product? Justin Wright and Nick Pye examine the key elements of a successful innovation strategy The American commentator Bill Moyers once said: "Ideas are great arrows but there...

BRAND PAPERS - AMBUSH MARKETING: Don't be ambushed in 2012.
February 3, 2006... Pippa Collett and Nick Johnson explain the concept of ambush marketing and how the 2012 Olympics in London may change everything The game is on. As this month's Winter Olympics open in Torino, Italy, global marketers are already...

BOOK REVIEW: Trouble and strife.
February 3, 2006... Married to the Brand By William J McEwen Published by Gallup Press, priced $24.95 (#14.50) David Wethey, chairman of consultancy Agency Assessments International, is pleasantly surprised by the theories in William J McEwen's...

David Wethey also recommends.
February 3, 2006... Improving Marketing Effectiveness By Professor Robert Shaw Published by Economist Books (1998), no price given Shaw attempts to explode the myths and cliches about customer satisfaction and loyalty, innovation and value. It follows...

From the bookshelf of Nick Barham.(The Reason of Things: Living with Philosophy)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 3, 2006... Nick Barham, planning director, TBWA\China The Reason of Things: Living with Philosophy AC Grayling I like books that you can dip in and out of and that remain unfinished; books you can always come back to. The Reason of...

RESEARCH AUDIO BRANDING: Orchestrating a sound strategy.
February 3, 2006... Audio branding is a global issue. Marketers around the world have begun to ask how their brand should sound, as well as how it should look. Every consumer connection is vital in today's crowded market, where people are deluged by advertising...

HEALTH MARKETING: A health of opportunity.
February 3, 2006... In health-related marketing, people cannot be classified as simply 'healthy' or 'unhealthy'. Several components inform consumer behaviour and many factors must be considered when developing communication strategies. Consumer attitudes...

RESEARCH: February's Brand Stats.(energy drinks market )(Brief Article)
February 3, 2006... So-called 'energy drinks' are consumed by around one in five of the total adult population of Europe's four biggest economies. This penetration varies from a low of 14% in Spain to a high of more than 30% in Britain. It is interesting to...

RETAIL MARKETING: The retail challenge.
February 3, 2006... For brands, the retail connection has become one of the most powerful marketing tools. It gives them the opportunity to breathe, express themselves and talk to their target consumers with clarity. A brand can determine its destiny through...

RETAIL MARKETING - RETAIL: Refining retail strategy.(Brand Strategy)
February 3, 2006... Brand Strategy meets brands from across the high street spectrum to discuss how defined strategies will help retailers achieve differentiation, and why going multichannel is a crucial step Brand Strategy: The high street is crowded and the...

RETAIL MARKETING: Love is all you need to win over customers.
February 3, 2006... In this exclusive extract from the latest edition of his book Lovemarks, Kevin Roberts discusses how beginning a love affair with your consumer can enhance the retail experience 'Lovemarks' are owned by the people who love them. We have...

RETAIL MARKETING: Reinventing the Oskar retail experience.(mobile phone market)
February 3, 2006... With the Czech mobile phone market at saturation point, operator Oskar needed to stand out. Stephen Poulin and Sue Daun discuss the challenges they faced in reinventing its retail offering The Czech market for mobile phones has become...

RETAIL MARKETING: What were you thinking?
February 3, 2006... Morag Cuddeford Jones discovers a new wave of technology that promises to deliver answers to questions that retailers and their customers hadn't even considered asking yet Consumers don't know what they want, and even if they did they...

RETAIL MARKETING: Channel hopping.
February 3, 2006... How should retailers be managing multiple channels to maximise revenue and customer loyalty? Patti Freeman Evans assesses the opportunities and risks of same-store multichannel shoppers Forty-one per cent of all US retail purchases will...

RETAIL MARKETING: Eastern promise.
February 3, 2006... Western Europe's gloomy retail outlook may be boosted by its new Eastern European partners. Vikram Gupta discovers opportunities for the sector to grow eastwards With the EU's expansion into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), a new- style...