Brand Strategy articles from May 2005

Brand Strategy archives from May 2005

LEADER: Losing control but gaining credibility.(Editorial)
May 10, 2005... We've known for some time that brands don't belong to companies but to consumers. And the increasing confidence and sophistication of the average consumer spirals onwards and upwards. The ability for consumers to get information via the...

Tesco profit.(supermarkets)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... The Tesco Group has announced a pre-tax profit of #2bn, an increase of 20.5% on the year ending February 2004. International profit grew by 26.5% despite challenges in Central Europe. Sales and profits increased in Asian countries including...

Rover in administration.(automobile industry)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... The last British-owned volume carmaker MG Rover is in administration after the collapse of partnership negotiations with the Chinese company Shanghai Automotive Engineering Corporation. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors...

Nike corporate responsibility report.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Nike has issued its second corporate responsibility report and become the first company in its industry to disclose the names and locations of more than 700 contract factories making Nike-branded products worldwide. The disclosure aims to...

Allied Domecq to be acquired by Pernod Ricard.(beverage industry)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Allied Domecq, which owns brands including Malibu and Kahlua, has agreed to be acquired by Pernod Ricard, owner of Jameson. American company Constellation Brands has also approached Allied Domecq with a potential counter-offer. Copyright:...

WPP revenues.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... WPP's revenues have risen by 16% to #1.1bn with double-digit growth in all regions. Revenues were up 16% in North America, 12% in the UK, over 15% in Continental Europe and 22% in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The...

Intel's profits.(computers)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Intel's first quarter profits were up 25% on last year to $2.2bn (#1.6bn). Double-digit revenue and profit growth was led by a strong demand for mobile products. The company has also undertaken a reorganisation programme. Copyright:...

Yahoo's profits doubled.(information technology)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Yahoo's first-quarter profits doubled this year to $205m (#108m) from $101m (#53m) in 2004. Zenith Optimedia expects the internet's share of global adspend to rise to 4.4% by 2007; it is currently 3.6%. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

Hershey Foods renamed.(food industry)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Hershey Foods Corporation has been renamed The Hershey Company and unveiled a new logo which will eventually appear on all communications and products. The name change comes as the company outlines its desire to compete globally and build...

Marlboro Blend 28 for the UK.(Tobacco)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Philip Morris has launched Marlboro Blend 28 for the UK market; its first UK launch since 2000. The cigarettes are aimed at consumers who prefer Virginia style cigarettes to American blended cigarettes. Trade press advertising and a trade...

Gizmondo launch.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... The Gizmondo multi-entertainment handheld product is lauching in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Nordic regions. It has launched in the UK and will launch shortly in North America. Gizmondo can be used for gaming, playing movies,...

White beer.(new beer)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Scottish & Newscastle is launching a white beer, Kronenbourg Blanc, off- trade in the UK, spending #5m on marketing this year. Competing white beer, Hoegaarden, owned by Sun Interbrew, has announced it will start production in Russia; this is...

Coty signs Zidane.(Coty Inc signed Zinedine Zidane )(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Coty Inc has signed international footballer Zinedine Zidane as its new spokesperson for its Adidas Active skincare line for men. The French footballer, who currently plays for Real Madrid, will appear in adverts worldwide, featuring in...

Sony global partnership.(Consumer electronics industry)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Sony Corporation has signed a global partnership with FIFA paying over $305m (#160m) for the deal. The partnership will run from 2007 to 2014 giving Sony rights as an official sponsor at more than 40 FIFA events, including the FIFA World...

Johnnie Walker Championship.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Scottish whisky brand Johnnie Walker has increased its commitment to golf by sponsoring the Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland, previously known as the Diageo Championship on the European Tour. The brand already sponsors the Johnnie...

Microsoft marketing campaign.(software industry)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Microsoft has launched a $100m (#52.5m) worldwide marketing campaign which will last 18 months. Microsoft uses humorous advertising for the first time in this campaign, focusing on four barriers to workplace productivity and how Microsoft...

Samsung sponsorship.(football clubs)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Samsung Electronics will sponsor Chelsea Football Club for five years in a rumoured #50m deal; the club's biggest ever sponsorship. The Samsung Mobile logo will appear on shirts, and Samsung will have exclusivity in products including mobile...

Miller Brewing - Appointment.(Tom Long )(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Miller Brewing has appointed Tom Long as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Long was previously president of Coca-Cola's Northwest European division overseeing sales and marketing. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

Pepsi - Appointment.(David Johnston)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... David Johnston has been promoted to European vice-president for beverages marketing at Pepsi. He was previously VP of marketing in Latin America and replaces Tim Davie, who left to become head of marketing at the BBC. Copyright: Centaur...

Royal Mail - Appointment.(Alex Batchelor)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Royal Mail has given its top marketing director role to Alex Batchelor, formerly vice-president of global brand at Orange. The post had been vacant for six months after a shake-up of the marketing department by CEO Adam Crozier. ...

Jetix Europe - Appointment.(Nicole Morse)(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Nicole Morse has been appointed as marketing director for kids broadcaster Jetix Europe (formerly Fox Kids). Morse joins from Lycos Europe where she held the role of marketing and production director. She will now be in charge of promoting the...

TRENDSPOTTER: 'Up-ageing' your child's mind and body.
May 10, 2005... Lesley Salem looks at how brands are adapting adult pursuits for children Toddlers and newborn babies are now at the centre of a new trend about competitiveness and overindulgence. It's called 'up-ageing' - bringing adult services to...

BRAND STUNT OF THE MONTH: Pictures speak 1,000 words for Wimpy.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... Ruth Mortimer discovers a Wimpy/Kodak campaign that focuses on a humorous phenomenon Wimpy by name but adventurous by nature. The fast-food brand has created a new joint marketing campaign with Kodak in South Africa to give away prizes...

BRAND MOT: AER LINGUS.
May 10, 2005... Aer Lingus' operating profits may have increased 29% last year but heavy restructuring costs and a staff reduction programe left the company's profit at E1.2m (#0.8m) for 2004 down from E69.2m (#47.1m) in 2003. Aer Lingus' chief executive...

FOCUS - UK: Zone of potential for financial exchange.
May 10, 2005... Ruth Mortimer meets the founders of online personal finance brand Zopa - the new business concept that sees investors and borrowers missing out the bank's middle man The global finance sector is not known for cutting edge innovation. But...

OPINION: When grassroots grow up.
May 10, 2005... Karan Bilimoria, founder and CEO of Cobra Beer explains why the company is using interactive TV sponsorship to keep its consumers tuned in Some say that we're at the end of traditional advertising. I don't believe that, because adverts...

OPINION: Self-regulation and self control.
May 10, 2005... John M Sunderland says that advertisers are being unfairly criticised over obesity and binge drinking problems Advertising has always been a free source of information and education. It not only tells people about the range of goods and...

PROFILE: Karen Thomson's Scottish courage.(Interview)
May 10, 2005... Joanna Doonar talks to Karen Thomson, chief executive and chairman of AOL UK, about risk taking and considers whether the success of the ISP is down to Scottish determination Karen Thomson is explaining how upset her daughter gets when...

Q&A: Developing AOL's community.(Karen Thomson on hot seat)(Interview)
May 10, 2005... Karen Thomson talks to Joanna Doonar about internet start-ups and AOL's progress, citing the marketer's powers of communication as the key to creating customer value JD: How difficult was it to set up AOL in the UK? KT: We took...

PAMPERS: Absorbing market share.
May 10, 2005... Pampers carries values of trust and quality as global brand leader but can it overtake Huggies in the US? And how will it address consumers' environmental concerns? Ruth Mortimer reports Rap band The Nappies released their first and only...

BLOGGING: To blog or not to blog?
May 10, 2005... The web log, or 'blog' is a powerful word-of-mouth tool and direct link to the consumer but Elen Lewis warns that brands should blog with genuine interest and transparency to reap rewards Two years ago, a US entrepreneur called Shayne...

CASE STUDY - BLOGGING: A blog all of my own.
May 10, 2005... Microsoft has 800 corporate bloggers. Elen Lewis investigates how blogging is giving the faceless technology company a human face and putting trust in the hands of its employees It's probably not surprising to hear that Microsoft, the...

BRAND PAPERS: When inertia is good.
May 10, 2005... Inertia isn't always bad. Caroline Whitehill explains how, with some close analysis, brands can manage consumers' inertia more effectively In the world of marketing, inertia is bad. It is often positioned as the arch-rival to involvement...

BRAND PAPERS: Speak my language.(marketing to chief executive officers)
May 10, 2005... Alexander Baldock offers advice on how to sell marketing to the CEO and make the most of your company's biggest asset: your brand Less than a quarter of FTSE-350 CEOs see marketing as an important business discipline. Are they blind? Or...

BRAND PAPERS: Power brand paradox.
May 10, 2005... In the second of a two-part series, Dr Ying Fan details four Chinese power brands that have taken different routes to diversification and globalisation Many Chinese companies diversified in the early 1990s when fierce competition drove...

BRAND PAPERS: Big and bright ideas.
May 10, 2005... Big ideas come in all shapes and sizes but James Osmond, founder of consultancy Clear finds 10 rules to make big ideas happen 1. Behave like an entrepeneur James Dyson, the Innocent Drinks crew and the couple behind Friends Reunited...

BRAND PAPERS: Money talk.
May 10, 2005... Roy Stephenson offers financial brands some advice about communicating and distributing their brands to consumers The financial services industry is a complex sector. Unlike some other industries, communication and distribution of...

BOOKS: Market research for bluffers.(Book Review)
May 10, 2005... Debbie Thomassen, consumer insights director at The Campbell Soup Company is not quite sure who would read Researchwatching but thinks it would be handy if you needed to bluff your way through an exam Researchwatching by Giles Lury,...

FROM THE BOOKSHELF OF: Nick Southgate, strategy leader at DFGW.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner Brands, we are sometimes told, 'belong' to consumers. Certainly they are public things with public lives. And maybe private lives too. This is something we are inclined to forget. Pop...

RESEARCH: MARKETING TO JAPANESE CONSUMERS.
May 10, 2005... Japan is a complex mix of the traditional and the modern. It is a society that is all about collective interest and working together for the greater good. But a new generation of young consumers is keen to redefine traditional life. A variety...

RESEARCH: INDIA: THE POTENTIAL FROM INCREASED CONSUMER CHOICE.
May 10, 2005... India has a population of over a billion and an increasing number of consumers. Our consumer insight programme into the behaviours and attitudes of the Indian consumer reveals that increasing numbers means increasing complexity. In the...

RESEARCH: TARGETING THE UTILITIES CUSTOMER.
May 10, 2005... Price remains the deciding factor for choosing an energy supplier for 64% of consumers in Europe and the US, but utility brands must address the more complex demands of today's consumers, abandoning 'one-size- fits all' strategies. In...

EUROVISION: HOW NATIONAL IDENTITY AFFECTS CONSUMERS.
May 10, 2005... The second article in a two-part series looks at different European countries' identities and the brands that utilise them. The Netherlands Traditional influences: Calvinism is still important. This creed promotes modesty and a...

BRAND STATS: Market focus - Instant coffee.(Brief Article)
May 10, 2005... The instant coffee consumer is most upmarket in Germany and most downmarket in France according to TGI Europa's socio-economic level (SEL) segmentation. However, among the 'heavy users' (defined as those drinking at least two cups of...