Frohlinger's Marketing Report articles from August 1998

Frohlinger's Marketing Report archives from August 1998

BRAUN GOES 3D IN NEW PRODUCT EFFORTS
August 3, 1998... New product wheels spinning with introduction of Braun Oral-B 3D plaque remover product line this summer in U.S. in first phase of product rollout for leading global player in oral/health care platforms. Braun AG Chairman Bernhard Wild indicated...

THE BIG PAUSE THAT REFRESHES- COKE AND PEPSI ISSUES
August 3, 1998... There is a certain blandness that has seeped into the overall television advertising for both major cola companies that has not been this dramatic for a long, long time. But there is a real problem that both companies need to tackle. The real...

TURNER SPORTS SPREADS GOODWILL
August 3, 1998... Turner Sports President Harvey Schiller pumps up volume at major sports cable arm with greater emphasis on sports programming across multiple sports. Schiller working to expand and refine Turner's strong menu of sports programming (basketball,...

ISUZU DRIVING AWAY?
August 3, 1998... The relationship between Isuzu and agency Goodby Silverstein is getting worse, according to insiders. "The problem is the work is not as good as it used to be and it is frustrating for Goodby. They correctly feel their oats and see that Isuzu is...

THE RIGHT PATH
August 3, 1998... Time-Warner is determined to make Pathfinder work but it's been slow going for the company in its Internet tribulations. Pathfinder, which lost $18 million last year, is still awash in red ink but the company has been turning left and right in...

AROUND AND ROUND WE GO
August 3, 1998... Despite public stance that the magazine company is not for sale, insiders believe that Meigher Communications was shopped recently and will be in the near future. A fourth round of financing was recently completed by Alex Brown for Meigher which...

CRUNCH TIME IN CALIFORNIA
August 3, 1998... Proposition 187 in California has helped Corona Beer continue its growth in the nation's most populous state. The domestic beer companies have been pinched in the market and in a reactive move, Anheuser-Busch has rolled out Busch to gain volume...

FILA- ARRIVERDICI BABY
August 3, 1998... Fila, a brand with so much promise in the U.S. is on wobbly ground and sinking. "The brand is being beaten up pretty badly. It could be about to reach a point where it can't recover. This is a market that had become over-expanded and over-priced...

PUBLICIS LOOKS TO MARSHALL
August 3, 1998... Publicis CEO Maurice Levy is walking carefully around his newest acquisition, Hal Riney & Partners. Plan according to insiders is to formulate Publicis in the States around Riney's President Scott Marshall. Levy is being careful because Marshall...

TELCOM WARS
August 3, 1998... With merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic in the cards, the volume of telcom volume deals has become staggering. Some of the major telcos seem to be waiting on the sidelines waiting for service convergence. "Sprint is very interested in Bell South but...

MURDOCH SPREADS WINGS
August 3, 1998... In an effort to spread the Fox Sports programming arm, sources report that News Corp. is involved in serious negotiations to buy sports arms in two key places. Major talks underway now in Chicago report sources between Murdoch and Jerry...

AUDI DRIVES AWAY
August 3, 1998... The $70 million Audi account in Germany is drawing some interesting competition. Following decision by incumbent to resign the account, the pitch has opened up and surprisingly two of BBDO's agencies are in the running (both the Hamburg and...

DR, DR, MR MD.
August 3, 1998... Ladies Home Journal has avoided the slices prevalent in the magazine industry from Rx cutbacks. "We are now the third largest Rx property in the magazine industry behind Prevention and People. We've done well in the category,"said Publisher...

Ad Libs:
August 3, 1998... Avon's Andrea Jung named as a board member of the General Electric Company... Lowe/SMS Co-CEO Lee Garfinkle off to Amsterdam for meetings with Heineken client...Paper trail department (Adweek July 20 issue lead story on DreamWorks reported in...

THE BIG PAUSE THAT REFRESHES? COKE AND PEPSI ISSUES
August 3, 1998... There is a certain blandness that has seeped into the overall television advertising for both major cola companies that has not been this dramatic for a long, long time. But there is a real problem that both companies need to tackle. The real...

MEDIA ONE GETS LOOKOVER
August 17, 1998... The fate of MediaOne as a standalone company has been the subject of rumors in the past week. The former media division of US West, which is the country's third largest cable operation with revenues pegged this year at $6.6 billion, is mentioned...

SEGA POISED TO TRANSFORM VIDEOGAME PLATFORM
August 17, 1998... Sega is laying the groundwork for a new hardware platform that is expected to reshuffle the tiers in the domestic videogame industry. Sega President and Chief Operating Officer Bernard Stolar said the product will be launched by one of the most...

HASBRO BEEFS UP PORTFOLIO MIX
August 17, 1998... Hasbro is raising its bet on interactive and software titles. The leading toy company purchased Microprose last week and is committed to pursuing a strong interactive path. President of Hasbro Global Direct & e-Commerce Wendy Riches said the...

NEW FOOTBALL LEAGUE READY TO PLAY BALL
August 17, 1998... The new football league formed by the NBC division of General Electric and the Turner sports division of Time Warner is set to reach out to major advertisers in the next six weeks. The new football league will be up and running next year and work...

ELECTRONIC ARTS LOOKING TO BUY?
August 17, 1998... With some of Cendant Corporation's accounting problems behind it, look for a rapid-fire sale of some of the CUC divisions in near future. Rumors about over Electronic Arts purchasing the Sierra stable of properties. Knowledge Adventure's Tom...

COMPUTER BOOKS PINCHED
August 17, 1998... Ziff-Davis and IDG are collaborating on a sweeping research project designed to convince advertisers to keep their ad pages in trade books than in general business media, according to sources. Both companies have equally contributed funds to the...

CONSOLIDATION IN WORKS
August 17, 1998... Look for a great deal of consolidation in near future in computer software industry. With acquisition of Microprose by Hasbro, talk has focused on the next round of companies which will be snapped up. Virgin Interactive is expected to be the next...

BRODERBUND CHANGES
August 17, 1998... Look for Broderbund President Joe Durrett to exit software firm shortly. Durrett, a former Kraft and Advo executive is expected to leave the firm following "management dispute" with owner Doug Kaufman. "There are some serious internal issues...

FAVORITE UPHEAVAL
August 17, 1998... There's been lots of sour news happening in the top ranks at confectionery firm Favorite Brands International. Former Procter & Gamble executive Mark Upson, who had been hired as president-chief operating officer, departed after a three-month...

SEARS LOOK AT WESTERN AUTO SALE
August 17, 1998... Sears, Roebuck and Co. is peddling its money-losing Western Auto Supply Co. unit to Advance Auto Parts, a privately held company in Roanoke, Va., according to industry players. The sale would be an acknowledgement of trouble for Sears Chief...

IT AIN'T EASY
August 17, 1998... BBDO, an organization which does not infuse top management always easily, may be proving that proverb true again in the case of David Wheldon, the president of the agency's European operations. "He is having a tough time because they regional...

HEARD ON THE WIRE
August 17, 1998... Industry executives believe that there will be another round of consolidation in the media industry in the near future. Three companies have been mentioned frequently as ripe for changes: the Botway Group and RJ Palmer, both New York media...

KODAK SNAPPING?
August 17, 1998... With a series of top management shuffles underway at Kodak, whispers are making the rounds on the Kodak ad account. "There were some new angles made to the brand which have been pulled back on but it is part of the process of change for Kodak...

DON'T BET ALL ON PORTALS
August 17, 1998... With the phenomenal rush towards Internet anything stocks, some argue that portals are just a phase. The real answer may lie in hubs and home bases. The traditional Web process begins with a portal that directs a user onto the Internet. Site also...

Ad Libs:
August 17, 1998... There is a lot of unrest in O&M's Los Angeles offices. "Lots of paper is out on the street and there is uneasiness about what is going on. There could be changes made and lots of people are nervous" said a senior West Coast agency executive&...

AVON PUTS ON NEW FACE WITH MARKETING REPOSITION
August 31, 1998... Major changes are coming up in an Avon makeover. The company has taken a large writedown (an inventory writedown of $37.9 million in North American cost of goods sold) which are treated as a nonoperating charge, but much of which appears to be...

JOHNSON & JOHNSON SLIPS A LITTLE
August 31, 1998... Mixed bag for J&J's sales recently. The sales of pharmaceuticals advanced a strong 12% in the April-June period paced by an outstanding showing in the United States, where turnover soared 26%. Sales of oral contraceptives, however, fell 18% after...

CIA - WHITE KNIGHT NEEDED
August 31, 1998... Chris Ingram's CIA, a leading British media firm which has a minority position held by WPP's Martin Sorrell, is receiving lots of attention. CIA and Zenith are both the focus of takeover attention in recent days but CIA is the hotter topic...

BROADCASTERS SLIPPING
August 31, 1998... Network television does not have quite as good a story to tell as further audience erosion and heavy first quarter outlays conspired to cause a soft scatter market. Despite the scatter results, the network upfront selling season was completed and...

TOP LINE GROWTH AT ANHEUSER-BUSCH
August 31, 1998... Decision by AB management to selectively increase price increases a modest 2% later this year comes on heels of a stronger than expected performance. Domestic beer volumes advanced 1.6% to 24.1 million barrels and was achieved through stronger...

WILL BURNETT DO A YOUNG & RUBICAM FLIP?
August 31, 1998... Talk in ad circles at the tail-end of the summer has popped up the name of the Leo Burnett ad agency and a possible equity transfusion from equity partners, similar to what Young & Rubicam did several years ago before its IPO. Despite the rumors,...

IMPORTS DRIVING AWAY
August 31, 1998... Imports were the big winners last month in the aftermath of the General Motors strike. But for the first time in almost 30 years, Ford outsold GM in monthly sales as a result of the strike. GM's share of industry fell to 29,9% and Ford's share...

GLAXO TIGHTENS RX BELT
August 31, 1998... Sales at Glaxo Wellcome expected to be flat this year, to GBP8.1 billion (US$13.5 billion), despite an expected 45% decline in sales of the anti-ulcerant Zantac. Excluding Zantac, reported revenues are projected to advance 11%, fueled by many...

CHANCELLOR REVAMPS
August 31, 1998... Chancellor Media has streamlined its operations and moved into three separate operating groups. James de Castro, the company's Chief Financial Officer, has been named president of Chancellor Radio Group. Gary Chapman, CEO of recent Chancellor...

HOLD ON TO THOSE BRIEFS
August 31, 1998... Look for an advertising agency review in the next three months at Jockey for the $10 million ad account. Relationship targeted to change as a new management team is expected to upset the applecart between Grey Advertising and Jockey...

THE SPELLING SAGA
August 31, 1998... Electronic Arts, on an acquisition spree (FMR, 8-14-98), has reached a deal with Viacom's Spelling Entertainment to purchase the largest part of its gave division, Virgin Interactive Entertainment. Move reflects a larger step in next phase of the...

LEGOMANIA
August 31, 1998... Walt Disney's consumer products division has entered into an agreement with the LEGO Group in a licensing deal. The toys will be rolled out in the global distribution pact in mid 1999. The first results of the deal will be from "Winnie the Pooh"...

BRIDE's GETS A GROOM
August 31, 1998... Bride's Publisher Debi Fine launches new offshoot, Groom's, a 32-page magazine. "The concept of this was borne from reader mail; focus groups and our own research. We will do big things with Groom's, we have seen interest from single sponsors,"...

FOX SHAPES UP
August 31, 1998... Fox/Liberty Networks has selected Pyper Davis as the president of its fledgling cable operation Fit TV. Davis given assignment to relaunch service as an exercise/healthstyle show targeted to females. Fox/Liberty recently took over the channel...

LOG ON PATTERNS
August 31, 1998... Internet usage continues to go up according to research developed by Nielsen. A total of 79 million people are now logging on to the Internet, an increase of 36% more than the 58 million who were Internet users in September 1997. Study conducted...

Ad Libs:
August 31, 1998... Saatchi & Saatchi grabs $20 million account in San Francisco office for Internet search engine Snap!&Search out for new CEO of furniture company O'Sullivan Industries in Lamar, Mo.&Marvin Waldman named as Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at...