Brandeo is an online marketing resource that cuts through the clutter to update you on the need-to-know marketing ideas and insights that help build brands and increase sales.
In spite of overall growth, McDonald’s and Burger King are seeing their breakfast business decline as unemployment climbs and fewer workers purchase breakfast on their way to work. Washington Post 2/21/10
Tiger Woods’ apology statement on Friday, 2/19, has reignited the debate over whether he will ever be able to revive his “once-unstoppable endorsement career, which had topped $90 million annually.” Woods’ ranking of endorsement attractiveness has sunk to 2,250 from a pre-scandal ranking of 11 according to Davie-Brown Entertainment, a company that tracks the appeal of celebrities using online polls of U.S. consumers. Wall Street Journal Online. 2/20/10
Have you dreamed of being an Old Navy ‘supermodelquin’? Now’s your chance – the apparel brand is offering one lucky winner the chance to have their likeness turned into a supermodelquin that will be paid $100K to appear in a TV ad. AdFreak 2/19/10
Consumer package-goods companies, including Kraft, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Hershey and Heinz are vowing to make bigger investments in advertising, in-store promotion, shelf signage, coupons and packaging to fight off encroaching private labels. AdAge 2/18/10
Odwalla has signed a deal to become the first brand to have a presence in all 50 state parks, according to the National Association of State Park Directors. The NASPD hopes to sign more branding programs, but they say only brands in certain categories will be considered and that in-park signage will be subtle. Brandweek 2/18/10
“U.S. retailers continue to make progress in offering store brand products with health claims relevant to shoppers looking for healthier food choices…Store brands now comprise almost 40 percent of products with preservative claims, one-fourth of organic product sales, and nearly one-fifth of all products with natural and fat claims in food/drug/mass merchandise retailers.” Progressive Grocer, 2/18/10
Nielsen says Facebook usage is growing; the average U.S. visitor spent seven hours, one minute and 41 seconds on Facebook in January, 2010, compared with four hours and 39 minutes in June, 2009. Wall Street Journal Blog 2/17/10
Burger King plans to replace its BKJoe coffee brands with Starbuck’s Seattle’s Best Coffee, and add a line of coffee drinks to improve their breakfast business. Washington Post 2/16/10
Burger King Corp. plans to open a Whopper Bar in the South Beach area of Miami this month, catering to Miami's night life. Whopperistas will be able to indulge their “flame-broiled passion in a crisp, modern, über-chic bar setting.” The Whopper Bar will offer American beer and Whopper sandwiches with 22 toppings and sauces 24 hours a day, seven days a week. CNNMoney.com 1/23/10
Kraft (KFT) seeks to reinforce the ‘fun’ positioning of its Ritz brand to appeal to a younger audience with a new spot entitled “Tailgate,” to run prior to the Super Bowl. BrandWeek 1/9/09
Sony (SNE) produces "Make Dot Believe," a :90 cinema spot that positions the brand as having the ability to make anything you can imagine real. See spot at AdFreak 1/8/09
Imaging brand Polaroid has signed a “multi-year strategic partnership...[that] brings together one of the world's most iconic brands with today's fastest rising musical artist and cultural trendsetter." The company says they will be partnering with Lady Gaga to “bring new and exciting products to the next generation." AdWeek 1/7/09
Nestle Hot Pockets have signed a multi-year sponsorship and product integration deal with Professional videogame organization Major League Gaming. AdWeek 1/7/09
Despite opting out of the Super Bowl for a second year, FedEx (FDX) says that sports has “paid some significant dividends over the years.” The company participates in several sports via the Orange Bowl, NFL, the NBA, PGA Tour, FedExCup and Nascar. AdWeek 1/7/09
A new brand campaign for Procter & Gamble’s (PG) Tide detergent communicates how “Tide enables its loyal users to dress for success, to impress or just for fun.” The strategy attempts to differentiate Tide from lower-priced alternatives in a commoditized category. New York Times 1/7/09. It has been reported that P&G introduce 30% more new products this year than last to avoid price-cutting. Promotion of the company’s premium brands, including Olay skin cream, as well as Tide, is planned as a way to “smooth the way for new products.” Wall Street Journal 1/7/09 (requires subscription.)
Expedia (EXPE) is positioning its brand as the site that offers "more choices" and "more savings." A debut spot uses shows multi-dimensional building blocks being used to create the “perfect girl’s weekend.” BrandWeek 1/7/09
The Weatherproof Garment Company is running a controversial billboard showing President Obama wearing one of their coats on his visit to the Great Wall of China last November. The company also promoted “The Obama Jacket” on its website. New York Times 1/6/09. UPDATE: Billboard Featuring Obama is Coming Down
Apple (AAPL) has purchased Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising company. Most analysts believe that Apple is less interested in profiting from ads than in providing a way for developers who build applications for the iPhone, or a future Apple tablet, make money. New York Times 1/5/09
The Saab and Saturn brands could be headed for oblivion; GM put them up for sale as part of its bankruptcy reorganization in early 2009, but has been unable to find buyers. MSNBC.com 12/30/09
For the first time in 23 years, Pepsi (PEP) ads won’t appear during the Super Bowl. The company plans to place more emphasis on online marketing. Associated Press 12/18/09
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is partnering with Paramount to develop a line of licensed apparel, glassware and holiday gift items for next year’s 65th anniversary of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Brandweek 12/5/09.
Procter & Gamble (PG) is taking its Tide Swash national this month via e-retailers Amazon (AMZN) and Drugstore.com. Swash targets young professionals and college students by providing a way to refresh and remove wrinkles from clothing without hitting the laundromat. Brandweek 12/5/09
The American Family Association says several brands, including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, CVS, Kroger, Office Depot, Radio Shack and Victoria’s Secret, do not do enough to recognize Christmas companywide. Brandweek 12/5/09
Bloomberg LP has completed its purchase of McGraw-Hill's (MHP) BusinessWeek magazine. The BusinessWeek issue that came out Dec. 4 sports the new logo. Mediaweek 12/4/09
Charmin has rolled out its fourth annual luxury public restrooms, containing Kohler products, televisions and iPods, in New York City's Times Square. As part of the promotion, "bathroom ambassadors" will blog, Facebook and tweet about the nuances of 'going.'"Brandweek 12/4/09
Pepsi (PEP) has launched Shoppepsi.com, an interactive store where consumers can shop for contemporary and vintage collectibles, accessories and apparel, and read the latest Pepsi news. Brandweek 12/4/09
Puerto Rico is reviving a campaign that was a hit in the 1950’s, to provide “a refreshing change from the traditional sun and surf and palm trees ads you’ve seen from the Caribbean.” The new campaign incorporates photography from the 1950’s campaign for which David Ogilvy wrote the copy. NYTimes 12/3/09
AT&T’s (ATT) has withdrawn a lawsuit accusing Verizon Wireless (VZW) of misleading consumers with ads that show maps with white or gray for places that AT&T does not have 3G coverage. The company complained the maps implied that AT&T had no coverage of any kind. A judge earlier rejected AT&T’s request to temporarily block the Verizon ads saying that while they could be described as “sneaky,” or “simply clever,” they were “literally true.” NYTimes.com 12/2/09
McDonald's (MCD) is swapping its traditional red backdrop for a deep hunter green to promote a more eco-friendly image in Europe. Some franchises in Great Britain and France are already using the new color scheme; about 100 German McDonald’s restaurants will make the change the end of 2009. Businessweek 11/23/09
Three of Tiger Woods’ sponsors, Nike (NKE), Gatorade and Gillette, have expressed their support in the aftermath of his automobile accident and rumored affair. CNN 11/30/09
The founder and former president and CEO of Jones Sodahas founded BoxB, a company that will create nonalcoholic private label beverages for distributors. Owning their own brand eliminates the risk associated with building non-owned brands and then losing the distribution when they become a hit. Brandweek 11/28/09
With Christmas less than five weeks away, Borders (BGP) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) are concerned that the weak economy will depress sales, despite best sellers from Dan Brown, Stephen King and Sarah Palin. wsj.com 11/25/09 May require subscription.
Dress Barn (DBRN) has completed its merger of Tween Brands, owner of the Justice brand that caters to children from the ages of 7 to 14. It will operate as a subsidiary of Dress Barn. Chainstoreage.com 11/25/09
AOL is adopting a new brand identity next month when it spins off from Time Warner (TWX). The triangle is gone, and the uppercase “AOL” is now upper & lower case, punctuated with a period: “Aol.” NYTimes.com 11/22/09 via Media Bistro
Tide has introduced “Stain Brain,” an iPhone app that offers simple solutions on the spot and allows people to share cleaning tips. The move coincided with the launch of Tide’s Stain Release in-wash booster, designed to be added into the regular laundry load to remove a host of stubborn stains. CMDGlobal.com
Microsoft (MSFT), Sephora, NASCAR and Comcast (CMCSA) are using Twitter as a component in sweepstakes promotions to boost buzz about their brands. Adweek 11/22/09
Complaints over ads from competitors filed with the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the industry’s main self-regulatory program for national ads, will set a record in 2009. Combatants include Pantene vs Dove, Science Diet vs. Iams, AT&T(ATT) vs. Verizon Wireless (VZ) and Campbell Soup vs. Progresso. New York Times 11/22/09
Mega media brand Oprah Winfrey is ending her talk show in 2011 after 25 years on the air to launch OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. Adweek 11/20/09
eBay (EBAY) will sponsor free wireless Internet on Delta (DAL) flights during the holiday travel period Nov. 24 through Nov. 30 to promote eBay’s “Holideals.” Clickz 11/18/09
Intel (INTC) hopes to strengthen the connection between it’s brand and consumers through a new website they’ve launched called LifeScoop. The site is designed to appeal to consumers interested in technology “but aren’t hard-core geeks.” Brandweek 11/14/09
Hundreds of “older, poorly perfoming” Holiday Inn hotels in North America could lose the right to call themselves a Holiday Inn if the franchisees don’t meet franchisor Intercontinental Hotel Group's (IHG) quality specs and undertake extensive renovations. Wall Street Journal 11/13/09. Requires subscription.
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) plans to open about 1,000 new restaurants, remodel 2,300 existing ones around the world next year, and is experimenting with new technology to prepare for a global economic recovery. Wall Street Journal 11/13/09. Requires subscription.
The American Family Association is calling on consumers to boycott Gap Inc. (GPS) and its brands, which include Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, this holiday season because the retailer's ads downplay the word "Christmas." Brandweek 11/13/09
Burger King franchisees are suing the company, alleging that Burger King Corp (BKC). doesn't have the right to set "maximum prices" for certain menu items. The lawsuit was spurred by the double-cheeseburger promotion that franchisees fought against saying it causes them to lose money. Advertising Age 11/12/09
Miracle Whip bought every ad slot on The Colbert Report on November 12th, and announced the buy “in newspapers warning Colbert that his commercial breaks would expose his viewers to “hardcore Miracle Whip attitude.” The Miracle Whip ad roadblock was in response to a parody of a Miracle Whip ad that Colbert ran on his show in October. MediaFreak 11/12/09
Ashley Furniture sponsors live-streamed birth on MomsLikeMe.com, a one-year-old site owned by newspaper publisher Gannett. The company had a featured banner running during event which was seen by 3,600 people watching the live stream, and an additional 148,600 unique visitors who downloaded the video during the next 72 hours. ClickZ Network 11/11/09
Breaking with other airline sites, Continental Airlines (CAL) plans to sell advertising on their website, saying their 10 million monthly unique users are in a trip-planning frame of mind, creating “an extremely conducive atmosphere for advertisers."Brandweek 11/11/09
Measure Online Display Ad Effectiveness to Determine Full Effect of Campaign
The problem with the use of click-through rates as the sole measure of online display advertising effectiveness is that CTR ignores a host of other ‘view-thru’ advertising effectiveness measures that impact roi, including recall, purchase intent, awareness, etc.
A recent ComScore post reflects the opinion of many online publishers, advertisers and agencies, by asserting that display ad effectiveness measurement should consider view-thru metrics that provide marketers with “an understanding of what consumers are doing, not just saying, in the days and weeks after seeing display ads, and have an understanding of the volume of search activity that is being driven by ad exposure.”
Certainly CTR can be useful, such as comparing the performance of creative executions. But the value of the CTR metric has been overemphasized by some online ad sellers seeking to grab spend from traditional media by emphasizing the performance and interactivity of online advertising. And let’s face it – for advertisers hungry for proof of roi, CTR is easy to understand, even if it doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s easy to see how online advertising has become a one-click pony. Sorry.
What’s a marketer to do? For advertisers that can afford it, there are plenty of custom research options to help them analyze the effectiveness of their display ad campaigns. Or, if you run display advertising campaigns on the Google Content Network you can utilize their “View-through conversion reporting” to measure how well your compaign increased brand awareness and purchase consideration, in “those instances where your ad is seen, but not immediately clicked on. More specifically, View-through Conversion reporting measures the number of conversions that occurred within 30 days of your display ad appearing for which there was no ad click generated.”
Google also offers advertisers access to Campaign Insights , “a unique measurement tool that can give reliable data about how a campaign has raised brand awareness, or active user interest, in a particular product or service. It looks beyond the traditional measures of clicks and conversions to calculate the incremental lift in both online search activity and website visits that result from a display ad campaign.” Campaign Insights compares two data sets from thousands of consumers who both did and did not see the ads, while also filtering out the impact of other media influences, such as TV.
Analyzing online display advertising beyond clicks makes sense for advertisers who want to build sustainable revenue and brands.
The beloved brand was born 1914 when the owner of a San Francisco newspaper stand begain selling home-baked cookies. The company closed its doors in 2008 and was relaunched by Kellogg in 2009. Image credit: MothersCookies.com
Macy’s is reprising its “Believe” campaign this month, which recounts the famous, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” editorial from the New York Sun. The campaign incorporates numerous elements including a 30-minute, animated special on CBS, a 25-city Santa tour a commercial featuring Grammy Award-winning singer Queen Latifah and a “Telll Us Why You Believe” contest that enables people to share their thoughts about what they believe in and why they believe.” Brandweek 11/7/09
Sears (SHLD) will add a new line of Jenn-Air kitchen appliances to its lineup this month, the only national retail chain to sell the high-end appliances. Sears market share in appliances has dropped from 40% to 31% over the last decade. Chicago Tribune 11/5/09
Borders (BGP) will close 200 Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores and cut 1,500 jobs in January so that it can focus on its more profitable superstores. Miami Herald 11/5/09
SnapNames, the largest the largest reseller of Web site names, has admitted that an employee was shill bidding on auctions to enrich himself and drive up the cost of names sold by the company. SnapNames says just 5 percent of total auctions between 2005 and 2007 were affected, about one percent of the company’s auction revenue during that same time. Washington Post 11/4/09, TechCrunch 11/4/09
AT&T (ATT) is suing Verizon (VZ) over Verizon’s “There’s a map for that” ad. The ad plays on Apple’s “there’s an App for That” slogan---but that’s not the problem. At issue is a map in the ad (see map graphic, video below) that shows that Verizon has 5 times more 3G coverage than AT&T, but doesn't show that the gaps in AT&T 3G coverage might be covered by AT&T's 2G network.
AT&T accuses Verizon of “misleading consumers into believing that AT&T doesn't offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country.” Engadget 11/3/09 Image Credit: Techflash
Results from Technorati’s “State of the Blogosphere 2009,” reported by eMarketer, indicates that blogs can help companies build brands and generate sales.
According to eMarketer the study shows that 71% of bloggers who post for a business had increased visibility for their company, 63% had converted prospects into purchasers through their blog, and 56% have seen their blog bring their company recognition as a thought leader in the industry.
Creating and maintaining a blog requires a lot of effort---one of the reasons that many blogs are started and then quickly abandoned. But the study shows that developing a strategy, consistently publishing engaging content, and being patient can pay off.
Best Buy’s (BBY) Twelpforce consists of 21,100 employees who respond to customer tweets about consumer electronics via Twitter. To date, the Twelpforce has delivered advice in the form of 12,314 tweets to its 13,398 followers. Brandweek 10/31/09
Starbucks (STBX) will launch a new customer loyalty card program, called My Starbucks Rewards, on Dec. 26, 2009. The program will consolidate Starbucks Card Rewards and Starbucks Gold card. It has no annual fee, allows members to use one registered card (any Starbucks Card) and provides customized rewards, that increase with frequency of use. Chain Store Age 10/30/09
The Federal Drug Administration has notified Proctor & Gamble (PG) that the company’s marketing two of its Vicks-branded over-the-counter medications—Vicks DayQuil Plus Vitamin C and Vicks Nyquil Plus Vitamin C—violate FDA guidelines by portraying products as both a cold medication as well as a dietary supplement. Brandweek 10/30/09
Target (TGT) has cut 85 marketing jobs, about 8% of its 1,100 employees in that department.The recession has hurt Target because much of its revenue comes from fashionable nonessentials such as home decor and clothing. Chain Store Age 10/30/09
To introduce a leather-scented deodorant called Axe Instinct, Unilever (UL) is paying street musicians $1,000 to put up “Axe Instinct” signs, offer free deodorant samples when they play and, a few times a day, sing a ‘ditty’ “Look Good in Leather” that Axe is using in its commercials. NYTimes 10/29/09
Less and less individuals are trying out Bing says a study by online ad network Chitika. In looking at network traffic from August through the first half of October, it appears that although Bing's share of search impressions has declined at a steady rate, the number of users coming through Microsoft's (MSFT) decision engine has declined much more quickly.
In August, over 8% of search engine users and 6.7% of search traffic came from Bing. Since then, however, Microsoft's impressions share has dropped to 5.44%, and the user share has decreased even more significantly, to 6.28%. Chitika, Inc. 10/29/09
Videos posted on YouTube over the past two months featuring “the world’s fastest nudist” show a man, “clad only in running shoes, tube socks, and a strategically positioned frontward fanny pack” running through high-profile locations in New York City. Turns out the viral videos are a campaign for Zappos.The revelation comes too late for CNN and other media outlets who didn’t realize the runner was really an actor and included him in interviews and news stories. NYTimes.com 10/28/09
“United Breaks Guitars” musician Dave Carroll flew United Airlines (UAUA) last Sunday, and guess what? The airline lost his luggage. Carroll was on United because it was the only carrier with service from Canada to Colorado Springs where he had a speaking engagement. United located his luggage and returned it to him---the following Wednesday. NYTimes 10/28/09
Google (GOOG) has launched Campaign Insights, a tool to help marketers determine the incremental change that is directly attributable to online display ad campaigns on brand awareness and user interest. Available for larger display ad campaigns Campaign Insights goes traditional measures of clicks and conversions to calculate the incremental lift in both online search activity and website visits that result from a display ad campaign. BtoBOnline 10/23/09, Google AdWords Blog, 10/19/09
Disney (DIS) is offering consumers who purchased Baby Einstein DVDs their Money back. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood says the offer is the result of a complaint they filed with the FTC regarding Baby Einstein’s marketing claims. Baby Einstein says the offer is part of an upgrade package and has nothing to do with the CCFC FTC complaint.Brandweek 10/23/09
Fortune (FO) magazine is dropping from 25 issues a year to 18 in 2010, will undergo a redesign, and focus on more “long-form, deep-dive journalism, great narrative stories,” to gain cost savings and strategic advantage. New York Times 10/23/09
Through Lufthansa’s free MySkyStatus service, fliers on any airline can sign up to have their flight details posted automatically to their Facebook or Twitter profiles, including regular updates about their departure, altitude, location and arrival as they travel. Springwise 10/23/09
Beginning next Wednesday, New York-based daily newspaper, Newsday, will offer limited free content on Newsday.com. Only Newsday and Cablevision Optimum Online subscribers will still have full access; others will need to pay a $5 weekly subscription fee. Clickz 10/22/09
Financial services brands are less effective at building awareness and persuading consumers to become customers says researcher Dynamic Logic. The study says financial services online ads are too text-heavy and could benefit from adding images of people and including fewer details. Clickz 10/21/09
On Wednesday Google (GOOG) reportedly plans to announce a new service that will give users an easy way to learn more about and sample music after searching for information about bands, alsbums and songs. Facebook also plans to integrate music site Lala into its gift store. New York Times 10/21/09
ony (SNE)
Expedia (EXPE)
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Results from Technorati’s “State of the Blogosphere 2009,” 
